Clean Air Act vs Kyoto

[geoffrey]

Or how about another frightening stat. 74,626 Canadians died of heart disease in 2002.... 54% due to coronary artery disease. When is a government going to step up and say enough is enough, ban trans-fats outright, levy a massive tax on junk food and use the revenues to fund proper programs to get kids active (35% of kids are so fat they are health risks to themselves).

I'd be all for that.

Although, it shouldn't take much money to get kids active. What it takes is good parenting and a $10 pair of running shoes.

And a prohibitive tax on video games. I'll admit that even I've sacrificed a late night run for a game of Age of Empires on occassion.

My parents when I was younger gave me 30 minutes of TV/gaming time a day. That was it, no exceptions. I was in 3 team sports (football, baseball and hockey) and skied and hiked with the family all the time. I figure this used to be the norm for kids from the impression I get talking to those older than me.

Now kids don't play sports, they sit in front of the TV for hours a day. Some of them can't even run around the block...

It's gotten worse even between such a short age gap between myself and high school kids these days. How many groups of teens do you see out on the cross-country trails or biking to school? Doesn't happen.

Kids are lazy... and it's mostly the parents fault.

Let's increase the cost so parents are less likely to spend on the video game when the skis or bike is cheaper.

[gc1765]

And a prohibitive tax on video games. I'll admit that even I've sacrificed a late night run for a game of Age of Empires on occassion.

Naaah. Video games aren't causing any harm, unless you are arguing that they will play video games instead of being active. But then we'd have to tax everything that does not involve activity. Heck, I'd have to be taxed for using this message board, given how much time I spend on it

Besides, not being active wouldn't be so unhealthy if you eat right.

[geoffrey]

Besides, not being active wouldn't be so unhealthy if you eat right.

No one eats right, I bet you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that eats a 'perfect' diet.

Video games are a major part of the problem. What are kids doing instead of playing outside? Playing video games. It's a problem.

[gc1765]

No one eats right, I bet you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that eats a 'perfect' diet.

It's all relative. A 'reasonably' balanced diet vs. junk food & soft drinks.

[blueblood]

Besides, not being active wouldn't be so unhealthy if you eat right.

No one eats right, I bet you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that eats a 'perfect' diet.

Video games are a major part of the problem. What are kids doing instead of playing outside? Playing video games. It's a problem.

I can't blame them, theres nothing else to do. Mom and dad both have to work to pay off the house and live, so don't teach kids about being active, PE programs in school are a joke. I've lived in the city for a bit and almost lost my mind. I think it's more of a culture thing of today. I can remember the stories of back in the day farmers shutting her down every week to play baseball where EVERYONE played, um everyone going to dances/socials (bars/clubs didn't exist) basically nobody sat around and did nothing, now I look at high school kids even in small town Canada there is a weight problem. I don't think the government itself can solve a dilemna like this or environmental problems, it is our fault as a society and we need to clean it up. I think going back to a small town mentallity will help out the country as a whole.

[geoffrey]

Improving the accessibility of our parks system would be a huge step. In Calgary we have AMAZING resources only an hour away (some even closer). I can climb mountains 45 minutes from home. Why aren't kids doing this? It's very rewarding. XC skiing... mountain biking. It's all fantastic. But no one knows about it, or no one wants to take advantage of the resources.

They need to increase the availability of the resources, and then advertise like crazy. Canada's biggest asset is it's natural resources, it's time we put some to use to fix our health problems.

[mikedavid00]

In Calgary we have AMAZING resources only an hour away (some even closer). I can climb mountains 45 minutes from home. Why aren't kids doing this?

Because it's expensive and we don't live in Calgary?

[mikedavid00]

Or how about another frightening stat. 74,626 Canadians died of heart disease in 2002.... 54% due to coronary artery disease. When is a government going to step up and say enough is enough, ban trans-fats outright, levy a massive tax on junk food and use the revenues to fund proper programs to get kids active (35% of kids are so fat they are health risks to themselves).

I'd be all for that.

