Just Something To Point Out
March 28th 2010 14:18
I'm popping my head briefly back in here this weekend to bring to you a wonderful blog post. It's at Problogger, and not only does it have great advice for blogging, it points out some things about our society's treatment of body image.
Dear Blogger: Do You Hate Your Customer?
Have fun reading. And for those of you editing your novel, I hope this weekend is a productive one for you. (I hope it is for me too...)
Dear Blogger: Do You Hate Your Customer?
Have fun reading. And for those of you editing your novel, I hope this weekend is a productive one for you. (I hope it is for me too...)
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Comment by Journeywoman
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I Dream of Hollywood
Fashion Peach
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
What do you think about obesity? Do you think that it's really an 'epidemic'? If you do, who do you think is at fault-the people for eating the crap, the corporations for selling the crap, or the government for not having stricter food regulations?
~Dianna
Comment by Journeywoman
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I Dream of Hollywood
Fashion Peach
It costs taxpayers millions of dollars a year in paying for other peoples' chronic diseases, productivity is lost, and people are less capable of functioning on a day-to-day basis. Why? Because they're being told that gluttony is okay, by the corporations who stand to make the most profit out of their gluttony.
As for the case against whose fault it was in the first place: fast food corporations, obviously, but yes you have to attribute blame to the individuals themselves for so naively eating the crap as well. The more people they got addicted to eating said crap, the more fast food joints appeared and it became a downward spiral. To a lesser extent there's the government for not implementing healthy lifestyle incentives, and the media for this kind of thing. Ultimately, you can blame capitalism, if you need something to blame that is not yourself.
Anyway, I'm unlikely to get any support from Internet users as many (if not most) of them would be overweight, but I can't just pander to the masses... if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
Some interesting thoughts. I personally have mixed feelings about obesity. Part of it is because, you know, African children are starving to death and Americans (I don't know what the Canadian stats are, or I'd quote them) are two thirds obese or something like that. For me obesity of the masses is a largely political issue-the politics of food regulations, and the politics of food distribution, because we have enough to feed everyone, but it's not getting to everyone.
Also-obesity for many thousands of people comes from emotional problems stemming from many different places including childhood traumas, minor abuse the person might not realize bothers them, the media (especially for women), and a thousand other factors. The only way to completely end obesity-other than, you know, take all the excess food from America and Canada and England and othersuch places and send it to Africa-according to the logic of emotional compulsive eating is by giving everyone psychiatric thereapy.
What do you think the government and the media should do about obesity?
~Dianna
Comment by Journeywoman
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I Dream of Hollywood
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Yes overeating is definitely a disorder with psychological foundations, much like drug addictions and alcoholism. As you say, many people are depressed or have suffered traumas in the past that are affecting them in a latent way, and their poison of choice is food. These people do require counselling, in addition to advice from a nutritionist, to get their lives back on track.
But then there are many people who are simply prone to gluttony and laziness. These are the ones for whom the media and the government need to take action. The media needs to promote healthy lifestyles and not this "Love your body, a.k.a. don't worry about your unhealthiness" crap they've been spouting for the last one and a half decades. The government, ideally, could bring in some financial incentives for people to get healthy, as many people only respond to offers of money.... in addition to a revival of something like the "Life, Be In It" program of the 70s and 80s (in Australia).
What do you think, regarding the government and the media? I agree about the starving children of developing nations... it is utterly unfair. Perhaps if government resources weren't so strained paying for obese people's health problems, they'd be able to do more about alleviating poverty in other nations.
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
I'm glad that you're keeping the discussion respectful too-certain bloggers here are very bad at that. I've had some unpleasant experiences with them.
I'm also glad that you have ideas on what could be done rather than just condemning people. People need constructive criticism to move forward with anything-it's much the same when you look at a novel and address its problems.
The media definitely needs to start focusing more on healthy weight and healthy lifestyle, rather than either focusing on the morbidly obese or the morbidly underweight like they currently do. We also need a major revision of the capitalist system-I think that it's responsible for a lot of the problems today.
I think that maybe the governments should take more responsibility. Maybe there shouldn't be so much excess food in countries like Canada, America, and England. Maybe food should be distributed more fairly among the citizens and around the world. Maybe the governments-and corporations-should take action to reduce the food coming into America and Canada since so much of it goes to waste, and send some of the food that would make people obese to countries where people are starving.
Of course, then we reach a fine line between the governments making the world a fairer place and completely controlling citizens' lives and eating habits.
~Dianna
Comment by Journeywoman
Great Hair Style Tips
I Dream of Hollywood
Fashion Peach
Agreed that we can't be over-regulated by the government though. Ultimately a major shift in thinking is required, and will happen in time, but where it comes from and when is anyone's guess. Chances are we'll have to reach rock bottom before the masses are willing to change their mindsets.
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
Thanks for the debate