The lesson from the 40s is that to fix a public health problem – whether obesity or hunger – you need big government.
These people really are vile. Firstly, unless it is a communicable disease, it is not a public health issue. Secondly, if I eat too much and kill myself as a consequence, that is my concern, not government’s. So, no, we do not need big government and we certainly do not need rationing. What kind of insane swivel-eyed totalitarian would think we do? Oh, yeah, the kind of insane totalitarian control freak who writes for the Guardian.
The UK is a rare country for running the full gamut, from a government initiative that did work, to one that doesn’t at all. That is, rationing in the second world war, and the Change for Life campaign, which has been running since 2009, addressing a knowledge deficit that doesn’t exist (obesity specialists are pretty well united on the fact that there are very few people who don’t know a high-calorie foodstuff from a low one).
So, we know about the message and they know that we know and yet, despite knowing we do not obey. So, yeah, because we do not obey, we must be forced to obey, like naughty little children.
There is no obesity epidemic. There is certainly an epidemic of health fascists who want to dictate how we live our lives – the same nasty control freaks who use the discredited BMI as a measure and have referred to people who are mildly overweight as obese and have likewise accused children who have natural puppy fat as obese – in other words, charlatans and liars. Sure, some people are fat. But the evidence (which I’ll trust sooner than I trust a politician, journalist or health control freak) of my own eyes travelling around the country tells me that the biggest lie of all is the obesity epidemic. There isn’t one and what we eat is no business of the state and its hangers-on. So, Zoe Williams, no we do not need rationing and you can stick your ration book where the sun don’t shine.
And the same cretins continually tell us there’s an “epidemic” of girls with eating disorders, seemingly oblivious to the fact that constantly being told by schools, doctors and the government that they “are fat” might have something to do with it.
Up until my late thirties I was quite into being fit, swimming, cycling and karate being my chosen activities. After that I let it slide somewhat but at 54 I was still in better shape than most my age, even if it was all going south a bit. At this time I was sort of thinking about trying to get fit again but it just seemed like too much effort. Then last May I was diagnosed with type one diabetes. Of course, along with the insulin injections comes the news that It is now very much in my interest to take regular exercise. The thing is, once I was on the medication, getting back into exercising was easy, I literally* felt twenty years younger. The thing about diabetes seems to be that it will total fuck your body up but only if you let it. So I took the decision to have a completely disciplined approach to medication, diet and exercise.
The result of all this is that now, at 55, I have a 34″ waist, a flat tum, my moobs have gone and I am in better shape than I have been in years. Yet according to my BMI I am seriously overweight. If the powers that be are going to go around claiming that thin people are fat then of course there is going to be an obesity epidemic. To their credit, the doctors and specialist nurses seem to treat my BMI readings with a pinch of salt.
*I am not using the word literally figuratively here.
Interestingly, no one batted an eyelid over my BMI last week. The issue was blood pressure. it’s higher than it should be but nothing like as high as it was during the medical.
So the lesson from the forties is that we need big government.
According to Wikipedia 60 million people died in WW2.
Evil bitch.
And which is it? Are people so fat they need to stop eating, or are they so poor they need to given food?
@ Stonyground. I was identified as a type 2 in ’95. in ’03 I went on to supportive insulin whilst still in the U.K. In ’06 as predicted by my U.K. consultant my pancreas stopped producing insulin but by then I was in the French system which gives a quarterly blood test and right now I am doing O.K. at a slightly greater age than yourself. I keep away from rubbish because only today I ‘treated’ myself to a Xmas MacMerde Burger and Wrap, the French system of glucose measurement is different from the U.K. but from 97 ( excellent ) at lunch to 302 two hours after eating the MacMerde’s shite just goes to show how much refined sugar does into their products. I do everything but the exercises as my doctor would like to see me do, however after a morning and afternoon in my ‘shop the numbers are always good to too low, it is whilst I sleep that the sugars rise, Diabeties is a very complex malaise that is yet to be fully understood I don’t agree in total with what you say about it not affecting certain sufferers who don’t do much to look after themselves because there are so many variables, I have never smoked, used recreational drugs and I virtually do not drink however I can eat lots of things full of Cholesterol because I lack both the good and the bad in my system, any refined sugar however……..In younger days I played Rugby and I got fit, but in all the years I worked out and exercised I NEVER got a flat stomach, that is down to Genetics, not exercise just look at body builders, if exercise was the principal factor they would all look virtually alike.