Do You Think American Government Does Enough To Prevent Obesity?

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Green_Incarnate

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#51  Edited By Green_Incarnate

It's not the governments job to prevent your fat ass from becoming obese. Obesity has everything to do with our culture. It's socially acceptable to eat large portion sizes and fatty foods.

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Geno

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#52  Edited By Geno

1) McDonalds's.   

2) Most Americans (and people in general) aren't educated toward the scientific basis of health, and many get fat or unhealthy without knowing how or why. Ask the average person what a calorie is or how many joules it converts to and why that is important and they will most likely be clueless.    

3) The US government, like many other governments, is slower than a tortoise when it comes to responding to issues. Obesity is not only a health epidemic, but also costs the government and insurance companies billions of dollars a year for surgery, medicine and physical therapy. If they would spend money to implement ways in reducing obesity, they would not only greatly improve public health but also curb their healthcare deficits. 

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ninjakiller

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#53  Edited By ninjakiller
@Atomasist said:

" @ninjakiller said:

" @emkeighcameron said:

" The U.S. government has absolutely no right to "prevent" obesity in any way, shape, or form. That's an infringement on the freedoms of our people that cannot be allowed to happen.  If people want to be fat, disgusting sacks of failure, they should be allowed to. The feds cannot be given the authority to stop people from eating what they want, when they want, how they want. The government DOES NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS to our problems. "

This is the prevalent thinking throughout our country,  morons are everywhere here.
 
To rebut, yes the government does have the answers.  From reimplementing gym/physical fitness programs in schools, banning fast food from being served in schools, banning soda, chips, stopping all unhealthy vending machine shit being served, to getting the menu out of the hands of the conagra conglomerate and having healthy menus would greatly combat this problem.  
 
I remember a photo essay where school lunches were uploaded from around the world.   This food from Japan and every other country was freshly prepared and looked healthy.  The food from the U.S. was all processed and looked like shit.  There was one healthy meal in the photo collection with maybe one unhealthy selection in France(fries) compared to all the processed garbage in the U.S.
 U.S
 U.S
  Here:  
 Japan
 Japan
"
Okay so first off I'm going to call you a liar, the picture you say is Japan's lunch is none other than Korea's by looking on the website. Also you say all the U.S. food was "processed garbage" again I went to this site and found many none processed foods. So far your off to a bad start.  Secondly you say the government does have the answers, yes the state government. The state government not the federal government is in charge of public schools and their activities. So if your a parent and have a problem with what is sold in the vending machines to your kids, you go and complain. Schools also have many PTAs and other such programs where parents can get involved in their kids school. So what I'm trying to say is that there are already ways to combat this problem, but ultimately its the parents responsibility  Also nice job of calling a person who has a different point of view a moron, I'm glad I live in a country with ignorant people like you. "
Glad to see your super deductive reasoning skills has pointed out such an egregious error as mislabeling a photograph when the series goes from: Japan, Korea, to Japan again.  However could I have done that?  How deep does this well go? 
 
While states do in fact oversee school lunches the National School Lunch Program could be used as a hammer to drive up food standards.    The NLSP specifies the standards that FEDERAL  GOV-ERN-MENT (It's a big word take your time) mandates that reimbursements for schools for low to no cost meals for poor students meets certain nutritional requirements.  The program is implemented in every state, and schools follow those guidelines closely so that they won't miss out on the federal funding/checks that the Fed provides for these meals.  The fact that currently:  Barring future developments, the cheapest way to satisfy the nutritional standards is with something breaded and fried. For example, a corndog plus a fruit cup and milk would meet the current meal plan requirements.  is totally nuts.  The program should mandate that funding will only be provided for fresh fruits and vegetables, rather that a fruit cup.  That grilled chicken/fish instead of something like corn dogs or chicken nuggets be considered a good protein source.  
 
So implementing these guidelines along with the caveats that say Vending machines must only provide healthy snacks as a prerequisite to take part in the NLSP I'd say that there is large amount that the Fed can do to raise standards, but simply chooses not to in the name of saving a buck. 
 
But hey, if you want your kids to grow up to be fat little fucks see if I give a shit.
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Milkman

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#54  Edited By Milkman

It's not the government's job to prevent obesity. People are fully capable of controlling themselves and if they want to lose weight, then lose weight. People need to learn how to help themselves.

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#55  Edited By Kyreo
@emkeighcameron said:
" The U.S. government has absolutely no right to "prevent" obesity in any way, shape, or form. That's an infringement on the freedoms of our people that cannot be allowed to happen.  If people want to be fat, disgusting sacks of failure, they should be allowed to. The feds cannot be given the authority to stop people from eating what they want, when they want, how they want. The government DOES NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS to our problems. "
Double You Oh Are Dee.
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HitmanAgent47

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#56  Edited By HitmanAgent47

Fat ppl really waste government's money on heath care stuff, like heart attacks, operations to help with their fatness and stuff. I say they should have a bit of control, of course not full control.

