Posted on 05/08/2012 11:52:13 AM PDT by EBH
America's obesity epidemic is so deeply rooted that it will take dramatic and systemic measures - from overhauling farm policies and zoning laws to, possibly, introducing a soda tax - to fix it, the influential Institute of Medicine said on Tuesday.
In an ambitious 478-page report, the IOM refutes the idea that obesity is largely the result of a lack of willpower on the part of individuals. Instead, it embraces policy proposals that have met with stiff resistance from the food industry and lawmakers, arguing that multiple strategies will be needed to make the U.S. environment less "obesogenic."
The IOM, part of the Washington-based National Academies, offers advice to the government and others on health issues. Its report was released at the Weight of the Nation conference, a three-day meeting hosted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cable channel HBO will air a documentary of the same name next week.
"People have heard the advice to eat less and move more for years, and during that time a large number of Americans have become obese," IOM committee member Shiriki Kumanyika of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine told Reuters. "That advice will never be out of date. But when you see the increase in obesity you ask, what changed? And the answer is, the environment. The average person cannot maintain a healthy weight in this obesity-promoting environment."
Shortly after the report was released, the Center for Consumer Freedom, which is funded by restaurant, food and other industries, condemned the IOM as joining forces with the nation's "food nannies."
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
The FFA (Future Farmers of America) actively encourages the youth to aim to work for Monsanto - site visits, the works. Gotta love that.
Can we get GMO labelling laws -- seriously, it's just information and words added to a label, but we can't get that done. Instead, set up life control rules for the populace, eh?
I want the FREEDOM to say no to The Twinkie, or to say yes to The Twinkie. The Food Modernization and Safety Act, anyone? That's already been passed, by the way.
Yamamoto, if he would have thought about it for a few minutes more, could've added to his famous quote about Americans and their tools behind every blade of grass -- that Americans would trade those tools for food if they were left with only grass to eat. You don't think Ayers et al. have thought about this?
We’ve heavily subsidized corn since the 70’s, which wouldn’t make money without government assistance. That corn is used to make corn fructose (a form of sugar), which is nearly in everything...SO YES, this has to be addressed.
To act like there is no problem and that it’s all personal chose is silly. But I’m not for extra taxes....I’m just against government funds pushing bad food.
If you think this whole effort is about 'obesity' (or 'global warming is about 'global warming') think again.
Saying this is 'unbelievable' just does not touch the insanity; the sickness for power over another; these people have. It is 'their life' and they cannot be happy (not that they EVER are) unless they can claim yours.
Liberalism is worse than a killer epidemic; and should be treated as one.
If Repubs started distinguishing themselves from these sicko policies; they could win any election; and in a heartbeat.
You nailed it...
Too complicated. :)
I don’t see your point. It really is no more complicated than ConservaTexan says. If you consume less calories than your body burns, your weight will go down - period. If you consume more calories than your body burns, your weight will go up. I laugh at all the people that come up with these elaborate schemes to mix this and that in some combination of fat grams, protein grams, carbs etc. I am not talking about health, just the caloric principles.
Some interesting recommendations in there.
Nanny State PING!
“Personal blame.” Nice.
The intended shift, of course, is from personal responsibility to government control. I wonder if any liberals will experience a dim sense of uneasiness when Big Sister tells them what they can and can’t have for breakfast.
Well someone has to replace the tax on tobacco as more and more people quit the habit.
Who is going to pay for all the children’s programs that tobacco taxes were supposed to fund?
NC has a soda tax too.
Regular sucrose sugar, which corn syrup largely replaced, is itself pricey because of other politics... it doesn’t really cost that awfully much to produce.
Some people consider HFCS a creation of Satan, others are more moderate in their views. The few times I have been able to compare a sugar version with an HFCS version of the same soft drink, the sugar one seemed more satisfying, less likely to leave me wanting more and more and more.
Thanks for the ping!
If there is no peer pressure to be normally thinner, being fat becomes acceptable on a broader scale.
Keep in mind that anyone who has been carrying those extra pounds will have very well developed leg muscles, and even if they slim down will still likely BMI out as 'overweight', even if they reduce their body fat to Auschwitz levels.
I’m an MD. Do you really want to argue metabolism and physiology with me?
Learn what you’re talking about before you spout off.
I cut out the wheat and some other things, and have lost 15 pounds so far.
SOP for the government beast system. It's not the healthy who clamour for Obamacare, but the sick.
Look how government has poisoned the minds of generations of school children. The assault on critical thinking skills has worked its magic... many perceive congresscritters and presidents as messiahs.
With a populace eagerly running to catch the gravy train, knowing no sense of alarm over big government, government is going full-force to poison and cripple physical bodies. That's what happens when people allow the beast system to feed the children and play sugardaddy.
If the "nice man" offering candy or asking for help in looking for his lost puppy is a classic stranger danger run-the-other-way-stat example, how much moreso the kindly but malevolent strangers in government.
Biochemist here. Yes, I am prepared to argue with you. Answer this simple question: Does metabolism affect the calories burned? If yes, then my statement is valid. If no, you live on a different planet than I.
From around age ten until I finished high school I walked an average of at least ten hours everyday six days a week of every summer plus enormous amounts of walking during the school year. I am a few days away from my 68th birthday and weigh about 255 today without clothing weight included. I am six four and according to the BMI I am “OBESE”. Strangely though people ask me how I look so fit and trim at my age. Most don’t believe I weigh anywhere near what I do unless they see me step on a scale. Body mass index is just numbers, it tells you nothing about body fat percentage. Some, like me, are muscular while some who have a much lower BMI are “skinny, fat men”. Some men are skinny everywhere except for their distended bellies. I have a fourteen inch “drop” between my coat size and my pants waist size. Some who have the same BMI have a waist fourteen inches larger than their chests. Five years ago I had a smaller chest measurement with far more fat and a waist size about six inches larger than what I have now. Five years of regular exercise and a few minor diet changes have made a big difference in how I look with very little change in my weight.
“America’s obesity epidemic is so deeply rooted..”
the planting was the change in measuring obesity. When the standards were changed, then we created an epidimic that “requires government dictates of behaviours.”
You two are funny.
Yes calories matter, but so does nutrition and how the body is able to use those calories for the most efficient burn and overall health of the metabolic system.
Not a Dr., Not a biochemist...just the neighborhood dogwalker who is hired to walk and exercise fat dogs for lazy people.
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