Dude, when kids today grow up thinking chips and soda qualifies as a meal, while not being able to see the difference between lettuce and onion, something is disturbingly wrong.
And the junk they feed the kids in school in some countries, like the UK and US...no fucking wonder they're rolling down hills and stairs? Combine that with a ridiculously static lifestyle and you have obesity.
Frankly, I can't believe someone can actually "crave" the manure they serve at McDonald's and other places. I eat at Burger King and such when I'm pretty much out of options, to keep the hunger away, or to socialize, and even then I try to stick to the things that at least taste like it was alive at some point. It's food, but it's not "real" food, and the sooner people realize that, the better.
Basically, I'm not buying what you're saying about learning how to cope. There are no shortcuts like genetic engineering and other shit like the crap they sell on TV. Get real, or get fat, but don't fool yourself. That's what I think at least.[/quote]
Well, when it comes to genetic engineering I hope your wrong. Simply because I think the problem is going to get worse before it gets better because our society is going to become even more automated and "sedimentary" as time goes on. That's how it is with technology. Most countries that do not have obesity problems are also operating at a somewhat lower tech level and when we were there we didn't really have a problem either.
I can't comment about not being able to tell the differance between lettuce and an onion, since I've never run into that one. However I will concede that "chips and a soda = a meal" can be a problem, but that's not just with kids. That's part of the fact that while we do very little physically, we are always on the move even from a relatively early age. It can be very difficult to find time to sit down and cook a proper meal if you know how. One of the penelties of having both genders out in the work force means that while women aren't tied to the kitchen, generally speaking nobody is there, both genders are constantly busy, and it's not like either of them can pass on proper eating habits fo Junior when he can be on the move (so to speak) as much as you are. I remember reading an article a while back about how the stereotypical "family dinner" is dead in a lot of first world countries because it is becoming increasingly rare for everyone to be at home and settled at the same time, every day.
When it comes to school lunches, well according to most of the studies I've read the school menus are actually pretty healthy. Of course the prices are increasing, and on top of that not everyone eats the food in the cafeteria.
Truthfully though I think it has LESS to do with what people eat, or even how much, and more to do with the fact that even "on the go" life consists of sitting in a car, sitting or standing at work, becoming exhausted and resting to recharge before you go to bed and then getting up the next day to do the same thing. Anything you eat in that rut is just going to "sit". If your also taking medications for anxiety, depression, etc... it also causes you to pack on the pounds.
See, you can take the "get real or get fat" attitude, and there is some truth to that. But really I don't think it's one of those situations that can be changed without science, or fundemental changes to how society as a whole functions. Obesity is one of the prices of success.
