Sugar tax

[dotti34]

The idea of imposing a sugar tax on sugary drinks has reared its ugly head in Australia. Not sure if such a tax is already on such drinks in the UK yet, I know it was in the pipeline. Has this subject already been discussed on Accyweb?

Putting in my two-bob’s worth, isn’t it time that people accepted some responsibility themselves for what they put in their mouths. The best way to not suffer the consequences of drinking sugary drinks is not to drink them…simple as that! Or is that solution just too simple?

As for politicians, they seem to think that taxes are the answer to everything.

 

[monkey hanger]

all kids like sugary drinks or pop as we called it then. problem was in the late 40,s and 50,s yer mam bought a couple of bottles a week and had to last you. now its a never ending an amount for em through the day. think if they did cost more there would be a decrease in there untake.

 

[Less]

Best remedy is to only drink something where all the sugar has been turned to alcohol.
[emoji481]

 

[cashman]

Best remedy is to only drink something where all the sugar has been turned to alcohol.
[emoji481]

Only problem wi that less, is the fact "Many" kids are stupid now! giving em alcohol will only make things worse.

 

[Margaret Pilkington]

I used to like an occasional bottle of 7 Up...This was not something I drank on a regular basis.
It was a drink I enjoyed and until recently had not be contaminated with artificial sweeteners.
7Up proclaims that it now contains 30% less sugar...It has been sweetened with a steviocide.
....one of the better sweeteners...But the taste has been ruined for me.
I now read all the labels of the ingredients on soft drinks....nearly all of them have sweeteners...so I do not buy them.
Even most cordials have sweeteners in them.
I avoid those that contain acesulfame K and aspartame....these are metabolised into a formaldehyde like substance(which is what they use to preserve tissue samples and embalm bodies).
For forty years I have had saccharin in my tea....and I am used to that.
If we use 2lb bag of sugar over the course of the year, then we are going some.

I do not want anyone to decide what I eat or drink.
I am an adult...Quite capable of making my own choices.

The problem of childhood obesity is multi faceted....and a one size fits all approach is faulty.

Remember in the 80's when we were all told that butter and cheese was bad for us....that animal fats were a no-no.
The scientists now know that their studies were flawed and that if we had continued to eat natural foods, rather than chemically concocted margarine, then we may be seeing less type 2diabetics right now.

I eat what I like....and in moderation.
I am active, I get out and about and usually get my ten thousand steps per day...so for goodness sake leave me alone!

 

[monkey hanger]

could not agree more margaret. i,m in my early 70,s, out with my dogs a hour and a half at least every day, still referee sunday morning mens football and will continue to eat what i like too. my mother lived to 100 doing the same thing and my ex mother in law reached 98 with the same idea on life. might be a cynic but i have always wondered if a certain item of food is only good for you if there is a glut of that food on the market and the opposite if its bad for you.

 

[dotti34]

Think you are on the ball there, monkey hanger. I'm a cynic also and I reckon there's a glut of coffee at the moment as we are presently being told 6 cups a day will stop you from dying early - not long ago too much coffee was bad for you.....

 

[Less]

I have a bag of sugar in the house, not for me but for the occasional guest that uses it, this isn't a health thing I just don't use it in my coffee.
Most of the time I'm a savoury sort of person when snacking but once in a while I just fancy a purge of toffees and go through a sweet phase, I don't think it does any harm, because I also have the occasional vegetable attack, I suspect that what happens is the body tells you what you are lacking through your taste buds, an example of which is a month or so ago when i went shopping I couldn't leave the supermarket without a bag of Radishes now I don't even give them a glance as I walk down the veg eisle.
Other than that my diet is always alot of what you fancy and stuff the experts and so called 'healthy' diet.

 

[Less]

I think, what I'm trying to say is that the interfering busybodies that tell us what and how we should eat/live our lives should just mind their own business and leave the majority of us alone to get on with our reasonably sensible lives, too many government grants are wasted on idiotic food research that causes panic in the non thinking only for it to be disputed in yet another government grant a few years later.
Most of us eat sensibly, don't interfere with that, just make it difficult for the overfeeding morons to get mobility scooters so they don't run over my foot when I'm having a healthy walk. Then if they have to walk they might watch their diet.

 

[monkey hanger]

Other than that my diet is always alot of what you fancy and stuff the experts and so called 'healthy' diet.

who actually are these experts and what is a healthy diet. the latter might be which day of the week you are reading the facts.

 

[Hill Walker]

Most of us eat sensibly, don't interfere with that, just make it difficult for the overfeeding morons to get mobility scooters so they don't run over my foot when I'm having a healthy walk. Then if they have to walk they might watch their diet.

They don't take their scooters to the fast food shop - they ring-up and have it delivered. After all what's on 'tele' is too important to have it interrupted.

 

[monkey hanger]

Most of us eat sensibly, don't interfere with that, just make it difficult for the overfeeding morons to get mobility scooters so they don't run over my foot when I'm having a healthy walk. Then if they have to walk they might watch their diet.

years ago these scooters were for people who were disabled and only available from places that provided em for these unfortunate people. seems nowadays its a must for any fat sod who takes pleasure into driving into the back of us normally built folk.

 

[Less]

years ago these scooters were for people who were disabled and only available from places that provided em for these unfortunate people. seems nowadays its a must for any fat sod who takes pleasure into driving into the back of us normally built folk.

Ah yes, but we've progressed, the lazy fat slob is no longer the lazy fat slob, we have to sympathise and empathise and understand what they are going through.
We know it's a struggle for them, hell I'd find it a struggle lifting XXXL large underwear off the ground no wonder (by the smell), they only have one pair.

