Obesity on the rise in Canada

[Gordon J Torture]

I blame video games and computers. I still love playing hockey and soccer, and I bike all the time. But now when I see kids, there are alot of fat ones

I don't think that is the problem at all. Video games were around when I was a kid, and I loved them but I also spent allot of time outside. One's life as a child has a huge impact on his life as an adult.


I think the main problem is "politically correct" conformity ... Yes, believe it or not the PC ridiculousness we have been forced to conform to has eliminated all creativity and originality in the parents of our children while it inadvertently encourages indolence. For example, a parent might walk his/her child to school everyday, to notice everyone else drives (especially in the winter), feeling out of place, (and god forbid being out of place these days), the parent starts driving their child to school everyday. Some people live across the street from the school and still drive, so it's not about lack of time either. The PC ridiculousness has caused these people to fear being different. Personally, I walk my 6 year old daughter to school all the time. This winter I got looks like I was absolutely INSANE from dozens of fat lazy parents sitting in their SUV's waiting for school to start. They convince themselves it is to protect their child from the cold, but I know damn well it is really because they are afraid to stand out. . People are afraid to stand out from the rest of the crowd because of the conformity PC ridiculousness has brought upon us. Subconsciously they think "Hmm is it bad now to walk my kid to school? .. noone else is doing it ... I better not"

Hell, I don't think I ever got a drive to school as a child, through rain or snow, I always walked. Lack of "time" has nothing to do with it, its a lame excuse.

When I was a child, my father taught me that walking to school was an act of "toughness" or "manliness", especially in the winter. I would feel ashamed to except a drive. The PC attitude has forbidden such a way of thinking and influence. "Toughness" is now considered a bad thing, and wrong to teach a child. Instead we are supposed to teach them to conform, to rely on machines and laws, and to never solve problems themselves, (especially physically). This is why children are fat and why they grow into fat lazy adults. It's because they were raised as wimps by politically correct wimps.

 

[hairball]

We are eating way too much esp in winter. I save half my burger subway steak for 3-4 hours later or the next meal. But satisfy my hunger by generous helping of fruits nuts salad and boiled veg.

 

[Gordon J Torture]

We are eating way too much esp in winter

I eat more in the summer. I think most people do (with the exception of those who actually watch their weight for "beach time")

Think about all the summer BBQ's and beer and such as well ...

The only the thing is, most people are much more active in the summer than they are in the winter. Why? .. because they are WIMPS that can't handle the cold!

Damnit people this is Canada, grow some nads!

 

[TenPenny]

Obesity has two causes: eating too much, and not enough activity.

Food portions are way too big, and people eat very poorly. I find that restaurant portions are double what I want to eat. There is nothing wrong with junk food, occaisionally, but not all the time. A friend who is a dental hygienist sees kids who drink 2-4L of pop, every single day. Tell me that's healthy.

Too many people are lazy, and that causes lazy kids. How many people know the current plot lines of all the stupid reality shows? How many people know what time the sun sets each night?

We are fortunate in that our kids get a lot of outdoor activity, even at the after school sitter. They are outdoors playing every day, unless it's pouring or -35C. Yes, they get to play videogames and such, but they're outside on bikes and playing all the time. None of the kids at this sitter's are overweight; they're all too busy.

 

[Gordon J Torture]

I find that restaurant portions are double what I want to eat.

Not me, I stopped going to resturants a long time ago because the servings don't even warm me up.

 

[Steve French]

RE: Obesity on the rise i

//I don't think I ever got a drive to school as a child, through rain or snow, I always walked.

Me too. In fact, I couldn't recall ANY fat kids when I was in school - thought it might be just faulty memory, but nope. Even looked in my high school yearbook. There was one fat kid in my high school of 5 thousand, circa 1972.

Mostly it's due to our poor NAmerican diet. We eat far too much fat and meat for our digestive system which has evolved to deal with fat as scarcity (storage).
I have no problems maintaining my weight @ 50 years old....but look around at others my own age and ...yechh!
They're ALL fat slobs with monster beer guts and huge double-wide arses on the women. We actually have obese POOR people in our culture, which has likely never happened before in all human history.
Just lookit all the fatties scarfing down burgers for lunch....

