Question: Is obesity a disease?

Title: Obesity is a disease Content: Nice.

Title: Obesity is a disease Content: Lovely.

Title: Obesity is a disease. Content: Majority of the population will loose weight if they eat healthy and exercise as i stated originally. There will always be people with issues such as imbalanced hormones that will cause different results. The hormone imbalance would be considered a disease leading to obesity. Obesity is not a disease. Obesity can cause illness and be a result of other conditions but being overweight in itself is not a disease. The genetics that cause diseases such as diabetes and heart disease is absolutely real. Being healthy and good lifestyle choices only helps reduce your risk of being subjected to these diseases. In many cases no matter what you do you will become diabetic because it is in your family but it will always help to be healthy when trying to fight a disease. Overall, eating fatty foods and lack of exercise will result in obesity. You decide what to put into your body and how active your life is. While there are genetic disease that can result in obesity, obesity in itself is not an illness but rather a choice.

Title: Obesity is not a disease, it's a choice. Content: What is obesity? Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems http://en.wikipedia.org... Many people use the excuse that the reason why they are obese, is because they have a "disease" I will be arguing that obesity is in fact a choice, not a disease. Opponent in first round may state their argument. Good luck!

Title: Obesity is a disease Content: Resolution: "Obesity [1] is a disease [2]."I will be arguing against the resolution. My opponent will be arguing for the resolution. The opponent will begin his argument in the first round, and he will not include an argument in the final round. This rule is in place because the opponent will be arguing in the affirmative—and he who argues in the affirmative generally ought to initiate the debate. (NOTE: This debate is currently impossible to accept. If you're interested in taking the "Pro" side, say so in the comments section.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org...[2] https://en.wikipedia.org...

Title: Obesity is a disease Content: I accept! Thank you for instigating this debate, @AndDontCallMeShirley. Good luck to my oponent...

Title: Fatness ! Content: Since Pro has done so I will now submit my case as Con. Fact one: Obesity is a disease. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com... “Obesity has been officially recognized as a disease by the American Medical Association, an action that could put more emphasis on the health condition by doctors and insurance companies in order to minimize its effects.” Fact two: Only 8% of woman have a “perfect” body shape. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu... “The Independent, a UK publication, only 8 percent of women now have an hourglass figure.” Fact three: One in 200 American women suffers from anorexia. http://www.state.sc.us... Fact four: The western culture has a harsh definition of “perfect body.” http://jezebel.com... http://www.divinecaroline.com... Adele, Aishwarya Rai, Ananda Marchildon, Christina Hendricks, Jennifer Lawrence, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jessica Simpson, Kate Winslet, and Heidi Klum have all been deemed too fat. Harm 1: People with diseases who are attractive will be deemed unworthy for media. http://www.cbsnews.com... Talia Castellano was an attractive 13 year old who inspired many and died of cancer last year. Girls like her may have their dreams shattered as result of the logical conclusion that woman with diseases are not attractive. Harm 2: If only 8 out of every 100 have a perfect body and the rest are deemed “too fat” women may begin to self-harm and starve themselves. Harm 3: More women will suffer from anorexia and potentially commit suicide because woman are afraid they are “too fat.” Harm 4: Women who are deemed “too fat” may suffer from rom severe depression. Because of all the facts and harms based on Pro’s logic vote Con. Now to open up the rebuttal period over to Pro.

Title: Obesity is a disease. Content: Though you do make a few valid points, stating their will be people who will become healthy if obese and change their life style there is still the fact that there are those who can change their life style yet will remain obese. Side effect or not, obesity is directly correlated from illnesses that effect a person hormones. You do make a valid point in your second argument but that is more or less off point from the point i was making when i brought it up. I was simply stating a fact that obesity does in fact lead to march harmful diseases that cannot always be fixed by simply eating healthy and exercising. That is to say if an obese person does eat healthy and exercise before they become sick with the various illnesses related to obesity (Heart Disease, Diabetes, etc.). True family history does also play a factor in those illnesses affecting a person's health. Obesity greatly increases those factors. In Conclusion may it be a side effect of some illness or be directly correlated to a person's life style obesity in the long run is a disease. A disease that effects tens of thousands if not millions of people in the United states, and across the globe for that matter. It is a serious issue that should be taken seriously and not written off as a poor life style choice.

Title: Obesity is not a disease, it's a choice. Content: There are many different definitions. Just because you choose a definition doesn't make you right. Obesity most of the time is caused by excessive amount of calories. People have choices, to be healthy or not. It's all up to them what they eat or don't eat, if they choose to exercise or not. They know if they eat unhealthy food more then likely they will gain more weight, compared to if they eat more healthy food they wont gain as much wait compared to junk food. My claim: 1)Obesity is a preventable risk factor for other diseases and conditions, and is not a disease itself. Like smoking is a preventable risk factor for lung cancer and drinking is a preventable risk factor for alcoholism, obesity is a preventable risk factor for coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cancers (like endometrial, breast, and colon), high cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides, liver and gallbladder disease, incontinence, increased surgical risk, sleep apnea, respiratory problems (like asthma), osteoarthritis, infertility and other reproductive complications, complications during pregnancy and birth defects, and mental health conditions. [42] [36] Women who gain 20 pounds or more between age 20 and midlife double their risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. [36] For every 2 pound weight increase, the risk of developing arthritis rises 9-13%. [36]. 2)Obesity is the result of eating too much. The suggested daily caloric intake for 31-50-year-olds is 1,800 calories for women and 2,200 calories for men. [7] In 2009-2010, 30-39-year-old women consumed an average 1,831 calories (which is 1.7% over the recommendation) while men of the same age consumed an average 2,736 calories per day (which is 22% over the recommendation). [3] The average American restaurant meal portion size is four times as large as portions in the 1950s and 96% of entrees at chain restaurants exceed dietary guidelines for fat, sodium, and saturated fat, with some almost exceeding daily intakes in one meal. [44] [45] The body is doing what it has evolved to do by converting excess calories into fat cells. The CDC recommends reducing consumption of sugar drinks (like sodas) and high-energy-dense foods to prevent and reduce obesity. [42] The Mayo Clinic states, "Having a diet that's high in calories, eating fast food, skipping breakfast, eating most of your calories at night, drinking high-calorie beverages and eating oversized portions all contribute to weight gain." Sources http://obesity.procon.org...

Title: Obesity is not a disease, it's a choice. Content: To make up for this if the Pro wants me to waive my final speech I will if I am told in their second speech. In addition I would like to note that as con and the person supporting the status quo, my opponent will bear the Burden of Proof. I agree with the definition of obesity provided, but would like to insert a few more. Disease:an illness that affects a person, animal, or plant : a condition that prevents the body or mind from working normally. http://www.merriam-webster.com...Choice:the act of choosing : the act of picking or deciding between two or more possibilities. http://www.merriam-webster.com...; Obesity is in fact a disease and not a choice. This is because it fits the definition of disease as it an ilness that affects a person, and ir prevents the body from working normally. It is not a choice, because one does not "choose" obesity. A person may make choices that lead to being obese, or even chose that they want to become obese, but the obesity itself is not a choice. Even if you disagree with my analysis, you must also look back again to the definition of choice. Obesity, even if one did choose to become obese, would be an option, not a choice. For all these reasons please vote Con. Good luck to the Pro.

Title: Obesity is a disease. Content: 1. Though you make a valid point on the fact that the choices of exercising and eating healthier there are many other factors that go into a person suffering from obesity. There are plenty of people who eat healthy and stay active yet still remain overweight, or obese. This is not because of any choices they made; it is because of a medical issue. Though this not mean it is entirely a genetic issue. Obesity is still largely related to ones genetics. A person can make all the right choices in life, eat healthy, stay active, and never sit still in a sense and yet they will remain overweight, or obese. Bottom line they remain this way due to the fact that their body's genetics simply can't lose weight because of its genetics. 2. Congrats to your father. 3. Though there is no illness that causes a person to eat all those fatty foods in the world. There are illnesses that cause them to be unable to lose the weight they do gain though the foods. These illnesses lead to them becoming overweight and then soon enough becoming obese, or just really overweight. It cannot always be helped, and just because some over the top BS pill will create a temporary fix for their weight. It does not mean every obese person should run out and get a lifetime supply of hydroxi cut or whatever the hell it's called. For that solution is exactly what it says it is. A temporary fix for the larger issue unless of course they constantly use these pills. For once the body has an outside source take over a bodily function it is difficult to return to a pure body experience. So every morning the person would have to wake up and take pills in order to stay "healthy" or skinny again. So i remain with my point that obesity is directly correlated to the fact that some people just have poor genetics that cause them to gain weight, but never lose it. While on the other hand there are people who can go out eat obscene amounts of unhealthy food and then sit on their couches all day and never gain a single pound. So as i said a person's weight is directly related to their genetics.

Title: Obesity is a disease Content: This rule is in place because the opponent will be arguing in the affirmative—and he who argues in the affirmative generally ought to initiate the debate. "What part of this didn't you understand, thebestdebate?

Title: Obesity is a disease. Content: Obesity is not a disease. Obesity is a lifestyle. People chose what to put into there bodies. No one drives you to McDonald's, forces you to buy a quarter ponder and consume it. These actions are choices. When you choose to eat burger containing 3x the amount of recommended calories, you should expect to gain weight. Not to mention the ones who wash down the burger with a coke and biggie size french fry. If you make these decisions you are not ill, you are negligent.

Title: Obesity is a disease. Content: Simply put obesity is an uncontrollable pandemic on our society. People do not have to have to eat an unprecedented amount of calories in order to become heavily overweight or obese as some people put it. People can just live their lives and become obese. It is a health issue not a sheer disregard of a person's health; some people just cannot help themselves when it comes to this issue. So just because someone gets a Super-Sized double quarter pounder from McDonalds with a coke, and milk shake does not mean they are obese. For if that logic was correct then soon enough most if not all of children will soon be obese. Sure it means there making a terrible choice with their lunch but it will not make them become obese as you have suggested, though it is not the bone of your argument or i would hope it wasn't anyway. But yet you make it seem that anyone who enjoys Fast Food will start to live a lifestyle of obesity which is a sad mistake and probably a biased outlook on a major issue of today's modern society. Anyone can become obese no matter what they eat. Foods are not the issue in obesity as media and people who are looking for a scapegoat make it seem. The real issue in this matter is a person's body. As a person's body can have many natural parts, act very unnatural, such as hormone imbalance, issues affecting a person's glands, as well as a slow metabolism. All these and other factors can play right into the hands of obesity and the risks that come with it, like Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and Heart Disease. These are all health issues not lifestyle choices, well last time i checked they were health issues not social, I could be mistaken, just saying.

Title: Obesity is not a disease, it's a choice. Content: My opponent has agreed tha Obesity is the result of choices, however has not rebutted the fact that this in itself makes it not a choice. She points out people make choices that lead to obesity, and attempts to rebut my statement that obesity is not being unhealthy. However, it still stands. Obesity is a specific condition that can lead to unhealthy consequences. I am not saying that being obese isn't unhealthy, I'm just saying that obesity isn't unhealthiness itself. For example, a smoker can be unhealthy without being obese. My opponent has said that I have not provided facts, but I have. Look to the definitions. Obesity fits all of the definitions for disease provided. It affects a person, animal, or plant and it is a condition that prevents the body or mind from working normally. My opponent has also pointed out cancer, and that it is not a disease because the don't choose to get it. However, this is not true. If you agree with my opponents logic, then you must admit that people who work as painters chose to work with carcinogens . http://www.inchem.org... therefore cancer is a choice. My opponent herself stated "Cancer is a disease". As we can see this is hypocritical and thus falls.

Title: Obesity is not a disease, it's a choice. Content: My opponent con states that "Obesity is not being unhealthy, or having fat. Obesity is a medical condition. Obesity is not a choice, it is the result of a series of choices. The result is distinct from the choice."He is right. A person makes choices on a daily basis knowing the consequence, of eating unhealthy food, yet they still do it, knowing that their choice will effect their life in a negative way. My opponent also states that "Obesity is not being unhealthy, or having fat" his claim is also incorrect. So exactly why is con wrong? Well here is why Obesity is unhealthy: Obesity is the number one cause of type 2 diabetes. The chances of getting diabetes increases more than tenfold if your body weight is higher than normal. Diabetes do all the bad things to your body. It can give many problems to your eyes, kidneys, and heart. Source: http://www.obesity-info.com... Con has not made any of his points clear other than saying that it IS a disease but yet not backing it up with any facts. Cancer is a disease, people don't choose to have cancer. Obesity is not a disease, they choose to become obese by the food they consume. Vote PRO!! :)

Title: Obesity is a disease. Content: Consuming calories and not exercising is how a person gains weight. Exercise and eating healthy food only helps control problems with hormone imbalance. In addition to good lifestyle choices there are medications a doctor can suggest to help. You aren't born obese and overweight individuals make changes everyday. My father was obese and made the choice to get off the couch and exercise. He made the choice to stop eating KFC, Taco Bell and Burger King on a daily Basis. His choices have resulted in loosing 100 pounds and overcoming what he had done to his body for so many years. The point of the matter is there is no illness that forces you to take in fatty foods and ignore exercise. You are correct that being overweight does lead to heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure and that only suggests that indeed being overweight is a contributor. A factor that definitely can cause an real disease such as diabetes. Obesity is a result of not caring for your body.

Title: Obesity is not a disease, it's a choice. Content: There are many definitions. However, we must have an agreed upon meaning of the resolution to debate. I believe my definitions are reasonable and encompass the meaning that they are suppossed it. You are also correct in that they don' make either of us right. Itis the way that they are used that wins debates. My opponent claims that people have choices, whether to be healthy or unhealthy. That is very true. She points out that if they make unhealthy choices they will gain weight. This is also very true. However, this does not matter, as this does not mean obesity. Obesity is not being unhealthy, or having fat. Obesity is a medical condition. Obesity is not a choice, it is the result of a series of choices. The result is distinct from the choice.Her claims merely expand upon the nature of becoming obese, they do not refute my points and they are rebutted by the points I have already made.As you did not ask me to waive my final speech, I will not.Good Luck to the Pro.

