Posted on 01/03/2004 4:29:09 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Margo Wootan, of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest, says that at the end of a decade in which obesity rates have risen 50%, the time has come for government activism in the fight against fat. Excess weight and obesity contribute to the premature deaths of 300,000 Americans annually not far behind tobacco's yearly death toll of 430,000.
Fat is the fastest-growing cause of disease and death in the United States today, and that has set off alarms bells in every quarter of government, Wootan says.
"We'll see more," she predicts more litigation, more debate and more lawmaking, from Washington on down to local school boards. Americans, she contends, will welcome the help. "Most people want to eat better, but they find it difficult."
Your new fat-fighting allies plan to wield a few sticks carrot or otherwise as well. After all, if fat is the new Public Enemy No. 1, then those who do not join the fight (and who cost the country $117 billion per year in additional health-care costs) may need more inducement to get on board.
In the brave new world that public health activists hope to create, you would pay a special tax on Ho Hos, Big Macs and other foods high in fats or sugar. An obese person would pay more for health insurance than someone of appropriate weight and would have no legal recourse if passed over for a job because of their weight. And your favorite junk food would return to the test kitchen to have its fat removed because its manufacturer would be worried about being sued.
And everywhere you would turn for a bite, whether at restaurants or at home, you would see fat and calorie counts and consumer warnings. Imagine, in small type, something like, "The surgeon general has warned that excessive consumption of foods high in fat and calories will lead to obesity, which is associated with increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and certain kinds of cancers."
If the warning sounds familiar, it's no coincidence. Lawyers, lawmakers and activists determined to reduce obesity have modeled their campaign on the nation's anti-tobacco crusade a nearly 40-year effort that has helped drive down smoking among American adults from about 42% in 1965 to about 25% today.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Anytime you see the words "Center for Science in the Public Interest", a red wack-o flag ought to go up. This is the anti-theater popcorn, anti-Mexican food, anti-SUV wack-o crowd.
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wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." - John Adams - |
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Carolyn
According to new AMA policies, the organization will work to create a higher level of awareness about the harm caused by underage drinking and encourage more research in this area. Taxes on tobacco and alcohol should be increased to fund health care and health education.
Several physicians gathered to form an alcohol caucus to push these issues to the fore.
"We have no interest in prohibition, but we are particularly concerned about the growing use of alcohol among adolescents," said AMA President-elect John C. Nelson, MD, MPH, who led the meeting.
AMA delegates also called on the organization to study and recommend changes to the government's food pyramid to reflect racial, regional and ethnic differences in diet.***
The fools at the Science in the Public Interest apparently don't foresee the Unintended Consequences of this combination. The obese won't be able to get jobs, so their health problems will fall on the state and federal governments, and taxpayers will have to pay for them, rather than insurance companies.
But since they're unemployed, they won't be paying taxes, and the HoHo taxes they incur will be paid for with food stamps and other government handouts.
Science in the Public Interest is a dangerous organization, staffed by idiots.
I bought the cupcakes and I will eat the cupcakes however I like!
Reading a book or watching TV while eating the cupcake does not make the cupcake any more fattening.
There goes my routine; Imus in the Morning, Cheese Doodles, and posting on FR.
Several physicians gathered to form an alcohol caucus to push these issues to the fore.
These 'issues' are already at the fore.... we call them TAX and SPEND.
LOLOLOLOL
hahahahahahaha
oh please.
No science involved... and they could care less about the public.
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