A quick question; have you seen Jamie Oliver’s television show about trying to change America’s eating habits, starting in Huntington West Virginia?

On Friday the 16th of July 2010, Jamie’s show (Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution) premiered in Australia and I must say, it really touched my heart in many ways. His cause is absolutely amazing. Huntington is classed as the biggest town in the highest obese nation in the world, The United States of America. Jamie visited one of the local schools to see what meals are served to the children. One of the most unbelievable things seen, was that all of the food that the children eat, is processed food such as pizza, chicken nuggets and preserved condiments just to name a few. Some natural foods such as apples were served, but the children don’t eat them and they are thrown in the bin. Sorry, I forgot to mention, the pizza that the children eat, is for breakfast. Can you believe that???

Jamie’s point is that we shouldn’t be feeding our children, processed foods. We should be feeding our children lots of natural nutrients such as vegetables and fruits and healthy cooked meals. When he asked some of the children what the name of the red item was that he held in his hand, one child said that it was a potato. The child didn’t even know that Jamie was holding up a tomato. I truly believe in Jamie Oliver’s cause. It is exactly what I am about and what my mission is. To teach people the right foods to eat, to get in some form of exercise and have fun doing it. If parents are willing to make the required changes and start to make a difference, it will rub off on our children too. I want to be the voice of an obese child, an obese teenager and an obese adult because I was once in their shoes. I know exactly what it is like to be obese and it is definitely not a good thing. Let’s make a change in our lives, not only for ourselves, but for the future of our countries and the future of our countries, are our children.

I commend Jamie and I would give anything to have at least one opportunity one day, to stand beside him united in the same cause. Jamie could be the voice and I could be the example!!!  

Have you read the story of a man in England, whom was thrown off a plane for being too fat because he couldn’t fit in his seat? Whilst I understand that the airline has a point and needs to comply with its policies and safety procedures, the gentleman has a point also, obviously there are two sides to the story. The hard part to accept in this case is that it is completely unfair for the airline to accept payment for a single seat, have him aboard the flight, only to kick him off because he couldn’t fit in his seat, nor afford to pay for a second one as requested there and then. For an obese person (and I know what it is like to be obese) this is the most humiliating situation to be in. But it’s an unfortunate circumstance with no real answer on the spot. I believe that valuable feedback should be directed to the airlines to at least accommodate a growing world to a certain degree. An example would be to warn seat dimensions prior to booking any passengers and allow the passenger to decide/assess whether his or her body will fit. Many may argue that obesity is a disability which is to a degree because obese people are limited with their physical flexibility, however should not be held in the same class as someone who has no control or choice over their disability. In most cases, obesity is created by the individual, excluding those who become obese due to other medical conditions beyond their control and not related to obesity itself. Let’s not forget that we can control what we put in our mouths. When I weighed 136kg/300lbs, I never considered myself as disabled. I longed for the experience to fit in a normal pair of jeans, or to fit in a seat in a cinema or plane for that matter, or even to fit in the “real world” so to speak. In knew that if I wanted to experience these luxuries, I had to change my life and my diet and move my body. At the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to.

This video provides a basic run down of who Karen Gatt is and what she does. It also provides valuable information related to statistics of obesity in the U.S.A.