One Million Deaths Per Year

Down with the advertisers of death!

Libertarianism is so rational, so individualistic, so disconnected from social/psychological reality, so God-like in its certainties.

Sven, do you think the elimination of pro-smoking advertisments player a part in that diminishment?

I really do get sick of McDonalds ads telling me how much fun and how many friends id have if I would just go buy a Big Mac

Sven wrote:

Dbrids wrote:

 

I really do get sick of McDonalds ads telling me how much fun and how many friends id have if I would just go buy a Big Mac

Do those ads cause you to eat at McD's?  Or, do you tune the ads out and make other choices?  I choose to tune them out.

I certainly do tune them out, its the little kiddies i worry about

Sven wrote:

If McD ads are one of the biggest threats to little kiddies, they have nothing to worry about life.

Besides, what do you want to do, ban McD ads?

Well I wouldnt say its the biggest threat to kids at all and i agree with your sentiments towards banning things, but a little more accountability on the side of the producers of these products would be nice (not just McDs either that was just an example).

Dbrids wrote:

Sven, do you think the elimination of pro-smoking advertisments player a part in that diminishment?

Of course this aspect was overlooked by sven!

In America, anything is possible, Sven. Look around at what The Land of the Free  has accomplished recently...in the name of some kind of freedom.

I go onto an American medical site sometimes to chat with the folks, and basically, Americans largely scorn any explanation besides personal responsibility to account for lifestyle-related illnesses.  I tried arguing with them, saying Americans are the fattest people in the world, and people have noticed that when they leave the US to live in Europe (or Canada!), they lose weight, and vice versa.  I pointed out that if something is a widespread phenomenon, there must be cultural forces at work that are larger than the individual.  But they continue to say, everybody has the freedom to put the fork down, and besides, it's immoral to interfere with the free market (I think some of these people read too much Ayn Rand at a vulnerable age).

If one leaves it up to yakking individuals to rule whether it is individuals who rule, what answer do you expect to get? There is not much truth in advertising, but there is even less in Internet forum opinionizing.

martin dufresne wrote:

If one leaves it up to yakking individuals to rule whether it is individuals who rule, what answer do you expect to get? There is not much truth in advertising, but there is even less in Internet forum opinionizing.

Is this a confession?

Poor lifestlye choices, especially around food are more complex than simply telling people to put the fork down, though clearly personal choice does enter into it.

Products like HFCS and other refined carbohydrates can create addictive behaviours in some folks, especially in children.  Put that together with the food scientists who are working on maximizing the pleasure centres hit by each bite of Big Mac or Whopper and the advertising aimed at children and you have something I consider insideous. 

Healthy, fresh food is often more expensive than it's cheaper, nutritionally bankrupt alternatives.  During the recent (and ongoing) slide in the economy, McD's was actually doing better than when times were more prosperous.  I would attribute this to it's cost as well as the psychological comfort it gives to some people. 

It comes down to education around healthy eating (of which there is almost none in the public schools) and making physical activity either necessary or affordable.  Of course this is where people chime in that walking is free.  My reply is that in terms of finding time, walking is sometimes less free than you might think, given the costs of child care, etc. 

People are making poor choices for myriad of factors, not merely a lack of will-power.  Of course, if someone was very fit, it might be comforting to believe that other people merely lacked will power and therefore were inferior.  Clearly, trends are showing an increasing level of inactivity, poor eating habits, and morbid obesity, I find it difficult to surmise that this is all merely due to a collective decline in will power, that is about as believable as the claim that somehow there has been a rapid evolution in the last 100 years to predispose folks to obesity. 

 edit to say that Dbrids hit the nail on the head...

remind wrote:

It seems to me, that libertarianism appeals  in the majority to white men.

I've noticed that too; it's like a cultural trait.

As part of these courses I'm taking, I've read some articles on the prevention of diabetes.  In a nutshell, diet and exercise are the most effective means of preventing type II diabetes; however, the study participants found it extremely hard to comply with the measures prescribed to them even with intensive follow up (counselling sessions, etc).  What I'd like to see are "sin taxes" on unhealthy foods, and more support for lifestyle changes.  

As has been said before, part of the problem is that the US is a car-centric culture, their cities, towns, structured around driving from place to place, while most European cities had substantial infrastructure in place centuries before cars, so people have to walk a lot to get to places.  The best way to lose weight, I have found, is to make healthier choices part of your day, so you don't even think about it or have to exercise any will power.  So I don't own a car, and by necessity have to walk a lot - I lost weight after I got rid of the car.

I know not everybody can be car-less, but if people's lives were structured such that they walked more when doing their shopping, and when they arrived at the grocery store, the crappy food isn't front and centre, cheap and easy, people won't require so much will power.

People do have to make an effort, especially when you get over 40.  But there has to be more societal support. 

Sineed wrote:

I know not everybody can be car-less, but if people's lives were structured such that they walked more when doing their shopping, and when they arrived at the grocery store, the crappy food isn't front and centre, cheap and easy, people won't require so much will power.

I know that as a cash strapped student i would greatly appreciate healthy food being cheaper than the garbage, when you start getting low on funds you have choice but to start eating junk.

Your points about autocentric North America are extremely relevant, driving through new communties built at automobile scale makes you wonder if anyone is thinking about life past twenty years from now.

Sineed wrote:

What I'd like to see are "sin taxes" on unhealthy foods ...

Theoretically, I think this is a great idea but the problem is:  Who decides what's unhealthy?  The Canada Food Guide looks like it was designed by the Dairy Board. 

Quote:

The best way to lose weight, I have found, is to make healthier choices part of your day, so you don't even think about it or have to exercise any will power.

Agreed.  Making and keeping a commitment to walk to work, shop, whatever, is so much easier than imposing a gym schedule.

Dbrids wrote:

I know that as a cash strapped student i would greatly appreciate healthy food being cheaper than the garbage, when you start getting low on funds you have choice but to start eating junk.

There are some healthy foods that are really quite inexpensive, the trouble is that they are not the most flavourful and eating them becomes boring.  Bulk oats, tuna, legumes, etc. 

I'd love to see healthy foods like fresh local produce subsidized in some way though I can only imagine the cries of market tampering.

al-Qa'bong wrote:

I was once a cash-strapped student (there was this one time while I was waiting for the student loan cheque to come, when I was going through all my cupboards looking for anything to feed the family) and I didn't resort to eating junk. Cooking at home is far cheaper than any fast food place.

I agree that home cooking is always cheaper than fast food, the junk i was referring to in this case was the cheap grocery store junk. For example nice fruits and vegetables are expensive! same with meats and poulty.

But KD and ketchup is still a solid meal don't get me wrong