[Closed] Tackling obesity.

The power of advertising to promote is different to that to dissuade. It's in the interests of the drinks companies etc. to promote their products as without sales they are dead. They can outspend governments easily.

If you want to know what works then go for things the industry complains about, smoking bans, plane packaging and taxes were all fought hard but seem to be working there.

The government have caved to food industry interests at the expense of the people they're supposed to be serving, and trotted out the excuse that they're protecting jobs and profits in the food industry at a time of post Brexit economic uncertainty. It's shameful.

We all know that people will do whatever they have to in order pay for their addiction as with continued price hikes on ciggies and high prices for alcohol.

Obesity costs the NHS more than smoking, a combined approach of education, advertising bans and high tax have helped bring rates down massively.

Sadly the government has bowed to pressure from food industry lobbyists again (they also blocked traffic light labeling)

It's political expediency at the expense of peoples lives,

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/20/obesity-bigger-cost-than-war-and-terror

But long term the cost to the country is much greater

Health promotion needs to be tackled at individual, cultural and structural levels.

Very simplistically, the healthy choice has to be made the easiest choice. Right now it's not. Fast food is (often) cheaper and quicker than healthy food, gym membership is expensive and childcare is an issue for many, long working hours at improper desks creates issues (stand-up desks are the norm in some other countries), cycling is dangerous on the roads, lack of decent street lighting might put off lone females exercising late at night etc etc...

I'm always amazed how health institutions don't make the healthy choice the easiest choice. In our local hospital, it's cheaper to buy a homemade flapjack than it is to buy a fresh apple or bananas. That just seems mental to me...

I think May has looked short term at the next few month's worth of headlines and decided that share value of Coca-Cola is a more pressing issues post-brexit than kids getting fatter, after all she won't be PM when they're fat adults

its not a good idea - like voluntary regulation ever works anywhere- but then again - like smoking- who TF does not know its bad for them

If you eat poor food, or your kids do, it really is your fault rather than the fault of the purveyors of the shit you eat
Dont buy crap, by fruit and veg, cook your own meals, exercise- its not complicated or unknown advice

Take some personal responsibility rather than feeling like its someone else fault you or your kids drink 3 cans of fizzy pop every day

That said I would have also regulated the industry greater as "voluntary regulation" is the same as not bothering

I'm of an odd view in that I'm not going to have a pop at the soft drinks people.

I had to look at sugar intake thanks to an early genetic expiry stamped on my pancreas. The drinks companies all offer suitable zero sugar alternatives and the only alternative is a more expensive make your own option.

What I couldn't get past is the added sugar in yoghurt, bread or breakfast cerials. Many big brand yoghurts and cerials are 20% sugars.

I joked at forst that it would be safer for me to eat the contents of the detergent aisle than any other in the supermarket.

I get that there is evidence that for young kids there is evidence that a large proportion of their calories are from soft drinks, what I don't get is why it's not acceptable to find out why people avoid the zero sugar drinks and at the same time penalise the likes of Muller-Wiseman and Kellogs for their added sugar.

The problem is so much more than soft drinks.

The Sugar Bureau /Sugar Council are powerful, nasty, dangerous, remorseless organisation that have been burying reports/careers and influencing government policies for years and years.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/wellbeing/diet/10634081/John-Yudkin-the-man-who-tried-to-warn-us-about-sugar.html

They could ban junk food manufacturers (coca cola, Carlsberg, McDs etc) from sponsoring sporting events for a start. Associating that stuff with fitness activities is misguided at best.

Conservative government does what industry wants at the expense of the public shocker. It was always going to be like this. People can go stuff themselves provided the rich keep getting richer.

Conservative government does what industry wants at the expense of the public shocker. Conservative government does what industry wants at the expense of the public shocker.

If you eat poor food, or your kids do, it really is your fault rather than the fault of the purveyors of the shit you eat
Dont buy crap

much "crap food" is heavily advertised as being very good for you. It's often very difficult to distinguish what's actually good for you and what's not.

Orange juice, for example, healthy? right? I mean it's fruit juice, isn't that good for you?