Title: More People Should Fat-Shame Women Content: Outline I. IntroII. Main argumentIII. ConclusionIV. Links I. Intro I will not address any of my opponent's points this round. Instead, I will make my argument this round and address my opponent's in round three. First, lets establish that obesity is a major problem. Obesity is a risk factor for cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Cancer "Obesity is associated with increased risks of the following cancer types, and possibly others as well: Esophagus Pancreas Colon and rectum Breast (after menopause) Endometrium (lining of the uterus) Kidney Thyroid Gallbladder"Diabetes "Obesity or being overweight. Research shows this is a top reason for type 2 diabetes. Because of the rise in obesity among U.S. children, this type is affecting more teenagers." [2]Heart disease "Coronary Heart DiseaseAs your body mass index rises, so does your risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). CHD is a condition in which a waxy substance called plaque (plak) builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your heart." [3] The real question is does fat shaming work? I contend tat fat shaming in an ineffective method of reducing obesity. In fact, fat shaming have the opposite effect. I will also give an alternative to fat shaming. II. Main argument Fat shaming has been proven to be ineffective. Both through scientific and anecdotal evidence. I know plenty of obese people in my life that have been fat shamed. They are still obese. Here's some scientific evidence "CONCLUSIONS:Our results indicate that rather than encouraging people to lose weight, weight discrimination promotes weight gain and the onset of obesity. Implementing effective interventions to combat weight stigma and discrimination at the population level could reduce the burden of obesity." [4] Instead, people need to be educated on the causes of obesity. Overeating is one cause but there are many others. Also, there are dietary tricks like eating high fiber foods to help curve appetite. Fiber "It has been suggested that sufficient fiber in the diet will tend to prevent excessive food intake" [5] Sleep "Thus, rodent obesity models also support an association between sleep and obesity.Improving sleep quality may be a clinical tool to treat obese individuals." [6]. Exercise " Not exercising in a given week was associated with a 35% incidence of obesity. Exercising for 30 minutes, 1-2 days a week, was associated with a 28% incidence of obesityHowever, the survey also showed that those who exercised every day were slightly more likely to be obese (20%) than those who say they exercised five or six days (19%)." [7]III. Conclusion In lieu of fat shaming education needs to be provided to everyone. Not just obese people. This way no discrimination takes place. Furthermore, many people I know that were young and normal weight are now extremely overweight. By taking a preemptive strike against obesity via education for normal weight people we eliminate shame. IV. Links1. http://www.cancer.gov...2. http://www.webmd.com...3. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov...4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...5. http://ajcn.nutrition.org...6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...7. http://www.webmd.com...

Title: There Should Be a Fat Tax Introduced Content: Despite the staggering increase in numbers of people who are obese, there is an increasing tendency on the part of health professionals to take a "non-judgmental" approach to such problems. The Labour government"s Foresight report blamed the rise in obesity on an "obesogenic environment" " explaining the problem as an inevitable consequence of modern, sedentary lifestyles. When interviewed on Radio 4"s Today programme recently, Alberic Fiennes, of the National Bariatric Surgery Registry, repeatedly referred to obesity as a "disease" " rather than a self-inflicted condition that people have the ability to control through willpower. Of course there are some illnesses and drug treatments which promote weight gain, but such a non-judgmental approach denies the importance of personal responsibility and passes the problem on an NHS which is increasingly unable to cope " particularly in the current economic climate " with everything that it is asked to do. It is unfair that the huge costs of treating and coping with obesity should be passed onto taxpayers. Why are fat people treated differently when public health policy does not take the same attitude towards people who harm their health by smoking or drinking too much? In each case, a tax is imposed which more than covers the cost to the NHS of treating diseases related to these activities. Tobacco taxes raise "9.3 billion a year for the Treasury " more than three times the "2.7 billion which the NHS annually spends treating smoking-related diseases. Alcohol taxes raise "8.3 billion a year, nearly three times the "3 billion annual cost of treating alcohol-related diseases. One of the arguments against a fat tax has been the fact that it would disproportionately hit the poor who are more likely to eat fatty, cheap and convenience processed foods. Indeed, a study by the Institute of Fiscal Studies in 2004 concluded that a tax similar to that now imposed in Denmark would cost the poorest 2 per cent of the population 0.7 per cent of their income. For the richest 10 per cent of the population, on the other hand, the impact would be minimal. Yet there is an easy way for the poor to avoid a fat tax: buy less fatty food. Meanwhile, as well as Denmark"s new fat tax, Hungary has also introduced a tax on all packaged foods containing unhealthy levels of sugar, salt, and carbohydrates, as well as products containing certain amounts of caffeine. Health experts believe such taxes will encourage food manufacturers to make products that have a reduced fat content " and that consumers won"t even notice the difference in taste " and they might be far healthier as a result. Besides ambulances, the NHS has also had to invest in specialist lifting equipment, including cushions at "2,500 a time and specialist stretchers costing between "7,000 and "10,000. The Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust spent "500,000 on extra-large furniture and equipment. In Lancashire, hospitals also spent "42,010 on giant birthing beds for obese women in labour, while Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Swindon spent "3,000 on just one set of scales able to weigh people up to 78st. Then there is the cost of bariatric surgery " an umbrella term for operations involving the reduction obesity, including gastric bands and gastric bypasses. In 2003/04, the NHS performed 470 such operations. That figure rose to 6,500 in 2009/10. Given that a gastric band costs between "5,000 and "7,000, and a gastric bypass between "8,000 and "14,000, this has become one of the fastest-growing drains on NHS budgets. Yet less than 1 per cent of obese patients are receiving the operations, and there is a great deal of pressure on the NHS to increase this percentage.

Title: Obesity is the most pressing issue that faces America today. Content: Obesity is obviously the most urgent issue in America today. As I stated above obesity affects 1 out of every three adults and 2 out of every 19 kids ages 2-19. Obesity does more than just make a person look bigger / fatter, it also increases the risk of many serious health conditions such as the following ; Heart disease in adulthood very high blood pressure high cholesterol high blood sugar type two diabetes certain types of cancer strokes Respiratory Disease Musculoskeletal Disorders and finally, obesity has been linked to high depression rates. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu...

Title: Being fat causes problems for everyone Content: Obesity causes huge medical costs - in the USA alone, around 150 billion dollars [6]. This is because obesity is linked to Type 2 Diabetes, cancer, heart problems, strokes, asthma and other medical problems. Many of these diseases need lifelong treatment following expensive diagnosis, and often emergency treatment. This not only has human effects, but causes problems for the economy due to being less productive at work and taking lots of medical leave. Due to obesity’s costs (financial and otherwise) to society, it can’t be considered as something that only affects individuals any more [7].

Title: Obesity is a public health issue . Content: All around the world, obesity has become a serious threat to public health. And the problem starts early on. In the US, for example, 17% of youth are obese4. Obesity itself has many consequences; most obviously on health such as increasing the risk of numerous diseases like heart disease, there are however economic costs both for treatment of these diseases, lost working days and due to less obvious costs such safety on transport and its resulting fuel cost.[1] Tackling obesity is therefore well within the purview of government policy. A failure to act might seriously affect the economic productivity of the nation, and even bankrupt healthcare systems[2]. A measure like the toy ban would be a first step to tackling the problem at the root, preventing children from growing up into obese adults. [1] Zahn, Theron, “Obesity epidemic forcing ferries to lighten their loads”, seattlepi, 20 December 2011, http://www.seattlepi.com/local/komo/article/Obesity-epidemic-forcing-fer... [2] “Obesity ‘could bankrupt the NHS’”. BBC. 15 December 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6180991.stm

Title: Obesity In America should we do something Content: Obesity In America is a big problem that's needs to be fixed. heart disease is a killer that is caused by diabetes that is cause by obesity argue if your against doing anything about it

Title: Our economy suffers because of unhealthy eating Content: Obesity is the cause of many diseases and cancers. Heart attacks and colon cancer are two of the most reported. 10-16% of cases of breast and colon cancer and heart attacks are said to be caused by obesity [[BMA, December 2007]]. These are long standing diseases which take a variety of drugs to cure or at least alleviate the symptoms. These drugs are expensive, and many people who have not caused their own disease miss out on new drugs as the NHS is not willing to pay the extra money for the drugs. If healthy eating were mandatory, then less money would be needed by the NHS to heal people who have eaten themselves to oblivion and more money can be spent on newer drugs.

Title: An individual's BMI is no longer a purely personal matter Content: The obesity epidemic is taking an enormous toll on global medical costs. In the US alone the health care costs attributable to either direct or indirect consequences of obesity have been estimated at $147bn.[1] Put into context, this amounts to roughly 9% of the health spending in the US.[2] The figure might seem excessive, but we need to remember that obesity is linked to Type 2 Diabetes, several kinds of cancer, coronary artery disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, asthma, chronic back pain and hypertension, to name just a few. We also need to realize that many of the diseases on this list are chronic in nature, requiring lifelong pharmacological therapy, which often follows complex and expensive diagnostic procedures, frequent medical specialist consultations, and not infrequent emergency interventions.[3] Adding to the list is the value of income lost due to decreased productivity, restricted activity, and absenteeism, not to mention the value of future income lost by premature death. Thus it becomes increasingly clear that due to the substantial cost obesity presents to the society, individual choices that might lead to excessive weight gain, can no longer be considered as solely individual in nature.[4] Therefore the government is legitimate in its action to introduce a form of a fat tax in order to try to dissuade the population from becoming obese and cover the increasing societal costs the already obese individuals are responsible for. [1] CDC, Obesity: Economic Consequences, published 3/28/2011, http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/causes/economics.html, accessed 9/12/2011 [2] RTI international, Obesity Costs U.S. About $147 Billion Annually, Study Finds, published 7/27/2009, http://www.rti.org/news.cfm?objectid=329246AF-5056-B172-B829FC032B70D8DE, accessed 9/14/2011 [3] The Council of State Governments, Costs of Chronic Diseases: What Are States Facing?, published in 2006, http://www.healthystates.csg.org/NR/rdonlyres/DA24108E-B3C7-4B4D-875A-74F957BF4472/0/ChronicTrendsAlert120063050306.pdf, accessed, 9/14/2011 [4] Los Angeles Times, Should there be a 'fat tax'?, published 4/11/2011, http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/11/opinion/la-ed-obesity-20110411, accessed 9/12/2011

Title: Obesity is a public health issue . Content: Even if we were to accept that the government has a role in combatting the so-called ‘obesity epidemic’, that does not justify it taking any measures it deems appropriate. The government should at the very least be able to prove that there is some link between the toys sold with the fast food meals and the rise in obesity. After all, the toys have been around since the late 70s. The ‘obesity epidemic’ is a far more recent phenomenon.

Title: Fat causes severe medical problems. Diseases connected with being overweight such as high blood pres... Content: The National Institute of Health (USA) spent several hundred million dollars trying to demonstrate a connection between eating fat and getting heart disease and it failed. Five major studies revealed no such link.

Title: Strict foods and nutrition guidelines be enforced in all public schools Content: Subject: Strict foods and nutrition guidelines be enforced in all public schools I pro will argue for the subject. Con will argue against the subject. Strict food and nutrition guidelines are needed to prevent obesity. Obesity is no joking matter as seen below. "Morbidity secondary to overweight and obesity include type 2 diabetes, dislipemia, hypertension, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, cholelithiasis, osteoarthritis, heart insufficiency, sleep apnoea, menstrual changes, sterility and psychological alterations." Nutr Hosp. 2004 Nov-Dec;19(6):319-24. "Obesity is increasingly being recognized as a risk factor for a number of benign and malignant gastrointestinal conditions. However, literature on the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is sparse and ambiguous. There is compelling evidence that both overnutrition and undernutrition negatively interfere with the immune system. Overnutrition has been found to increase susceptibility to the development of inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases and cancer" World J Gastroenterol. 2010 Oct 14; 16(38): 4762"4772. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...

Title: Should Americans get help beating obesity. Content: The current social situation that America is in is only the tip of the iceberg. 65 % of American adults suffer from obesity and 1 in 3 children are obese. The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. last year was $147 billion. Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death. Obesity is no longer just a social concern. If obesity continues to rise in the future then it will impact business productivity, the economy, housing, transport. It will change our future for the worst. However just like with issues such as smoking and child mortality persistent efforts create an impact. This epidemic is now part of the American culture .Children are growing up not knowing about healthy eating habits. Findings from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggest that kids ages 2-18 get most of their calories from two foods groups: Milk, Cakes/cookies/quick bread/pastry/pie. Their fat comes mainly from cheese and from crackers/popcorn/pretzels/chips. As these children grow up, this core issue subjects itself into a cycle where communities not making healthy choices, not in the sense that they don"t know about basic nutrition such as a candy bar being worse than a carrot but, in the sense of including variety, correct portion sizes and moderation. To say that obesity is an issue of willpower is no longer viable because if we look around at the food being given to our generation absolutely everything we eat (apart from fruit and vegetables contains fat and sugar). American are constantly exposed to toxin foods that are affordable (a lot more than fresh fruit and vegetables), heavily promoted, and good tasting. If people don"t know the correct methods to ensure healthy eating habits then there is no way obesity can be overcome. There is a clear disconnection between what is and what should be and the way this can changed is by providing more effect tools and creating harmony between communities and the government. Communities need to be continual informed of the advantages of a healthy lifestyle and the realistic ways they can obtain it. Kelly Ward a professor of psychology, epidemiology, and public health at Yale University suggests this: subsidize the cost of healthy foods, so they cost less; increase the cost of bad foods, so they cost more; regulate food advertising aimed at children; and develop more opportunities for people to be more physically active". In 2010 a study was released by The Trust for American Health that stated that 80% of Americans recognised that obesity was an issue. In the 5 years since, communities have been working to actively engage more people into physical activity (through programmes such as Shape Up) as well as obtain healthier eating habits. How do we do this if Americans do not get the help they need? People need to have the tools, the knowledge, the assistance and guidance to be able to make the change. Intervention must occur to break the cycle we are in. https://www.cspinet.org... http://www.usatoday.com... http://www.psychologytoday.com...

Title: Being fat causes problems for everyone Content: The USA is not a good place to take figures from as its health sector is very expensive and inefficient compared to most other countries [9]. If anything, that is getting worse. It’s not possible to say if the rising cost of healthcare is due to obesity related disease, as there are numerous other possibilities such as the risk of doctors being sued, an aging population, and spiraling drug costs. Also, there are other lifestyle choices that can cause problems, for example eating meat can contribute to cancer [10], we should not single out one lifestyle choice that can cause problems over others.

