Thursday 19 June 2008

A Nation of Fatties!

It has been revealed by research that Australia has the highest number of adults who are deemed to be overweight or obese. Middle age groups are at the high end of the scale with seven out of ten males and six out of ten females are over the BMI of 25 and now close to four million, 26% Australians are classed as overweight. America has 25% of its adult population in this category.

Medical experts are calling for subsidised gym and personal trainers to help combat a growing nation of expanding waistlines. Professor Ian Caterson, director of the Institute of Obesity, Nutrition and Exercise at the University of Sydney agrees with Professor Simon Stewart, head of Preventative Cardiology at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute saying that the medical system needs to look at wait lists for surgery , that they could be prioritised on the basis of weight loss. A common misconception of society is that overweight/obese people must be gluttonous and bring this on themselves, which of course isn't always the case.The weight loss industry flaunts diet pills, miracle exercise programs, and miraculous schemes that promise you will lose x amount of weight in short time. I am no dietician or health expert but common sense would be to moderate the exercise and control of what foods you consume along with the amount. Each case is different and quite often many people have a lack of will power to help themselves. I say moral support for those needing to find will power and strength is vital in helping them attain a goal weight. It is very hard to help those who wont help themselves.

This supposed wait list in the medical system should not discriminate against those who are overweight/obese if the matter is urgent. All surgery carries a risk and the risks get higher with the heavier the patient but in all fairness, I'd say that genuine emergencies will be treated as such. I wonder if there is a proposal for those who pay private health insurance, will they be made to wait and lose some extra pounds or is this just a scheme for the public health system users. Full details can be seen here. While you're at it, check out this site, where the writer basically is asking if the guys prefer outside beauty/inner ugliness or outside not so good/but with inner beauty. You make up your own minds but does the government and health authorities have the right to tell anyone who isn't what society says is ideal, they are being refused surgery because they are not what we expect of them?

19 comments:

Ginro said...

While there are some people with medical conditions that deserve our sympathy where weight is concerned, I know of one such person myself and she's worked so hard to lose weight but to no avail and my heart has gone out to her, there are many others (most others I would guess) that are just plain lazy.
One of the most common refrains I used to here from people in gyms when I used to try and train them was "Oh I can't. It's too hard." I would get so frustrated. Others would ask me why I sweated so much when I was working out. I'd tell them the gym wasn't a bloody social club to stand around posing. You're supposed to use them to work!

Oh yes, and my word for comment verification was gcrsrja...lol.

Nunyaa said...

No pain, no gain.
What's with this word verification, am sure those settings are not on, I checked earlier. Dammit, I'm going for a look again.

Nunyaa said...

Erm, I um, didn't check the right box lol, fixed now.

CherryPie said...

Also greedy, eating way to much and all the wrong foods!

LOL RE word verification. I can confirm it is no longer with us :-)

Crushed said...

As a smoker who is getting tired of being the current butt (forgive the pun) of health crusaders, I have some empathy...

Nunyaa said...

Yes I am a smoker also but I am mindful of others, I do not light up in front of those or around those who do not like it, and I do ask if people mind. I hate smoke being blown in my face.
I do kinda feel sorry for them but not where they would rather sit back and continue to play a victim role.

jmb said...

I am so surprised the Australia surpasses the USA in this area Nunyaa, for we see some mighty obese people as soon as we cross the border.
As someone who has been battling my weight since I turned 50, I can assure you that it is not easy. I spend an hour and a half at the gym three times a week and walk with a group another day and still can't get rid of those extra pounds.
Thank you for getting rid of word verification!

Nunyaa said...

Oh I'm with you on that JMB, it isn't as easy as one would like to think. I have someone who is close in the family and she suffers from diabetes, eats peanut paste by the spoonful, makes her sandwiches inches thick with cream cheese, and is out of breath just from walking from her room to the arm chair where she spends most of her day. I tried to engage her in a fun bit of just walking around the block to kick start an exercise with her but to no avail. She buys all the weight loss tablets, weight-watchers foodstuffs and then eats all the junk food in sight, even been hospitalised when the ulcers on her leg became infected and blood poisoning occured. That's the kind of thing I mean, not those of us who do work at it .
Yes, it was a pain in the behind, the word verification.

Ginro said...

I'm a smoker but it doesn't stop me exercising. That's no excuse. Even heart issues are not going to stop me exercising.

Nunyaa said...

Smoking don't stop me from doing anything other than lighting up in front of those who don't like it or in places where it is against the law.

Ginro said...

My comment was more directed at Crushed really, lol.

Nunyaa said...

What you do to your avatar?

Ginro said...

I put my head on someone else's body lol. Can't help it I'm afraid. I can't keep a straight face in front of a camera. Why? Did you prefer the other one?

Ginro said...

Alternatively I could use this one, an artists impression of me wearing sunglasses, lol.

Nunyaa said...

LMFAO what program are you using?

Ginro said...

Ooops, should have told you the instructions, lol. Follow the link and in the top right it will have an input box. Just type in the letters that are to the left of the box and away you go. The download is free so you don't have to do anything.
If you want photofiltre as well then just type that in Google and you should get a link. That also is free.
Could you delete the megaupload link I gave you from the comment box once you've copied it please?

Anonymous said...

Living on a farm, I don't have to worry about exercise. I do love to cook and eat though. We have an advantage to having lots of fresh vegetables too. It is all the pies and cakes I like to make to go with them.
(I was thinking of you as I was weeding the garden this morning, about that offer to come on over and help with it, just come on, there is plenty of work to go around and I will hide big boy in the tree...lol..)
I hope you have a great weekend!

Colin Campbell said...

Having spent many years in America, my comment is that there are not so many morbidly obese people in Australia. Yes there are overweight people, but not outrageously overweight.

Nunyaa said...

It makes me wonder what their standards/levels are for labelling someone morbidly obese or just chunky.