Fat Man of Europe

Fortunately I am a natural athlete and do not have to worry too much about my weight….

I wish!

Unfortunately I do very little exercise these days unless you count walking to and from the car and yomping across airports to catch connecting flights. And so, I look after my heart by avoiding anything too strenuous. I am currently 169.6 pounds of highly toned fighting machine and as, such are nudging the top of the recommended ideal weight range (138.3 to 186.9 pounds) for a man of my age and height. Indeed, I have lost 12 pounds in the last six months. And, I have done this by cutting down on snacks such as Walkers cheese and onion potato crisps (I miss you!), having slightly smaller portions with less bread and potato, and, having a couple of booze free days a week (which is hard to stick to). We have also tried to eat our main evening meal a little earlier to give us more time to digest it before bed.

To be honest I guess that stress has also helped – it tends to suppress my appetite – but I am still proud of my slimmer self, especially as this has been achieved during a period which included Christmas and a lot of very heavy travel with work. In my experience, international travellers suffer from pretty poor eating options and often eat late and do damage to the contents of the odd hotel mini-bar. Or that might just be me. Tobelerone and salted peanuts might yet be the death of me.

Nevertheless I have managed to lose weight sensibly and to keep it off….so far. And, this has all been done without the aid of a gym, swimming pool, borrowing a dog to walk, or the help of the Nanny State.

Today, the British medical professional bodies have called upon the Government to tax fizzy drinks, ban adverts for junk food, restricting the number of fast food outlets near to schools and more bariatric surgery. This is all in reaction to findings that one in four of British adults are obese with all the additional medical consequences such as diabetes, heart disease, and depression.

Really? Isn’t this just another over-reaction? Presumably the proliferation of KFCs, pizza places, kebab shops, etc. near our schools has been facilitated by the concreting over of school playing fields and the removal of games and physical education from the curriculum. Perhaps we should address the issue of excercise at school rather than just making kids walk further for their bag of chips?

Whatever happened to common sense? Now I like the occasional can of Coke (although I do tend to go for Zero these days) or a horsemeat burger (;)) and I do not understand why I should be taxed more for the irresponsible eating habits of others. In the same vein, I do not understand why I should be taxed extra for my bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon in an attempt to tackle the alcohol abuse of the great unwashed swilling down their Diamond White or barley wine.

I am not sure that fiscal policy is the best weapon in the fight against obesity. Excercise, education, and common sense should be deployed ahead of an increase in taxation which will do little other than making the Government richer and the working class poorer. I use the phrase “working class” advisedly – I assume that the great unwashed living off benefit will have their benefits increased accordingly to compensate.

A little bit of what you like does you good…..

Anyhow, it’s time for lunch.

Related articles

• Doctors demand soft drinks tax and healthier hospital food to tackle obesity (guardian.co.uk)
• Obesity crisis risks making Britain ‘fat man of Europe’, warns report (telegraph.co.uk)

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