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#57  Edited By Ace829
@GIVEMEREPLAY said:

" While I'm no fan of the European stance that the government can and should fix all societal ills, we as Americans do have to admit that the government can (and does) do a lot of advertising, pamphlets, programs, etc to promote awareness about what makes you a fat ass and how to prevent it. Spreading knowledge is exactly the type of thing the government should be involved in. I doubt many people who drink multiple sodas per day really understand that they could easily drop 5 or 10 pounds by cutting back just on that. Most people still don't know that HFCS causes obesity, and thanks to heavy advertising by the corn industry that view is being set back even further.   I absolutely agree about the subsidies though- it's time that we stopped subsidizing corn. I don't want corn in literally every processed food I eat and I sure as hell don't want to pay to have something I don't want put in my food.  "

 This. You can't say that people are capable of controlling themselves when many don't have a clue what exactly are they eating. Government isn't going to force people what to eat and what not to eat. Plus, I don't think it hurts to get facts from the government to know exactly what you are putting into your body.
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GIVEMEREPLAY

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#58  Edited By GIVEMEREPLAY

If we're going to have any kind of productive discussion here we're going to have to drop attacking the really bad argument (i.e. the government should prevent obesity via some direct means) and instead discuss what we think the government SHOULD be able to do in this arena. 
 
I've already put forth inform people as much as possible. 
Others have raised the fact that the government organizes and provides free meals for poor school children, so they obviously have a hand in here.  
 
What else should they be able to do? (in ascending order of government control) 
Ban trans fats? 
Put a sin tax on fatty foods? 
Kill fat people and liquify them to feed them to other fat people? 
 
Seriously though, where do you sit? Don't forget that a totally inactive government might not be the most productive towards liberty- permitting other people to cheat the system and rob the collective piggy bank is almost as bad as violating rights outright. 

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#59  Edited By Linkyshinks
@sarahsdad said:

" @Linkyshinks: As far as reasons, I think a subtle part of it is the way our cities and towns are built / laid out / designed / etc. I've only ever been to Canada and Mexico, so I can only go on what people I've worked with who were born in Europe have told me about the differences in the cities and towns they've been to. From what they've said, a lot of the way American cities/towns are put together is designed for travel by car, instead of by foot or bicycle. It doesn't apply to everyone but a lot of places where people shop these days are grouped together in single area that's not on the way to and from work, and is further away than most people want to walk. With the stores grouped together, you're almost never going out for just one thing. Add to this, I think that Americans like to shop in bulk, and stock as much food as possible when we shop. Since we tend to do bulk shopping, it makes it even less likely that we'll be able to carry our purchases back by hand or on a bike. Can or should the government do anything? I think they could help a bit by encouraging healthier food in schools. maybe make some financial bonus on taxes for people who get regular checkups and good marks from a dr. but that's pretty far fetched. Beyond that, I think it would take a rather large change in how we tend to go shop for things, so that taking a walk or a bike down to the corner store is common. I know it wouldn't solve everything, but I think finding a way to make minor exercise a regular part of our average day would be a good way to help. "

 
Fair point, I think it may well play a significant role in some cities. I think attributing this largely down to bad town planning wouldn't be fair, after all, we have truly desolate places here in Europe, which actually have some of the healthiest people in the world. (Scandinavia) I'm sure ill design plays a role, but I think culture is by far the biggest causing factor here. 
 
As a European, I'm astounded by US portion sizes and your buying habits when shopping for food.
  
The fact is those kind of incentives here in Europe are being considered, we know the ramifications the clinically obese have on out health systems. 
 
I really am amazed how most of you Americans think this is none of your governments business, we here think it is, the future health of our nation is of the utmost importance to our government, therefore they have to have an active role in prevention.  
 
America seems to be a fine example of what can happen to a nations health when it's government does nothing. 
 
 
 
@Geno said: 

" 1) McDonalds's.    

  

  2) Most Americans (and people in general) aren't educated toward the scientific basis of health, and many get fat or unhealthy without knowing how or why. Ask the average person what a calorie is or how many joules it converts to and why that is important and they will most likely be clueless.      

  

 3) The US government, like many other governments, is slower than a tortoise when it comes to responding to issues. Obesity is not only a health epidemic, but also costs the government and insurance companies billions of dollars a year for surgery, medicine and physical therapy. If they would spend money to implement ways in reducing obesity, they would not only greatly improve public health but also curb their healthcare deficits.  "

  
I believe that also,  it should be the US government's biggest incentive - saving vast sums of money.  The money saved could be redirected and invested into schemes that will secure good health in communities all across America for years to come.
     
 
(bold glitch)
   
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#60  Edited By JJWeatherman

I live up north where we sadly don't deep fry everything and put it on a stick. I want to move to the south.

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#61  Edited By AngelKore

Is it really the governments problem? I understand that they have to have some sort of input, with reducing health costs an all, but shouldn't it really be up to the American people to be properly educated in healthy eating (Or more so than they are now). They are going to become a nanny state if they keep fighting it the way they are, like my god-forsaken internet-hating country. (Australia)

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#62  Edited By choffy21

They shouldn't be doing anything. People should be concerned with their health enough to do something about their fat asses. I don't want to waste my hard earned money on something I don't need. Shit, I'm already pissed about paying Social Security (I'm 17, I'll never see a nickel of it), and I'm fit enough where government support for obese people would not affect me.

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#63  Edited By ajamafalous

  @Milkman said:

" It's not the government's job to prevent obesity. People are fully capable of controlling themselves and if they want to lose weight, then lose weight. People need to learn how to help themselves. "

  I was going to write something, but this post summed up my stance pretty well.
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#64  Edited By Marz

I dunno how it was for the rest of the country but when i went to school 5th-12th grade we really had no physical education program because there was no budget for it.  Granted i lived in a smaller school district in the state but there still should be some kind of learning of health education while you are young so that you are used to exercising and have some sort of routine built in your mind.  

