Obesity

[Reaper]

well , that is the million dollar question , but in my view , tax free on fresh seasonal vegetables and fresh fruit , milk , meat & fish , and some bread products .

Which bread products??? Most have more salt than you can poke a stick at. Where do you draw the line? Many cuts of meat are super high in fat which according to the thinking of many is terrible whilst others say it's far more preferable to (say) carbs you get from potato's. Now, get govco involved in working out what is what?? Sounds like guaranteed disaster to me

Nearly all manufactured "food".



Everything else.

Whilst I personally agree with the above as a whole, where do you draw the line in 'manufactured'? What about (say) pasta? Good or bad? Milk is pasturised (going thru a manufacturing process) and I think it'd be hard for anybody to argue it's bad for you, by your definition it is.

Although it's nearly akin to a religious cult the way some people get into it, going waaaaaay too far, the paleo diet does make a lot of sense to me. Once you start getting govco to regulate what people eat via taxation we may as well just give up entirely.

 

[Grennan]

there is a time to have that footlong from subway, so long as you know the energy is massive and you can balance it out.
same with having say a big bowl of pasta for dinner, of which I normally aim for the night before competing on the bike.

I wouldn't necessarily say its down to education on whats good or what isn't, although it does contribute
people know that x or y is bad, they just get lazy *puts hand up to say I am one of these people* and just go the easy option.
.

Eh Saturday night is my "Cheat Night" and it acts as a metabolism kick in the throat and a reward.

But I know, whatever I eat that night has to be offset via exercise. As I said its energy in energy out.

But thats where I think education needs to happen. People need to be taught these things in school that food is energy and there needs to be that in and out. Not so much whats good and whats bad but more how to look at and calculate these things.

 

[commodore665]

Which bread products??? Most have more salt than you can poke a stick at. Where do you draw the line? Many cuts of meat are super high in fat which according to the thinking of many is terrible whilst others say it's far more preferable to (say) carbs you get from potato's. Now, get govco involved in working out what is what?? Sounds like guaranteed disaster to me




Whilst I personally agree with the above as a whole, where do you draw the line in 'manufactured'? What about (say) pasta? Good or bad? Milk is pasturised (going thru a manufacturing process) and I think it'd be hard for anybody to argue it's bad for you, by your definition it is.

Although it's nearly akin to a religious cult the way some people get into it, going waaaaaay too far, the paleo diet does make a lot of sense to me. Once you start getting govco to regulate what people eat via taxation we may as well just give up entirely.

Well , I did say it was the million dollar question , We try to follow the paleo diet , it's hard to start with but it actually not bad , once you get into the swing of it .

 

[Towcar]

Technically I'm obese never mind that I'm about 6'6" and ~116kg (bigger than a lot of our All Blacks). I could definitely loose some more weight, I've lost about 12-13kg in the last 1.5 years after suffering a major injury and been off work for about 5 months and another year for recovery. My target is to get to under 110kg.

BMI is a misleading guide.

Having said that, another big issue is the amount of salt and sugar added to our foods. "fast and convenient" seems to be the go these days. Processed foods have very little of what we need and a lot of what we don't.

I don't know if taxing is the answer but certainly we need to do something about all the crap we consume in all these ready to eat type meals. I still find I'm more filled by a good home cooked meal than anything you can buy on the go.

The other big issue I have is the cost of products these days. You can get 5-6 litres of fizzy for what a bottle of milk costs, bread Vs chippies is the same. The government has a lot to answer for. NZ is a primary producer of some of the best milk based products in the world and yet we also pay some of the highest prices for said products. There is something wrong with this model.

This is something I feel quiet strong about. I see the messages that my kids get and I know it's not right. I try to show them otherwise but it is difficult to combat what the official message from the government is who see no issue with all the fast foods we consume as a nation, we are still on the "fat is bad" bandwagon even though this has been proven to be incorrect and the government does not care about the sugar content of products even though obesity and type 2 diabetes is the fastest growing medical issues in the country.

Holy crap if you are obese I am ####ed!

 

[Towcar]

well , that is the million dollar question , but in my view , tax free on fresh seasonal vegetables and fresh fruit , milk , meat & fish , and some bread products .

