New York to ban large sugary drinks

[Sonriendo]

I never thought of that analogy....

Whenever I go to the USA I am always struck by how many obese people you see and how big restaurant meals are.

I will never forget seeing a grotesquely fat young boy of about 6 being pulled around in one of those red cart things, whilst eating from a family sized bag of crisps Truly unbelievable - his parents were also rather on the large size.

i leave home in the morning at 6am, i get home at 7pm. the other half does longer days than me.. sometimes its not laziness, there still needs to be some convenience.. i dont have time to go to several different shops.

But, a "poor" person presumably would not be working and therefore have plenty of time to shop around. If I buy a normal size chicken, I would expect to get at least 3 if not 4 meals from it. But, people tend to buy ready cut chicken breasts, thighs, drumsticks etc.

I think "proper" Home Ecconomics lessons should be mandatory.

 

[gramps]

i dont think eating fresh is too expensive you just have to be abit smart about it fresh veggies are cheap enough esp in the likes of lidl or aldi's

but for protein there are cheap fish you can buy instead of cod or sea bass ect and if you go to the butchers for your meat its alot cheaper than asda for instance i can get a whole pork loin for about £25 now that would feed my family of 5 2 adults 3 children for at least a week prob longer i can get 32 sausages for about £4 that does us four meals worth of protein so thats £1 per meal + veg or mash potato and peas prob cost us £2.50 for us all per meal

now weigh that up against a ready meal for 1 about £2 or a kebab from the chip shop £4

or to feed my family pizza we would need 3-4 pizza's at say £1.25 each your looking at £3.75 - £5

so the junk is not always cheaper its just people are getting lazier

You don't consider cheap sausages 'junk food'?

 

[neil_g]

you dont have to be out of work to be poor/not have much money.

 

[Rebel t3i]

yup we do that sometimes if we know 100% when we'll be home.

there's also click and collect for the busy over worked people these days
don't know about you but I can no longer suffer the trek round the super market
I send my kids now as the wife ****ed off in 2003
and the kids do eat most of it

 

[srichards]

If I still had the receipts I'd show you.. It's a joke to be honest.

That's why I buy frozen veg. Fresh veg never gets used before it goes manky.

 

[gramps]

I heard about that Gramps, it sounded truly terrible but IMO that's a slightly different scenario to letting kids playing freely in the water and turning your back on them. You shouldn't leave kids unattended near water whether it's tidal or not.

From what I understand the child in this instance managed to "break free" (for want of a better phrase) from his parents and in that instance the unthinkable happened.

He didn't 'break free' Russ he was like any other little boy skipping about on the jetty and excited by he sea - the point I am making is that people visit the seaside (or other areas) without having the local knowledge. That's why they need to be provided with sufficient safety measures.
Just along the coast from there people are regularly dying or having to be rescued by sinking into quicksands ... should we just say 'tough, should've done the research' or ought 'we' not to be making it harder for these tragedies to happen?

 

[Russ77]

He didn't 'break free' Russ he was like any other little boy skipping about on the jetty and excited by he sea - the point I am making is that people visit the seaside (or other areas) without having the local knowledge. That's why they need to be provided with sufficient safety measures.
Just along the coast from there people are regularly dying or having to be rescued by sinking into quicksands ... should we just say 'tough, should've done the research' or ought 'we' not to be making it harder for these tragedies to happen?

We're going off topic here but I still kinda disagree with you.

Anyone who walks/plays near to water with kids knows there's a danger with or with tidal currents. Common sense should dictate that extra care is needed.

Unless you keep kids on leads or have fences up preventing easy access to the water there's always the chance of this kind of tragedy happening.

Yes, by all means have signs up warning that the water is dangerous and you can get dragged out by strong currents but it would seem that in a lot of the instances I'm referring to parents completely took their eye off the ball and see it as someone else responsibility to keep their kids safe.

<back on topic>

How this ties in with the topic of this thread is that if people took responsibility for themselves then we wouldn't have situations where eating/drinking establishments have to stop serving certain foods or certain quantities of food because some people don't seem to have the ability to look in the mirror and think "Hmmmm.... you know what, I'm fat, perhaps I shouldn't eat 3 Maccy Ds a day".

