They were talking on the radio today about the fact that we are amongst the most obese in Europe. We consume somewhere between 30 and 50% more calories than we should. We are over weight.
I don't think that body weight is a particularly accurate measure of health, albeit a rudimentary method of keeping tabs on yourself. There are numerous ways of monitoring your stats - blood pressure, resting heart rate, body fat etc etc, which are important stats in the pursuit of good health and are things we should and can know about ourselves with small investment no need for 3rd party help.
That aside, whilst personal responsibility is unquestionably needed, I can't help think there is a huge responsibility on the corporations that sell us their sugary, salty, fatty products to advertise ethically and honestly.
We exist in a part of the world that is profit driven to such a degree that our physical and mental health and more importantly, our children's health is of secondary importance to the perpetual economical growth of supermarkets, fast food giants and on a tangent, technology companies.
Advertising unhealthy foods using language that entices with promises of happiness and other positive emotions, when the reality is diabetes, heart disease, tooth decay is wholly unethical. Sugar, I'm convinced, though not through personal experience, is a drug as hard to kick as any, even those of which the buying, selling and using are punishable by arrest and imprisonment.
I don't want choice removed, I don't want control on freedom, but I believe that the absolute truth about the product should be it's only advert.
Coke, a sugary liquid with chemicals that some people love the taste of. Caution advised, may rot teeth and cause diabetes and other diseases.
Twix, 2 bars of sugar and other carbohydrates and which make you high for 10 minutes, then you'll want another one.
There are some 80 odd products, I believe, listed in the ingredients of a Big Mac, and whilst I'm no scientist, it's not a list you'd want to read whilst munching your way through one. I resent macdonalds for tricking my daughter into wanting their ****ty breakfast as a 'treat' for her birthday and I regret not thinking about this more when I was new to parenting. I'd go down a different road if I could. Indeed, I won't buy them that crap again, until I've at least investigated with them, so they can make their own empowered decisions.
A huge swing is needed in our dietary habits for the sake of our health and wellbeing and it is our responsibility (those of us who exist now) to form and demand a society based on good ethics, good health and a strong moral compass for us, our children and the generations ahead, the lives of whom we are shaping now. Economic profit must be of secondary importance and should be directly proportionate to the corporation's ability to comply with the rules.
We need to make better choices.
I don't think that body weight is a particularly accurate measure of health, albeit a rudimentary method of keeping tabs on yourself. There are numerous ways of monitoring your stats - blood pressure, resting heart rate, body fat etc etc, which are important stats in the pursuit of good health and are things we should and can know about ourselves with small investment no need for 3rd party help.
That aside, whilst personal responsibility is unquestionably needed, I can't help think there is a huge responsibility on the corporations that sell us their sugary, salty, fatty products to advertise ethically and honestly.
We exist in a part of the world that is profit driven to such a degree that our physical and mental health and more importantly, our children's health is of secondary importance to the perpetual economical growth of supermarkets, fast food giants and on a tangent, technology companies.
Advertising unhealthy foods using language that entices with promises of happiness and other positive emotions, when the reality is diabetes, heart disease, tooth decay is wholly unethical. Sugar, I'm convinced, though not through personal experience, is a drug as hard to kick as any, even those of which the buying, selling and using are punishable by arrest and imprisonment.
I don't want choice removed, I don't want control on freedom, but I believe that the absolute truth about the product should be it's only advert.
Coke, a sugary liquid with chemicals that some people love the taste of. Caution advised, may rot teeth and cause diabetes and other diseases.
Twix, 2 bars of sugar and other carbohydrates and which make you high for 10 minutes, then you'll want another one.
There are some 80 odd products, I believe, listed in the ingredients of a Big Mac, and whilst I'm no scientist, it's not a list you'd want to read whilst munching your way through one. I resent macdonalds for tricking my daughter into wanting their ****ty breakfast as a 'treat' for her birthday and I regret not thinking about this more when I was new to parenting. I'd go down a different road if I could. Indeed, I won't buy them that crap again, until I've at least investigated with them, so they can make their own empowered decisions.
A huge swing is needed in our dietary habits for the sake of our health and wellbeing and it is our responsibility (those of us who exist now) to form and demand a society based on good ethics, good health and a strong moral compass for us, our children and the generations ahead, the lives of whom we are shaping now. Economic profit must be of secondary importance and should be directly proportionate to the corporation's ability to comply with the rules.
We need to make better choices.
