Letters - Focus on individual in war on obesity is questioned

[Guest guest]

War On Obesity

Focus On Individual In War On Obesity Is Questioned

 

" Greater acceptance is needed of the fact that people are unable to

simply get up one morning and start to shed the extra weight...As the

main factors contributing to the rapid rises in obesity seen in recent

years are societal, it is critical that obesity is tackled first and

foremost at a societal rather than an individual level. "

 

LETTERS IN RESPONSE

 

The Following Letters Are Posted In The Order That They Were Received.

Letters Are Edited For Clarity.

 

As the article didn't explain clearly enough just how the societal area

would work, I have to say it is individual. Because the area is

important, I thought the doctors should be an important peg in the

solution, but THEY don't have the time to even begin to tackle this

problem. Maybe the Brits solution of going public does have a vital peg

in the solution. Let's watch closely.

 

- Dick Banfield

 

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When I was writing my PhD thesis, I noted with interest that the GMO

foods have not yet been thoroughly tested. So, I tried a little

experiment of my own. The top food listed for GMO was corn, so I ate

corn-on-the-cob every day to see if there was any side effects from GMO

foods. I was active as usual because at the time I had no car and did a

lot of walking. I noted after a few weeks that I began to put on weight.

So I increased my exercise by adding one hour a day, three days a week

in the weight room at the gym. I still gained weight. So I stopped

eating the corn. I lost the weigh very, very slowly, which was totally

abnormal for me, given my level of activity, vitamins and healthy

lifestyle that I follow.

 

This little experiment did a lot for me; it allowed me to think beyond

the little black box that the media wants me to think in. I began to see

that perhaps people who can't lose weight, and only gain weight despite

the small amounts of foods they eat and

maintain exercise routines, may not be to blame. Perhaps we need to look

at another culprit besides what is being blamed for obesity: larger

portions, lack of control, stress eating and other reasons thatare valid

for some, but not for others. Perhaps we need to take a closer look at

the possible weight-gaining effects of GMO foods.

 

-Deborah J Greenhill

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When all we heard was " avoid fat, " we did. and we got hungry. on low fat

diets I put on more than 20 lbs, and my cholesterol readings got worse

and worse, no matter how much I exercised

 

I am 48, and for the past 4 years I have been on my own low carb diet --

eggs for breakfast, no toast, turkey or plain salad for lunch, no bread,

no croutons, and a regular meal with my family, with little or no bread,

watch my starches. No more cookies after my son got home from school, no

more " no fat " snacks after dinner. snacks are almonds, walnuts, cheese

or turkey pepperoni. no more skim milk (i.e., skim = milk is virtually

pure sugar). I have lost 50 lbs, and 5 inches off my waist. I exercise

regularly. I achieved all this only because I got frustrated with the

doctors and the mainstream medical press who believe the last thing they

just heard is the ultimate truth. My cholesterol readings are better now

without drugs, than at any time they forced statins or niacin down my

throat (I got very sick every time). So people want to believe that

individual decisions don't make a difference? We have no one to blame

but ourselves. And before anyone blames the food marketers, remember

that they follow marketplace perceptions and behaviors; businesses are

not innovators, and what people see in their families and friends is

more powerful than any advertising dollar. The marketplace is full of

possibilities for choices, and individuals buy what they want. I

exercised my options, and others can too. take charge and stop whining.

 

-Joseph Webb

 

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The problem of obesity will not be solved until individuals take

personal responsibility for their health.

 

The problem is that there is so much misinformation ‘out there’, that

even those who try are unable to figure out how to do it.

 

The problem is so simple that the truth is overlooked though it stares

us in the face.

 

Too many calories, high glycemic foods lead to insulin resistance, which

leads to our obesity epidemic.

