Wednesday 29 April 2009

My formula for world peace!

I think some of Tina’s comments to my last post are worth airing in a new post (I hope she won’t mind my using them!) - she says:
.
"I get so sick of this societal belief that the road to weight loss is the strong arm method (just put your arms out and back away form the table). It is so much more complicated than that and deeper. Whether our internal food-o-meter is the result of poor habits, the result of our vegas nerve failing to give us the full signal, or our metabolism to tell us when our weight is where it should be, speedup our calorie burning and shut the voices in our head that say we need more up.
.
"Whichever it is the medical profession has finally found a series of interventions that can provide us with hope. I think the program you watched was negligent in pandering to the strong armers by discounting the band. There are plenty of successful cases and others who chose different surgical interventions who are also successful. Statistically the rate of success on our own is abysmal."

I agree, and I share her indignation. I would also add that it's not just TV programmes that pander to the "we slim people know what's good for you fatties" school of thought - almost every doctor in the land thinks that the answer to it lies only in common sense, (eat less and exercise more) with willpower being conjured up in the same way that burning your finger will cause a reaction in you that will stop you from carbonising yourself.

These doctors are soooo clever. Would somebody double their salaries please. They’ve stumbled upon the solution to the world’s problems. Hold the front page folks, it seems that …. deathly hush in the audience… (drumroll)….my voice is rising to a hysterial crescendo…

ALL YOU NEED IS COMMON SENSE AND WILLPOWER!!!

The solution to lung cancer? Look no further! All you have to do is to STOP SMOKING!

Drug addiction? Easy! JUST SAY NO!!

Alcoholism? You shouldn’t need to ask - just DON’T LIFT THE GLASS TO YOUR LIPS!!

Clear the jails? WHY, TELL PEOPLE TO COUNT TO TEN WHEN THEY’RE CONTEMPLATING A CRIME!

Stop all wars? Ask a doctor – he’ll tell you! CONTROL YOUR TEMPER!!!

Well, for heaven’s sake, why didn’t they tell me this years ago, and I would have stopped worrying about the world, agonising about my childhood and making my parents feel guilty…

As she says, at last we're being offered a tool to help us. And yet the medical profession is already tut-tutting because so many people want it, and it all so simple to them – save money by telling people not to eat in excess and do lots of exercise. But the world of the overweight is not like that, as they should well know: we try > we fail, we try > we fail > we suffer expensive complications > we cost the system more as we get older.

So here’s my suggestion for world peace:

Addictions to food, cigarettes, alcohol and drugs are problems with the brain not the body, invest in solutions to them and you’ll have a happier population which therefore would be better motivated to make money honestly, and be less likely to have sexual problems, turn to artificial alternatives or comfort eating… and people would therefore not lose their tempers and start wars!

I reckon that should earn me a Nobel Peace Prize at the very least.
.
-oOo-

4 comments:

Dawn said...

How right are you. I've been struggling for years with my weight, but I wanted support to get through it and all my doctor could offer me was 'eat less, exercise more'... did he offer the same advice to someone with anorexia? you know...'eat a sandwich, exercise less'? What is the difference between me and someone with bulimia? We both over eat, we both have a 'need' to feel really full... I just don't stick my fingers down my throat. Yet I don't have a 'eating disorder'...! And therefore don't get any support from my GP. And I have met someone with anorexia and I would not want to swap places with her ever. I wanted to nurture her and feed her, yet I know that is not all that she needs. Yet when there are solutions out there like surgery, we are still ridiculed for taking the easy way out!! Go figure. I know my weight problem is because of my head not working properly, I don't know when to stop eating, I can be greedy. Do I lack something - self respect? NO I have that, will power? No I have that (I gave up smoking really easily.

So to those skinny doctors, who love dishing out the advice to us 'fatties' I would like to say... grow up, life is never so easy that all you have to say is ... eat less, help us to help ourselves, and if surgery is the only option - don't tell us we are taking the 'easy way out'. It ain't that easy, you still have to work bloody hard to lose.

Great post Caroline... the debate will go on for years to come, until they realise that they can't just tackle one side of our weight problem... eat less....I'm gonna have that engraved on my gravestone!! LOL

:o)
xx

Shaggs said...

Love your philosophies - god we banders could change the world! Top post - love the food for thought. If obesity (or any compulsive disorder) was just as simple as not doing the thing we are obsessive about then it wouldnt be a problem now would it? We wouldnt think twice about having knee replacement or any other surgery to fix a physical problem but for some reason over eating shouldnt be treated with surgery? Whats that about?

DocSly said...

Caroline, are you alright? I miss your blog! Hope all is well.

Lonicera said...

Thank you for the comments - this is what I love about these blogs: it gets us "talking" and kicking ideas about, not to mention uniting with indignation against 'fatist' perceptions of weight. Bandits of the world unite!
Sorry Sylvia, you're right, it's been too long. I've been waiting until I had something non-philosophical to say... I don't want to overdo it and hear the sighs from the other side of the water "There she goes again...."!
Caroline

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...