Title: We should introduce a 'fat tax' Content: Statistics (1) More than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. Adults are obese. Non-Hispanic blacks have the highest age-adjusted rates of obesity (47.8%) followed by Hispanics (42.5%), non-Hispanic whites (32.6%), and non-Hispanic Asians (10.8%). (2) Non-Hispanic meaning not Latin American e.g the United States and its Hispanic neighbours. Obesity is higher among middle age adults, 40-59 years old (39.5%) than among younger adults, age 20-39 (30.3%) or adults over 60 or above (35.4%) adults. Amazingly, (3) shows that no state or territory has <20% of obesity in the US population. Australia is also horrendous, (4) in the fact that 63% of adults are obese, 25% of children are overweight or obese and that it is the 2nd highest contributor to burden of disease.Overweight and obesity (high BMI) is the second highest contributor to burden of disease, after dietary risks. Smoking is the third highest. The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. Was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. Dollars; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. Never the less, it proves that the USA, UK and Australia is some of the most obese countries in the world, thanks to Con's points. (5) Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980. In 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 600 million were obese.39% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2014, and 13% were obese. Most of the world's population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight. 42 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2013. Obesity is preventable. NHS and diseases The tax was introduced in October 2011, (6) in an attempt to limit the population’s intake of fatty foods, and reduce obesity rates. According to the Danish National Health and Medicines Authority, 47% of Danes are overweight and 13% are obese (UK). Any food with a saturated fat content of more than 2.3 per cent will be taxed at a rate of 16 kronor (£1.85) per kilogram of saturated fat. The move will add the equivalent of 25p to a pack of butter and 8p on a pack of crisps. This is statistically working on our society, changing peoples decisions on food. Appallingly, with obesity numbers rising so fast — with it estimated that by 2050 the cost to the NHS (at current prices) could reach £9.7 billion a year — the wider cost to society might push £50 billion (7) The National Health Service: in the UK, a system that provides free medical care and is paid for through taxes. The NHS should certainly not be wasting money on obese patients, but with obesity, comes many diseases. (8) High blood pressure- Above people who are 25, 75 million people that are obese suffer from High blood pressure. Diabetes- 90% of people who have diabetes suffer from type 2 diabetes. Heart disease- people who are under 45 have the greatest risk of getting heart diseases. Cancer- if you are obese you have a 50% chance of getting cancer. Depression- depression increases by 55% if you are obese. Gallstones- If you are a women, gallstones can deeply effect you. There are many more diseases, but I just named a few. Impact on the Minority Con stated at the bottom of paragraph five that 'most people don't likes paying taxes, especially when they do nothing for them'. In the fact that 63% of adults in Australia, 34.9% of US, 25% of UK and 39% of adults world wide are obese; don't you think we are in a way helping the wider people to live. Helping decrease cancer risks and other diseases, we are truly helping our society. 'Most people including myself eat chocolate, cake, and biscuits yet have a healthy lifestyle. It is not harmful to treat yourself now and then' states Con. I agree, but most people cannot control themselves and end up eating more than one/two pieces. I do a lot of sport, so when I go to school with my friends we have ice-cream every lunch and share lollies. (Now I think about it) my friends are overweight. Unless you even up the food with fitness it is okay, but some people could have 1 large fries from MacDonald's, chips, lollies, gum and 2 pieces of chocolate cake. You can't burn that off unless you do 5 hours f intense training. Burpees are hard- jump, push up, get up and repeat.(9) You have to do 524 burpees to burn off 1 large fries from Maccas. Fatter foods 'Many foods like cheese, butter, and milk will fall into the unhealthy label, when actually they can be good for you, and better than alternatives like margarine, so people trying to eat more healthily may find it harder financially to achieve their goal'- Con. Instead of full cream milk or fat milk, there is always the alternative of skim milk or low fat milk. Milk isn't unhealthy as it has many essential vitamins like calcium. Calcium helps your body develop stronger bones, hair, skin, nails and in general it is good for your body. Margarine and butter are basically the same. Butter has more fat than margarine but margarine has more chemicals than butter. The two won't be 'fat' because for a sandwich or a piece of toast you only add a bit. Unless you go eating the whole tub, margarine and butter are healthy in small quantities. Technically, financial matters will even out. If everyone ate healthily in the first place, we wouldn't have to get the 'fat tax.' Besides that, there would be less waist on money and resources for obese people. Such as the 'lager people ambulance'. Cheap food isn't good for you, you would end up getting not enough vitamins into your body. Then you'd have to use money on pills, treatment, doctors appointments etc. It all works out in the end. Fat tax benefits The fat tax will ensure the hospitals facilities and ambulances, it will make our society healthier, it will decrease the amount of deaths and will make the environment more of a healthy happy place. Overall, the Fat Tax will certainly be of benefit to our economy. Decreasing deaths and diseases whilst increasing well-being and healthy life style, the Fat Tax is a brilliant invention; helping our society to be a healthier place. Sources:' Statics' websites: (1) http://www.cdc.gov... (2) http://dictionary.reference.com... (3) http://www.cdc.gov... (4) http://www.aihw.gov.au... (5) http://www.who.int... 'NHS and diseases' websites:(6) http://www.dailymail.co.uk... (7) http://www.macmillandictionary.com...(8) https://www.mediweightlossclinics.com... 'Impact on the minority' websites:(9) http://www.urbandojo.com... 'Fat Tax benefits' websites:(10) http://www.heraldsun.com.au...

Title: Parents Should be Blamed for Their Child's Obesity Content: YEAH IM KNEW TO THIS WHOLE DEBATE THING..... OKAY MY OPPONENT SAID that diseases were out of the debate but the fact that obesity IS a DISEASE so how can we leave disease out of the entire thing?!?!?!?! My opponent killed the main factor of why kids are obese in the first place. Dude in case you didn't know Obesity is a disease!!!!!!!! My opponents argument should be completely thrown out because as I have previously stated OBESITY IS A DISEASE MY OPPONENT FAILED TO RECOGNIZE THAT SO THE CASE IS MINE!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU TO MY OPPONENT AND ALL VOTERS!!!!!!!!!

Title: P.E. Should not be a required class in public schools Content: Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. About one out of six children and adolescents ages six to 19 are obese.1 As these children grow older, they have a much greater for daily, quality physical education in our nation"s schools to give children a healthy head start on life. A GROWING SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE: SERIOUS HEALTH CONSEQUENCES " Unfortunately, even obese pre-schoolers, are risk than their healthy weight peers of developing and 2 dyingfromchronicdiseasesinadulthood. Some showing some of the biomarkers related to 13 experts claim that by 2015, 75% of adults will be 3,4 cardiovascular risk. " A recent study showed that the plaque buildup in overweight with 41% obese. One important way to stop this rise in obesity and chronic disease in our children is by establishing lifelong physical activity habits with strong physical education programs and regular physical activity opportunities throughout the day in our nation"s schools. Children must be physically active at school and learn about keeping healthy through exercise and a balanced diet. Regular physical activity is associated with a healthier, longer life and lower risk of CVD, the neck arteries of obese children is similar to 14 those levels seen in middle-aged adults. " Along with rising obesity rates, the rate of prescription drug use by children for diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol is 15 increasing. " Other research suggests that regular participation in physical education classes helps reduce obesity in low-income teenagers who are disproportionally affected by the childhood 16 obesity epidemic. " A recent nationwide survey of school principals showed that kids are more likely to get the recommended amount of recess and physical education if they live in states or districts with policies that call for more of those types of activity.14 " Sedentary lifestyles are linked to 23% of all U.S. high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and some 5 cancers. If the lessons of lifetime physical activity and healthy food and beverage choices are modeled at both school and home, children will have the optimal foundation for healthy living. 6 Research shows that healthy children learn more effectively 7 andachievemoreacademically. Unfortunately, many schools are cutting back on traditional physical education programs because of budgetary concerns and competing academic demands.8 Beyond the impact on chronic disease, physical inactivity and obesity place a significant burden on our society. Nearly 17% of U.S. medical costs are attributed to the treatment of obesity9 and estimates for treatment of childhood obesity are approximately $14.3 billion.10 Obesity and lack of physical fitness in America"s youth also affect our national security. Senior former military leaders report that 27% of young Americans are too overweight to serve in the military.11 Around 15,000 potential recruits fail their physicals every year because they are too heavy.12 The American Heart Association strongly advocates 17 " Children"s physical activity level drops 18 ACTIVE CHILDREN THRIVE ACADEMICALLY AND SOCIALLY Physically active children are more likely to thrive academically and socially. Through effective physical education, children learn how to incorporate safe and healthy activities into their lives. Physical education is an integral part of developing the "whole" child for success in social settings and the learning environment. " Evidence suggests that physical activity has a positive impact on cognitive ability, avoiding tobacco deaths from major chronic diseases. dramatically between the ages of 9 and 15. ￼American Heart Association 􏰀 Advocacy Department 􏰀 1150 Connecticut Ave. NW 􏰀 Suite 300 􏰀 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: (202) 785-7900 􏰀 Fax: (202) 785-7950 􏰀 www.heart.org/advocacy ￼

Title: The Government has a Responsibility to Combat Obesity Content: And thank you for accepting! As side pro, I will be arguing that obesity is a serious problem that requires a solution, and government intervention is the answer. First, we must define what obesity is. Obesity is a growing problem in countries such as Canada, the U.S. Australia, and the U.K. [1] When a person is obese, not only are numerous health problems a direct result, [1] it causes a strain on economies where healthcare is public. [2] In summary, obesity is an extreme problem, damaging to health and the country's economy. It is obvious that this problem must be solved, so then the question falls to what action should be taken. Pro's side of the argument suggests government intervention. To reinforce this, I will use the example of tobacco smoking. Smoking cigarettes irrefutably is the cause of many illness, ranging from heart failure to lung cancer. Yet it was a growing trend for a large part of the 20th century. (Due to lack of information.) When information was present that showed cigarettes were damaging, the public refused to stop the habit. It was only when the government intervened, that things started to change. They raised the tax on cigarettes, which raised the price. They also began lengthy education programs in school, with the aim of education children on the horrible affects. [3] As a result, cigarette smoking has been on the decline since, and with it, many types of illness. In summary, government intervention was the solution for the national crisis which was smoking; individual intervention did not result in the decline of smoking. The above argument can be related to obesity as well. Information is now being shown on just how damaging being overweight really is. Yet, as of 2014, obesity is on the incline. A government is morally responsible to act in the best interest of it's society. That means introducing taxes, advertising programs, and health programs to reduce obesity. [1]http://www.worldometers.info... [2]http://www.yaleruddcenter.org... [3]http://www.euro.who.int...

Title: Obesity is the most pressing issue that faces America today. Content: Thanks.

Title: Fat causes severe medical problems. Diseases connected with being overweight such as high blood pres... Content: Fat causes severe medical problems. Diseases connected with being overweight such as high blood pressure, cancer, heart diseases, diabetes etc. are the cause of over 50% of deaths in the Arab world. If a fat tax is introduced, fat consumption will fall as consumers save money by buying non-fatty foods. Lower fat and fat-free foods will abound and the society will benefit. Citizens will be leaner, healthier, happier and more productive.

Title: We should use the term ‘fat' instead of ‘obese' Content: Thanks for the debate, yada yada yada. Now then. Consider for a moment the consequences of you actions Brian. Obesity becomes, well, fatness, hugeness, lardiness, whatever, but that doesn't solve the problem, does it? See the nice thing about a word like "obesity" is that it's an easily-affixed suffix to words like "dangerously" "morbidly" and so on. Additionally, obesity as a word is meant to be one up from fat, the same way that love is greater than like, and that hate is greater than dislike, and I quote: :Wikipedia said: :Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. http://en.wikipedia.org... In other words, a fat person is fat, but is at less risk than an obese person. I'm fat, I weigh about a hundred kilograms, but I'm six foot one and I go to the gym and do so to build muscle alongside some cardio training, as a result I've become much stronger physically over the past year but my weight hasn't changed. By the standards of the bullsh!t BMI, I'm obese, looking at me, I still appear to be fat because I can't lose the fat in my face and my stomach, though smaller, is still too round for my tastes, but I'm fat by most people's standards, I'm not obese. By mixing the two you're putting unnecessary strain on people that are fat and you're making obese people more relaxed, not less, about their weight, because to be fat is different than to be obese. Additionally...are you really going to focus on women's appeal as leverage for this debate? Has it never occurred to you that there are fat dudes too? Worse yet that these fat dudes may be totally cool with a curvy girlfriend. Hell, send the fat 50% of the female population my way if they trouble you so much, either I'll get tons of exercise or they will. Besides, if being insulted motivates you to lose weight then you're losing weight for the wrong reasons, and insults heal pretty damn quick compared to, say, being told you're gonna die. Insults or death, insults or death, which would you choose? Insults of course. Not only should obese people be referred to as such, but I think it should be expanded so that dangerously obese and morbidly obese become commonly used terms to refer to them to remind them of the dangers to their health. Losing weight is pretty hard once you get past the half-stone or so of water that under-exercised bodies contain, and old habits die hard, but you can't seriously suggest risking people's lives and confusing a simple little system of identification simply because you aren't getting enough tail.

Title: Obesity epidemics justify mandatory calorie counts Content: Obesity is a major problem around the world, and particularly in the United States. It is so bad that it certainly justifies taking decisive actions such as mandating the labeling of menus in restaurants.

Title: Obesity can be a psychological problem and should be treated as such Content: Many people suffering from overeating do so compulsively as a result of psychological problems. For example a depressed person might comfort eat to feel better. Why should these people be punished instead of helped?

Title: Obesity In America should we do something Content: I Agree with my opponent about not being able to force people to fight their obese problems, but their are many obese people who want to make a change for example Jamie Oliver a chef from England is not obese but tries his best to change other people's eating habits. Forcing people is obviously not an option but getting people to help is, the United States is the 3rd most obese country in the world behind Mexico and Australia and that is a substantial problem Obesity in childhood can add up to health problems"often for life. In adults, overweight and obesity are linked to increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes (high blood sugar), high blood pressure, certain cancers, and other chronic conditions.

Title: Obesity can be a psychological problem and should be treated as such Content: It is self inflicted. I eat a lot but I work or excercise. Obesity is called a terrible desease. It is only terrible because of idilitis and the amount of money folk have to gorge themselves.Ask your parents or grandparents how many fat folk there were years ago,rare.So it is not an illness,there were more depressed folk years ago so that is no excuse. Rubbish food is no excuse,we all eat it. Smokers pay a lot of extra tax but the obese are costing the nhs(tax payer) far more with larger ambulances,inhouse lifts and stairlifts,more paramedics to lift them,hospital beds and refrigerators in the morgues. And its down to being idle and a glutton, one cannot do both. A girlfriend of mine who weighs 8 stone has to pay excess if her bags are a bit over at the airport, then a 20 st person climbs aboard at no extra charge, where is the justification in that ?. She bought her teams rugby shirt,child size. She paid the same price as the person buying an xxl, where's the justification in that ? triple the amount of cloth. Its the same in all clothes shops, its not right. If you purchase material they charge per mtr. Yes charge them more,they are not paying extra tax, it will go towards the forthcoming gastric band they may require because they have no will power. Having worked with depressed people for many years it was rarely an excuse for obesity,its a new thing because they can. If we returned to stateing they are FAT instead of obese this would help.