Sorry but this WILL NOT bring the price down. The supermarket chains will absorb this in a second.

That said we have access to good quality meat, produce etc.

We used to budget $5 of meat a meal then allow a couple of dollars for either a pasta snack and some mixed veges. This gives us a basic meat and 3 veg meal, which we have/had most nights.

We now both earn more so we allow up to $8 per meal for meat, that gets us a sirloin, some good quality sausages, lamb chops.... Add a salad in summer takes that up to $10 for 2 meals.

Price is not so much the issue more laziness. Even a $4.99 each pizza for 2 people is that same as my steak and salad meal cooked at home.

 

[commodore665]

I quite agree on the portion sizes point , I watched a show last night called " Man verses food " which surprise surprise is American , he goes about taking part in eating challenges , eating 5 pounds of sandwich , or two gallons of ice cream sundae , all the while with Americans calling out , go go go It's entertaining , but also startling to watch someone gorge themselves no one needs that amount of food , I hope Adam Richman , the host , has good health coverage

 

[Hertz Donut]

In order to have fresh, healthy fruit and veg we grown a lot of our own, we've got 110sqm of vege gardens and berry patches, plus a range of fruit trees. The trouble is, everyone thinks it's hard work to maintain, when it only requires a big effort up front. It's not expensive to keep going, and we're at the point where we can seed from previous crops. I'm putting up a greenhouse shortly so we can have our own nursery, and digging the scraps back into the soil means the nutrients are maintained in the soil.

The only effort required is an hour or so of weeding every few weeks and a few loads of compost every couple of years, as well as obviously planting new seedlings each season. Watering is taken care of with an irrigation system that's cost maybe $300 all up (and is bloody fun to build) and is fully automated. Digging the scraps in takes all of 2 minutes.

But that's considered too much hard work for many people. All I know is our grocery bills come to around $100 per week for a family of 4, and that includes cleaning products, so we're well ahead of the game.

Before anyone says "but what about people who are renting?" - I'm a landlord too and I'd be stoked if my tenants were willing to maintain vege gardens at our rental properties, because not only does it mean they'll have more money, they'll feel more of an attachment to the house, and the property itself becomes more attractive to future tenants willing to maintain the garden as well.

But like I say, too much hard work for many.

 

[SS-REX]

I quite agree on the portion sizes point , I watched a show last night called " Man verses food " which surprise surprise is American , he goes about taking part in eating challenges , eating 5 pounds of sandwich , or two gallons of ice cream sundae , all the while with Americans calling out , go go go It's entertaining , but also startling to watch someone gorge themselves no one needs that amount of food , I hope Adam Richman , the host , has good health coverage

If you watch "Man finds food" he was a stick but after doing that show " Man verses food " he blew up like a balloon.

 

[Pollushon]

That show disgusts me.

 

[gossie]

FWIW I'm 175 tall and weigh 75kg. Exercise regularly and eat small portions...........NEVER eat junk food as it's called........It's poison. Enjoy a good beer and a glass of decent red.
I'm in my 70s, very fit and healthy and last blood test from local GP told us everything was looking good and he said to keep doing what I've been doing.

We eat fresh........Fresh fruit and veg. and very little red meat, perhaps 2 or 3 times a month. A little fish but no chicken......I went right off that when living in the U.S.A.........It's nasty stuff even here the way there poor b@stards are made and processed..........An absolute disgrace.

Pasta I love, but as mentioned that's a lunch time thing so that by evening time your natural insulin will have blown it all off.
I very good trick with pasta is to cook it the day before, and re-heat it the next day. That way most of the carbs. for some reason are gone, and that's so much better for you.......Just add your topping and it's tastes exactly the same.

Porridge for breakfast is fantastic.
Quick oats if you prefer or better still buy some steel cut oats from your local health food shop. Cook up a big saucepan of it, and use a bowl of it for breakfast heated in the microwave, a little milk, mix sliced banana, prunes, dates or whatever you prefer though it..............BUT NO SUGAR........That's a VERY poison.

Coffee and tea in moderation without sugar, and drink plenty of water.