"As mayor of New York, Michael R. Bloomberg has prioritized health initiatives, working to enact policies that reduce the size of soft drinks and require restaurants to limit trans fats and post calorie counts."
And that was a bad thing. It is not the role of government to dictate such things to the people. It disturbs me that articles are still written in which such premises are presented as settled fact rather than rightly ridiculed as components of a path towards fascism.
It's a bad thing to require restaurants to disclose the number of calories in their menu items? Is it a bad thing to prohibit restaurants from serving heroin? I'm genuinely curious why you choose to draw the line where you do.
The sad facts are, that the average health of US citizens is getting worse and worse every year, and the main ones affected are those who have no say in it whatsoever: children.
Ideally, the role of a government is to protect its people. The US Government also regulates a number of substances (LSD, etc.)- do you think that's also a bad thing?
The problem is healthy stuff tends to not be shelf-stable or inexpensive or individually-wrapped, so it's more of a hassle to share.
I think free beverages (water, hot water, coffee) are a basic requirement for an office. For snacks, you could go Google and provide something managed and stocked, or just give people refrigerator/freezer/pantry space for their own, or whatever. A nudge toward healthy might be worthwhile.
Why is the most preeminent newspaper in the world still calling saturated fat "bad." It's almost trite at this point to explain that there are no studies to support this.
Relevant anecdote: I once left a terrible job soon after realizing that the only thing that I derived any joy from was eating way too many peanut M&Ms every single day.
When depressed people self-medicate with food, bad things happen.
I don't know. I like the taste of junk food. A little bit of moderation plus a little bit of exercise makes these things a fine office treat. Everyone is a responsible adult; let each make their own decision on what to eat.
(Adding healthy stuff is fine too, but that doesn't mean you need to take away the unhealthy.)
The problem is that willpower is a finite resource[1]. If you have to make a mental effort to avoid the M&Ms every time you pass the kitchen, that diminishes your productivity for the rest of the day.
This is a pet peeve of mine with free office snacks, yes. They turn the easiest path into one that's less healthy than I would normally choose, because the less-healthy alternative is free and someone else shops for it, so I can find myself, out of convenience, eating truly junky stuff that I would never buy myself. An unwanted "perk", which just makes my life more difficult!
There does seem to be a trend towards providing some healthier options at least. Sparkling water instead of just soft drinks, perhaps some fruit. I usually bring my own stuff anyway, but it's easier if the default options are reasonable. I once DIY'd that by running a little office snack coop full of stuff I preferred (people put money in a jar, and I brought stuff in), but not all workplaces would be happy with someone doing that, and it's hard to compete with free.
Same here, but beware of possible damage to your teeth. My dentist saw some pervasive problems in my mouth and asked me if I consumed a lot of mineral water (I do).
The snacks are there if you want them. Nobody is forcing you to partake. If you run 5 miles every morning, a 160 cal. bag of chips isn't 'bad' for you. If you are a full-blown couch potato who avoids any type of physical exertion like the plague, then yes, by all means, skip the bag of chips.
Have ever procrastinated? Lost your temper? Failed to exercise?
There is a major gap between what people consciously believe makes sense and what they actually do. Rather than deny that, it's often more effective to accept that this gap exists and create systems to work around it.
It is quite true that no one is forcing anyone to partake in this bad food. There is a choice. But the author praises the policies of a mayor (Bloomberg) who wishes to use force to remove choice.
There could be other things in the chips that make them unhealthy, such as food additives or advanced glycation end products (see here http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20497781). Running doesn't make you a super-detoxifying omnivore.
It's not wise for alcoholics to hang out in bars. It's not wise for someone struggling with marital fidelity to hang around strip clubs or brothels. It's not wise for people who know they have a tendency toward bad eating habits to surround themselves with free junk food.
[+] [-] droithomme|13 years ago|reply
And that was a bad thing. It is not the role of government to dictate such things to the people. It disturbs me that articles are still written in which such premises are presented as settled fact rather than rightly ridiculed as components of a path towards fascism.
[+] [-] dietrichepp|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] GuiA|13 years ago|reply
Ideally, the role of a government is to protect its people. The US Government also regulates a number of substances (LSD, etc.)- do you think that's also a bad thing?
[+] [-] rdl|13 years ago|reply
I think free beverages (water, hot water, coffee) are a basic requirement for an office. For snacks, you could go Google and provide something managed and stocked, or just give people refrigerator/freezer/pantry space for their own, or whatever. A nudge toward healthy might be worthwhile.
[+] [-] elliott99|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] MartinCron|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pbreit|13 years ago|reply
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/10/exposed-th...
[+] [-] MartinCron|13 years ago|reply
When depressed people self-medicate with food, bad things happen.
[+] [-] Xcelerate|13 years ago|reply
(Adding healthy stuff is fine too, but that doesn't mean you need to take away the unhealthy.)
[+] [-] SatvikBeri|13 years ago|reply
[1]: http://www.psychology.nottingham.ac.uk/staff/msh/pdfs/MSHagg...
[+] [-] mjn|13 years ago|reply
There does seem to be a trend towards providing some healthier options at least. Sparkling water instead of just soft drinks, perhaps some fruit. I usually bring my own stuff anyway, but it's easier if the default options are reasonable. I once DIY'd that by running a little office snack coop full of stuff I preferred (people put money in a jar, and I brought stuff in), but not all workplaces would be happy with someone doing that, and it's hard to compete with free.
[+] [-] chris_wot|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pan69|13 years ago|reply
You CAN buy "real" yogurt, you know?
[+] [-] pretoriusB|13 years ago|reply
Those have little to do with plain yogurt, as it comes out from the traditional process and as we know it in Europe.
Plain yogurt has very little sugar and only naturally occurring at that:
http://www.fageusa.com/products/fage-total-0-percent/
[+] [-] jsnk|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pebb|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zacharypinter|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jeffbarr|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rizzom5000|13 years ago|reply
The snacks are there if you want them. Nobody is forcing you to partake. If you run 5 miles every morning, a 160 cal. bag of chips isn't 'bad' for you. If you are a full-blown couch potato who avoids any type of physical exertion like the plague, then yes, by all means, skip the bag of chips.
It's just so simple. So simple ...
[+] [-] dietrichepp|13 years ago|reply
If it were that simple, we would all be much healthier than we are.
[+] [-] SatvikBeri|13 years ago|reply
There is a major gap between what people consciously believe makes sense and what they actually do. Rather than deny that, it's often more effective to accept that this gap exists and create systems to work around it.
[+] [-] noarchy|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Gatsky|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] baddox|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fourstar|13 years ago|reply