Fair point on that but honestly 99% of folk who eat poorly know they eat poorly

The way they look in the mirror cannot hide this fact - no offence meant on that point as not a body fascist

Yes fruit smoothies may be a grey area but fizzy pop and biscuits is not]

This is about the childhood obesity strategy
I'm sure kids are aware of their body image etc, but smoking adverts near schools are banned, but equally harmful junk food ads in popular kids programmes are not

= Huge government failure

Take some personal responsibility rather than feeling like its someone else fault you or your kids drink 3 cans of fizzy pop every day

This. Personally i'm massively against a sugar tax as it penalises everyone else that enjoys these drinks responsibly. Absolutely nothing wrong with that can of coke when you are half bonked and 30 miles from home on the bike.

And if any tax extended to cover isotonic sports drinks you'd be actively punishing people at the opposite end of the spectrum to those you are targeting.

Take some personal responsibility rather than feeling like its someone else fault you or your kids drink 3 cans of fizzy pop every day

Whilst I think food/drink agrivate the problem, and something in our education system and culture exacerbate that particularly for those who perhaps need it most, I firmly believe that even if you made it illegal to sell/give sugary drinks to under 16s you wouldn't solve the issue (I think the country's relationship with alcohol gives us a clue there!). The issue is not really one of intake, it's one of sedentary lifestyles.

Sugar is also one of the most addictive things we know of, get hooked early and it's almost impossible to kick the habit

Once you are obesse your hormone levels are changed for life, they never drop even if you lose the weight, the gut is the largest hormone producing organ in the body

This is why gastric bypass surgery is so effective, not because it makes your stomach smaller but because it removes the chemical drivers that dictate your eating habits , it's also why diabetes disappears virtually overnight after surgery

Education doesn't work, people are selfish ****s and will do as they please.

= Huge government failure

Essentially if my kids are fat its my fault not the governments and not the food industry

I accept neither of these are helping but everyone knows the healthy eating message- its not complicated - just as they know the drink in moderation message and the dont smoke message

Not everyone listens though.

SHit i sound like a tory going on about personal responsibility

If i fall from high horse i will gently float to the ground as i am so slight 😉

I do get both sides of this and the industry does not help but there has to be a point where folk take responsibility for what they do rather than keep blaming others

No one is force feeding you chips, pizza , biscuits and pop

This. Personally i'm massively against a sugar tax as it penalises everyone else that enjoys these drinks responsibly.

I treat my slaves responsibly, Why should I have to give up my slaves just because other people can't treat them well...

hyperbole, but you know, society....

Essentially if my kids are fat its my fault not the governments and not the food industry

...sort of. But you know that supermarkets put sweets where small kids can reach them, so why not just make that illegal? If we can and do hide fags, and we know that sweets are going to be just as dangerous to the future of our childrens health, then why not start doing something about it now? It means that we don't have to face the same issues that decades of smoking has done.

I treat my slaves responsibly, Why should I have to give up my slaves just because other people can't treat them well...

But you know that supermarkets put sweets where small kids can reach them, so why not just make that illegal?

I agree its not helpful but its a parents responsibility to teach kids about life
Part of that is to explain why eating crap and not exercising is a bad idea

It helps that there are so many fat people to point at when doing this 😛

KIds illegal are you mad

seems perfectly sensible to me 😆

Its not just a food issue, in my opinion the government for far too long have been very passive on the nation's health, they should be doing a lot more such as encouraging people to use bikes instead of cars for journeys less than five miles.

Lower obesity, NHS less stretched due to better overall population health, less pollution.

My wifes friend is a nutritionist, working for the NHS going round schools etc doing healthy cooking demos and giving advice etc, she really knows her stuff.

Her kids diet is ****ing abysmal.

Once you are obesse your hormone levels are changed for life, they never drop even if you lose the weight, the gut is the largest hormone producing organ in the body

This is why gastric bypass surgery is so effective, not because it makes your stomach smaller but because it removes the chemical drivers that dictate your eating habits , it's also why diabetes disappears virtually overnight after surgery

Internet woo woo alert, sources and peer reviewed studies please 🙂

Did anyone see the guy talking about this on BBC news this morning? I thought the presenters were awful, he was trying to talk about how the strategy is really weak and short sighted, how it needs to look at the environment that surrounds us and how that makes us more likely to make bad choices on food and exercise. The presenters just kept interrupting him to basically say "So?!" and "Isn't it all really the parent's fault?".

