8 September 2012

Katy says you shall go no further fatties

| johnboy
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Chief Minister Gallagher has announced that she’s OK with the existing obese population but doesn’t want to see any more:

if re-elected ACT Labor will set a “zero growth” target by of making the current recorded rates of people
who are overweight and obese as the peak of the obesity epidemic in the ACT.

To achieve this she’s got a pile of WoG fairy floss. But it’s aspirational yeah?

Let’s hope she’s not relying on the ludicrous BMI to judge this:

What do Brad Pitt and Russell Crowe have in common with most members of the England rugby and football teams? Those perfectly honed, toned bodies, of course. Except if you rely on the most widely used measurement of fatness, the body mass index (BMI) – which classifies this collection of supremely fit-looking individuals as either overweight or obese.

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If Katy Gallagher is serious about countering obesity, why is the gap for pedestrians in the fence at the base of Mt Ainslie, behind the War Memorial, so narrow that a size 14 woman will touch both sides? An obese person wouldn’t fit through! So much for encouraging people to exercise …

watto23 said :

Why can we come up with programs to help smokers, but not for people with weight problems.

.

Puritan guilt – they must be punished because they are sinners

Why can we come up with programs to help smokers, but not for people with weight problems.

I also read a stat that 30% of overweight people on the BMI are fit and healthy, while 60% of people in the healthy BMI range are unfit.

I know I fit into the first category, and actually losing the 10kgs to get into that healthy range is difficult for my body. By fit I mean, blood-sugar, cholesterol, heart rate etc normal or better, plus does physical activity several times a week.

Its for this reason judging any tax on a persons weight is never going to happen, just like airlines charging more based on weight.

What needs to happen is more help especially with the mental aspects of weight loss. Most people struggle because mentally they can’t. Many are suffering depression either because of their weight or the reason for putting on weight.

Health fund could provide discounts for healthy people, eg go to see a doctor get a checkup done and if that passes get a discount on this years health fund fees.

Kath said :

Zero obesity growth sounds a bit like the unachievable No Waste By 2010 policy.

This is Fed Govt but I still remember the “No Stralian child will be living in poverty by the year 2000”.

Bottom line:
When pollies makes a statement promising “No xxxx by yyyy” it’s best to go to the nearest window to check for pigs hurling through the air.

I haven’t forgotten their previous useless health campaign:
http://the-riotact.com/katy-on-how-to-pack-a-lunch-box/56912

And yes, having lost weight myself, I feel much better, but if the government had told me to do it, I’d probably be gorging on chocolate and foie gras.

neanderthalsis9:08 am 10 Sep 12

What a load of wankery! Why do these cretins think that they can tell me what to eat or how to exercise? Is there going to be a goon from the WoGHWG barring the door of McDonalds or standing next to the jars of duck fat at the deli waving a large stick?

Obesity is much like smoking. I’d say all of us fatties are fully aware of the health risks associated with being overweight, we know that we need to exercise and eat healthier food. We don’t need a government to tell us this.

And agreeance on the nonsensical BMI index. When I was still playing rugby, running 5 km twice a day and lifting daily I was still in the obese range despite being a lot healthier and fitter than many of those so called normal range folks.

Kath said :

Zero obesity growth sounds a bit like the unachievable No Waste By 2010 policy.

Hardly… More like “No MORE waste by 2010″…

Make the Medicare levy proportional to BMI or skin fold thickness, and triple it for smokers. It’d get some more proportionately representative funding of the health care system happening…

I get it – another “Zero waste policy”…

pirate_taco said :

I do not approve of Katy Gallagher moralizing on what she thinks are healthy options for me.
Her plan shows a complete lack of understanding of the causes of obesity.

An expansion of bureaucracy with measures that are akin to pissing in the ocean.