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#65  Edited By Daveyo520
@Turambar said:
" @MB said:
" The Federal Government has done such a fantastic job with everything else they've taken over such as Social Security, the IRS, and Medicare ...I say just let them make all of our decisions for us, after all, no citizen could possibly know what's best for them. "
I know you're being sarcastic, but lets face it.  For the most part, the average man knows shit about what's good for him. "
But I bet you they know whats bad. I am pretty sure no one in their right mind would go into a fast food restaurant and say anything inside is good for them.
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#66  Edited By ch3burashka

The US government has a lot of concerns, the biggest of which is, apparently, it's influence and control over foreign countries. I am an immigrant-American and I am fucking disgusted with the facade that is the USA. I do not recall the Founding Fathers making any amendments concerning the governmental choices of other nations. The 'national security' the army is supposedly providing for outrageous sums of money is all a fucking lie.
 
My point is, if the US government cared enough about the US, obesity would be a bigger focus and it would be actively exterminated. At the moment, however, the dick-waving competition that is the US's involvement in the Middle East conflict is keeping the politicians occupied.

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#67  Edited By Undeadpool

Sloth, pure and simple. Sloth and entitlement. The idea that it's somehow never someone's fault in this country. If you're obese, it's because McDonald's doesn't put nutrition information on their menus! How can you KNOW that stuffing your face with grade F meat and a pound of deep fried potato spears is bad for you unless the company TELLS you so?

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RichardLOlson

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#68  Edited By RichardLOlson

Americas government will not do to much about the obesity problem.  I for one blame the Americans themselves, they want a quick fix on dinner and go for those fatty burgers and greasy meals.  The majority of Americans are lazy and not willing to take the problem seriously enough to change.  With way over a dozen or more diets and work out programs, they get overwhelmed with the choices and decide to just shrug it off and think it will just go away.  They think.."Yea..I work a 9-5 job and even though I may sit at a desk all day or stand for several hours, I still walk around and do some manual labor duties..so why should I have to exercise?  That's exercise enough right?"  I've seen this a thousand times and they will never change.  Lets face it, America is the fattest country in the world...we've let ourselves be overtaken by McDonald's and Wendy's greasy food.
 
Now I know they have salads and "healthy choice" items at fast food places, but we all know people won't choose these items when they order.  They see the chance to fill that "void" in there stomach with something that will stick to there gut.  I've sat inside a McDonald's and Wendy's and hardly seen anyone buy a salad.  In a day in age where people can pay someone to do something for them, and where entertainment is just a controller button click away...no one will go outside and do something.  They just want to sit on there asses and veg out for several hours.

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#69  Edited By Meowayne

Ha ha, Linky. You opened a thread suggesting that Americans should accept help or support by their government. Good luck with that.

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#70  Edited By Daveyo520
@JJWeatherman said:

" I live up north where we sadly don't deep fry everything and put it on a stick. I want to move to the south. "

This guy makes a good point, most of the problems mentioned with all this comes from the South. That is where most of the bad Americans that other countries think about and hate live. Not all Americans are fat idiots that go watch NASCAR while doing everything Glen Beck tells them. You guys should be mad at the South not America as a whole, they are still mad that they lost a war 145 years ago. When anyone from another country says "I hate America(ns)", they really mean I hate the Southern U.S..
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#71  Edited By wolf_blitzer85

Obesity is just a fact of life over here. While there are people in the country living completely healthy lifestyles, there is still a majority that just don't care or can't find the time to exercise or take a walk or anything like that.  Also a lot of us are broke, so cheap easy processed foods are much easier to come by than going to your local health food store and spending $40 on ingredients for dinner which I wasn't too happy about. It's unfortunate, but the average American consumer on a tight budget will more likely buy the 65 cent box of macaroni and cheese versus a $2.50 box of organic all natural macaroni and cheese. 

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#72  Edited By birchman

People should learn to control themselves. I think Ricky Gervais says it best:  

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#73  Edited By Ryax

they dont do damn near enough. the shit fast food chains are allowed to put into their food is disgusting. there need to be way more restrictions and guidelines

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#74  Edited By ArchScabby

Yeah, I want the goverment to tell me what I can, and can't eat.  I shouldn't be able to decide for myself.

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#75  Edited By JJWeatherman
@Daveyo520 said:

" @JJWeatherman said:

" I live up north where we sadly don't deep fry everything and put it on a stick. I want to move to the south. "

This guy makes a good point, most of the problems mentioned with all this comes from the South. That is where most of the bad Americans that other countries think about and hate live. Not all Americans are fat idiots that go watch NASCAR while doing everything Glen Beck tells them. You guys should be mad at the South not America as a whole, they are still mad that they lost a war 145 years ago. When anyone from another country says "I hate America(ns)", they really mean I hate the Southern U.S.. "
lol. It's so sad, yet true in many ways. No offense to anyone in the south. I know there are a good number of non-crazies down there too, just like there are a fair amount of crazies that have migrated up here. But seriously, a lot of things that one can knock America for, are common in the south. I have some family down there. I've heard the stories.
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#76  Edited By Supermarius
@Linkyshinks said:

" @sarahsdad said:

" @Linkyshinks: As far as reasons, I think a subtle part of it is the way our cities and towns are built / laid out / designed / etc. I've only ever been to Canada and Mexico, so I can only go on what people I've worked with who were born in Europe have told me about the differences in the cities and towns they've been to. From what they've said, a lot of the way American cities/towns are put together is designed for travel by car, instead of by foot or bicycle. It doesn't apply to everyone but a lot of places where people shop these days are grouped together in single area that's not on the way to and from work, and is further away than most people want to walk. With the stores grouped together, you're almost never going out for just one thing. Add to this, I think that Americans like to shop in bulk, and stock as much food as possible when we shop. Since we tend to do bulk shopping, it makes it even less likely that we'll be able to carry our purchases back by hand or on a bike. Can or should the government do anything? I think they could help a bit by encouraging healthier food in schools. maybe make some financial bonus on taxes for people who get regular checkups and good marks from a dr. but that's pretty far fetched. Beyond that, I think it would take a rather large change in how we tend to go shop for things, so that taking a walk or a bike down to the corner store is common. I know it wouldn't solve everything, but I think finding a way to make minor exercise a regular part of our average day would be a good way to help. "

 
Fair point, I think it may well play a significant role in some cities. I've actually seen this myself first hand, a friend of mine on Gamespot, MsCortana, did a video doc once, it showed her driving around her town in the Deep South. I wondered to myself why the hell she wasn't walking around, and then noticed that she really couldn't as there wasn't really sidewalk to walk upon. She also said that walking around was asking to be robbed and that nobody walked.   
 
I think attributing this largely down to bad town planning wouldn't be fair, after all, we have truly desolate places here in Europe which actually have some of the healthiest people in the world. I'm sure ill design plays a role, but I think culture is the biggest causing factor here. 
 
As a European I am astounded by US portion sizes and your buying habits.
  
The fact is those kind of incentives here in Europe are being considered, we know the ramifications the clinically obese have on out health systems. 
 
I really am amazed how most of you Americans think this is none of your governments business, we here think it is, the future health of our nation is of the utmost importance to our government, therefore they have to have an active role.  
 
America seems to be a fine example of what can happen to a nations health when it's government does nothing. 
 
 
 

@Geno

 said: 

" 1) McDonalds's.    

  

  2) Most Americans (and people in general) aren't educated toward the scientific basis of health, and many get fat or unhealthy without knowing how or why. Ask the average person what a calorie is or how many joules it converts to and why that is important and they will most likely be clueless.      

  

 3) The US government, like many other governments, is slower than a tortoise when it comes to responding to issues. Obesity is not only a health epidemic, but also costs the government and insurance companies billions of dollars a year for surgery, medicine and physical therapy. If they would spend money to implement ways in reducing obesity, they would not only greatly improve public health but also curb their healthcare deficits.  "

  
I believe that also, that should be the governments biggest incentive, saving vast sums of money.  The money saved can be redirected and invested in schemes that will secure good health in communities all across America for years to come.
    
      "
I think you have the wrong impression of the united states. It is not all crime ridden, we are not all fat, you can walk down most any streets without an issue. We are not all ignorant. We are not all pigs. Scottish people are in no way more or less virtuous than Americans. Scottish people are in no way better or worse than Americans. We are peers and honestly, your generalizations about Americans and American culture are non-starters because they are too broad. If you say something like "Americans do ____" or "Americans think _____" then you've already lost because we dont all do or think anything. If there's one things we value and protect its freedom and individuality, even if its to our own detriment.  We don't all have similar buying or eating habits, so don't generalize and say we do. Look, on television and in the media you're going to see alot of negative imagery about Americans, often produced by Americans. Thats not because America is terrible, but because we are remarkably self-critical. If there's something bad or wrong in out country we make a fuss about it and let people know, world wide. That gives people an unfairly negative view of the US, but it can't be helped. 
 
Let's look at the facts. According to the UK Telegraph ( link, 2007) the most overweight nation in the developed world is the United States. The second most? Scotland.The us population is about 74% overweight. Scotland is around 67%. So how well is that extra level of government regulation really working. What freedoms were given up, and how much do you really gain?
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#77  Edited By cdstacker

Wouldn't the new health care laws potentially help this problem? It is easier to fight obesity when you start trying before you are too big to move or have a serious illness or condition. If your new health care laws are anything like Australia's health care then more people than ever should be able to afford cheap regular checkups from a doctor, that doctor can then reconmend a new diet or warn the patient about their cholesterol and other things. The government obviously can't force people to be healthy but can try to help the populace, for instance in Australia there is talk about banning kids' shows from having junk food ads. Other things government's could do is try to encourage children's sport (auskick here in Australia) or make nutrition a key part of health class.    

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#78  Edited By sarahsdad
@MrKlorox said:
" We don't need intervention, we need education. The US doesn't have the types of truth in advertising the UK has. That's the only area I want them to step in with regards to the obesity epidemic. Well that and food quality codes of course.  The government should not dictate what we consume. Period. If we want to eat something that we know might harm us, it's our decision. "
This. The city of Boston has been on a tear the last couple years to cut all saturated fats in any food served inside the city, in the name of keeping people healthy. In a way it works, because a lot of the food that relies on being cooked that way (healthy or not) just doesn't taste as good, so people don't eat it so often. Really the longer term, but probably better thing to do is start young with not having cruddy food in the schools.
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#79  Edited By Jadeskye
@ninjakiller: You're the winner of this thread IMO. =)
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#80  Edited By Famov
@ninjakiller said:
" @Atomasist said:

" @ninjakiller said:

" @emkeighcameron said:

" The U.S. government has absolutely no right to "prevent" obesity in any way, shape, or form. That's an infringement on the freedoms of our people that cannot be allowed to happen.  If people want to be fat, disgusting sacks of failure, they should be allowed to. The feds cannot be given the authority to stop people from eating what they want, when they want, how they want. The government DOES NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS to our problems. "

This is the prevalent thinking throughout our country,  morons are everywhere here.
 
To rebut, yes the government does have the answers.  From reimplementing gym/physical fitness programs in schools, banning fast food from being served in schools, banning soda, chips, stopping all unhealthy vending machine shit being served, to getting the menu out of the hands of the conagra conglomerate and having healthy menus would greatly combat this problem.  
 
I remember a photo essay where school lunches were uploaded from around the world.   This food from Japan and every other country was freshly prepared and looked healthy.  The food from the U.S. was all processed and looked like shit.  There was one healthy meal in the photo collection with maybe one unhealthy selection in France(fries) compared to all the processed garbage in the U.S.
U.S
U.S
  Here:  
Japan
Japan
"
Okay so first off I'm going to call you a liar, the picture you say is Japan's lunch is none other than Korea's by looking on the website. Also you say all the U.S. food was "processed garbage" again I went to this site and found many none processed foods. So far your off to a bad start.  Secondly you say the government does have the answers, yes the state government. The state government not the federal government is in charge of public schools and their activities. So if your a parent and have a problem with what is sold in the vending machines to your kids, you go and complain. Schools also have many PTAs and other such programs where parents can get involved in their kids school. So what I'm trying to say is that there are already ways to combat this problem, but ultimately its the parents responsibility  Also nice job of calling a person who has a different point of view a moron, I'm glad I live in a country with ignorant people like you. "
Glad to see your super deductive reasoning skills has pointed out such an egregious error as mislabeling a photograph when the series goes from: Japan, Korea, to Japan again.  However could I have done that?  How deep does this well go? 
 
While states do in fact oversee school lunches the National School Lunch Program could be used as a hammer to drive up food standards.    The NLSP specifies the standards that FEDERAL  GOV-ERN-MENT (It's a big word take your time) mandates that reimbursements for schools for low to no cost meals for poor students meets certain nutritional requirements.  The program is implemented in every state, and schools follow those guidelines closely so that they won't miss out on the federal funding/checks that the Fed provides for these meals.  The fact that currently:  Barring future developments, the cheapest way to satisfy the nutritional standards is with something breaded and fried. For example, a corndog plus a fruit cup and milk would meet the current meal plan requirements.  is totally nuts.  The program should mandate that funding will only be provided for fresh fruits and vegetables, rather that a fruit cup.  That grilled chicken/fish instead of something like corn dogs or chicken nuggets be considered a good protein source.    So implementing these guidelines along with the caveats that say Vending machines must only provide healthy snacks as a prerequisite to take part in the NLSP I'd say that there is large amount that the Fed can do to raise standards, but simply chooses not to in the name of saving a buck.    But hey, if you want your kids to grow up to be fat little fucks see if I give a shit. "


You still haven't tackled the major issue, which is that kids learn their eating habits at home. Changing school cafeteria standards will do nothing to combat this.

 
Oh, and I don't imagine Atomasist's children will grow up to be fat if he gives them balanced meals and moderates what it is they eat. He can best accomplish this by sending them bown bag lunches from home. They not only have the potential to be much healthier, but they're far cheaper too! His position on government interference is entirely independent of his wishes for the health of his potential future children.

 

@jadeskye said:
" @ninjakiller: You're the winner of this thread IMO. =) "

Why? He's working from a logically incoherent position. Can you better justify it?
  
@GIVEMEREPLAY said:

"While I'm no fan of the European stance that the government can and should fix all societal ills, we as Americans do have to admit that the government can (and does) do a lot of advertising, pamphlets, programs, etc to promote awareness about what makes you a fat ass and how to prevent it. Spreading knowledge is exactly the type of thing the government should be involved in. I doubt many people who drink multiple sodas per day really understand that they could easily drop 5 or 10 pounds by cutting back just on that. Most people still don't know that HFCS causes obesity, and thanks to heavy advertising by the corn industry that view is being set back even further.   I absolutely agree about the subsidies though- it's time that we stopped subsidizing corn. I don't want corn in literally every processed food I eat and I sure as hell don't want to pay to have something I don't want put in my food.  "

 
I can understand doing this. Education without coercion, and all that. Though I did not have a weight problem, I stopped consuming pop of any kind once I learned of how fattening it was. I never consumed enough to begin with for it to ever matter, but I figured it was good practice.

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#81  Edited By solidlife

By all means Be fat if you want to be fat, I have No quarrels with that. However I do have a problem with childhood obesity I find it wrong, On the grounds that kids do not know whats good for them. The same reason why your parents sent you to bed early when you still wanted to stay up. 