Some studies show that we're eating less than we have in the past, but that's still too much because we're moving less: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/wellbeing/diet/10126042/Britons-getting-fatter-despite-consuming-fewer-calories.html

Obviously, parents have a role to play, but an individual parent/household can't be responsible for making the roads safe for active travel. That HAS to come from (local and national) government. The Netherlands has one of the lowest rates of obesity in Europe. 100 miles away in East Anglia we've got one of the highest rates. I've been to the Netherlands, they drink beer, eat meat and chips and mayonnaise, do the same kind of jobs as us. The difference is that kids, adults, pensioners, disabled people can all get around on a bike or on foot/wheelchair safely.

It's all well and good having leisure routes and sustrans tracks out in the countryside, but it's still treating 'active travel' as something you do at the weekend when you've got a few hours to kill, then on Monday morning when the kids need to go a mile down the road to school you load them back into the car because they'll be under the wheels of an angry van driver if you let them ride there.

Tackling obesity is easy , as fat kids can't run very fast so a quick leg sweep and they're down like little chubby sack of spuds.

My wifes friend is a nutritionist, working for the NHS going round schools etc doing healthy cooking demos and giving advice etc, she really knows her stuff.

Her kids diet is **** abysmal.

In theory,you should never see a fat dietitian.

Might I suggest that another factor, among many, is that peer pressure isn't allowed. That's a very effective method of changing peoples attitudes removed. If we were allowed or even encouraged to pee ourselves laughing at fat slobs then at least some might get the message.
In almost all of the schools I teach in there will be a few fatties amongst the kids. They are usually spoilt rotten and are given a bag of crisps the second they are picked up. If teachers were allowed to point out to parents that little Jayden ( not that I am thinking of any one kid in particular) was fat enough for slaughter, a few might get the message.
Our society says that we are all equal. That includes porkers who are entitled to do as they want and bugger the expense to the nation.
Complete cobblers.

This: http://thedailymile.co.uk/

Doesn't require a large playground, any specialist equipment or much time out of the day.

Are there still vending machines in schools?

I'm disappointed with the Gov, although not surprized.

The sugar dealers have lobbied hard in the corridoors of Westminster, to win their case, threatening job losses, etc.

I heard most of the R4 intervierw this morning (circa 7:40am). At one point the presenter challenged the soft drinks representative to qualify the nutritional content/value of a well known soft drink. The representative quickly side stepped that one, while having the "front" to complain about the targetting of the soft drinks manufacturers for a "sugar tax".

Imo, there's currently more BS in Nutrition than in HiFi and the Space race, put together!
Until some form of concensus is reached on that front, the purveyors of nutritionally poor food, will hide behind the confusion and continue to market their wares.

While I agree with those members who are advocating personal and parental responsibility. Those comments are a little at odds with previous posts by the same, claming the Gov is there to improve our lives.

The junk food/drink industry has for many decades, had a free reign in their field, hiding behind the myth that dietary fat was the demon. Now that dietary sugar is finally receiving the attention it deserves, one might have hoped that Gov would see the industry isn't for changing itself and that self regulation, so far, isn't providing the results the BMA and dentists have clearly suggested.

[i]mattsccm - Member
If we were allowed or even encouraged to pee ourselves laughing at fat slobs then at least some might get the message.[/i]

Shaming people with a problem and making them a source of ridicule and amusement isn't a solution.

I'd suggest education is the root to the solution. However, when there are those in the world for whom there is a vested interest in creating confusion about what to eat and what not to eat.

The task of correctly educating those who would benefit, is almost impossible.

Solo +1 to both posts.

when I wer a youff smoking was trendy, it was seen as cool both amongst parents and my peers. it made everybody want to try it, so kids did and hey presto lots of little addicts.

Today, its seen as what it is, unhealthy, a killer and not trendy, smokers, bless em, are often seen as periahs.

We need to do the same for refined sugars. The government needs to tackle it seriously instead of half measures.