 

-Walt Meyer

 

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It's hard for me to have an opinion on the subject of blaming the

overweight. No, wait, that's just what I've been taught (taking it on

the chin, etc.). I've been overweight since the age of 12, and was

plagued with a wide face and broad shoulders before that, so there was

never a time I wasn't made fun of for my looks and called fat. I never

had a chance of knowing, as a child, that I wasn't necessarily socially

unacceptable.

 

When I saw childhood photos 25 years later, the shock was almost

overwhelming. Only then was I able to realize what the name-calling had

done to me. I wish I could say it helped me become someone else at THAT

point, but the underlying depression seemed too deep by then, though no

one knows about it but me.

 

So it seems very important to one like me to see children helped to

develop better health without blame being attached and worth assessed

and found wanting on a personal level. It's doubtful though that our

society can stop mocking the individual.

 

Oh, one other point - disappointing though it often is to doctors and

others, I'm 60 and have never had problems with my physical health.

 

-Joyce K.

 

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I lost 152 pounds...and still losing. I have a lot to say about this

topic...not that I think anyone would really like to hear my

opinion...but since you asked...I will share!

 

I do believe that the obesity epidemic is a societal problem. People

have become addicted to food and don't even know it. All my life I was

blind to what I was doing, and I did feel totally responsible for my own

obesity problem. It wasn't until I started to realize how TWISTED

society really is that I realized that my problem wasn't really about my

lack of will power or self control at all. It took a lot of dedication

to myself to learn how to overcome my obesity problem because the

problem is multi-faceted. It isn't ONE thing that a person can just

change. It isn't simply about what you eat...it is the entire society

that is the problem.

 

 

It starts out with the food guide. Are we really supposed to eat 6-11

servings of grains and cereals a day? Come on...take a look at the human

diet before society decided it was going to eat what it liked...we

didn't eat any grains! And the whole fat-is-bad myth? We cut fat from

our diet, we get hungry more often, lack the essentials in our

diet...are miserable and hungry and don't know why so we head to the

cupboards and grab empty calories which just keep the whole cycle going.

Couple that with their addictive components...and the constant

bombardment of cues thanks to media and advertising...and you have a

really big problem that people just don't even see the negative downward

spiral effect just keeps sucking you down under the excess weight.

 

Obesity is a societal problem that will not go away because just like

everything else...it has become a multi-million dollar industry...and

those at the top will keep people confused about the truth as long as it

will line their pockets! Industry hasn't got me anymore though...Thanks

in part to REDFLAGSDAILY...I had the opportunity to find ALTERNATIVE

NEWS (which I like to call TRUTH) and in that truth...a little voice

taught me how corrupt the world really is...about everything from

medical research to our water supply! Keep screaming truth RED

FLAGS...keep screaming truth. Just maybe you can change the world...one

person at a time?

 

I know I am a whole new me...and nearly half the size I once was! I was

325, now I’m 173 and still shrinking! The battle can be won...

 

-Bobbi Wilson

 

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1. It's your body, you made it, it’s up to you to change it. (There may

be some tiny percentage of exceptions to this, but not many!)

 

2. Any societal action should not include legal coercion! NO LAWS OR

MORALITY TAXES!

 

3. Societal action should only include education about health that

individual behavior is known to affect!

 

-John Weaver

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As always, the situation is not straight forward. Most people 'move with

the mass' of society. We are surrounded by a media driven culture which

affects our thoughts and feelings, steering our understanding and

attitudes in the direction wanted by those driving the culture.

 

On one hand we've gotten very good at refining the most

profitable/economical and efficient food source - carbohydrates. There

are a number of industries which have grown around and totally depend

upon that culture.

 

On the other hand we missed the point. Our well-intentioned but naïve

efficiency is killing us.

 

Perhaps look at three indicators of the current recommended diet (mostly

carb/starch/sugar, low fat, some protein);

 

1. Scientific markers: how do our blood tests compare, how do we rank on

risk factors? What are the trends showing us about life expectancy,

degenerative diseases, general health? Are they good? Or are they pretty

poor, with cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, diabetes, asthma

and the general cardiac risk factors?

