Obesity is a two-fold problem: Over-consumption of calories and lack of exercise to burn those calories. Eating too much (especially of the wrong foods) and failing to exercise lead almost inevitably to unhealthy weight gains.
Lately, I've been wondering if society isn't "enabling" the plunge into obesity. Advertising touts the enjoyment of food. Restaurants serve large meals with double an adult's daily caloric needs (and all-you-can-eat buffets are even worse). City planning discourages walking and practically forces people to use cars to get to places. Children spend their days planted in front of a television or video game, often consuming snacks nonstop, resulting in a frightening spike in diabetes among children. Elevators discourage use of stairs, which are often hard to find. Too many people see abdominal fat as a normal and inevitable eventuality.
And then there are the electric-powered shopping carts. All the supermarkets, home-improvement stores and discount stores have them. Presumably, they are meant for disabled shoppers who cannot walk or who can't push a cart and wield a walker or cane at the same time. But I've noticed that most of the people who use these powered carts do not appear to be disabled except by their own weight. Packing on an extra 100 pounds certainly makes it more difficult to walk. Those pounds also put extra stress on hips, knees and ankles, leading to pain and, often, expensive joint replacements.
But here's the catch: the more you sit and the less you walk, the more weight you're going to put on. Providing electric-powered carts for people who need the simple exercise of walking only "enables" more obesity. Stores are not going to eliminate the powered carts, nor are they going to say, "Sorry, ma'am, but you need to walk; it'll be good for you," even if doing so would be in the customer's best interests. Losing excess weight is difficult, and the more you weigh (and the older you are), the harder it gets. It will take a lot of walking, plus some hard-to-muster self-restraint to work off 50 pounds. Nevertheless, walking when given the opportunity (in an air-conditioned facility with a level floor) would be a good, though not painless, first step.
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5 comments:
"But I've noticed that most of the people who use these powered carts do not appear to be disabled except by their own weight. "
Unfortunately, statements like the one above perpetuate very insulting stereotypes about the disabled population.
There are many disorders that cause obesity. Heart conditions, thyroid disease, diabetes, medication side effects, just to name a few. Just because someone appears to be using a power cart because they're overweight, doesn't mean they are not disabled.
What's next? That latina with the full shopping cart is probably using food stamps?
I think anonymous has his cause-and-effect reversed. Diabetes does not cause obesity; obesity is a contributing factor to diabetes. Often the first advice to someone with elevated blood sugar is to lose weight and exercise more. Moderate exercise is often prescribed for someone with a heart condition. Medical conditions and medications can cause weight gain, but conditions and medications alone cannot cause the kind of weight gain that leaves people disabled. Obesity takes years of excess caloric intake. My point is that by encouraging people to avoid healthful walking, we are adding to their weight problems.
An over-consumptive society usually begins at an early age with Fruit Loops. go organic.
Spend some time in coastal California and you'll see far fewer obese people. The coastal towns are designed for walking, running, biking, etc. There, being even slightly overweight would make a person feel out of place. Whereas in most of NC (and most of America), being overweight is the norm.
"But I've noticed that most of the people who use these powered carts do not appear to be disabled except by their own weight. "
And my point is, statements such as this (see above quote) are ignorant and malign people with disabilities.
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