Activity Sheffield to be axed, a good way to combat obesity?

[Fudbeer]

The problem is that many people have not discovered the benefits of being healthy.

 

Modern life has so many non active temptations.

 

All they see is people who exercise being out of breath running or struggling to get up our hills on bikes or forcing themselves to the gym.

 

What they don't see is the benefits not just for longer term health but in terms of improved mood and enjoyment of day to day life that being fitter brings.

 

So they stay in the rut of eating to feel good for a very short time and being inactive but for the rest of the time feel more lethargic and irritable than if they took more exercise.

 

I think done correctly something like activity Sheffield could break this rut and pay for itself many times over.

 

The latest study's show you don't actually have to spend hours and hours exercising just 30 mins a day which can easily done at home for free a small price to pay for a healthier life.

[Daven]

People have to start taking responsibility for their health issues - we need to reserve sympathy for those who die an early death from illnesses and diseases that are not their fault. It shouldn't be the state who picks up the tab for obesity-related issues. After all - there weren't any - or very few - overweight people during/after the war when rationing was around. Are we to say there were also no 'emotional' issues around then? Just staying alive was a bonus!

 

Very well said.

[dutch]

We almost never eat junk food. Never ever order any food to be delivered. Go to a chippy twice a year more as a reminder why we don't go the next six months.

We use restaurants but only sometimes use take out stuff at airport or in between journeys. At home we always cook and again only ever so rarely use microwave products.

 

There are people out there who eat burger and chips every day. Don't know how to cook. The knock knock on the door and ting of the microwave is their version of dinner is ready.

Edited December 23, 2016 by dutch

[beefface]

We were in the car the other day and the 4 year old said "can you explain to me why there are so many overweight people now than there were in the 1950s, and what social and economic factors are facilitating the surge in obesity"

 

My response was "don't know"

 

Seriously, a 4 year old said that?

[redruby]

Services to help people deal with emotional damage don't run for free.

One of the largest indicative factors for poor health, obsetity, diabetes, etc, is social deprivation though, so yes, the government should address the root cause rather than just trying to treat the symptoms.

Exercise isn't even treating the symptoms really, weight is all about diet, being fit doesn't counteract being overweight, and diet control is a far more effective way of maintaining weight than exercise.

 

From a purely scientific point of view, yes, diet plays a bigger factor in weight loss than exercise. But from my own experience and others who have shared a similar experience, diet and exercise are closely interlinked not completely separate things. I was overweight and hated the idea of restricting food to lose weight but thought I could try the couch to 5k running program. Through doing this I started to tone up, connect with others doing the program for support and naturally started clean up my diet; it no longer felt like something I 'should' do, it happened as a consequence of starting to exercise. I've lost around 6 stone and run 40+ miles a week now. I my opinion exercise is an least as important as diet for weight loss, if not more. It's not just the physical benefits either, being active is important for emotional wellbeing.

[onewheeldave]

Concerning the drop in smoking- taxation is a factor, but I think it's important to realise the importance of the laws banning advertising smoking, plus the bans on smoking in public places.

[ECCOnoob]

I think another big problem is that we have a whole generation of people who dont actually know how to cook. Home economics became "domestic science" and now is food technology.

 

Less and less about actually how to do home cooking and domestic tasks and more about design and theory. All well and good but no use whatsoever when a child grows up into the big wide world.

 

That generation knew nothing about home cooking and are now at an age where they are having their own children. That's a whole section of society who have no basic cooking skills and parents who wont / cant teach them.

 

Add all that onto the fact that that there are restaurant chains and pubs offering two meals for less than a fiver or all you can eat anything for less than £10 and where is the incentive to cook.

 

Why buy fresh food at the supermarket and waste time slaving away in the kitchen when you can pop down to your local hungry horse and get a donut burger each for less than the price of a basket of groceries.

[Cyclone]

Very well said.

 

It's really not well said. It's missing the point entirely that obesity is a disease of the poor, not a disease of those with no will power. The tory government like to cast the poor as not deserving, they are poor because they refuse to work or try hard. And this is an extension of that thinking.