It's ingrained in our social psyche, just look at any binners thread, he's the bloody pied piper of dietary crap. 😀
It's a shame that if you eat healthily, look after yourself and don't drink alcohol your considered a freak.
The real freaks are the losers who think guzzling bucket like amounts of beer and eating 2500 calories just before you hit the sack is a sensible thing to do. Then they start a thread about which latest money making scheme/diet is the best to try for approximately how long the poor sap can muster, before they succumb to latest crack cocaine of munchy snackiness.
As for parents feeding their kids this crap, i can't even get started, reap what you sow springs to mind.

Government subsidises the food production drink and retail industry massively - most pay minimum wage for low-end jobs and therefore workers get the benefit tax credits to survive. Hurting their revenues probably means fewer shops, few jobs for the poor-educated (traditional labour or UKIP voters) and therefore will never happen. Sugar tax will hurt the pockets of business owners and low-end workers the most.

EDIT - wrong thread, oops

Does giving people free food cure their Anorexia?

Ok, so why do we think that making food more expensive will cure their Obesity?

Theres a whole variety of reasons why different people are fat - ranging from anxiety and mental health issues to education, lifestyle and free-time. Its not helping anyone slagging them off and calling them fat/lazy/stupid from an ivory tower though.

The truth is that our current approach to a hugely complex psycho-social issue isn't any more developed than when we used to tell people with depression to go and pull themselves together.

Theres a whole variety of reasons why different people are fat - ranging from anxiety and mental health issues to education, lifestyle and free-time. Its not helping anyone slagging them off and calling them fat/lazy/stupid from an ivory tower though.

Agreed and I would add to that list certain medications and certain diseases are making folk prone to obesity. Speaking from myxadema madness the last thing to mention to doctors is anything to do with weight. Lazy assumptions and sneering is not helpful, in my experience.

I agree its not helpful but its a parents responsibility to teach kids about life
Part of that is to explain why eating crap and not exercising is a bad idea

We used to rely on parents to teach the birds and the bees, and its generally accepted now that early professional education is much more consistently effective, helping to start reverse problems with teenage pregnancy, std's etc. Education about cooking/eating has been marginalised for years and is an after thought on the curriculum but is an essential life skill we ALL need. Even physical education is generally focussed around "sports" and so for many people doesn't build habits that last a lifetime and stop as soon as they leave school. A culture in schools where children aren't expected to get themselves to and from anywhere themselves all adds to the problem. When the problems are at a societal level, rather than merely a few individuals it is appropriate for government to intervene. I think it is right to question if a tax is the right tool - but if that provides resource to tackle the real issues, penalises firms who could do more to proactively be responsible themselves and provides a little incentive for people to make the switch then I don't really see a downside?

If i fall from high horse i will gently float to the ground as i am so slight

Yes fruit smoothies may be a grey area but fizzy pop and biscuits is not

Those comments are a little at odds with previous posts by the same, claming the Gov is there to improve our lives.

If you want to eat like shit and be overweight then that is your choice. I dont think I or the state have the right to deny folk this. I also think everyone knows the message they just chose not to do it. Furthermore this choice does not - paying for it aside- have any impact on me personally so what has it got to do with me?

Its probably not unreasonable to point out this is generally at odds with my views and i noted this point that I sounded like a tory talking about personal responsibility rather than state intervention.

I don't believe that a substantial number of parents are equipped to properly do this

When the problems are at a societal level, rather than merely a few individuals it is appropriate for government to intervene

educating you in physics

Am not the greatest supporter of politicians but the "blaming the government" crap today is way OTT. Spent a lot of time driving so was listening to all the phone ins and debate.

So does the government but your kids the soft drink
Does the government buy the second chocolate bar with the rest of the goods
Does the government place the sweets next to the counter.
Do they put them in the trolley
Did they change pack lunches to easy crap

Did they ****

We will tackle obesity when people take responsibility for their actions. Yes, educate and yes inform. But at the end of the day, it's up to each and everyone of us to make the correct choices. Placing the blame elsewhere is simply a cop out.

@junkyard...you should read some sociology books re how people internalise the norms of society and how our attitudes, behaviours, values etc are created...you might realise how the 'personal responsibility' argument you feel strongly about gets a bit complicated to defend...

Edit: seeing what you wrote thm...I agree, you cannot solely blame others but, and it's a big but, to tackle obesity the individuals and government have to take equal responsibility....e.g. how can an individual tell whats a lie and what's not re.healthy choice and advertising?

you might realise how the 'personal responsibility' argument you feel strongly about gets a bit complicated to defend.

