Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Obesity Ads (Read 1741 times)


Why is it sideways?

    Those people who live in rural areas used to have gardens. 


    Kalsarikännit

      Those people who live in rural areas used to have gardens. 

       

      In Chicago they are starting to turn abandoned lots into urban gardens.  School children get to see where their food comes from and get to have a project that goes from seed to a meal on their table.  I love this idea.

      I want to do it because I want to do it.  -Amelia Earhart

       

      dpschumacher


      5 months til Masters

        This thread is painting poor(er) people as somewhat helpless and as passive victims. It would be hard to change my current habits to make it on that kind of budget, but there are people who make that kind of income work because they care and are knowledgeable about how to budget. Once you get in the habit, I bet it's not that hard.

         

        A generation and a half ago, many Americans made food on that kind of income. Of course, then, you usually had one member of the household who was very devoted to that task. Now, cooking for yourself or for your family is coming back into style because it is the sign that you have made it--i.e. you have the leisure time to be able to cook.

         

        Interesting that the status of skill in budgeting and cooking and caring for the household became elevated as soon as it wasn't women's work..

         

        I don't think that people who are poor are helpless or passive victims, but I do think that there are some enviromental and cultural factors.  I think that the solution is going to take time, lots of eduction, and a commitment by families and cities to make changes.  I worked with many people who were born and raised in Camden, many of which had BA and MA despite poor schools and other factors.  But they also had to make a conscious effort to buck many of the trends in their community.  They were often called "Oreos" by our clients.  In Camden there is a program that gives adults free culinary arts school in exchange for doing all the cooking for a soup kitchen and completing extensive homework, never being late, and working their asses off.  But they come out with great job skills, help with job placement in medium to high end restaurants.  These are the type of programs that are needed desperately.  This is how you make changes. 

         

        I believe the causes are many and often obvious.  The solutions are not.  Because going back to my original post....There is obesity everywhere in the US...also in many rich and middle class areas.  It is not an issue that solely affects the people who are poor and/or living in a urban communities.  Money and access are definitely issues...but so are mental health issues (depression, body image, lacking self confidence), knowing who to cook, knowledge about nutrition, and the tools and skill required to prepare these meals.  Also it means people getting on regular and sustained exercise plans.  I agree we often think of this as a poverty issue, but any walk around Macy's or a corporate building will show that obesity crosses all economic lines.

        2023 Goals

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        Why is it sideways?

          I agree we often think of this as a poverty issue, but any walk around Macy's or a corporate building will show that obesity crosses all economic lines.

           

          Great post, and yes! 

           

          (I am saddened when I return to my wife's home country of Paraguay to find their local habits of cooking and eating falling away and obesity on the rise. There, obesity seems like a middle-upper class cultural product that goes hand in hand with consumer capitalism.)


          Prince of Fatness

            II agree we often think of this as a poverty issue, but any walk around Macy's or a corporate building will show that obesity crosses all economic lines.

             

            Well we now live in a 24x7 world, which affects the well to do as much or if not more.  It's not a 9 to 5 world anymore.  More two income homes.  Less and less families sit and eat dinner together each day.  Everyone is always on the go.  I think that this lends itself to poor eating habits.

            Not at it at all. 

              Great post, and yes! 

               

              (I am saddened when I return to my wife's home country of Paraguay to find their local habits of cooking and eating falling away and obesity on the rise. There, obesity seems like a middle-upper class cultural product that goes hand in hand with consumer capitalism.)

               This is so apparent in India as well.  White rice as the staple and then add in the fast food and the recent take out phenomenon  is manifesting as 2/3 of the population with either Cardiovascular/hypertension or Diabetes issues in the cities.  I don't have the numbers from back then but just 20 years ago, it was a lot less. 


              Feeling the growl again

                Great post, and yes! 

                 

                (I am saddened when I return to my wife's home country of Paraguay to find their local habits of cooking and eating falling away and obesity on the rise. There, obesity seems like a middle-upper class cultural product that goes hand in hand with consumer capitalism.)

                 

                We've tangented to focusing on poorer areas and some specific geographical challenges but yeah, it's not just poorer people.

                 

                Jeff's post hits on another thing that takes us back closer to the original topic:  social norms.  "THE fat kid" used to get teased to death.  Now so many are fat and we don't want to stigmatize them (look at all the opposition to these commercial".  We're supposed to accept fatness now, apparently, and there's even talk about how you can be obese but healthy (not convinced).