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#82  Edited By AlwaysAngry
@emkeighcameron said:
" The U.S. government has absolutely no right to "prevent" obesity in any way, shape, or form. That's an infringement on the freedoms of our people that cannot be allowed to happen.  If people want to be fat, disgusting sacks of failure, they should be allowed to. The feds cannot be given the authority to stop people from eating what they want, when they want, how they want. The government DOES NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS to our problems. "
See, this is the only post I read, and I just don't understand why people still insist on typing. d
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#83  Edited By Log

I believe in Darwinism... Ive talked with people about this extensively before. Im strongly opposed to the government doing anything to prevent people from dying. IMO weve already gone too far with Social Security and Welfare, bottom feeders and the elderly bring our society as a whole down. I understand its a view most people would see as harsh but the reality is were all creatures in this world and you wont see a pack of wolves trying keep a fellow pack member they know is done for alive just for the sake of it. 

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#84  Edited By ninjakiller
@Famov said:

" @ninjakiller said:

" @Atomasist said:

" @ninjakiller said:

" @emkeighcameron said:

" The U.S. government has absolutely no right to "prevent" obesity in any way, shape, or form. That's an infringement on the freedoms of our people that cannot be allowed to happen.  If people want to be fat, disgusting sacks of failure, they should be allowed to. The feds cannot be given the authority to stop people from eating what they want, when they want, how they want. The government DOES NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS to our problems. "

This is the prevalent thinking throughout our country,  morons are everywhere here.
 
To rebut, yes the government does have the answers.  From reimplementing gym/physical fitness programs in schools, banning fast food from being served in schools, banning soda, chips, stopping all unhealthy vending machine shit being served, to getting the menu out of the hands of the conagra conglomerate and having healthy menus would greatly combat this problem.  
 
I remember a photo essay where school lunches were uploaded from around the world.   This food from Japan and every other country was freshly prepared and looked healthy.  The food from the U.S. was all processed and looked like shit.  There was one healthy meal in the photo collection with maybe one unhealthy selection in France(fries) compared to all the processed garbage in the U.S.
U.S
U.S
  Here:  
Japan
Japan
"
Okay so first off I'm going to call you a liar, the picture you say is Japan's lunch is none other than Korea's by looking on the website. Also you say all the U.S. food was "processed garbage" again I went to this site and found many none processed foods. So far your off to a bad start.  Secondly you say the government does have the answers, yes the state government. The state government not the federal government is in charge of public schools and their activities. So if your a parent and have a problem with what is sold in the vending machines to your kids, you go and complain. Schools also have many PTAs and other such programs where parents can get involved in their kids school. So what I'm trying to say is that there are already ways to combat this problem, but ultimately its the parents responsibility  Also nice job of calling a person who has a different point of view a moron, I'm glad I live in a country with ignorant people like you. "
Glad to see your super deductive reasoning skills has pointed out such an egregious error as mislabeling a photograph when the series goes from: Japan, Korea, to Japan again.  However could I have done that?  How deep does this well go? 
 
While states do in fact oversee school lunches the National School Lunch Program could be used as a hammer to drive up food standards.    The NLSP specifies the standards that FEDERAL  GOV-ERN-MENT (It's a big word take your time) mandates that reimbursements for schools for low to no cost meals for poor students meets certain nutritional requirements.  The program is implemented in every state, and schools follow those guidelines closely so that they won't miss out on the federal funding/checks that the Fed provides for these meals.  The fact that currently:  Barring future developments, the cheapest way to satisfy the nutritional standards is with something breaded and fried. For example, a corndog plus a fruit cup and milk would meet the current meal plan requirements.  is totally nuts.  The program should mandate that funding will only be provided for fresh fruits and vegetables, rather that a fruit cup.  That grilled chicken/fish instead of something like corn dogs or chicken nuggets be considered a good protein source.    So implementing these guidelines along with the caveats that say Vending machines must only provide healthy snacks as a prerequisite to take part in the NLSP I'd say that there is large amount that the Fed can do to raise standards, but simply chooses not to in the name of saving a buck.    But hey, if you want your kids to grow up to be fat little fucks see if I give a shit. "


You still haven't tackled the major issue, which is that kids learn their eating habits at home. Changing school cafeteria standards will do nothing to combat this.

 
Oh, and I don't imagine Atomasist's children will grow up to be fat if he gives them balanced meals and moderates what it is they eat. He can best accomplish this by sending them bown bag lunches from home. They not only have the potential to be much healthier, but they're far cheaper too! His position on government interference is entirely independent of his wishes for the health of his potential future children.


 I guess you missed the title of the thread.  I've helpfully pasted it here.

Do You Think American Government Does Enough To Prevent Obesity?

   The question was whether the American Government, the Federal government, does enough to address obesity.  I've addressed this the easiest way.  Getting kids to eat healthy at school.  While we could launch a huge eating right/exercise campaign targeting every single American, I proposed my idea with the idea it would be the cheapest, since that seem to be the only concern as far as federal spending goes.   If parents still want to feed them shit meals at home that's their concern.   I could launch into a huge spiel on an education campaign as far as eating targeting every American, but I really don't need the hassle of teabaggers attacking me for taking away their rights of eating shit. 
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#85  Edited By ninjakiller
@Log said:
" I believe in Darwinism... Ive talked with people about this extensively before. Im strongly opposed to the government doing anything to prevent people from dying. IMO weve already gone too far with Social Security and Welfare, bottom feeders and the elderly bring our society as a whole down. I understand its a view most people would see as harsh but the reality is were all creatures in this world and you wont see a pack of wolves trying keep a fellow pack member they know is done for alive just for the sake of it.  "
Wow, just stfu. 
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#86  Edited By ryanwho

Freedom means allowing people to make their own mistakes, having enough confidence in people to think they can make smart decisions for themselves. If you want to pride your nanny state on not allowing you the freedom to fuck up your life if you choose to, well good for you and your perpetual childlike existence where you never have to worry about decisions because the powers make them for you.

