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Show 5 Monday, June 11,2007 OPINION www.dailyutahchronicle.com We've been supersized A health paradigm shift is needed in the U.S. M ore Americans are fat now than ever before. By that, I mean that more Americans—adults and children—can be medically denned as overweight or obese now than at any other time in history. Given the fact that being overweight or obese exposes a person to a wide array of serious and potentially life-threatening health problems, our society's attitudes toward diet and exercise need to change. I went to Lagoon recently. While waiting in line for rides, I couldn't help but engage in a bit of peoplewatching. I noticed that for every one fit person that appeared healthy, there were two people who were obviously overweight. Statistically, my observations were about right. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 32.9 percent of adults aged 20 to 74 are obese. In 1976, that number was only 15 percent. If you include adults that are overweight but not technically obese, that number becomes 66.3 percent. The numbers for children are equally discouraging. In 1976, the percentage of children that were overweight or obese was n percent. Now, it is estimated that more than 17 percent of all children are overweight or obese. Is anyone else as appalled at these numbers as I am? Before any of you think about calling* me a weightist or fat-phobic, consider this: A little less than two years ago, I was having some medical problems that required me to take medication, and I gained a lot of weight as a result—50 pounds, to ANASTASIA NlEDRICH be exact. Well, once my medical problem was resolved, I came off those medications and had 50 excess pounds on me that I didn't want there. I was bigger than I'd ever been in my entire life. I was unhappy and had low self-esteem. I could have resigned myself to my fat state and done nothing. I could have eaten junk food and reveled in its fatty tastiness, but I'm vegetarian. I don't eat fast or fried foods, drink soda, eat junk food or any of that, and for most of my life, I've been that way. However, I found myself overweight as a result of a medical condition, so I know that not everyone who is overweight is so because they are lazy or gluttonous. Some people are overweight because of similar circumstances—disabling injuries, medical conditions or another "good" reason—but a lot of people who are overweight or obese have no "good" reason for it. They are overweight simply because they eat too much food, eat unhealthy foods, don't eat a balanced diet, don't exercise regularly or some combination thereof. While working at McDonald's for nearly four years, I saw the gamut in the customers—all races, all ages, all weights and sizes. Some people never ceased to amaze me. My favor- SPENCER THOMAS Shame on the unions H ave you ever seen those folks sitting on the side of the street, wasting the day away while holding the "Shame on (blank)" banners? Not too long ago, I was driving by Greek Row and saw these people holding one of those banners declaring to all who drove by and cared to glance over, "Shame on the University of Utah Labor Dispute." It appears the folks in charge of these banner campaigns are keeping themselves fairly busy because they seem to be everywhere. It was not until last week that I found out what this group of people was taking a stand for: union labor. A t first, one might feel a little bit of sympathy for the union folks. Before last week, whenever I thought about worker unions, my mind immediately swelled with thoughts of the Disney movie "Newsies." - When a company hires workers that are non-union, the unions organize people who are willing to spend entire days in the blistering sun and frigid winter just to shame these companies with their signs. At first, one might feel a little bit of sympathy for the union folks. Before last week, whenever I thought about worker unions, my mind immediately swelled with thoughts of the Disney movie "Newsies." This movie helped glamorize unions, and for good reason. During the turn of the century, the industrial revolution was sweeping across the country and factories were popping up everywhere. Employers needed employees to fill the factory positions to produce goods. Unfortunately, the working conditions in the vast majority of these factories were deplorable, the work schedules were long and the pay was next to nothing. This did not only relate to factories, but to just about every organized work group, including those poor newspaper delivery boys. • Unions were organized to give a voice to the common laborer. They fought for See THOMAS Page 7 ite order to take went like this: Customer: "Yes, can I have a Grilled Chicken sandwich meal, with extra mayo, supersized?" Employee: "What would you like to drink with that?" Customer: "A Diet Coke. I'm watching my