Although, it shouldn't take much money to get kids active. What it takes is good parenting and a $10 pair of running shoes.

Goverment is here to govern.

I have to say that they really should begin to regulate food. The main factors are glycemic index and fats.

Obesety is insane these days. It's tied back to process foods that are high in sugar. NOT transfats. That's just a fad.

I support this only if the US jumps bored. We need Nabisco and Procter and Gamble to get in the labs and make no sugar fruit rollups, no sugar pudding snacks, no sugar ice cream, and tasty baked chips. It's these things that are making kids fat.

But ponder this, there's a 'fat pill' coming anyway that will literally melt the fat off your body. It should be coming soon. I don't know why it's been in testing this long.

If that happens it will be great, I can eat what I want and take a fat pill, then I can use more pills to lower the cholesteral my liver produces. Hehehe

[gc1765]

Obesety is insane these days. It's tied back to process foods that are high in sugar. NOT transfats. That's just a fad.

Trans fats clog arteries, just like cholesterol does. Both sugar and fat are the problem.

I support this only if the US jumps bored. We need Nabisco and Procter and Gamble to get in the labs and make no sugar fruit rollups, no sugar pudding snacks, no sugar ice cream, and tasty baked chips. It's these things that are making kids fat.

I don't blame the companies. I blame the parents who can't so "no" when their kids ask for junk food, or don't get their kids to eat proper food.

But ponder this, there's a 'fat pill' coming anyway that will literally melt the fat off your body. It should be coming soon. I don't know why it's been in testing this long.

What's that old saying, if it sounds too good to be true....

[mikedavid00]

Trans fats clog arteries, just like cholesterol does.

Trans Fat produces *more* 'bad cholestoral'. But regardless, diet only accounts for %15 of the body's total cholesteral. Your liver produces 85% of it. The TransFat thing is marketing hype because most foods don't have transfats by nature so all the companies are tricking consumers into thinking that by buying a bag of chips that says '0% TRANS-FAT FREE' chps they are getting 0 fat chips. In the long term those chips are just as bad and will make you just as obese. I tried the new KFC btw and it totally sucks. The fries too. I wont be buying food from there anymore.

I don't blame the companies. I blame the parents who can't so "no" when their kids ask for junk food, or don't get their kids to eat proper food.

I agree. But parents are super busy these days and processed foods are so conveinent. Keep in mind that when we were kids, most foods were 'whole foods' so complete meals had to be cooked. Then came processed foods in the form of snacks. Fruite rollups, new forms of chips, dips, tons of boxed coockies and pasteries etc. There was a food engineering/technology boom that happened in the 70's when the first processed cold cuts were created. The more the food is processed, the more high in sugars they become to stabelize the food.

This can lead to AHDD, Diabities, and obesity. Sugar is really, really bad for you and is actually an un natural substance in nature as compared to the portions that we're eating. (very little sugars in nature if we were cave men). They say that humans were made to store fat, but we were not made to handle the amounts of sugars we've been eating these past 30 years since the brith of processed foods.

They say that parents were altra conservative with sugars in the old days beacause they felt it would 'rot their kids teeth' if they ate too much chocolate or candies.

Ok Ponder this. A box of Kraft Dinner is actually HIGHER in sugar than actual sugar because it's so processed. This is a path to obesity.

And before 1970's people were eating transfats all along with no problems.

What's that old saying, if it sounds too good to be true....

I've been out of the health scene for a while. It looks like that pill failed human testing in 2001. It was the most promosing pill because it attacked fat at the molecular level and melted it off mice:

"The latest work was done with normal-weight mice. When they were given injections of leptin, the cells that normally store fat suddenly became fat-burning cells. The activity of their mitochondria, the principal energy-processing units of the cell, increased substantially, so the mice lost a lot of weight in just two weeks. "

I don't know if you remeber these 'fat pill' headlines around 97 or so. Since then they tested it on humans and the human fat cells rejected the extra leptin due to a human tollerance that the mice didn't have.

Shame =(

[geoffrey]

In Calgary we have AMAZING resources only an hour away (some even closer). I can climb mountains 45 minutes from home. Why aren't kids doing this?

