Re: a few thoughts

I have a few thoughts on the subject, mostly
because, as a young person, I worked a concession
stand at Edgewater Beach on Lake Erie. During the
winter, we worked the circus concessions, and I
worked at a concession stand at an outdoor movie
drive-in during my college stint. I was never fat
then and for the most part, the heavier people
were older and certainly not as prevalent as today.
The ballplayers, swimmers and families and folks
who snarfed down the hamburgers and hotdogs and
popcorn and beers we served were thin and for the
most part fit.

Certainly, following the Cleveland Indians, in my
youth, meant going to the stadium and going to see
a game meant you HAD to eat a hot dog and at the
very least, in the shell peanuts or popcorn. Anyway,
what happened between then and now has more to do
with the level of activity. People are less active
than ever before. When I was growing up, even in my
college days, you could walk on streets and see
folks outside. You could go to Edgewater any time
of the year and see people cooking out and gathering
together. There is still levels of that happening
but it is not like it was. Certainly, you do not
see children playing outside like you once did.

Today, the more processing which has gone into
food has made food less wholesome, for example,
the transfats we ingested for years, but frankenfood
began with the tv dinners and foods geared to get us
in front of a television *faster*. More than any one
thing, television has been the greatest cause of
obesity. As people numb themselves, the hours fly
by and a cycle of reinforcing eating in front of the
television can often become a vicious cycle.

The more active a person is, the more able their bodies
are to eat junk food and still enable the body to
function. While diet considerations are important, it
is just as important to look at the way one uses
television and work to break the cycle of spending
an inordinate amount of time distracting one's self.
Certainly, the facts would also show people can fatten
up on healthy foods too. It really is necessary to
expend calories and to move to strengthen the body
on all levels.

I happen to believe that if all the fast food store
and restaurants closed tomorrow, that the obesity
rate would still continue to climb. Folks would just
journey the short distance between their kitchen and
their television and continue to use a television to
distract or babysit their kids. When I was a nanny,
it was discouraging since every kid had a television
in their own room and more often than not, the food
I prepared was taken from the kitchen to their rooms
and even the opportunities to form familial relationships
were lost to the lure of the television. Bikes were
bought, outdoor basketball goals, tennis lessons;
nothing could compete in the family where I was, with
the television. Oh, and a close second and in some
cases, the top distraction, in conjunction with the
television, was X-box, Playstation and all the other
computer games which also allow the user to allow time
to pass without notice. Wii is now trying become a
computerized vehicle to get kids to interact with the
television and computer and be active. Even elders are
lured off the couch using these new systems.

It is also, imho, a mistake to believe that thin people
are healthier just because their bodies are carrying
less weight than heavier people. You cannot look at
someone and say they are healthy. The level of physical
activity would be a better indicator than the level of
healthy or unhealthy eating. It takes work to find the
balance between using a television to help you and not
hurt you, but it is worth it. Certainly, working to
help young children appreciate the importance of physical
movement in these days when physical education is being
minimized in schools, can be a challenge, but is very
important to ensure that down the road, they will make
healthier choices for themselves.

blessings,
Zoe

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