Healthy taxes.

[Sunny B]

Sounds an excellent idea. Like Maggie, I look at other peoples baskets in the supermarket and am horrified at how nutritionally poor a lot of them are. I think the supermarkets push the unhealthiest foods as well with their special offers. How often do you get organic, free range etc on special?

My friend went to Denmark earlier this year and commented that there were lots of old people charging around very vigorously, and everyone seemed generally fit and healthy. They must be doing something right!

[saint-spoon]

Like Maggie, I look at other peoples baskets in the supermarket and am horrified at how nutritionally poor a lot of them are.

it's not just me then...
There was a thing on the box last night about the UK’s benefit culture, for part of it they went to New York where they had a problem of benefit dependence as bad as that in the UK. One of the things was that after a certain period of not working cash benefits stopped, from then on food vouchers and housing vouchers where handed out. Do you think that issuing vouchers that can only be swapped in for fresh produce and not unhealthy stuff would benefit society? I ask because there is a lady who lives a few streets away from us, I would guess that she is in her 30s and she has a daughter of primary school age. She is immense, so big that she uses a mobility cart to get about, her daughter is also very overweight. When she picks her daughter up from school she uses a trolley towed behind her cart (the type that cyclists use to tow their youngsters around in). The shocking thing for me is that their house is only a couple of hundred yards away from the school. It may be a medical condition that has made her as she is but there are plenty just like her around our town and neighbouring areas, would it help her if she was to be helped to eat more healthily, I certainly think that it is sad that her daughter is already set to follow her mother.

[ChrisG]

Our entire village is a 'victim' of the benefits culture. Almost everyone is out of work; many have never worked; most dont bother much with education either. It is quite appalling just how many of them are overweight and unhealthy. There are two women (they look like they might be sisters) who are so obese they need two seats on the bus. They do walk to school with their children, but they dont do it very quickly. When I see them at the shop, they always have the most unhealthy items in their baskets. And one of them smokes too!

My OH is also unemployed at present. Yet I find it healthier and cheaper to make meals from scratch instead of convenience meals (which take as long often anyway). My shopping bill is currently under £20 per week and we eat really well (at least I think we do!)

On another note, I heard yesterday they are putting the cost of wine up (taxes) so we dont drink too much!) Be a good thing if they put the cost of burgers up so people dont get too fat too.

[saint-spoon]

I heard yesterday they are putting the cost of wine up (taxes) so we dont drink too much!) Be a good thing if they put the cost of burgers up so people dont get too fat too.

exactly what they are doing in Denmark.

[albertajune]

I agree that people who are addicted to sugary or fatty foods will still buy them, to the detriment of other things. The same way as people still find the money to buy cigarettes.
I think it is ironic that governments have sold off playing fields for housing and some councils closed down public swimming pools, then say that children don't get enough excercise.
At one time all children had regular PE as well as games. Inter school sports took place along with swimming galas.
Fruit and veg is so expensive. The same fruit and veg, that when it reaches it's sell by date, fills the supermarket rubbish bins. Sell it cheaper.
I think that manufacturers should be made to use less salt, fat and sugar in food, if ready meals are what people want.
One last comment; bring back proper cookery lessons in schools, so that people learn HOW to cook good healthty food. Some really have no idea.
Taxing food is the easy way and I don't think will make any difference. Cultural differeces with the type of food always eaten is some countries, as with eating course dark rye bread and raw foods, will have made a difference to obesity there anyway.

[saint-spoon]

Well put June. PE was stopped in some schools because it was too competative.

[Steve the Gas]

I watched the prog on CH5 last night about a face transplant, inc a hand on a lady that was attacked by a 14 year old Chimpanzee.
Horrendous injuries, but what got me , to stay on topic. She had to be fed thru a straw and MISSED .....

Hot Dogs

Pizza

Hamburgers



She is American, but slim though.

[saint-spoon]

that'll be all the veg soup she is having instead of burgers and hot dogs. I incidentally like all the rubbish food, the rubbishier the better, I chose not to eat it very often because there is a lot of decent healthy food to be had with a bit of imagination. Keeping the salt down is a problem sometimes as I love soy sauce, Thai fish sauce, and other such things.

[Steve the Gas]

Btw, the chimp actually ate a fair bit of her!!!

[saint-spoon]

good job that she was skinny or else the chmp could be facing some rather nasty health issues in the future.

[Sunny B]

My simple solution - very narrow doors to supermarkets. If you're too obese to get in and buy more food, problem solved.

When I first started eating healthily I missed junk food, but now I sometimes "treat" myself and I don't really enjoy it. It's too fatty and salty.

I saw the first bit of the chimp prog - absolutely horrific injuries. Poor woman

[saint-spoon]

I saw the first bit of the chimp prog - absolutely horrific injuries. Poor woman

The moral of the story is don’t keep dangerous wild animals as pets. There is a capuchin monkey at the Looe monkey sanctuary that was kept as a pet, these aren’t very big but quite clever monkeys. According to the previous owner the capuchin stripped a thin sliver of wood from its run, slid this into the door locking mechanism to prevent it locking. Once the owner had his back turned the capuchin escaped and attacked him, the owner lost an eye and the use of one hand due to a crippling bite.

Anyway that was

[Gnasha]

Like Andrea already said they should make things cheaper ie swimming etc.
the price of takeaway foods is already to high for us we use to treat ourself's once or twice a month to a pizza or other take away even the local chippy s gone sky high its now got to the point were we make our own pizza's ,burger's, Indian etc. we even batter fish, sausages, spam etc ourself's and iam sure we eat more of that sort of food now than we used to but that's down to trying to get the recipe right

[Sunny B]

The moral of the story is don’t keep dangerous wild animals as pets.

Quite agree. This one wasn't hers, it belonged to her boss.