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Fat people (Read 4663 times)
aikmann4
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Fat people
Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:08pm
 
I was in Franklins this evening purchasing the ingredients for the meal I was going to prepare. I bought about 400 grams of green beans, a tin of tomatoes, two fresh tomatoes and a bag of black mustard seeds, some pita bread and two small onions. The total cost I think was about $8.60, and I still have a lot of the spices and the pita bread left over. I made a delicious and healthy meal that could have fed about four people, but because I was so hungry I ate most of it and put the remains in the fridge to be had later as leftovers. As I was leaving with my plastic bags I spied a bunch of waddling collosi loading up the back of their car with a manner of soft drinks, sugary and microwavable foods. As I was walking home, I got to thinking about obesity. Why is it so commonly associated with poverty or low-income nowadays? I am familiar with the lame liberal arguments about it, that those of low socioeconomic status consume a lot of calorie dense foods because they are cheaper; it's ultimately not their fault. It's never their fault. But I eat a lot of really healthy foods and dinners which I prepare myself, and never find myself spending very much on them. Many of the food choices that are associated with obesity aren't exactly cheap; fast food is far more costly than cooking one's self, soft drinks are neither filling nor cheap, and many processed foods and microwave dinners come in small portion sizes and are quite costly. I very much doubt that the obese spend less of their incomes on food than the physically healthy. People of working class backgrounds also have professions that can tend to be more physically demanding and involving than desk-jockies, yet I can attest that very many of them are incredibly fat. Black people, especially black women, also seem to be extremely obese as well. There is a small Sudanese contingent in the town in which I live and it is very rare to see a Sudanese woman that is not packing fourteen layers of McDonalds fat under her clothing. White women are next in line, followed by Asian women, who are almost always petite and shapely.

Why is this?
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freediver
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Re: Fat people
Reply #1 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:16pm
 
It's not just the cost. It is also the convenience. I suspect this is more of an issue in the states. If you work a 12 hour day in a crappy job the last thing you want to do is go to the shop for fresh ingredients and spend the time cooking something healthy. Much easier to take the kids to maccas. Plus, working crappy hours tends to put your body out of whack a bit and you just eat when you can, not knowing how hungry you actually are. I spent a few months living out of a van travelling and fast food really was cheaper if you want protein and calories and didn't have all day. The US subsidises beef, potatoes and corn (used for syrup for soft drinks).

That, plus some people are just stupid and lazy, which for some reason is correlated with being poor, and fat.

Some of them have diabetes or other health issues, but I am always a bit confused whether that is a cause or result of their diet. They certainly carry on like it's the cause.
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Deborahmac09
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Re: Fat people
Reply #2 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:23pm
 
I think it is the time it takes, or more correctly the time that they think it takes. And what is more, that crap is addictive, even though it tastes like crap.
We get the $55 fruit box home delivered from Coles weekly. It is too much for our family of four, but the $30 box isn't enough lol
Many people do not realise or believe that they can make good food for a reasonable price and in a short time.
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aikmann4
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Re: Fat people
Reply #3 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:26pm
 
When I worked in an abattoir and at a few other crummy places I didn't know too many people who worked twelve hour shifts or really that much harder than many of the people who made a lot more money than us. I know I'm basing my arguments on cheap anecdotes here, but I'm not really trying to seriously argue. I don't think being working class is any harder than having a so called 'proper' job.

I think you hit the nail on the head with your laziness statement though. I think it mostly boils down to laziness, poor impulse control and short time-preference, which are traits that have to be far more prevalent on lower ends of the socioeconomic ladder. That and just plain old indifference. I don't think intelligence has much to do with it.
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Deborahmac09
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Re: Fat people
Reply #4 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:31pm
 
imperium, my son works long hours.
He doesn't get home until 10:30pm, he is out again at 8:30am to get to work on time. I would say tired more than lazy.
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aikmann4
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Re: Fat people
Reply #5 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:32pm
 
What does he do?
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Deborahmac09
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Re: Fat people
Reply #6 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:37pm
 
call centre for isp.
He says the travel on the train is the worst part.
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aikmann4
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Re: Fat people
Reply #7 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:39pm
 
I've heard that call Ccntres are one of the worst jobs you can possibly have with one of the highest turnovers.
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shampain socialist
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Re: Fat people
Reply #8 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:43pm
 
come on people. Are you serious?
You've got an internet connection right there in front of you, why don't you just google the word "diabetes" and start doing some reading. It won't take long and you will have added to your mental library immensely (it won't make you fat either).