 

[Margaret Pilkington]

Less, I agree with much of your observations.
I think that we are all old enough to make the choices for ourselves...and if those choices are good one our children usually follow the pattern that we have created.
Personally, I resent the government and the experts who fail to give me the credit for being able to regulate my appetite.

And who is to say that in the not too distant future someone will come up with the idea that is an environmental factor that has cause the obesity crisis....that and an increasing sedentary lifestyle....where much work is not a physical as it was years ago.

As for the 'lazy fat slob' in the wheelchair or mobility scooter....well, I am reluctant to judge because it is a huge generalisation...and it could just be wrong.

My daughter has had a healthy diet all of her life...for much of it she was semi vegetarian...she was active, played sports, walked her dogs... went out to work...then she was struck down with bowel cancer.
The drugs which killed of the cancer have affected her very badly.

She is now seriously disabled and is reluctant to leave her home because she knows that people who do not know of her struggle with ill health will level that criticism at her...without knowing the true reasons.
She can no longer eat the salads she loved, the broccoli, the kale...you know..all that healthy stuff.
She stuggles now to walk...can only eat certain foods that do not irritate her stoma...and of course she has put a lot of weight on...this despite the fact that she eats very little.Not cakes, not biscuits, not sweet stuff.

So before you make the 'lazy fat slob' judgement, give a thought to those who are obese because of the drugs they must take to keep them alive

 

[Mark2009]

Uk Governments don't tend to ban items that they feel people shouldn't eat/drink/use/own etc, they tax them knowing that many of the people who purchase the item will continue to do so thus raising more funds for the exchequer.

As for the lazy fat slob generalisation and the many kids are stupid one, I cant say that these comments are true or untrue as I don't know the people involved. I suppose an obese person may be that way because they are unable to walk or have limited mobility and have therefore put on weight. I am not sure where "many kids are stupid" comes from, if the writer has decided this by looking at the news reports re offences committed etc, I bet I could find an equivalent number of "stupid adults". My opinion, as the other writers are expressing theirs.
Mark

 

[cashman]

Uk Governments don't tend to ban items that they feel people shouldn't eat/drink/use/own etc, they tax them knowing that many of the people who purchase the item will continue to do so thus raising more funds for the exchequer.

As for the lazy fat slob generalisation and the many kids are stupid one, I cant say that these comments are true or untrue as I don't know the people involved. I suppose an obese person may be that way because they are unable to walk or have limited mobility and have therefore put on weight. I am not sure where "many kids are stupid" comes from, if the writer has decided this by looking at the news reports re offences committed etc, I bet I could find an equivalent number of "stupid adults". My opinion, as the other writers are expressing theirs.
Mark

Well look at it this way if yer aint sure, then either yer one yourself or yeh never go out and encounter some.

 

[Margaret Pilkington]

Mark, it is very easy to generalise because many people can see far better than they can think....and it is easy to point out what you think might be their problem...and that is that they eat too much.

In my daughter's case this is far from the truth.
Her problems are created by the drugs which she needs to control her pain and to stop her from being sick.
The very fact that all the fruit and vegetables create digestive disorder for her, but carbs do not....so her diet is unbalanced for reasons beyond her control.

She does not have a high sugar diet, eat sweets, biscuits or crisps....but people who look at her and make the judgement that she is a fat lazy slob are very wide of the mark.

Children are impressionable and because they have limited life experiences, they may make unwise choices.
The fact that many families do not cook, but rely on either ready meals or takeaways may have a bearing on the obesity problem.
So maybe we should make more effort to bring cookery classes for all children....starting in primary school.
As I said in a previous post, the one size fits all solution rarely works....and rather than denying those who can control their appetites, maybe we should be looking at different solutions....not giving so many licences for takeaway businesses might be a good start.

By all means limit the amount of sugar in drinks....making them less sweet might help to re-educate palates.
Many of the sweeteners used still create surges in blood sugar and so then you get a dip which makes the body crave a sugar hit.
The only one that does not have this effect(to my knowledge) is Stevia....which is replacing some of the ones that could have health implications.

 

[dotti34]

I totally agree with you Margaret about good home-cooked meals as against those ready-made ones. If the word obesity had been used when I was a child growing up, when meals were prepared from scratch at home, I reckon people would have had to look it up in the dictionary to find out what it meant. Fast food would have referred to eating what was on your plate quickly on the odd chance there were any leftovers to share.

Life can be very cruel and I feel so sorry for your daughter and condemn those of the public who make judgements on others without knowing the facts – although it’s got absolutely nothing to do with them anyway even if they did know.

I do cringe, however, when I see very obese adults feeding their faces with double helpings of fatty and/or sugary food and drink and giving their children the same, knowing how their own obesity interferes with their standard of living and the problems they encounter through it. Not my business of course what they do with their own bodies, but personally I think it is a form of child abuse when they bring up their children in the same way. Certainly not good parenting.

 

[monkey hanger]

[QUOTE=Margaret Pilkingto...not giving so many licences for takeaway businesses might be a good start.


could not agree more. every other day we get a menu shoved through the door for some pizza or burger joint. where i live in keighley which is similar to accrington in size we have over 30 of these places plus chippies. so many that i know a lass who does not have a cooker but a microwave only . her and her partner do work but a night job and just eat takeaways all the time. god help their kids if they ever have one.

 

[Less]

As for the 'lazy fat slob' in the wheelchair or mobility scooter....well, I am reluctant to judge because it is a huge generalisation...and it could just be wrong.

The following quote:-

Ah yes, but we've progressed, the lazy fat slob is no longer the lazy fat slob

Was not a generalisation against all the obese people in the world, the majority, just as bad backs are genuine medical problems, it was a direct observation about fat lazy slobs.