ImOuttaControl
Refugee
Well, how do we? Obesity in the U.S. is quickly becoming the most costly health care issue. It's become as costly as smoking and will soon surpass it. I've also read recently that the obesity levels in Europe and Australia have also been going up dramatically. Sure some people are genetically prone to carry a little more weight, but the sad truth is that too many people simply are couch potatos and overeat.
There are a few ideas:
--Make gym costs tax deductable or partially subsidized by goverment to get more people there. Americans are paying nearly 100 Billion per year in obesity health related costs, so I believe this would be a good investement.
--Why is it that junk food seems cheaper than healthy food? If I want a bag of salad mix, I could just as well go buy a frozen pizza for myself--they're usually cheaper. I believe that junk food should have a sin tax on it. What would I consider junk food? candy, regular soda, potato chips, cookies, ice cream...those sorts of things that have really no nutritional benefit. That sin tax could be used to subsidize farming, which would lower the price of your fruits, grains and veggies and make eating healthy a cheap thing to do.
--As for fast food, I'm unsure. Do I think people should be able to sue McDonalds for "making them fat?" Absolutely not. But fast food is a huge part of the problem...maybe something as simple as putting calorie/fat/carb content on the package of all their products might educate people to just how bad it is to scarf down their double quarter pounder with cheese, supersized soda and supersized fries. Maybe a lot of people are stupid and just don't know this stuff is bad for you?
--Most importantly, school's need to start focusing on nutrition and health. Being someone who was overweight in high school, I can remember we had no education whatsoever on nutrition other than the flawed "food pyramid." I had no clue why I kept gaining weight.. Kids need to be educated on how many calories they need, how to keep track of calories, what foods to avoid and how simple the whole idea of weight management is--if you eat more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight if you eat less than you burn, you'll lose weight. So very simple.
That being said, I'm off to the gym. I'm curious to hear some other thoughts on this issue.
There are a few ideas:
--Make gym costs tax deductable or partially subsidized by goverment to get more people there. Americans are paying nearly 100 Billion per year in obesity health related costs, so I believe this would be a good investement.
--Why is it that junk food seems cheaper than healthy food? If I want a bag of salad mix, I could just as well go buy a frozen pizza for myself--they're usually cheaper. I believe that junk food should have a sin tax on it. What would I consider junk food? candy, regular soda, potato chips, cookies, ice cream...those sorts of things that have really no nutritional benefit. That sin tax could be used to subsidize farming, which would lower the price of your fruits, grains and veggies and make eating healthy a cheap thing to do.
--As for fast food, I'm unsure. Do I think people should be able to sue McDonalds for "making them fat?" Absolutely not. But fast food is a huge part of the problem...maybe something as simple as putting calorie/fat/carb content on the package of all their products might educate people to just how bad it is to scarf down their double quarter pounder with cheese, supersized soda and supersized fries. Maybe a lot of people are stupid and just don't know this stuff is bad for you?
--Most importantly, school's need to start focusing on nutrition and health. Being someone who was overweight in high school, I can remember we had no education whatsoever on nutrition other than the flawed "food pyramid." I had no clue why I kept gaining weight.. Kids need to be educated on how many calories they need, how to keep track of calories, what foods to avoid and how simple the whole idea of weight management is--if you eat more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight if you eat less than you burn, you'll lose weight. So very simple.
That being said, I'm off to the gym. I'm curious to hear some other thoughts on this issue.