Obesity and Health Care

[Rick Rowlands]

I eat many of the foods listed by the CSPI lists as bad, yet I've been 180 lbs. for as long as I can remember.  Thats because I'm active.  Just today I wrestled with 200 feet of wire rope reeving a crane, then busted up a fifty foot long section of concrete slab. loaded 500 paving blocks into the bucket of the backhoe, drug a pump around pumping out pits, and this is just a normal day.  What physical activity have YOU done today? 

[Towntalk]

Does anyone remember the Food Pyramid that as school children we were taught about?

Now the very government agency that created that chart is telling us is wrong.

Why are ourf kids getting fatter?

Blame it on television, computers, and video games. Parients are making couch potatoes out of their kids which explains a whole lot and changes in diet absent a good healthy dose of exercise won't help.

Phys Ed in school is not enough ... it has to be a daily dose of healthy exercise.

Taxing food will accomplish nothing more than raise rhe price of food across the board, but it won't take an ounce of fat off any of us.

[sfc_oliver]

Not that I'm not all for the Government making sure that we are educated about things that are not so good for us. But are we getting closer and closer to Big Brother?

[Towntalk]

Mandatory nutrition information on restaurant menus, menu-boards, meat packages, hamburger wrappers, food commercials, ice cream stores, movie theatres, bakeries, hot dog stands, etc., etc.

Requirements that broadcasters give free "equal time" to government-supported advertisements of "healthy" foods.

A government-sponsored "Must-Not-See-TV Week" campaign.

What about all those cooking shows on PBS where the chefs guzzle down booze with the food they've prepared. Even the "healthy cooking" show chefs have to have their booze.

When the anti-smokers started their campaign, they were laughed at, but look at what we have today.

The same thing is happening with the food industry.

[Why?Town]

Donuts
Donuts ...have a healthy dose of artificial flavors and colors.

Doh! Nuts!  Donuts....mmmm.

[Towntalk]

Another List:

Here is a list of some foods that are not good for you.

Canned Soup
Canned soups that you see lining the shelves of grocery stores tend to have high levels of salt, trans-fats, and monosodium glutamate (MSG). You may be able to find healthier options in the health food store, but the best soup is homemade soup.

Commercial Breakfast Cereals
Commercial cereals are often anything but healthy. A lot of them have sugar as one of the first ingredients, and high fructose corn syrup is usually somewhere on the list of ingredients as well.
Most cereals are made from refined grains. That means that you are getting a load of empty calories first thing in the morning. Not a very healthy way to start your day, especially if you combine the cereal with other empty calorie foods.
If you love the convenience of ready-made cereals, then try to stick to healthier choices. Shredded Wheat and Cheerios are reasonable choices. You can find several quality brands in health foods stores. Be sure to read the labels before you buy though. Not everything in the health store is healthy for you.

Commercially Baked Goods
Commercially baked goods such as cookies, biscuits, cakes, and packaged cake mixes almost always contain high amounts of trans-fats. They also tend to have other additives such as artificial flavors, artificial colors, corn syrup, and a variety of preservatives. They may have more trans-fats than any other foods because they are made with hydrogenated oils. Sometimes they are even fried in hydrogenated oils as well.

Donuts
Donuts are made from refined flour, white sugar, and partially hydrogenated oil (that means that they contain trans-fats). They also have a healthy dose of artificial flavors and colors. That's what makes them look and taste yummy. Donuts are lacking in fiber and they do not provide you with any nutrients whatsoever.

Fat
Most North Americans consume at least 37 percent of their calories from fat. This is way more than our bodies can handle.
If you have a diet that is too high in fat, it puts you at risk for obesity, adult onset diabetes, certain cancers, and arteriosclerosis (hardening and plugging up of the arteries).

Genetically Modified Foods
Genetically modified foods (GM foods) have been on the shelves of North American grocery stores since 1996.

Hydrogenated Fats and Trans-Fats
Hydrogenation is the process that is used to turn liquid oils into a solid form. Vegetable margarine and vegetable shortening are hydrogenated fats.

Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts
Commercially made ice creams and frozen desserts are loaded with sugar and various chemicals to give them flavor and texture.
If you love frozen desserts, try to stick to brands that are made with pure, natural ingredients. You can also buy an ice cream machine and make your own ice cream creations.

Potato chips, French Fries, and other Fried Foods/Snacks
Potato chips and French fries make it to the list of unhealthy foods because they are fried at very high temperatures. Any time food is cooked, fried, or processed using high heat, a substance called acrylamide is produced. Acrylamide is a known carcinogen and neurotoxin.
French fries and potato chips also contain trans-fatty acids which increase your risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
These foods are usually high in calories and very low in nutrients. They may satisfy your cravings, but they will not satisfy your body's need for real nutrition.

