fighting obesity by restrictions on food stamps

LINK....http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/10/25/congress-should-cut-junk-food-from-food-stamps

The government shutdown may be over, but Republicans still want cuts and Democrats still want to preserve health care. The way to achieve both lies in the next item on Congress's to-do list: the farm bill. The biggest-ticket item in the farm bill by far is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – known as SNAP, or food stamps – and billions of SNAP dollars go for candy and junk food. As a doctor, I want to cut the junk food from SNAP. And that will appeal to Republicans' fiscal sense and make millions of people healthier, making Obamacare more affordable.

Preventing the chronic diseases that cause seven out of every 10 deaths in America could save billions of dollars and millions of lives every year. Lifting this weight would increase productivity and lessen the financial drain on low-income Americans and large corporations alike. Fortunately, this is easy enough to do; chronic diseases are largely preventable and treatable through modest changes in diet and lifestyle.

[See a collection of political cartoons on Obamacare.]

In the past several months, there has been a great deal of momentum towards making SNAP more nutritious and prevention more achievable. During House farm bill negotiations, New York Mayor Bloomberg and 18 other major city mayors sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, urging them to require the Department of Agriculture to authorize waivers for city and states to experiment with eliminating junk food from the program. Additionally, The Healthy Food Choices Act of 2013 (H.R.3073), quietly introduced by Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., last month and cosponsored by Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., both of whom are physicians, offers a federal plan to improve the program's nutritional content, a move that could save millions in federal health care costs.

AboveAlpha

 

If you Google....Healthcare Cost Savings by adding Nutritionalist to food stap recipiants....there is a lot of sites and studies that validate this.

AboveAlpha

 

Ok that's a start but it's only an opinion piece and gives no economic figures; I'd like to see some figures from the government (afterall they are the ones laying out the money) with research information included. I'm sure the sponsors of the various bills must have presented some type of empirical research prior to submitting the bill.

 

I chose that as it was in U.S. News and World Report which is a magazine that holds veracity.

But as I posted....Google the words I gave you and all sorts of studies pop up.

AboveAlpha

 

In the morning; i'm off to work now.

 

What you seem to be leading up to is doing away with public assistance. Before saying this, I'd ask you to find out the level of benefits given to the poor in your community. I think you'll find they're much lower than you might have believed. I listen to the popular conservative talk radio, stuffed with statements about people living cozy lives on public assistance. It isn't so. The benefits are little more than subsistence. Not that they should be higher - the idea, after all, is a safety net, not a life style - but there are few people who'd choose to live that way.

The reason so many people are, the reason the rolls of aid recipients are growing, is not that people are opting for (imaginary) leisure. It's because the economy is restructuring itself to need fewer workers. This isn't news. Economists and executives have spoken of this trend for decades now. The global economy is shifting to a knowledge base. In the 1950s and 1960s, tens of millions of people worked at unskilled or semi-skilled jobs. That sort of employment is vanishing rapidly now. We've passed a tipping point. Many of the millions of jobs that were eliminated after the 2008 bust are never coming back. Employers used the situation to rid themselves of unneeded workers they had kept out of pity. Factories are increasingly filled with robots. Much of the work done by "white collar" workers in the 1960s is done by computers now. The middle class has been decimated as a result.

In the "big picture," this is all no more than an adjustment, but it has blighted millions of lives. That's why there are so many on public assistance. When I listen to talk radio and hear the denunciations of the supposed loafers and slackers, I'm dismayed by how remote the multi-millionaire hosts are from American life. The people on aid are white men older than 50, and recent college graduates, all of whom have been found superfluous in the new economy.

You describe a real problem, but the solution is policies encouraging economic growth, not stepping on those who've already been stepped on. Obama and the Dems have worked hard to worsen the economy because people on public assistance are more likely to vote Democrat. It's as simple as that. That's why they block growth of the domestic energy industry, and why they want the highest corporate taxes. Growing businesses in a free market mean jobs for the many, and people with jobs earning good livings don't vote Democrat.

 

That's a very good plan and would make her efforts worthwhile.

 

I am extremely wealthy but I RESTRICT MY OWN PURCHASING of specific unhealthy foods and I do NOT buy candy or chips or frozen high carb. meals and I certainly do not smoke and I grow my own Organic Garden and I exercise.

YOU can afford it. A food stamp diet is little better than a Ramen Diet.
Please - check out how much you or you and family would receive on full Food Stamps and see how many meatless days you experience. Pasta = Chips = Candy = Carbs = more insulin = Fat Making
On a Food Stamp budget, all the education about wise choices is ridiculous.
NOW: If Food Stamp allotments were increased but only "Paleo Foods" could be purchased,
then all that nutritional education might be put to good use. Get it?

And there is stuff we are always learning about those 300 - 400 lb porkers.
Like a fecal transplant from a really skinny person is done, they lose weight.
1) What they put in their mouth
2) Genetics
3) Gut bacteria
Two of three are not so voluntary.
And being on a Food Stamp budget does have limitations.
Do we insist they never know tummy satisfaction ?


Moi

r > g

No ​

 

You see....I do not view helping someone or some family to become healthier to be stepping upon them.

When people do not have a JOB or cannot get a JOB....either because of lack of education, health issues and being 250 lbs overweight is a HEALTH ISSUE....they get depressed and compensate by eating another container of ice cream and staying inside and not getting exercise on a nice day.

These people can be HELPED.

A combination of limiting the amount of unhealthy Food Stamp paid for food purchases as well as programs of education using Nutritionalists, Psychiatrists and even yes...teaching them how to grow a garden....can relatively quickly improve a persons life.

Now I put myself through HELL at my age to stay in way above top physical conditioning....and I prevent myself from buying unhealthy foods and as I stated I could easily sit home all day and do nothing and eat Dove Bars and watch TV all day....but I don't!

Life is not worth living just to stay alive....there is so much more to it.

These people are NOT LIVING...they are existing....poor, unhealthy and depressed.

I think we can do better.

AboveAlpha

 

We could raise the amount of money allowed for Food Stamps so people could buy Paleo Foods as the amount of money saved upon Healthcare Costs due to programs run by Nutritionalists, Psychiatrists and Gardening 101....would allow for it.

The main this is to get such people a JOB....as Food Stamps should be used to help a person in need....NOT perpetuate poverty.

AboveAlpha

 

Jobs is about Workfare, not Welfare.
The gov't as the employer of last resort.

Food stamps is about sustenance and nutrition.
Restrict food stamp purchases to Paleo Foods and increase the allotment to a reasonable sum AboveAlpha could design a diet around. If those in need felt better because their nourishment was improved, it might help them get that job. Personally, I feel sluggish living on carbs.


Moi

r > g

No ​

 

We can. But it has to come from the person. Just as public assistance doesn't teach people to earn a living, and just as sermons don't improve anyone's character, government-run self-help programs won't make anyone healthy. The information should be freely and widely available - and it already is - but "you can lead a horse to water, you can't make him drink."

You might ask yourself why you even see this as a problem for government. Government may be needed to build highways, but turning to it as the first resort to solve all problems will only lead to waste and failure. Of course, the bureaucrats who administer government programs will have jobs. They may be the only ones to benefit.

Upper class liberals tend to think of government as a charity. If it is, it has higher overheads and less accountability than any other charity. Your money could do greater good elsewhere.

 

I can't even STAY AWAKE after I eat my once a month DOVE ICE CREAM ALMOND AND CHOCOLATE OVER VANILLA BAR!!! LOL!!!

I mean I just ZONK OUT!

I donate a huge amount of food grown in my Garden to the local Food Pantry and Survival Center.

Since I have had to keep myself in way above top physical conditioning and at my age it is hard and practically KILLS ME....to run every day and NOT jog but RUN...6 miles one day and 11 miles the next as well as run at least one 20K a month.

I also swim 1 mile 3 times a week at the local Boy's and Girl" club as I do 77 laps....and as I am a Master Diver and Diving has been a part of my JOBS occasionally....once a month I swim 5 miles in the pool if winter and 5 miles in open ocean in late spring, summer and fall.

I also lift using free weights and machines and I play Tennis, Golf and basically am extremely active as I only sleep about 4 to 6 hours a night.

But I EAT LIKE A BEAR!!

I must eat at MINIMUM....5000 calories a day and sometimes as high as 7500 calories a day as well I do CARBO BOOST before a JOB and consume over 35,000 calories of Complex Carbs before a JOB because depending upon what we are doing I might not stop moving for 48 to 72 hours straight and I have not eaten for long periods of time.

Anyways....I ONLY eat High amounts of Complex Carbs before a JOB and daily life is all about eating lots of Protein in the form of Fish, Chicken, Beef, Pork, Dairy, Soy and I hunt so I have Venison as well as other game birds and as I have a Lobster License I DIVE and bring home about 10 to 14 Lobsters between 2lbs and 8 lbs and sometimes I might get a 14 lbs Lobster or greater as I dive at both Cape Ann and Cape Cod.

My Vegetables and Fruits I get from my Garden and Fruit Trees around my home and I also have fantastic Blueberries....the Cultivated Variety, Currents or Gooseberries, Strawberries, Black Berries and both Wild and Cultivated Raspberries as the Cultivated variety grow bright red and the WILD Raspberries are both red and black.

I have several different apple trees, 2 differnt pear trees, a fantastic plumb tree and a Black Bing Cherry Tree...that I cannot WAIT to pick but these must be netted to prevent birds from eating them.

So with the help of my two Bi-Sexual Female neighbors we can a lot of food and have all sorts of pickles and freeze a LOT of Tomato Sauce as well as par-boil and freeze extra Zuchinni and Summer squash.

I grow great asaragus which is a PAIN to manage....I have 6 different types of lettuce....Kale, Swiss Chard, Ocra, all sorts of Peppers, all sorts of onions and I grow giant red onions, and there is NOTHING like a frsh pulled out of the ground and washed and eated CARROT OR RADDISH!!!

I could go on and on but if you know what you are doing and use grass cuttings between planted rows to prevent weed growth and this also decays and heats up the soil which makes plants grow quicker and provides nutrients...and if you prune tomatos and cage them and understand if your soil is too acidic as in New England we have highly acidic soil so every year I LYME THE GARDEN....and I also grow my own plantings from seed....if you know a few things.....a single family can have a FANTASTIC GARDEN which will supply them with all the fruits and vegetables their family, neighbors and local pantry needs.

I donated over 30 bushels of a variety of Tomatos and I still had more than I knew what to do with as a single properly grown Beef Steak or Big Boy or Jet Star Tomato Plant Caged and supported by 4 Bamboo Poles outside the cage....will provide as a single plant over 100 large tomatos!!!

So even a small garden can save a person or family a huge amount of money and allow them to eat right.

The problem is the COST OF MEAT AND FISH!!!

Now I freely admit because of my large muscular body I must eat a LOT of Meat as I do hunt for a lot of my meat but not everyone is going to hunt or be able to raise their own animals for slaughter....and that is why I am a member of HUNTERS FOR THE HUNGRY.

Ted Nugent recently wasted more than 450 wild pigs in Texas, and says by doing so, helped the environment, saved taxpayers money and helped feed the homeless.


While appearing on “The Brett Winterble Show” on SiriusXM radio, Nugent said he and a fellow hunting enthusiast used an M4 rifle to kill 455 wild hogs.

“I took my machine gun in the helicopter – in the Texas hill country – me and my buddy ‘Pigman.' His name is ‘Pigman’; I’m the swine czar," Nugent told Winterble. "I killed 455 hogs with my machine gun. I did it for Bill Maher and all those other animal rights freaks out there."

The interviewed was first documented by RumorFix.com.

Wild pigs cause an estimated $500 million in damage in Texas each year, according to a story by the San Angelo Standard-Times, which interviewed Texas Agricultural Commissioner Todd Staples for the story.

“I helped save the environment and family farms,” Nugent went on to say in the interview. “They used to take our tax money and charge us to do it.

“We took all that freshly killed organic pork and distributed tons of the most delicious pork to the soup kitchens and the homeless in this state (Texas). … The people who hate me will hate me more for doing the most environmentally sound thing.”

ANYWAYS...the thing is that we do have to increase the amount of money we give people for FOOD CARDS OR FOOD STAMPS....but two things we CANNOT DO....is allow this to PERPETUATE POVERTY.

And that is what it is doing right now as I have NEVER seen any person on the Food Card or Stamp program who was thin...NEVER!!

And I look into their shopping carts and I see foods that are unhealthy and as another member here stated and they are right....you can't aford good beef and fish but PORK IS INEXPENSIVE AND EXTREMELY HEALTHY TO EAT!!!

Instead of Captain Crunch how about WHEATIES???

Instead of Ben and Jerry's how about YOGURT??

Instead of Cookies and Candy....HOW ANOUT A FREAKING APPLE OR ORANGE???

Instead of a bag of FROZEN FRENCH FRIES....and a GALLON OF CORN OIL TO DEEP FRY THEM IN....how about another Vegetable like BROCCOLI....SPAGHETTI SQUASH....SUMMER AND ZUCHINNI SQUASH???