 

2. Our natural state. Were we really designed to be overweight, or is

that why they call it 'overweight', because we weigh over the amount we

should? Our bodies are designed to do a wonderful job of keeping

healthy, as long as they live in the environment they are suited to. We

were not designed to live on mostly high starchy, sugary carbohydrates.

We were designed to live on a protein rich diet, supplemented with

fruits, nuts and berries which provide all the nutrients we require.

We've totally upset the balance of natural nutrition.

 

3. Our self-perception and emotional quality of life. How good do we

really feel about ourselves, and more importantly, others, and the world

we live in? Do we feel full of energy, optimism, balance, contentment?

Or do we feel bad about being overweight, stressed at trying to get and

stay healthy, tired and overworked?

 

Compare that to the low-carb diet, which has a growing body of well

founded medical studies and many real-life examples of success. Blood

profiles improve across the board. Our bodies become more efficient,

resilient and last longer. We feel and look good.

 

 

Sure, we made a mistake with the whole carbohydrate/low-fat thing. But

we've learned that now. Let’s start to re-educate people, so they want

to change. Let’s start telling people about the right things to eat.

Agriculture will need to adapt.

 

We follow government advice, because we trust the government, the

scientists, the leaders. Those very leaders, who by obligation have a

responsibility to do what's right for the people and the country, now

need to change and improve their advice, and start to push that advice

out into society, where people will still 'move with the mass', but in

the right direction.

 

Sure, taking responsibility for ourselves is a very important part of

that. But it starts from where we get our reference, from the people who

create the recommendations and standards. The scientific community, and

the government.

 

Long term it will save millions of lives, save trillions of dollars,

improve the life quality of most of the population. Society will

benefit, people will benefit. Business will adapt.

 

- Paul Coughlin.

 

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On the matter of obesity, I believe there is a definite societal factor

involved, but probably not what is usually considered.

 

The real reason that I, along with millions of others are overweight, is

that our food supply is poisoned with trans-fats, excess sugars, and

nutrient free calories, and genetically modiifed foodstocks. Our FDA has

allowed that to happen. That's the physical reason.

 

Here comes the societal part:

 

When I was a child right after WW2, television was just coming into the

homes, and advertisers had everyone convinced that only white products

were pure and safe to use for a woman's family. If she didn't cook in

pure white Crisco, she must not love her family. If she baked, she had

better use pure white Pillsbury flour. Our clothes had to be made

sparkling white by soaking them in chlorine, and the list goes on.

Society was indoctrinated into the mindset that white = purity, and all

food products had to be refined, taking most of the nutrients out. That

was the origin of the first societal factor. It was if society was

psychologically trying to make itself clean again, following the

horrors, and " dirt " of WW2.

 

Then to make matters worse, society speeded up. We drove faster, worked

faster, and ate faster, and generally lived faster. Along came fast

foods. I remember the McDonalds sign that said " Over 1 million

served " ... now the number is higher than the US national debt. And all

of those burgers and fries were prepared in a big tub of rancid trans-fats.

 

All that high speed eating does terrible things to a person’s hormones,

causing heart disease, cancer, and obesity.

 

So, yes, society is partially to blame, because it needed to clean up

after the war, and immerse itself in progress, and the technology was

there to do it.

 

 

 

-Rev. William G. Peters, Ph.D

 

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Tackling obesity primarily as a societal, rather than an individual

problem, is wrong.

 

I have been teaching and speaking on Natural Health for 18 years.

Society as a whole does not make people ill, over-weight, obese or

diseased. We as individuals have that

responsibility and choice. If you have 50 people that are rated obese.

You can count on every one of the 50 being there because of their

individual processes, their own personal problems, issues. If a person

becomes obese we must look into the individual’s life to determine his

or her unresolved issues

 

We must look at the CAUSE and not the EFFECT. We must take personal

responsibility for our thoughts, words, and deeds.

