Obesity in America: How should we handle it?

College Confidential Community
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<p>Using the criteria for clinical obesity set by the Center for Disease Control, obesity is fast becoming one of our biggest health crises; surpassing smoking. While there are many proposals under way for combating it, it seems like removing soda from schools is not quite the best way of doing things. Should we treat obesity like we did smoking? Should we run a better public education campaign? What do you think is the most effective way of addressing the "obesity epidemic"?</p>

<p>Please note: This thread is intended to discuss <em>clinical obesity</em>, which can be determined by one's BMI. Please, let's try to discuss this in terms of health, and not superficial preferences.</p>

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<p>BMI is a joke. Let people make their own choices.</p>

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<p>I think the government has no place telling me or any other person what he/she can eat or drink, and conversely, should have no responsibility for the after effects. Smoking in public is one issue, because second-hand smoke can have harmful effects on bystanders, but there is no such thing as second-hand eating. Being near someone eating something fatty doesn't make bystanders fat as well. Because eating has no effect on anyone except the eater, the government has no business in it. This issue does, however, bring up questions about insurance and medicare and the like. If a person does this to himself/herself, can a person ask for benefits for related health issues? I'm not sure how to answer that question. I disagree with claims that eating is anything but the result of the eater's actions. I don't believe that McDonald's makes customers eat fatty foods or that advertising forces people to eat. I think it's personal choice and responsibility.</p>

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<p>Being near someone eating something fatty doesn't make bystanders fat as well. Because eating has no effect on anyone except the eater, the government has no business in it.</p>

<hr>

<p>how about its effect upon the family members of the person who decided that it was smart to eat themselves to death?</p>

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<p>Maybe we should sue McDonalds. A good idea!</p>

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<p>make abortion mandatory</p>

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<p>Things like banning fast food outlets and soda machines in schools are a good start.</p>

<p>Bing, governement (and the taxpayers) bear the cost of unhealthy eating. As well, the candy and fast food industry do target children and their advertising is effective.</p>

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<p>We shouldn't 'handle' it. Obesity is someone's choice, and if they are obese, tough **** for them.</p>

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<p>Sure, but what about when (as CalX points out) it drives up the insurance premiums of everyone else? At the very least, shouldn't more insurance plans offer incentives for ppl to lose weight?</p>

<p>neverborn, I only brought up BMI so that there was a specific, quantifiable criteria for obesity. There are alot of ppl who think that a size 8 is obese, etc. I just wanted to make it clear that it was a medical thing; and not the problem that many ppl, esp. women, feel exist on a superficial level.</p>

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<p>Arnold Schwarzenegger is obese according to BMI. </p>

<p>Insurance plans can do whatever they like. The government can not.</p>

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<p>Yea, I like the idea if insurance agencies offer plans and incentives for agencies. I do not like the idea of the government stepping in whatsoever with their blatant propaganda. As in the CDC and their fuc kup propaganda about the dangers of obesity. Hint: They downsized how many people die from obesity by 90% in 2004.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,155639,00.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,155639,00.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>The CDC has blatant propaganda about second-hand smoking too. I distrust most things the CDC says.</p>

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<p>If I recall correctly, didn't a 1998 WHO study find that risks of secondhand smoking are amazingly over hyped?</p>

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<p>Yes. The estimates of how many die from ETS(environmental tobacco smoke) are laughable. It is nearly impossible to prove it's ever happened. It's nearly impossible proving anything about ETS - including that it causes lung cancer. Many studies are now showing it does not. The CDC/EPA studies that indicted ETS about the 100,000 deaths a year used fraudulent data - garbage in, garbage out. This is likely why a judge threw out these studies saying they were unscientific and deceitful.</p>

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<p>OK, fine, but we're talking about the actual criteria for obesity here, not the reports released by the CDC, etc. Sure the Guvernator is obese according to BMI...I really just brought it up so that there was a clear quantifiable criteria. Since you seem to disagree with it so viscerally, why don't you come up posit a new criteria for clinical obesity, and move on?</p>

<p>And neverborn, what about when the cost of caring for the clinically obese drives up the cost of Medicaid and Medicare? Should the govt "do nothing" then, and permit taxpayers to bear the burden of their fellow citizens' irresponsible actions?</p>

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<p>Abolish Medicaid and Medicare. That wasn't hard at all.</p>

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<p>America is in a fast-food revolution. The industry is a marketing powerhouse, averaging billions. McDonald's, Starbucks, Burger King, they've become entrenched in the culture and, sadly, so has the problems that comes with fattening, unnutritious, high-calorie foods. </p>

<p>Obesity is an epidemic. It is not a only problem for those who are fat but for everyone. If it is not suppressed, it will cost Americans millions and millions of dollars in health care. Yes, you hear it. When people are obese, they develop diabetes and cancers. They have strokes and heart attacks. They become handicapped. They can't move. They can't work. They require disability checks, welfare, and citizens' taxes to be taken care of. When large populations of people get sick, there will go our parents' paychecks and taxes and, eventually, our's. Yah, it can be someone's choice, but our communities' pockets will suffer, too. </p>

<p>So, to answer the OP, certain steps that should be taken are: </p>

<p>1.) Students, starting in Pre-School, should have a period set aside for physical activity. I'm not talking about recess but structured classes by trained professionals to foster healthy exercise habits. In that period, physical activity should be supplemented with nutritional education, too. </p>

<p>2.) All fast-food shops should have nutritional labels that customers could find and read easily. I know that, according to FDA, all fast-food joints have nutrition labels that can be found on their websites. But, for the customer walking in or driving by, that information should be readily available, which I know for most places that is not the case. </p>

<p>3.) There should be a major community outreach campaign, starting at churches and jobs, where adults can have health groups that exercise once-a-week and talk about healthy alternatives to otherwise sedentary lifestyles.</p>

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<p>No. Abolish welfare and Medicare and Medicaid, like neverborn said. Along with disability and unemploment, along with mandatory food labels. Simply, end any sort of public benifits program for the obese.</p>

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<p>The only thing that can be done is to stop adversiting aimed at young children, remove advertising from schools (such as advertising in textbooks, lunch programs that feed kids fast food, coke machines on school campuses), and institude a public school health class (people need to know what a "calorie" is and how many they should consume at the very least)</p>

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<p>Simple: Stop the message of "every body is good." Our CULTURE used to prevent obesity, people who were fat were made fun of and, if they didn't have a medical problem, attempted to lose weight, or didn't become fat in the first place. Unfortunately, the message our culture sends now is that adults can tell people to lose weight, but kids can't, which gives many the perception that no one cares if they get fat.</p>