US life expectancy is slated to drop, and it's not guns, cigarettes, alcohol...

[joshcryer]

...sex, violent video games, violent TV, or illegal drugs.

It's obesity.

In a few decades, if the problem is not addressed, obesity will kill more than all cancers.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22117085/

[Turbineguy]

1. It may be a blessing

what's worse, to die earlier or outlive your retirement funds?

I'll start eating right away.

[joshcryer]

13. It's kinda funny, people say civlization is collapsing, Peak Oil, Global Warming, etc.

I would imagine it would happen more from eating ourselves to death!

[lvx35]

2. We should be like republicans, and declare a war on it.

The "War on Our Own Fat Asses". I like it.

[NeedleCast]

3. I will consider this

while I eat this chili-cheese dog.

I put relish on it, so it has a vegetable!

[Cobalt Violet]

4. So lack of health care for millions and millions has nothing to do with it.

They aren't fooling me.

[joshcryer]

14. Yeah, because doctors can cure bad eating habits.

Not. They might be able help stem the problem via education, but they can't just magically take the fat away.

Unless we inact liposuction and stomach stapling for all!

[PVnRT]

5. Obesity is not good, no

But Cobalt above me hits on the real point - lack of access to medical care. Obesity in and of itself does not kill you, it is those diseases you are at higher risk for that do you in, especially heart disease and diabetes. Access to health care allows people who are obese the chance to mitigate or eliminate those outcomes.

[parasim]

7. That's kind of like saying, smoking doesn't kill you, lung cancer does

and if smokers just had access to health care, they'd be alright.

A steady diet of McDonald's, CocaCola sans fresh fruit/veggies ain't a whole lot different than puffing Pall Malls on a regular basis.

[joshcryer]

10. The only cure for obesity is a proper diet.

Not some magical pill that can make it all go away. While I might agree that health care does play a part in this (ie, I consider a healthy health care system one way to teach a proper diet), you're absolutely right, the comparison is silly.

[FREEWILL56]

22. Your point is a valid one, but the source causes of an improper diet

are not just that the person over eats, ie, no willpower. Lack of exercise even with a good diet is also a cause of obesity. Taking a good look in a grocery store, from being a newly diagnosed prediabetic patient, as directed by a nutritionist and I see why the problem exists. They are selling us garbage cheaply and the good foods (what little they carry) are far more expensive. How many of you have gone on a diet to find yourself scratching your head when you see how much more it has cost you just in the food? Our foods are overly processed (robs nutritients) and sugar (including carbohydrates), sodium, and preservative packed. This does setup imbalances in what your body receives and to make up for it, you eat more. This can also setup food allergies and strange symptoms when one receives too much of any one thing.

[joshcryer]

23. The market manipulates people into eating certain foods.

That's a given. But the market would have to adapt if people were wise enough not to eat those foods that are unhealthy for them. If 100 million people decided that they wanted to eat fresh food, the market would have to adapt. We've been duped, is all.

And I think overeating is one part of the issue, simply because there is such an ample supply of food, and we were evolved to store fat (as opposed to the Neanderthal which were more muscle prone).

I'm not overweight but I eat junk food. I just do so in moderation.

[NeedleCast]

24. So does deliciousness

[joshcryer]

25. Healthy food *is* delicious!

You've just been conned into believing garbage tastes good!

[kestrel91316]

6. Obesity is a form of malnutrition (mal = bad).

[mentalsolstice]

8. With a lot of reasons that most of us have no control over!

Single and two-adult households, where everyone is working long hours...come home zap food, help kids with homework that wasn't like anything they had 20-30 years ago, get clothes ready for next day, go to bed, get up, get kids dressed, prepare lunches, get 'em off to school...repeat. Then you have have the high cost of fresh produce, plus the time it takes to prepare a nutritional meal that will appeal to all family members.

It's just my husband and I, so we do eat at home with a lot of fresh seafood, other lean meats, and fresh veggies and fruit. However, we're starting to wonder how long we'll be able to keep this gig up, with the rising cost of fresh food. Frozen chicken fingerz, here we come.

[Deja Q]

17. So excess stress can kill too...

Stress is normal and necessary for life; but stress is like exercise:

One form of exercise is painful but leads to personal gain.

The other form is like a punch to the gut. Hurts and nothing good comes from it.

[killbotfactory]

9. Because we are fed low quality foods that are pumped full of sugar and fat

and they're designed to be addictive.

[Kolesar]

21. I am gettting my mind around that concept

It really makes me appreciate a microwaved potato. Do you dig it?

[Fleshdancer]

11. when I become queen of the universe....

high fructose corn syrup will be outlawed. That and cell phones, but that's a subject for a different thread. ;)

[joshcryer]

12. I believe I could live with you as our benelovent overlord.

:)

I don't think an outright ban is necessary of course, I think people need to wisen up and get their heads out of their asses.

[Fleshdancer]

15. and because you're so nice, I'll legalize pot

(I was going to anyway, but you can tell your friend it was due to your skills of persuasion. :D)

The problem I have with HCS is that it is EVERYWHERE. Perhaps I won't ban it for personal cooking, but the food industries will not be able to use it in their products.

[Deja Q]

16. I thought it was due to offshoring and offpeopling;

Whichever countries they can't "help" they'll ensure remain automated.

/cynicalgenerationxer

[The Straight Story]

18. So what should we do about it - imprison/fine people who are fat?

or get the fuck out of the lives of people and let them live their lives?

I vote we leave people alone to live as they see fit :)

[joshcryer]

19. Absolutely.

In that case you shouldn't be for banning any of the other things I listed in my topic. If you are for banning any one of them "for the well being of the people," to be consistant you have to be for banning fatty foods.

I'm not for banning it. I'm for educating about the dire effects it has.

I love Carl's Jr. I'm not going to stop going. But I don't go 3 times a day either.

edit: by "absolutely" I clearly mean we shouldn't be putting ourselves in peoples lives.

[The Straight Story]

20. I ain't for banning a ton of things

from smoking in bars to eating fatty foods.

But some who have a nanny state of mind want to ban things to help you and I.

Freedom is not something they like :)

[killbotfactory]

26. Ban all non-grass fed beef and high-density feed-lots.

That would help.