Calories may count, but most people aren’t counting them.
Only 9% of people in the USA can accurately estimate the number of calories they should eat in a day, and 9% keep track of their calories every day.
People have plenty of excuses for not tracking: They say it’s extremely difficult, and they lack the interest, knowledge and focus. Some say they’re not convinced that it matters all that much.
How about ” Who cares?” If you want to be fat, then be fat. There are worse things in this life. And it ‘s time to tell the food bullies where to get off. The Mummy Society has tried my patience to the limits. Is it unhealthy? If you care enough – as with smoking – you’ll do something about it. Larry
But Larry–when people are obese their medical costs impact the rest of us. Preventable diseases far out pace the costs of other maladies. That makes medical insurance more expensive accross the board, and if the person who is over eating, smoking, etc. is on Medicaid, we are paying 100% of the cost as a tax. I have suggested that since we have smoking bans maybe when someone orders a double 1/4 Pounder with cheese, they should have to show proof of a gym membership first (please note tongue in cheek). I am actually with you on the Mommy State issue, but at a minimum we should be requiring MEDICAID recipients to undergo preventative care, like gym membership, and nutrition classes in order to stay on the public dole. For example a typical YMCA membership is about $4-500 per year. A leg amputation due to run away diabetres is $40K plus life time prosethetics and other maintenance care. I also think private sector insurance companies should be allowed to give significant discounts to people who are fit, don’t smoke and eat right. Then capitalism and market forces will take over. No more Mommy State. If you can afford the insurance premiums, then I say, have as many preventable diseases as you’d like.
Actually, counting calories was a good start for me. Once I did so religiously for a few months (tracking calorie intake and calories burned via exercise and daily activities on a free Droid app) I had a much better idea of what I could eat and how much daily to lose weight, as well as how much exercising helped out. That was less than a year ago and I’ve gone from 275 to 215 without crazy dieting (I still have pizza, burgers, the occasional fast food, and beer) or exercising like a workhorse (tennis once or twice a week and the gym 1-2 times for an hour)
It’s interesting that under the new Weight Watchers “Points Plus” plan, calories are not counted, but fat, fibre, carbs and protein are. And it’s working for me! But as they say at WW, it’s not a diet in the usual sense; it’s sensible eating.
RE: “That makes medical insurance more expensive accross the board . . . ”
Right — that’s why we need to allow insurance companies to give multiple options, from bare bones to cadillac, PLUS create thousands of different types of insurance pools that cover — again — lots of different options, not to mention multiple different rating abilities based on thousands of different possibilities.
Kendall —
Your READ IT ALL link points to the Tom Friedman op-ed.
Sarah–I agree to in principle; but if people have absolutely minimum coverage and then have a serious medical condition, they will end up back on Medicaid. I am not uncompassionate, especially about people who lose coverage/jobs in a recession. But, I am very tired of paying for other peoples’ self-inflicted maladies. As I said before, if you can afford the premimums, have all the diabetes, lung cancer, high blood pressure etc. you want. Just don’t ask me to pay for it.
I saved my sheckels and bought a Wii so I could do the Wii Fit Plus yoga and balance exercises at home, in-between physical therapy appointments.
Thankfully, I don’t have to lose weight but I still find its calorie measurement feature astonishing. When you see how much it takes to burn off the calories of simple things such as bread, it really makes you think about what you eat. And I think such awareness is good.
7, but of course as the government redistributes more and more and compromises everyone through largess, then what part of your life can’t the government run? The answer is none and that is totalitarianism. That is what Larry’s point is.
News Flash:
A hundred years from now the fattest and thinnest among us will both be fertilizing dandelions. On which note, I believe I am going to order a pizza for supper tonight.
Br. Michael–I have absolutely no idea why you are directing that comment to me! Please re-read what I wrote: If I have to pay for it (MEDICAID–please re-read freeby/dole/tax redistribution of wealth MEDICAID) then I think I should be able to tell fat people to lose weight, eat right and go to the gym. Otherwise–please re-read what I said–get the government out of it and let market forces take over (polar opposite of tyranny/totalitarianism). Let insurance companies charge higher premimums to people who choose to self-inflict preventable diseases on themselves, and lower premimiums to people who go to the gym at 5:30 am six days a week (might we know someone who does that?). We have some community and Christian responsibility to take care of the least of us through some program like Medicaid, but in its current form, it goes too far. Maybe we could argue about that, but I assume we would we agree about our overbearing, overreaching and destructive Federal Government.
“then I think I should be able to tell fat people to lose weight, eat right and go to the gym.” You should be able? You? Surely you can’t mean that. Should fat people be able to tell you to get a flu shot if you do not want one, (thereby increasing medical costs when you get the preventable flu) Or get an abortion because your fetal child is autistic and will cost the system fortunes? The market is as capable of tyranny as any despot when you give them the power to be so as you intend to do. You need to see the difference between treating illness and granting power to coerce behavior. Or should be getting fat a crime? Your approach fills me with a cold fear: This is how Brave New Worlds are made. Larry
RE: “Your approach fills me with a cold fear . . . ”
Well then I assume that you are fine with not being forced by the State to pay for other people’s healthcare — so you and David happily agree.