Categories: uncategorized
Date: 17 October 2007 10:09:00
Good news for all of us overweight and obese people in the UK. A new report says that it is not our fault that we're in this condition. That's right there is no personal responsibility for my condition. What it doesn't say is who's fault it is.
Now there are many people who are obese through no genuine fault of their own. For medical reasons they can find that weight goes on but does not come off due to an underlying medical problem that they, or their doctors, may not be able to rectify. Yet for the vast majority, me included, it is because they have spent years eating the wrong foods and not taking anywhere near enough exercise. So I don't really agree with the reports findings.
Be honest, who really feels like cooking a meal from scratch after a hard day at work? Our food manufacturers recognise this and supply us with lots of ready meals to choose from. We can either wait 25 minutes for them to cook in the oven or blitz them in a microwave for about 8 minutes. So much easier than the alternative. What they didn't tell us was that they were not really healthy alternatives for cooking from scratch.
Did we believe our parents when they told us that McD's was not a healthy meal to eat? I remember the first McD's opening in Newport in the early 80's - we now have 5. Us teenagers thought that we'd struck gold; a full meal for about £2 and no cooking. Then came Pizza Hut and KFC. Suddenly life was made easier with this choice of instant food. No one told us about trabns fats and low nutritional value; well some did but we didn't listen. Neither did we believe that you couldn't live a healthy life on chips, pies, Indians and Chinese every night.
I remember my visit to Germany when I was 15. I couldn't believe that they had exercise courses in their parks. You could follow a path and stop along the way to do push-ups, pull ups etc. No that was a great idea, especially for an active person like I was then.
Yet after leaving school and starting work my life changed. Instead of walking or cycling everywhere I used the car. A year or two earlier I'd have walked rather than use a bus to get home from school. I stopped training to play rugby or football, I'd just turn up and play. I knew that my fitness was going but did little to correct things. I drank more and ate more.
It was with great pride that my friend and I could go out on a Saturday night drink X pints of beer and then eat a three course meal in the Pizza Hut. By that I don't mean a starter, main course and dessert but a starter, a large individual pizza (meant for 3-4 people) and a dessert. We were such good customers that we started getting free desserts and then free starters as well.
So I'm sorry but for the great majority of us we are ill through self-infliction. Say it loud I'M FAT AND I WAS PROUD.
What we need to do is learn now and rectify the situation. I've already contracted Type 2 diabetes because of my lifestyle choice. I know that I need to control it but need to do so even better than I do now. We need to take exercise more. It is not the job of government to force us but ours to do it before its too late. Yet more importantly we need to make sure that children are taught properly and are aware of the danger that they face. Teach them to cook and what foods are good and what are not. Ensure that they eat what they want but understand that McD's etc are occasional treats only.