 

-Patricia Ann Hellinger

 

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I feel the obesity epidemic is helped by the failure of our government

to regulate the food

industry. The FDA could, for example, introduce food labeling with a

glycemic index (GI)

 

Unfortunately, huge companies rule. But proper labeling might get

companies to make healthier products.

 

-Ginny Hothersall

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Obesity has to be addressed at BOTH a personal AND societal levels.

 

-Aileen Burford-Mason, PhD

-

 

Granted that the effect is societal - or macro, it is the individual -

or micro - who opens his/her mouth to swallow foods that are less than

basically healthy and is too busy (or whatever) to exercise.

 

However, it is the individual who allows himself to be suckered by

advertising directed to the consumer that does not give the consumer the

kind of information needed to make rational choices. The fact that good

nutritional information is relatively hard to come by is a societal

problem -- heaven help us if we expect our governmental agencies at this

time to be committed to providing fair, honest information.

 

It also is an organizational problem. Where is the demand within

government for certain agencies to function in a professional rather

than political culture. I don't expect total truth from all agencies,

but it would be nice to be able to expect best-available,

striving-for-truth and accuracy in some agencies.

 

I wish I had faith that the FDA does/will provide primarily objective,

science-based information based on consumer need rather than on the

wants of pharmaceutical and other major forces.

 

If only my elected officials....

 

Perhaps what we need on a societal level is some education about how

advertising works and how consumers or influenced by it.

 

-Gordon Kutler

 

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I am concerned that our food supply itself is a major contributor to

obesity. Are growth hormones given to cattle given back to us in their

meat and milk? Is this a contributing factor to American obesity?

 

-Kristen

 

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I say that it is an individual thing. You cannot make a group of people

lose weight, there are too many different factors happening. Whatever

diet they are proposing will not work for everyone!

 

-Joyce

 

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Seems like a silly question to ask - " Where is the best place to

confront obesity and the problems associated with it - at the societal

level or at the individual level? " Undeniably, both issues, and more

besides, need to be addressed, but we seem to have developed this idea

that if we can just figure out which came first the chicken or the egg

and then we can fix everything quickly and easily.

 

-Brent Perry D.C.

 

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The article on obesity makes some good points but misses the basic

reason for our fat society. Obesity is directly related to the advent of

processed industrial foods. Food containing high levels of refined wheat

flour, vegetable fats (especially those w/trans fats) and high fructose

sweeteners (corn syrup) have changed the palate and the waistline of

Western Civilization. Add to this a world where water is rarely the

drink of choice and fizzy sugar water the norm and you can account for

nearly every extra calorie that makes up the fat around so many

waistlines. Any society that continues to consume such industrial food

stuffs as a large part of its diet will become obese. The total increase

in calories (above maintenance of normal weight) since early 1900s is

found in the increased use of vegetable oil, sweeteners and refined

wheat. The more sudden rise in obesity and syndrome X in the last 30

years can be directly linked to the rise in processed and fast foods.

The answer is simple. Eat as our pre-agriculture ancestors did; flesh,

vegetables, fruit and tree nuts. Leave the grains, legumes, dairy and

industrial oils for those without the sense or will power to avoid them

for what they are, slow killers and robbers of optimal health.

 

-E. Frazer

 

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Obesity is largely a societal problem because misinformation from

government agencies, big food company lobbyists, medical associations,

nonprofit organizations (like the American Heart Association) and of

course the media created and is sustaining this worldwide epidemic of

obesity, diabetes and heart disease. The above culprits -resembling a

military industrial complex -strongly endorsed and officially

recommended plastic fats like margarine and vegetable shortening while

condemning nutrient dense natural fats like lard, butter and coconut. As

a result, we are sicker and fatter. Trans-fats in margarine and

shortening inhibit red blood cells from effectively carrying insulin -

this in people who are eating 160 pounds of sugar per person a year. Now

doesn't our high sugar high carbohydrate diet require a lot of insulin?