 

---------- Post added 23-12-2016 at 15:09 ----------

 

From a purely scientific point of view, yes, diet plays a bigger factor in weight loss than exercise. But from my own experience and others who have shared a similar experience, diet and exercise are closely interlinked not completely separate things. I was overweight and hated the idea of restricting food to lose weight but thought I could try the couch to 5k running program. Through doing this I started to tone up, connect with others doing the program for support and naturally started clean up my diet; it no longer felt like something I 'should' do, it happened as a consequence of starting to exercise. I've lost around 6 stone and run 40+ miles a week now. I my opinion exercise is an least as important as diet for weight loss, if not more. It's not just the physical benefits either, being active is important for emotional wellbeing.

 

Your opinion is contrary to the scientific evidence available, so I'm going to ignore it if that's okay.

 

---------- Post added 23-12-2016 at 15:11 ----------

 

Concerning the drop in smoking- taxation is a factor, but I think it's important to realise the importance of the laws banning advertising smoking, plus the bans on smoking in public places.

 

Indeed, and all part of government trying to affect behavioural change through legislation (and succeeding).

The point is that government can through a variety of means change the way large numbers of people behave, and it's probably right to do so for health and cost reasons.

Cutting funding to schemes that improve public health will have a negative effect on the NHS. Which is probably part of the tory plan, it'll make it easier to say "look, it's failing, we must sell it off (to my mates)"... They only whisper the bit in brackets though.

 

---------- Post added 23-12-2016 at 15:12 ----------

 

I think another big problem is that we have a whole generation of people who dont actually know how to cook. Home economics became "domestic science" and now is food technology.

 

Less and less about actually how to do home cooking and domestic tasks and more about design and theory. All well and good but no use whatsoever when a child grows up into the big wide world.

 

That generation knew nothing about home cooking and are now at an age where they are having their own children. That's a whole section of society who have no basic cooking skills and parents who wont / cant teach them.

 

Add all that onto the fact that that there are restaurant chains and pubs offering two meals for less than a fiver or all you can eat anything for less than £10 and where is the incentive to cook.

 

Why buy fresh food at the supermarket and waste time slaving away in the kitchen when you can pop down to your local hungry horse and get a donut burger each for less than the price of a basket of groceries.

 

You're painting an entire generation as unable to cook. Yet I know for a fact that students that I teach at 18 can cook as well as I could 20 years ago at the same age...

[ECCOnoob]

 

You're painting an entire generation as unable to cook. Yet I know for a fact that students that I teach at 18 can cook as well as I could 20 years ago at the same age...

 

Ok ok. I am not saying that every single person in that generation doesn't know how to cook but there is no denying that a gap of skills and knowledge with the yonger generation exists. Fact is home cooking from scratch has declined over the decades with the rise and rise of pre-prepared and ready made food.

 

It has been well publicised for some time with some companies and educational establishments raising concerns and trying to do something about it.

 

http://www.blackmorevale.co.uk/new-survey-reveals-generational-skills-gap/story-27477041-detail/story.html

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-3260435/British-children-say-love-cooking-unable-chop-vegetables-make-salad-boil-egg.html

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/3325550/Catering-to-the-skills-gap.html

 

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/oct/06/millennials-no-interest-in-cookery

 

It logical that this must have some overall impact of people's diet and weight.

Edited December 23, 2016 by ECCOnoob

[onewheeldave]

Ok ok. I am not saying that every single person in that generation doesn't know how to cook but there is no denying that a gap of skills and knowledge with the yonger generation exists. Fact is home cooking from scratch has declined over the decades with the rise and rise of pre-prepared and ready made food.

 

 

It is a big factor that even people who can cook actual vegetables/grains, often don't, because they go for the pre-packaged processed option.

 

Processed food is, after all, designed to be fast and easy to prepare, and, contains lots of additives to ensure it is tasty, promotes cravings and encourages excess consumption (salt, sugar, fats, oils, chemical taste enhancers etc).

 

Many people working long hours, multiple jobs and who have families are going to tend to go for ready meals that are fast to prepare, rather than spend the time preparing and cooking potatoes/vegetables/grains etc.