Obese blamed for the world's ills

Obese blamed for the world's ills

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Oh please...they have got to be joking...

How can they come to this decision and keep a straight face..

I can just see the riots as slim, slender people raid obese peoples homes and steal all the food. The fat will thin and the thin will fatten..

If being obese causes more use of fuel in vehicles, then who are the cars designed to be driven by.. if cars are designed to be fuel efficient by being driven by slim lightweight people, then surely that is discriminatory in itself.

The world has gone nuts...

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

What about putting all the poisins in the water. Does that effect peoples dietry habits, dumbos.

There may be some ring of truth to obese people using more fuel. Obese people probably do not use signficantly more fuel because their cars are carrying extra weight. Obese people may be using more fuel because they walk less.

As far as calories are concerned, while it is true obese people may consume more calories, it does not necessarily follow that they consume more agricultural resources. Obese people may eat little animal protein, and large amounts of starch from foods like wheat and rice. Some thin people on the other hand may eat more animal protein and less starches. It takes about nine pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat, so a thin person who eats a large amount of animal protein and little starch could conceivably consume more agricultural resources than the typical obese person.

Of course I could be wrong. There may be obese people who consume large amounts of animal protein as well as other types of foods. Thin vegetarians of course do little to drain agricultural resources. Anybody know of any hard data to confirm or dispel my idea?

Little bit of divide and conquer. Little bit o' the Hegelian dialectic thrown in for good measure. And a pinch of good ol' fashioned hate. Quite sinister when you think about it. Problem: Global warming, food shortage and fuel prices. Solution: Blame the Fat people. It's gonna be a crime to be fat soon. Then ugly. Then Asian, etc.

Just more confirmation that the food crisis, global warming and oil prices are a sham. We are being manipulated and no good can come of it.

reply to post by Extralien

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Well, that sounds an awful lot like "Let Them Eat Cake!"

Fat guys pee and fart more too..

Producing up to 16% more greenhouse gasses and 12% more toxins in the water supply.

They also use up to 22% more toilet paper per wipe leading to faster forest defoliation.**


Gawd!!! Who commissions these surveys?

(**disclaimer.. figures may be total made up b*£$%x)

[edit on 16-5-2008 by AGENT_T]

Im sorry but it SHOULD be looked down upon being obese. What is this world coming to when people are proud that they are 100+ lbs overweight? When their arteries are so clogged they are a walking heart attack? When type II diabetes is almost welcomed? Come on people...

Being fat is NOT healthy, nor should it be encouraged. While I do think people shouldn't strive to look like supermodels in size zero clothing, I do believe that as a society by encouraging people to be proud of being obese is almost as bad as telling African's to be proud of having AIDS. The are both life threatening diseases!

Obese people should be taxed accordingly, since yes they do use up more resources. Not just fuel, but medically they are costing the country by thinking their horrible health and bad eating habits is something they should be proud of. It would also provide incentive for them to exercise more, and atleast TRY to lose the extra weight.

Dont give me that genetics crap either. While a SMALL portion of the country does have genetic predispositions and disorders that may affect their weight such as thyroid conditions, that does not mean they shouldent still be trying to do something about it.

How many people who join the military come out obese, genetics or not? NONE! Know why? Because they EXERCISE, and burn more calories then they take in. While some people may still be a bit heavier then others, they are all in quite phenomenal shape, healthy, and by no means obese.

As for people saying first its discrimnation against the obese people, then next the asians, etc.... I call bull***** on that. Sorry but you cant help your ethnicity, but you CAN help the fact that you are obese. I have no sympathy for the majority of obese people who do nothing about it, and even worse, we live in a country that is telling them its ok to be that large. That is the worst thing I ever have heard, and while everyone SHOULD be proud of who they are, and while again, not everyone may be stickly thin - people should not be encouraged to accept obesity.

Obesity is dangerous physically, mentally, and emotionally. We should as a country try to HELP those who are obese, not encourage it.

I hear what you're saying Deadline, and I agree with a lot of it, but what business is it of yours? Are you not free to grow as fat or smelly as you would like to? You can't seriously believe that taxing fat people would bring any benefit to society. It would just create an underclass of people and the societal blowback would be immeasurable. It's the slippery slope. Yes, we should encourage a healthy society. But that cannot be done through taxation. Isn't there enough of that? Even taxing Mickey D's or BK won't do the job. Taxing liquor and smokes sure hasn't stopped people from smoking and drinking. Can you really justify political action against fat people based on the pretext of environmentalism?

Very good points Orwells Ghost. Indeed it is a very slippery slope as well but what are we to do in a society that encourages such detrimental behavior? Would we encourage people to contract life threatening diseases? Because thats the way it seems in todays society.

If you challenge that way of thinking you all of a sudden are no longer politically correct and most likely will face repercussions from every obese person, and its always "genetic" in their eyes no matter how lazy they are. And you are correct that smoking and drinking are both negative behaviors, as well as taxed, and that still does not discourage people. Maybe if the stigma that used to be associated with obese people as lazy, second class citizens actually was allowed to be used, maybe people would exercise a bit more... I know, harsh, but what else will work?

I admittedly am not skinny, have a belly but by no means obese, I just love my beer. Then again, I have no excuses other then the fact that yes, I have failed to exercise and have been quite lazy lately. Why cant other people admit to that as well? I do eat healthy though and do take the stairs when possible, or park further away from the store to get a nice walk in - little things like that do help.

