Steven

"I was not thinking in terms of reducing my carbon footprint or saving the taxpayer a few bucks."

With respect, Steven, why not?

We have to start thinking in these terms, as like it or not, obese people are costing us all. This is not directed at you personally by the way as you are taking control of your weight and I wish you well with it. But it is directed at anyone inclined to excuse obesity or to frame it in terms of it being purely an individual problem. It is much more than that.

"A vegetarian who drives an SUV probably contributes more to global warming than a meat eater who uses public transport."

I know it's not a direct comparison, but the sentiment of that statement seems to be in conflict with the following statement posted by Dickie on the Sea Kittens thread.

"It takes thousands of litres of water to produce half a kilogram of factory farmed beef. This means a single person can save more water simply by not eating 500 grams of beef than they could by not showering for an entire year."

I'm a meat-eater too, but I don't think there's any real argument about the huge drain on resources it entails. Unfortunately, with somewhat higher than average protein requirements, I'm still fairly dependent on it at this stage.

Foxy

"I'm even thinking of signing him up for that "Light and Easy," food delivery to your home service, that's advertised on TV."

I've always ascribed to low fat eating, but have recently been told that my cholesterol is actually too low and is contributing to some of my health issues. I've now switched to butter and full fat products and have lost rather than gained weight, which wasn't my intention even though I'm not unhappy about it. I have at the same time reduced my carbohydrate intake so it's a bit hard to separate what's causing what at this stage.

It's also a bit early to judge whether this brave departure from accepted dietary orthodoxy is the right choice or not. I guess only time and blood tests etc will tell, but so far I certainly don't feel any the worse for it and on balance probably feel a whole lot better.

Sorry, Foxy, I know this could unhelpfully muddy the waters for you, just when you're close to being decisive and all!

But I'd be interested in testing the OLO waters on this one. I mentioned it once before on another thread but nobody took it up then.

palimpsest

"Per cap. the middle east is far and away the fat centre of or planet ... "

Some evidence would be good. I find this assertion hard to believe. I've only been to Dubai and briefly but I don't remember noticing too many fat people.

I heard on RN just recently that it is now estimated that a third of Americans are not just overweight but obese, which is a staggering statistic, if correct.

That I think is more likely to be the 'fat centre of the planet'. And Australia by all accounts is right up there too.

Dear Bronwyn,

Can you give me some precise examples
of what you eat, and how you cook?
It would help me a great deal.

I've been taught all the european ways
of cooking and eating (predomiantly Russian), which
tends to be very high in carbs and cholestrol.
It hasn't affected my metabolism (plain luck, I
guess, although I exercise a great deal), but it's
had a big effect on my husband. My cooking could
well be killing him. So any help from you would
be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

PALIMPSEST wrote:

"…here in oz stats indicate that obesity is linked with lower socio-economic status."

That does not appear to be true for child obesity according to a recent report in the Medical Journal of Australia:

"The prevalence of overweight and obesity in 8–10-year-old schoolchildren was 18.5% and 6.5%, respectively. There was no significant sex difference in prevalence and NO SIGNIFICANT EVIDENCE OF AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND OVERWEIGHT OR OBESITY" (Academic writers do torture syntax. They're worse than Bush)

See: http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/187_03_060807/letters_060807_fm-2.html

The rate of childhood obesity seems to have levelled off but at a high rate. If the MJA report is correct one quarter of Australian children have too many of those fat cells and are condemned to a life-long battle with obesity.

Here is what one council in Britain is doing:

http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/news/Success-health-fitness-scheme-means-place/article-546731-detail/article.html

SHOULD THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN AUSTRALIA SPONSOR PILOT SCHEMES OF THE SORT DESCRIBED IN THE LINK.

You are quite right though about the Middle-East. It's not only bombs that are exploding there. So are Arab waistlines.

FOXY,

Some points to consider.

Very often social milieu is a factor in obesity and drinking. If your husband's friends are hard drinking and fat he is going to find it very hard to change.

Another factor is comfort eating and drinking brought on by stress.

In the end, Foxy, I am afraid you cannot make these decisions for him.

BRONWYN,

Meat, especially beef, has a terrible "water footprint." According to Chapagain and Hoekstra (2004) in Australia it takes 17,000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of beef. To put this in context:

--The average Melburnian consumes 100,000 litres of water pa directly.

--The vegetarian substitutes for beef needs +-2,500 litres of water per kg.

So if a Melburnian substitutes vegetarian equivalents for 7 kg of beef annually he saves his entire direct water consumption and should be permitted to take more than a 4-minute shower!

You can access the Chapagain and Hoekstra report here:

http://www.ihe.nl/Project-activities/Project-database/Virtual-Water-Trade-Research-Programme/Chapagain-A.K.-Hoekstra-A.Y.-2004-.-Water-footprints-of-nations-Volume-1-Main-Report-Value-of-Water-Research-Series-No.-16-UNESCO-IHE

FOXY

I know you addressed your last post to Bronwyn but I hope you won’t mind if I reply.

The Mayo Clinic seems to be recommending a "Mediterranean" style diet for healthy living. You can read about it here.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mediterranean-diet/CL00011

There are numerous cookbooks that give excellent Mediterranean style recipes. I've seen many on sale at Dymocks.

However you need to be aware of a few things:

--Older people should not try to lose weight through diet alone. It causes loss of muscle mass as well as fat which leads to problems later on. Some exercise is essential for any weight loss plan.

--The worst thing you can do is "weight cycle" – ie lose – gain – lose –gain. It is better to stay fat.

--Always consult your GP before embarking on a weight loss plan. Apart from anything else, it commits you psychologically.

I find the Mayo Clinic website to be an excellent and authoritative SCIENCE BASED resource when it comes to health issues. Here's what they have to say about obesity:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/obesity/DS00314

The NY Times is also an excellent source of healthy recipes. See:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/health/nutrition/index.html

Dear Steven,

Thanks for all your advice, and the
valuable links.

Much appreciated.

You're right. There are some decisions that
I can't make for my husband (heaven knows
I've tried, especially with his drinking
and 'comfort eating,' and you're right about
his friends, and stress levels). But at least I can
try to produce food lower in fat and carbs.
And get him to talk to his GP. Excellent idea.