                 

                People tend to conform to social norms (exceptions granted or course).  Obesity and bad eating habits have become socially acceptable.  I'm not for legislating diet onto people...and I don't think it would be terribly effective regardless....but even if part of me thinks ads like this are a bit callous, I'm even more concerned if we've gotten to the point that it's politically incorrect to point out that YES YOU ARE OBESE and IT'S BAD FOR YOU.

                "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                 

                I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                 


                A Saucy Wench

                  Is everyone's highschool as bi-polar as it is here?  At our local HS I would say it is pretty evenly split between almost anorexically thin and significantly overweight. 

                   

                  Where there is very little is in between.   Skinny girls starting on diets at age 7 (yes - lunchroom volunteer friends are reporting this pretty frequently)   I dont remember ever thinking about my weight until 7th grade.  I think I made my first diet attempt maybe as a sophomore. 

                   

                  Already at the 2nd grade level there are girls saying I have to diet because I dont want to look like HER.  And girls saying there is no point to dieting because I can never be as skinny as HER.    The concept of a normal middle ground is totally absent.

                  I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

                   

                  "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

                  LedLincoln


                  not bad for mile 25

                    Well we now live in a 24x7 world, which affects the well to do as much or if not more.  It's not a 9 to 5 world anymore.  More two income homes.  Less and less families sit and eat dinner together each day.  Everyone is always on the go.  I think that this lends itself to poor eating habits.

                     

                    Mister Potato is right on - lifestyle, economics, the food industry, and the entertainment industry are all involved in this progression.

                    LedLincoln


                    not bad for mile 25

                      Now to throw another tangent at into this.  Plus-size magazine comments on body image.

                       

                      MTA:  Possibly NSFW.


                      Kalsarikännit

                        I think people that are obese see eating healthy as an all or nothing thing.  They think life is too short to be living on tofu, lettuce and sprouts.  Look at how people diet.  They go for severe calorie cutting and eat things that don't make them happy.  I really don't think that they know that people that maintain a healthy weight practice moderation.  There is always room for a cheeseburger.  You just can't be doing it everyday.  I meet so many people that have had success with Weight Watchers.  They get to eat food they like, but will have to be much more careful at other meals.  

                         

                        Of course it doesn't help that people don't burn it off.  Only one state has mandatory P.E. through high school.  Big problem.

                         

                        And a personal rant about one thing that makes me crazy:  The majority of trips under one mile are done by car, but often I don't fault the people for driving.  Where are the sidewalks?  From traveling all over the country, I am floored by how often I am forced to walk in the street or next to the curb through mud, garbage, uneven ground, wet grass, etc.  If it isn't the middle of the country or an expressway a sidewalk should be put in.

                        I want to do it because I want to do it.  -Amelia Earhart

                         


                        Feeling the growl again

                           

                          And a personal rant about one thing that makes me crazy:  The majority of trips under one mile are done by car, but often I don't fault the people for driving.  Where are the sidewalks?  From traveling all over the country, I am floored by how often I am forced to walk in the street or next to the curb through mud, garbage, uneven ground, wet grass, etc.  If it isn't the middle of the country or an expressway a sidewalk should be put in.

                           

                          I have 2 neighbors with ~50yd driveways that drive to their mailboxes (neither are elderly or crippled).  And don't get me started on people who do 3 laps of parking lots looking for a spot a few feet closer to the door.

                          "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                           

                          I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                           

                          Trent


                          Good Bad & The Monkey

                            I drive to the grocery store that is 1 mile away.  Mainly because I end up buying some 50-100 lbs of food (it seems) to feed my family, some of which is fragile.  No way I could shlep that home.

                              I drive to the grocery store that is 1 mile away.  Mainly because I end up buying some 50-100 lbs of food (it seems) to feed my family, some of which is fragile.  No way I could shlep that home.

                               

                              There's an app for that:

                               

                              wheelbarrow

                              Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and rogues
                              We're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes

                                people have lost the ability to forage aparently.  not me.

                                 

                                I just found an apple, some milk, several sandwiches, and a bag of cookies.  They were just sitting there in the company lunchroom!  I bet if I went looking there every day at 11:00-11:30 I could score all kinds of food.