Posted on 01/27/2006 1:41:43 PM PST by Angus MacGregor
Don't follow super-size Americans, says Prince
By Andrew Pierce
THE Prince of Wales warned the British people last night that they were in danger of becoming as obese as many Americans because they did not walk or cycle enough.
The Prince, who has a fleet of chauffeur-driven cars and has rarely if ever been seen in public on the saddle of a bike, said: “We are perhaps not very far behind our American cousins in the ‘super-sizing epidemic’.”
In his speech at St James’s Palace he gave warning of a worrying sharp rise in childhood obesity. His intervention comes after the British Medical Association said that Britain’s fat youngsters, who account for a third of all obese children in Europe, were at high risk of developing life-threatening conditions, including diabetes and heart disease. One million under-16s were so fat that they were putting their health at risk, the BMA said.
The most recent statistics from the Department of Health indicate that more than 40 per cent of men and 33 per cent of women are overweight and 20 per cent of both are obsese.
The Prince, who credits his trim figure to a diet of one organic meal a day, which he calls the Des O’Connor diet, and long walks on the Scottish moors when he is at Balmoral, said that the rise in obesity was partly caused by the design of modern towns and cities.
“Research suggests that walking or cycling for just half an hour a day can have a significant improvement on our state of health. But why don’t we do it more?” The answer, he said, was that too many towns made it virtually impossible. “It might help if the built environment was more appealing and attractive to pedestrians.”
He urged the Government to embrace the work of Richard Jackson, a former adviser on health to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California. The Prince said: “Dr Jackson and his colleagues have pointed to a disturbing link between the built environment, physical inactivity and what he terms a syndemic of diseases, including, perhaps most worryingly, childhood obesity.”
Last year Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, and Margaret Hodge, the Children’s Minister, said that junk food advertisements during children’s television programmes would be banned by law if the industry failed to agree a voluntary code. They were contradicted by Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, who said that the scheme would undermine income for ITV.
The topic of how building design affects public wellbeing is one of the Prince’s favourite hobby horses. He set up the Foundation for the Built Environment, which hosted last night’s event, to promote traditional urban design and architecture that put communities at the centre of the process.
In the past, he has called for greater integration of complementary medicine, to be used to tackle obesity, especially in youngsters. In November he backed demands for healthier, more nutritional, school meals.
Normally Id tear into any non American for making a statement like that but in this case Chuck is sadly right. Too many Americans are way to &%$#ing fat.
If Prince Chuck dumped Cammy, he'd lose about 140 pounds pretty darn quick! (I'm too polite to say "140 pounds of ugly fat").
Do you know where that photo was taken? In England or abroad?
http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/02/1571924.php Here you go. This is the article I found containing the photo. He is a world class turd. Defender of the faith my ass.
Yeah, I was just going to mention, don't they have a dental crisis he should be worrying about instead?
Being over weight may be a problem in the US, but it doesn't seem to be the cause of childhood diabetes.
Thanks much. Prince Charles the Muslim
I'm fat; but I'd never cheat on a spouse.
THAT kind of pig, I'll never be.
Whether it is true or not, for someone next in line to the throne [long live the queen!], that was undiplomatic.
Say what you want but America is fat as hell.
Here in Nashville, I'd wager a third of the lower to lower middle class women are obese....not fat...obese.
No kidding. When I was in high school in the early 70s....maybe 1 in 50 girls were truly fat fat.
Nowadays, high school girls are much heavier overall....maybe 30% heavier....cup sizes are up correspondingly two.
father of 4 here including two average sized high school girls who are considered rail thin by their peers but would have been normal in my day.
Reasearch suggests the royal family are inbred dimwits.
Ive heard it said that the growth hormones in beef could have a hand in kids being larger than they were in the 60's and earlier. Who knows? Could be something to it.
Dear Prince Charles,
I may be fat, but you're ugly; I can diet.
Sincerely,
Me
You are right, wardaddy.
We didn't have a weight problem back then.
This area is known to stress fitness and nutrition.
But, folks are very big out here, especially the young'uns.
That's to be expected when they eat Toaster Struedel for breakfast,
McDonald's/Taco Bell for lunch (in school, no less), and KFC for supper.
I remember when "fast food" came out of a machine. ;o)
I bet your darling girls are built like you.
Between you and the lovely mrs. wardaddy, your boys have fantastic genes.
Not only that, we got a lot more excercise back then too. I cant remember how many bicycle tires I wore out and had to change. If I wanted money I cut grass, raked leaves, and had a paper route. Most kids I knew did the same. Sadly, those days are long gone.
"Not only that, we got a lot more excercise back then too."
We surely did!
We were outside as much as possible.
And, we didn't have to be told, either.
It was fun!
The chores weren't fun, but they instilled
a work ethic, and we were rewarded for it.
Also, we had gym class in school.
That was one hour a day where you HAD to exercise.
But, that was fun, too, for most kids.
Sadly, a lot of schools have cut way back on gym,
or dropped it completely.
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