Bill Introduced in 1 state to ban restaurants serving the obese - Page 4

If I have no other choices, I go for a kids meal and I'm done for the rest of the day.

Plus I get a [sometimes] cool toy

But an obese person would not even get in the door to choose the kids meal (or the cool toy)

and what about if they were picking up lunch for their office or family? They then can't have food because the obese person is the person who can leave at a certain time?

Sorry went off topic there

IF this were to pass (which I doubt) I wonder how drive thrus would work. Would there be scale to measure your weight minus the car weight? I mean, cause when people are sitting behind a closed door, if they're bottom heavy, they can be deceiving in weight/BMI.

This bill is absolutely absurd!! Thank God even the author of this bill doesn't expect it to go anywhere! But I think it's ridiculous that he even introduced it. I mean, first of all... how much control over our lives do we want the government to have over us? I'm shocked it was a republican that wrote it since republicans are supposed to be all about less government. Second, even fat people need to eat. You can't just starve them to death to punish them for being obese. Nor can you force them to eat how you want them to. Third, not all obese people are that way by choice and by gluttony. And anyone who thinks that is true is sadly mistaken and very prejudiced. That's the kind of thinking that leads to intolerance. There is the genetic factor and many medical conditions that can cause, or contribute to obesity.

As far as I'm concerned, a big part of the answer to obesity is education and insurance reform. Insurance companies, for the most part, won't cover weight loss aids, programs and surgery. They'd rather pay out thousands a month on CPAP machines, diabetes drugs and supplies, asthma supllies and meds, orthopaedic aids and surgeries, medicines for reflux and pain etc.

Part of the problem is that some of the so called "obese" are living in the wrong time period. The fashion now is to look like a field hand: tan, skinny, and almost sallow. 100 years ago a girl with meat on her bones would have been a super model.

Does obesity cause health issues? Sure. Most obese people understand that, but it doesn't help. Over eating is emotional. Laws like this don't really help, in fact they do far more harm than good. What we should do is address the emotional component behind overeating, and I'm sure we'd help some along the way to lasting weight loss.

Also, I'm all for addressing realistic body sizes. Not every person who is a size zero is the picture of health and not every size 15 is tromping towards a heart attack.

what !!!!! no cool toy, hang all the lawyers!!!!

anyway.the real question is why was the fat person even out the house?

lets make normal stores and stuff for those that fall within the BMI,
and stores for the stick and bones, and another the fat people( since i am 39 pounds over the BMI i would be int he fat store)

How the is that not infringing on people's freedoms and rights. That's completely ridiculous.

You reinforce my opinion and I understand the laughter of the Canadians you were with. That's like an Argentine or Brazilian or Peruvian saying they were from America. It's true - they are in fact, so saying you are from "America" is like saying you are from Europe (most folks would relate better if you told them which country in Europe you came from).

I can assure you that if we were to visit your beautiful country and someone asked us where we were from we wouldn't say "America". We would proudly say Canada.

Back on topic, I do believe there is some truth to the post that food with less or no preservatives and additives would help immensely. There was an interesting portion on the radio this morning as I was driving to work about "lard". There is a lady that has written a cookbook and she was talking about how lard does not break down like other fats when heated and is actually better for us than vegetable oils. She was also noting that butter is much healthier than margarine. I've always felt that way and now it seems there is some data and research to prove that natural foods really are better for us. She said that if we went back to eating things our Grandmother would recognize we would all be healthier.

I thought about that and I have to say I did not know very many "large" people when I was growing up. I've heard that the fat cells that we grow as babies and children stay with us through life so I think it is even more important to feed our babies and children in a more health conscience way.

There are certainly folks with gland and other issues that they have little control over and they should in no way be made to feel they are worth less by anyone and especially our silly governments.

I think part of that though (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that we didn't eat out as much as we do today. Example, my family was relatively thin (well except my dad) growing up because we ate in 5 nights of the week. Night 6 was dinner out and night 7 was pizza night...in which 2 large pizzas would be ordered for a family of 5 and there would STILL be leftovers.

When I went off to college part of the social scene was eating out 5 nights of the week. Did I gain weight? Of course! Luckily I became poor from it and started staying in most nights

I think one of the big "Eye openers" IMO is when places some restaurants began listing their Nutritional Values right on their menu.

My dad trusts cows more than scientists Margarine is one molecule away from plastic, YUM.

Butter has become a demon, so has fat in and of itself. What people don't understand is that if something contains fat, a cookie for example, then one is much more satisfied when one eats it. Leading to one eating less not more.

Why is it when I make hot coco: 8oz of heavy cream, 2 oz of milk and 1 oz of dark chocolate melted in a double boiler. Heat heavy cream in a heavy bottomed pot until it's steaming. Slowwwlllyy add chocolate. Mix. Enjoy. I only drink one mug. However, if one gives me a coco mix I'll drink it all day?

We are really attacking the wrong thing.

When I first started out in the O.R. (25 years ago), the average male patient weighed around 180 to 200 pounds, the average female patient was approximately 125 to 140 pounds. Today, the average female patient is 250+ pounds and the average male patient is 275+ pounds (granted, I realize that Michigan has one of the heaviest populations in the U.S.) Back in the early '80's, operating room tables had a weight limit of 500 pounds. Those are obsolete now. Operating room tables now have a weight limit of 1000 pounds, and some are being made to hold 1200 pounds. An abdominal wall retractor used to measure 3 inches long, and was adequate for most abdominal surgeries. Now, an abdominal wall retractor 6 inches long is usually too short to work....which means that most people have more than 6 inches of fat on their abdomen! Surgical instruments are becoming obsolete at an alarming rate, because they simply aren't long enough or strong enough to use on morbidly obese patients. Total joint replacement implants must continually be changed and improved to withstand the weight of increasingly heavier patients. I injured my back holding retractors for 10 hours on two different patients, both of which were 400+ pounds each. I can see a totally different way that obesity increases the cost of healthcare. Unfortunately, this is a perspective that few people have any idea about.

Sorry for the high jack...just wanted to add my two cents to the conversation!

I am in my early fifties and I have seen how obesity has exploded in recent years. I think processed food and take-out is a big part of it. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I had fast food when I was a kid. Part of that I am sure is because I grew up in a rural area. We always ate at home and it was all things that are cooked from scratch not heat and serve. We also didn't have things like video games, because of living out in the country we didn't even have cable, so I was outside most of the time rather than sitting looking at some type of screen.

Of course they would. These people get away with anything and everything as it is
Yes, butter IS much healthier than margarine. First off, margarine and butter have the same amount of fat per serving. But, here is something most people do not know. Most margarines are made to seem healthier, because they are made with "100% pure vegetable oils". But, here is the catch. Those vegetable oils are either fully hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated. Hydrogenated oils are worse for you than eating butter. All fats are not bad for you. For instance, replace butter with a good olive oil. Olive oil is very healthful, as long as you are not drinking it by the glassful. As with anything, moderation is they key and you should eat a balanced diet and eliminate as much processed foods as possible, like overly processed sugars and hydrogenated oils. Nothing wrong with fast foods, as long as you are not eating it every day. In fact, I rarely got to Mcdonalds or anything like that. But, when I do, it is a nice treat to eat some fast food

You've hit the nail on the head!.

I'd eat much healthier if it were cheaper to do so. That's all I have to say about it all, lol. It costs a lot of money to eat all those fruits and veggies, and moreso than eating off a dollar menu.

In all seriousness though...I know I eat a "high-fat" diet and I know I need to curb it now, before I get older. But I'm not "fat" because I eat out...I'm "fat" because I don't eat right. You can make good choices are restaurants.

But this BMI business annoys me. According to the BMI, I should be between 104-130lbs for my height. Anything over 130 is considered overweight, and right now I'm bordering on obese. I haven't been within the normal range for my height since I came to college. 135-145lbs is a great weight for me (about a size 8) because of my body type. What in the world does that do to one's body image??? "I'm sorry, you look GREAT, but your BMI says you're overweight and you cannot eat here." If I were down below 130lbs again, I would look sick and waaaay too thin.

IMO, it's a stupid bill, with a stupid premise, based on an inexact science.

I watched a documentary on CNN about our killer diet and they were talking about farm subsidies. People who grow fruits and vegetables don't get subsidies like grain farmers do. They also said that if everyone in the U.S. ate just the minimum 5 servings a day there isn't enough produce grown in this country to satisfy the demand.

WOW, what an eye opener. That is scary. I'm speechless.

I think the problem that is going to start arrising more in the near future is more people sueing because they are fat. That is what the restaraunt business is afraid of. We went to IHop the other day and saw this woman who was probably 500lbs (not exaggerating) with three plates of food in front of her. I have to admit I wondered why they would give anyone that much food, let alone someone that large. It's contributing to killing them. At a bar, if someone has had too much to drink, the bartender stops serving them. Isn't this the same kind of thing? It's still endangering them. Not as immediately as alcohol, but it still is slowly killing them. I think this country needs a major overhaul in our diets. In other countries people eat fast food without getting fat because it's not fast food like we have. They have street vendors with FRESH food, not chemically enhanced meats and packaged lard. Convenience has made this country fat. At some point the government will have to step in because people are not helping themselves loose the weight.

Interestingly enough, there was a very good discussion on our CBC Radio very recently about lard. Apparently it is healthier for you than some vegetable oils because of the way it breaks down when heated.

I cook and bake with lard, and I don't tell people that I do. Lard brings a taste to food that no other fat can, and in some dishes it's important. It's also not a chemical it's well... not to be gross... pig fat.

Again we are attacking fat. Fat doesn't make people fat. Eating out of emotion, unrealistic body images, and lack of knowledge about food makes people fat.

I do agree with you and to add or maybe distract from that it also doesn't help that we have so much "Fat" readily available to us.

When I sit in the check out line and see piles of chocolate bars, ho-hos, etc ready for the grabbing, I just wonder if these "quick grab" items where taken away from the front of the line how much that would alliviate emotion eating. You're bored of waiting in line after 5 minutes...10 minutes later the Ho-hos start talking to you...."Buy me....eat me" and it just sounds soooo exciting.

Use to be at one point you'd have to go to the local soda shop to buy a glass of soda. Now you have just about every version of soda you can think of right at your local grocer...more access to the HFCS....

Perfectly well put. When I think about margarine being 1 molecule away from plastic, I'm very content to eat my butter. Golly, the additives, preservatives and stuff they put in food nowadays is enough to throw our bodies into chaos.

I agree that often it the lack of knowledge about good food that is a problem. In my parents' generation we didn't hear all the talk about having so many servings of fish or meat, so many veggie, dairy, etc. We just naturally ate meat or fish, several types of veggies from our garden, and often did not have dessert. We ate real food, drank real raw milk and were all very healthy. Few people had allergies like we have today (seems almost everyone is allergic to something).

Our new fast food, fast life, quick and easy prepared foods are IMO our biggest culprit to weight problems. I don't even blame restaurant food. There are always healthy choices one can make even in restaurants. You can get a salad at McDonalds, right? (I'm actually not sure since I never go there.)

When I was growing up having a pop (soda) once a month was a treat for us - nowadays folks have 6 and 7 a day - very bad for you.

Just wanted to add that I was speaking to my younger brother the other night and he said something that really made me think. He said, "What's to stop the terrorists from attacking our foods by putting bad things in them?". Certainly something to ponder.