According to some sources, at least 1 in 8 of the world population is classified as ‘obese’. Since nobody in any government seems to have thought up a working solution, what do you believe can be done to solve the epidemic?

the alleged definition of obesity

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 82 points 2 days ago (23 children)
  • Cheap access to fresh fruit and veg

  • Education for healthy eating starting in childhood

  • Public outdoor spaces that are enjoyable to exercise in

  • Cheap, frequent public transit to allow everyone to access food and public spaces

If those don’t take care of most of it we can keep going from there.

  • source
  • hideshow 23 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 1 day ago

    To add to that, if weight loss peptides like Ozempic are working, let them work.

    My mother, in her late 60s is obese. She was forced to retire early due to this, she has had lifelong self image issues due to this, and she's very aware that it's both robbing her ability to enjoy her later years, and years of her life. Until this year, she was staunchly against taking Ozempic due to potential side effects, but the reality is that the side effects of Obesity are so much worse.

    For an analogy, there is a lot of evidence that the quantity of people who need to wear glasses has increased because in infancy, children are not looking at distant objects, and irreversible damage is occurring to their vision as a result. Of course this is something we want parents to consider in how they realise their children, but it would be monstrous to then deprive that person of glasses because the fault is societal.

    Everything on your list is the equivalent of encouraging children to exercise their eyes, and is absolutely the best way to treat obesity, but medication should be considered as a treatment beyond this.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 35 points 2 days ago (9 children)

    And not just fresh fruit and veg, but a variety of good quality fresh fruit and veg. Red delicious apples are cheap fresh fruit, zucchini is cheap fresh veg, but you won't enjoy eating your fruit and veg if all you're getting is nasty apples and zucchini.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 9 child comments
  • [–] 18 points 2 days ago (2 children)

    I feel like we could do a lot by simply removing the sales taxes from raw vegetables and non-exotic fruits.

    That would be a government subsidy, but it would be a subsidy primed to go towards the consumer.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 2 days ago*

    if all you’re getting is nasty apples

    Growing up I thought I didn't prefer apples. It turns out I just don't like the most common apple that was fed to me. "Red Delicious" is false advertising. Fuji, Jazz, Honeycrisp, Yellow Delicious, Pink Lady, are all far far superior. I'll even eat a Gala apple even thought those are just okay. Red Delicious apples are trash tier apples.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 0 points 2 days ago* (2 children)

    I like red delicious apples. I like all varieties of apples. The hate comes from familiarity and snobbery. It's like coffee, cigars, and wine--marketing and price is the only real difference. One isn't worse than the other, we're just taught that. Every variety of apple can become mealy if left tool long, but people associate that with RD because that's the apple they had as kids and sometimes they were mealy, and kids are very sensitive to differences in their food.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 2 days ago

    Nah, the hate for Red Delicious comes from the fact that they've been bred to look good and have a long shelf life instead of having good flavor. They used to taste better, but due to the industrialization of farming, orchards were paid more for better looking apples. Eventually, the cultivar developed into the modern Red Delicious, which has a thick skin and starchy texture that resists bruising during machine handling.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 4 points 2 days ago

    A thing most people don't get is that knowledge of how to prepare food and the time to actually do it are also key. My parents could cook 3 meals between them and poorly at that. I didn't know anything about how to use a knife including the most basic things like sharp knives being less dangerous than blunt ones. I have learned later in life and I am fairly accomplished in the kitchen, including making a roux, making passata from scratch, fermenting and pickling vegetables, making yoghurt, making adaptable stir fry dishes, making stews and soups, and all manner of other things like breads and pâté. None of those things were taught to me by my parents or through schooling. All the access in the world wouldn't make me able to use chicken liver without making it chalky and nasty, or cook a steak without ruining it.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 1 point 2 days ago (4 children)

    Cheap access to fresh fruit and veg

    Won't work. In my hospital cafeteria at lunch, med staff is lined up at the salad bar, patients line up at the deep fryer. People get a plate of fries and pour gravy over it and call that a meal.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 2 days ago (3 children)

    Why does your hospital have a deep fryer to begin with? I’m sure if they set out a pile of low cost cocaine they’d consume that as well, it’s silly to offer people addictive foods and then turn your nose up at them when they eat them; especially in the context of being in the middle of what is probably one of the most stressful events of their lives and likely wanting familiar comfort food.

    Anyway, the only difference between you/your colleagues and your patients is covered by my second point: education.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 2 days ago (2 children)

    Why does your hospital have a deep fryer to begin with?

    Because the cafeteria needs to stay open and patients demand it. If we didn't have shit to feed idiots, idiots would order shit in. You cannot force people to eat well.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] [S] 2 points 2 days ago (3 children)

    It’s a very good suggestion, but do you think any government right now would push for that? Not disagreeing with you, just wondering about the feasibility of such ideas?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 6 points 2 days ago

    Those are two separate questions, without a strong public push for those things it’s unlikely governments will do it of their own accord unless they’re specifically trying to cut healthcare costs. But there are places with the things listed; you can’t go anywhere in Central America without running into a fruit cart, cities with good public transit exist, and places with public spaces that encourage exercise exist, programs to educate the public about healthy eating exist. Each thing is individually accomplishable.

  • source
  • parent