Sugar tax

[cashman]

Originally Posted by Mark2009

Uk Governments don't tend to ban items that they feel people shouldn't eat/drink/use/own etc, they tax them knowing that many of the people who purchase the item will continue to do so thus raising more funds for the exchequer.

As for the lazy fat slob generalisation and the many kids are stupid one, I cant say that these comments are true or untrue as I don't know the people involved. I suppose an obese person may be that way because they are unable to walk or have limited mobility and have therefore put on weight. I am not sure where "many kids are stupid" comes from, if the writer has decided this by looking at the news reports re offences committed etc, I bet I could find an equivalent number of "stupid adults". My opinion, as the other writers are expressing theirs.
Mark

Well look at it this way if yer aint sure, then either yer one yourself or yeh never go out and encounter some.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Mark, it is very easy to generalise because many people can see far better than they can think....and it is easy to point out what you think might be their problem...and that is that they eat too much.

In my daughter's case this is far from the truth.
Her problems are created by the drugs which she needs to control her pain and to stop her from being sick.
The very fact that all the fruit and vegetables create digestive disorder for her, but carbs do not....so her diet is unbalanced for reasons beyond her control.

She does not have a high sugar diet, eat sweets, biscuits or crisps....but people who look at her and make the judgement that she is a fat lazy slob are very wide of the mark.

Children are impressionable and because they have limited life experiences, they may make unwise choices.
The fact that many families do not cook, but rely on either ready meals or takeaways may have a bearing on the obesity problem.
So maybe we should make more effort to bring cookery classes for all children....starting in primary school.
As I said in a previous post, the one size fits all solution rarely works....and rather than denying those who can control their appetites, maybe we should be looking at different solutions....not giving so many licences for takeaway businesses might be a good start.

By all means limit the amount of sugar in drinks....making them less sweet might help to re-educate palates.
Many of the sweeteners used still create surges in blood sugar and so then you get a dip which makes the body crave a sugar hit.
The only one that does not have this effect(to my knowledge) is Stevia....which is replacing some of the ones that could have health implications.

[dotti34]

I totally agree with you Margaret about good home-cooked meals as against those ready-made ones. If the word obesity had been used when I was a child growing up, when meals were prepared from scratch at home, I reckon people would have had to look it up in the dictionary to find out what it meant. Fast food would have referred to eating what was on your plate quickly on the odd chance there were any leftovers to share.

Life can be very cruel and I feel so sorry for your daughter and condemn those of the public who make judgements on others without knowing the facts – although it’s got absolutely nothing to do with them anyway even if they did know.

I do cringe, however, when I see very obese adults feeding their faces with double helpings of fatty and/or sugary food and drink and giving their children the same, knowing how their own obesity interferes with their standard of living and the problems they encounter through it. Not my business of course what they do with their own bodies, but personally I think it is a form of child abuse when they bring up their children in the same way. Certainly not good parenting.

[monkey hanger]

[QUOTE=Margaret Pilkingto...not giving so many licences for takeaway businesses might be a good start.


could not agree more. every other day we get a menu shoved through the door for some pizza or burger joint. where i live in keighley which is similar to accrington in size we have over 30 of these places plus chippies. so many that i know a lass who does not have a cooker but a microwave only . her and her partner do work but a night job and just eat takeaways all the time. god help their kids if they ever have one.

[Less]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

As for the 'lazy fat slob' in the wheelchair or mobility scooter....well, I am reluctant to judge because it is a huge generalisation...and it could just be wrong.

The following quote:-

Originally Posted by Less

Ah yes, but we've progressed, the lazy fat slob is no longer the lazy fat slob

Was not a generalisation against all the obese people in the world, the majority, just as bad backs are genuine medical problems, it was a direct observation about fat lazy slobs.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I took your point Less, but it still sounds like a 'value judgement' to me.
Without knowing those that you consider to be 'lazy fat slobs' you cannot make that comment/observation without it being a generalisation.

Food is not unhealthy unless you over indulge in it.
I think we must also feel cynical about the experts as these are the ones which helped create the current situation by telling us that certain foods are bad for us...They have been proved wrong.

I also wonder about the chemical additives that have found their way into foods over the years.
Maybe they have some kind of depressing effect on the bodys' appestat (that is the mechanism which tells you to stop eating because you are full)....or maybe there are some environmental factors which have affected the appestat.

Another undeniable factor is that children do not 'play out' from sun up to sun down....they do not play skipping games, they do not play hop scotch or Tag....all the busy active pursuits that punctuated our childhoods.
Instead they are in their rooms holding onto media consoles....burning out their brains but burning no calories.

So Less, I agree with you...I want authorities to stop meddling in my ability to make choices...after all, I didn't get to be an irascible old bird without being able to look after myself.

[Less]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I took your point Less, but it still sounds like a 'value judgement' to me.
Without knowing those that you consider to be 'lazy fat slobs' you cannot make that comment/observation without it being a generalisation.

How is it a generalisation? It is aimed at exactly the people mentioned and they need no defence (they know who they are), also because it isn't aimed at the genuine medically obese they do need defending because they aren't mentioned in the observation.

The 'lazy fat slobs' are exactly that.