 

[astraman1]

You don't consider cheap sausages 'junk food'?

i dont consider them junk food if they were from a supermarket then they prob would be but i get them from a butchers and there not full of fat

this is a family butchers with a lot of customers they work on large turnover rather than small turn over charge more to make up the diffrence.

everything is at a decent price alot of people think butchers are really expensive but often there alot cheaper than the supermarkets its like at the one i go to kfc chicken actually made from a chicken breast not mechanically recovered you get about 10 pieces for £4.50 odd and then you go to asda and they have 6 pieces mechanically recovered for £4

i only go to two places for my meats now and thats the butchers and costco veggies and other stuff normally come from asda its important for me that the kids know what proper food is and the likes of mcdonalds is an occasional treat

 

[Yv]

The big issue as I see it is where the line in the sand should be drawn on this kind of law making... successive governments have legislated for more and more and whilst some of it makes sense, some just seems to be a ridiculous amount of overkill, done because 'they can' [the cigarettes hidden is one I think falls into this category, don't want to get into that different argument now, but its just one example of one those things that seems stupid and will have minimal desired effect, pretty sure there are better alternatives/education] - this American law seems to be in that category - as already mentioned, it will have little, if any effect as those that want that much fizzy drink will just buy two if taking away, or keep refilling if in restaurants. Is the next stop to ban refilling, and make store owners legally responsible for only selling one at a time? ...and thats where my line in the sand point comes from, its that such regulation snowballs in the hands of power and takes away all sense of responsibility from those that most need to get one!



Going to Neils point about healthier alternatives.... yes, buying absolute 'raw materials' for cooking/eating IS usually cheaper, even in the supermarkets [and I am talking now about buying a couple of pounds of standard spuds instead of a bag of chips, not buying the super organic, hand fed from birth with caviar spuds that ARE expensive] but not everyone has the time or indeed even ability to cook from scratch daily. Generally those are also the people that want their small amount of free time to be exactly that, free time, not to spend hours in a kitchen cooking enough healthy meals to last through the next week of work. 'Convenience foods' are needed in our current way of life, but I do also believe they could be much healthier than they currently are whilst still maintaining a reasonable cost.

Finally, isn't this about educating everyone about moderation? I like having a McDonalds breakfast, but I have about 1 a month, that way it remains a treat and enjoyable and in the overall scheme of things is doing me little harm - frankly if I had to have one every day, I would be sick of them within the week, but not everyone is like that. So that takes us straight back to responsibility then.... Yes, I can argue myself round in a total circle and do so on a regular basis :bonk:

 

[On the Huh]

mcdonalds is an occasional treat

Now that is one of the problems. McDonalds...Treat? More like slumming it.

 

[gramps]

i get them from a butchers and there not full of fat

How do you know? Have you ever asked for a breakdown? One of the major ingredients of almost all sausages is fat.

i go to kfc chicken actually made from a chicken breast not mechanically recovered you get about 10 pieces for £4.50 odd

But what's in the coating? Do they also have the chips with salt ... and the fizzy drinks ... and the dip?

I'm not getting at you - what you are saying is correct in that it is possible to get wholesome food at reasonable prices but as Neil says it is far more difficult to get all the good stuff cheaply and conveniently.
To a large degree the 'easy option' is to get the other sort of foods ... processed and flavoured but unhealthy, because it is cheaper and we like to eat foods with more flavour, even if that flavour is saturated with salt, fat and chemicals known to be harmful to our health.

 

[neil_g]

The big issue as I see it is where the line in the sand should be drawn on this kind of law making... successive governments have legislated for more and more and whilst some of it makes sense, some just seems to be a ridiculous amount of overkill, done because 'they can' [the cigarettes hidden is one I think falls into this category, don't want to get into that different argument now, but its just one example of one those things that seems stupid and will have minimal desired effect, pretty sure there are better alternatives/education] - this American law seems to be in that category - as already mentioned, it will have little, if any effect as those that want that much fizzy drink will just buy two if taking away, or keep refilling if in restaurants. Is the next stop to ban refilling, and make store owners legally responsible for only selling one at a time? ...and thats where my line in the sand point comes from, its that such regulation snowballs in the hands of power and takes away all sense of responsibility from those that most need to get one!



