- Corinne Finnie
- Okotoks
- Canada
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Whose responsibility is it to educate our young people on healthy eating, physical activity, and positive self esteem?
Many statistics indicate that the overall North American adult population is not only overweight, but the number of people with Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, and depression is consistently rising. Now, we see children as young as 12 suffering with the same conditions. The World Health Organization has called this situation an "overnourishment" epidemic. Parents do not have the practical information to teach their children about nutrition, teachers have a full curriculum and limited resources to contribute, food manufacturers are focused on making margins and are willing to go only so far, Community Dieticians have limited time and resources - whose responsibility is it to make educating children about comprehensive wellness a priority?
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Steven Dilloway
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Robert Armstrong
Peter Han 500+
Steven Dilloway
VV this is true.. although I don't understand what that has to do with what were talking about..
Peter Han 500+
Leo Taylor
Letitia Falk 10+
Scott MacAfee
Capt. T. C. Randall
Yes, the American "heart-healthy" diet is an industrial lie and the drug paradigm invented to treat this technological mis-nutrition is illogical. Now staying healthy is a matter of avoiding high carb/sugar intake, foraging for healthy fats, diverse proteins, fruits, vegetables and having the knowledge to supplement the missing vitamins and minerals.
Paleo nutrition is simple and straightforward, the modern grocery store and distorted mainstream health information pose a mine field that needs study and application to traverse.
Steven Dilloway
Possibly a genetically engineered human being? that'd be sweet
_____
Why would I joke about something like that?
William Parker
Nikolas R
A big step in undoing the chaos that is todays health landscape is to communicate to people effectively the idea that the human body does not crave the things that are healthy and efficient for it.
We crave carbs more than we crave protein but it should be vice versa and we should consume based on mathematical measurements rather then the whims of our intuition.
This results in people having very one sided diets. (all carbs and fats, or all sauces, soups, and vegetables)
Whatever you crave is not what is right.
This again comes back to the primary need of everyone needing to understand which foods have which sources of macro nutrients. Key element.
Tao P 50+
Colleen Steen 500+
If we eat a lot of fast foods, we get used to the tastes, and some of the ingredients are addictive, so it makes the body and mind think that we want or need those foods. When we are eating more healthy foods, we start craving what is better for the body and mind, and they satisfy us in a more healthy way. When we are aware of the ingredients and how they impact the body/mind, it seems amazing that fast foods are so popular. It tells me that people are not really aware of what they are eating or the impact it has on health.
Steven Dilloway
"I'm Lovin' it"
Colleen Steen 500+
Peter Han 500+
Take a look at: http://news.yahoo.com/whats-mcrib-made-anyway-125300382.html
The article describes what goes into the McRib:
"At face value, the sandwich contains just pork, onions, and pickle slices slathered in barbecue sauce and laid out on a bun. But the truth is, there are roughly 70 ingredients. The bun alone contains 34, says TIME's Melnick. In addition to chemicals like ammonium sulfate and polysorbate 80, the most egregious may be azodicarbonamide — "a flour-bleaching agent most commonly used in the manufactur[ing] of foamed plastics like gym mats the and soles of shoes." According to McDonald's own ingredient list, the bun also includes calcium sulfate and ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides, among other chemicals.
Ooof. What's the meat made of?
Pig innards and plenty of salt. Typically, "restructured meat product" includes pig bits like tripe, heart, and scalded stomach, says Whet Moser at Chicago Magazine, citing a 1995 article by Robert Mandigo, a professor at the University of Nebraska. These parts are cooked and blended with salt and water to extract salt-soluble proteins, which act as a "glue" that helps bind the reshaped meat together."
Still Lovin' it? Your choice of course as Colleen mentioned.
Nikolas R
Lack of that critical information does more harm than the consumption of "unhealthy" foods and furthermore it leads people into assuming that if they avoid bad foods, they have completed their health responsibilities to themselves.
Steven Dilloway
m'mmm I'm still lovin' it!!
Colleen Steen 500+
AND you say it is getting expensive!!! You're actually PAYING to put this stuff in the body?
YIKES!!!
Nikolas R
Jim Moonan 30+
Ah, to be young and footloose.... be careful, Steven, your foot may end up in your mouth.
Answer this - Why does heroin feel so good? - and you'll have answered your own question
Steven Dilloway
I wouldn't know. I havn't tried heroin. Have you?
Jim Moonan 30+
Just because something tastes good does not mean it is good. (to their credit McDonalds has made some strides in improving the nutritional value of their meals)
Make no mistake about it - you are what you eat. If you are smart, you won't wait until it's too late to find that out. Food is in a very real way medicinal and can trigger addictive behavior. On occassion I love a good, calorie-laden, salt-soaked, fat-heavy meal.... Food should taste good, but not stop there.
The question being asked/debated is "Who's responsibility is it to educate our young people on healthy eating, physical activity and positive self-esteem?"
Steven's answer was, in my view, thoughtless. He sounds to be much less interested in discussion and much more interested in mouthing consumerisms like "I'm lovin' it".
No big deal - just know that there's a time and place for everything.
Jim Moonan 30+
It "tastes" good
It's addictive
It can kill you.
Jim Moonan 30+
Letitia Falk 10+
Jim Moonan 30+
Allie - My comparison of fast foods to addictive drugs was just that - a comparison. It is one that has been made many times before and for good reason. I couldn't care less about what your definition of a true analogy is.