There is one (but not the only) simple rule of thumb here:
sugar is expensive. Think about that. Supply and demand.
Have a look in the supermarket next time you walk through - everything that has sugar in it is expensive. Sugar is a good way to dress up anything and get someone to buy it, it is a self-fulfilling demand. Sugar gives a quick energy fix and makes people feel happy very quickly, but it quickly wears off, so people go for more, but they are not getting nutrition.  The liver converts excess sugar to fat.
Worst of all sugary foods create acidic conditions in the body and over a long time this is a disease-friendly environment.

People generally don't know about this stuff, and we are increasingly given less choice in the supermarket. Manufacturers know people like sugar so there is a huge range of things with the damn stuff in it, that you don't even realise.
Fruit, while good for you, can also be fairly sugary.
Vegetables are the best, and they are not acidy foods generally.
I have changed my life just by researching what the rest of humanity is saying on the net. Now I don't get flu and colds any more, whereas before I was getting four or more serious bouts a year lasting for weeks and weeks even months each time. Something seriously wrong, but I didn't know what. Neither do the doctors apparently know.
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Deborahmac09
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Re: Fat people
Reply #9 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:44pm
 
Yes high turn over. But he is making 12k a year more than he made when he was working as a salesmen in store. 25k if he was lucky against 37k. At least here he gets to take his 30 mins meal break.
In his last job, he often worked through it, and didn't get payed for it.
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shampain socialist
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Re: Fat people
Reply #10 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:44pm
 
I used to know a guy who was looking for a job one time, so someone found him a job shoveling pigs heads in an abbatoir.
Charming.
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Deborahmac09
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Re: Fat people
Reply #11 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:47pm
 
You failed to mention the crash you get from sugar equal.
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Annie Anthrax
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Re: Fat people
Reply #12 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:48pm
 
Health issues, laziness, poor eating habits. There are lots of reasons.

There are definitely health problems that can restrict mobility, which in turn slows metabolism.

Obesity can't be easy. I remember struggling to get around with a pregnant tummy - it took a lot more effort to move than usual.

I went to a Day on The Green concert earlier this year, and it had been raining quite heavily on and off during the day. The concerts are held in vineyards, and a couple of hours in to the afternoon people were slipping and sliding everywhere. An obese woman slid over in front of me and she had trouble getting up again. A few people were laughing at her - it was pretty sad.

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aikmann4
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Re: Fat people
Reply #13 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:51pm
 
Quote:
I used to know a guy who was looking for a job one time, so someone found him a job shoveling pigs heads in an abbatoir.


I did that with sheep heads.

Quote:
Have a look in the supermarket next time you walk through - everything that has sugar in it is expensive. Sugar is a good way to dress up anything and get someone to buy it, it is a self-fulfilling demand. Sugar gives a quick energy fix and makes people feel happy very quickly, but it quickly wears off, so people go for more, but they are not getting nutrition.  The liver converts excess sugar to fat.


So you're saying that obesity is being caused by the fact that people are eating too much unhealthy sh*t, which is raising the cost of unhealthy shi*t?

Quote:
The US subsidises beef, potatoes and corn (used for syrup for soft drinks).


Corn is heavily subsidised in the United States to the extent where HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) is used as a sweeter at a similar or higher rate than beet sugar/cane sugar. Most processed foods in America contain HFCS -- it is extremely difficult to escape from it.
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shampain socialist
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Re: Fat people
Reply #14 - Jun 29th, 2010 at 7:54pm
 
Yes, australia is getting to be a scary sort of place isn't it - crowds of people standing around or sitting in their hummers laughing at fat people who fall over in the mud and go slip sliding away.
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