There was a story on the radio news this morning claiming adult obesity will hit above 50%. I don't doubt it. The nanny-staters interviewed in the story claimed it was because there are not enough "healthy options". I call bullshit. Even in my crappy town the grocery is filled with fresh produce and aisles of healthy products.
Federal do-gooders insisted years ago we put nutrition information on every food product sold in the grocery. People still buy Twinkies and Mountain Dew. Putting the caloric information on a Big Mac will not make it less tasty. I am willing to bet my next paycheck if we were to put out a display of Ding Dongs and carrots, 99 out of 100 people, skinny and obese alike, will identify the carrots as thee healthier snack.
We know what is good for us. We just don't want to do it.
Back in the 1920's cigarettes were called "coffin nails", people knew smoking was bad for you. Even putting warning labels on packs and cartons back in the 1970's stopped few from lighting up a Marlboro. Smoking is down because it has become remarkably inconvenient and the cost has sky rocketed. People are going to do what they want.
Prohibition did not stop the booze from flowing and banning Big Gulps will not force anyone to lay off the soda. Liberals the nation over rally to the cry of "stay out of my vagina!". I say "the man" should stay out of my belly.
Although the number of apparently obese people has increased tremendously (and I wonder where these people work a full days job carrying that much weight), I was surprised when my doctor told me a few years ago I was obese.
ReplyDeleteI am not obese. I am overweight by about twenty pounds.
But he showed me the accepted standards for obesity and I was there.
Hah.
ReplyDeleteAnother example of the government exhibiting a gross lack of common sense.
It seems to me that if they were to encourage unhealthy lifestyles it would reduce life expectancy, thereby decreasing the crunch on SSI/Medicare/Medicaid.
Or, conversely, it would cause those of us who despise government intervention to live healthy, simply because they told us not too.
As the old cliche goes, there are too many excuses from a person who is not determined to make the move. Healthy choices are flooding in the market. Only morons don't recognize them.
ReplyDeletePeople don't understand despite the progress of medicine that obesity and diabetes kill people. My mother in law is a diabetic "with lots of health problems." Nobody in her family can figure out that most of them have one thing in common. That one thing is most of her health problems are more common among diabetics than healthy people.
ReplyDeleteAll medicine has done is slow down the effects of diabetes and increase the bill.
Dave, that's all the fuck modern medicine is designed to do: It reduces the weight of your wallet.
ReplyDeleteAnd KHAZAKHtax...I mean "0bamaCAIR", yeah, that's it...merely institutionalizes the freaking ripoff.