Instead of a GIANT CROCK OF MARGARINE...which for those of you who don't know is DEATH IN A PLASTIC BUCKET...HOW ABOUT REAL BUTTER???

The AMA...American Medical Association FINALLY finished it's multiple decade study and testing and has found that THINGS A PERSON EAT THAT HAVE CHOLESTEROL IN THEM DO NOT CREATE CHOLESTEROL THAT PLAQUE UP AND BLOCK BLOOD FLOW IN HUMAN ARTERIES!!!!

This means a person who has weight issues, Cholesterol issues...etc....can eat all the Animal Fat and Protein they want as it does NOT create Cholesterol buildup in arteries....what does do this is Candy, White Bread, Hydrogenated Oils, High Fructose Corn Syrup....ANYTHING LABELED LOW FAT MEAL.

EGGS are cheap and healthy.

But I understand the costs of other Meats.

AboveAlpha

 

Well...I think if we tie the ability of a person or family to get Food Cards or Stamps with their PERSONAL HEALTH RECORDS....this would allow a basic Computer Program capable of allowing or not certain foods that can be purchased with such a Card or Stamp.

We also should require those with healthcare problems ESPECIALLY MORBIDLY OBESE Food Card or Stamp recipients to spend a lousy hour or two out of their lives to attend classes that help with JOB SEARCHES, HEALTH, NUTRITION and help people with DEPRESSION because most of these people who are weighing in at 350 lbs plus are Jobless and have great depression.

We can help them.

AboveAlpha

 

In most places, people on public assistance are already required to take classes on how to get a job, and to consult weekly with the local job bank, and report a minimum number of job interviews. Of course, the classes may be taught by government bureaucrats who haven't looked for a job in decades and know nothing about it. These programs employ few people.They exist to placate folks like you, and to secure jobs for those who administer the programs.

Since people on public assistance are also on Medicaid, they're eligible for the many health classes typically taught by local hospitals, should they choose to attend.

As I wrote, you should familiarize yourself with the public assistance system before talking about it. Why not make believe you're applying for welfare, and gather information about eligibility, benefits, and requirements?

 

I am aware such programs exist.

But what does not exist is a mandatory and comprehensive PLAN to help individuals on a CASE BY CASE BASIS.

And I would love to see this thing PRIVATISED as a worker hired by a Private Firm could have their pay, bonuses and advancement tied to doing a good job transitioning a person or family from being Jobless, Poor, In a state of Depression and Unhealthy into the WORK PLACE and EFFECTING A LIFESTYLE CHANGE.

And THAT is what it is about....being committed to help a person CHANGE THEIR LIFE STYLE.

A direct connection to a persons Doctor and Nutritionalist to what they can or cannot purchase with Food Cards or Stamps....as well as having an actual HUMAN BEING work on their case and be committed to helping such a person or family as to do so means more money for that employee.

I started 2 charities and I help run them and 100% of all work and donations goes directly to helping people specifically KIDS....and no one takes a salery....and all are COMMITTED to helping these kids and people.

But when you get GOVERNMENT involved and you have people who's pay is based upon time in and NOT based upon performance....that's when you get people just going through the motions and only caring about going home.

If we do this right....we can decrease healthcare costs....decrease welfare payments and get a lot of people back on their feet and out of a state of depression.

Things like Sale of Drugs, Crime, Prostitution and other vices and illegal and illicit activities are POVERTY BASED.

The fastest way to help a person out of depression and out of poverty is to have an interconnective program that helps them upon all levels and attempts to CURE THE PROBLEM....not just pay for it.

AboveAlpha

 

The problem remains, no matter how well you educate them,
their sustenance is Carbs for economic reasons.

AboveAlpha, Wheaties has little virtue. All b'fast cereals are fast absorbing carbohydrates.
You are better off with some steak and eggs and some fruit no juice for b'fast.


Moi


r > g

No ​

 

I agree...but not everyone can afford Steak for breakfast.

I eat a LOT.

Breakfast for me usually consists of a New York Strip Steak....4 eggs over easy....small glass OJ....1 piece of 5 whole grain toast....Yogurt....butter on toast.....bacon.

I ALWAYS have 2 dozen eggs boiled and in the fridge ready to go if I get hungry.

I am at a point that my body burns calories even at rest so I must eat often and a lot as I eat mostly proteins and fats are animal fats and olive oil and dairy.

