Random Thoughts....

I was at the grocery store the other day when I came upon this young boy who couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 years old wandering around the fruits and vegetables section. I was struck by how overweight this youngster was. He was huge for a child of his age, round puffy face, big belly, large arms and legs. I don't know children's sizes or normal weights, but this fella had to be carrying an extra 25 or more pounds. He was so big, his arms didn't fall at his sides. Instead they rested on the sides of his tummy sticking out as if he were in a snowsuit. I couldn't help but feel so bad for him, it wasn't his fault.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, his younger sister came waddling around the corner. She was bigger for her size than he was! She was actually bull-legged and looked to be having troubles just staying upright. Red noticed them too and leaned over to me,"That's got to be a form of child abuse." I nodded in agreement. We then saw the mother pushing a cart emerge from behind a display. She wasn't horribly overweight herself but was maybe 30lbs over give or take. She didn't appear to have much in the cart, it looked like she had just arrived moments earlier. I would have been curious to see what she was buying that is causing those kids to be so big.

It always breaks my heart to see young children obese. Usually, one or more of the parents is obese and you can see where it's coming from but this woman wasn't large. Unless both of them have some sort of medical issue, and I seriously doubt it, this woman has condemned her children to a hard life of ridicule, depression, poor physical health, and probably an early death among other things. Children learn what you teach them in those first few years and a healthy diet should be included in that. Children need to learn that they can't have everything they want and it is essential they learn to see food as a fuel source, not a comfort. I pity them.

New York City passed a bylaw stating that all restaurants with 10 or more outlets must display the calorie count of every item on their menu beside the item itself in the same font. When I first read this, I was appalled. More government invasion into our lives, I thought. Then again, I don't trust the government. But still, I could see the other side of it. Perhaps if people could see exactly how many calories were in the foods they eat at these establishments, they might make better choices and thus lose some weight. Understandably, the restaurant association is up in arms saying that adding the calorie numbers to the menus clutters the already busy boards making them hard to read, plus, they say this information is available on a restaurant's website for people who want to know.

First off, I do think some people will reconsider what they order when they see the numbers on the menu board. Those people being the ones who are trying to lose weight or maintain a weight. Then again, if that's the goal of these people, then what are they doing in a fast food restaurant? Secondly, I don't think its going to make much of a difference to most. I've already seen news reports where people have been asked if it would affect their choices and most said no. Bottom line is everybody knows that fast food is not a good choice just like they know that chocolate bars and chips are not good either. But they eat them anyway. It'll be the same thing as putting those graphic images on cigarette packs. Did they make a difference? No. Smokers don't even see them. In fact, I read something the other day that said they were looking to change up that offensive because it was felt people weren't responding to it anymore. Were they ever?

Third, since the bylaw only targets restaurants with 10 or more outlets, it is aimed at fast food establishments, the biggest target of obesity fighters. Now this comes as no surprise as the fast food industry is a billion dollar one with no downturn in sight. People may be taking a healthier approach to their eating but the industry has responded with salads, no trans fats, roasted chicken sandwiches instead of breaded and fried, etc. People are lulled into believing they are making healthier choices but in truth, they aren't. In some cases, the salads cost more in calories than a burger simply because of the extras given with it such as dressing, cheese, meats, croûtons. The no trans fat thing makes me laugh because people think the food is now better for them which it is not. Its still loaded with calories and its still deep fried!

This brings me to these fad diets and ideas people get fed (no pun intended). Things like the no trans fats. A few years ago it was all the rage to eat "no fat" foods. Sure it was comforting to know you weren't ingesting a bunch of unnecessary fats, but the calories were still there. Same thing with the low carbohydrates or low cholesterol BS. You announce something that makes bad foods sound not so bad anymore and people leap. Suddenly they feel they can eat french frys, peanut butter, butter for that matter, salad dressings and whatever else has been labeled with this good news with impunity. You can thank the advertising departments for that. What they neglect to tell you is that its still high in calories and depending which diet fad its following, is still loaded with the other bad stuff. Now its trans fats. Restaurants have been required by law to remove it from their oils and other products it may be present in. All in the name of fighting obesity.

While I agree that obesity is a huge problem destined to become worse, I can't say i agree with governments telling us what we can eat. Nobody is making us buy burgers and fries and pizzas and tacos and whatever else people want. They're doing so of their own volition. Legislating people into eating better by passing bylaws forbidding trans fats, calorie counts on menus, removing certain beverages and foods from our schools and other measures taken isn't going to change anything. People develop their eating habits in their first few years of life. And that is the responsibility of the parents to encourage good habits. You'd think that a parent, especially an overweight parent whose lived the nightmare of obesity, would care enough to teach their kids good eating habits so that they can avoid the emotional and physical issues that arise.

Sadly, from looking around, they do not.