Processed and Refined Foods
When you take food in its natural state and alter, process, refine, and package it, it loses fiber and a whole lot of nutrients.

Processed Cheese Products
The name doesn't lie. Processed cheese is exactly that. Processed. It is made from cheese and a long list of other ingredients including, extra salt, food coloring, and other milk ingredients. It also contains harmful chemical additives such as sodium aluminum phosphate.
Aluminum has been linked to many diseases including anemia, osteomalacia, Lou Gehrig's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.

Sausages, Hot Dogs, Cured Meats, and Luncheon Meats
Sausages, hot dogs, cured meats, luncheon meats, bacon, pepperoni, and other processed meats are dangerous because they contain a cancer causing ingredient known as sodium nitrite. Sodium nitrite is a close chemical relative of sodium nitrate.

Soda Pop and other Artificial Beverages
It is pretty common for North Americans to prefer drinking anything except water. It is typical to have several servings of soda pop, juice, and other sweet drinks every single day.
These kinds of drinks are high in calories from sugar and/or alcohol. The sugar can send your blood sugar levels skyrocketing only to crash later on leaving you feeling tired and moody. They can get in the way of your efforts to lose weight.
The caffeine, sugar, phosphates, artificial colorings, and other chemical found in these beverages are damaging to your health. They can cause your body to lose much needed minerals such as calcium.
Over time, drinking these beverages on a regular basis can cause you to gain weight. They can also lead to tooth decay, diabetes, and other diseases.

Too Much Protein
If your diet is heavy in meat and other animal products, chances are you are getting more fat and cholesterol than your body can use. People in Western society eat 2 to 3 times more protein than our bodies need.
Research shows that too much protein (especially animal protein) is not healthy for you. It can cause your body to lose too much calcium and it can damage your kidneys.

[Towntalk]

Stop and think for a moment. You enjoy dining out, and in fact encourage it.

Are you aware of the number of food items would be affected?

Pizza ... soda pop ...deli meats including hot dogs ... cheese ... snack foods ... processsed foods to name a few of the food stuffs that the food police would slap high taxes on just like they did tobacco products.

Whenever you dine out, the price of your meals would double or triple.

§   extra taxes on foods with fat, sugar, and sodium (the so-called "Twinkie tax");
§   government-mandated "warning" labels on high-fat, high-calorie menu items;
§   mandatory nutrition information on restaurant menus, menu-boards, meat packages, hamburger wrappers, food commercials, ice cream stores, movie theatres, bakeries, hot dog stands, etc., etc.
§   requirements that broadcasters give free "equal time" to government-supported advertisements of "healthy" foods;
§   restrictions on baby food packaging requiring that tapioca be labeled as "chemically modified food starch";
§   labels warning parents that soft drinks may be replacing low-fat milk, fruit juice, and other drinks in their children's diets;
§   labels warning of contamination from fresh, unpasteurized juices;
§   a government-sponsored "Must-Not-See-TV Week" campaign; and
§   stricter regulations on genetically enhanced foods, which are already the most regulated food products in the U.S.

CSPI's everyday language about normal foods like sandwiches and milk is also intended to scare you about your food. Here's Jacob Sullum in Reason magazine describing CSPI's "bottom line" on many foods:
The low-down on pizza with extra cheese: "Never order an extra-cheese pizza." Likewise fried mozzarella sticks ("Just say no"), buffalo wings ("Order something else"), crispy orange beef (ditto), beef and cheese nachos ("Order just about anything else"), a gyro ("There's no way to make this a healthful choice"), a mushroom cheeseburger ("Forget about this one!"), a fried whole onion ("a bomb"), a milk shake ("Skip it"), the Cheesecake Factory's carrot cake ("the worst dessert on the menu"), and cheese fries with ranch dressing ("worse than anything we've ever analyzed").

"Every time you reach for candy," CSPI laments, "you've missed an opportunity to eat fruits, vegetables, or other foods that might reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and obesity." The message: Make sure that when you're chewing on that doughnut, you think to yourself: "I'm a bad person for eating this. I'm slowly killing myself."

Soda Taxes Can Help Fund Health Coverage and Prevention Programs, Say Experts

http://www.cspinet.org/new/200906171.html



Tax Soda and Snacks to Promote Health

http://www.cspinet.org/reports/tax/

A Diner's Guide to Health and Nutrition Claims on Restaurant Menus

http://www.cspinet.org/reports/dinersgu.html

[jay]

Maybe Youngstown 2010 should start a program to shrink the waistlines of Youngstown residents.  Having a healthier population would help to decrease the cost of health care.

[Towntalk]

Taxing the fat in your food

http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/28/news/economy/health_care_reform_obesity/index.htm


The Future of Obesity?

http://protomag.com/assets/obesity-public-health?format=print