According to recent a Salon.com piece, the obesity rate is rising in spite of the increase in gas prices and food. Shouldn't this be having the opposite effect, forcing folks to walk more and eat less/better? WTF?!? What is it gonna take to tackle this epidemic and am I the only one who thinks there's something really wrong with this trend? Thoughts appreciated!
Salon piece: http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/scitech/2008/04/07/D8VT9SK00_nyc_obesity_rate/index.html
A few days ago I attended the funeral of a guy I worked with who took terrible care of himself - wouldn't exercise, wouldn't eat right, wouldn't quit smoking - so, he died early.
Americans (and others) need to stay out of fast food joints, exercise, and take care of ourselves - or our bodies will "quit" us.
I don't think it's just you Jackal who thinks there's something really wrong with obesity levels. It's a big, big problem, and not just in the US, but in Europe too.
People seem to be a lot lazier, and lot greedier than they were in previous generations. Probably due to things like fatty convenience foods and availability of labour saving devices.
Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be an easy answer to this problem and I think it's up to active health conscious people (like us) to keep banging on about how good they feel keeping fit.
I think fast food is so easy and most people don't perceive they have the time to put together a good meal at home, so many will merely run to McDonalds () or some other means.
I'm also amazed at the number of people who just don't make time for physical exercise, from walking to something as simple as push mowing your yard. Now I realize most people don't want to push mow a 2 acre property like I used to, but so many ways to improve ones fitness and exercise and slow the fattening....
Jackal69 saidAccording to recent a Salon.com piece, the obesity rate is rising in spite of the increase in gas prices and food. Shouldn't this be having the opposite effect, forcing folks to walk more and eat less/better?
Actually, I think the poorer a person is the worse it may be, because they are more apt to eat less healthy food and not take care of themselves.
Simple: Quality food is expensive. High-quality protein is expensive. Vegetables are expensive. When prices increase, these things get even MORE expensive.
The one thing that doesn't get more expensive? The Dollar Menu at every Fast Food restaurant, and the crappy processed food that's sold in grocery stores.
Most of the overweight people I know eat fast food 3-5 times a week. I know. I used to as well. Why would I go spend $14 on three boneless, skinless chicken breasts, when I can get a double cheeseburger at McDonald's on the Dollar menu. And, at the time, the Burger tasted a hole hell of a lot better to me than a damn chicken breast.
So, for a family of four, you could spend $30 at the grocery store buying chicken and vegetables, or you could outfit the whole family at McD's for $15.
(Sadly, that outfit comes with Heart Disease, Diabetes, and a fat ass.)
- portion sizes; - processed foods that are higher in fat; - less exercising, more time watching TV, playing video games or being on the computer; - families eat out more and prepare less food at home; - every day life requires less expenditure of energy with the increase in technology.
look_alive saidSimple: Quality food is expensive. High-quality protein is expensive. Vegetables are expensive. When prices increase, these things get even MORE expensive.
The one thing that doesn't get more expensive? The Dollar Menu at every Fast Food restaurant, and the crappy processed food that's sold in grocery stores.
Most of the overweight people I know eat fast food 3-5 times a week. I know. I used to as well. Why would I go spend $14 on three boneless, skinless chicken breasts, when I can get a double cheeseburger at McDonald's on the Dollar menu. And, at the time, the Burger tasted a hole hell of a lot better to me than a damn chicken breast.
So, for a family of four, you could spend $30 at the grocery store buying chicken and vegetables, or you could outfit the whole family at McD's for $15.
(Sadly, that outfit comes with Heart Disease, Diabetes, and a fat ass.)
And try buying it all organic! But I look at it as if I die I dont need the money, if I live, I need the body.
But I also have plenty of money. Think of people who have to work 2 or more jobs just to make ends meet. They arent going to be exercising properly and taking time to fix a proper meal.
look_alive said[quote][cite]Caslon said[/cite]But I also have plenty of money.
In best Joey imitation: "So, Caslon, how YOU doin'?" [/quote]
Handsome face, but you're too tall. .....Besides, my ex cost me a quarter of a million, so I have learned not to do THAT again. ....Now, it's "what? you dont have any money, ... .... what the hell am I talking to you for?" .... .....then I go home and take a bath in a tub of currency to get the smell of poverty off me! .....
You would think that increased gas prices would cause people to eat less but it isn't so simple sadly.
Farm bills, passed by both Dems and Repubs, subsidize two crops heavily: corn and soy. Both are now in every processed food you eat. Corn is turned into sugar. Look at a package of food. It will probably contain high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, fructose, dextrose, glucose and likely more than one of those. The government, over the last two decades has made corn based sugars so incredibly cheap the food industry would be stupid to not put them in.
So, the most unhealthy things in food are the most heavily subsidized. Corn sugar, corn oil, soy oil, are empty calories that will balloon your ass. But since they are cheap, cheap food has them as an ingredient.
Of course, watch your political party try and 86 farm subsidies and you will watch their opponents get elected.