Going to Neils point about healthier alternatives.... yes, buying absolute 'raw materials' for cooking/eating IS usually cheaper, even in the supermarkets [and I am talking now about buying a couple of pounds of standard spuds instead of a bag of chips, not buying the super organic, hand fed from birth with caviar spuds that ARE expensive] but not everyone has the time or indeed even ability to cook from scratch daily. Generally those are also the people that want their small amount of free time to be exactly that, free time, not to spend hours in a kitchen cooking enough healthy meals to last through the next week of work. 'Convenience foods' are needed in our current way of life, but I do also believe they could be much healthier than they currently are whilst still maintaining a reasonable cost.

Finally, isn't this about educating everyone about moderation? I like having a McDonalds breakfast, but I have about 1 a month, that way it remains a treat and enjoyable and in the overall scheme of things is doing me little harm - frankly if I had to have one every day, I would be sick of them within the week, but not everyone is like that. So that takes us straight back to responsibility then.... Yes, I can argue myself round in a total circle and do so on a regular basis :bonk:

thank you for making my point better than i could

oh and mmmmm dominos as a treat :nuts:

 

[astraman1]

Now that is one of the problems. McDonalds...Treat? More like slumming it.

its kids for you they like happy meals lol but our kids may have one a month if that

How do you know? Have you ever asked for a breakdown? One of the major ingredients of almost all sausages is fat.





But what's in the coating? Do they also have the chips with salt ... and the fizzy drinks ... and the dip?

I'm not getting at you - what you are saying is correct in that it is possible to get wholesome food at reasonable prices but as Neil says it is far more difficult to get all the good stuff cheaply and conveniently.
To a large degree the 'easy option' is to get the other sort of foods ... processed and flavoured but unhealthy, because it is cheaper and we like to eat foods with more flavour, even if that flavour is saturated with salt, fat and chemicals known to be harmful to our health.

theres a breakdown on the label i dont have one to hand tho


i see your point too in the end it does come down to the person some dont have time and eat lots of convenience food so you have to watch your amounts as to break it down there are 4 calories in 1 g of protien and 1 g of carbs and there are 9 calories in 1 g of fat

alot of people say they dont have time to cook sometimes i dont either so do you know what i do i get some veg out dont even peel it i chop it up and chop up a bit of meat say beef or what ever and put it in the fridge then when i get up in the morning i whack it in the slow cooker on low when i come home there is a wholesome healthy meal waiting for me

tbh i think everyone should take a photo of themselfes naked and have a look at it because half these people think there is nothing wrong with them they dont see themselfs as fat but you show them a picture of themselfes and you cant fail to see it i did it when i was doing my weight training not done it for a while but i lost alot of my belly fat while doing it i will have to get back on it as its coming back

but i think its down to the individual to watch what they are putting in there bodies

 

[gramps]

alot of people say they dont have time to cook sometimes i dont either so do you know what i do i get some veg out dont even peel it i chop it up and chop up a bit of meat say beef or what ever and put it in the fridge then when i get up in the morning i whack it in the slow cooker on low when i come home there is a wholesome healthy meal waiting for me

Love my slow cooker

 

[Lynton]

what ever happened to margarine didn't this supposed healthy option over butter turn out to be seriously worse and was banned

I'd rather trust a cow than a chemist!

 

[Yv]

I'd rather trust a cow than a chemist!

Now that HAS to be Fridays Quote of the Day!

 

[Russ77]

I'd rather trust a cow than a chemist!

I used to work for a Chemist who was a complete cow!

 

[AndyB1976]

Now that HAS to be Fridays Quote of the Day!

..must be the new avatar tag

 

[MartynK]

So it's too dangerous to sell people large drinks, but okay that anyone in New York can go and buy a gun?