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deactivated-57aaaa9329732

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@emkeighcameron said:

" The U.S. government has absolutely no right to "prevent" obesity in any way, shape, or form. That's an infringement on the freedoms of our people that cannot be allowed to happen.  If people want to be fat, disgusting sacks of failure, they should be allowed to. The feds cannot be given the authority to stop people from eating what they want, when they want, how they want. The government DOES NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS to our problems. "

The government has no right to enforce obesity prevention. 
That being said I am a supporter of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.
 http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution
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#88  Edited By Al3xand3r

Wow @ how many believe that if the government takes an active role in encouraging a better society they will take away their rights. The government already regulates most of the things they would need to regulate to take meaningful steps against obesity or any number of things. Ie, school food choices, there already are guidelines, obviously. They just don't do it in a good way. Nobody suggested they should shut down your local McDonalds or call the feds to check your weight and empty your fridge of any junk food, then lock you up and feed you spinach if they find it unsatisfactory or something, sheesh, get a grip, you let them control your lives in more important ways, encouraging a better society in any way, be it health or other issues, would not be an actual problem for you.

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ErgoProxy77

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#89  Edited By ErgoProxy77

It's not the government's job to prevent obesity.  If you are fat, it's your fault.

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#90  Edited By Daveyo520
@JJWeatherman said:
"@Daveyo520 said:

" @JJWeatherman said:

" I live up north where we sadly don't deep fry everything and put it on a stick. I want to move to the south. "

This guy makes a good point, most of the problems mentioned with all this comes from the South. That is where most of the bad Americans that other countries think about and hate live. Not all Americans are fat idiots that go watch NASCAR while doing everything Glen Beck tells them. You guys should be mad at the South not America as a whole, they are still mad that they lost a war 145 years ago. When anyone from another country says "I hate America(ns)", they really mean I hate the Southern U.S.. "
lol. It's so sad, yet true in many ways. No offense to anyone in the south. I know there are a good number of non-crazies down there too, just like there are a fair amount of crazies that have migrated up here. But seriously, a lot of things that one can knock America for, are common in the south. I have some family down there. I've heard the stories. "

Agreed. Sadly a lot of southerners can't be like Brad.
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#91  Edited By Afroman269

The government should overhaul the food that is served at public schools. That shit is disgusting and teaches them that eating shit food is ok. The rest is then up to the parents.

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#92  Edited By iam3green

no, i don't think that they do enough to fight obesity. i think that government shouldn't care to much about what people's weight is. a lot of times i can see a lot of commercials saying to exercise it causes people to think that they might be still over weight for being like an average size. 
 
the BMI test it said that i am 20.1. the chart said that i am normal weight. i kind of think that i might be underweight still being 5'5 since a lot of people are like 130-160 pounds from me.

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grilledcheez

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#93  Edited By grilledcheez

Another thing to think about is that the more obese people there are, the more your insurance premiums go up.

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#94  Edited By artofwar420

They're doing a lot to aid in the subsidies of things like meat and dairy leaving fruits and veggies to be more expensive.

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#95  Edited By Famov
@ninjakiller said:
" @Famov said:

" @ninjakiller said:

" @Atomasist said:

" @ninjakiller said:

" @emkeighcameron said:

" The U.S. government has absolutely no right to "prevent" obesity in any way, shape, or form. That's an infringement on the freedoms of our people that cannot be allowed to happen.  If people want to be fat, disgusting sacks of failure, they should be allowed to. The feds cannot be given the authority to stop people from eating what they want, when they want, how they want. The government DOES NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS to our problems. "

This is the prevalent thinking throughout our country,  morons are everywhere here.
 
To rebut, yes the government does have the answers.  From reimplementing gym/physical fitness programs in schools, banning fast food from being served in schools, banning soda, chips, stopping all unhealthy vending machine shit being served, to getting the menu out of the hands of the conagra conglomerate and having healthy menus would greatly combat this problem.  
 
I remember a photo essay where school lunches were uploaded from around the world.   This food from Japan and every other country was freshly prepared and looked healthy.  The food from the U.S. was all processed and looked like shit.  There was one healthy meal in the photo collection with maybe one unhealthy selection in France(fries) compared to all the processed garbage in the U.S.
U.S
U.S
  Here:  
Japan
Japan
"
Okay so first off I'm going to call you a liar, the picture you say is Japan's lunch is none other than Korea's by looking on the website. Also you say all the U.S. food was "processed garbage" again I went to this site and found many none processed foods. So far your off to a bad start.  Secondly you say the government does have the answers, yes the state government. The state government not the federal government is in charge of public schools and their activities. So if your a parent and have a problem with what is sold in the vending machines to your kids, you go and complain. Schools also have many PTAs and other such programs where parents can get involved in their kids school. So what I'm trying to say is that there are already ways to combat this problem, but ultimately its the parents responsibility  Also nice job of calling a person who has a different point of view a moron, I'm glad I live in a country with ignorant people like you. "
Glad to see your super deductive reasoning skills has pointed out such an egregious error as mislabeling a photograph when the series goes from: Japan, Korea, to Japan again.  However could I have done that?  How deep does this well go? 
 
