Things have changed since i was in primary school i guess??? I dont know, i guess i was always just a really sporty kid. I loved sport, was good at it, and i found the exercise exhilarating.
I've been to a couple of countries around europe and am european myself, and my major observation is that there is a specifically different lifestyle pattern in Australia (i cant speak for the US personally cos ive never been there, but i can
sure imagine from what i've seen and heard
) from other cultures.
For example, when i was little up till i was four (when i migrated to Australia with my parents) i lived in a flat. It was a huge block of flats, with another huge block opposite, shops down at the entrances, a blasketball court, it was more like a community really. My best friend lived in the opposite building, and all my other friends also lived in flats in buildings that were part of that compound. This sort of lifestyle really created a different type of community, and thus enforced alternative social behaviour. Since all my friends lived in the surrounding blocks of flats, i was never bored, constantly playing and having fun..and the older i got i could go down stairs and across to my best mates entrance by myself, buzz her and get her to come down and play, and there would always be a group of us having fun doing what kids do and living happily. I can actually say that i think those are some of the fondest memories that i have of my life.
When i got to Australia, i was isolated, naturally cos we didnt know anyone, and being an only child also didnt help me any. We originally lived in a small block of flats in Richmond but there were no kids my age living there. Everybody else lived in houses, and when i got to primary school because all of us lived in different areas, even when in the same suburb it was too far for us little kids to go over to a friends house by ourselves. This created "play dates" i.e. "mum can i go over to blah, blahs house?" Then if the answer was yes mum or dad would have to drive you round to your friends house, you'd play then come back home. As you can imagine in those situations because parents have their own life with their own general responsibilities outside of their kids (work, bills, shopping, appointments, etc), play dates can therefore only occur when parents have the spare time. So what happens in all those times when parents have other priorities? (And i'm not blaming parents here really, more a system). Kids have the T.V and video games for entertainment thats what happens, and mums and dads give them junk food. Why do they give them junk food? Firstly because their growing kids they need nutrition, then because its cheap, its fast (this being essential to accommodate for the busy life and lack of time that the ps have), and finally its tasty. It works because the kids like it, and that then compensates for any guiltiness that the parent may have for their behaviour. Therefore in some sort of conclusion kids are static, and feed the wrong type of food which results in natural weight gain.
Of course, its an individual thing though, sum kids are just naturally inclined to be more static then others, and like to eat and therefore get fat, and it has no specific link to that culture. However i do believe that the capitalist system in general upholds values that are wrong and thus a lifestyle.
When i was overseas one of the things that i noticed was that people tended to eat healthier because the junk food wasnt considerably
less expensive. Buying a Big Mac cost just as much as buying a sandwich. Honestly i really believe that this makes a big difference, because people *are* generally aware that junk food is bad for them. So when its the same price they'll perhaps be more inclined buy the sandwich...? I havent seen the movie, but have briefly heard about the general concept. my thinking is that the movie is essentially prob doing more good then harm. in that although most of us know the obvious 'junk food is bad for you' sometimes we need to be reminded of the fact. Repetition is the key to advertising after all... and also, there's always a difference between knowing something and truly accepting it.