At this stage, then, we have the medical people who " manage " diabetes

and heart disease. The food companies won't give up their profits and

the medical people won't give up their patients. Hence, the

misinformation and lies are generated to keep people confused and

literally stupid. Society is corrupt and people are corpulent and they

go hand in hand.

 

-Al Watson

 

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The reasons for the obesity epidemic are complex and no one answer can

be derived to solve the problem. We have generated a society that no

longer moves their arms or legs enough to use up the energy taken in on

a daily basis. In the United States we are so afraid of sexual deviants

that we don't even let our children walk to where they can catch the

bus. As a former school board member I understand the pressure to remove

physical education from the daily course work and replace it with a more

academic class. In our effort to reduce heart disease throughout the

past twenty years we have removed from the diet breakfast foods that

could suppress appetite such as eggs and bacon and replaced them with

carbohydrate cereals.

 

We did not get this fat all at once. We may need to find solutions in

the same manner. Concerned parents that are driving their children

should perhaps walk with them to another area where another parent

escorts them for a distance. With current energy issues in the world a

national pride could be generated by everyone doing their part, much

like the effort needed to win World War II. Making excuses for an

imbalance in energy intake versus output will only make matters worse.

 

-Matthew J Cherni, Ms, DVM

 

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Concerning the War on Obesity…Sorry, but in order for an individual to

change his eating habits it must first come from within. No one can

force anyone to change their eating habits. It's great that all the

options are out there and all the diets, etc. But in order to loose

weight, the individual must CHOOSE to loose weight. The individual is

the only one who can make the choice to eat or not to eat good and bad

foods. The options for dieting are made available via news reports,

magazines, etc., and this information helps to encourage an individual

to make a choice. But a person doesn't loose weight simply by hearing

and reading these things. It requires a decision to make a life change.

 

-Cheryl Owens

 

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Interesting subject; not a lot of time to focus on it right now; these

are just initial thoughts.

 

1. The " problem " (and the " solutions " ) to Obesity do not have to be

approached as an either/or issue; it is better to use a both/and

approach. It is not EITHER about the individual OR about the Society; it

is about BOTH the individual AND the Society.

 

2. Clearly, SOME individuals who have become obese have succeeded in

reversing their situation; however, it seems that many, probably a

majority, perhaps an overwhelming majority, have NOT been successful. In

addition, the number of obese individuals seems to be increasing rapidly.

 

3. Clearly, obesity leads to other health problems and to tremendous

costs associated with those problems. Those costs are only partially

borne by the individual; they are spread across Federal and State

taxpayers ( Medicare & Medicaid , VA , Tri-Care, CHIP, etc.); local

taxpayers (charitable care by local hospitals for the indigent obese);

employers (private health plans); co-workers (who assume higher premiums

because of higher claims costs).

 

4. If Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations DON'T work, then why

do corporations spend so much money on them? Clearly, they do work.

Equally clearly, money spent to encourage consumption (including the

consumption of food) has the intended effect. Compared to the relative

pittance spent on programs to reduce consumption, the influence is

one-sided.

 

5. Abstaining from pleasurable activities (like eating) is difficult.

Engaging is less-pleasurable activities (like exercise) is also

difficult. Eating & Sitting are easy.

 

6. Our " built-environment " is not conducive to movement; elevators and

escalators are everywhere more convenient than stairs; suburban housing

is not within reasonable walking distance of most amenities; TV's have

remote controls; parking is adjacent to destinations, etc.

 

Anyway, fascinating topic that goes way beyond obesity per se and into

the whole Individual/Society conundrum.

 

 

 

-Darrell E. Wells

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Yes, you can get up one morning and start shedding weight if you have an

incentive. Three years ago I was diagnosed with Lupus and within a

couple of months, my wife was diagnosed with diabetes, overweight and

obesity in that order.

