The Fat Police Are Failing

CNBC ^ | 10-6-09 | Jane Wells

[STONEWALLS]

According to a study by the Health division of the RAND Corp., restrictions on the availability of fast food in poorer neighborhoods of Los Angeles "are unlikely to improve the diet of residents or reduce obesity."

Why?

Because people aren't getting fat on fast food.

Instead, liquor stores and small convenience stores are "more likely to be the source of high-calorie snacks and soda consumed substantially more often by residents of South Los Angeles as compared to other parts of the city."

So go long on McDonald's, short 7-11.

[STONEWALLS]

....I am long MCD as a matter of fact because they're a blue chip company with a nice dividend....every so often they get attacked by the nanny-state crowd, but is soon passes....remember the big charts they put up with all the nutritional data?...at my McDonalds customers walk right by them without a glance.

[BertWheeler]

Poor people view junk food as food. Particularly in South Central LA. Potato chips are viewed as food and not snacks.

[Buckeye McFrog]

there is not much anybody can do for you if you are too stupid to understand the concepts of nutritional content, calorie count and meal preparation. Some Eastern states have been toying with the idea of letting food stamp recipients use them at restaurants, since that food would be better for them than whatever they’d choose in the grocery store.

[nina0113]

remember the big charts they put up with all the nutritional data?...at my McDonalds customers walk right by them without a glance.

I never read them either - nothing at McDonald's is actually good for you. If you're inside the store, you've already decided to eat the garbage (I eat it too) so why bother checking to see which is less garbage-y?

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

This is the image that came to mind, when I read the headline:

[YankeeReb]

So we should be expecting more interference in our lives if Obamacare ever goes through. After all just about everything you do effects your health in some way. More taxes on smoking, fast food , soda juice. More restrictive speed limits but you won’t see sodimites charged an additional tax. The safe school czar will see that that type of behavior isn’t regulated. (I’m only half kidding here)

[Reagan69]

The NUMBER ONE cause of obesity is

COMPUTERS (including VIDEO GAMES)

Period. Why aren’t they regulating computer /game/ time?

Could it be MONEY?

[aruanan]

The NUMBER ONE cause of obesity is COMPUTERS (including VIDEO GAMES)

The only cause of obesity is taking in more energy than one expends.

[Callahan]

Put these peasants on a steady diet of Soylent Green. They voted the the Nanny Staters into power so let the bureaucrats run their lives.

[freeagle]

Chicago cops!

[Callahan]

Dateline 2032 — Wayward citizen 1479-B was killed today as he attempted to escape a designated Low-Carb Zone in South Central Barackville. Residents of the city, formerly known as Los Angeles before the Tea Bag wars of 201—thanked Dear Leader Obama for protecting them from a dangerous Coca-Cola outbreak as they lined up at the post office to receive their free government toothbrushes in honor of the beloved one birthday.

[sportutegrl]

I have Micky D stock too. I figure that there is a whole generation (or two) of young people who have no idea how to cook, and are un- or under-employed. That spells McDonalds, (cheap food).

[Nathan Zachary]

"According to a study by the Health division of the RAND Corp., restrictions on the availability of fast food in poorer neighborhoods of Los Angeles "are unlikely to improve the diet of residents or reduce obesity."
Why?
Because people aren't getting fat on fast food.,br> Instead, liquor stores and small convenience stores are "more likely to be the source of high-calorie snacks and soda consumed substantially more often by residents of South Los Angeles as compared to other parts of the city."

Oh nonsense. They are getting fat because they can only afford to buy cheap fatty foods, such as cheap fatty ground beef, fatty cheap cuts of beef and pork, fatty chicken, pasta, (kraft dinner) bread and bologna.

They can't keep blaming fat America on fast food joints and potato chips.
They should look at the truth- easily obtained welfare handouts, and foodbanks, -excessive liberalism- are also the cause of ever expanding butts and bellies. A single mother with 2 kids on welfare, with "only" an $1800 welfare check to live off of for a month, has to make tough decisions.

Should she buy expensive fresh vegetables, lean cuts of meats, fruits and healthy snaks to feed her children, participate in free after school community club activities which include community sports for her children to get involved in?

Or should she buy a few lumps of crack, a bottle of JD, a case a beer, pass out and then sleep all day until the hurting starts, and just order a bucket of KFC or a pizza to feed the kids as they sit around watching TV or play video games, while she goes out to score more crack and booze?

The majority of the nations fat is caused by the nanny state itself. It promotes lazy destructive lifestyles, which they then blame on hard working taxpayers.

[FelixFelicis]

I recently lost 40 pounds. It took me about 20 attempts over 15 years to finally get it right, so I'll never be one to lecture anybody on how much they should weigh or what they should be eating. But I know one thing for sure: my weight loss was a concerted individual effort by me. No social engineering program could ever have swayed me one way or the other. Take the fast food restaurants out of my neighborhood? I'd still find a way to eat to much of the wrong things if that was what I wanted to do. Governments can't make people skinny and shouldn't try. People make themselves skinny, if they really want to be.

[Nathan Zachary]

"Some Eastern states have been toying with the idea of letting food stamp recipients use them at restaurants, since that food would be better for them than whatever they’d choose in the grocery store."

At least they are thinking in the right direction. All the good, healthy food at the grocery store is simply unaffordable to someone who has to stretch a limited food budget to feed too many hungry kids. Pasta and cheap regular grade hamburger makes a lot of cheap meals.

[STONEWALLS]

..”I recently lost 40 pounds”

...hats off to you!...my family Doc wants me to knock off some weight and I know how hard it is.

[FelixFelicis]

Appreciate that!

[TornadoAlley3]

*

[Glenn]

What working mother has the time to shop and cook meals these days?

Fast food fills an important void.

Disclaimer: I quit fast food (including Starbucks) in March and am off 25 lbs with no other changes.