Title: americas weight probem is only getting worse Content: The true question to be asked here, is this: Do your arguments prove beyond any doubt that obesity, in America, will never be solved? (This is your job in the Pro position) Because as of right now, we can only treat it but, we have not found a cure. We do not know what our future entails for us, but I do know that I believe in America, and just as it has in the past, it will conquer every disease and cancer that fills it's land. Until someday, we no longer face these problems, and freedom and basic needs are supplied to the entire world. Someday, we will no longer have diseases, including obesity (which will prove an easier one to solve), and since we are always moving towards that day, hundreds, thousands, or hundreds of thousands of days away: All problems are getting better including the problem that is obesity.

Title: Obesity is on the increase in the developed world, and that includes rising childhood obesity. In t... Content: Obesity is on the increase in the developed world, and that includes rising childhood obesity. In the UK it is predicted that over 20% of 2-15 year olds will be obese by 2010. It is important to fight obesity as it causes many health problems and can lead to early death through heart diease, diabetes and strokes.

Title: how do you think what suffering from is the worst : obesity or being thin? prove by arguments Content: I do agree that some obese people have diseases, like many thin people have anorexia. However, I don't agree with you that an obese person doesn't eat a lot. He does. I myself was over 150 pounds when I was only ten. I didn't have any illness or problem in my digestive system, I just ate and didn't do enough exercise at the end of the day to burn the calories I needed to stay I good shape. That's how people get obese, at least the majority of them. Later on they might get a disease relating to their digestive system due to the fact that they have had a long history of over eating and surrounding their whole body in fat, which is never healthy. Of course this doesn't go to all people, some have illnesses, some don't. On the other hand, I also disagree with you when you say that obese people no matter how hard they work there is no outcome. I've seen it happen, read, and heard about it. Out of the top of my head these are a few people who went from obese to thin. You don't have to watch the whole video, or read the whole article, just either read the headline or parts of it to get an idea:http://www.youtube.com...http://www.youtube.com... These are two very inspirational people who have lost more than 400-650 pounds each naturally, with diet and dedication.It was a really nice debate :) If you have any other interesting debates in mind please do write my name in the opponent part ;)

Title: Fatness ! Content: I will now clarify my point because it is said that it is confusing. Being obese is disease, it doesn’t mark who you are, your self-worth, or how great you can act or sing. It is relevant to this because it is a fact. Now a fact is not an argument in whole but it adds to your argument itself. So my point “being theoretically true” is relevant to this discussion. I would like to say that my opponent concedes that not all people are fat because they want to be, by saying, “What matters is that people don't get fat against their will (most the time).” He is proving my point that not all people choose to be that way and it is therefore a disease. My opponent says, “People get fat when they eat more calories than they burn, simple. Eating too much, and eating the wrong type of foods, often reflect psychological problems and so are not just a 'hobby' or a 'choice' they mean more than that for some people.” Now this is not relevant to this debate. The debate is on why fat people should not be in the media, not if it is a hobby or a choice. My opponent has not fulfilled his burden of proof by showing any substantial evidence proving that having “fat” people in the media hurts anyone. My opponent also said, “Also, overweightness reflects problems in society and culture, again not a inevitable 'disease' or life choice, a problem.” Yes, it does reflect on our society it shows that not all a person is are looks, and they are not just for pleasure, it shows that they are a human being striving to show to us what they are going through and that people with diseases can overcome their outward appearance and look to who they are and what their talents are. He never proved why the reflection on our culture is a bad thing and I have shown you how it is actually turned into a good thing. It looks as if I should clarify this point also. I am saying that 92% of women are not what media shows as perfect. If you glamorize people who are perfect without showing that the other 92% are beautiful or talented in their own ways you are saying that they have little self-worth. “You say people with diseases who are attractive will be deemed unworthy of the media. I don't know how to respond to this, that's not at all what I am saying...” There is no response, this is what your logic implies. “I have nothing against people with diseases being on T.V, indeed it is good to open peoples eyes to other lives, also it helps other sufferers feel less alone.” Good then there is nothing wrong with showing people who have weight issues that they can be beautiful. “But these are conditions such as neurological conditions or personality disorders or things which hinder their physical life.” You have shown no proof why obese people don’t have neurological conditions or personality disorders or things which hinder their physical life. My opponent has again brought up no facts on this point; he also has not proven that medical doctors believe this. This can be discounted. “Heroin addiction is classed by some as a disease, but one would not try to make an addict look acceptable and okay just to make other addicts feel more okay about their problem.” My opponent has again brought up no facts on this point; he also has not proven that medical doctors believe this. This can be discounted. “And before you say I cannot compare the two, I can.” Of course you can, you could cuss me off if you wanted too but that doesn’t make it right. Now another thing you shouldn’t do is bring up assertions without any facts backing up your claim… My opponent has again brought up no facts on this point. This point can be discounted. “Being overweight kills far more people than heroin and it is more dangerous to be overweight than to smoke, drink, take cocaine/ecstasy and marijuana.” Proof? You must bring up proof for the things you say. My opponent has again brought up no facts on this point. This can be discounted. “I have yet to find a time or culture where being fat is respectable or is the result of, of in association with, respectful behaviour.” My opponent has again brought up no facts on why this is not true, just because he has never seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. This can be discounted, but first let me educate you on this. :) It is a widely known fact that in Africa there are many fathers and husbands that cannot provide their families with very much food. Now when a woman gets fat it is a sign of plenty, abundance, and good health. So yes, there are cultures that believe being fat is a good thing. “You continue to drive this point of depression, saying, you need to show fat people so other fat people don't feel bad about their condition.” Yes, that’s what I’m saying. I’m also saying that fat people have every right to be in media as anyone else, and that fat people are worth something and have talents that should also be brought to life. You have not proven why this is false, this can be discounted. “No, we need to takle the factors that cause over eating and bad eating habbits, such as bad foods in the market, depressive lifestyle etc. The way forward is not to glamourize fat, but to eradicate it.” That’s what we have organic food and Michelle Obama for. Also, you can’t just take companies out of production, just because you feel like it. I’d like you all to remember what I said in my first round that Jenifer Lawrence has been deemed too fat, if she has who will be next? Now for all of you who have skimmed through this debate I would like to fill out your ballot for you. Grammar and spelling: Flow Con. Pro has misspelled the words: habits, tackle, and fat. And used the incorrect form of many words such as take and used the word peoples instead of people’s. Conduct: Flow Pro. He has been a great opponent and hasn’t been picking on grammar or facts. Sources: Flow Con, Pro had blind assertions with no facts. And last but not least, Arguments: Flow Con because Pro has not fulfilled his burden of proof by showing why beautiful fat people hurt our country and he also conceded that not all people are fat because they are lazy.

Title: Smoking should be treated as a drug and made illegal in NZ. Content: If I may say obesity and smoking are two totally different things. Smoking: An act or spell of smoking something. Obesity: The condition of being very fat or overweight... I rest my case... The healthcare system could hardly refuse to treat people in need (smokers), after all how would that reflect on NZ? If someone needs treatment they need treatment, it is not something we can control. Smokers are PURPOSELY wasting their lives away, signing a death warrant and costing our health system a heck of a lot of money. Where as obese people are victims of fatty food, they just eat and eat, a guilty pleasure that in some cases can not be controlled.I will not argue that smoking is very addicting and once you start you cant stop but self control is a skill smokers need to master... Obese people are not costing the health system half as much money as careless smokers, that is a fact in concrete. Something you cannot deny... Here is a list of diseases caused by smoking... Gum disease Lung Cancer Heart disease Lung disease Diabetes Impotence Blindness... The list goes on and on... I recently interviewed a smoker and questioned her about the pros and cons of smoking, here is what she said: Zoe: I made a list of what I liked about smoking vs. what I hated about smoking ... and though I really missed it at first, looking at this list made me see that I didn't like smoking as much as I thought I did. What I Liked about Smoking: The bonding I experienced with other smokers. The feeling of creating a ritual. Watching the cigarette burn and watching the smoke swirl. Momentary gratification. What I Hated about Smoking: The after-smell on my clothes, furniture, car, house, everything. Yuck. Not being able to breathe properly. The constant nagging cough. All day, all night. Lots of phlegm, lots of throat-clearing and losing my voice mid-sentence. Painful heartburn every night and every time I drank coffee. Feeling winded after extremely mild activity. Severe throbbing headaches, occasional migraines. Lingering colds and bronchitis. Racing heartbeat, more sweating. Increased rate of hypertension. Dizziness after smoking too fast or [having] too many cigarettes. Nausea from smoking too much. The constant coppery, ashy taste in my mouth. Yellow skin, teeth and fingernails. Scaly, unhealthy-feeling skin. Anxiety from the fear about what I was doing to myself and the consequences. No relaxation, always feeling in need of something. A constant feeling of not being satisfied. Mini-withdrawals throughout the day. Feelings of shame while spending time with nonsmokers. Not accomplishing tasks because of wasted time smoking. The late-evening/middle-of-the-night trip to the gas station. Going out in bad weather to smoke alone. Feelings of inadequacy and substance dependence. Driving my cat out of the room every time I lit up. Dry mouth and constant feelings of thirst. Coughing so hard that I made myself sick. Trembling hands and fingertips. Fear. Of being unable to quit, of dying an untimely, painful death. The stinging feeling in my lungs when I tried to take a deeper or slower breath. Getting smoke in my eyes. Burning my lips on the filter. Trying to light short butts and feeling my eyebrows singe. Ouch! Re-lighting a previously torched cigarette, so I don't "waste" any tobacco. Overflowing ashtrays, ashes and dust everywhere. Burn holes in my car upholstery and on my clothes. "Will I fall asleep smoking?" "Will I catch something on fire?" Dry, chapped lips. The cost. All that money wasted on ruining my health and well-being. My nails and hair grew very slowly. Smoking fueled my compulsiveness relating to other bad habits, such as nail-biting and binge-eating. Having to reapply my lipstick after smoking. The filthy taste of cheap tobacco. Having to crack the car window in the pouring rain. Wet leg, wet arm, water in my eyes. Tar build-up on windows and furniture. The way my hair and skin smelled. Limited motivation and energy. Spilled tobacco in my purse, on my dresser, on my computer desk. Lighting the filter end by mistake... Dropping a cigarette while driving. Trying to tap my ashes out the car window ... while the window is rolled up. Dropping hot ashes or losing the tip of a cigarette. Oops! Tapped ashes in my drink. Feeling "exiled" in the smoking section/smoking room. Dulled sense of taste and smell. So here she was aware what smoking was doing and had done to her and yet she still to this day continues to smoke, she is trying to stop, she is doing everything in her power to out a stop to the bad habit but all her efforts are pointless. Nicotine patches and gum haven't worked for her. The people selling and distributing cigarettes are ending peoples lives, they have lost sight of everything and have been overwhelmed by greed. They do not care that every second of everyday people are dying, due to the effects of smoking... Let me tell you a story... My mother's father, a famous politician, smoked. They lived on a farm with animals, aside from the abundant fruits and vegetables they grew, they had also a small tobacco plantation. He dies at age 60, a waste of a life, my mother was at his side when he died and she has since vowed to try everything in her power to stop friends and family from smoking. I , nor my siblings ever got to meet our grandfather, a real shame as we have been told several stories about him, I am told I am like him but that is not enough, I wish I had the chance to meet him. He is just another victim of smoking. Smoking is a disgrace, I wonder what the reaction would be if smokers knew that an ingredient in rat poison is also found to be in cigarettes... Once again, I rest my case...

Title: Poverty is becoming one of the leading causes of obesity in children and young adults today. Content: After doing extensive research, I've found that poverty is one of the leading causes for obesity today for many reasons. One of the reasons is their low income, and not being able to afford health food. Today, the cheapest food is also the most unhealthy food, leading to morbidly obese rates in children and young adults. Also, they do not have access to gym facilities, which doesn't help this issue.

Title: Obesity is the most pressing issue that faces America today. Content: Oh wow... yeah idont hunk I'm prepared for this I'm just going to forfeit... that was a really nice job by the way...

Title: The united States should eliminate Transfat within the schools nutritional service Content: ===My case=== By arguing that obesity was and is still bad for the United States, I also argue that Trans Fat is bad for you simply because Trans Fat is the leading cause of obesity within our various school zone. ===My Opponent Case=== In his first paragraph, my opponent argues that obesity is a very dangerous disease as we know it in which i agree with him however; he clearly failed to state exactly what causes these intense amount of Carbs within our body especially towards the young age. Transfat is what causes this amount of Carbs within the body during our young age and other excess amount of foods have little to no effect on our YOUNG ages and especially during school days. Within his second paragraph, my opponent states that the children could go to "McDonald's" to acquire a greater amount of Trans fat however he also neglected the fact that the school is most influential to a child and in most cases carry on to adulthood. Finally i would like to address the fact that the alternatives that my opponent stated are simply ineffective due to the lack of funding, lack of knowledge, ignorance, and most of all lack of time and economic disadvantages. i would encourage my opponent to state different alternatives that would be more effective than the elimination of TransFat within the school NUTRITIONAL SERVICE. Thank you.

Title: Smoking is as bad a Obesity Content: Yes you have, you have stated equall pro's in each!!!I believe obesity is worse because you become fat as well as several diseases such as Tiredness, endometrial cancer etc.Evidence: http://www.mindbiz.com.au...;

Title: Videogames are a good thing Content: First of all, you claim that video games aren't to blame, but the APA Task Force on Violent Media, did a research. "The research demonstrates a consistent relation between violent video game use and increases in aggressive behaviour, aggressive cognitions and aggressive affect, and decreases in pro-social behaviour, empathy and sensitivity to aggression." They found out that most of the kids, had either thrown a controller, or cursed in-game or at other people in the room. But let's go back to health. Video games cause a lot of socialising problems, either making them "awkward", or to not focus in school. As I said before, not focusing in school, makes it harder to get through the year without lots of stress. If you are addicted to video games, you're most-liking over wait, which isn't healthy. "Obesity is a serious, chronic disease that can have a negative effect on many systems in your body. People who are overweight or obese have a much greater risk of developing serious conditions, including: Heart disease. Type 2 diabetes." Quoted by Stanford University. Video games are very bad for your eyes, if you're staring at the screen for hours, your eyes are getting overused. You need to keep your eyes healthy, without too much bright screens. You're saying some video games make you read, well I can 100% tell you. Right now, go to the library, pick up a book, and you will find out what true reading is. Why not solve other puzzle types in real life, you shouldn't use that example in your defence. Lots of the things you're saying is good, can be done 5x better in real life. Using your imagination is way more healthier than playing a adventure game, make your imagination test it's self. With all these problems going on with the world, go outside, have some fun. Instead of being locked up in a room, playing a game. Get some exercise, you and your body will love it, and while you're doing that, eat healthier. Fastfood might be tasty, but trust me, if you eat and drink healthier, it'l make you happy. Instead of eating a chocolate bar, or a bag of chips, eat some fruit. It's time for you to change, to change for the good. Nice debating with you, hope you change your mind, AND BRING ON THE HEAALTHY LIFE!

Title: Curb childhood Obesity for USA Content: My opponent agrees with me that obese people are being discriminated against, that the cause IS because of their surroundings, (like I have mentioned) but he also said that we should not help them. Sir, I would like to point out that many children are being affected by this disorder and the effects that come with it such as: >Type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes (an autoimmune disease that results in destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas.) >Cardiovascular disease >Stroke >Hypertension (high blood pressure) >hypothyroidism (caused by insufficient production of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland.) >Dyslipidemia (a disruption in the amount of lipids in the blood.) >Hyperinsulinemia (where excess levels of circulating insulin are in the blood) >Insulin resistance (the condition in which normal amounts of insulin are inadequate to produce a normal insulin response from fat, muscle and liver cells.) >Glucose intolerance >Congestive heart failure >Angina pectoris >Cholecystitis >Cholelithiasis >Osteoarthritis >Gout (a disease created by a build up of uric acid. In this condition, crystals of monosodium urate or uric acid are deposited on the articular cartilage of joints, tendons and surrounding tissues. These crystals cause inflammation and pain, both severe. If unchecked, the crystals form tophi, which can cause significant tissue damage. Gout results from a combination of elevated concentrations of uric acid and overall acidity in the bloodstream.) >Fatty liver disease >Sleep apnea and other respiratory problems >Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) >Fertility complications >Pregnancy complications >Psychological disorders >Uric acid nephrolithiasis (kidney stones) >Stress urinary incontinence >Cancer of the kidney, endometrium, breast, colon and rectum, esophagus, prostate and gall bladder Not all, but most of these will result in a painful death, and sir, you stated "Why should we help them...?" If we don't help our children prevent these treacherous diseases and conditions, who will? Not the media! in fact, they are contributing to diseases. but that's a whole different debate for a whole different time. Not the government- they have caused more problems than they have solved we have to attack one of the main sources: Schools! As I stated before "schools contribute to this growing epidemic when they limit food sources to saturated fats." We need to gather parents and school administrators and warn them of this disease that is growing before America's eyes. We need to donate money to raise awareness in health classes and we need to raise the number of Physical workouts everyday.

Title: Poverty is becoming one of the leading causes of obesity in children and young adults today. Content: Still looking forward to your first arguments.

Title: government should implement a 'fat tax' Content: This was one of the first debates I ever did. Let's see if my arguments still hold up.I. Cross-Examination"the idea, that heart disease and other bad health effects from being fat causes an increase in health care costs, in a country that is heavily subsidized by the government. so, whatever it costs should be made up for in fat taxes."This argument is completely irrational. First off, if we are going to go taxing people for having obesity-related diseases, then why not tax people with diabetes or someone who has cancer? After all, they are increasing health care costs. "my understanding is right now the costs of being fat to the government are not sufficiently made up for in sales taxes. if it were, it would be more prohibitive for over eaters, so they would't eat and be lazy as much, and it'd be ensure the government is getting reimbursed for what it spends."First off, Pro's understanding is irrelevant, She should support her argument here. An argument that is not supported by evidence can be digarded without evidence.Second, Slippery slope argument being made. Simply because over-eaters would have to pay a tax does not directly mean that they will eat less or be less sedentary.Finally, I'm not sure Pro even knows what a fat tax is. A fat tax is a tax on fatty foods, it's not a tax that is taken from overwheight individuals. Regardless, her arguments for the latter were pretty bad.II. Closing remarksPro seems to just spout out unsupported claims and use fallicious arguments. Perhaps if she understood what a fat tax was, she may have had some better arguments.

Title: We should shame fat people. Content: My opponent and I agree that obesity is a problem and should be addressed. He then claims that we disagree on how it should be addressed, but then he outlines a solutions that is almost perfectly in line with my suggestion in round 1. My opponent states "If you are talking 'fat' then it must always come from a good place. You are talking about it because you care". This is very similar to my statement "and treated (medically speaking) with compassion and respect". The similarity comes from the words "care" and "compassion". We both agree, it seems, that we should try to show children who are at risk of becoming obese and those who are obese ways to change their lives in a compassionate, caring way. This seems contradictory to idea of "fat shaming" which is defined as "An act of bullying, singling out, discriminating, or making fun of a fat person". This definition is also not in line with my opponents "ideas" as his ideas are largely stemming for feelings of genuine concern for the obese while "fat shaming" is fundamentally malicious. I believe my opponent meant to say "we should use tough LOVE on fat people to encourage them into healthy habits" instead of his original contention which has very little room for the compassion he claimed he had for the obese. I would like to continue to contend that what I have defined as fat shaming is detrimental to society and is not desirable. If this what my opponent meant then I will continue the argument. If my opponent did not mean "fat shaming" as it is defined then I would like to extend the option of an agreed upon tie since I only agreed to this debate under the premise that my opponent meant fat shaming as "An act of bullying, singling out, discriminating, or making fun of a fat person".

Title: Poverty is becoming one of the leading causes of obesity in children and young adults today. Content: still waiting...

Title: Obesity is the most pressing issue that faces America today. Content: I accept

Title: Obesity Content: Although over eating is a huge aspect of obesity, people should be aware that for some people, food intake has nothing to do with their weight. In many cases, it is a legitimate health disorder. For people with diabetes, it is mandatory to eat certain foods at certain times. Before judging someone immediately because of their weight, you need to contemplate the possibilities. Also, metabolism contributes to obesity. Some people are born to eat whatever they want, and some gain weight from the littlest thing. Food is not the only catalyst to obesity.

Title: Poverty is becoming one of the leading causes of obesity in children and young adults today. Content: Sigh...

Title: Diet and exersise!!! Content: "processed" its called diet and EXERCISE!!! Also, it isnt super expensive to be healthy! bananas are the most cheap food you can buy! Obese people need pressure... FAT ACCEPTANCE IS DEATH ACCEPTANCE!!! it isnt only obesity but being overweight that kills! "In 2015, nearly four million people died from disease related to their weight, most commonly from heart disease. But only 60% were technically obese, which is defined as a body mass index over 30. The other 40%, or 1.6 million people, were overweight but not obese." (https://www.theguardian.com...) People go crazy on people for smoking when in reality OBESITY KILLS MORE PEOPLE THAN SMOKING (https://www.menshealth.com...)

Title: Should Americans get help beating obesity. Content: If you have seen documentaries such as FED UP then you know that it is not only just a genetic problem. Children are growing up with their staple food being highly processed, high in fat and high in sugar. What choice do they have if that is all they are being shown and fed since they open their eyes? I am not defending the fact that it is alright for them to be obese but society should and could be doing a lot more such as creating awareness about healthy eating, good food practices and exercise. People need to intervene. In the documentary FED UP a bill was trying to be passed to stop unhealthy food being served however someone prevented pizza from falling under this bill because it contained tomato sauce which to some company counted as a vegetable. How much more ridiculous can it get? Not as ridiculous as the fact that heart disease is the number one biggest killer in the world and obesity the leading cause. Companies like this are controlling what our children eat and it can be clearly seen that they don't care about what happens to them. Obesity is a disease . It is a social responsibility that we help our next generation free themselves from the cycle To your point about 'Pro-fat' what really do you mean when you say people don't want to see reality? The reality that they see is a very different reality we see which is, once again, why they need help to be able to see what is right and make the suitable change

Title: Poverty is becoming one of the leading causes of obesity in children and young adults today. Content: I accept and look forward to your first arguments!

Title: Fat people live longer than skinny people. Content: Thank you for posting your next argument. Here is a clip from the New York times news, "About two years ago, a group of federal researchers reported that overweight people have a lower death rate than people who are normal weight, underweight or obese. Now, investigating further, they found out which diseases are more likely to lead to death in each weight group. Linking, for the first time, causes of death to specific weights, they report that overweight people have a lower death rate because they are much less likely to die from a grab bag of diseases that includes Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, infections and lung disease. And that lower risk is not counteracted by increased risks of dying from any other disease, including cancer, diabetes or heart disease. " You can read the full report here: http://www.nytimes.com... That is one way of looking at it. Another way is this, people who are overweight do suffer from those sicknesses you listed, but even more people die from starvation in other countries. Nowhere in my arguments did I say I was just talking about the USA. In children alone 15 million will die in 2010 of starvation. And those are the reported cases. Most people who live in 3rd world counties are underweight. 30,000 African children under the age of 5 die today, most of these children are underweight. Therefore, people who are overweight do tend to live longer than those aren't. There are many more statistics I could show, but I believe my point has already been made. I thank my opponent and look forward to his next argument. Sources: (1). http://library.thinkquest.org... (2). http://wiki.answers.com... (3). http://www.nytimes.com...

Title: The World will be overrun by fat plumpers aka Sumo Wrestlers Content: The world will be overrun by fat, plumper, sumo wrestler type obese people by 2050. With the abundance of food, the buffets, the high sugar content in food and drinks plus the lack of exercise by most people due to the constant sitting in front of computers and on social media and the fact that children do not play outside anymore, just on their devices, the human bodies will turn into obese fat plumpers for the general population. The obesity rate in the USA is already at 56%, as we become more globalized and McDonalds with their grease ball burgers and KFC with their greasy buckets of chicken infiltrate all countries, those countries will get into the same habit of eating crappy food and sitting on social media all day until we will have a world of sumo wrestlers. This is a global pandemic that will result in extinction of human kind through diabetes, heart disease, and other overweight problems.

Title: Obese customers should pay more for flights. Content: - OBESITY IS PREVENTABLE - I have a few problems with this rebuttal. First, we have already established that obesity is not always preventable! Genetics and other factors (including mental health) contribute to the disease. Further, sometimes the medications that people are on have a side effect of weight gain. If my opponent concedes that people cannot prevent all forms of sickness, than he concedes that people have no choice but to take medicine... medicine which can lead to obesity, therefore my point is upheld. Regardless, while obesity may very well be preventable in many cases, consider the fact that my opponent completely neglected health risks attained from things like smoking in his rebuttal. It's easy to say that obesity is more preventable than asthma; however, medical problems associated with contributing factors such as tobacco, marijuana and other drugs, alcohol, etc. all contribute to an additional increase health risks... yet we don't charge SMOKERS extra for "insurance purposes." So clearly the cost of insurance cannot be a contention in favor of my opponent. What's good for the goose is good for the gander -- if this ideology does not cross apply to other flyer demographics, than obesity should not be singled out. Not without a law suit anyway (more about this later). - STATISTICS - My opponent has written "since my opponent insists on an argument of statistics and precise percentages..." which is completely false. I'd just like to clear the air and say that I do not want nor expect this to be a debate revolving solely around percentages. However, for my opponent to make an incredible, highly exaggerated claim in his favor without supporting sources is extremely abusive. No one is saying that you have to provide statistics for all of your reasoning, but what I AM saying is that it wouldn't be right for either one of us to just make stuff up on a whim and present it as factual evidence. - OTHER TRANSPORTATION - My opponent has noted that buses do not charge for individual seats. That is correct. They charge per passenger. My opponent then says, "however, if obese passengers are indeed causing problems for the remaining passengers, perhaps extra fare is necessary." Right here it becomes apparent that a primary contention for Pro is the comfort of other passengers. The problem with this is that transportation's primary purpose is just that: transport. Comfortable circumstances are a LUXURY - not a necessity. If a customer deemed comfortable seating a priority, he or she would have several options: upgrading his ticket to first/business class; choosing an airline that specifically accomadates for larger seating; finding other ways of transport (car, boat, etc.) and so on. Personally I'm from NYC and have taken many forms of transportation. I cannot tell you how many times people ride the bus/subway and HAVE NO SEATING AT ALL, regardless of the fact that they paid for the ride. - FLIGHT ISN'T A RIGHT - Nope. It's not. But here my opponent is trying to straw man my argument and completely turn my point around. He said, "If a customer from a low-income bracket cannot afford the price of the flight, it would be advisable that they seek alternate forms of transportation." I agree. So what's the point? Nothing. There isn't one here. MY point, however (supported with cited factual information), was pointing out the fact that there is probably a 10% chance that your neighbor on an airplane flight will be obese, due to statistics regarding obesity and its link to poverty, etc. Therefore if one is so concerned about this HORROR, they have the option of buying an additional plane ticket just in case. Otherwise they can just take their chances and 90% of the time be a-ok anyway. So here my opponent is trying to make you believe that I have suggested that healthy people buy additional seating on airplanes. I have done no such thing. My point was that if it is a huge concern to them, then they can. If they can just deal with it - or accept the fact that they have a 90% chance of being in the clear - then they DON'T have to buy an extra plane ticket. Simple as that. But my point here is why should an obese person have to buy an extra plane ticket to make someone else more comfortable? If it's about common courtesy and respect, then people should respect the obese too, by doing things such as 1) not smelling bad, 2) not bringing a crying baby on board, 3) not stinking up the bathroom, 4) not smoking as to up insurance, etc. However nobody has to pay for these inconveniences, so WHY SHOULD THE OBESE? Singling them out is wrong, and even if you disagree, my opponent has yet to prove otherwise. For instance, in response to the above, Pro has said, "A crying child one may mute by putting on airline-provided headphones. Foul smelling passengers one may endure by simply turning on the airline-provided air conditioning. They do not lessen the product you purchased (the flight itself), even if they do make it slightly less desirable" ... which is my exact point, except in reverse, obviously. That exact logic proves my case to be true -- having an obese passenger sitting next to you may make your flight less desirable; however, it is not lessening the product. Cramped space, smelly areas and other disruptions are inconveniences that ALL travelers face and deal with as a consequence of not being rich enough to afford their own private jets. - WEIGHT & FLIGHT - Pro acknowledges that an increase in gas prices is the #1 reason that the cost of flights has significantly increased. Another reason is that less people are flying due to the troubled economy. As a result, airlines are looking for every excuse to charge a little extra. They're pinching pennies at every opportunity. Thus, the charge for extra baggage is obviously going to increase. Now according to Pro, people pay for their seat... never did he mention that people ALSO pay for CARGO space. When people bring luggage on a plane, they are costing the airline money for things like, oh, the electric that powers the baggage claim area, the employees who transport the luggage, etc. Additionally, just as flying on a plane isn't an inherent right, neither is bringing luggage on a plane. Thus assuming that one does in fact pay for a seat on the plane, airlines have also agreed to say - okay - you can bring up to 100 lbs of luggage (for example). If you bring more than that, you pay. Those extra charges pay for increasing expenses in every aspect of flight, including gas. Similarly, an airline can charge you for things like soda on a plane. But to charge you extra per pound of body weight is discriminatory... - RESPECT FOR PASSENGERS - Obese people are not the only individuals who fit uncomfortably on a plane. Tall or larger people in general (not necessarily obese) may also be the cause of some discomfort. To discriminate against them could lead to a few things. First, it could upset customers so much that they choose not to fly at all... meaning that airlines are selling less tickets, meaning the 'skinny' people will face *INCREASED COST* to compensate for those lost sales. Second, while this idea sounds good in theory, putting it into practice would inevitably lead to countless lawsuits (amongst other burdens). This would not only be a waste of airline resources but government ones as well, and again cost others MORE MONEY... be it in taxes, other fees, etc. - FUEL - Back to the whole fuel thing, it has been said that 350 million more gallons of fuel are being used per year thanks in part to obese passengers. I don't have a lot of characters left for mathematical reasoning (though I'd be more than happy to explain it further in the next round!), but that comes to about 2.5 more gallons per flight - if that. So 2 gallons of gas is what...? $8 more per flight? So just how much extra should obese passengers be charged? That's it for now...