According to the Oprah of the day, obesity stems from overall clutter within one's home; an overabundance of items will result in the owner gaining weight.
Here I thought an increase in body weight came from a positive caloric intake / "burned" ratio. Silly me...when I weighed 125 lbs and had a continuous pigsty room, I must have really been overweight with a skinny appearance.
There is a pyschological aspect to clutter. I read this book recently to help me declutter my house. (Hey I have had a lot of years to accumulate crap).
I got this book because it isn't about "organizing" and buying plastic containers to put things in. It's about how to psychologically let go of stuff. I was just going crazy just seeing clutter. So I can understand how that kind of psychological strain and drain could be a factor in comfort eating, which would result in weight gain.
I think the problem started with the two-income family, where the "Mother" doesn't have time to cook all the meals from scratch. This led to the frozen dinner, of dubious nutritional character and eating out. The trade-off became one of time vs money.
I can cook a great dinner from scratch for half to 2/3's of the cost of a frozen dinner and it is much healthier. But, and here is the big but (not butt)I have the time, being a consultant, to do the cooking. And I enjoy cooking. It is also the only way I can keep my portion size in check, so I can continue to lose weight.
IMHO it is going to take a revolution in thought and expectations before we can ever hope to solve the problem.
The City of Melbourne, that I now call home. Is the best city in Oz, and maybe the world to eat in. Good quality food, and you don't have too pay though your nose to eat it.
I have also eaten in America. OMG. Low grade food, poor quality too. Pulse not only have you polluted your own country with your saturated fat outlets, that has helped turn American into beach balls, but you are also polluting the rest of the world, with your saturated fat out lets. Thus help turn the rest of the world into clone Americans, fat!
As the posters above have noted, it's occurring because of a nutritional paradox in which prices rise more quickly on the better food than the worse food. While vegetables might rise in price by 50%, that pack of Ramen might rise 10%, if at all. So people are forced to buy food that is worse for them because it's what they can afford, which in turn leads to higher obesity rates.
The same sort of phenomenon driving higher obesity rates with increased food prices drives overpopulation in developing countries. The poorer people are, the more children they're likely to have. Though you would think that poverty would lead to people wanting to have less children in order to provide more for a few, in the calculus of the poor it's actually better odds to have more children, some of whom will die and some of whom will live, in order to have more labor to create more food, but more importantly to increase the odds that one or two will live long enough to provide for you in your old age.
Pattison saidyou are also polluting the rest of the world, with your saturated fat out lets. Thus help turn the rest of the world into clone Americans, fat!
The obvious answer to the question is Americans eat poorly and don't get enough exercise.
I think the more complex answer is we haver really become a bunch of pussies who can't do anything that requires concerted, long term effort. Everybody wants a gimmick or a quick fix of some sort, especially when it relates to weight loss. The End.
TELLING people to give up takeaway food is a waste of time, a nutrition researcher says.
University of Adelaide and CSIRO Human Nutrition researcher Emily Brindal said Australia's fast-food addiction was here to stay, and doctors and other health professionals should focus on encouraging people to choose healthier takeaway options.
Ms Brindal surveyed more than 500 South Australians about their takeaway food habits.
She found they ate 3.4 times a month on average at one of the major fast-food chains, such as McDonald's, Hungry Jacks or Burger King, KFC, Domino's and Red Rooster.
The most common reason given for buying fast-food was convenience, with more than one-third of people surveyed saying they were in a hurry or did not have time to cook.
About 17 per cent bought fast-food while out shopping or buying groceries, and about 29 per cent bought it while commuting.
"It is clear that despite repeated messages about fatty foods and the risks associated with obesity, people will continue to eat fast foods," Ms Brindal said.
"Promoting healthy fast-food consumption might be the best option to adopt.
"This could be targeted at fast-food consumers who have the most frequent weight gain behaviour."
I don't know why Americans are so fat. But I do know why I'm overweight. Its a combination of my genes and lifestyle. The people on both sides of my family are big people, and I don't necessarily mean fat. I mean we usually come out mesomorphs or endomorphs. And not to knock my black kin but the black community has terrible eating habits...we usually don't care though, we typically favor a nice big body.
My eating habits as a child was atrocious. No one bothered to tell me what my problem was unless 5 years of "Your a fatass", "haha, Cartman", "damn, you need to lose weight man!" was just people's way of saying cut the fast food, eat less, and exercise.
I eventually grew into my big body but I still have poor habits such as hardly eating. When I do, its usually fast food, or just something non-nutritious and essentially meaningless. I like walking but any other kind of exercising exercises my patience.
As for most Americans, I believe it has much to do with our fast paced society, fast-food franchises on every corner, negligence of watching what we're eating, television, cars, shitty processed genetically modified foods, etc.
