B.A.L.L.S.: Canadian dough-B.A.L.L.S.
Next time you get the chance and you are
standing up, look down. Can you see your
toes?
I was in the food court at Masonville Place the other day. Man, are we getting fat! There was a time when there were no chubby kids, just fat bankers and Italian housewives — and that was because they had a right to overeat! Things certainly have changed.
Now, the food court is proliferated with 12-year-old kids holding their chests as another angina attack rolls by. "Mommy, I think we need to change the battery again." Then they sit down and polish off a cup of NY Fries (400 calories — 171 calories from fat), a large Coke (290 calories) and a hot dog (420 calories — 189 calories from fat). That is over 1,100 calories for lunch - 360 calories directly from fat. According to the Good Health Organization, 12-year-old children should consume between 1,800 and 2,400 calories per day.
We are killing our children because we are killing ourselves. We are waddling around all doughy faced, pudgy and wheezing. We are also in a state of denial: oh, it's glands, or DNA or some BS like that. No, we are fat. We are fat because we eat too much, we eat garbage and we are lazy.
The following are the findings of Statistics Canada's recent Canadian Health Measures Survey on fitness levels in Canada: "Nearly two-thirds of adults are overweight and obese, as are 25 per cent of children." This is a national crisis!
According to the World Health Organization, worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980. In 2008, 1.5 billion adults over 20 were overweight. In 2010, 43 million children under the age of five were overweight. In Canada, the average 12-yearold is 14 pounds heavier today than in 1981.
Globally, overweight and obesity are the fifth leading cause of death; over 2.8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight. As well, 44 per cent of the diabetes burden, 23 per cent of the heart disease burden and between seven and 41 per cent of certain cancer burdens are attributed to being overweight.
Snack-time culture, coupled with the Nintendo generation, is killing us. We spend more and more time on a couch watching over 20,000 commercials a year, 7,600 of which are food related. Of food ads that target children, 34 per cent are for candy and snacks, 29 per cent for cereal, 10 per cent for beverages, 10 per cent for fast food, four per cent for dairy products, four per cent for prepared food and the rest for breads and pastries and dine-in restaurants.
We are forced to work longer and longer hours, we are too tired to cook properly or work out at the gym. We flop onto the couch — greasy fingers grasping greasy snacks. High-fat, salty, sugary instant meals become the norm, and we are buried in a coffin the size of a piano.
Well, one thing is for sure, with all the texting and typing and gaming and channel surfing that we are doing, we do have nice thumbs.
There is more to this than just the physical effects of being overweight, there is a mental burden as well: insecurities, paranoia and poor self-esteem. These issues may be even more serious than the physical issues. It is affecting our national happiness.
I asked at the beginning of this article if you can see your toes. What I was really saying is that if your stomach sticks out too far, it prevents you from seeing what is going on around you.
B.A.L.L.S. is Bitching About Life in London and Society
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
I was in the food court at Masonville Place the other day. Man, are we getting fat! There was a time when there were no chubby kids, just fat bankers and Italian housewives — and that was because they had a right to overeat! Things certainly have changed.
Now, the food court is proliferated with 12-year-old kids holding their chests as another angina attack rolls by. "Mommy, I think we need to change the battery again." Then they sit down and polish off a cup of NY Fries (400 calories — 171 calories from fat), a large Coke (290 calories) and a hot dog (420 calories — 189 calories from fat). That is over 1,100 calories for lunch - 360 calories directly from fat. According to the Good Health Organization, 12-year-old children should consume between 1,800 and 2,400 calories per day.
We are killing our children because we are killing ourselves. We are waddling around all doughy faced, pudgy and wheezing. We are also in a state of denial: oh, it's glands, or DNA or some BS like that. No, we are fat. We are fat because we eat too much, we eat garbage and we are lazy.
The following are the findings of Statistics Canada's recent Canadian Health Measures Survey on fitness levels in Canada: "Nearly two-thirds of adults are overweight and obese, as are 25 per cent of children." This is a national crisis!
According to the World Health Organization, worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980. In 2008, 1.5 billion adults over 20 were overweight. In 2010, 43 million children under the age of five were overweight. In Canada, the average 12-yearold is 14 pounds heavier today than in 1981.
Globally, overweight and obesity are the fifth leading cause of death; over 2.8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight. As well, 44 per cent of the diabetes burden, 23 per cent of the heart disease burden and between seven and 41 per cent of certain cancer burdens are attributed to being overweight.
Snack-time culture, coupled with the Nintendo generation, is killing us. We spend more and more time on a couch watching over 20,000 commercials a year, 7,600 of which are food related. Of food ads that target children, 34 per cent are for candy and snacks, 29 per cent for cereal, 10 per cent for beverages, 10 per cent for fast food, four per cent for dairy products, four per cent for prepared food and the rest for breads and pastries and dine-in restaurants.
We are forced to work longer and longer hours, we are too tired to cook properly or work out at the gym. We flop onto the couch — greasy fingers grasping greasy snacks. High-fat, salty, sugary instant meals become the norm, and we are buried in a coffin the size of a piano.
Well, one thing is for sure, with all the texting and typing and gaming and channel surfing that we are doing, we do have nice thumbs.
There is more to this than just the physical effects of being overweight, there is a mental burden as well: insecurities, paranoia and poor self-esteem. These issues may be even more serious than the physical issues. It is affecting our national happiness.
I asked at the beginning of this article if you can see your toes. What I was really saying is that if your stomach sticks out too far, it prevents you from seeing what is going on around you.
B.A.L.L.S. is Bitching About Life in London and Society
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