Really? NYC is one of the most unfriendly places for gun owners in the US. You'd think they'd never heard of the RKBA and the 2nd Amendment.

 

[gramps]

WARNING - ADDED FAT, SUGAR AND COLOURINGS CAN HAVE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES!

 

[Ricardodaforce]

WARNING - ADDED FAT, SUGAR AND COLOURINGS CAN HAVE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES!

Typical scene following a flight arrival at Alicante from Britain, full of people en route to Benidorm. And I'm not joking.

Finally, isn't this about educating everyone about moderation?

Absolutely 100%. But how do you educate people that don't want to be educated and have zero interest in their own well-being?

 

[Russ77]

Absolutely 100%. But how do you educate people that don't want to be educated and have zero interest in their own well-being?

They have no interest as they know someone else will (eventually) take care of their well-being

 

[Forbiddenbiker]

The old way to educate people was to lead by example wasn't it.

So lets ask ourselves what example is being set today?

Because this is how we really educate our populations...by **** example set by corporations, media etc ...and poor behaviour even by our own governments ...Nowadays the influence of the corporations pretty much ensures everything a government might say is, under analysis, an hypocrisy of good example!

Most of us are not living in a world of personal choice, we are offered a choice set by corporations and we shall continue to be sheep to their wims while we happily chat about a governments seemingly thoughtful righteousness without spotting the hypocrisy of their whole game plan!..... Until, we fully awaken to the fact that society's faults are of our own blinkered making by allowing corporations and banks to take over our supply of choices, then no matter how much we point our stick at the less smart, or the prime mortgage loser, or the hard working plumber, and yet ignore the double blind bluffing bankers and the back handed money bonuses or the plain theft of expense accounts in our supposed leaders ...Well nothing will change, and we'll still be having the same conversations about application of first aid in years to come, even though we could have avoided the accident altogether. .... if we could be bothered .. which we can't right?

 

[nilagin]

People visit sea/estuary areas from inland and don't have knowledge of what things are like in these areas. We have just had a case near us where a small boy was walking down an open jetty and slipped into the sea ... he got carried away by the undercurrent and died. The parents were walking with him and could do nothing to prevent what happened (other than have him on a lead) they had no idea of the tides and no reason to suspect that their son was in danger. Take precautions to stop another little boy losing his life? No-brainer to me.

It's not just kids but teenagers and adults who can get into difficulties from being unaware. When I was around 14, I visited Shoeburyness for the day. A glorious hot sunny day as it was the summer of 76 and the tide was out. I took it on myself to walk out and find the waters edge. The time it took to walk there and back was probably an hour. On the return journey there was water coming in in different areas, luckily none of it deep at the time, had it been 1/2 an hour later I could so easily have found myself cut off from the "beach". I was lucky, if I'd have been aware that the tide comes back in randomly as opposed to a relative straight line parallel to the beach, I wouldn't have tried it.

 

[nilagin]

i dont think eating fresh is too expensive you just have to be abit smart about it fresh veggies are cheap enough esp in the likes of lidl or aldi's

but for protein there are cheap fish you can buy instead of cod or sea bass ect and if you go to the butchers for your meat its alot cheaper than asda for instance i can get a whole pork loin for about £25 now that would feed my family of 5 2 adults 3 children for at least a week prob longer i can get 32 sausages for about £4 that does us four meals worth of protein so thats £1 per meal + veg or mash potato and peas prob cost us £2.50 for us all per meal

I'm intrigued to know what your butcher uses for meat if you see sausages as a source of protien. Even the leanest cut of pork is still saturated with fat, you just can't see it until you start cooking it.

As for not having time to cook as some have mentioned. I cook my own meals at work, I have grilled chicken breast or salmon steaks, frozen mixed veg, or frozen spinach for ease of storage at work and a packet of Uncle Ben's Wholegrain rice. Takes about 5 or 6 minutes to cook.

If your fresh food has gone off in under a week, you've bought too much, and have you never heard of a fridge or a feezer. Fresh stuff can be cooked the frozen to be reheated for later meals. I buy lots of fresh fruit from Tesco, it goes in the fridge at home or work and it stays fresh for over a week.

