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> I don't understand why Weight Watchers even exists. Just cut out the sugar, move around, and eat more plants. That's like asking a chain smoker to just stop

by qayxc 6y ago

> I don't understand why Weight Watchers even exists. Just cut out the sugar, move around, and eat more plants. That's like asking a chain smoker to just stop buying cigarettes and have an apple instead. We have to get to terms with the fact that obesity is an epidemic that has to be treated the same way tobacco has. Stop putting so damn much sugar and salt into processed food. More physical education in schools and pre-schools/kindergarten (it's appalling how much the motor skills of children have deteriorated compared to previous generations). School gardens for every school so children can learn from an early age what food even is, how its grown and what it actually tastes like. It's a bunch of measures that need to be taken and while it might be simple for some people (like you for example) to change their lifestyle, it's really hard for most. > Just cut out the sugar This is a great example for why it's so hard: most processed food (and even bread) contains tons of added sugar without the consumer even realising it. It's not necessarily the donuts, the chocolate, or candy bars. It's the sodas, fast food, bread, parfait, fruit drinks, the canteen food, etc. The practise varies from country to country, but some (e.g. Mexico) had to pull the emergency brake already and limit the amount of added sugar by law. Since sugar is highly addictive, it's hard to let go of these products, especially since most of us are conditioned to primarily consume highly processed junk basically from birth.

cycomanic 6y ago
The scary thing is that there is significant evidence that being overweight as a toddler dramatically increases risk to be obese as an adult. So really we need to start way before school, parent education is really important.
Timpy 6y ago
> Stop putting so damn much sugar and salt into processed food I can't express how discouraging this is, at least in the United States. The high school I graduated from had a well meaning principal that believed milk was good for you and soft drinks were bad for you. By her reasoning, chocolate milk would at least encourage the students to drink milk, and the benefits of milk would outweigh the costs of having a ton of sugar. All of the soft drinks were taken out of the vending machines and replaced with "Vitamin Water". So our cafeteria was stocked with chocolate milk, orange juice, and vitamin water. The general public seems to be completely ignorant to why this is a problem. People I care deeply about are having health problems that I can't help but feel would be alleviated if they stopped drinking diet caffeine-free soft drinks as if it were an acceptable substitute for water.

by qayxc 6y ago

cycomanic 6y ago

The scary thing is that there is significant evidence that being overweight as a toddler dramatically increases risk to be obese as an adult. So really we need to start way before school, parent education is really important.

Timpy 6y ago

> Stop putting so damn much sugar and salt into processed food I can't express how discouraging this is, at least in the United States. The high school I graduated from had a well meaning principal that believed milk was good for you and soft drinks were bad for you. By her reasoning, chocolate milk would at least encourage the students to drink milk, and the benefits of milk would outweigh the costs of having a ton of sugar. All of the soft drinks were taken out of the vending machines and replaced with "Vitamin Water". So our cafeteria was stocked with chocolate milk, orange juice, and vitamin water. The general public seems to be completely ignorant to why this is a problem. People I care deeply about are having health problems that I can't help but feel would be alleviated if they stopped drinking diet caffeine-free soft drinks as if it were an acceptable substitute for water.