Time To Put Money Where Our Mouths Are – On Our Face-Filled With Food!

A headline in the SUN newspaper quotes comic(?) Bill Maher - “In August, 53 Americans died from mass shootings. Do you know how many died from obesity? Forty-thousand." 

Look, I almost never agree with, or approve of, anything Maher says but his point here is that we have bigger and more serious national health issues to deal with than simply gun violence.

Obesity is a form of suicide by food, so since we do it to ourselves, over time, perhaps that's why our politicians would rather focus on gun control than some kind of national nutrition/health program.

Today it's not "what's in your wallet" but rather "what's on your plate" as the medical community says it’s not just about what people eat, it’s about why they overeat.

We've all heard it before -- "the human body is designed to live off the land and move around ­without the aid of transport, but “modern life” means we’re eating far too much processed food and being more sedentary"

Bill Maher suggests societal "shaming", like with tobacco and seat belts will ultimately bring about positive change.  Some experts disagree, saying it was the slow drip of education and a change in laws that worked on previous issues and  that’s the route we should take in tackling this health crisis too.

The trick will be not to ­demonize obesity, but not normalize it either.

"What we should be normalising, and indeed celebrating, is that everyone — whatever their body shape — should eat healthily and get fitter."