First let me say that as a lady blessed with a metabolism that has allowed me to eat like a pig all my life without gaining, I am still very aware of how difficult it is to avoid gaining weight, maintain a reasonable physical condition, diet, all the way to looking at a chocolate bar and gaining its fat content through the eyes and straight to the rear. Right now I’m trying to lose 10 lbs. that someone snuck on me when I was asleep to turn me into a sudden roly-poly individual who has dusted off the exercise bike and managed to get on without falling off and ride. It’s hard to lose weight, easy to gain, but honest-to-God, it’s not the government’s fault.
This is what got me royally rankled this morning:
Individuals can no longer be held responsible for obesity so government must act to stop Britain "sleepwalking" into a crisis, a report has concluded.In 2002, those who were overweight or obese cost nearly £7bn in treatment and state benefits and in indirect costs such as loss of earnings and reduced productivity.
Transforming the constitution of food, or "reformulating" as it is known, is increasingly seen as a key plank in the campaign against obesity. If we can’t give up the cakes, the cakes will have to change, the thinking goes.Reformulated food is in any case not the only answer to Britain’s obesity woes.
"There’s also a very important psychological issue too," says Professor Norton.
"Changing the food is only one part of it, you’ve got to change the whole range of attitudes towards food too."
I gave up smoking and never for an instant blamed my addiction on the tobacco companies, media advertising, or the U.S. government.
Am I the only one who realizes that responsibility and rights go hand and hand, ergo, when one gives up the responsibility one also is giving away their rights? Sorry, but I refuse to believe that the government has any right to control my personal body weight, and therefore, I hereby fully claim that it is my fault and mine alone that I have taken to that nightly bowl of Maple Walnut and Forbidden Chocolate topped with peaches, the bags and bags of Gummi-Life Savers as close by as my laptop, the lunch sandwiches for breakfast and the meal for four squished on my plate at dinnertime.
Ya know what? If you still believe that government regulations and corporate changes need to take full blame for your larger-than-life ass, then might I suggest you eat at home instead of the fast-food restaurants and I’ll bet you that in this democratic capitalistic society you’ll get the end result you’re looking for. Money talks, and service and products are geared to answer the demands of the people.
That way, at least we’ll be taking responsibility for ourselves and helping the world be a better place at the same time.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology