Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Just bought a 3D set

Wow. Y'all can tell a lot about someone from some random photo of them on the internet.

I'm not sure if you're being snarky or sincere here.

But, yeah, he's (sadly) pretty representative of today's American typical tween/teen.

I picked up my niece from middle school recently and was shocked to see how many chubby/fat kids there were. It's a sad and unhealthy sign of the times.

I live in a very nice, upscale suburban neighborhood. Plenty of kids live around here. I never see them outside playing. I do see them walking home after being dropped off from the school bus, texting on their phones.

It seems like they stay inside more, playing video games and eating unhealthy fast/junk food. Not all of them, but too many in my opinion.

When I was in school in the 70's, you very rarely ever saw more than a few fat kids around.

I feel for those who have weight problems, I really do, but it pisses me off to see children start out so unhealthy. Check the stats for Americans (kids and adults) and you will see an alarming increase in obesity and all the problems attendant thereto.

I love being a couch potato! And as a grumpy old git, I've earned the right to veg occasionally...

Seriously though, cutting funding for P.E. is a terrible idea as is feeding children unhealthy food. Unfortunately, if you're poor, your options are pretty limited though...

Is there still that Presidential fitness thingie like back in the bad old days? If not, there should be.

Of course, we have the wars to get some of them in shape, but that has pretty dire consequences for everyone involved...

Yeppers.

Just don't lose sleep over obese people. It's their choice.

How much of that is due to parents being paranoid about child molesters and freaks out in the neighborhood? I know when I was growing (in Korea) I did things that I would **NEVER EVER** let my kids do. Not because there were less child molesters back then, it just wasn't published all over the Internet/Cable News/Facebook/Google+ etc.etc.etc.

Just last week in Brooklyn, a kid was killed while walking 8 blocks from day camp. He was hacked into pieces and disposed all over the place. Friday was the last day the parents walked with the kid, and the following Monday was his first solo walk home. After reading that, you *have* to pause as a parent.

So it's not just about lazy kids. It's about lazy parents too. I supervise my kids while they play outside (I'm like secret service, scanning all over the place for danger). But they do play outside. Not all parents are willing to do the very basic... So it's a bigger problem than just "fat kids"

And don't even get me started on the GINORMOUS portions they serve in here in the states. It's grotesque.

Does any of this bring us around to the topic of "helicopter parenting?"

I have some friends that I can actually see driving their kids insane.

And one can still see children playing in the streets..... of communities like mine that are not upscale, where no one can afford the time away from work to be a soccer mom, there are few "programs," and folks do not have $$ for dance, pottery workshop, drama, karate, piano, or BMX lessons and their requisite gear.

See! It's just like so many places that "World Music" comes from. Trust me, there IS world music in my hood...every sunny Saturday when our neighbor runs a free carwash collective for all 63 of his cousins.

I think they only BBQ what they've killed themselves.

The kids do not really have much choice in the matter. They are picking up these bad choices from their parents and will be much worse off than their parents. Rather than their parents being overweight from 30 or 40 on, they may be that way for most of their life.

So then we get to the parents. This unhealthy lifestyle is a choice for many middle to upper middle class folks, so I'm not really losing sleep over those people. But, families that are more towards the poverty level, do not have a choice. Unhealthy food is much less expensive, comparing calorie to calorie, than healthier food. Compare the price of chips, soda, fast food, and unhealthy cuts of meat to vegetables and fruit. Vegetables and fruit are usually much more expensive. This leaves the folks closer to the poverty level with very little choice. They are simply trying to get the most amount of food (in terms of calories) for their money.



Anyways, back to the original topic. I'm really not happy that 3D is being pushed so hard on consumers, that really don't want it in general. Even the passive glasses, give me a splitting headache after about an hour of viewing. So I don't see myself buying a display with 3D, or even using the feature if is there.

A feature that I would much prefer for projectors, is a good implementation of a LED lamp. This is still a really expensive feature. Also, most of the projectors with this kind of lamp, still have poor contrast ratio. The nice thing about having an LED lamp, though is that the picture does not change as the lamp ages and the owner may not even have to change lamps at all for the life of the projector. But, rather than competition bringing better technology (to get better contrast ratios) and better prices with LED based projectors, we get 3D which most people don't really want.

My opine wasn't intended to blame children or absolve parents at all.

The highlighted text is what I was referring to. I read it as the empathy was for obese adults (first clause), because I deduced the second clause as describing what aforementioned adults could become if they are "children starting out so unhealthy".

You're spot on. Parents most definitely bear responsibility for their children's diet. But if the child grows up to be a ponderous adult that isn't doing anything to lower their weight, it's their choice.

not always a choice.