From MSNBC.com -
"Obesity is a public health crisis. If the rate of obesity and overweight continues at this pace, by 2015, 75 percent of adults and nearly 24 percent of U.S. children and adolescents will be overweight or obese."
-Dr. Youfa Wang, Johns Hopkins University
For black women, the numbers are even more staggering. 80 percent of those aged 40 and over are overweight, and 50 percent are obese. Yikes.
One of the researchers of the JHU study makes a dire warning at the end of the article in stating that, soon, obesity will be the number one preventable cause of death in the US.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Down the Slippery Slope We Go
If you didn't see this coming, then you're not paying enough attention to the world around you.
Oxford researchers have recently proposed that a 17.5% tax be added to fatty foods, in an effort to reduce heart disease in the UK. Good thing they didn't propose that for the American colonies, or we'd have to kick their asses again, huh? Yeah, that's right England, don't even think about it.
The surprising fact that I learned was that such a tax already exist in Britain (I've now used UK, England, AND Britain! Am I talking about Wales or Scotland in any of this? Who knows?).
From Reuters online -
"The purchase tax is already levied on a small number of products such as potato crisps, ice cream, confectionery and chocolate biscuits, but most food is exempt."
I'm not sure if that was English, but I know what "ice cream" is, unless in England that actually means "milk shake". You get the point though.
"The move could save an estimated 3,200 lives in Britain each year, according to the study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health."
Even though the British Heart Foundation has rejected the proposal, the fact remains that this tax is already in place on other products! In the US and in Great Britain, taxes are used to dissuade all kinds of behavior (drinking, smoking, gas consumption). The thing is, where does it end?
Oxford researchers have recently proposed that a 17.5% tax be added to fatty foods, in an effort to reduce heart disease in the UK. Good thing they didn't propose that for the American colonies, or we'd have to kick their asses again, huh? Yeah, that's right England, don't even think about it.
The surprising fact that I learned was that such a tax already exist in Britain (I've now used UK, England, AND Britain! Am I talking about Wales or Scotland in any of this? Who knows?).
From Reuters online -
"The purchase tax is already levied on a small number of products such as potato crisps, ice cream, confectionery and chocolate biscuits, but most food is exempt."
I'm not sure if that was English, but I know what "ice cream" is, unless in England that actually means "milk shake". You get the point though.
"The move could save an estimated 3,200 lives in Britain each year, according to the study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health."
Even though the British Heart Foundation has rejected the proposal, the fact remains that this tax is already in place on other products! In the US and in Great Britain, taxes are used to dissuade all kinds of behavior (drinking, smoking, gas consumption). The thing is, where does it end?
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The Battle of the Bulge
You've most likely heard about Michael Moore's latest "documentary", "Sicko". Larry King hosted an interview/debate between Moore and Dr. Sanjay Gupta that took place last night regarding the film, and Dr. Gupta's review of it.
Moore seems unable to have a calm and rational discussion unless it is with someone who doesn't challenge him. You may have noticed this in other interviews. I find it interesting how Moore ridicules Dr. Gupta's Indian heritage, and I wonder if he will be criticized for it. Of course, I've just made fun of Moore's obesity in the title of this post, in case you didn't notice. Please watch as Michael Moore shakes his head throughout the news piece, no matter what Gupta is saying, even when making comments that aren't critical of the movie.
If you have the time, I encourage you to watch all of the clips in their entirety. Both people make valid points, but Gupta puts forth more sanguine arguments, and clearly has a better haircut.
Moore seems unable to have a calm and rational discussion unless it is with someone who doesn't challenge him. You may have noticed this in other interviews. I find it interesting how Moore ridicules Dr. Gupta's Indian heritage, and I wonder if he will be criticized for it. Of course, I've just made fun of Moore's obesity in the title of this post, in case you didn't notice. Please watch as Michael Moore shakes his head throughout the news piece, no matter what Gupta is saying, even when making comments that aren't critical of the movie.
If you have the time, I encourage you to watch all of the clips in their entirety. Both people make valid points, but Gupta puts forth more sanguine arguments, and clearly has a better haircut.
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