Healthy options for vending machines? How would you like them preserved? With sugar or salt?
Government catering nutritional guidelines? How much catering does the ACT government do? Are you expecting chefs at these events to be nutritional experts too? An occasional meal at an event won’t do anything.
Forcing schools to phase out “sugary” drinks and just have water? It will fail as the kids bring in their own drinks and breed an contemptuous generation of youths who do not respect the government’s interference in their lives.
Indigenous community garden – why an indigenous segregated garden? Community gardens should be a place to bond the community, not separate it.

A pointless exercise that will have no chance at achieving it’s goal.

Glen Takkenberg
Pirate Party ACT

My thoughts exactly.

“Those perfectly honed, toned bodies, of course.”

Men are not pieces of meat. We have feelings and intelligence and stuff. Well … we do when it comes to ‘eye brocolli’ like Katy.

Yes the BMI doesn’t work for people who have a significant amount of muscle but walking around Canberra those people are few and far between.

Zero obesity growth sounds a bit like the unachievable No Waste By 2010 policy.

Buy some lycra and get on a bike.

(Apparently that makes it all better)

DrKoresh said :

It is interesting to know that statistically speaking, although people who score in the ‘obese’ range die the earliest on average, people who score in the ‘over-weight’ range of the BMI live longer on average than not only the ‘obese’ but also longer than people in the ‘healthy’ category. Just some food for thought, if you will.

Bugger me, I’m going to start leading a life of quiet desperation. My BMI is 22, which puts me smack-dab in the middle of the healthy range. I’ve always thought this was pretty good, but now it appears to indicate that I’m heading for an early grave, or at least earlier than all the fatty boom-stix who surround me every day.

Time to load up on grease bombs, beer and ice-cream.

It is interesting to know that statistically speaking, although people who score in the ‘obese’ range die the earliest on average, people who score in the ‘over-weight’ range of the BMI live longer on average than not only the ‘obese’ but also longer than people in the ‘healthy’ category. Just some food for thought, if you will.

bundah said :

Finally someone who will be able to help me with my cacomorphobia.Katy you’ve suddenly become very attractive and i’ll be putting that X in your box!

Informal vote. Number “1”, not “X”.

Russell Crowe has a perfectly honed, toned body? When did that happen?

It’s interesting that there was a vending business based on healthy snacks. I was quite keen on this and looked into getting a few machines. In the end apathy overtook my enthusiasm and I dropped the idea.

Lo and behold, a machine turned up in the place I worked and I did buy a few things as an alternative to fatty sugary snacks in the other machine. Not enough other people did though and after a few months out it went.

Has anyone encountered one of these machines recently?

I think the majority of people basically don’t care about being overweight and unhealthy. It’s not in our makeup. Meanwhile, the market exploits this with fattier and more sugary offerings and we suck it up like the pigs in Spirited Away. This leads to significant health issues, and costs to us through the tax system, but we but we don’t care.

This sounds like market failure, avoidable costs to the government, and a burden on the tax system. Hmmm sounds exactly what the government should be involved in.

I do not approve of Katy Gallagher moralizing on what she thinks are healthy options for me.
Her plan shows a complete lack of understanding of the causes of obesity.

An expansion of bureaucracy with measures that are akin to pissing in the ocean.

Healthy options for vending machines? How would you like them preserved? With sugar or salt?
Government catering nutritional guidelines? How much catering does the ACT government do? Are you expecting chefs at these events to be nutritional experts too? An occasional meal at an event won’t do anything.
Forcing schools to phase out “sugary” drinks and just have water? It will fail as the kids bring in their own drinks and breed an contemptuous generation of youths who do not respect the government’s interference in their lives.
Indigenous community garden – why an indigenous segregated garden? Community gardens should be a place to bond the community, not separate it.

A pointless exercise that will have no chance at achieving it’s goal.

Glen Takkenberg
Pirate Party ACT

Finally someone who will be able to help me with my cacomorphobia.Katy you’ve suddenly become very attractive and i’ll be putting that X in your box!

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