Frustration at Tamworth's 'fattest town' label

“weskiwi,

Regarding your last three lines; I take it you are avoiding the tap water as best you can in the same way as myself. I think we have earned it, don't you?”

“Maybe if the council weren't so insistent on building over all our free spaces and improved them for outdoor activities such as sport, or even merely walking; perhaps if Michael Gove hadn't sold off many school playing fields; if the leisure facilities were still council owned and run, at a reasonable cost, we would have less obesity.

In the 1980's, while unemployed I used to go to Ran's Gym (when I wasn't seeking work), located at the Drill Hall, produce my UB40 and get a 2 hour weights session for £1. Are any similar schemes still available today with just a nominal fee to partake? If not, why not?

If you want to encourage weight loss and fitness, you have to supply affordable facilities, not the exclusive clubs that insist on membership fees but reasonable charges to attend on an ad hoc basis, if that is your wish.”

“Exceedingly good, and to the point from two of our best commenters, usual garbage being spouted by less respected council members. The first two, belong to the general long suffering public , and other commenters, to date, belong to the self serving party poopers. Before it is pointed out that Cllr Cooke is a councillor, one must remember that a) he does not belong to the clique, and b) he is never afraid to throw his cap in the ring, nor, enter into a discussion with the general public. I am not aware of any other councillor, prepared to engage in the coal face of general discussion; possibly because they think that it is below them to engage with the taxpayers. Perhaps they may excuse themselves by saying that they do not read these forums; and that they believe that pigs can fly.
I am unable to discuss in any detail the flouride argument personally, other than it is an unwarranted imposition on people, by people, that probably either know little enough about it themselves, and therefore just do as the party says.
My own view, is that, any form of imposition of chemicals on the general public, should have been aired publicly first. Like many other things dropped on the peoples, it is simply an imposition, and imposed things are always strongly resented.
The comparison tween flouride and obesity also has strong connotations, in that both,once again involve intervention by state. Steve Miller is correct in stating that children need to be taught from an early age, but, where does one start? No end of coercion by state will make the slightest bit of difference, when ther appears to be a lack of impetous from many parents, who, themselves in may ways are no strong adverts.
There is a place for the state ( council) however, and that is in the redemptive areas. A habitual drunk or hard drug user, a over indulger of fat inducing foodstuffs, a habitual burglar/shoplifter/pickpocket etc, does not get any better by over indulging their crimes, by pussyfooting around. In the case for instance of many areas of obesity, the state has no business in funding gastric bands, and where gastric bands are the alternative, the recipient should be made to make reparation. Not all fat or overweight people are in this situation because of greed or laziness, in which case another approach is obviously necessary.
Cllr James speaks of the obvious, too many takeaways etc., which totally misses the point that thousands of people in Tamworth never visit these places, and I would rather listen to one Steve Miller, than a hundred of the Cllr James type. If people want to waste their personal income on keep fit venues, bully for them, but it never the responsibility of councils to fund them in any way shape or form. Natural exercise, which I was brought up with, is the best and the most inexpensive..................personally, I never drink tap water if I can help it unadulterated. If however I explained my ways of avoiding this poison, and informed of my alternative poison, I am sure that the health freaks and the pc twits would be in their element.”

“CllrChris is right.

Tamworth is no more prone to obesity than any other place in this ONCE great country of ours. Where do these figures come from? Who compiles them? It strikes me I should trust them no more than I trust the unemployment figures, or the crime figures. Personally I do not take any notice of any of them, knowing, as I do, how some of them are compiled. There are always people who will interpret them for their own purposes. Either to make us feel good, or to cause us to worry. Mainly politicians it seems!

As far as our water being messed about with by the addition of Fluorosilicates is concerned, I have been studying this chemical mix for several years, reading most of the published data on it. I have done this since I suffered serious neurological symptoms several years ago. My own problems, I believe, were caused by the ingestion of large amounts of aluminium powder, combined with the continual ingestion of the fluorosilicates added to our water supplies.

There is evidence throughout the world that people are getting an overdose of fluorosilicates, because not only is it added to the water supplies, but it is contained in almost everything we eat and drink, as well as being added to most toothpastes. This may take several years to manifest itself as harm to the body, but eventually it will cause disease symptoms; including malfunction of the Thyroid Gland, leading to obesity. My wife now suffers from this Thyroid malfunction.

What does get me down is the fact that we elect people to politics to take note of our concerns, and once elected they seem to close their minds to anything sensible that ordinary folk say to them. In some cases totally ignoring their concerns. It's about time we voted in people who do take an interest in what we say. We are not all illiterate and without knowledge”

“OK - the figures are old. But where the new figures? To prove anything has changed?

Cllr James won't like me saying this but he is an ardent supporter of "fluoride" (ie the toxic waste hexofluorosalicic acid) in our water. He said so (mostly because I was against it I think!). He has frequently attacked me for saying otherwise. He should look at the towns like Tamworth that are top of the obesity list. They just "happen" to have fluoride in their water!

Maybe that is because - amongst the other numerous examples of harm this industrial waste poison inflicts on our trusting, niave, unsuspecting population - fluoride inhibits the body's ability to properly process food. This it does by interfering with the thyroid glands causing Hashimoto's disease (look it up - here's a link - http://tinyurl.com/ba7t28o) which - surprise, surprise - cause obesity.

For 50 years this fluoride experiment on us has made its victims sicker and fatter. It is worse in America and Australia where a greater proporation of the population has this muck dripped into their water. This poison then escapes into the environment and contaminates all our food production and ecology (then they call that "natural fluoride!). Politicians like Cllr James, who seem to prefer to believe that people are just too greedy and lazy, should take the wool from their eyes.

Exercise is great of course - but not so easy when you are gradually being poisoned to death. Give people a chance to regain some health - take the poison out of the water!”