The Nanny State and Obesity
This is a topic I can talk with a little authority on, as I have lost 3 stone this year and am on my way to getting rid of the 4th.
It is easy to find out how to lose weight, dead easy, the information is there for everyone if they want it. So the Government laying it on thick will not help, nor will free weight watchers guarantee results (although I am not against GP surgeries running more sensible clinics to help people based on calorie counting and good nutrition), I would go so far as to say that free access to any weight loss system that uses simplistic ways of getting around calorie counting will lead to an increase in yo-yo dieting - which in itself is unhealthy.
The key to losing weight is finding the motivation to do it, and I mean really finding the motivation. The Government telling overweight people to lose weight will have the opposite effect, it will simply make thousands of overweight people feel worse about themselves. There is an issue about education and teaching children to live healthily, one of Jamie Oliver's achievements.
The Government need to lay off (apart from some very tactful education) and let GPs, who know their patients, manage this situation. But this needs to be based on finding personal reasons to lose weight that will tick the right boxes for the right people. Government simply cannot do that.
I can tell you my motivation was:
a. The challenge of the Great North Run (achieved)
b. Being sick of seeing a fat bloke every time I looked in the mirror (very nearly there)
c. A desire to manage my blood pressure and get of the tablets (now on the weakest strength tablets)
But they are personal. If anyone disagrees with my comments, please tell me how Government can know what rocks my personal boat.
I would like to add that whilst this is written from my own perspective, I have been in touch (through www.weightlossresources.co.uk, I can't say enough good things about this site) with loads of people that have lost weight (some far more than me) and they will mostly say the same thing, that it is a very personal decision, based on personal reasons and the process starts in anger when something triggers inside.
I would also like to add that the Government's traffic light system for measuring healthy food is flawed. Fats are not all bad and not all high fat foods are bad, in fact an element of the right sort of fat in a balanced diet is vital. They have devised a simplistic system that provides distorted information (I'm sure we have heard that before). Tesco should be applauded for standing up for themselves and continuing to use their own system that recognises the difference between normal and saturated fat.
It is easy to find out how to lose weight, dead easy, the information is there for everyone if they want it. So the Government laying it on thick will not help, nor will free weight watchers guarantee results (although I am not against GP surgeries running more sensible clinics to help people based on calorie counting and good nutrition), I would go so far as to say that free access to any weight loss system that uses simplistic ways of getting around calorie counting will lead to an increase in yo-yo dieting - which in itself is unhealthy.
The key to losing weight is finding the motivation to do it, and I mean really finding the motivation. The Government telling overweight people to lose weight will have the opposite effect, it will simply make thousands of overweight people feel worse about themselves. There is an issue about education and teaching children to live healthily, one of Jamie Oliver's achievements.
The Government need to lay off (apart from some very tactful education) and let GPs, who know their patients, manage this situation. But this needs to be based on finding personal reasons to lose weight that will tick the right boxes for the right people. Government simply cannot do that.
I can tell you my motivation was:
a. The challenge of the Great North Run (achieved)
b. Being sick of seeing a fat bloke every time I looked in the mirror (very nearly there)
c. A desire to manage my blood pressure and get of the tablets (now on the weakest strength tablets)
But they are personal. If anyone disagrees with my comments, please tell me how Government can know what rocks my personal boat.
I would like to add that whilst this is written from my own perspective, I have been in touch (through www.weightlossresources.co.uk, I can't say enough good things about this site) with loads of people that have lost weight (some far more than me) and they will mostly say the same thing, that it is a very personal decision, based on personal reasons and the process starts in anger when something triggers inside.
I would also like to add that the Government's traffic light system for measuring healthy food is flawed. Fats are not all bad and not all high fat foods are bad, in fact an element of the right sort of fat in a balanced diet is vital. They have devised a simplistic system that provides distorted information (I'm sure we have heard that before). Tesco should be applauded for standing up for themselves and continuing to use their own system that recognises the difference between normal and saturated fat.
posted by Martin Curtis at 8:42 AM
1 Comments:
Well done you!
I am sure you are right about having to be determined to lose the weight in the first place, but another factor is surely the amount of money available in the household to be spent on food in the first place?
It is not unknown for mothers to share a packet of chocolate biscuits with their children for tea. The reason? They can afford a 24p packet of biscuits but cannot afford a £1-30 bunch of bananas.
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