Episodes
- My So-Called Life (Pi... - #1 »
- Dancing in the Dark - #2 »
- Guns and Gossip - #3 »
- Father Figures - #4 »
- The Zit - #5 »
- The Substitute - #6 »
- Why Jordan Can't Read - #7 »
- Strangers in the Hous... - #8 »
- Halloween - #9 »
- Other People's Daught... - #10 »
- Life of Brian - #11 »
- Self-Esteem - #12 »
- Pressure - #13 »
- On the Wagon - #14 »
- So-Called Angels - #15 »
- Resolutions - #16 »
- Betrayal - #17 »
- Weekend - #18 »
- In Dreams Begin Respo... - #19 »
Cast
Forum
Your State's Obesity Grade
Your State's Obesity Grade
"To come to your senses, you must first go out of your mind." - Alan Watts
Yay, Montana got a D in controlling obesity and C in controlling obesity in children. But I think the real question is why do we care how well the state is doing? When did it become the goverment's agenda to manage our weight? If I was overweight, should I hold the gov't accountable for inablility to wear pants that don't have an elastic band? I think not. It never ceases to amaze me how americans can defer blame and shed personal accountablility.
I do think it is a good idea to promote healthy foods in public school lunches but I don't think it's the states responsibility to do so. If your child is fat, perhaps you should try making him/her a healthy lunch, and involving him/her in an activity other than Xbox when they get home from school. "To come to your senses, you must first go out of your mind." - Alan Watts
Exactly. if you're an adult, and you're fat, it's your problem. This is where I disagree. Why should children suffer because their parents aren't intelligent enough to realise facts about healthy diet/exercise etc? I think that there, the state has a responsibility towards its younger, less able to defend themselves, residents to promote a healthy way of life. Even if it doesn't work, it's worth a try. --------------------------------------------- http://www.urban-hills.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------
If the state is to intervene because of the incompetance of the parents, in some sort of nutrition neglect shouldn't the parents be held responsible? I think the responsibility should rest soley on the parents. I do not think that any parent should be able to say my child is overweight because the schools serve unhealthy foods. Should the parents be able to request healthier schools lunches so that they make take advantage of the program? Certainly, but if the school serves nothing but corn dogs and mayonase packets then it is still the parents responsibility to ensure their child is propperly fed, no different then it is their job to ensure their child bathes propperly, or has shoes to wear. "To come to your senses, you must first go out of your mind." - Alan Watts
I think what Starbug was saying, was that if there are parents who don't care about health, exercise, or body weight, theirs or their chidrens', rather than their children growing up thinking this is the natural and only way to live, schools can teach children about nutrition, exercise, self-respect, etc. Which, is a good idea. I don't think, however, that it's the government's job to replace people's personal responsibility.
Anybody else find it suspect that they're quoting an economist rather than someone in the medical field? ... Sometimes I write a little MSCL fanfiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1039807/Jody-Barsch
Also, after multiple V. Mars reiterations, and finally a Deadwood movie, still wishing for some continuation of The Riches !
Notice that the state with the lowest obesity prevalence scored a 'D' in both obesity control categories...
I know obesity is a major health problem, but I can't help but think of how so little time has passed since starvation and malnutrition were facts of life the world over (and still are in some places). IMHO, I'm glad I have access to inexpensive high-quality foods. Even if they do rot my teeth and clog my arteries, I'll take those problems over the alternative any day! I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.
-- Clarence Darrow I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it. -- Mark Twain That's what I was saying, Jody
![]() I certainly don't think the parents should absolve themselves of responsibility for their obese children, but I do think that the state has a responsibility to teach children about health. That theory should translate into practice by the giving of healthy school meals. Of course, recourse to child neglect laws for those kids whose parents are clearly putting them on a drip-feed of lard the moment they arrive home, seems a sensible solution. I think allowing your child to eat copious quantities of junk with the result that they're obese is as much a neglect issue as allowing them to starve to death. It's possible to be obese even if you do have one healthy school meal a day... if you quaff chocolate the minute you get home, in front of the Play Station, you're going to be fat whether or not you ate a salad for lunch. --------------------------------------------- http://www.urban-hills.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------
I agree with you there Starbug. I was using your post more as a platform to address the issue of parental neglect than anything. It was nothing personal or aimed to discredit you. I sure could have used a course on how to put together a balanced meal in college. You're sent out on your own with little or no instruction on how to plan or manage your diet. I ate healthy at home, my mom made excellent nutritious lunches. But when it came time for me to do it on my own I was lost, and I don't think I was the minority on this. Some how-to instruction about selecting balanced meals at cafeterias, or quick foods from the grocerey store would have helped a lot.
I was walking out of Walmart a few weeks ago and saw a mother talking to another woman with her son standing by her side. To keep him quiet and behaved, she had him open the newly purchased box of pop tarts and start stuffing away. I just wanted to smack her. Her son already has the phsyique of a bowling pin and she had him eating pop tarts before they got to the car. "To come to your senses, you must first go out of your mind." - Alan Watts
You and me both. I recall returning home after my first term at Uni and I was quite obviously malnourished. My skin was grey, I'd lost a lot of weight, and the look on my mum's face said it all. I think I survived almost exclusively on toast, coffee and alcohol. Not good. I'm loads better now, but I agree; I didn't really know what I was doing, and it was a combined with resorting to junk so I could go out with my new friends.
![]() The situation is getting really bad in terms of child obesity here too. The current government has concentrated on academic subjects, believing (rather shortsightedly in my opinion) that everyone should be fabulous at book-learning, and sod the practicalities of life. after years of this, kids do barely any sport at school (sport doesn't get you into Uni here - there are no sports scholarships or anything, although I won't deny it could help your application to be a wonderful rugby player) and are encouraged to sit in front of the computer using new media to discover everything. Gone are the days where we'd be sent out into the countryside to discover what a rosehip looks like. Gone are the lessons on home economics, sewing, woodwork etc. thank god my parents were brought up knowing about healthy diets; so many kids aren't and it's so sad when they can't do normal stuff like walk up a hill and look at the view because they're so overweight. --------------------------------------------- http://www.urban-hills.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------
I and a lot of people I knew in college made good use of visiting the school's nutritionist. Our Student Health Center also handed out blue pamphlets (which still sits on my refrigerator) providing a "Food Shopping List (and tips) For Students", they also gave advice (I don't remember if it was through writing or a lecture) about the best choices to make in the dining commons. This made me think of this small private university two dear friends of mine attended in Arizona. The school is set up so that you take one class a month -- for one month you go to lectures and discussions/labs everyday for one course. After that month the students have a month break to go out into the world and further pursue/experience/apply what they have just learned, and the school year continues in that way. The learning is intensive but it seems a very intriguing way to learn to me. ((While we're on the subject of universities and eating, can I ask a question of you Starbug? What is a typical university dining hall like in the UK? ... Back story: Three years ago, I think it was, I spent 5 weeks at the University of London studying London authors through the UC system (it was so wonderfully fabulous!) ... we lived in the dorms and experienced a university dining hall that was very different from most in America -- there were all sorts of rules, if you had this item, you could not have that item, and if you had this item and even declined that item, you still certainly could not have that other item, etc. The rules seemed very arbitrary, although I'm sure there was a method to it. Really the part that struck me though was that we were never allowed milk for dinner, only at breakfast, and juice was only served in very small glasses, only in the mornings, and you could only have a glass if you had not already taken a fresh piece of fruit. A college roommate of mine who studied for a year at the university in Glasgow had a similar experience... Probably given the title of this thread, it is needless to say that for the most part, the ones I know anyway, college dining halls in the states are all you can eat )) ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Sometimes I write a little MSCL fanfiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1039807/Jody-Barsch
Also, after multiple V. Mars reiterations, and finally a Deadwood movie, still wishing for some continuation of The Riches !
