Back of the Pack

Three comments: 1. There is no way you can exercise your way out of overeating. 2. You don't pay more, as you say, for healthy dishes. You pay exceedingly less than prepared products. 3. Media has a huge influence on our urges. The next time you watch TV just check how much ad time is devoted to food.

It's so bizarre to me. As a parent of 3 kids...I don't understand not being involved in your child's health. It's your responsibility as a parent to teach them to lead a healthy life. Media has nothing to do with it. If you don't buy it, they don't eat it. As a child I never got money to spend "where I wanted". Why do our kids need that money? Teach them to save for items they really want. I never send my children anywhere with money. My oldest has a canteen at school and it is stocked with healthy food. No chocolate bars, no pop and no transfat items. When the cooking class gets going they sell healthy items there. We talk about what she will buy on the rare occasion that she's allowed to buy something there ($1 or $2 at a time not $5 or $10). Nutrition is something we need to teach our children. My children know that trans fats are bad, they know they need protein, carbs and healthy fats. It's not rocket science. And people eat out 5 times a week and call healthy food tasteless? It boggles my mind. YOu can buy all brown food and yet a healthy stirfry with a rainbow of colors is tasteless? I think people, not media, not stores are responsible for what they put in their own bodies and what their children under 18 put in theirs. It's okay to say no to your children. And the same goes for exercise. You are responsible for teaching your child to move. Bottom line take back the parental controls and really put your child's health and nutrition as your goal.

None of this is a suprise.
I've lost fairly significant weight (50 lbs give or take) and have kept it off for years. I'm constantly fiddling with my portions of food and fitness to generate a good fit for my body. I really enjoy exercise, and I really enjoy food. It takes work, that is the part people shy away from - the work involved to be accountable for your health. The rewards though are endless! A healthy lifestyle is a complete brain boost, it has helped improve my concentration and helped stress and anxiety in my life which in turn I believe has helped my personal and professional life enormously.

The benefits of living a healthy life, getting enough exercise, and eating these so-called "bland" healthy foods (my diet is far fom bland) are huge. People just don't like the idea of working for and being patient with it, and that's just sad.

As a soon to be graduating dietetics student, I can honestly say that after almost four years of studying nutrition and health, I can summarize my learnings into two points: eat less and move more. It really is so incredibly simple...I'm not a fan of Nike, but their slogan is unbeatable: just do it! And this goes for everyone - individuals, governments...let's just start implementing all of the changes we know we need.

Another suggestion: standardize food labelling and make it mandatory on ALL groceries, including things like alcohol. It took me three months to find out from the manufacturer how many calories are in a bottle of cider because the labels were not there. It's 142, which means a night of drinking and eating easily adds up to what a person needs for the whole day.
List nutritional info per 100g. Portion size changes from one item to another, and it's a pain to work this out while shopping.

I don't believe this problem has much to do with people not exercising enough, as much as it does with plain improper eating. The body simply can not compete with the mouth. IMHO

Interestingly enough, I once heard that a common characteristic amongst species before they go extinct is gigantism. I don't know how much water that holds, but it's something to think about.

I still don't get how any of the latest studies (since 2000)shock anyone anymore. How can you live anywhere in Canada, other than in a cave somewhere; and not have heard the negative effects of obesity? Although if you did live in a cave, you wouldn't know what McDonalds is, and most likely be better off. I don't know the eventuality of evolution, but we have definately steered natural selection away from survival of the fitest. Maybe we rely too much on our government to protect us-a six year old can't drive, own a gun, buy alcohol or cigarettes-but as long as he has a $5 bill he can get a head start on clogging those arteries. And since the government decided that exercise was just using up valuable class time then it must not be necessary. Wake up people-demand more.