 

We did research and found that the healthiest people in the world were

natives that had not been influenced by our modern over-processed foods,

heated for shelf life, and requiring the addition of synthetic vitamins

(although some food gets nothing).

 

We now eat all-natural unprocessed foods, but no grains and no milk.

 

Our calorie intake is 2400, of which the 53% fat content is 20% unsaturated.

 

The outcome of this change in diet is that I am free of Lupus and any

other illness, my wife’s fasting blood sugar is now normal and has been

from the second week of following it, and our blood pressures are down

from 140/80 to 120/70. Other members of our family have had similar

experiences after following in our footsteps.

 

Yes, you can get up in the morning and decide to shed weight, you just

need an incentive. We all know what future awaits us when we suffer from

autoimmune degenerative diseases.

 

-Ray and Cherrie

 

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Bruce Ames, originator of the Ames Test for mutagenicity) said in a

presentation I heard concerning nutrition that he thought some of the

under-achieving ethnic groups would do a lot better in life (with regard

to intelligence, for instance), if such basic nutrients were legally

required to be added to white bread, milk and junk food from convenience

stores because his impression was that this was the main diet of the

group in question. He is known for insisting that if it takes some

pesticides and herbicides in order to grow enough vegetables to feed the

world, so be it, - because refraining from the use of such poisons in

agriculture would cause the prices to be out of the range of the average

person.

 

-Laura B. Fisher

 

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I don’t think the answer is to fortify our nutrient-void foods. As a

culture we need to learn to eat our food the way God, or Mother Nature

(depending upon your beliefs) intended it to be eaten.

 

We need to go back to eating whole, unprocessed foods to gain the

benefit of the different nutrients with all the bio-chemical properties

naturally in the food. It makes no sense to destroy the nutritional

value of food by over-processing it, and then try and put back what we

think we removed.

 

In our culture, science thinks it knows what is going on. I believe

there are properties within whole foods that are not scientifically

understood at this time.

 

-Glen A. Depke

 

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This obesity problem definitely has a societal element. I am appalled at

the amount of food presented to me when I eat out. Often it is hard to

limit oneself to a reasonable serving of food. I now share one entrée

with my husband, leave the (baked) potatoes, and pass on the dessert. I

can barely keep my weight where I want it. I must exercise three times a

week to raise my heart rate or my food plan will not work. Restaurants

should offer more reasonably-sized servings. Unfortunately, they have to

compete with places that serve mounds of pasta, etc., which is cheap,

but makes one think one is getting a great meal.

 

-Louise Besch

 

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As long as junk food and soda advertising dominate the airwaves,

magazines, billboards, etc., it will continue to be very difficult to

take weight reduction seriously.

 

Time has shown that dieting does not work well for the majority of folks

who try it as they make no LASTING lifestyle changes. Yo-yo dieting is

implicated in ill health.

 

Our society does not really care about how healthy its individuals are

as long as corporate America is happy.

 

- Ann Fonfa

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In order to effectively legislate against obesity, society would have to

strictly limit most use of motor vehicles and other labor-saving

devices, TV and other passive forms of entertainment, all forms of

advertising, all packaged processed foods, etc. etc. Obviously this is

not going to happen, so neither will we win the " war " on obesity and

related health problems in this manner.

 

Two approaches offer more hope:

 

 

1) Education - meaning spreading real grassroots knowledge of how

natural, traditional ways of living can be incorporated into our modern

day lives. This won't be accomplished by conventional nutritionists

because they are sponsored by government which is tied to the food

industry. Those who have the knowledge need to take the responsibility

to spread it. It's not quick or easy, and our tax dollars are not going

to do it for us.

 

2) Spiritual Awakening - Mainstream religions can't do our thinking for

us; once an individual acknowledges and accepts their own spiritual

path; lifestyle issues will fall into place, although not by an instant

miracle - it's a lifelong process.

 

-Sandra Brandt