 

[WildKat]

And guess which is the fattest city?

MINE!

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1027387993781_22797193?s_name=&no_ads=

What it fails to mention is the high concentration of Tim Horton's donut shops we have here. Haha.

 

[missile]

I just tallied up the number of Tim Horton's here ..22 listed in the phone book[including one at The Regional Hospital].I'm fairly certain there's a MacDonald's there,too.

 

[TenPenny]

You can't blame tv and video games. You have to look at why kids are brought up to sit on their asses. It's because their parents do. Everybody would much rather sit on their couches than do anything active. Look at all the media hype over crap like "Canadian Idol".

Stop watching poorly talented idiots competing for fame, and go for a walk. What the hell is wrong with you?

And by the way, according to some US sources, we aren't supposed to use the word "obese," even though it is a medically defined term. It might hurt someone's feelings.

 

[Nascar_James]

It is too bad that many of today's generation of young kids are not involved in physical activity.

There are many activites that kids can partake in that will keep them healthy. When in high school, have them sign up for the football team, wrestling team, track team, whatever is available.

Even outside the school, there are many good physical activites that younger kids can sign up for. These include judo, boxing, karate, jui-jitsu....etc). Activities of this nature promote overall well being, including a healthy cardiovascular system.

 

[Canucklehead]

RE: Obesity on the rise i

Missile,

Here in London there are 64 Tim's, that translates into one Tim's for every 5100 or so people. It'd probably work out to a coffee shop for every 3000 - 3500 if we include the others like Donut Cafe, Second Cup, Starbucks and the indies.

I know at one time back in the early 90's ( ?91? ) London had the most coffee shops per capita in the country, sad but true.

 

[Jo Canadian]

 

[bhoour]

In my eyes it boiils down to COMPLETE laziness. It's all about INSTANT GRATIFICATION. As a society we have allowed, video, computers, and instant ( junk) food, dominate our culture. As the mother of three ( 2 teens, 1 toddler) I have seen first hand that the youth of today have become used to an instant way of life. There is no waiting or working for something anymore, people set there sights on something and want it now! Kids will tell you there is nothing to eat if they can't find something to nuke. Most people will drive to the corner store or to the gym, even to the park. We'll watch a t.v show we don't like because we can't find the remote. Remember actually getting up to change the channel???We get all stressed out when the computer is running slow.....? The western culture has become so obsessed with now, we've forgotten about waiting and looking forward to, even hoping for what ever it is that's wanted. To bad a big chunck of us will be to busy eating crap, being stuck on level 87 of the latest game and whining about how slow the computer is to even realize what we are doing to ourselves.

 

[Nascar_James]

I don't think it is lazyness for many folks. Sometimes we are simply in a rush to get somewhere and have little time to eat lunch in between. That's why fast food is convenient. For other folks, who can't cook or don't even own stoves for that matter, fast food is the only affordable meal they are able to eat.

Some high school kids who live too far to head home for lunch have no choice but to eat at a fast food restaurant close by to their school. You can't eat sandwiches for lunch everyday.

Although I am not obese (far from it), I was taken aback when they got rid of the super sized combo at McDonald's. I used to order it all the time at the drive-thru, mainly for the soft drink. When ordering out you can't get a refill on the drink so might as well get enough to last the meal.

 

[bhoour]

I don't think it is lazyness for many folks. Sometimes we are simply in a rush to get somewhere and have little time to eat lunch in between. That's why fast food is convenient. For other folks, who can't cook or don't even own stoves for that matter, fast food is the only affordable meal they are able to eat.

Some high school kids who live too far to head home for lunch have no choice but to eat at a fast food restaurant close by to their school. You can't eat sandwiches for lunch everyday.

Although I am not obese (far from it), I was taken aback when they got rid of the super sized combo at McDonald's. I used to order it all the time at the drive-thru, mainly for the soft drink. When ordering out you can't get a refill on the drink so might as well get enough to last the meal.