Hmmmm, although I'm sure there is some truth in what the article says....as usual my first question is "why am I reading this"?

I am not putting down the OPs thread but asking why the BBC are offering this information....and why now :

With supposed problems regarding food shortages on the horizon, what better way to bring down food demands than to make obese people act directly to lose weight and make everyone else react against them to provide a driving force to have the same outcome.

I am left asking why are the worlds problems are being laid on the shoulders of these people...maybe the obvious answer to me, is so we don't question the REAL reasons!

Corporate Media + Goverment Institution = Face Value....I think not.

The more we need it, the more we pay, but we don't want to hold the wrong people responsible. I'll make up my own mind thanks. And by the way..who pays for that extra food they eat and the extra petrol etc. They do.

Who profits though!........


[edit on 16/5/2008 by nerbot]

What everyone fails to see, and this article perpetuates it, is that fat people are victims. It is easier to make fun of them and ignore the truth to your own detriment. The same logic in blaming poverty on the poor. Bad nutrition is being deliberately implemented in western society, particulalry in the US.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 5/16/0808 by jackinthebox]

Oh, great. Guess I'll have to move down to make room on the bench.

First smokers, now the 'obese'. Anyone care to guess who's next to be denied the right to exist in society?

TheRedneck

reply to post by TheRedneck

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No kidding.

I'd like to see a comparison of their numbers to the vast amount of food that wastes away because the government pays farmers not to sell certain crops they actually grow...or to the amount of food routinely discarded in nearly every restaurant on the planet...or to the amount of energy wasted to light up nearly every commercial building, the skylines of cities and the highways of the industrialized world.

reply to post by jackinthebox

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Yes, the obese are victims of a food industry that purposely loads up the food with chemicals that cause obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesteral, cancer, depression, alzheimers... the list goes on.

This report is just another propaganda initiative to dangle a carrot and make the public look the other way while the dirty deeds are done.

I don't know which is sicker... the industry that poisons the people or the people who refuse to see the truth.

A carrot, like annestacey said.
And a wedge, more finger pointing. Let's go wag our fingers at the fatties.

Frankly, it all the obese folks would put on white shirts, and stand outside for a few hours on weekends. The change in the Earth's albedo could significantly reduce global warming. Think of all the shade they make!!

What about those joggers, converting all the O2 into C02? what about them?
Greenhouse gas producers, thats what those joggers are.

and those skinny folks, with the high metabolism. They produce more heat than the average person, don't they?

reply to post by deadline527

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I"m sorry but what the heck are you talking about? What obese people do you know that are proud of being overweight? Who have you talked to that is waiting for that diagnosis of diabetes like a lottery win? Those are two of the most ludicrous statements I've ever read.

What's more, no one is encouraging people to be obese. Everywhere we look people are being encouraged to be skinnier, skinnier, skinnier. It's not enough to just be average. Everyone must be constantly dieting, constantly exercising to achieve that perfect weight. I can't even open my email box without an ad for a diet or exercise regime. Being fat is just about the only thing that there is no social backlash for ridiculing others about.

Furthermore, "obese" is a highly subjective term. Some people say it means as little as 15-20 lbs overweight. Others say it's 25-30 lbs, 40 lbs being "morbidly obese". But over what weight? Ideal weight? I'm 5'3" (female) and a BMI calculator, supposedly the gold standard for determining ideal weight, told me that I should weigh 115-120 lbs. Do you have any idea how thin that is? That's movie star, model thin. That's size 0-4. That is not healthy for every single woman. My question is exactly whose ideal is this particular weight?

Does the "obese" guy in this diagram look hideously overweight to you? Like a "walking heart attack" as you put it?

external image

Looks average to me. The first guy, the "normal" one, looks underfed and not full grown.

You say that people should be taxed to encourage them to try and lose weight. As if they're not trying already. You say that people should help those who are obese rather than encouraging it. How is taxing people and further lowering their income and thereby reducing their means to buy healthier food helping them?

For the people who say that obese people are obese because they walk less...that's flawed. Everyone who lives in the country or in the suburbs "walks less" because they don't live walking distance from their place of business or the market. So is every country mouse obese? Of course not.

[edit on 17-5-2008 by sc2099]

absolutely fantastic responses from you all.

It does most definitely seem to be an act of misdirection.
Direct the truth away from the guilty to an innocent party. To force the focus of peoples anger away from the guilty onto something else.

I was reading Jackinthebos's thread and he has made a very interesting point which has been reflected, in a manner, here in this thread.

As ridiculous as this all is, i cannot help but compare it to Nazi Germany focusing its financial troubles on the Jews.

How much more of a Fascist state are we going to tolerate and live under?

*starts chanting*

Who ate ALL the pies, who ate ALL the pies!



I'm just having a bit of fun, actually.

I did a bit of research on "The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine" (that's a bit of a mouthful in itself!) and their mission statement is as follows:

"To contribute to the improvement of health worldwide through the pursuit of excellence in research, postgraduate teaching and advanced training in national and international public health and tropical medicine, and through informing policy and practice in these areas.".


In otherwords - "We give jobs to people who want to inform people about how their lives aren't as good as the people who work for us!".

Okay, i'm being pedantic.

I still reckon those figures are rubbish though.