In a May 25 article in the New York Times by Tara Parker-Pope, she reports on the latest study that identifies the American workplace as the most recently identifified culprit in the war against obesity. (See article at end of this post)
J. Morris Hicks, trying my best to help you and your family take charge of your health
My question is this, “If the American workplace is causing our obesity epidemic, why do we have so many fat children?”
I say BALONEY and enough is enough already. When are we going to seriously start addressing the REAL problem in our humungous problem of obesity, disease and the totally unsustainable cost of health care in this country?Quoting from the lengthy article:
A sweeping review of shifts in the labor force since 1960 suggests that a sizable portion of the national weight gain can be explained by declining physical activity during the workday. Jobs requiring moderate physical activity, which accounted for 50 percent of the labor market in 1960, have plummeted to just 20 percent.
The American "workplace" has absolutely nothing to do with this trend in our country -- a trend that is affecting young and old alike. It's time for parents to look in the mirror if they're looking for someone to blame.
Americans are always interested in blaming someone or something else for their problems: the government, their genes, food companies, computers, televisions, video-games, fast-food, the toxic environment — and now the nasty old workplace that just doesn’t provide us with enough exercise to keep the weight off.
I just returned from a trip to Florida with layovers in Atlanta in both directions. There were three things that struck me during that trip:
- The magnificent work of the Florida organic pioneer, Frank Oakes, of Naples
- The aerial view of endless miles upon miles of suburban sprawl that just shouts WASTE, GREED, and UNSUSTAINABILITY.
- And last but not least, the incredible obesity that I observed on the planes and walking through the airports.
A sad situation for sure. As I have often said; the poor people are just following their natural instincts in an unnatural world -- it's up to the educated leaders to take responsibility and lead by "being the change" we must see in this world.
And I was only getting a glimpse of the “air traveling public,” the top 20% in terms of education and income level — the ones most likely to be able to manage their own waistlines AND their own health. I can only imagine what it would be like to walk through the casinos in my home town of Greenville, Mississippi — the nation’s obesity leader.
To me, the article (and the study) like this one does absolutely nothing to correct the problem. It just further confuses the public and lessens their chances of focusing on the real problem facing our entire society in the Western world — not just the United States.
We’re eating the wrong food for our species. Every creature has a natural diet and so do humans. But, in our case, we have drifted FAR away from our natural diet — now deriving far less than ten percent of our calories from WHOLE PLANTS.
What we need is leadership to fix this mess — and that means everyone who understands what I am talking about on this site — EVERY day. We can all be leaders: Some of us will be able to reach one person with this message; others may have the ability to reach hundreds, thousands or millions. Oprah, on the other hand, has the “complete package” that would enable her to reach billions.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett; with their money and desire to do "good work" coupled with Oprah's ability to communicate and influence -- just imagine what could happen.
Imagine if the first two people she reached were Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Charisma + money + credibility = POWER. And power is exactly what we need to create some urgency to this process of returning to the natural diet for our species.
We can’t wait for the government or the politicians. We need to address these problems now. As a footnote, we have yet to see a single person who followed our 4-Leaf Program — fail to lose excess weight without even trying. If you give your body the right fuel to promote vibrant health, it will effortlessly seek its ideal weight.
If you like what you see here, you may wish to join our periodic mailing list. Also, for help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4-Leaf page. From the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.
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—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com
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New Clue in Obesity Epidemic Points to Workplace – NYTimes.com.
J. Morris Hicks, engineer. writer. big picture guy. 
I was a teacher for several years in a school that was partly quite well-to-do, part rural. The principal hired the former proprietor of a local tea room (famous for her beautiful salads, healthy soups, and sandwiches on freshly-baked bread) to manage the cafeteria. Everyone dreamed of the improvements she could make (and of course the principal referred to the improvement in test scores when children eat better food).
After about a month the poor woman let us know that most of her talents were wasted. The school board only let her order supplies from a certain food service, and only those from an “approved” list. Most were fried objects in boxes to be reheated and served. All she could do was improve the salad bar, add some fruit, and offer a treat once in a great while. Parents will have to make the change, then “impress” school boards with the need to follow suit.