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"It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense." - Robert Green Ingersoll
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Member Since: 8/2009  Last Seen: 2/09/2012

Santa 'global ambassador for obesity'

Seeded on Wed Dec 16, 2009 8:02 PM EST
Read ArticleArticle Source: The Australian | The Australian Homepage | TheAustralian
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Seeded by Par4TheCourse
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SANTA Claus has been accused of acting in ways that could "damage millions of lives".

As the mythical man in red zooms around the planet delivering gifts, he is an unwitting promoter of obesity, unhealthy products, disease and even drink driving, according to an Australian academic.

"Other dangerous activities that Santa could be accused of promoting include speeding, disregard for road rules and extreme sports such as roof surfing and chimney jumping," said Dr Nathan Grills, public health fellow at Monash University's Department of Epidemiology and Preventative Medicine.

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Leafydebater

Oh just shut the hell up. He's Jolly Saint Nick. Don't need any more crap about tradition.

  • 3 votes
Reply#1 - Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:59 PM EST
scar_tissue

Clearly some people have far too much free time if they can sit down & accuse Santa of crimes against humanity. WTF?

  • 1 vote
Reply#2 - Thu Dec 17, 2009 2:54 AM EST
Super Ultra

Sounds like somebody wants to take all the joy out of life. Viva Santa!

    Reply#3 - Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:14 AM EST
    Par4TheCourse

    It is totally ridiculous..

    The Ambassador for Obesity.. are the Obese parents/over weight parents... that stuff their kids full of food.. and cannot manage their own children's diets .. because they are inept in doing it.

    Parents are suppose to control, and be responsible for their own kids.. IF the damn parents are grossly overweight.. then the child will be overweight.. because most Overweight/obese mothers who give birth.. give birth to overweight babies.. and then they feed their faces... A role model is suppose to be the parents... IF the parents cannot parent then they are failures... and then society will have them.. thanks.

    • 1 vote
    Reply#4 - Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:44 AM EST
    Super Ultra

    There is a strong genetic component to obesity. I've seen bone idle skinny people stuff their faces an embarrassing amount and never gain weight, just as I've seen fatter people who count every calorie so much as look at a piece of cake and gain weight. It's a bit more complex issue than just stuffing your face. It takes all kinds of people to make up the world, and it always has. All this "obesity"scare crap is a bandwagon, because you can't force people to starve and run on a treadmill and we all don't have the same metabolism anyway. Diabetes is not CAUSED by obesity.Neither are a lot of the diseases they attribute to it. People (both fat, thin, and inbetween) have genetic propensities for diabetes and heart disease and high blood pressure.. Being fatter can bring on the symptoms sooner, just as losing weight can make symptoms go away....for a time, but eventually, genetics catch up to you whatever your weight. Leave Santa alone, he's one of the good guys.

      Reply#5 - Thu Dec 17, 2009 2:02 PM EST
      Par4TheCourse

      I'm sorry.. but thin people will get overweight too.. it has to deal with the metabolism.. some very small amount of genetics in play but one cannot use that excuse for too long.. I've known many people that I have dealt with in some capacity for over 50 years.. who were thin when they were born, thin through their 40's, and then all of a sudden started putting on the old flab.. some of it can help.. but eventually you put on the weight.. I know personally.. I went from 180 pounds 6'5" in my 20's to around 250# by the time I was 55... I am now back down to 213# on my way back down .. Exercise exercise exercise.. one must build their metabolism back up..

      As to the excuse of medications.. if one knows that their medications will put some weight on.. then one must exercise to balance it... Personal responsibility is the rule. Those who do not exercise.. and I am not talking walking from the couch to the refrigerator, or to the table to gouge themselves.. one must have a conscious attitude in the way they take care of themselves... that is Personal Responsibility.. it is easy to point the blame at other factors, and make excuses.. it is more difficult to do what is right to maintain a healthy regimented lifestyle.

      • 1 vote
      #5.1 - Thu Dec 17, 2009 2:34 PM EST
      Reply
      Super Ultra

      Ok, there's always going to be two camps on this issue, and I'm from the camp that believes that people are people. I don't care if they're fat or thin, I care about how they act towards myself and others. It is amazing to me though that people never care how unhealthily you eat or whether or not you exercise, so long as you appear thin. If you look fat they say "unhealthy, lazy, push your butt away from the table!" even though the person in question might eat much healthier food than their skinnier counterparts and exercise regularly. (Believe me, it does occur.)

        Reply#6 - Thu Dec 17, 2009 4:44 PM EST
        MaggieInFlorida

        Every few years some "expert" comes out with this Santa is a bad role model bit. They just crave their 15 minutes in the spotlight. What was this guy's name? Professor Grinch?

          Reply#7 - Thu Dec 17, 2009 9:01 PM EST
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