No. 41: Fat, Salt and Sugar...
July 16th 2009 04:04
Where Is The Food?
Back when I was growing up in the early 1950’s, even a child, just a bit overweight, was criticized by schoolmates and left on the sidelines for most activities. He or she was the last one selected for team sports, and the last one chosen as a dance partner. These children were often shunned. Most of the time, they were left sitting alone. Some of them developed normally, while some never got over how others treated them. Once in a great while, one of them would revolt and become a formidable opponent (due to size), if angered too much. Over fifty years have passed while things have only gotten worse by the degree of weight gain, and by the population statistics.
As I walk around town, in the local businesses and malls, I am saddened to see so many more overweight people. No one can deny that this condition is a growing concern. Various studies have shown Florida behind many other states, when looking at the severity of the malady. We have all read and seen the reports. Obesity is not just a U.S. problem, but the whole developing world is perplexed by it and the problem is growing. For example, the BBC recently stated that by 2050 almost all people in the British Isles would be overweight.
So we ask why are more people growing fatter, when we should be learning more about caring for ourselves? After all, we cannot always pass this off as a thyroid condition. Many people just plain eat too much! But, even this does not explain it all. I believe that Fat, Salt and Sugar are the main culprits.
There is plenty of blame to go around. It is not just the fast-food industry (and their advertisers), that are at fault. They play a prominent role, but take a look at the products offered in the typical convenience store: Chips, candies, beers, fatty meats, sodas, etc. Along with cigarettes, these are their main sales items. They would cease to exist without them.
The economically disadvantaged are forced to shop nearer their own homes due to transportation issues and costs. Not just the convenience stores are to blame either. Upon checking the aisles of a discount grocery, one finds their lower-priced canned goods often contain more salt than exists in costlier products and venues. Chips, sodas, white flour products (cakes, pies, doughnuts), are more prominently displayed, and lesser quality foods are offered to those who can least afford them. Many businesses began long before we knew enough about healthier habits. Changing their operational structures and products now might cause them to bankrupt
How can we solve the problem of mass obesity? We need not ask the stores or fast food outlets to change their ways. Freedom-loving people will not demand action from the government either. So each of us must gain serious control of our own bodies. We must learn to deny our desires and push back from the table and often just walk away from the dessert table--not all of the time, of course, but more often. We must stop feeling a sense of being dared by others when we are near food.
Maybe we should be looking for books, magazine articles, and Internet sites that promote good healthful living more often. Could we follow up by making an honest effort at applying their advice? In addition to nutritional oversight, all of us should be EXERCISING MORE, to the best of our abilities, but once again, while using common sense.
These bodies, housing our spirits, are built to last, but they can, and will, break down if we do not put the right ingredients—in the right portions--inside them.
No one should feel at liberty to criticize, lampoon or shun another over obesity. There are simply too many traps to snare anyone. Some overweight people punish themselves and get no encouragement from others. Let us look at the problem and not the person.
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Some have wondered why I have not posted for over 50 days. You see, our mother had been languishing in a fine nursing home for several months. She was eating less and less until she would not eat at all. She starved herself to death! As I watched this dear woman wither away, it made me more aware of how important proper eating habits are to each of us. As a reminder--Eating too little is as bad as eating too much. I just felt like writing something about eating habits.
We not only lost David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and others, but I lost my mother and a cousin within the past month. Countless others have lost more, so no sympathy is elicited. I hope this helps to explain the delay, though.
Please keep it between the lines.
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
I was a very large child. Not fat, just huge. I quit growing at 11 (5'6" tall and 120 lbs.) Everyone thought they had to "take" me in order to look good. I basically retired, undefeated, in spite of them all.
I have both friends and relatives who struggle with their weight. Some of them eat too much and some exercise too little. Some have both problems. And some can't seem to change things no matter what they do. I try to offer encouragement, but not criticism.
It's hard to be over-sized, regardless of the dimensions!
I'm not blogging on Orble anymore, just commenting for my friends. Come visit me at the new one Really Long Link