Title: Should junk foods advertisements be banned to stop childhood obesity Content: Childhood obesity is one of the most serious problem in the 21st Century. It is one of the Global problem and it is steadily affecting many Low, Middle and High income class families and their children all over the world. Overweight and Obese children are likely to stay obese into adulthood and likely to develop Non communicable diseases like Diabetes and Cardio -Vascular diseases at a younger age of Overweight and Obesity. These above causes are mainly based on the advertisements of junk foods from TV and from online Network and from other media that create and absorb children to eat junk foods which results in child obesity.

Title: Costs more to those who can’t afford to pay Content: A fat tax could be offset by subsidizing the price of healthier foods so that the overall food budget is unaffected. No one will be forcing the poor to pay this tax as the intention is to have them change their eating habits. The families that would be affected by the tax most are those affected most by obesity related disease. Spending some money now on food would save a lot more later in health care. It will also make them more productive at work, meaning a better economy and hopefully higher wages to help compensate. [21]

Title: Poverty is becoming one of the leading causes of obesity in children and young adults today. Content: good times!

Title: Holocaust Part 2- This time it's Fat people. Content: I was sitting around watching a holocaust documentary on the History channel and it kept getting interrupted by commercials for dietary supplements, but during one commercial break I saw that Sally Struthers commercial about the starving children in Africa and I was moved to tears. In my drunken tear filled state I was struck by a grand ideal. I had figured out how to rid the world of most, if not all of it's problems. THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC The obesity epidemic is something that hits close to home, because America is probably the country with the highest percentage of fat people. The obesity epidemic hurts us, because it's just unhealthy to be fat. When you consider the rise of insurance premiums to us as well as the extra cost attached to our products at Wal-Mart to supply fat people with those electric carts, the price becomes staggering. If we simply killed all fat people, our insurance costs as well as the prices at Wal-Mart would decrease significantly. That's not even the biggest benefit. No other plan exists that is more effective at ridding the world of this obesity epidemic than just killing fat people. If my opponent has a more effective alternative to ridding the world of obesity, I'd like to hear it. Frankly I don't think one exists. LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR You might wonder what the hell are we to do with all those dead bodies, besides make soap from the fat. This is the best part of the plan. Remember all those starving kids in Africa? We can use the remaining flesh after we have a large enough quantity of soap to more than feed all the starving kids in Africa. I don't want to see kids starve, despite the fact that my opponent will more than likely advocate for keeping fat people alive and letting little kids starve and die. SOME OTHER STUFF Here are some of my other complaints about fat people. Fat people ruin my clothes buying experience. If their clothes, weren't taking up 75% of the rack at Hot Topic than I would have more of a selection of T-shirts with witty phrases. Or what about the fact that I have to go through the trouble of pushing over a pair of size 40 waist jeans to get to my size. Everybody knows being fat free is a good thing. When you go grocery shopping it costs a premium to get stuff that says the word fat free on it. What if America was fat free? If it was than it would cost more and Mexicans couldn't afford to come here and steal all of our jobs. It actually sucks to sit next to a fat person in a plane. There is already not enough leg room in coach and than I have to have to put up with my legs rubbing up against another dudes just because he doesn't have the common decency to eat a salad occasionally. It sucks to have to take one for the team. Why should I have to screw your fat friend, just so my boys can get laid. If their weren't fat people to start with, maybe I could bang a pretty girl for a change.

Title: People need to take responsibility for themselves Content: Deregulation is like trying to play a game of football without a referee. Government can't demand that people take responsibility for things that they have no control over, especially when ordinary citizens are against big business that has huge amounts of money to spend lobbying in it's interest (making money and nothing else) while people are left without a defence against the negative effects of deregulation. Obesity isn't entirely the responsibility of a particular person, it should be treated as a disease like any other. “For an increasing number of people, weight gain is the inevitable – and largely involuntary – consequence of exposure to a modern lifestyle. This is not to dismiss personal responsibility altogether, but to highlight a reality: that the forces that drive obesity are, for many people, overwhelming.” [[Government Office for Science, 2007. Tackling Obesities: Future Choices. Project Report, 2nd Edition. http://www.foresight.gov.uk/Obesity/17.pdf%5D%5D Why do people need to take responsibility for themselves in the first place? Telling people that they should have to take into account every possible consequence of their actions is both unfair on them and unneccessary. Where an action has consequent effects on other people (such as carbon emissions causing global warming) that an individual can't neccessarily foresee or take into account, we need the Government to step in and regulate to avoid those external harms.

Title: Parents shouldnt burden their children with their obesity problems Content: Rebuttle:1. Parents who suffer from obesity are right to share this burden with children, regardless of the consequences. College age [aka adult] children deserve to know the truth, and the consequences their families may face. If this changes their decisions it is their own choice. 2. Bullies can see that a kid's parents are fat. Educating one's child about this disease puts bullying in context, and helps them understand. Teaching a child about your health condition is not burdening them.

Title: Why all children should be rewarded candy when good work is achieved. Content: Obesity in children is currently a major crisis in the United States. 1/3 of all children were obese in 2008. Obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, bone and joint problems and some psychological problems (1). Giving daily amounts of candy as my opponent proposes would cause more children to become obese and lead to further health risks as listed above. Furthermore, sugar from candy is harmful to the teeth and increases the risk of cavities. It would be better to reinforce children's good behavior and achievement through more positive means that they enjoy, but that do not carry the harmful effects I have shown to occur from candy. I look forward to my opponent's arguments. (1) . http://www.cdc.gov...

Title: Fatness ! Content: Okay so firstly, I don't know what the definition is for disease, and more importantly, it is not relevant. What matters is that people don't get fat against their will (most the time). Nor does it even creep up on them like things such as cancer or strokes may do. By this I mean people are aware that they are overweight and it happens gradually. So you seem to be implying that fat people have no choice in their condition, this is frankly wrong. So although the American Medical association define it as a disease, that does not change the fact that it is self inflicted. So your point, though theoretically true, has no relevance to this discussion. People get fat when they eat more calories than they burn, simple. Eating too much, and eating the wrong type of foods, often reflect psychological problems and so are not just a 'hobby' or a 'choice' they mean more than that for some people. Also, overweightness reflects problems in society and culture, again not a inevitable 'disease' or life choice, a problem. You say only 8% of women have the 'perfect' shape. You need to tell me why this is relevant for me to respond to it. But I assume you are meaning that only 8% of women aren't fat and so magazines not showing fat people will make everyone depressed. 1. 92% of women are not 'fat'. I am not saying only have the 'top' 8%, I am saying don't glamorize fatness. Also, the reason why only 8% of women have this 'perfect' shape, and so many people are 'chubby' or 'plump', is not because of some natural phenomenon indicating that 50% of women (or whatever) are classed as overweight - it is because of bad practice in the culture. Again it is 'self' inflicted. Not what people typically consider a disease. You say people with diseases who are attractive will be deemed unworthy of the media. I don't know how to respond to this, that's not at all what I am saying... I have nothing against people with diseases being on T.V, indeed it is good to open peoples eyes to other lives, also it helps other sufferers feel less alone. But these are conditions such as neurological conditions or personality disorders or things which hinder their physical life. Heroin addiction is classed by some as a disease, but one would not try to make an addict look acceptable and okay just to make other addicts feel more okay about their problem. And before you say I cannot compare the two, I can. Being overweight kills far more people than heroin and it is more dangerous to be overweight than to smoke, drink, take cocaine/ecstasy and marijuana. Also you may argue that these things are also shunned because of the lifestyle they typically associate with - but marijuana at least is smoked in many cultures without problems, I have yet to find a time or culture where being fat is respectable or is the result of, of in association with, respectful behaviour. It always requires laziness or greed or ignorance. (not to mention mental weaknesses and problems). You continue to drive this point of depression, saying, you need to show fat people so other fat people don't feel bad about their condition. No, we need to takle the factors that cause over eating and bad eating habbits, such as bad foods in the market, depressive lifestyle etc. The way forward is not to glamourize fat, but to eradicate it.

Title: Obesity is on the increase in the developed world, and that includes rising childhood obesity. In t... Content: Obesity is a growing problem that we should take seriously. But the way to solve it is not to limit the choice of food in schools as children will just fill up on unhealthy food outside of schools. Instead we need to increase the amount of sport and exercise in schools and educate children about eating healthily. At the same time we should encourage parents to provide a balanced diet for their children.

Title: It hits the most vulnerable part of society hardest Content: Even if this policy might cause some families to spend more on their food – even more than they feel like they can afford – it still is more important to start significantly dealing with the obesity epidemic. We feel that nothing short of forcing these low income families – which are also the ones where obesity is most prevalent – to finally change their eating habits will make a dent in the current trend. But there is a silver lining here. These are also the families that are afflicted most by obesity related diseases. Thus spending a couple dollars more on food now will – necessarily – save them tens of thousands in the form of medical bills. Reducing obesity will also make them more productive at work and reduce their absenteeism, again offsetting the costs of this tax.[1] We should look at this tax as a form of paying it forward – spending a little time and effort now and reap the benefits for the individual and the society in the future. [1] ACOEM, Obesity Linked To Reduced Productivity At Work, published 1/9/2008, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/93402.php, accessed 9/14/2011

Title: Should junk foods advertisements be banned to stop childhood obesity Content: My opponent starts with the premise that obesity is a bad thing. Yes certain things like diabetes and cardio vascular diseases come due to obesity, but my opponent makes the assumption that such thing is bad because people are opposed to the idea. Now my opponent has no grounds to say that this is the case, there are people who are for, against, and impartial to obesity. Therefore this obesity issue is subjective, and if my opponent is arguing that we should ban things that promote such subjective things, then my opponent would be proposing to ban all other subjective promoting things. Now there is a weight "problem" in the U.S. in general, not just obesity, but anorexia. Therefore for people with anorexia the may be a good thing. Also junk food promotes variety since it adds a different category of food to whole bunch of foods.

Title: Obesity Content: Skinny people also have the chance to gain weight by eating more and exercising less. But on the other hand it is also possible for obese people to eat less and exercise more. Anorexia and obesity are both terrible sicknesses but there are many ways to cure those sicknesses.

Title: Child obesity not related to a pre-existing medical condition should be considered child abuse Content: I stand here today to support the following resolution: Child obesity not related to a pre-existing medical condition should be considered child abuse. This will mostly be a logic based debate, but if necesarry, sources may be provided. Terms: Child obesity- The condition of being considered medically obese as a person under the age of 18, or in a person not legally emancipated from their parents. (because you can free yourself of your parents at 17 or younger in some states) Pre-existing medical condition- a genetic condition that effects the bodies ability to keep itself at a healthy BMI when properly cared for. Child abuse- a legal term relating to the mistreatment of minors in an individuals custody. Includes neglect, physical, mental, and emotional abuse. Currently, the state considers it the duty of the parent to keep their child in good mental condition, to keep them properly fed, clothed, and bathed, and to more or less ensure their happiness. The parent should keep the child in good health, free from maladies and health risks. These are legal obligations that must be kept or the child will be at risk of being put into an alternate home on grounds of child abuse. (source: Parental rights and responsibilities : analysing social policy and lived experiences by Harriet Churchill) The most important part of this relating to this debate is the legal duty of the parent to keep the child in good health. One may think that an obese child is not in serious danger, but this is very clearly incorrect. My stance is based on the following points. Point A: Health risks associated with obesity. It is common knowledge that being severely overweight is linked to very serious health issues. These include, but are certainly not limitted to, high blood pressure, diabetes, blood clotting, clogged arteries (and subsequently, heart attacks), and in some extreme cases, immobility. Most of these conditions can lead to hospitilization and and of course death. For a parent to allow their child to be obese by not giving them a proper meal regimen and allowing them to neglect exercise is putting that child in the firing line of all these dangerous health issues. Point B: Malnutrition. There is no argument over whether a parent that starves their child is abusing them. A child given insufficient food will become malnourished and this produces completely separate health problems from the ones listed above. Over feeding, or feeding the child an unbalanced diet with an excess of fatties foods shouldn't be any different. In both cases the body is not receiving all the vitamins and minerals it needs to grow healthy and strong. When a body is deprived of minerals, bones become more breakable, scurvy is a possibility...this list goes on. So, seeing as allowing a child to remain obese causes so many health problems, and thus is dangerous, it should indeed be considered a form of child abuse. Further discussion upon Con's response.

Title: Parents of obese children should be deprived of their parental rights Content: Parents of obese children should be deprived of their parental rights. That does not apply to cases where child obesity is caused by genetic disorder. Such parents : 1) Put their child at an increased risk of developing various health problems 2) Make their child to be made fun of by other children. That is to say brining damage to emotional world of the child.

Title: Obesity Content: Okay be "flaffy" but it has disadvantages like:dyspnea,diabet etc

Title: Should Americans get help beating obesity. Content: As an EU citizen, I'm not really in the eye of the storm for this problem. The only source of information about the bad diet of US people I can use are documentary films such as "Fed Up" and TV programs made by people such as Jamie Oliver. All we see nowadays on TLC and other reality television programs is "people are getting fat and they need our help" and "we should help them beat this disease" but I view it as more of a natural selection that helps people with weaker ability to control their diet being reduced. The thing I fear though, is the weird "pro-fat" propaganda that says that it's natural for people to be fat, which is an entirely different subject, because some people just don't want to change and see reality and want it their way.

