Quote (Neptunus @ 28 Sep 2016 07:17)
There really isn't much to do about individual obese people besides trying to motivate and support them in losing weight. Shaming is just counter-productive.
The other thing is that there really is something going on considering how many people fail to lose weight. Our methods are shitty if there's an on-going epidemic of obesity and health professionals are essentially helpless. It really doesn't matter whether obese people are just lazy, bad people or if there's something we don't know of that could be exploited in the fight against obesity. Sin tax, proper education, medication, surgery, reduction of social inequality so that healthy food becomes more affordable... There's numerous measures
But of course, the intellectually lazy way is to give up all inquiry and just blame the obese for being obese and not dig into the subject any further.
I agree about the shaming, hence the thrust about my posts. There's a fine line between telling the truth, getting people to take charge of their lives, and shaming.
I actually like the idea of a sin tax but the problem is that it doesn't help. Good intention with the idea, but it just pays the government to be bad (sorry Americanos, I hate your government), and it doesn't do anything to actually help anyone except to provide a negative feedback loop and a poor incentive to change. Ultimately the "sin tax" would be better cast as a measurable, results-based fund for people who want to help people deal with their shit (bad eating habits, emotional problems, general stupidity). That or you reverse the idea and provide tax benefits for folks who are healthy, in which case the incentive may not do any good for those who aren't ready to change, but it does reinforce people who have good habits to keep them.
My own broader suggestion would be to make preventative medicine an actual field of medicine, not just a bullshit things some docs talk about and never actually practice. This would require incorporating nutrition into medical school curriculum (and not just the tiny amount that some docs receive now). Diet and exercise would be primary aspects of the field. I talked to a doctor, who is also a friend, about preventative medicine. He had the wrong idea altogether because he immediately included drug therapies and immunization in his thinking. In the bigger picture, we have to understand that agriculture and food manufacture are geared toward making people fat and unhealthy, just because it's the cheapest, easiest way to feed a nation. This is an inherently bad approach. Here's a thought. Yeah, organic stuff and actual variety and eating healthy food is expensive. So buy more of it to make it cheaper because it is more available. And eat less in general (esp. less meat) to save money and the environment, and to get thinner. Interesting concept.