Posts by Katharine Moody
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Speaker: Are there opportunities within…, in reply to B Jones,
than tutting about the youth of today and fighting humanity’s innate tendency to like sweet, salty and fatty things.
It's not an age thing - I mentioned my sister earlier - she's 62. It's a convenience thing for her. And I kind of agree with the time poverty argument, but if we just look at pasta sauce as an example, it can be made early and stored in the fridge for days. And it really only matters if you are on a stretched budget - that was the reason I used it as an example. Skills, I agree, I'm pretty certain learning to cook is a whole lot more beneficial than say, reading Shakespeare.
Thing about what humanity likes to eat - it is all about conditioning and I think the early years are really important. When you think about a grocery store, my guess is that 75% of the shelf space is taken up by "energy-dense, crappy food options".
When I was a kid growing up in the states, we couldn't afford store-bought cakes, cookies etc. I recall going back as an adult and thinking I'd try a Twinkie as I'd never had one. It was so sickly sweet that I took one bite and tossed it. I think that reaction was a part of my conditioning - not that I dislike sweet things, but there is unnaturally/overly sweet where my taste buds are concerned.
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Speaker: Are there opportunities within…, in reply to Rosemary McDonald,
This breaks my heart.
I can understand why - I spent a month in out-patient dialysis when I trained as a nurse many years ago. When you know what life after 60 is going to be like for someone obese in their 20s - it is heartbreaking.
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Speaker: Are there opportunities within…, in reply to Danielle,
is probably the LEAST helpful thing anyone can do.
I agree, as Dr Toomath suggests, Obese people did not choose to be that way. No-one would. Instead, they are at the whim first of their genes – especially those that control appetite – and then of an environment that is saturated in energy-dense, crappy food options.
But in the case of babies, I find it hard, really hard to just walk on by.
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Speaker: Are there opportunities within…, in reply to Danielle,
I can assure you that the baby I spoke of was not fat - and frankly, I can't even remember the adults looking after him/her.
As an aside, it does seem to me that you do spend a bit of time judging folks in this online forum, though.
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Speaker: Are there opportunities within…, in reply to Rosemary McDonald,
“Doing your bit for the obesity epidemic,” I said
We should all be so assertive. There really is no excuse for it in a country where potable drinking water standards are some of the best in the world; milk products are our main export earner; and locally grown fruit for natural juices is also in abundance. Taxing the fizzy ones heavily (and I mean heavily, putting them out of reach, particularly for low income families) and using that tax to subsidise milk and juice prices (our local grower industries) would be an entirely acceptable solution to me.
Who could complain about a taxation initiative that aims to feed our kids real food, as opposed to empty calories?
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The battle our government isn’t prepared to take on;
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/nov/03/obese-soda-sugar-tax-mexico
Babies in strollers suck on bottles filled with orange soda.
How many of us have seen this here – and said nothing? I know I have and every time I turn a blind eye I feel quite sick about it;
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/8199941/Dismay-at-tooth-decay-in-Kiwi-kids
34,000 children under 14 had teeth removed due to decay or infection in 2012. Dental surgery services are so stretched, there are reports of waiting lists of up to 100 children at some hospitals.
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Up Front: Fringe of Darkness, in reply to Finding A Voice,
Our healing is tied up with your honesty.
How very true. I don't see how any of these adults could see themselves as "good and loving" - if they do they are worthless - still thinking only of themselves; their own selfish vanity. They deserve only scorn.
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Speaker: Are there opportunities within…, in reply to Rosemary McDonald,
…does she have the accent?
Indeed she does - but so do I (the US is where I grew up). Perhaps moving to NZ was my saving grace - as we just didn't have the same degree of pre-made/packaged stuff as early on as they did in the US.
Must add a bit of vinegar next time (usually put in a TBL of worchestshire instead).. and a bay leaf :-).
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Speaker: Are there opportunities within…, in reply to Rosemary McDonald,
Another ‘education’ aspect…we should be teaching people to cook.
So true – not only is the food healthier but so much cheaper. I look at all those bottles of pre-made pasta sauce and wonder why anyone would pay what amounts to 4x the price of the simple set of ingredients.
My sister visited from the US last summer. She mentioned that one of her son’s favourite home cooked meals was macaroni cheese. I said the same was true for our boys and that I’d make mine and we could compare recipes. She said, “you make yours from scratch”? And I thought to myself, how the world had changed such that a kids favourite memory of “home cooking” could be something that came out of a cardboard box.
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On the education thing, I worked part time as a cashier in a grocery store in the states in the 70s. The best education I ever got on healthy eating was having to study what people using food stamps (now the program is called SNAP) could and could not purchase with those coupons. Not sure how restrictive it is these days but it was a massive eye opener for me then.