Thursday, May 16, 2013
Krusty Kreme or the gym
It happens every January/February an influx of New Year’s resolution-makers amble in through the doors of their nearest gym in their box-fresh trainers and shiny new Lycra ensembles. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing but respect for anyone who takes up a fitness regime. What makes me seethe is that perennial breed of gym-goer who thinks they will get in shape simply by turning up. Not for them feeling the burn or working up a sweat. Instead they hang around chatting by the water coolers, cluttering up the fitness machines, taking up space in classes whilst never actually doing anything remotely resembling a workout.
What is even more alarming is the fact that Scotland is claimed to have the most unfit, unhealthy occupants in the UK. Why is Scotland not fit? Who is to blame? Why don’t we eat healthy? Do we blame the recession? Or is it sheer laziness? Is it bred in us to be unhealthy?
Maybe the alarming fact that despite the cold snowy weather, Scotland’s capital saw the launch of a new Krispy Kreme Doughnut store which saw around 300 people waiting anxiously for the doors to open at 7am, on Wed 13th Feb. Since the arrival of store 2 weeks on and you’re still experiencing queues at the Hermiston gate store, Lothian and Borders police have been urging motorists to avoid the western side of Edinburgh altogether due to the chaos. Patrol cars are being sent to Hermiston Gait Retail Park daily to try to stop Krispy Kreme customers causing gridlock to avoid mile-long tailbacks backing on to the M8. This broke the company’s record for the first hour sales of any UK store opening. So what is the attraction? Is it the taste of the 16 different flavoured doughnuts or the fact that everyone else is doing it?
Health campaigners said they were appalled at the number of people prepared to wait in their cars to buy the cholesterol-packed snacks and quite rightly so with the average intake of 430kcal in 1 doughnut and a whopping 23 grams of fat if Edinburgh is overweight today then it will certainly be obese by tomorrow.
So what do we do? How can we sort this? The government is looking to bring out new legislation… Fizzy drinks should be taxed, fast food outlets near schools limited and new parents given specific advice on how to feed their children properly to help tackle spiralling levels of obesity. Is this the way forward? Can we do more?
One in four adults in the UK is obese, figures say, a number expected to double by 2050. Doctors fear the obesity crisis is becoming "irresolvable", and are calling for society "as a whole" to act before it becomes irreversible.
So this is a problem for not just one area but for the country as a whole the NHS, government, councils, schools, parents, workplaces as with obesity comes poor health, poor diet, poor fitness. With the commonwealth games just round the corner are we really promoting healthy living, a better nation with Krispy Kreme queues? I long for the day when a local gym makes the headlines for weeks as it’s the new craze and the queues to enter are avoidable to enter!
Theresa Penrice
West Lothian College
Sport and fitness department
(work experience)
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