weight." I am not kidding. This example illustrated that people either must have some incorrect beliefs about the mystical weight-loss properties of Diet Coke, or a lack of information about how to, or why you should, eat healthy when eating. Even now, years after I left my wonderful employment at McDonald's, I see this same American mindset every day. I saw this same attitude at Lagoon. I tried to eat healthy when I was there, and the closest thing I could find was a steamed rice and veggie bowl. How are people supposed to eat healthy as part of a balanced diet with exercise to achieve and maintain a healthy weight when they can't find healthy food? I know it's a battlefield out there— we're confronted with tempting, tasty, unhealthy eating options every day. But I assure you, it is possible to eat healthy, still enjoy your food, not spend a fortune and maintain that lifestyle. I did it to lose my weight and I am doing it now. I know that not everyone is overweight or obese as a result of laziness or gluttony, but for those of you that are, ask yourself if being overweight or obese will serve you best in the long run. letters@ chronicle.utah.edu On "U to kick off new recycling program" |arker Williams, May 31) James posted 6/1/07 @ 6:55 PM EST Students have been trying to get this thing off the ground for 10, 20, 30 years now. So believe it when you see it, and not until then. The groundwork has been put in place by those through ASUU's past, but this looks to be a fresh, new batch of ignorance that needs to recognize past successes and failures before they think they can do something to produce actual results. A campus recycling program doesn't take a brain surgeon. It takes the administration buying into the students' initiative. ASUU is still trying the brain surgery method, taking fleeting promises that officials will actually support them. Study history, then think about pressing forward. Otherwise, this is another year gone to waste (and not recycled). f il' Whaaa? posted 5/31/07 @ 5:25 PM EST Is this the opinion section or the A&E section? It seems like the editor has confused the two. Straighten up your boundaries. Ryan posted 6/01 /07 @ 10:57 AM EST I can agree with most of what the author says, except that we should ignore Mitt's (or any other candidate's) religious beliefs. If he actually believes in the LDS faith, if the president of the Church told him to do something, he would. Secondly, politicians rarely ever separate their own "personal" beliefs and the decisions they make concerning public policy, the majority of the Utah political sphere is pretty clear evidence of that. Kaysville City Counsel voted to make Monday essentially family night, making it so that no city-sponsored activities took place on Monday (baseball practice for example). Look at damn near any Utah specific policy and you'll see it rooted in the LDS Church. We won't even talk about the restaurant owners in Clinton that aren't being allowed to serve beer at their restaurant. Some non-Mormon Utahns might even say that some of the Utah laws violate some of their constitutional rights, and in many cases, I would agree. So, in conclusion, let's not pretend that religion is something a politician can just turn off and on at their own discretion, and if LDS people are willing to vote for him because he's Mormon (and I know many that would like the opportunity) why can't people NOT vote for him because he's Mormon? We need alternative energy to survive W elcome to America—a nation so dependent upon the labor and oil reserves of other nations that we are willing to pay whatever price oil-producing other countries want to welcome to Utah—a state in America that has so many gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles that we pay some of the highest gas prices in the nation despite our relatively small population. Welcome to a land that is mixed up in its priorities. Sure, everyone complains about the high cost of fuel and energy these days, but who is doing anything about it? In a limited two-party system such as America's, the Republican party worships big business and would not dream of touching the record profit margins oil companies are posting, while Democrats claim environmental consciousness but care more about the mating habits of the Alaskan Caribou than whether more oil is available to force current prices down. If the leaders of our country could take a step back from useless politicking, they would realize that the people of this nation need alternative energy sources, and more importantly they need the government to fund programs to make that energy a possibility. In the 1970s, Brazil began a program to change its dependence on foreign fuels. Brazil ' began to grow more sugar cane, which can be turned into an effective source of bio-fuel known as ethanol.In 2006, Brazil was on the road to becoming fuel