Title: Being Fat isn't Always Directly Linked to Being Unhealthy. You Can be FIT AND FAT at The Same Time. Content: So, just because I happen to like to keep knowledge in various fields, and have knowledge that BBW is initialism for Big Beautiful Women, automatically makes me like them? I don't have any clue what kind of logic pointed that way."he claims to love fat people made apparent by his insight into "Big Beautiful Women" "Spreading lies again Mr. con? I would have loved that you mention the line where I "claim to love fat people"" he also wants sources to be used only in the final round, how can the legitimacy of sources be argued if they're provided in the final round?"Con is questioning the rules set at the beginning of the debate. If con really had a problem, he should have asked in the beginning, maybe he could have messaged me asking if the rules were flexible. But like all the other rule related problems con has, he decides to mention them randomly anywhere in the debate. This shows an extreme careless attitude of the con to debates and rules in general.Obesity paradox - It states that being overweight protects the body from a myriad of diseases like cancer, pneumonia, stroke, hypertension and so many more. This means that fat has a role in providing immunity against various conditions. So a moderately fat man, who is not obese and thus, doesn't have elevated risks of heart disease or clogged arteries, will be healthier than a normal individual."This shows his lack of understanding of the word fat." Oh, I understand the word alright. You are the one that is confusing it with obesity. The definition of obese is very fat. Too much of anything is bad. My opponent says " being excessively fat does, this suggests that being fat to some degree does reflect bad self maintenance." but it is quite a common knowledge that if too much of a thing is bad, it is not necessary that the thing is bad in general. Too much oxygen causes oxygen toxicity; according to con's logic, this proves oxygen is bad for us. Water intoxication will prove that water is bad for us according to this mutilated logic. "You are a dangerous man by spreading your lies and I stand by that statement"Con bluntly direct attacks me again to stray away from the topic and try to collect as many points in his favour as he can. So, any person who has views different than you is dangerous? I won't be surprised if you tell that to every person you have a debate here with. I am trying to have a civilised debate with facts. Anything I mention is based on reading from various sources, forming an opinion and expressing it; not false accusations on my opponent or cheap last resort 'trying-to-win' tactics like that, which con is using."you seem to be against CHARITIES NOW?" THAT CHARITY IS FOR SAVING OCEAN LIVES. ( This further shows con's extremely careless attitude to this debate. Debaters fear these levels of carelessness.) You casually mention a charity website just to make a joke and THAT IS AN INSULT TO BOTH THE CHARITY AND THIS DEBATE. I think you are the one who doesn't respect anything, charity or debate. Maybe this is one of the cheap last resort tactics where you try to pull the wool over the voters' eyes, but seriously? you have the audacity to write "At least I care about our fellow human beings." after you ask us to donate to a charity meant for whales and ocean? You just wanted to make the cringe-worthy joke telling that fat people are whales. This shows massive amount of disrespect to a lot of things such as debates, charities, people.Further, you seem to think that I have been arguing just over semantics, but no, I am arguing with facts from various sources. I form my opinions based on knowledge. Also, you seem to be having a problem when I capitalise my phrases, but that's a way of writing and the capitals show the importance of the phrase or word.The fallacy in your conclusions- 1) Adipophily hugely exists in all sexualities and people can like chubby people sexually and romantically. They do marry and live a happy life, I would like to see con prove that all slightly heavier couples are sad and end up divorcing.2) Fatness is not always due to overeating. It depends on the way your body reacts to food. 3) Fat people have a good life expectancy. Obese people die after a short life.4) Athletes aren't overwhelmingly thin and muscular. Athletes are in all shapes and sizes. Different sports need athletes with different body types.5)Weight gain is can be caused by an unhealthy lifestyle, but doesn't need to be. It can also be gained on purpose to become more healthy. CONCLUSIONS - I have proved more than one cases where fat people can be considered fit. Fitness is not your ability to lift weights. The definitions of fit and healthy have been given in R3. From all my arguments, fat people can very well be fit. This is so as heart diseases, etc are based on a huge number of factors and one of the factors is 'too much fat'. Like too much oxygen causes oxygen poisoning, too much fat causes obesity and related problems. If a person is just moderately fat, he won't have any problems in doing the normal day to day works, take care of himself and his family.There has been studies which have found out that our thinking of the 'normal weight' is wrong. Having a round belly is okay but that doesn't mean you don't exercise and eat random stuff all day. One can eat healthy meals and exercise while being fat if one wants to. There are exercises which maintain the health and are not meant to make one become all muscular. Fat is not a term which links directly to disease. This is obviously no excuse to people who gain weight the unhealthy way.The concept of Fat is confusing to so many people since it can be gained in an unhealthy way and a healthy way. Many people gain it the unhealthy way and leave a bad impression in people's minds about fat in general.But the main aim of this debate was proving a single case where fat is considered healthy, and using the definitions mentioned, I have been successful in proving my point for more than a single case.I have done so by using facts and have not made any stuff up. Also, I am not biased as I am not fat myself.Sources - - http://healthland.time.com...- http://www.medicinenet.com...- http://www.npr.org...-https://qz.com...- https://en.wikipedia.org...- http://www.medicalnewstoday.com...- https://www.sciencealert.com...- https://www.theguardian.com...I prefer everyone check the links and read them to get a better viewpoint on the topic. I hope the voting is done in a fair way and not over biased reasons. Voters must keep in mind the ACTUAL violations made to the spirit of debating and shouldn't just believe the accusations. They should analyse the debate themselves before voting and give just vote.I thank everyone who read this debate. Have a good day. I also thank con for arguing with me on this topic. It clarified my views and made me hold my position stronger than before.

Title: America is NOT obese. Content: As I've proven in previous rounds, obesity is indeed high in the United States. I am not arguing that a particular action needs to be taken because of this, just that the "obesity problem" can be harmful to those who become obese by choice or otherwise. Laziness may indeed be a large source of the problem, but depression may be both a cause and an effect of obesity. As stated before, obesity DOES affect the rest of the population by raising healthcare costs. And the intent in pointing out childhood obesity is to demonstrate how parents do not deal with the problem effectively, so to expect them to resolve it is irrational.

Title: Overweight people cannot be beautiful. Content: I assumed that for the sake of this argument wouldn't need to define them but thank you for doing that. We can agree that obesity is not healthy. It is unhealthy. un"health"y adjective harmful to health. "an unhealthy diet" synonyms:harmful, detrimental, destructive, injurious, damaging. As far as weight range, the Body Mass Index is the standard. I have not set that scale, but is accepted in the medical realm as the established healthy weight range. It is not beautiful to be obese. When someone makes conscious choices to become overweight, it is detrimental, unhealthy, and therefore cannot be perceived as beautiful. It is delusional to state that you can be beautiful at any size. Obesity, one of the greatest causes of preventable death, is linked to some of the highest cases of hospitality and mortality including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. If I said beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then said I think that abuse is beautiful, would you agree?

Title: Obesity Content: That is true, but there are supporters of those people, such as family members who help encourage those people to get better. There are personal trainers in gyms and there are friends that are willing to help their other friends get better. In conclusion, I believe that anyone who is obese has the chance to get themselves better and back to a normal weight by eating healthier, exercising, and having support from family/friends.

Title: Fat Tax should be implemented Content: The debate is whether fat tax should be implemented. Fat tax is defined as a form of sin tax implemented on unhealthy foods that are linked to obesity. The motion is limited to first world or developed countries as these are the countries facing high level obesity and would benefit from such taxes. Fat tax is proposing tax on food and drinks which are considered unhealthy. These foods are believed to increase the obesity levels. "Fat tax" is another form of sin tax - taxing on items such as cigarettes. A sin tax refers to popular vices and comes from prostitution in the 16th Century. It is proven to be success. In the US for every 10% price increase there is 4% reduced consumption. To combat the epidemic that is obesity it makes sense to implement this tax which has proven to decrease societal vices. When unhealthy food costs more it is proven that consumption will decrease. The excuse for "junk food" consumption is that it is cheap. However, a tax would make it more or less the same level as healthy food in which people would choose the healthier food as the issue is not healthy living education but affordability. Sin taxes are proven to decrease the consumption of taxed goods falling in to the category, thus the solution to the obesity epidemic is "fat tax." An an unimaginable amount is spend on medical expenses because of obesity and related weight issues. In countries where medical services are given by the state, this cost then falls to the state to cover. It is also important to remember disease and other medical conditions linked to obesity. Diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes, several kinds of cancer, coronary artery disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, asthma, chronic back pain and hypertension are only a view diseases. The diseases in this list are chronic and therefore need lifelong therapy which usually include expensive and complex procedures. Even if these are not all taken on by the state this puts pressure on the household to produce enough income not only to treat the medical issues but also to keep the rest of the household running. Not to mention the loss of income caused by obesity in ways such as decreased productivity, absence and premature death. This makes it clear the the "choice" to obesity and unhealthy living should be restricted - (note: not taken away). Therefore the government would have a legitimate reason to implement such a tax. Finally, fat tax would allow for healthier decisions as the prices across healthy and unhealthy foods would no longer have such an immense gap. The simple fact that sugary, salty and unhealthy foods are more popular is the prices. These foods are not only less expensive but also less likely to be affected by inflation. It is also important to note that obesity is prevalent in lower socio economic households. Thus proving that food choices are dependent on price. For theses reasons I propose the implementation of "fat tax"

Title: Smoking should be illegal, its killing too many people! Content: Yes, the stop of advertisement and smoking in public places does not help the smokers directly. BUT, if someone who smokes wishes to stop there are multiple schemes out there to help them. For example the NHS have FREE quit kits available for people who wish to stop smoking (http://smokefree.nhs.uk...) which has been developed by experts smokers and ex-smokers and has actually been found incredibly effective (http://smokefree.nhs.uk... see this link for videos.) Now yes, smoking can cause cancer and death for a person but so can multiple other factors which are also legal. For instance "Of all the deaths in the UK that were linked to excess weight, about 66 per cent were down to obesity, and 33 per cent to being overweight." (http://www.dailymail.co.uk...) Also being obese increases your risk of developing a number of serious and potentially life-threatening diseases, such as: "type 2 diabetes "heart disease "some types of cancer, such as breast cancer and colon cancer "stroke In addition, obesity can damage your quality of life and can often trigger depression(http://www.nhs.uk...) So does this mean that in turn we should also make junk food illegal and only allow people to eat healthy foods? Additionally caffeine and aspatame causes migraines, illness, and can even poison people. So does this mean we should ban and make Coffee, tea, carbonated drinks, and other caffeine based products illegal? Furthermore if we were to follow your wishes and classify tobacco as an illegal drug then we would have the same issues there were during the alcohol prohibition where people actually drank more. Additionally we know with the likes of other illegal drugs such as cannabis the fact that it is illegal stops no one. In fact due to it being disproved and against the law it gives people a sense of rebelling and due to it being easy to get hold of up to 6.9% of 16-59 year olds reported using cannabis show in The Crime Survey for England and Wales 2011/12 (http://www.google.co.uk...) Finally, your last point is an incredibly vast generalisation. As personally I have never know someone to die from a "smoking related illness" so that isn't everyone.

Title: how do you think what suffering from is the worst : obesity or being thin? prove by arguments Content: First of all, I would like to say that you are right, good job man. However, there is one point with what i disagree. You are saying that an obese man is eating way too much. This is not true at all. Majority( not everyone) who are suffering from obesity are ill people, because their digestion system are working slowly to digest food, this could be because of gender. There is nothing to do when it is a gendery illness, because no matter how hard you work to loose a weight- there's no outcome. In my opinion, this question is over, I mean that we didn't need to go on about this topic, because you mostly right as i do. It was nice to talk to you.

Title: Obesity is the most pressing issue that faces America today. Content: Obesity is the most urgent problem facing America today. Today, 36% of all adults ( people over 18 ) are obese! That is 1 in every three adults. what's more is that obesity rates have doubled from 1990 going from 15% to 30%! However, this major issue does not just affect adults. 2 out of every 9 kids ages 2-19 are obese. This is not a problem that will just resolve its self, without immediate attention obesity rates could double again and again and again until the entire population is obese! Do you really want a society where the children of the future all can't do many of the physical activities that we enjoy today due to their weight? http://www.hsph.harvard.edu...

