The other day I was watching Fox, where Brooklyn lawmaker Felix Ortiz was explaining his effort to pass a law banning New York restaurants from adding salt to the food they prepare. Ortiz said his law would save lives.
First of all, how often does this guy think New Yorkers eat dinner out? To really make a difference, you'd have to ban salt shakers in the home. Besides, people going out to dinner would just take their own salt along. But the food won't be as tasty, because you have to salt food AS you cook (as Ortiz seems to have finally figured out).
Is there a more stark example of the difference worldview makes? The worldview we have on display here is the one that says, "You're too dumb to decide even how much salt you can have in your shrimp fettucini, so I'm going to decide for you. And then I'm going to tell you how often you have to get up from your meal to use the bathroom."
Comments:
"For some reason I had it in my mind you were the doctor from Canada." - I take it as a compliment :)
"As for healthcare and money, people without money and insurance get treated here, too." - To rephrase what I said, I think it's hard to say which country has better healthcare. I think there is *better* resources in the USA, and those will come at a price. I didn't mean to convey the idea that only the rich/money got healthcare in the States.
Somewhat surprising to me was that Australia was so high on the obesity list. I guess I only know Aussies from their superb athletes. (Though they do drink a lot of beer, I'm told).
Great suggestions for weight loss Kim.
I particularly think the family meal would reduce weight.
a) When you're less rushed, likely, you'll eat better food.
b) the family time provides health for more than just the body.
c) I'm loving the warmer weather lately and the evening sun. Perfect for strolling/(or, slipping on melting ice and cracking your head open and heading to your nearest healthcare facility :P. Wii Fit anyone?)
I had to ask about the obseity rates, so here goes:
Here are the top 20 worldwide obesity rates ranked by country. This only takes into account OECD countries. Obesity in America continues to be a problem.
1) USA: 30.6 percent
2) Mexico: 24.2 percent
3) UK: 23 percent
4) Slovakia: 22.4 percent
5) Greece: 21.9 percent
6) Australia: 21.7 percent
7) New Zealand: 20.9 percent
8) Hungary: 18.8 percent
9) Luxembourg: 18.4 percent
10) Czech Rep: 14.8 percent
11) Canada: 14.3 percent
12) Spain: 13.1 percent
13) Ireland: 13 percent
14) Germany: 12.9 percent
15) Portugal: 12.8 percent
16) Finland: 12.8 percent
17) Iceland: 12.4 percent
18) Turkey: 12 percent
19) Belgium: 11.7 percent
20) Netherlands: 10 percent
Things that might help in losing weight:
Stop playing games on the computer, stop eating at your desk, get up from said desk and walk around the building, gather the family together for a meal--then all of you go our for an evening stroll. This means you've got to stop overscheduling your children.
I can't tell if calling me "Doc. Steve" was a compliment or not :)
(There was another Steve on The Point that *was* a medical doctor).
I'm not a doctor... but I've played one in my mind.
So, knowing very little:
I think Americans have access to better healthcare. The only problem is that one needs money to access it (which is why many Canadians go down to the States when they don't want to wait for public health lines, but really, it's more complicated than that). I think most Canadians appreciate what they get for 'free'.
As far as personal health, various factors can be looked at, but in relation to food: I'm under the impression that the US has the world's worst obesity rate. At least, among the 'rich' countries.
Do Canadians have better healthcare and are in better health then the people in the US?
In Canada, I'm hearing debates about taxing food/additives (mainly junk foods) that are known to cause problems if used regularly (similar to tobacco laws).
In a health-care system as Canada's, this makes some sense. I would have issues with the % and disregarding offsetting behavior (e.g. exercise). At the same time, salt taxes have an interesting history of producing civil disobedience.
New York City and the surrounding area is known for good restaurants--I can just see Bobby Flay and the Food Network packing up their businesses and moving to other metropolitan areas. Good for other places, bad for New York.