Lardism Part II
My comment earlier about a suggestion that medical treatment could be witheld from obese people until they lose weight was in response to a Radio 4 programme recently where a health authority in the Midlands has been doing just that - this is what happens when you post with just a couple of minutes of your lunchbreak spare!

We do have a very unhealthy attitude towards people with weight problems - of both ends of the scale. I recall sixteen years ago opening a copy of The Sun to see zoom lens pictures of Diana's cellulite on an ajacent page to a story about a young anorexic girl's tragic death.

You only need look at the scorn poured on Amy Winehouse for being both curvy and skeletal at avrious points in her career.

The other point I wish to make is that we live in a society where working parents seldom have time to prepare decent meals, it's easier to pick up something shrink wrapped and microwave it. Moreover, people on lower incomes are going to struggle to afford better diets, especially when the cost of living per se is on the upward march.

Taxing junk food is symptomatic of this government's short sighted response. The "If we make bad food expensive, the poor won't be able to afford it!" mantra only works if the alternatives are affordable too.

It's going to take education and some regulation on the food industry to sort the problems out, but I really don't think that introducing a large element of guilt to a problem which often has its roots in self esteem issues is going to help one iota.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Wed 30 Jul 2008, 16:03, Reply)