Title: DDD's 30th debate: Physical Education SHOULD be a requirement in schools Content: (INTRODUCTION) I would like to clarify that we mean GRADE SCHOOL! I am sorry for that miss, and I do hope you accept this definition. If not, please propose your own definition of the resolution, though remember there is NO ridiculos semantics. CONTENTION 1: OBESITY RATE IN CHILDRENChild obesity has been a problem around the world. What is obesity? “The condition of being grossly fat or overweight.” (taken from google, not sure where they get there definitions) Now how exactly is this bad for an obese person’s health? “Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, 70% of obese youth had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease.” {1} {2} “Obese adolescents are more likely to have prediabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels indicate a high risk for development of diabetes. Children and adolescents who are obese are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.” {1} {2} “Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to be obese as adults and are therefore more at risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. One study showed that children who became obese as early as age 2 were more likely to be obese as adults. Overweight and obesity are associated with increased risk for many types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix, and prostate, as well as multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma." {1} {2} Want to hear something shocking? Well, it turns out that out of all children, 20% (around) are obese. One in every five children are obese! {1} {2} So now that you know the health risks that obesity comes with, you now need to know how to combat it. With physical activity: “Healthy lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and physical activity”{1} {2} Obviously in gym you get physical activity, and if it is a requirement it will MAKE SURE that these obese children start getting healthier. If it was optional, most of these children would most likely not go to gym, and thus develop the obesity more. So now I ask anyone who is reading this, do you want ( I did the calculations based on the facts provided earlier) 14% of all children to have a major risk for cardiovascular disease? I don’t think so. To slowly lower this number, gym should be a requirement in all grade schools. CONTENTION 2: GYM HELPS YOU THINK In grade school academics, the goal is for you to get smarter, and learn. So what is an effective way to help your brain get working? Your first reaction is mostly ‘well you go to your classes and academic subjects’ but I have reason to believe your reaction could be ‘go to P.E.’ I will provide multiple studies showing why: “Look at the brain functioning after just 20 minutes of walking. Getting kids to move helps strengthen and stimulate their brains. This is why so many recent research studies are showing increased fitness = improved academics. Note: The blue color represents inactivity in the brain.” {3} To see the image go here (sorry my computer can’t post images so I have to give links to them): http://www.debate.org... From the same interesting website came this overwhelming evidence from a different study: They took 3 million children and compared the kids who had a higher fitness level to the corresponding academic level and kids who had a lower fitness level to the corresponding academic level and look what they found: http://www.debate.org... Shocking isn’t it? Here is some more studies: “The California Department of Education (CDE) looked for a correlation between fitness scores and test scores. They found that kids who were deemed fit (by a standard test of aerobic capacity, BMI, abdominal strength, trunk strength, upper body strength and overall flexibility) scored twice as well on academic tests as those that were unfit. In the second year of the study, socio-economic status was taken into account, to possibly eliminate that variable as an explanation. As expected, those in the upper-income brackets scored better overall on the academic tests, but within the lower-income set of students, the same results were observed — kids who were more fit performed better academically.” {4} Now, before I run out of space to finish this argument and argument 3, I would like to post one last study under this contention: “Charles Hillman, associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Illinois, was able to duplicate these findings with 259 third and fifth-grade Illinois students. His team also noticed that two of the tests, BMI and aerobic capacity, were significantly more influential to higher academic scores than the other four fitness factors. Digging deeper, he isolated two groups of 20 students, one fit and the other unfit. They were given cognitive tests of attention, working memory and processing speed while their brain's electrical activity was being measured by an electroencephalogram (EEG) test. The fit kids' brains showed more activity in the prefrontal cortex, known for its executive function and control” {4} So, just to clarify, if you make gym a REQUIREMENT then the test score of ALL the students will be very likely go up. But if it is optional or even non-existent, then obviously these kids who came to school would not be going to gym and thus not helping the brain enough. When they mean a correlation from fit kids to high academic scores, I want to point out that a major way for a kid to start getting fit starts with gym. Look at this: http://www.debate.org... Alright, on to the next point. CONTENTION 3: GYM REDUCES STRESS IN SCHOOL Stress sucks, it is nerve racking and just really is almost painful. Now let me show you just how much stress sucks. “Stress that continues without relief can lead to a condition called distress -- a negative stress reaction. Distress can lead to physical symptoms including headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, and problems sleeping. Research suggests that stress also can bring on or worsen certain symptoms or diseases. Stress also becomes harmful when people use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to try to relieve their stress. Unfortunately, instead of relieving the stress and returning the body to a relaxed state, these substances tend to keep the body in a stressed state and cause more problems. Consider the following: Forty-three percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress. Seventy-five percent to 90% of all doctor's office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints. Stress can play a part in problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma, arthritis, depression, and anxiety. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) declared stress a hazard of the workplace. Stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually. The lifetime prevalence of an emotional disorder is more than 50%, often due to chronic, untreated stress reactions.” {5} Let me break this down a bit. The facts provided are obvious reasons for why stress sucks Let me point out the Alcohol, Drugs, etc… makes it worse. Now, I know this sounds a bit abstract, but just how much do kids in grade school drink, use drugs, etc? “25% of youth aged 12 to 20 years drink alcohol” {6} So, wait, 1 IN 5 KIDS DRINK ALCOHOL? That is horrible! Ok so now how many kids take drugs or smoke? I am going to use marijuana as an example: “7.0 percent of 8th graders, 18.0 percent of 10th graders, and 22.7 percent of 12th graders used marijuana” {7} So a HIGH amount of kids drink and use drugs which, if you remember an earlier quote, make existing stress worse, then obviously we need to stop stress before it happens! Now what is an effective way to stop stress before normal kids and drinking and drug using kids get school/social stressed? GYM! “Physical education classes provide the opportunity to participate in sports, exercise and perform other activities that promote physical fitness. These activities release chemicals in your brain known as endorphins, which help produce feelings of calm and relaxation. A study done by the University of Georgia in 2008 showed that people who exercise just 20 minutes a day can decrease their fatigue by 65 percent. If you're feeling tired and stressed out, getting exercise will help refresh you.” {8} POINT. PROVEN. (CONCLUSION) Thank you, DDD (REFERENCES) {1} http://www.cdc.gov... {2} GO TO {1} AND GO TO REFERENCE 7, 5,6,10, 15, 12, 11, 14 {3} http://www.phitamerica.org... {4} http://www.livescience.com... {5} http://www.webmd.com... {6} http://www.cdc.gov... {7} http://www.drugabuse.gov... {8} http://classroom.synonym.com...

Title: Parents shouldnt burden their children with their obesity problems Content: The CDC (2012) defines obese as being over 200lbs and less than 6ft tall. Most stocky men are "obese", and you are saying that their weight makes them incapable of parenting, when it doesn't even prohibit them from playing sports in most cases. Also 1/3rd of Americans are obese (CDC), what youre suggesting would take children away from 30% of our country and put them in foster care. Obesity is a consequence of a national disregard for diet, not immorality.

Title: Overweight people cannot be beautiful. Content: Yes I agree that it is delusional to think that "any" size is beautiful. As soon as they become unhealthy, some might consider it unattractive, but some obese look only mildly overweight and still be attractive. However I disagree that obesity is a choice. My brother classifies as "obese" but he did not chose to be the way he is. Sometimes obesity occurs along with other conditions, in my brothers case, autism, which is not a choice. His doctor said that if he wasn't autistic his weight would have been fine. So no, obesity (in most cases) is not a choice. And most (obese) people don't just wake up one day and decide to just become unhealthy with a bigger chance of death at an early age. Some obesity is developed in childhood, where a child has little to no control over their lives.

Title: Obesity costs the NHS millions of pounds each year Content: Children become obese through a lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet. By prosecuting the parents of obese children you force them to change their children's lifestyles. Children who exercise and eat healthily are more likely to remain healthy throughout life and are therefore less likely to suffer from illness's in adulthood. Weight related illness currently costs the NHS millions of pounds each year.

Title: Obesity is the most pressing issue that faces America today. Content: My opponent has the burden of the proof. My opponent has not stated how or why obesity is the most pressing issue in America, he has only stated that it is a pressing issue.As Con, I will take the opposite stance. A recent Gallup Poll reported what Americans thought what was the most important problem in America today. The results are shown below[1]: As we see above, obesity wasn't even on the list. The economic issue Americans thought as most important was unemployment/jobs and non-economic Americans thought as most important was dissatisfaction with the government.Let's take another poll. What Americans thought as the top five "Most Important" U.S. problems are listed below[2]: Now that we have an understanding of what the American population thinks, let's go on to the why and how. Obesity is an issue, but it is nothing compared to the United States's debt crisis, struggling economy, poverty rate, war relations, etc. My opponent has yet to prove how obesity is more of an issue then all of these things. Since my opponent hasn't brought up a legitimate argument for me to rebut, the task of rebutting goes to my opponent.Sources1. http://www.gallup.com...2. http://www.gallup.com...

Title: Fat Acceptance Is Dangerous Content: Before we continue I would like to make it totally clear that I agree that obesity is a very important healthcare issue, So you don't need to provide any further arguments for why this is the case - and in any case, That is not what we are arguing. What I am interested in is discussion of whether the fat acceptance movement contributes to the problem of obesity. From what I can tell your argument for why the fat acceptance movement is dangerous is as follows: 1) a majority of people who support the fat acceptance movement are themselves dangerously overweight and 2) fat acceptance teaches these people that they can and should ignore the health risks associated with being fat whether or not statement 1 is true (you would need to prove this, So provide sources if you think you can), Statement 2 is just false. The fat acceptance movement does not try to minimise the health risks associated with obesity it simply proposes that fat itself is not inherently a problem, Which is something you already agree with. From your third source, You quote: "the most common causes of obesity are overeating and physical inactivity. " - yes, Precisely, Overeating and physical inactivity is the problem, Not 'fat', The fat acceptance movement does not promote "overeating and physical inactivity" it tries to lift the stigmas associated with fatness. Now to turn to your reasoning and your sources. You seem to suggest that because fat acceptance is more common in America and the UK and because those countries have high obesity rates that therefore fat acceptance contributes to obesity. This logic is extremely flawed. Can I point out that your second source is some statistics posted on the site for a company that does gastric band surgery? That's not exactly what I would call an impartial source. But the statistics themselves show that America is the 19th most obese country per capita. This is YOUR source that says this (honestly its a surprise for me too). Qatar is 8th on the list with an obesity rate of 42. 3%, 11 whole places higher than America, Does that mean that the fat acceptance movement must be even bigger in Qatar than the US? You have not demonstrated a correlation between fat acceptance and obesity.

Title: government should implement a 'fat tax' Content: "This argument is completely irrational. First off, if we are going to go taxing people for having obesity-related diseases, then why not tax people with diabetes or someone who has cancer? After all, they are increasing health care costs. " because not everyone with diabetes or cancer necessarily did something culpable, like eating too much or being too lazy. con's argument here is completely and utterly irrational. "At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul..." "First off, Pro's understanding is irrelevant, She should support her argument here. An argument that is not supported by evidence can be digarded without evidence. Second, Slippery slope argument being made. Simply because over-eaters would have to pay a tax does not directly mean that they will eat less or be less sedentary." my argument is based on a 'good guess' a matter of good judgment. i highly doubt sales taxes are enough to compensate for the health care costs, given sales taxes are used for so many other purposes. why do i need explicit study support on something so obvious? as to the slippery slope point. what are you even talking about a slippery slope? the point you make after that assertion is not even a slippery slope argument. but as to that point. the tax does not have to cause them to eat less or be less sedentary. it will likely have that effect to some degree, but the main point is that we should be getting revenue to make up for their health care costs. con insists for some reason that his definition of a fat tax is better than the strawman definition he says i used. i didn't give a definition and it's somewhat irrelvant. i'd say either a tax on fatty foods, or better yet or both.... a direct tax on fat people.

Title: Obesity Content: It seems like fast food is almost a daily topic in the news. Whether it is because of their ingredients (such as trans fat), the negative health effects (like diabetes), or being linked to obesity, fast food dominates the headlines. This then begs the question, "Does fast food cause obesity?" The simple answer is no. Consuming more calories from food than the body can burn is what causes weight gain. This means that you could eat fast food on a regular basis and not become obese. In fact, you can even lose weight while eating fast food. This, however, requires knowledge of not only how many calories you are burning on a daily basis, but also the calories in the food that you are eating. What Does the Research Say? Fast food is not the cause of obesity in today's society. However, because fast food is typically high in calories and the portions are large, it does promote eating too many calories, which can lead to weight gain and obesity. Beside "fast food" there are another causes of obesity: Lack of Energy Balance A lack of energy balance most often causes overweight and obesity. Energy balance means that your energy IN equals your energy OUT. Energy IN is the amount of energy or calories you get from food and drinks. Energy OUT is the amount of energy your body uses for things like breathing, digesting, and being physically active. Overweight and obesity happen over time when you take in more calories than you use. An Inactive Lifestyle Many people aren't very physically active. One reason for this is that many people spend hours in front of TVs and computers doing work, schoolwork, and leisure activities. In fact, more than 2 hours a day of regular TV viewing time has been linked to overweight and obesity. Environment Our environment doesn't support healthy lifestyle habits; in fact, it encourages obesity. Some reasons include: •Lack of neighborhood sidewalks and safe places for recreation. Not having area parks, trails, sidewalks, and affordable gyms makes it hard for people to be physically active. •Oversized food portions. People are exposed to huge food portions in restaurants, fast food places, gas stations, movie theaters, supermarkets, and even at home. Some of these meals and snacks can feed two or more people. Eating large portions means too much energy IN. Over time, this will cause weight gain if it isn't balanced with physical activity. •Lack of access to healthy foods. Some people don't live in neighborhoods that have supermarkets that sell healthy foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Or, for some people, these healthy foods are too costly. Genes and Family History Studies of identical twins who have been raised apart show that genes have a strong influence on a person's weight. Overweight and obesity tend to run in families. Your chances of being overweight are greater if one or both of your parents are overweight or obese. Your genes also may affect the amount of fat you store in your body and where on your body you carry the extra fat. Because families also share food and physical activity habits, a link exists between genes and the environment. Health Conditions Some hormone problems may cause overweight and obesity, such as underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), Cushing's syndrome, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Underactive thyroid is a condition in which the thyroid gland doesn't make enough thyroid hormone. Lack of thyroid hormone will slow down your metabolism and cause weight gain. You'll also feel tired and weak. Cushing's syndrome is a condition in which the body's adrenal glands make too much of the hormone cortisol. Cushing's syndrome also can develop if a person takes high doses of certain medicines, such as prednisone, for long periods. People who have Cushing's syndrome gain weight, have upper-body obesity, a rounded face, fat Emotional Factors Some people eat more than usual when they're bored, angry, or stressed. Over time, overeating will lead to weight gain and may cause overweight or obesity. Smoking Some people gain weight when they stop smoking. One reason is that food often tastes and smells better after quitting smoking. Another reason is because nicotine raises the rate at which your body burns calories, so you burn fewer calories when you stop smoking. However, smoking is a serious health risk, and quitting is more important than possible weight gain. Lack of Sleep Research shows that lack of sleep increases the risk of obesity. For example, one study of teenagers showed that with each hour of sleep lost, the odds of becoming obese went up. Lack of sleep increases the risk of obesity in other age groups as well. People who sleep fewer hours also seem to prefer eating foods that are higher in calories and carbohydrates, which can lead to overeating, weight gain, and obesity. Sources: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov... http://weight-loss.emedtv.com...

Title: It's time for the Government to crackdown hard on greedy fat scroungers Content: Many thanks to my opponent for her continued interest in this subject. With Britain now having one of the highest rates of obesity in the world, the problem has now become one of widespread debate in the general population. Firstly, it should be accepted that overeating is an addiction and obese people deserve proper medical help to overcome their cravings for food, just in the same way as a drug user might be trated for their addiction.. However, just as junkies that refuse treatment, or relapse, face mandatory rehabilitation, usually involving incarceration within a secure environment, so this same principle applies to obese people who persistently refuse to address their weight problem. This is not punishment, it is assistance for those people who damage their health and cost the taxpayers fortunes as a result. My opponent went on to quote Prof. Jane Wardle who said that parents shouldn't be held totally responsible for their children's excessive weight. I'm not a medical practitioner, as I already admitted, but it would appear to me that overweight kids' parents should be held to account. After all, where do the children get the food (or the money for food) from? Perhaps if they steal it, the parents may have an excuse, but if they are knowingly feeding them too much junk food, isn't that child cruelty? Wouldn't' a mum that plied her kids with alcohol or a dad that bought his kids crack be punished? Her final quote from Tam Fry reinforces my argument by suggesting that even with a gene predisposing one to obesity were to be identified, becoming overweight is not inevitable provided one leads a healthy lifestyle. In other words, becoming obese, or addicted to drugs or taking up a life in crime are matters of personal choice. In society, we have rights but also responsibilities, to ourselves and to others and if we neglect our responsibilities, we should expect to receive help in order to rehabilitate ourselves back into society, whether that is through prison for drug offenders or the workhouse for the obese. Thank you.

Title: Obesity Content: In my conclusion, I believe that overweight people should not be judged for their weight because there may be a reason behind that of why they are like that. There are various health reasons where that individual cannot control their weight and are too sick to exercise. People should not be judged by their looks.