N.J..you don't honestly believe, that eating fast food is cheaper than making an actual meal......( even if you don't have a stove??). You can spend $ 10 on 1 meal, or buy enough food to feed a few people. For my family of 5, it costs close to $40 to eat at Mc Donalds.I don't know where you live but here that money can buy enough food to feed us for a few meals. Or one awesome dinner..like prime rib roast, ( i have a stove) potatoes & veggies, plus dessert with some $ left over for milk bread and other necessities. You've bought into the "western" ideal that because it's faster its better.
As for the kids who live to far to go home for lunch.......they can't make other things for lunch ( besides sanwiches)? ie....salad, a thermos of soup, cheese and most schools today do offer a balanced menu for the kids to choose from. Perhaps if parents were more involved in the lives of their kids they could help them to make healthier choices regarding food.
If you look back 30 yrs obeseity was not a problem.........think about iit. Kids played outside, and actually went places, instead of playing with a screen and living a virtual reality. Parents actually COOKED , not just warmed up food in the microwave.There was junk available, it just wasn't consumed to the extent it is now. We are so busy in todays world, we can't even cook??? What does that say about us?......... You can say it's glandula,or a hereditary gene, people are too busy, it tastes better..........but I say its complete LAZINESS.
N.J..have you seen Supersize Me?......do yourself a favor and look up what drinking carbonated beverages does to your bones.....never mind the fat in the rest of your VALUE meal.
Are you by chance AMERICAN? .....because that would explain alot of your mentality............
If not laziness then what is causing our society to become so disgustingly obese???

p.s. i ate sanwiches pretty much every day for 12 yrs and I survived.
When i actually got $ for lunch,( about once a mth) it was a treat, something special.

 

[missile]

Has everyone seen the MacDonalds burger that has 4 hamburg patties? How do you get that into your mouth? Last time there,all I ordered was one of the parfaits with a bit of granola sprinkled on top[filling,tasty,and under 2 bucks!]

 

[Nascar_James]

I don't think it is lazyness for many folks. Sometimes we are simply in a rush to get somewhere and have little time to eat lunch in between. That's why fast food is convenient. For other folks, who can't cook or don't even own stoves for that matter, fast food is the only affordable meal they are able to eat.

Some high school kids who live too far to head home for lunch have no choice but to eat at a fast food restaurant close by to their school. You can't eat sandwiches for lunch everyday.

Although I am not obese (far from it), I was taken aback when they got rid of the super sized combo at McDonald's. I used to order it all the time at the drive-thru, mainly for the soft drink. When ordering out you can't get a refill on the drink so might as well get enough to last the meal.

N.J..you don't honestly believe, that eating fast food is cheaper than making an actual meal......( even if you don't have a stove??). You can spend $ 10 on 1 meal, or buy enough food to feed a few people. For my family of 5, it costs close to $40 to eat at Mc Donalds.

Well, the big mac combo here (big mac, fry + soft drink) is $3.29. Far from 10 bucks. Ordering 5 will cost under 20 bucks. Do you know of any non-fast food restaurant where a family of 5 can eat for under 20 bucks? Of course not.

 

[Nascar_James]

Has everyone seen the MacDonalds burger that has 4 hamburg patties? How do you get that into your mouth? Last time there,all I ordered was one of the parfaits with a bit of granola sprinkled on top[filling,tasty,and under 2 bucks!]

That's nothing. Ever try the 1 pounder at Fuddruckers? After you dress it up, there is no way in hell you can eat it without first having a steam roller pass over it.

 

[missile]

We don't have any of them here..just MickeyD's,Burger king, and Wendys[and if i'm eating out..it's the Wendys triple burger for me ]The Big Mac has caused me some severe stomach troubles that require my spending way too much time on the toilet

 

[bhoour]

It's $8 and change for a combo here ( tax in)..........
8x5=40........
a family of five can't eat out for under $ 20 bucks, but you can cook a home cooked meal for well under $20.It does depend on motivated you are, to eat well...........