As for the workplace taking responsibility for the fitness and weight of their employees, I agree with you that it “seems like nothing short of a Sartrean ‘Bad Faith’”. I believe a program like that will, in time, only be underappreciated and taken advantage of – similar to how some low-income students take advantage of the financial aid system to gain “free money”, which in turn creates an under appreciation for why the system exists.

Since my mom always told me that it’s not good to be overweight, I think it has affected my self esteem (negatively). I feel like I judge people on their size and shape when it may not be something that can be helped. Anyways, that is a whole ‘nother story! Back to the real topic…
My boyfriend I were discussing how in Japan the government regulates your pant size, literally. I believe if a male citizen exceeds the waist size of 33″, he must go on a diet and is monitored yearly. If they do not comply with these regulations, they are taxed higher than a “fit” citizen. This concept is ridiculous to me. How can the government control what you look like? In a society were we are almost overcoming the idea of a “normal” human being, ideals like this are still implemented in other countries.

I just can’t imagine something like this happening in the United States. We are supposedly a free country, and monitoring what people eat and drink and how much they exercise is a violation of freedom of choice. Although being healthy should be a natural instinct/urge, everyone is different.

This is a bit of an eye-opener for me, especially the details on costs of groceries. There is a grocery store about 10 minutes away from me and the broccoli there is about $1.49 for a bunch (maybe feeds 4 people, well portioned). And by no means am I in any kind of privileged community or anything.

I have been thinking that the problem was time — families need time to prepare proper meals. But if there is this big a problem with pricing, then there just may be a bigger (corporate?) problem underneath.

Can we get a consensus of some kind here? Just how much are fresh vegetables, for an average grocery store in everybody’s community? Let’s see how varied the prices are and see where we can go from there.

There is a poignant scence in the movie where a lowerclass family explains that it costs less to buy their children a meal at MacDonalds then it does to buy the ingredients to cook a healthy meal at home. The husbands diabetes medication costs so much they have to chose between eating healthy, or paying his medical bills. Yes, people are not starving like during the pataoe famine…but they are being forces to consume empty calories in order to survive. this family tries hard to make it work, you can tell as they try to make selections in the grocery store saying that soda costs less than bottled water and healthy juices. The broccoli they wanted to purchase was more than a burger.

We as a society need to take control of the food industry. We need to say that it us unacceptable for fast food to be cheaper than the healthier alternative. And for those of you who complain about the pressure obese people put on society, consider this – if you want something to change, stop blaming the fat people. You can make a difference by getting involved in government legislature and organizations in your community. We all need to work together, fat and thin, healthy and not, old and young.

And finally, this will benefit you, oh thin people. If we can acheive a healthier society together, hospital wait times and taxes will stay down. Consider that while it is cheaper to eat poorly, it jacks up healthcare costs enomously.

If you’re so angry with people who are obese, DO something. Stop blaming them, and start working with them. In order to change society, the whole society needs to make changes.

Stop hating and start helping.

KTK

http://www.ktktheheathen.com