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How to End The Obesity Epidemic

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How to End The Obesity Epidemic Empty How to End The Obesity Epidemic

Post  Church1ll Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:13 pm

There are a few very simple and logical ways to end what is now a major problem in this country: obesity. Before I get into some solutions, I'm going to point out that I am very aware of the very low cost of fast food which in turn leads to a much higher consumption by the lower class and the convenience of a quick and cheap meal fast food provides. Now for my main topic, in which I'll divide into two categories:

Childhood obesity:
This one really has no excuse. Children should never become obese, no matter the circumstance. Class doesn't even factor in to this one for several reasons. One, children have enough energy to run around the house ten times full speed and not get tired (maybe a little out of breath, but that's normal and fades quickly). I know this not because I've seen it, but because if some kid can stay up 24 hours playing a video game, they can definitely pull off the former stunt. Two, schools teach (or at least should) physical education aka gym. Gym is the one and only class where you literally do nothing but move and get graded for doing so. If some little bastard doesn't want to move, grab a rubber ball and peg his or her ass to get them moving. I have seen that one, so I know it works. Don't say "well that's illegal" because, even though I know it is, it's going to help the kid realize sooner that you don't always get to do whatever you feel like doing (school is a prime example of that in general) and will keep the kid from jiggling like a San Andreas Jell-O factory. Three, parents should be watching what their kids stuff down their throats. This goes for babysitters too. If some little munchkin starts crying like a baby because he/she can't finish off the double-stuff Oreos, then either explain to him/her why he/she can't eat them all. Or just smack him/her upside the head, because that tended to work on me when I was younger. Four, parents should have strict guidelines for when to be outside and when to be inside. Now, onto my solutions even though I pretty much just summed them up anyway.
  • Try to feed kids healthy food. Anything containing chocolate, is coated in sugar, or is deep-fried is not healthy nor is it a real meal. Dessert is fine and good, so long as it is something small. A huge bowl of ice cream topped with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, jimmies, and chocolate chunks is not "small." As previously mentioned, if the kid cries like a little baby, do something to show you are the boss.
  • Keep the kid occupied outdoors. That means have them shoot hoops, play tag, water gun fights, baseball, pickle (aka "run-the-bases"), wallball, football, hockey, whatever. Sitting in a lawn chair playing Game Boy doesn't count. An easy example is something I grew up with: between 10 AM and 7 PM, no sitting around watching TV, playing video games, computer, etc. It's either outside running around, or inside doing chores and homework. The only exceptions were when it rained or when winter came around, in which case the outdoors time-frame was 10 AM to 5 PM, and obviously school.
  • This one applies to schools: quit being pressured by moronic parents, and tell your phys. ed. teachers to not let students skip class because of a "sore thumb" or "staying up late." Parents are trying to be escape artists for their kids because they are morons with no sense of authority. Also, cut the exclusive deals with soda companies and fast food. In other words, pull that crap out of the schools. Serve water, juices (no sugar added), and sports drinks if you need drinks. Sports drinks aren't great either, but they're much better than soda.
  • Fund the schools! Don't deny schools funding because the government refuses to pay for their own educational programs. Don't want your taxes to increase? Then turn down bullshit programs like yearly road-repairs rather than school funding. If you truly care about your children, then you will fund the schools they attend. You have to pay for them regardless, so if you are a rich family sending all your lovely perfect children to private schools, spend a little extra so the public schools do well too. You have the extra cash, use it! And for all you old people or those of you without children who laugh at the idea of paying for education, remember that when you were kids or when you had kids going through school you wanted the best for them/yourself.
  • Make physical education, home-ec, and health classes mandatory in high schools. Phys. ed. should be mandatory for four years. It's an easy A and at least gets you doing something during the school day. Walking the halls five minutes every 50 minutes doesn't count as exercise. Home-ec actually teaches you something other than sewing, people. It shows you how to actually make a meal that isn't pure crap. Health, while very repetitive, at least tries to drill into thick-sculled idiots what is and isn't healthy. I'm willing to bet money there's at least enough students to fill a large college campus that think ketchup is a food group because they have no idea what the food groups are.

