Solution to childhood obesity (teensy bit controversial)

It's been in the news the last couple of days, so given that this forum has quite a wide range of opinions I thought I'd stir the hornets nest. Just call me the firestarter

Politicians are spinning away saying they're putting more money into facilities, that they're introducing more than two hours of PE per week into the curriculum and banning junk food, yet they've completely missed (or more likely, choose to side track) the five real reasons:

Reason number one is that the Daily Express has made parents think there are paedophiles round every corner so they don't want their kids going outside.

Reason number two is that average family homes of our youth (3/4 bedrooms, garden to run around in and walking distance to a park) are now only affordable by DINKY (double income, no kids) city types and average families can only get houses in the middle of vast concrete sink estates.

Reason number three is that there are simply more interesting but less active things for kids to be doing these days. Jet Set Willy & Manic Miner, as great as they were, could only hold a ten year old's attention so long before the need to run round the park kicked in.

Reason number four is that junk food encouraged hyperactivity. "Orange" juice was named only because it was orange in colour, packed so full of E numbers and sugar it turned kids into whirlling dervishes, who bounced off the ceilings until their parents let them go to the park to chase squirrels.

Reason number five is bullying. The solitary fat kid got teased mercilessly as school. Fear is a wonderful motivator. Teenage girls (currently the worse affected by obesity) used to be the complete opposite, terribly so. Annorexia was in every class room (I'm not saying this is a good thing, just noting that it seems to have gone full circle). Bullying is actually government policy - "make smoking socially unacceptable", "make speeding socially unacceptable", but in schools it's being stamped out like never before.


So, solutions. In no particular order, some more controversial than others and some completely silly (I am a liberal lefty afterall, picking on the fat kid doesn't exactly sit well with me, but perhaps sometimes if someone says "do I look fat" then a teensy bit of honesty may be justified).

Solution number one. Start running counter-advertising campaigns to every Daily Express headline. "100,000 criminals at large!! They could be living next door to you!!" is countered by "59.9 million normal people could be living next door to you!!". Oh, and prosecute them for incitement to racial hatred while we're at it. I'm pretty sure it's a crime, and they seem to do it every other day. And tell them to get over Diana too, she's dead, she wasn't wearing a seat belt, her driver was drunk, get over it. Move on.

Solution number two. More affordable housing. Start by taxing the hell out of second homes, introduce more clauses into housing deeds to ensure "local houses can be bought by local people". Oh, and remove the loophole that allows developers to pay a penalty to the council in exchange for not putting a certain percentage of affordable housing in their new development.

Solution number three. Hmm, tough one here, banning Playstations ain't really my idea of Utopia. Perhaps a free Wii and that tennis game to every school kid? Hell, if they're going to play computer games, they may as well play an active one.

Solution number four. Introduce "E-number" pills in the vitamins isle to supplement the E-numbers kids no longer get from their diet (ok slightly silly one).

Solution number five. Make obesity socially unacceptable. Hell, they did it with smoking and obesity is arguably as dangerous to health. It's already government policy. Not sure you can catch second-hand lard though. Ban cream cake eating in the workplace, make them stand outside under a brolly in the rain with the smokers. Seeing as smoking is a mild appetite suppresant, standing out with the smokers and catching a whiff of second hand smoke might not be a bad thing all round. Run advertising campaigns, "It's not glandular. It's cake.", "Boys won't like you if you're fat". We've had exactly these bullying campaigns targetted against smokers and it seems to work. (ok, this really doesn't sit well with my left wing outlook, but I like to play devils advocate, even with myself)

(can you tell who's got the day off today and is bored?)

Originally Posted by MiniMatt

Solution number five. Make obesity socially unacceptable.

Obesity already is socially unacceptable. Any more bright ideas?

Originally Posted by Filipe M.

Obesity already is socially unacceptable. Any more bright ideas?

Originally Posted by MiniMatt

(ok, this really doesn't sit well with my left wing outlook, but I like to play devils advocate, even with myself)

I didn't claim they were bright ideas or even good ideas or even ideas I like. Just stirring really

Enforced wiring of jaws once someone reaches 100kg/16 stone.

Once a week walk to work day. Too bad if you live 30 miles away.

Ban clothing retailers from selling huge size clothes.

Originally Posted by Ed

Enforced wiring of jaws once someone reaches 100kg/16 stone.

Once a week walk to work day. Too bad if you live 30 miles away.

Ban clothing retailers from selling huge size clothes.

Ed, do you realise where this would take you? You'd have a lot more naked fat people walking the streets, is that what you're after?

Originally Posted by Filipe M.

Ed, do you realise where this would take you? You'd have a lot more naked fat people walking the streets, is that what you're after?

Christ, he has a point you know. Eeep. Perhaps just banning skin tight lycra in oversized sizes would do the trick?

What we need is rationing and a war in which everyone can join in.

No fat kids then.

Ahhh...but aint obesity a sign of wealth? Even the poorest in our society can be lazy and whale fat. Now that progress.

Originally Posted by MiniMatt

And tell them to get over Diana too, she's dead, she wasn't wearing a seat belt, her driver was drunk, get over it. Move on.

As long as everyone gets over Jesus, that was frickin ages ago!

personally, I'm a libertarian. I don't see why anything is ever banned.

Originally Posted by MiniMatt

"It's not glandular. It's cake."

Originally Posted by The Basket

What we need is rationing and a war in which everyone can join in.

Hmm, Darwinism "survival of the fittest" taken to a literal extreme. Perhaps invent bullets that can be outran? Solution to gun crime and obesity in one sweep.

If I ran the world....

(who am I kidding, if I ran the world the power would go to my head and I'd be a meglomaniac despot within days)