I second that emotion. ![]() Natasha aka candygirl :: MSCL.com
Look, if this is weird for you, being tutored? I don't mind helping you a little longer. You could have sex with me if you really want to help...I guess that's a "no"? ![]() Well, from what I recall about my university dining hall (first year only - you're left at the mercy of the private lettings landlords after that) was that the food was absolutely vile. I can't vouch for breakfast as I think I only made it there twice. Lunch wasn't provided, but dinner went thus: Queue up to be served either a vegetarian or a meat option as the main part of your dinner. Usually this came with some kind of potato-based dish and some vegetables (over-cooked). I think you weren't allowed to have more than one type of vegetable in addition to whatever potato delight was served up that day. One day I wanted carrots and peas, and was told no. Even though I had shunned the main veggie and meat option (usually pork and cauliflower cheese day) so my plate consisted only of potato, they wouldn't give me both other vegetable options. Oh, and if you had a piece of fruit, that was your desert. You couldn't have both the fruit and the chocolate pudding. ![]() I can only imagine it's because the lack of funding meant that they'd carefully worked out per student what they could be expected to consume, and any deviation from that threw their calculations into a wobble. Oh, and on more than one occasion we saw a rat scurrying along the skirting boards in the dining room ![]() Fish and chips were always served on Friday (I'm told this is a catholic traditions...), but by far the worst dish on offer was the cauliflower cheese. Imagine: you've managed to cook a vast quantity of cauliflower, but you've boiled it almost beyond recognition. It has sopped up so much water that it's virtually impossible to drain the stuff effectively. So you don't bother, and just load it into a tin, make a rudimentary cheese sauce out of (I can only assume) flour and some kind of fake cheese powder, pour on top, stir round, allow to coagulate and curdle, leave until tepid, and serve. ![]() After I'd had food poisoning a couple of times I avoided the meat. I also bought a non-regulation toaster for my room and made toast in the evening. I like to think it's what kept me alive. --------------------------------------------- http://www.urban-hills.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------
One of my dorm cafeterias was just awful, and your stories brought it all back vividly. During the first week, most of us learned to avoid the fish at all costs. To this day, I can't see the words "orange roughy" without remembering one of my roommates telling me that it caused explosive diarrhea and that while she was, ahem, letting it all out, she got nauseous and had to puke in the little white house. I know that orange roughy is a perfectly fine fish, but I don't know that I'll ever get past that visual.
That particular cafeteria featured two main dishes and usually two side dishes for each meal. You could only have one of each, although you were allowed to have seconds if you brought your plate back. This policy was really annoying on the nights when they had dishes like chicken nuggets. I grew up eating boxes of Tyson chicken nuggets, so I knew that it would take more than five little breaded nuggets to fill me up but they refused to give us more than five at a time so we ended up making multiple trips to fetch more nuggets. The cafeteria didn't have a plan where they charged per item - they swiped our cards as we entered the room and that counted as one meal even if you ate nothing. We were not allowed to take any food with us - all food had to be consumed in the cafeteria. The only exception was for sick students. If you were sick, you were allowed to give your ID card to someone else, have your card swiped, and then they would pack up one serving in a styrafoam container to bring back to you. There were some nights when I had to go straight from work to dance practice, so I tried to get a sick tray for myself and they refused to do it. I either had to scarf down a serving of food in five minutes and then fight back nausea during a three hour dance rehearsal or skip dinner altogether (the cafeteria was only open for dinner 5-7pm). Every policy they had was about making money. I remember how jealous I was when I learned that other schools had all kinds of luxuries like a frozen yogurt machine or small boxes of breakfast cereal available at all meals or even having plain rice at every dinner. About twice a semester, they would let us have ice cream as a dessert treat. They would haul out this mini ice cream cooler - the kind you see at drugstores - and have eight barrels of ice cream inside. We're talking the big barrels like the ones they have at Baskin Robbins, except they were always less than half full, so when we leaned over to scoop the melted ice cream out, we all ended up with sticky arms. They always had weird flavors too - not the traditional chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, chocolate chip type flavors. Despite all these complaints, every time we saw that ice cream cart, we would all get excited about having ice cream for dessert. We were so desperate and appreciative to have a treat! Natasha aka candygirl :: MSCL.com
Look, if this is weird for you, being tutored? I don't mind helping you a little longer. You could have sex with me if you really want to help...I guess that's a "no"? Who is onlineUsers browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests |