From Your Health Journal…..”The Globe and Mail is one of my favorite overseas online newspapers, as they always have some great health and fitness related stories. I strongly urge my visitors to go to their site and read the full version of this article as well as other powerful articles (link below). According to this article, it states that poor diet is responsible for more deaths that car or gun accidents, yet many people do not try eat healthier. There will soon be a debate over how people should eat, whether the government has more control opposed to those who feel everyone should make their own decisions on diet. The bottom line, obesity contributes to many health issues from diabetes, heart disease, or even low self esteem. Would government intervention make a difference? Please visit the Globe and Mail site to read more on this topic. Happy holidays.”

From the article…..

Poor diets are responsible for more deaths than car accidents or gun violence, yet most people ignore this urgent public health crisis. For that reason, New York Times food journalist Mark Bittman argues, we need the equivalent of “dietary seat belts.”

In a piece this week that is gaining traction online, Bittman makes the case for greater controls over the food supply to prevent overconsumption of sugary drinks and processed food products that are high in salt, fat and calories.

Cue the critics who will say Bittman is calling for the creation of a nanny state and that individuals should have the freedom to make their own choices about their diets.

But he makes an interesting argument for why restrictions on the types of food and the quantity that is available are not only important, but necessary.

Consider how many lives are saved by public health initiatives such as seat belts and vaccinations. Then consider that the majority of adults in countries such as Canada are overweight or obese, while the same is true for about 30 per cent of children in this country.

Carrying excess weight increases a person’s risk for numerous health problems, from high blood pressure to diabetes to cardiovascular problems. Heart disease and stroke are among the leading killers in Canada, but as public health experts have pointed out, many of those deaths are premature. Countless lives could be saved if the rates of obesity went down and more people adopted healthier lifestyles.

To read the full article…..Click here