“One great mistake made by intelligent people is to refuse to believe that the world is as stupid as it is.”
Claudine Guerin de Tencin.
Here in Bradford we’ve got used to topping a few league tables recently though most not those you would wish to.
So, one which ranks an area’s population in terms of obesity would not be an obvious choice to add to the list. Good job we are a resilient bunch of fat bastards then?
In truth, there are no surprises in this extract from the local rag.
“Two-thirds of the district’s adults and a third of 11-year-olds are now overweight or obese, according to health figures, leading to an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, type two diabetes and other potentially fatal illnesses.”
The Bradford district is now the third “fattest” in a nation also ranked third, behind only Malta and Turkey, in Europe.
Whilst there is no doubt this is a worldwide epidemic as this Daily Telegraph article illustrates, Bradford has serious issues representing a massive challenge to scarce resources. How to respond is not easy.
As adults we are free to make our own choices but for decades we have blighted our young with diminishing opportunities to exercise coupled with diets dictated by the food and drinks industry who silence the politicians with dollops of sugary cash.
The reality is that local authorities are largely powerless to influence the global factors that are the main causes here. Indeed, this issue is far too serious to be left to a bunch of numpty councillors as the following extracts demonstrate across the parties.
“Cllr Slater said one of the biggest challenges was getting people to make healthier choices by moving more and eating better”.
Hardly rocket science from the local Politburo and also in the same week the Council welcomed the Coca Cola truck to Bradford. Trust me, whilst the kids may be mesmerised by it, this is no act of seasonal goodwill other than for the dental profession.
Councillor Jackie Whiteley – Conservative: “The council has already spent £2m…we haven’t had a great return…we should be targeting it on the morbidly obese the people who really are in danger of dying.”
If you have limited resources why waste them on a section of society old enough to make adult choices; it is the young that we must focus on to try arrest this.
Ironically, earlier in the year the council was pushing for a hike in rent and rates payable by the voluntary recreational sector that would have saved it just under 10% of this figure but with irreversible damage to clubs and societies across the district.
You could make a compelling case to use the same £2m to lower admission prices to recreational facilities but don’t expect joined up thinking too soon.
Councillor Nicola Pollard – Liberal Democrat: “…it’s down to people not eating good food…about not exercising…too much processed food and too many take-aways…it’s a struggle for families, especially if you are on a low income…huge problem with take-aways in the city…so cheap.”
She ignores the fact that people choose expensive – to call them cheap is wholly wrong – take-aways because they are simply too lazy to cook better value and more nutritious alternatives meaning kids grow up addicted to junk food, conditioned to the ping of a microwave.
Wealthy people are equally gullible. At the weekend I saw a single portion of mashed potato pre-wrapped in an “upmarket” supermarket priced at £1.50; a kilo of potatoes would cost you less than half.
Cooking basic food inexpensively is not hard and you do not need to be Jamie Oliver to eat well on a budget. Perhaps celebrating that we are the Curry Capital of the UK also sounds less impressive now?
Don’t hold your breath for any great shafts of light here. As I have said, this is an international malaise but here in Bradford we simply have higher proportions of the most vulnerable groups.
We need a hard-hitting national initiative combining education, taxation and good old scaremongering. Teaching our kids about how to live in a society where the gap between the haves and have-nots is unlikely to narrow is brutal common sense.
Educating people to cook on a budget and demonstrating the downsides of not doing so – such as health, financial and lifestyle pressures – would be akin to the tactics used successfully to attack the tobacco industry; in other words scare the shit out of people.
Current obesity costs are estimated at almost £50bn per annum. Saving 10% of this amount would bridge the acknowledged funding gap for the whole of the NHS.
And yet allowing ever more generations to flood it with avoidable and costly health issues is simply not affordable.
Bend Over Dear
We had a stand-in teacher at Pensioners’ Pilates the other day as the Iron Lady was away at a refresher course on Guantanamo Bay. In walked a nervous looking young lady as the old biddies gave her the once over holding their traditional slots, incontinence mats in place like German towels.
“Now then ladies” she said, conveniently ignoring Peter and I “I want you to begin by taking your shoes off!”
Old Edna turned sideways and whispered to Gladys.
“Bugger me it’s taken me an hour to get them on this morning!”
Peter and I said a silent prayer that the undressing stopped at ankle height.
Let It Grow, Let It Grow!
The gloves are off and razors have been laid down. After thirteen days with no more hair on my top lip than his barren head, my old pal Patch has challenged me to see who can grow the best tash before the end of Movember.
Generously he has given me thirteen days start which I clearly need. Follow us here for the next few weeks and if you can donate please go to my Just Giving Page.
And as the ad goes “…please don’t let him win!”
Lest We Forget
“In that grim autumn of 1914, the young men came from everywhere to take the King’s shilling…The Pals’ Battalions in Bradford and elsewhere gave all their physical and mental energies in a total commitment to the preservation of the homeland and the defence of assaulted freedom. In the case of the Bradford Pals the majority also gave their lives.” – Leslie Sands.
Were they able to do so they must look down now, one hundred years on from The Somme and surely wonder why?
Saturday Night Fever?
You may or may not be aware that the Villas has a Twitter account. On it you can see a recent audition for Strictly 2017 – see Oct 9th posting – although neither of us can remember one single step.
Keep dancing!!
Breaking News
The Council have finally come clean and admitted that they have already built the new swimming pool and rumours that they simply cannot afford one are totally untrue.
Local resident a Mr D. Osser, relaxing with his morning can of Stella, said it was the best footwash in town.
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