While states do in fact oversee school lunches the National School Lunch Program could be used as a hammer to drive up food standards.    The NLSP specifies the standards that FEDERAL  GOV-ERN-MENT (It's a big word take your time) mandates that reimbursements for schools for low to no cost meals for poor students meets certain nutritional requirements.  The program is implemented in every state, and schools follow those guidelines closely so that they won't miss out on the federal funding/checks that the Fed provides for these meals.  The fact that currently:  Barring future developments, the cheapest way to satisfy the nutritional standards is with something breaded and fried. For example, a corndog plus a fruit cup and milk would meet the current meal plan requirements.  is totally nuts.  The program should mandate that funding will only be provided for fresh fruits and vegetables, rather that a fruit cup.  That grilled chicken/fish instead of something like corn dogs or chicken nuggets be considered a good protein source.    So implementing these guidelines along with the caveats that say Vending machines must only provide healthy snacks as a prerequisite to take part in the NLSP I'd say that there is large amount that the Fed can do to raise standards, but simply chooses not to in the name of saving a buck.    But hey, if you want your kids to grow up to be fat little fucks see if I give a shit. "


You still haven't tackled the major issue, which is that kids learn their eating habits at home. Changing school cafeteria standards will do nothing to combat this.

 
Oh, and I don't imagine Atomasist's children will grow up to be fat if he gives them balanced meals and moderates what it is they eat. He can best accomplish this by sending them bown bag lunches from home. They not only have the potential to be much healthier, but they're far cheaper too! His position on government interference is entirely independent of his wishes for the health of his potential future children.


 I guess you missed the title of the thread.  I've helpfully pasted it here.

Do You Think American Government Does Enough To Prevent Obesity?

   The question was whether the American Government, the Federal government, does enough to address obesity.  I've addressed this the easiest way.  Getting kids to eat healthy at school.  While we could launch a huge eating right/exercise campaign targeting every single American, I proposed my idea with the idea it would be the cheapest, since that seem to be the only concern as far as federal spending goes.   If parents still want to feed them shit meals at home that's their concern.   I could launch into a huge spiel on an education campaign as far as eating targeting every American, but I really don't need the hassle of teabaggers attacking me for taking away their rights of eating shit.  "

Thank you for the helpful copy/paste, but I fear you missed the point. The implicit assumption that the question "Do You Think American Government Does Enough To Prevent Obesity?" makes is that a proposed solution would actually, you know, work. Yours will not. It makes very little sense to support a policy that will not be effective.
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ryanwho

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#96  Edited By ryanwho
@Daveyo520 said:
" @JJWeatherman said:
"@Daveyo520 said:

" @JJWeatherman said:

" I live up north where we sadly don't deep fry everything and put it on a stick. I want to move to the south. "

This guy makes a good point, most of the problems mentioned with all this comes from the South. That is where most of the bad Americans that other countries think about and hate live. Not all Americans are fat idiots that go watch NASCAR while doing everything Glen Beck tells them. You guys should be mad at the South not America as a whole, they are still mad that they lost a war 145 years ago. When anyone from another country says "I hate America(ns)", they really mean I hate the Southern U.S.. "
lol. It's so sad, yet true in many ways. No offense to anyone in the south. I know there are a good number of non-crazies down there too, just like there are a fair amount of crazies that have migrated up here. But seriously, a lot of things that one can knock America for, are common in the south. I have some family down there. I've heard the stories. "
Agreed. Sadly a lot of southerners can't be like Brad. "
Well you two are clearly ignorant bigots, so I guess you don't have to be from the south to taint America's image.
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#97  Edited By NoXious

According to that BMI website my weight is considered "normal" - that's all I care about. Guess I was raised properly, thanks mom and dad!

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#98  Edited By CptBedlam
@emkeighcameron said:

" The U.S. government has absolutely no right to "prevent" obesity in any way, shape, or form. That's an infringement on the freedoms of our people that cannot be allowed to happen.  If people want to be fat, disgusting sacks of failure, they should be allowed to. The feds cannot be given the authority to stop people from eating what they want, when they want, how they want. The government DOES NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS to our problems. "

What a bunch of BS.
 
You Americans are just ridiculously paranoid about anything that has to do with the goverment. It's almost like you are a third world country in this regard.
 
There's quite a few things the goverment can do WITHOUT taking away your freedom. 
For example have laws that make it mandatory for food producers to clearly label their products when it comes to health risks. And by clearly labeling I mean do it in a way that the average person can understand; not just have a small list of "E-xxx"'s on the back. The problem is that most consumers don't really know about the dangers of junk food, that the corporations want their consumers to become addicted to the stuff and stay uninformed about it etc. 
There are quite a few other measures the government could introduce to educate people better about the issue.
 
Instead you are the first country to have a Fat Pride movement. Congrats on that. The USA successfully ridiculed itself again.
 
edit: I'm aware that all this is "only" true for about half of America. Unfortunately they scream louder than the common sense people.
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#99  Edited By ryanwho
@CptBedlam: That bright idea of yours was in the healthcare bill so its law now. Food chains are mandated to share their neutrition info now, even though most of them do it now already anyway and it doesn't make a difference. Fucking idiot.
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#100  Edited By fwylo

I really don't think that a government should HAVE to watch obesity for its people.  Ridiculous how people think that they should rely on someone else to keep themselves healthy.