Here's a list of the 10 countries whose citizens should start to think about visiting a salad bar once in awhile. Note that this represents only countries in the developed world.

10. Finland

9. Luxembourg

8. Ireland

7. UK

6. Canada

(puff, puff ... gotta rest. making list ... too strenuous)

5. Australia

4. Chile

3. New Zealand

2. Mexico

1. U.S. (yay, lard-asses! We're number 1)

Yay! were 3rd! NZ Govt is introducing legislation to ban fast food company TV adverts during children's viewing hours, schools are banning soft drinks i.e. coca cola etc McD's and KFC etc are all introducing salad options now

Chasplaya wrote:
Yay! were 3rd! NZ Govt is introducing legislation to ban fast food company TV adverts during children's viewing hours, schools are banning soft drinks i.e. coca cola etc McD's and KFC etc are all introducing salad options now


Don't eat calorie laden processed fast food, full of fat, sugar, carbs, corn syrup, etc, etc.

Ban supersizing food. Ban all you can eat buffets.

Educate kids about food content.

Tom N.

Try: don't watch TV

Interesting that even at number 6 we are still close to the US so is Mexico and we all watch the same TV

Marc

Lavallee wrote:
Try: don't watch TV

Interesting that even at number 6 we are still close to the US so is Mexico and we all watch the same TV

Marc

Instead of "don't watch TV" how about either getting rid of the TV or putting the TV in a closet or attic or cellar or garage. "Don't watch TV" isn't enough. Get rid of the blasted thing! My wife and I haven't watched commercial television for 15 years.......and we don't miss it! And we aren't fat.

One thing you'll find interesting about this research: when you add in UNdeveloped countries, countries without television, the USA is pushed down to the 9th fattest country. Television isn't the culprit. Eating is.

dennisg wrote:
One thing you'll find interesting about this research: when you add in UNdeveloped countries, countries without television, the USA is pushed down to the 9th fattest country. Television isn't the culprit. Eating is.

As Daryl mentioned, the commercials are the culprit (well, they could be the excuse we are giving ourselves , something to blame). To this you can add fast food publicity everywhere. We get bombarded by this stuff. If there were half of these commercials/publicities who were health oriented , I am certain the list would not even exist. But health does not sell well so no big companies are pushing it. The underdeveloped countries do not have a fair battle in this as their lives are often guided by survival. I do not think we have this excuse.

I am the first to make the mea culpa after 10 years of not giving a damned. It is not anybody's fault but mine if I gained weight: watching tv because I am too tired to go walk , more commercials telling you to eat this and that to relax, crazy life, lack of sleep, confusing appetite with tiredness, making the easy choice when choosing a restaurant (I am in restaurant close to 150 days a year) or when deciding what to put in your grocery basket, choosing the elevator instead of the stairs. I think though that a lot of these easy choices are made because of a lack of hope in our own future (short term or long term). You decide to take action when that perspective changes.



Marc

I'm just glad you only showed the first 10 since I think I'm number 11 all by myself....

I have been losing weight, but it's a painfully slow and arduous process. It's not the eating so much as WHAT gets eaten... That's the only bad thing about living in Hawaii. The culture is very solidly food based.

In The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille, Rapaille (a Frenchman with US passport) points out that Americans (as a culture) see food as fuel. Hence the size of meals and the focus on amount received for money paid. Compare that to a giant plate with delicate (tiny) amounts in a gourmet restaurant in France and you are half way there to understanding the differences in the two cultures. In many European countries like France, folks will take a lot of time out over meals and socialize and shoot the breeze. In US culture, you eat everywhere and anywhere, any time and you do it individually. Cultural wiring.

I know a lot of fat people and many of them are very happy being fat. Why should we ban anything just because we think it is full of risks for those willing to take them. Why not let people make their own choices in life. I know, I know, we have concerns about the health care costs and shorter lifespans caused by being fat, but maybe some people would actually make this choice and live a shorter and less healthy life because they enjoy food. Why don't we ban anything that carries risk but makes people happy ? How about we ban sky diving or motorcycles or unprotected sex or any other activity that increases risk. Where do you draw the line on these sorts of things ? I am a health nut myself by personal choice and I do agree that children should be educated about diet and exercise, but I am concerned about the role of society in foisting its will upon it's citizenry. Just seems a little Orwellian to me and when governments have gained this much power over the individual, we have all seen out that has turned out through history.

That's my two cents.

Bud