However sometimes folk like to blame others for their issues and i think this is one of them. If i am unhealthy its not because the options are not there its because i dont take them.

I am accepting, due to the arguments voiced here that we need to make sure all citizens understand the issues and the reason - i think they largely do tbh- and then it is really the realm of personal responsibility.

EVB I credit people with some intelligence. They can engage their brains and open their eyes. Buy the fruit not the chocolate, the water not the Fanta, have some will not to buy the sweets at the counter. We place this stuff in our mouths, we are not force fed by the government nor the companies that sell the shite.

So no it's not equal responsibility at all. Fine for governments to invest in education and legislate re transparent labelling etc. But, the real solution, lies in our hands not theirs.

Not saying it's easy. I made a bad choice today (added the pret brownie to the otherwise healthy lunch. That was unnecessary and stupid. Who's to blame? Me and me alone. And now taking my old mum out to supper, so I have to make choices again. We shall see....

Tackling obesity is also about creating a society where people are able to move properly and sleep properly...moving and sleeping are crucial to a healthy body. Our workaholic, stressed lives do nothing to promote this. Is it the individuals fault their mortgage, gas bills, fuel bills, food bills aren't covered by their wages? People working long hours to pay the bills contributes to our reliance on fast food/poor choices thereby increasing obesity...

People cant cook now and buy rubbish .Real food is much cheaper than processed rubbish

@thm...so why is the nation obese? Why are poor choices being made since you think we know what's right and wrong?

Apropos of, well, I'm not sure, but the lad that sits next to me at work, who I guess is about 23/24, can, by his own admission, cook nothing. He has no idea how to prepare the most basic of ingredients or do the basic cooking techniques (you know, like browning off onions and mince to make spag bol/chilli/cottage pie/shepherd's pie etc etc)

Now, I was taught that kind stuff in school. Why wasn't he? If we don't teach basic cooking skills, ready meals will be the go to option, and they're full of fat/salt/sugar yadda yadda...

And another thing, me and the little lady once spent six months traveling around Europe, from Norway to Romania, seventeen countries in all. The two most striking impressions on our return to Blighty were
1) the roads are ****ing awful
2) the people look really, really unhealthy

Anyway, apologies for the slightly incoherent post, I'm sat in the garden enjoying a massive G&T and a bowl of crisps 🙂

I think healthy eating has a real image problem in this country: It's seen as being weird, obsessive, tantamount to vegetarianism (no that there's anything wrong with vegetarianism), being a hypochondriac etc. On the other hand, fast food is seen as being cool, eaten by those on the go, associated with activity and social activities (hence my comment about banning it from sports sponsorship).

I'm not really sure I buy the cost thing as, for an example, porridge is generally cheaper to buy the raw ingredients for than these unhealthy, sugar-laden cereals. Similarly, salads are fairly low cost meals, as is a baked sweet potato and some kind of healthy filling.

I do agree that the British way of life isn't very conducive to healthy eating, but I think that partly relates to the image problem I refer to above: No one wants to make time for eating properly. Regular exercise is also affected in a similar manner. People tend to see exercise as an annoyance, rather than a way of life.

no one on here I would suggest would think for a minute the govt pressure on smoking is anything other than positive, banning smoking in pubs and restaurants was once seen as the death knell for the industry, now no one bats an eyelid about the fact that they are hidden behind sliding doors in supermarkets. As a result smoking rates have declined and health outcomes are improving.

While there has to be individual responsibility, none of us are islands to ourselves, we are a society, and if we want that society to be healthier, then sometimes larger decisions about how much sugar there is in our children's diets should be made at a societal level.

Obesity is rising...fact. we've had an ideology of personal responsibility for last ten years or so under Conservative and Labour. Clearly it's not working and we need another solution.

@thm et al. who are adamant it's personal responsibility. You need to be more open minded since empirical evidence is demonstrating your theory is not working. Some on here have offered alternatives but all you can do is stick by a failed theory of 'persoanl responsibility'amd shoot down the suggestions. Then again, we all know where the theory comes from and why it's here so it's hardly surprising that some people stick with it even when it's failing the majority...

EVB - sorry for the delay, as I said I have been taking my mum out for dinner - ok choices but not perfect!!!

Given that it's largely, but not exclusively, individual reasons, the answers are multiple. One thing it is not, is the fault of any government. That's simply a cop out.

Was on holiday a few weeks ago with buffet breakfasts. Odd that the slim people had plates of fresh fruit and the obese people had muffins, pancakes, fried bread etc. Not a politician in sight. Not difficult to understand.

We demonstrate many aspects of a society in decline. A failure to take responsibility is one symptom of that.

No one is force feeding you chips, pizza , biscuits and pop

Advertising is giving us poor information that we are supposed to learn and educate ourselves from. Lower education standards is part of the problem and an objective of the same said govt. 👿 But that's another argument.
Yes, parents have to take responsibility but they're under huge pressures from advertisers and false information.
Sugar is addictive and should be treated as such. Blaming the parents is a poor argument.

Whether it's the fault of government is very, very different to whether it's appropriate for government to intervene. It's not the government's fault if you drink drive but i doubt anyone thinks that means they shouldn't intervene when someone is caught drink driving or try to prevent it.

. The two most striking impressions on our return to Blighty were

2) the people look really, really unhealthy

We went to Barcelona for a week last year. Had a great week of walking 10+ miles a day exploring the city, surrounded by sophisticated, easy-on-the-eye Spaniards and other European tourists.

The day after we got back I was sitting in an asda cafe next to the garage waiting for my car's MOT to be done. It was awful, as I looked around at people in the café, in the shop, crossing the car park, at the bus stop I realised I was surrounded by pale, flabby, sometimes smelly, clammy looking people. Like you say, so many people just looked unhealthy.

As I've already said, it's just not what we're eating that needs to be looked at, the elephant in the room is how much of what we eat gets burnt off. It's just not addressed, apart from some occasional token gesture of giving each school a tenner each to buy a couple of footballs. We need to change our environment and our society to make waddling to the car to drive a 2 mile journey as strange as cycling that distance is now.

One thing it is not, is the fault of any government. That's simply a cop out.

I don't think anyone had said it's the govt's fault. I think some posters have suggested it does need govt intervention (as opposed to voluntary agreements which everyone understands are pointless) to help some people with their relationship with poor food choices. In the same way as govts helped people to help themselves to give up fags...

Well said Bails.
I was in Stockholm last week went to a few museums with junior. I noticed a few things 1 they all give clumsey idiots on crutches a wheel chair 2. The food in the cafes was all salads and healthy sandwiches, no chips and 3 the people look much thinner and healthier.

I'm not opposed to a sugar tax but if gov wants to reduce obesity it needs to think about how our kids are treated in society. Can they ride to school safely? Can they play out without being run over by a car or having misplaced hysteria about peados. Are sports clubs easy to get to and cheap to join? What point is 30 olympic golds for GB if only a few can hope to follow in their foot steps or at least dream of being a medalist whilst playing atca lower level. Are out door spaces safe and svailable for use. What goes in is only half of the story is our perception of risk killing our kids?

I think healthy eating has a real image problem in this country: It's seen as being weird, obsessive, tantamount to vegetarianism (no that there's anything wrong with vegetarianism), being a hypochondriac etc. On the other hand, fast food is seen as being cool, eaten by those on the go, associated with activity and social activities (hence my comment about banning it from sports sponsorship).

I think that, once again, this is hugely complex - If you look at, for example, the history of Hovis, you will see that the preoccupation with healthy eating was a very 'middle class' thing all the way back to victorian times, so this whole thing has to be seen in the context of cheap food for the masses - plus a preoccupation with 'Bonny Babies' and weight gain as a sign of strength/health in young age.

Of course we can't ignore the effect of WW2 on the generations before us - firstly that of rationing, our parents were the ones who gorged themselves in 1953 when confectionary stopped being rationed, but also women beginning to work on a hitherto unseen scale, throw in the pill and women being told that they could 'have it all' with a career and family, so less time for cooking and the growth of ready meals.

Hugely complex social aspects at play here.

edit - worth a read, Orwells take on things in [i]Wigan Pier[/i]: http://www.george-orwell.org/The_Road_to_Wigan_Pier/5.html

I agree Nick and said so earlier

We have a public health service. Of course the government should be taxing sugar, banning advertising to children and generally taking all the measures that have been successful for improving public health for tobacco.

Take individual responsibility you say? Right, who has time to read all the ingredients? People are very trusting that the shiny packaging is entirely benevolent and good. Others just live in a world of cognitive dissonance.

There should be massive warning lights and a hooter should sound every time anyone picks up a packet of Coco Pops. Someone kindly should emerge from a neighbouring aisle and gently retrieve it, explaining that it contains deadly amounts of sugar, a fast track to diabetes and an early grave. Coca Cola should only be allowed if you can produce your endurance event entry and training plan. All pastries should only sold in shops accessible by foot at least 3 miles from surfaced roads. Sorted.

I realised I was surrounded by pale, flabby, sometimes smelly, clammy looking people

Take individual responsibility you say? Right, who has time to read all the ingredients?

Everyone. Is it important or not?

People are very trusting that the shiny packaging is entirely benevolent and good.

More fool them. But as I said, education is key. Governments should focus there.

But FFS is not hard to realise that coco pops is a bad choice.

Coco Pops sales still total £54 million per year according to the Grocer. 12.8 million kgs FFS.

That's more than a few people who haven't worked out that they're a 'bad choice' / have given into their children's mithering / are addicted to sugar.

It takes <1 min to google the nutritional facts re Coco Pops

Loads of Olympic athletes have been tweeting pictures of themselves eating Maccy Ds. That's a confusing message to kids if there ever was one. I wonder if Maccy Ds have a hand in the tweets?

Olympic athletes are training 5 hrs a day 6 days a week, they can afford the odd indulgence. Get our kids doing 30hrs exercise a week and we won't have a national obesity epidemic anymore.

It takes <1 min to google the nutritional facts re Coco Pops

Calories in 100g porridge oats - 384
Calories in 100g coco-pops - 387
Calories in 100g special K - 378

Massive difference, eh?

Sod porridge oats then, I'd rather have coco pops as part of my nutritious breakfast coz they are only 3 more Calories and they turn the milk chocolatey.

Calories in 100g porridge oats - 384 Sugar 0g
Calories in 100g coco-pops - 387 Sugar 39g
Calories in 100g special K - 378 Sugar 12g

Massive difference, eh?

Dig a bit deeper and there is.
Again the heavily advertised healthy option still has an unecessary 12g of sugar. Do people still put a spoon of sugar on these thing too?
I don't think thm understands how addictions work.

But.. I'd rather have a bowl of Coco pops!

Sugar enhanced food is the scourge of modern society. Refined suguar and hydrogenated oils are the Devils work. Couple this with a generally lazy and entitled society and within a few generations we've become like a vision from the film Wall-e...

It's almost like people don't mind being fat.. As it's now normal.

Olympic athletes are training 5 hrs a day 6 days a week, they can afford the odd indulgence. Get our kids doing 30hrs exercise a week and we won't have a national obesity epidemic anymore.

It takes <1 min to google the nutritional facts re Coco Pops

If you can read and understand it. Also if you know enough to be worried enough about nutrition I doubt you need to google it anyway.

Since some people think the state shouldn't intervene and it's down to poor choices...are you therefore in favour of legalising drugs since it's all about choices. How about acoholism? Would you waft bottles of beer in front of your alcoholic friend and when they cave in blame them for being weak willed? Smoking. Clealy a mistake intervening ...although hang on hsn't that helped the situation? Must just be a coincidence.

The state intervenes on loads of stuff for the benefit of it's people..only reason they dont't on sugar e.g. sweets in front of kids faces to encourage them, high sugar content food advertising, little regulation of the take-away market (ever wondered how much salt is in your local takeaway curry? You should wonder because no one is checking for you) is because money talks and the sugar lobby is so powerful...

I hoped that one of the things that came out of hosting the Olympics, and the success since Beijing, was a new found interest in healthy activity for the UK public: As it happens, they looked up from their pizzas for 5 minutes, cheered, and went to back to their mainly sedentary lifestyles.

You can only show them the door, you can lead a horse to water etc etc.

If you can read and understand it.

Are you suggesting that people can do neither?

EVB who is saying that there is no role for the state?