Because it's expensive and we don't live in Calgary?

Kids aren't doing it here either.

In Ontario you've got tons of lakes, get out there, swim, kayak, canoe. Whatever!!!

No where in Canada is there a limit to what you can do outdoors. Maybe in Churchill when the Polar Bears are in town... though I can see that being a fun fitness activity.

[blueblood]

In Calgary we have AMAZING resources only an hour away (some even closer). I can climb mountains 45 minutes from home. Why aren't kids doing this?

Because it's expensive and we don't live in Calgary?

I don't think a basketball is expensive, i don't think playing tag costs money too, sorry that's society/culture...

[geoffrey]

In Calgary we have AMAZING resources only an hour away (some even closer). I can climb mountains 45 minutes from home. Why aren't kids doing this?

Because it's expensive and we don't live in Calgary?

I don't think a basketball is expensive, i don't think playing tag costs money too, sorry that's society/culture...

All activity is cheap when you factor in the economic benefits of being fit and healthy. There is little wonder why companies encourage their employees to get active through healthy living benefits. How much does a missed day of work cost you, likely somewhere between $150-400 for most Canadians? That doesn't even come close to what it costs the company in some positions. That $300 set of cross country skis that improves your fitness and increases your immune system, mental health and self-esteem is awfully cheap in the long run. What about the 4-6 months off from a heart attack? That could cost $20k-100k, more. Those skis, that bike, those shoes are really damned cheap now.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

If fitness purchases were GST exempt, it'd provide further incentive.

Not to mention these things are fun, and when compared to Playstation 3 or something like that aren't very expensive.

[gc1765]

Trans Fat produces *more* 'bad cholestoral'. But regardless, diet only accounts for %15 of the body's total cholesteral. Your liver produces 85% of it. The TransFat thing is marketing hype because most foods don't have transfats by nature so all the companies are tricking consumers into thinking that by buying a bag of chips that says '0% TRANS-FAT FREE' chps they are getting 0 fat chips. In the long term those chips are just as bad and will make you just as obese. I tried the new KFC btw and it totally sucks. The fries too. I wont be buying food from there anymore.

Yes, genetics plays a role as well (and there are drugs to treat that). But if your genes are normal, pretty much the only way you are going to have too much cholesterol is through bad diet (and perhaps lack of activity). Food that is trans-fat free but not fat-free, will still make you obese if you eat enough, but I won't be quite as bad for your arteries.

I agree. But parents are super busy these days and processed foods are so conveinent. Keep in mind that when we were kids, most foods were 'whole foods' so complete meals had to be cooked. Then came processed foods in the form of snacks. Fruite rollups, new forms of chips, dips, tons of boxed coockies and pasteries etc. There was a food engineering/technology boom that happened in the 70's when the first processed cold cuts were created. The more the food is processed, the more high in sugars they become to stabelize the food.

Raw carrots, fruit...these are very quick & convenient snacks.

Ok Ponder this. A box of Kraft Dinner is actually HIGHER in sugar than actual sugar because it's so processed. This is a path to obesity.

That doesn't make any sense. Can you explain what you mean by this?

And before 1970's people were eating transfats all along with no problems.

It took a while before we knew smoking was bad for us too.

[Saturn]

Ok Ponder this. A box of Kraft Dinner is actually HIGHER in sugar than actual sugar because it's so processed. This is a path to obesity.

That doesn't make any sense. Can you explain what you mean by this?

It's surprising, isn't it? But it's true. First there are different types of sugars. Some are processed and released into the bloodstream faster than others. Processed foods are the worst offenders of all when it comes to bad sugars (many are worse than table sugar). They are absorbed extremely quickly, causing blood glucose levels to skyrocket immediately after eating them, which puts pressure on the pancreas and damages it. Since processed foods are absorbed so quickly, blood glucose leves plummet a bit after a meal, leaving you hungry and looking for more. This sugar roller coaster leads to obesity and type 2 diabetes. For more info:

http://www.glycemicindex.com/