discussion How would you go about tackling the obesity crisis?

[cockatoo]

Quote

• Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975.
• In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 650 million were obese.
• 39% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2016, and 13% were obese.
• Most of the world's population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.
• 39 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2020.
• Over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 were overweight or obese in 2016.

Source

 

Some governments have tried things like sugar taxes and regulating the advertising of fast food to little effect. What solutions do you think should be explored?

[Avantpop]

they should teach proana in schools

[tost1]

Starve everyone!

[Revolution]

People need to learn how to cook healthy for cheap. That is the only solution.

[airplane]

Make gyms free

[shookspeare]

make bullying mainstream again

[thetea]

i'd do nothing. some people, through genetics are literally built to store fat and other people are just uneducated about the impact of what they eat. i think more education around the health impacts of certain foods need to be discussed though. some people are content with being obese though, and I feel that if it's not a problem for them, then you shouldn't care, be hyper focused or judge them for it

[Leptine]

There's no really a simple solution for it, also because there are multiple and different factors contributing to it in every case.

 

The Food Industry and the Fast Food chains should change in first with using more quality ingredients and less junk ones (bad preservatives, fats, sugar) but obviously it's not convenient for them and that would raise their prices with consequent less earnings, not to mention fast food and junk food is usually cheap, reason of why it's popular in the first place.

 

I guess food and nutrition education at school should be a thing as well.

[liver]

jail for everyone who preaches body positivity 

[#Beautiful]

what do the stats look like if you subtract the usa?

[apasionata]

 

Ozempic is like a miracle for me 

[Digitalism]

Put a huge tax on foods high in glucose 

[EtherealCat]

rationing

[thetea]

2 minutes ago, Digitalism said:

Put a huge tax on foods high in glucose 

those don't even work that well. they've tried that with alcohol and cigarettes. it just ends up targeting poor people who still end up buying those things but sacrificing other foods to get it. the real solution is to make fruit, vegetables and healthier food cheaper and more accessible. 

[Solaria]

Already fatphobic reactions in here  yall dont care about people being obese at all

[Likingstars]

Make Nutrition and Cooking a curriculum at school. People need to be aware of what they eat tbh

[Donquizote]

17 minutes ago, shookspeare said:

make bullying mainstream again

[cockatoo]

12 minutes ago, thetea said:

i'd do nothing. some people, through genetics are literally built to store fat and other people are just uneducated about the impact of what they eat. i think more education around the health impacts of certain foods need to be discussed though. some people are content with being obese though, and I feel that if it's not a problem for them, then you shouldn't care, be hyper focused or judge them for it

But it is a problem when they have to be supported by the state due to the inevitable health complications many obese people encounter.

 

A lot of overweight people are poor and either don't have the time or the money to prepare healthy meals so inevitably resort to eating easy options like fast food/takeaways/ready meals. Is there not a false economy here? The government could spend money in preventing obesity by addressing wealth inequality and improving standards of education rather than paying out over many years for their treatment in the future?

[cockatoo]

16 minutes ago, Leptine said:

There's no really a simple solution for it, also because there are multiple and different factors contributing to it in every case.

 

The Food Industry and the Fast Food chains should change in first with using more quality ingredients and less junk ones (bad preservatives, fats, sugar) but obviously it's not convenient for them and that would raise their prices with consequent less earnings, not to mention fast food and junk food is usually cheap, reason of why it's popular in the first place.

 

I guess food and nutrition education at school should be a thing as well.

I suppose a question then is, is it possible to have healthy fast food under a capitalist system? People want to sell as much as possible for as little cost as possible for maximum profits. The health of the end user isn't a concern unfortunately. Is this something governments could regulate more effectively? 

[thetea]

Just now, cockatoo said:

But it is a problem when they have to be supported by the state due to the inevitable health complications many obese people encounter.

 

A lot of overweight people are poor and either don't have the time or the money to prepare healthy meals so inevitably resort to eating easy options like fast food/takeaways/ready meals. Is there not a false economy here? The government could spend money in preventing obesity by addressing wealth inequality and improving standards of education rather than paying out over many years for their treatment in the future?

this is a great point but I feel like people (not you) specifically target obese people with these claims about health. there's so many other things that people do that is harmful to their health and impacts the health system that aren't as demonised or discussed as obesity. Obesity is a huge issue though, especially since my people and the neighbouring islands are known for being morbidly obese. There's a lot countries could do such as promoting healthy eating and subsidising the cost of fruits, vegetables and even water. In a lot of countries buying a 1.5 litre bottle of coke is cheaper than water. 

[getBusy]

Part of the problem is that many areas lack access to proper fresh food like veggies and fruits.

[LoveInStereo]

If we take nutrition out of the equation, the average person is sedentary throughout the day much more than they should be. I walk 30 minutes to & from work & my coworkers act like I’m climbing Everest because they all sit on transit or drive. Staying active is important & helps your metabolism!

[cockatoo]

20 minutes ago, liver said:

jail for everyone who preaches body positivity 

I personally have always thought body neutrality is the way to go. There's no point bashing people and telling them to hate themselves and then expecting them to change their physical appearance. A lot of body image issues are very deep rooted and people simply losing weight/getting surgery won't make them any happier in the long run.

 

If we can encourage people to feel comfortable in their own skin while still appreciating that exercising and healthy eating will be better for their long term health, I think that would be a good way forward.

[cockatoo]

3 minutes ago, LoveInStereo said:

If we take nutrition out of the equation, the average person is sedentary throughout the day much more than they should be. I walk 30 minutes to & from work & my coworkers act like I’m climbing Everest because they all sit on transit or drive. Staying active is important & helps your metabolism!

Yep, it's also very good for your digestion. It always shocks me how people will jump in their car for such short distances. It's much better for your mental health and the environment to spend less time sat in cars.

[cockatoo]

12 minutes ago, thetea said:

this is a great point but I feel like people (not you) specifically target obese people with these claims about health. there's so many other things that people do that is harmful to their health and impacts the health system that aren't as demonised or discussed as obesity. Obesity is a huge issue though, especially since my people and the neighbouring islands are known for being morbidly obese. There's a lot countries could do such as promoting healthy eating and subsidising the cost of fruits, vegetables and even water. In a lot of countries buying a 1.5 litre bottle of coke is cheaper than water. 

Oh yeah 100%. I mean there's not much benefit in being slim if you're sniffing coke every weekend and getting blind drunk at the first available opportunity.

 

Better access to clean tap water is definitely a big one. I've also thought if supermarkets sold more of those pre-cut fruit and vegetable packets and didn't charge an arm and a leg for them, it would encourage more people to buy them. Things need to be easy and ready made for them to be appealing.