[boxermum]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Less, I agree with much of your observations.
I think that we are all old enough to make the choices for ourselves...and if those choices are good one our children usually follow the pattern that we have created.
Personally, I resent the government and the experts who fail to give me the credit for being able to regulate my appetite.

And who is to say that in the not too distant future someone will come up with the idea that is an environmental factor that has cause the obesity crisis....that and an increasing sedentary lifestyle....where much work is not a physical as it was years ago.

As for the 'lazy fat slob' in the wheelchair or mobility scooter....well, I am reluctant to judge because it is a huge generalisation...and it could just be wrong.

My daughter has had a healthy diet all of her life...for much of it she was semi vegetarian...she was active, played sports, walked her dogs... went out to work...then she was struck down with bowel cancer.
The drugs which killed of the cancer have affected her very badly.

She is now seriously disabled and is reluctant to leave her home because she knows that people who do not know of her struggle with ill health will level that criticism at her...without knowing the true reasons.
She can no longer eat the salads she loved, the broccoli, the kale...you know..all that healthy stuff.
She stuggles now to walk...can only eat certain foods that do not irritate her stoma...and of course she has put a lot of weight on...this despite the fact that she eats very little.Not cakes, not biscuits, not sweet stuff.

So before you make the 'lazy fat slob' judgement, give a thought to those who are obese because of the drugs they must take to keep them alive

Margaret,I agree wholeheartedly with what you say.There maybe some folk who use mobility scooters because it's easier than walking but MANY people have no choice,if they wish to be out and about.I say to people who complain when I'm on my scooter," YOU take my health problems and see how you cope".

[monkey hanger]

[QUOTE=Margaret Pilkington;1214768]

Another undeniable factor is that children do not 'play out' from sun up to sun down....they do not play skipping games, they do not play hop scotch or Tag....all the busy active pursuits that punctuated our childhoods.
Instead they are in their rooms holding onto media consoles....burning out their brains but burning no calories.

not sure if its the kids who do not want to play out or the parents that stop em and prefer em to be indoors. there seems a fear of there being child molesters lurking on every corner and its rare to see even groups of 10 year ols going to school on their own without parents being with em.

[Margaret Pilkington]

The children have not been brought up to 'play out' for many years.
I suspect that parents have a lot to do with this...and yes, they do fear child molesters.
There are other pressures too....drug dealers target even very young children...and you do not want children to be exposed to such dangers.
I can really understand the fears that parents have and I am thankful that I grew up when I did....playing street games....running round, climbing trees.
Children of today have missed out, but they do not know they have missed out.
How sad!

[monkey hanger]

[QUOTE=Margaret Pilkington;1214781]The children have not been brought up to 'play out' for many years.
I am thankful that I grew up when I did....playing street games....running round, climbing trees.

plus still a few old bomb sites around for me as well. wonder what the health and safety geeks would have thought about that. hope you wore your high vis jacket when playing out plus your hard hat when tree climbing.

[Less]

Originally Posted by boxermum

Margaret,I agree wholeheartedly with what you say.There maybe some folk who use mobility scooters because it's easier than walking but MANY people have no choice,if they wish to be out and about.I say to people who complain when I'm on my scooter," YOU take my health problems and see how you cope".

No problem with the many people that have no choice, being out and about my problem is and I must confess it's getting a little tiring repeating this, the 'lazy fat slobs' that use them without caring about the people they are willing to inconvenience, just the other day I nearly got mowed down by a prime example of this,
I was walking along a narrow footpath some 30 stoner in track suit heading towards me at max speed ignoring all around her as she unwrapped her emergency mars bar, what am I supposed to do to avoid her?

Jump into the road in front of the cars or shout to draw her attention?

I shouted, she cursed and carried on unwrapping her much needed snack at full pelt, there was just enough room to squeeze myself against the wall and avoid the two choices of being run over, her or a car.

[dotti34]

Less I know what you mean. I feel very sorry for the people that can’t get around under their own steam through medical problems and I have a couple of friends in that category. However, some of the owners of mobility scooters seem to think they have the right of way wherever they are, footpath, shopping centre, etc., etc., and woe betide anyone who gets in their way.

I have often stepped out of the way to let them pass and very seldom have I had a ‘thank you’, even from older people – you know, the ones who condemn the young people for their lack of manners.

[pifco]

It's a pity that Stocks or Stantons don't go round every week selling the stone flagons of sassparilla and dandelion & burdock etc. I'm sure that there was all that much suger in them. Although I do remember as a child drinking almost half a flagon in 1 go and it nearly blow my navel off.

[monkey hanger]

[QUOTE=Less;1214787]No problem with the many people that have no choice, being out and about my problem is and I must confess it's getting a little tiring repeating this, the 'lazy fat slobs' that use them without caring about the people they are willing to inconvenience, just the other day I nearly got mowed down by a prime example of this,

i have had similar problems too with the so called mobility scooter brigade. the thing is in my experiance is a lot of people with mobility problems do not use these things but stick to wheelchairs as they feel there is a stigma now attached to these things. they are a very good idea which have been taken over somewhat by the lazy fat brigade. when i lived in hemsby norfolk one of the amusement arcades were actually loaning the things out to all and sundry. mind you in summer the place is ocupied by many who would throw the salad out of their numerous burgers feer they lost weight.