Adult obesity:
This one is at least marginally more acceptable, but to a fault. Stress, having kids, and a physically and mentally draining job can all contribute to obesity. Now apparently genetics is a factor too, which I guess makes sense as there are people who exercise and eat right but still get mistaken for toll booths. The class factor is also more acceptable, but you are never too poor to leave the cardboard box and go for a 10-minute jog. So here are my solutions to adult obesity:
  • Like kids, watch what you eat. Yea, fast food is cheaper, pre-made, and all that good stuff but it's also terribly for you. Once in awhile is alright, but having it as a daily meal is taking a risk. Bread and fruit are pretty cheap too and won't kill you if you eat it constantly.
  • Take a jog. Everyone has 10 minutes to kill at some point during the day. Use it wisely.
  • While I am usually against this, surgery is usually an option for you lazy schmucks out there. Especially you rich lazy schmucks.
  • Have sex. Lots and lots and lots of it. It'll burn fat faster than most fatasses eat cake. That's really freakin' fast.

Ok I'm done here. Add if you like, correct stuff, you know the drill.
Church1ll
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How to End The Obesity Epidemic Empty Bring back gym!

Post  ExoticWhiteMan Mon Jul 07, 2008 7:29 pm

Schools can definitely do more to help this situation. Our gym classes were definitely too lax, and not much of the stuff we did was strenuous at all. If someone wanted, they wouldn't have to try much at all, and then taking away two months for health class probably took away most physical activity for some people. What really sucked was that the school proposed cutting cradle rock/wouldn't pay $1000 for the bell. (As a side note, according to Mr. Smith, our board wasted over $50,000 on a central dvd playing system for all tv's, which didn't work and got scrapped).

So, besides our board being run by morons, I would propose some sort of extra curricular requirement. I mean, we can't count on parents to get their kids off the couch to exercise, so why not require them to play some sort of sport? Maybe make it a class/graduation requirement that all students pass some sort of sport, marching band included. It's not like kids have jobs and can't afford to participate in something. Last time I checked, our school had plenty of sports to choose from, and while requiring students to play a sport sounds over-reaching, the results would definitely help them a lot.
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Post  PokerFace Tue Nov 04, 2008 11:37 am

I guess you can say that this comes as an addition to everything that has been brought up here, but I think that with all of the new technology and all of the other options, I think non-athletic kids should be given an option as well.

By non-athletic I don't mean the kinds of kids that just sit around and do nothing all day, don't get me wrong. I was having a conversation about this with one of my friends the other day. He's hardly overweight, fit as a fiddle, and always looking to improve on his health--but he's just not into sports. Nor does he consider himself particularly skilled. I think that if you want kids to get out there and stay active you also need to provide them with alternatives that they like and care about, even if those options don't include sports. It's common knowledge that if you enjoy something, you will keep up with it and keep doing it.

In addition to making sports a more available option to children, I think that other options should be made available as well. I know that there are a lot of girls out there that don't give a crap about stereotypical sports, but they are active due to other activities, like dance or gymnastics.

Similarly, with all of the new technology going around, like Wii fit (never used it) or just the people running all over DDR machines and dance pads...schools could tap into these outlets for children and maybe make them available for use during after school programs or something like that. It's just a thought.

With the obesity epidemic reaching its peaks in our day, the generations before us have realized their mistake and not passing along to the younger generations the idea of good eating habits and keeping active. Although I have presented a lot of arguments here, I still have to give it to them that they're starting to make a pretty good turnaround. It's slow and things aren't changing right away, but things cannot be expected to change immediately. I think that if things continue the way they are now and many improvements, like those suggested here by others, were taken into consideration, a healthier America will emerge in years to come.

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Post  Church1ll Tue Nov 04, 2008 5:31 pm

Wow I can't believe I forgot about the kids that play DDR. Yeah, you are right in that not every kid likes sports, but really many games can technically be called sports even if they aren't considered them on the "professional" level. As for newer things like Wii Fit, I am very glad gaming companies are finally beginning to utilize more of the human body than just the thumbs and fingers. Naturally, not everyone is going to play sports of any kind or touch those exercise-oriented video games, and to that all it takes is going for a bike ride to a friend's house or taking a walk through the woods, along a beach, or whatever. The only ones that I can really say can't help being obese (overweight isn't nearly as bad, as it's more of a warning now that I think of it) are the ones that have that odd gene that causes it. Not that those people still shouldn't go out and get some amount of exercise, just that they shouldn't be discouraged by not losing the weight just because their bodies have poor metabolism.

If that made any sense.
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