Today's Columbus Dispatch had an article that stated that
Ohio ranks 17th in obesity and percentage of people overweight. I'm actually pretty surprised that it is that low in the rankings. We were at the Columbus zoo on July 20th and while I was waiting for half of our family to catch up to where we were (we arrived at separate times), I sat on a bench and did some people watching. I was horrified to notice the percentage of very LARGE adults waddling by with their very large children - most of them munching away on junk food and super-sized soft drinks. Thus, I did a photo study of a sorts - mostly to remind myself that I should continue to exercise every day and to eat healthy foods in reasonable portions. Here are some of those photos to remind my blog readers to take it one step at a time and stay healthy longer! (Sorry if you find these photos offensive, but we do need to change our collective habits, I think).
Ok - I can't leave a post with that imagery, so here are a couple of other photos to make up for soap box preaching.
The Columbus Zoo is actually a very nice place to visit when one is focusing on the landscaping and animal exhibits.
I always enjoy seeing the flamingos.
African penguins were molting. I prefer seeing these in South Africa in the wild, but seeing them at the zoo brings back good memories of past field seasons.
Lorikeets - again, pleasant memories of trips to Australia.
Asian river otters were ready for supper and wanted into their dens for the evening. "Feed me!"
i'll jump in here to further your analysis: much like with the cigarette industry, the food industry has been manufacturing food-like-stuff that is very addictive to the body. soft drinks, snacks and other processed foods that metabolize as simple sugars are an addictive drug to the body. some good reading: "omnivore's dilemma" by pollan & "food politics" by marion nestle.
ReplyDeleteand although each individual has the responsibility to care for his/her own body, what makes me most angry is that the children are being damaged for life from what their parents are feeding them -- most of today's obese kids will not even live as long and will suffer more than their parents.
i find myself appalled at this and consider it child neglect and abuse, and can't understand why there is not a LOUD national outcry ... it's almost as if we've all be dumbed-down to a stupor.
I agree with your sentiments. The food industry doesn't care about our health, just the bottom line.
ReplyDeleteI've never understood why the government doesn't regulate these sorts of industries as a matter of investment in the future. It has to cost a lot of money to deal with the consequences of these poor nutritional choices since most of them occur past middle age when the government is more likely to supplement the health costs.
Similarly, I don't understand why the government doesn't regulate the nutritional supplement industry - vitamins and other "health" supplements. No testing, no oversight, etc. That's just plain stupid. No wonder we have melamine showing up in pet foods. . .