Published on 12, July, 2020
The NHS estimates that almost a third of adults in the UK are obese, and that one in five children aged 10 to 11 are obese. That's a lot of people eating way too much fast and doing little to no exercise (we're all sitting on our big fat behinds way too much). What makes people overweight? Are we more likely to be obese if we're autistic? BBC journalist Michael Buerk announced recently that fat people should be allowed to drop dead and no longer trouble the NHS with their chubby troubles. He said, "The obese will die a decade earlier than the rest of us; see it as a selfless sacrifice in the fight against demographic imbalance, overpopulation and climate change.'" (Michael Buerk)
I echo what Giraffe said - food is more than functional. We include food in a lot of life events, from birthday cakes to 'drinking away our sorrows'.
Food is a sensory thing from the texture and taste to the way the ingredients affect our bodies afterwards. Sugar and caffeine for a high or a rush, alcohol to numb us.
Yes, it's important to look at balancing energy input (food volumes) with our energy output, but food has a lot more meaning to us than that. Within our bodies, food does more than just provide energy, too.
The nutritional content of raw foods such as vegetables is not what it used to be compared with just a few decades ago (due to modern farming methods), and we have bodies that are asking for a top up of these nutrients, but we do not have brains capable of decoding the signals. We may reach for sugar thinking it's a sugar craving (as an example) when actually our bodies are asking for micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Sometimes a poor diet will give us a side effect that is addictive, making us think it's a nutrient craving, too. An illness may change our appetite or cravings, as well.
It's a complex bigger picture, especially when you add in the effects of our childhood experiences, memories & associations throughout life, food advertising, peers, stress, illness, lack of time to prepare meals, and so on (like some of what Plastic said).
I don't believe we're more likely to be obese if we're autistic, although I don't know this for sure. I suspect even if the figures looked that way, that it would be more complex than that underneath anyway. E.g. I maintain my weight between a certain range because I hate the feeling of being so skinny I feel fragile or when I'm bigger and my skin and body senses change as a result and drive me mad. I'm only able to keep between this weight range thanks to putting in years of effort learning about nutrition in general and also specifically to my needs. I suspect most people (autistic or not) do not have the time or motivation to invest that kind of effort. Even me, really - I didn't have a choice - my health depended on it in the beginning.
I believe there are some big changes that us, as a society, could push for (e.g. stop using sugar and salt as cheap flavour enhancers, basic nutrition education in schools, improved farming methods). But I think they need to be done all together and with an individualised approach, whether that's self-led (like I did) or via support.
The answer is much simpler, in my opinion. It's all to do with our sedentary modern lifestyles (we are 50% less active than our ancestors).
On the topic of junk food - I think it would be great if there was a tax on it, and no/lower tax on nutritious foods. I loved what Jamie Oliver was doing. He was educating kids AND government.
AND people need to choose to make these changes.
AND they're more likely to make changes when they're educated about them, they can afford them, they're not emotionally attached to the old ways, they're not physically limited from making the changes (e.g. unable to cook from scratch, reliant on fast food).
(I used 'junk food' and 'fast food' separately because some food can be prepared quickly and be nutritious, whereas some is just junk.)
There's most definitely such a thing as junk food! Any food that gives you calories but very little nutrition is junk food. Plain and simple. And adding a bit of lettuce does not make a McDonald's burger any healthier. Most pre-made food is usually higher in calories, fat, sugar and salt. A basic McDonald's burger had 6.6g of sugar and 1.2g of salt. That's not good, no matter how you look at it. Adding lettuce doesn't make it any better either. The same ingredients, made by the same outlet, arranged differently on a plate, would still be bad. Similar ingredients, home made, on a plate or in a burger bun would be much better. Less fat, less salt, less sugar. Even shop bought, pre-made, 'healthy' food is often crammed with sugar and/or salt in order to add flavour. Muller Lite yogurts, low fat - great - but full of sugar! I'd class that as junk food too!
And they got a free meat ration with all the bugs and weevils in the biscuits too.
i watched some videos on hard tac after i wondered what pirates and sailors ate on long voyages... its like a cracker bread thing that was so hard they pretty much had to punch it to break bits off. it lasted months or years or whatever and had decent enough nutrition to get them by but its longevity was due to the fact it has no flavourings or sugar or anything in it at all to improve its flavour as anything to add taste or flavour would be adding things that would go stale or rotten and thus kill the longevity of the food. so it must have been very bland.
You seem to try to make out that 'food' has some special properties - it hasn't - it's just chemistry. Burger buns do go green - like every other bread - but their chemistry is such that it takes longer than a hand-made 'artisan' bread which is polluted with all sorts of random bacteria and yeasts.
I love a good burger - I'm not really bothered with McD or any cheapo versions without salad and where the 'meat' is MRM with added rusk and fillers to lower the cost for the retailer - but remember- directly it goes down your throat, it gets dumped into concentrated acid in your stomach - that's going to break down almost anything into its chemical components.
If you're into food, look at Youtube videos of military MRE rations - that will demonstrate the clever chemistry in making long-life food that still tastes good - an army marches on its stomach! .
I'm not doubting some companies go to those lengths but all the flour is bleached like most white bread and they add preservatives to the products too .It doesn't explain though if you leave the product out at home and it still doesn't go off and how would the body break such food down ? I mean have you tasted a burger bun from some of those places ? It's like eating soggy cardboard. All the bread products in those fast food places are horrible. They sell a very similar, long-life burger bun in the supermarkets and is disgusting. It does actually taste like it is weeks old, which it probably is.
Turtle said:We both know this is untrue.