I've stated my position on the question of who is responsible for educating young people on healthy eating, physical activity and positive self-esteem elsewhere in the conversation. The "overnourishment" epidemic has such a pervasive and deleterious effect on our society that it will take time, but the change has begun.The movement is gaining momentum. Parents, educators, communities and government will coalesce to find solutions.
Jim Moonan 30+
The answer, of course, is (d) - The one you didn't include in the choices.
Its the one that reads, "A person who would do practically anything for a Big Mac"
Jim Moonan 30+
Since you like quizzes I have a short one for you:
1. Do you know how old I am?
2. Do you know how old the McD's addict is?
And since you gave me a hint for my little quiz I'll give you one for yours: Don't judge a book by it cover.
Jim Moonan 30+
Oh, wait a minute! Do we have to be absolutely truthful in our profiles? But how can we protect our privacy? I would just "hide" but that's not my style.
Let's not bring Steven into this. I was referring to someone named Ronald.
My parents loved Cat Stevens. They would sing me to sleep with his songs.
As for judging the book by it's cover for "some comedic effect" comment - funny thing is, that's not me on the "cover" (or is it?)
As for the whole privacy thing, I am responsible for my own actions.
I like you Allie. I liked when you pushed back on the "addict" analogy. I pushed you back by giving you my rationale. Since then, however, as Letitia tactfully pointed out, you've been off-topic and all over me with stuff that is beginning to feel weird. Your stealth mode doesn't help matters.
But I'm feeding into it.... I'd much rather exchange our different points of view of the topic.
So I have a possible solution. Let's return to the topic and continue our debate about how food can be analagous to addiction to heroin. (Steven immediately responded by asking if I have tried heroin - Steven totally missed the point)
I said previously: "Here's how McDonalds compares to heroin:
It "tastes" good
It's addictive
It can kill you"
You replied: "No actually Jim, it is a faulty analogy."
I replied, "Elaborate, please."
You, at that point, started in on me personally. We both should have listened to Letitia. She now looks to be the wisest of the three of us.
Can you elaborate?
Jim Moonan 30+
Robert Armstrong
By the way, while you're on the topic of McDonalds, of all their menu items , can you name the 7 they serve that DON'Tcontain High Fructose Corn Syrup (which is the #1 contributor to obesity in America)? Let me get you started, Bottled Water is one.
Jim Moonan 30+
Change of this magnitude take time. They require nothing short of a re-education. There is a groundswell of movement addressing the issue. From healthier school lunch menus to Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" initiative to Jamie Oliver to restaurant menu changes to blogs (such as yours) to food coaches, etc. etc. etc.
It will not happen over night, will not happen quickly, but the change is underway.
Julie Ann 10+
A 2011 paper titled "Food Addiction and Neuroimaging" states "Functional neuroimaging studies have further revealed that pleasant smelling, looking, and tasting food has reinforcing characteristics similar to drugs of abuse. Many of the brain changes reported for hedonic eating and obesity are also seen in various types of addictions"
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/cpd/2011/00000017/00000012/art00007
I think "pleasant smelling, looking, and tasting" is subjective, in this case. Nonetheless, it may partially explain why people continue to knowingly make unhealthy choices for themselves and their children.
Peter Han 500+
For example, McDonald's current slogan of "I'm Loving It" focuses on the feeling of happiness, affection, attraction rather than the taste of the food or its nutritional content. Also, the elaborate play areas in many fast food places such as McDonald's further create happy memories for the very young. They associate a visit to McDonald's with happiness, fun with friends and family. When they mature into adults, they recollect these happy feelings and associate McDonald's as comfort food.
Fast food places that investigate in sophisticated marketing prowess such as McDonald's understand the power of creating emotional bonds, especially for young children. So aside from the nutritional and taste aspects of food, we need to also consider impact of sophisticated marketing in cultivating emotional bonds to certain fast food establishments.
It worked on me growing up with Ronald McDonald tv commercials and Happy Meals. I never particularly liked the taste of McDonald's food as a child but always remember visits to McDonald's with fondness. I have long since stopped patronizing McDonald's because of the poor nutritional content of their food but do acknowledge the power of their marketing campaigns on impressionable youth.
Nikolas R
People know its unhealthy but they they have not been give hope or a plan of attack to resolve their life long energy crisis.
Lifting weights is the key --its the only thing that snaps the cycle.
Corinne Finnie
Luis Neto
It is simply incomprehensible that, in the 21st century, still exists "all of this neglect of health". It is important that schools take an active role, in terms of encourage physical activity of young people. Personally, and i don't want to sound too hard, I think it's a true (and always will be) lack of respect for all disabled people, any person who is healthy and could play sports, but simply doesn't, mostly because of laziness. The levels of obesity, cholesterol, heart disease, can be explained not only by what the young community eats, but also for what does (or does not) in his spare time (the so called "facebook generation", Playstation 3, Xbox, etc.). That said, I think that changing the course of these events, can only happen with the strength, motivation, and genuine willpower of parents.
Exercise should not be considered as a mere hobby. Regardless our professional obligations or our personal life (married, children, etc), exercise always helps to alleviate the daily stress, soothes our own mind.
To conclude my observation, i think the real problem is not only the lack of nutritional knowledge, but rather a lack of a "sporting attitude" throughout our society, whether in the U.S., Japan, or even in my country, Portugal.
Of course this problematic, is not because of "Macdonald's massive campaign", TV, or internet. That's just consequences.
Parents should promote sports, at a very early age (of their kids).
If children start, as an example, to run at the age of 5 or 6, they will benefit from a state of mind much more balanced, and may even be more competent in their professional life (more health, less stress).
Eli Vidal