Culture  Health&Science
Half of Israelis are overweight, at risk of shorter life span says report
Inbar Tvizer
Published: 20.10.19, 18:29
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17 Talkbacks for this article
1. Fast Food and Video Games
Jake ,   Dallas   (10.20.19)
Are harming children.
Every day schools should take kids on a hike for half an hour minimum.
2. Tomorrow I start the diet.......
claudio   (10.20.19)
But today I'm going to eat an elephant, a crocodile, and a pasta plate......but all casher.....!!!!!!
3. NEWSFLASH :
MR CYNIC ,   SAFED CYNIC HOUSE   (10.20.19)
Slim people die too !
4. So: it's only half? Great news!
(10.21.19)
5. Zionist dream has always been becoming like USA, so...?
(10.21.19)
6. Obesity
Gidon   (10.21.19)
Increase charges for health care insurance could be an incentive to lose weight. After all you have to pay more for other insurances when you are in a high risk group.
7. It's not surprising at all
pgr   (10.21.19)
It's an unfortunate - and uncomfortable - truth - that Israeli eating habits are greed-driven and influenced by the general lack of control they have from childhood.

Notwithstanding OECD comparisons, world figures put Israel third in the most obese statistics. Palestinian/Middle Eastern men are slightly higher, and the highest are Pacific Islanders.

Two factors stand out: the first is - unfortunately - that Jewish religious practice is food-obsessive. This on Fridays, that on Saturdays, the other on each and every chag. And it's ALL unhealthy, fatty, sugary stuff. A study of haredim in the USA, incidentally, found them to be 7% more obese than the mainstream Jewish community.

The second factor in Israel is the dearth of health options, and the very high cost of these. In its infinite wisdom, our dear government long ago imposed an additional 15% tax on foods designated as "low fat" and "low sugar". Its absurd, given Mr Litzman's constant lectures about the need for healthier eating and exercise. For exercise, you need cheaper recreational facilities and these barely exist. A trip to a swimming pool (few and far between) will cost an Israeli at LEAST double anywhere else in the world, Taking a family once a week requires taking out a mortgage on your home.

I've done my own survey on Israeli foods. Forget the "plenty of fruit and vegetables" nonsense, because in the past ten years, the cost thereof has been getting prohibitive. We also rely more and more on supermarkets instead of encouraging local fresh markets (clean ones and not the filth of Mahane Yehuda or the Carmel market would also help). Supermarkets stock absolute, rotting, moldy garbage at prices people in Scandinavia would blanch at.

I calculated that of all the food produce in supermarkets, a good 80-85 percent of it is processed, fatty and sugar junk, including vast amounts of refined carbohydrate foods such as pasta, rice and, especially, the much-scarfed snack foods. As for eating out, it's no different. When you pay three times the price for some lettuce, with half a tomato and half a cucumber in a bowl than you for 750 calorie falafel, you know you have a seriously bad attitude what food priorities need to be.

All you have to do is look at how and what Israelis eat to see why they're in the top three fattest people in the world. They're hard-to-change people, though. You never saw so many people talking "diet", yet eating so much crap.
8. STOP eating MEAT & CHICKEN: all ROTTEN & causes ALL deseases
TheWall   (10.23.19)
STOP slaughter of animals, ALL animals!!!!
Whoever does that, sooner or later pays the highest price.
Animals, ALL animals can only be killed by other animals for SURVIVAL!!!!
The creator created Plants, Herbs, Vegetables, Fruits - for Humans to survive.
NO meat, NO chicken, NO other living things is for human consumption.
The moment any animal is killed, the meat starts to rot, decompose, decay... YOU eat rotten meat, rotten chickens...etc.
To be HEALTHY - the only WAY is the vegan way. Period.
Proven millions of times. Nothing more to say.
I'm 72, healthy all my life. 20 yrs vegan.
9. Mari
Mariano ,   Petah tiqwa   (10.26.19)
Kosher food is garbage!!
10. Better to live short but carb-enriched life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(10.26.19)
11. But charities
Izzy ,   USA   (10.27.19)
Claim no one has any food on the table and my donation gives food to the 3 million Israelis who are homeless and starving.
You mean the charities are liars? The charities send me letters with pictures of empty tables and say the average Israeli family has no money for food. There are cars? Food? People vacation? I'm a sucker?
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