You're wrong - The world is full of bacteria which makes food go mouldy - but some places keep the right bits of production clean to stop the bacteria getting into the product - it hugely extends shelf-life along with sealing them in plastic packaging full of nitrogen.
Other companies actively want the product to spoil quickly - it's all about the target market.
I worked in a very famous bakery. I can't begin to tell you of the horrors I've seen there. And the clever ways they went about concealing their bad practices from H&S.
^ its always reported that many fast food places the food and equipment are full of *** lol because the staff dont wash their hands after going toilet... or porbably ever to be honest... and they probably flush with the seat open and thus get poo particles flung all over their entire body.
I am exactly the same. worked in a Hovis factory and it was just as revolting as working in a slaughter house. Worked in a wetherspoons kitchen and macdonals and will never eat at any of their locations because of some of the people working for them shouldn't be touching food. lack of hygiene and basic food safety.
aye, which is why the dumbest of people are always the types that advocate for a plant based diet lmao
Plastic said:t's because the production is so clean that bacteria is excluded - the bun will dessicate before it goes green.
We both know this is untrue. It is because of all the additives. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, if you bake good local, organic ingredients, it is meant to be enjoyed there and then, not tomorrow or the next day or next week.
That is why you still have queues of people lining up in France and other countries for fresh bread in the morning. If anything was filthy in those places they wouldn't survive.
Caelus said:the most nutrition comes from meat based food
Yes - meat gives us the energy to power a big brain - which uses 20% of everything we eat.
Turtle said:why does your beloved, fast food burger bun never seem to go off ?
It's because the production is so clean that bacteria is excluded - the bun will dessicate before it goes green.
Most bread production is filthy (my friend used to service food production machinery - there's lots of things he will and won't eat because he's seen the factories.)
but yet plant based food barely has any nutritional value at all.... and any trace of nutrition in it gets immediately flushed because plant based food isnt natural for humans to eat and contain lectins and other stuff that are designed to inflame your bowels and force you to poop out the food pretty fast, of which theyd probably also claim thats fiber or something, but yet this process of forced expulsion makes it so nothing you eat can be properly digested and absorbed on time so you end up becoming malnourished of which is why many vegans look like the walking dead.the most nutrition comes from meat based food lol
Plastic said:It's all a scam for 4ssholes like Jamie Oliver who was trying to get a contract to 'supply' meals to schools - just like the Obamas did in the US. It's all a massive scam.
Any and all human progress to you seems like one big conspiracy theory to hoodwink you and your fixed mindset.
Jamie Oliver was pointing out the fact that we were feeding our kids with cheap, mass-produced, manufactured,fast-food crap with zero nutritional value and how the politicians viewed it as nothing wrong.
Tell me this, why does your beloved, fast food burger bun never seem to go off ? Is it because of its natural ingredients ?
I don't know if you're aware that it's not the highly processed food that's the problem - it's the sauces - like tomato sauce or salad dressings - it's horrendous - all sugars and E-numbers - that what messes your body up.
As for the scams - it's interesting but all the youtubes have been hidden or deleted. The Obamas were behind the companies that the government gave contracts to to supply the school meals - a nice little earner - that's why Trump ended their cosy monopoly when he was in power.
btw - I'm finding the 'behind the scenes' partisan censorship that's going on on social media quite insidious. Stuff is disappearing.
People are free to choose what to eat and also how to travel, and also if they exercise or not. So, why don't people (specifically, those who could benefit most from including healthier options) make different choices? What could help people make better choices, without negatively impacting others? My ideas are an attempt to answer the latter question. There are flaws to my ideas, which doesn't surprise me, as you have pointed out.
I'd like to hear more about the scams you mention, though, as I'm not aware of them. Do you have any links? Or is it your interpretation? I genuinely want to learn more about this.
Nothing wrong with a burger occasionally, and of course they contain nutrition. I sometimes don't understand comments in this forum as I feel I'm agreeing but it sounds like you think I'm contradicting you lol! I've literally just had burgers 2 days in a row. I don't eat them a lot, but having them occasionally works for me. I find I feel better after eating home made burgers rather than highly processed, low quality ones, though. I haven't eaten in McDs for maybe 15 years, so I can't comment on what they offer right now. I've eaten in other fast food places that offer what I'd call 'junk food' because it's highly processed food that makes me feel awful afterwards - zaps my energy and it feels like my insides are churning like a washing machine. (15 years ago that was the same as McDs.) I had no choice those times as I was travelling and I'd feel worse if I didn't eat. Salad leaves probably contain massively less nutrition than a burger patty, ironically! But I like the taste of them in a burger! Just taking 2 things as an example: lettuce and tomatoes are mostly water.
I have a long list of jobs here... if you need some extra activity!
Mantra said:If you want an occasional junk food treat, then a bit extra in tax shouldn't be an issue ...
Seriously - and who gets to decide what I am allowed to eat? Like I said, a burger is basically a salad in a bun with a piece of meat - what is wrong with that?
There's been plenty of proof that when arranged differently, nutritionists claim those ingredients are perfect for people to eat. Why should I be 'taxed' because of the arrangement of ingredients?
It's all a scam for 4ssholes like Jamie Oliver who was trying to get a contract to 'supply' meals to schools - just like the Obamas did in the US. It's all a massive scam.
One of the biggest cause of lack of exercise is the fact we commute now - people have always lived next to where they work - now, in an effort to grow economies since WW2, governments have decided to get everyone buying cars to mobilise the people - so now we commute miles to work in cars.
This is the only thing I'm hesitant to agree with you on... Because if I agree I would be a complete hypocrite haha! I've been indoors and sedentary pretty much all day!! This is my reminder to get out...
(Well, technically, I have been active with some housework, but it wasn't enough for me!)