I ALMOST NEVER...eat potatoes, pasta, cereal nor do I drink a lot of fruit juice but I do eat berries and limit myself to two fruits in spring and summer from my garden.

I eat a lot of greens and if I had to lose weight I would stay away from Tomatoes as they have a lot of Fructose in them but my body burn so many caloried daily it is not an issue with me.

AboveAlpha....first thing a person does to change their eating

 

And your diet looks great too except I would toss out the bread and butter for a handful of unsalted mixed nuts.
We Know A Great Diet, Don't We -
now I am typing real slow for you AboveAlpha because I know you do gov't work
Wouldn't it be grand if food stamps could cover a Paleo Diet and no foods not on the Paleo Diet would be eligible for purchase with Food Stamps, just like Alcohol.


BTW You obviously have mixed the Lumber Jack Diet with the Paleo Diet and can burn it all too, just like a Lumber Jack.
( )0( )
I don't think big men (football players), and those who burn so many calories have great longevity, do they? Just for the record. A Great Dane doesn't choose to be such a big critter and they barely make it to ten years old.
There is something to be said for burning at a lower rate.
There is something to be said for being a wimp.

AboveAlpha, can you ID any of your sort that are or have been on the 100 year plan ?


Moi

r > g

No ​

 

Well...studies have concluded that on average....people and animals that eat less calories live longer.

But here is the thing....in some cases GENETICS trumps such studies.

All the members of my family have extreme longevity.

My Grandparents on both sides lived into their 90's and early 100's.

My parents are both alive and well and act and look 20 years younger than their age.

My Great Aunt lived to be 111 and two of my Great Uncles lived to be 101 and 103.

In my family we don't have histories of cancer or high blood pressure or high cholesterol but we do suffer from Arthritis.

My Mom can still play Tennis like a Man...and my Dad can still bench press over 240 lbs.

So...studies do not account for Genetics.

It's like most people who smoke for 30 years are going to have respitory issues or lung cancer but I currently know a man who STILL smokes 2 packs a day...LUCKY STRIKES....and he is 93 years old and he started smoking when he was 12 years old.

Then you have another person who get's Lung Cancer because the second hand smoke from the person living below their apartment and hooked up to the same Gas Heating System and Forcd Hot air return killed them.

I burn a huge amount of calories just sitting because when a person eats High Protein and almost No Carbs that persons metabolism kicks into overdrive.

Plus running every day and lifting and swimming have a lot to do with it.

AboveAlpha

 

I like your idea of privatization. That might just work. My question is how this would be paid for. There are three constituencies that might resist: government employees and their unions, who would see potential job losses (think of the entrenched resistance to charter schools); politicians and leftists, who would see potential loss of government power; taxpayers, who wouldn't want to spend more than they do now, and who would be reluctant to believe that your program would ultimately reduce costs. If all this opposition could be overcome, your program might make a large positive difference. I commend you for thinking this way. Now focus on how to sell your idea.

 

Well....this plan would easily pay for itself just in the amount of money we save for paying for Quadruple Bypasses for such people and their Healthcare costs as well as getting them healthy to be able to take on a JOB...and get them off Welfare would save huge amounts of money.

The only real problem I and YOU see is THE CURRENT SYSTEM AND IT'S STATE AND FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.

Obviously something DRASTIC has to be done and if that means giving State and Government Employees the Golden Handshake to get rid of them to move to a much more cost and healthwise effective system so be it.

AboveAlpha

 

Too bad the people most invested in the status quo are among those whose support you'll need to change things. Where to find the political force necessary to overcome millions of powerfully positioned people? Most journalists are with the Establishment. The costs would be immediate. The savings in health care would appear slowly over years.

 

Thing is we cannot keep going on as we are.

I live in Massachusetts and we were the first state to have Universal Healthcare and I am wealthy and my payments went DOWN.

Why?

Because it costs more money for the state and federal government to pay for uninsured patients ER visits and before even if you did not have insurance by LAW a person must be allowed pickup by Ambulance and admitted to the ER.....thus these cost are 4 Times greater than the cost of paying for Universal Healthcare.

AboveAlpha

 

The answer of this question depends on the definition of state.


As it is scientifically proven that some food is harmful to health, it is a duty of the state to intervene. That´s what I think.
I even maintain the extreme point of view that alcohol and cigarettes should be forbidden at all, in theory.