independent, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. The United States is eons away from being independent of foreign fuel sources. The process used in the U.S. to derive ethanol is based on corn production, which takes longer and is more costly than the sugar-cane process employed by Brazil. Leaving the debate of etha^ nol alone for a second while continuing the discussion of al' ternative fuel sources, hydrogen fuel is one source that shows promising possibilities. With hydrogen fuel cells, a car would not need to rely on an expensive liquid fuel such as gasoline. Hydrogen is a gas and therefore compressible. Designs for cars would change dramatically because they would not need to be centered around a.gas tank, giving a consumer less weight on the car—thus better fuel efficiency based solely on the weight of the vehicle—while cutting production costs. Not * to mention, hydrogen is a much more efficient fuel than gasoline—and it*s more abundant. However, efficiency concerns are not only limited to our modes of transportation. Wind turbines are an effective, renewable source of energy and have a relatively small footprint on the environment. Many farmers have fields that lie bare throughout the year; why not pay those farmers a stipend to use their land for wind turbines? There is vast land in most of southern and central Utah that is owned by cattle ranchers and the Bureau of Land Management that could be used for wind turbines. The transition from oil dependence to energy independence is one that will take a great deal of effort and research to develop, but there are sources much closer to home that would help make the jump. Utah, Colorado and Wyoming hold an estimated 1.5 to 1.8 billion barrels of oil in the Green River Valley area in a substance known as oil shale, Elliot Grunewald wrote in an article for the School of Earth and Sciences at Stanford. Such deposits of oil shale are not uncommon around the world. There is a vast quantity of energy to be found in this resource, but the funding for full-scale production is just not there. Where are the dollars that are going to develop the technology to make these energy sources a viable option? The leaders in our country need to stand behind funding for alternative energy because the results will benefit the sustains ability of an environment we all need hi order to survive. letters@ chronicle.utah.edu On "Romhey and religion: It just doesn't matter" (Aaron Zundel, May 31) ; On "Please, somebody close the Hatch: Orrin's Iraq assessment is off the mark" (Lindsey Sine, May 31) Joe posted 5/31/07 @ 4:26 AM EST H I •Pi I have my doubts that you know what you're talking about or that you've done one ounce of your own research to back up your opinion. Yep, that's all it is—opinion. At least he's made valid visits on which to base his opinions. While we're at it, heck, I figure I'll share mine. First, I've made 10 trips to Iraq over the last four years, with over two years cumulatively on the ground. I spent most of the last year in Ramadi, and from a year ago, there is a huge difference from when al-Qaida moved from Falloujah to Ramadi in 2005. Yes, there STILL ARE ATTACKS these days, usually more "spectacular," but less frequent. Why are suicide bombings more prevalent now? Here's where that research and authoritative commentary comes in, because when al-Qaida gets desperate—when they have lost control of a territory—they resort to big, news-generating suicide attacks. Violence in general in Ramadi is down 80 percent from one year ago. Yes—that is actual research and statistics—not just your own unfounded junior high opinion. Show me the stats posted 6/01/07 @ 6:41 PM EST Hey Joe, I'd love to see a link/source to the figure you tossed out about violence in Ramadi being down 80 percent. Otherwise, I'm sure you're full of s**\ a hired conservative think-tank techie as- ' signed to seek and destroy any negative coverage of Iraq. Oh, btw, I've made 20 trips to. Iraq in the last 5 years and have spent a cumulative of 3 years on the ground and let me assure you, things have not gotten better in Iraq. And when you say that the attacks are more "spectacular" I assume you mean more deadly, because that's what all these "desperate" suicide bombers have accomplished. Thanks, from someone other than the peanut gallery. "Text messaging might be used to notify stuts of campus emergencies" (Roxanne Vester, June 7) y Stephanie I] posted 6/07/07 @ 2:03 PM EST yj What about students who do not have cell phones, or who do have cell phones but do not have texting capabilities? Ronnie Boutte posted 6/08/07 @ 6:39 PM EST Text messages are a good idea because they will cause mass stampedes, which will, in turn, cause the gun-toting murderous psychopath to get confused and not know who to shoot. Come on, folks, let's get real. Murderous outlaws will only be stopped with FORCE, not freaking text messages! |