 

[Russ77]

It's not just kids but teenagers and adults who can get into difficulties from being unaware. When I was around 14, I visited Shoeburyness for the day. A glorious hot sunny day as it was the summer of 76 and the tide was out. I took it on myself to walk out and find the waters edge. The time it took to walk there and back was probably an hour. On the return journey there was water coming in in different areas, luckily none of it deep at the time, had it been 1/2 an hour later I could so easily have found myself cut off from the "beach". I was lucky, if I'd have been aware that the tide comes back in randomly as opposed to a relative straight line parallel to the beach, I wouldn't have tried it.

That's where I live but I wasn't born til '77

Don't know if you're aware but there's a wreck about 1 mile out from the beach at Shoebury called the Mullberry Harbour and when we were teenagers we'd walk out to it at low tide for something to do (and if you were really brave you could jump off it.... I only ever did that once!!! )

Because of the potential dangers, we'd always speak to the coast guard to check it was safe to do so and they would always tell us how long we could spend out there to allow us enough time to walk back safely.

There was one time in particular we did this and we knew something was up as a channel you had to walk through where the water was normally waist high was chest high. We spent 5 mins out there but something just didn't feel right and we headed straight back in.

Turns out if we had been out there 5 mins longer they would have sent the helicopter to fetch up

Apperently there are freak tides from time to time (I think they called it a Neap Tide) which meant the water only went out half the distance it normally does before coming back.

The coast guard praised us for keeping our wits about us and reminded us that this was one of the reasons it was always best to check with them before venturing out there. Even though they couldn't have predicted this, they knew we were out there

 

[nilagin]

That's where I live but I wasn't born til '77

Don't know if you're aware but there's a wreck about 1 mile out from the beach at Shoebury called the Mullberry Harbour and when we were teenagers we'd walk out to it at low tide for something to do (and if you were really brave you could jump off it.... I only ever did that once!!! )

We're going completely off topic here but what the heck.

You missed out on a great summer.
Wasn't aware of the wreck although I know there are several around that area of the Thames.
Not sure if it's still there but there used to be a concrete jetty just as you drove back along the sea front into Southend, probably before where the Sealife Centre is. There was always fences and signs to prevent entry but everytime we went passed, there would be kids jumping off it into the water, climbing back up and jumping back in again.

 

[Russ77]

We're going completely off topic here but what the heck.

You missed out on a great summer.
Wasn't aware of the wreck although I know there are several around that area of the Thames.
Not sure if it's still there but there used to be a concrete jetty just as you drove back along the sea front into Southend, probably before where the Sealife Centre is. There was always fences and signs to prevent entry but everytime we went passed, there would be kids jumping off it into the water, climbing back up and jumping back in again.

If you have a look at the bottom of the page of that link I sent there should be a link to piers. That was the Coporation jetty used by the gas works

On the road opposite the pier, there is a red brick wall that's been left. Behind there is a hidden structure which was used as a check point.

 

[PsiFox]

Typical scene following a flight arrival at Alicante from Britain, full of people en route to Benidorm. And I'm not joking.

Spend a lot of time at airports waiting for men wearing womens clothes and makeup?

 

[Ricardodaforce]

Spend a lot of time at airports waiting for men wearing womens clothes and makeup?

It's my secret passion.

 

[PsiFox]

It's my secret passion.

Ah that is ok then

 

[nilagin]

If you have a look at the bottom of the page of that link I sent there should be a link to piers. That was the Coporation jetty used by the gas works

On the road opposite the pier, there is a red brick wall that's been left. Behind there is a hidden structure which was used as a check point.

Yes that's the one.

 

[joescrivens]

I find that hard to believe to be honest, but I guess it also depends on what type of foods you (generic) are buying and cooking.

If I still had the receipts I'd show you.. It's a joke to be honest.

neil is right.

It's MUCH more expensive to buy healthy food than junk. Half our shopping ill comes from fresh fruit and veg, but a pack of 10 frozen beefburgers can be had for less than 2 quid!!