Atlas City Project

I notice one of the big problems in many wealthy countries today is people being overweight, as such perhaps we need a fat limit on people to force people to think before they eat.

Thoughts ?


(As someone myself overweight at this time in my life, I've always been fully aware of the risks, and I really don't think education is enough, I need to be forced to not eat so much!)

My thinking is that people who wish to move in who are overweight, as long as they loose a certain amount of weight every month, or every so many months, they can stay. But if they fail to get into shape, ship them out!

Harsh I know, but otherwise I could see the community going the same way as many others with too many overweight, ill and unable to work people around.


(Though as someone suggested to me, and I see some sense in the idea, once you have built one community, you could build another specifically for overweight people to live in if they wish, but they would suffer the consquences of their neigbhours being overweight so it might be hard to find a plumber when you need one..)

i think the largest problem associated with overweightness is the medical expenses of the city to deal with the large variety of health problems which will arise.

we were throwing around ideas of classes for overweight people to help train them to a mentality where they actually want to lose weight. similar to how you might train someone who does not fully understand the RBE concept.

You dont feel that this would work nanos?

I don't think overweight will be as much of a problem for us. Besides genetic factors, this problem should be greatly reduced due to nutrition knowledge, free access to gyms/workout regiments, and elimination of unhealthy food habits (fast food, junk food, chemically altered products). Many people are overweight not just for the amount they eat, but the poor quality of what they eat. Gyms can be quite expensive, and support relatively low. It's a constant downward spiral that leads to obesity-related health problems. None of these issues will be in existence in Atlas. The only exception would be genetic factors that are difficult to overcome. (EI: People with cultural ties to parts of Africa and even Native Americans are at much higher rate of obesity due to evolutionary needs to conserve fats.)

> You dont feel that this would work nanos?

We can test it to be sure, but I don't think so


> None of these issues will be in existence in Atlas.

Kuwait is perhaps a good example of the overweight issue:

apha.confex.com/apha/133am/techprogram/paper_110761.htm

> 75% of the population is obese

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_Kuwait

> Obesity in Kuwait is a growing health concern with health officials stating
> that it is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in Kuwait.
> According
> to Forbes, Kuwait ranks 8 on a 2007 list of fattest countries with a
> percentage
> of 74.2% of its citizens with an unhealthy weight.[1]

www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTkwMjgyNDA1


I heard on a TV programme the other day that each Kuwait citizen is entitled to a government income of $30k a year, so no one needs to work..

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sz06s (Big Meets Bigger Kuwait.)

Out of the studies I found on this the numbers ranged from 50-75% were considered "overweight". It was difficult to find, in any of the studies, what their definition for overweight was and how they determined their numbers. The best explanation seemed to come from poor nutrition knowledge, but even the causes were not speculated much. Either way, it's poor research with a likely simple cause.

Overweight is generally classified as having a BMI(Body Mass Index) of 25 or greater.

Here is a free calculator www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

In a reply to a thread about raw food I talked about the nutritional benefits to eating plant-based diets (specifically raw). A raw vegan or uncooked diet has natural weight control built into it. Obesity is virtually eliminated in this type of diet.

In relation the hereditary factors there has been significant research on epigenetics and actually reversing those hereditary factors for yourself and your offspring.

I use the word diet in more of a context of a lifestyle.

Thanks.

> A raw vegan or uncooked diet has natural weight control built into it. Obesity is
> virtually eliminated in this type of diet.

Whilst not a great fan of this personally, I can see the logic in it, and would put up with it in the groups best interests.

Do we have a voting mechanism on this site?

It would be great if we could conceptualize up idea's and then get a moderator to open a vote for it.

Once we vote we can put the plan on our road map. Speaking of road maps... do we have one?

Also, do we have a work breakdown. We need to detail every little thing that needs to be done for the project to be a success. Of course this document will be evolving constantly. I think a wiki would be a great place to put this.

We have a work in progress Wiki at the top. It hasn't had much work done in a while since everyones been busy.

As far as voting, the best idea is to become a Committee Leader for a particular group, or even a subject within a group. Then it becomes your responsibility to keep track of the progress, but we all pretty much work together on such things.

I think you guys are on to something here.. In my opinion, you are attacking it the wrong way.

Allow me to explain.

Nanos- You state that you are an overweight person who "eats too much". Eating a lot, is generally not that big of a problem. Eating a lot of PROCESSED foods and foods with things such as "high fructose corn syrup" and other processed "nutrient, or ingredient" (nutrient here as either good or bad) is the main cause of obesity.

Hopefully with an RBE, we can eliminate processed food goods via a locally grown and sustainable food source. With vertical gardens we could implement different environments on different levels of this garden, allowing us to grow the different type of fruits and veggies that are needed/wanted.

I forgot to add the benefits of this medically as well. A diet where we consume a variety of foods is very healthy, and would help alleviate the need for medical needs.

Also, I am a VERY firm believer in holistic medicines. These same gardens can be used to grow plants which are known to help the body fight off disease.

Pharmacueticals are fine when someone's life is in danger and immediate care is a neccessity. I do not agree with modern medicine for the most part, and believe that the human body is far more capable of healing itself than any measure of pharmacuetical implementation. Again, emergency situations, it is VERY good that we have this technology - but no one should be taking an aspirin every day for the rest of their life, or any other pill for that matter.

I use to hate holistic medicine when I was younger. It would be shoved down my throat by my mother and never seemed to do any good. It generally takes large amounts several times a day for several days. Then again, with the exception of Vitamin C, most everything takes some time to get in the system. Anti-depressants can take several weeks to several months to be effective.