Have to agree somewhat with that last submitter. Genes do play a part, but we Americans are an inactive group. I broke my leg last August, took the top of the tibia off. In a Wheel chair for 10 weeks hated it. Got a HP Placard that is good for 2 yrs, once out of Wheel chair did not use placard except for wet cold days. Knee did act up. My roommates would steal it so they could park closer to the stores. Another thing that is big in Texas ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFETS. The majority of the people by pass (no pun intended) the good protein stuff and go to the Fried stuff
VineyardHmo saidFast food + cheap VALUE meals = fat bodies. Wait until McDonald's grasp is felt in Europe....it won't be long before they too are porking up.
They are already porking up. We went thru this a few months back. It just is a favorite thread theme to diss americans and their obesity problem...like the rest of the world has to worry about falling thru grates.
I totally understand, Caslon. Unfortunately, everyone outside of the US seems to love riding the band-wagon of complaining about everything US, so I thought I'd chime in and show it's not just the US.
Here's proof. The following is in an article in the International Herald Tribune in which they were initially talking about McDonald's "new" changes to the look of their "restaurants":
"So far, the changes appear to be paying off. Sales in Europe are ahead of those in the United States. In the first half of this year, combined sales at Europe's 6,400 restaurants rose 15 percent to $4.1 billion, compared to a 6 percent increase in America, where McDonald's has 13,800 restaurants and sales were $3.9 billion. The strength of European currencies helped, but even without the lagging U.S. dollar, European revenue is rising faster in real terms than revenue in the United States."
Ahem.....excuse me, that's 6,400 restaurants in Europe compared to 13,800 in the US with Europe's market making $200,000,000 more than the US market! Do I see Europe's waist-line getting bigger?
Yup! Makes me wonder just how many American Fast Food restaurants are being built there JUST for the upcoming Olympics... all to satisfy "American tastes".
Right. Embrace and extinguish. In 15 years, the Chinese will be where we Americans are now. Over-inflated bellies, over-inflated credit, over-inflated consumption, and over-inflated pollution. (Not to slight the Chinese in any way, just saying it's apparently an inevitability... they're just next in line.)
All I have to say to that is, make time or get fat. I work 10-12hr/day 6 days/week and I still find time to make myself meals. Not having fast food chains where I live may help me with not making that choice to visit somewhere for a quick bite, but I refuse to believe that there are that many people out there that are so consumed with everyday life, where they can't find the time to make a quality dinner. Oh wait.....ALL my reality TV shows are on!!! I have to sit down for 5 hours!
McDonalds has announced it intends to double its outlets in China (to 1,000 restaurants) by the time the 2008 Beijing Olympics arrives. The fast food company also plans to sponsor the 2006 Winter Games, the 2010 Winter Games and the 2012 Summer Games.
I went to Buenos Aires & Rio De Janerio last Feb. and most of the guys asked me "Why are American so fat?" Well I told them that the food are cheap & we have so many ALL YOU CAN EAT restaurant that is so cheap and people stay there for hours & hours. In addition we always have the super meal for $1.00 extra. They said NO WONDER YOU GUYS ARE THE FATTEST PEOPLE ON THE PLANET.
VineyardHmo saidAll I have to say to that is, make time or get fat. I work 10-12hr/day 6 days/week and I still find time to make myself meals. Not having fast food chains where I live may help me with not making that choice to visit somewhere for a quick bite, but I refuse to believe that there are that many people out there that are so consumed with everyday life, where they can't find the time to make a quality dinner. Oh wait.....ALL my reality TV shows are on!!! I have to sit down for 5 hours!
i agree with you. i make the time to eat right and work out but there people out there that say time is a factor cause i work with them and they are overweight and out of shape.
Shove this down your Brazilian informant's throat:
"Fat Brazilians? In a body-conscious society whose gifts to global culture include "The Girl From Ipanema," the tanga bikini, and Gisele Bündchen and other supermodels, the idea seems heretical. Yet a controversial government study released late last month confirms it: Brazil is experiencing an epidemic of obesity.
According to the report, conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics and issued just as summer arrived and people began flocking to the beaches in skimpy clothing, just over 40 percent of Brazil's adult population is overweight. Over all, 1 adult in 10, or more than 10 million people, are obese, compared with fewer than 4 million who were deemed to be undernourished."
And that was in 2005!
Brought to you by the International Herald Tribune.
The reason they hit on US obesity is cuz they dont have much to feel proud of.
I try to figure out why the US is THE economy in the world. What's with the rest of the world? All this didnt just come floating down from heaven and settle here.
1) Proliferation of high-caloric, unhealthy fast food laced with highly-addictive artifical flavors;
2) Enormous increase in portion sizes, not just at fast food places, but virtually EVERYWHERE;
3) Only 20% of Americans exercise at all, and most of that is minimal and probably exaggerated in the surveys. Very few people engage in serious cardio or weight lifting and most of them are relatively young people -- most people over 35 do damn near nothing physically;
4) Way too much alcohol, U.S. has approximately 18 million alcoholics (and millions more on the way);
5) About 50 million Americans without health insurance. The connections should be obvious to you;
6) The workplace is horrendous for too many Americans. Low pay, lousy hours, no positive reinforcement, too much stress, constant threats of layoffs. This leads to buying cheap food, not taking care of yourself, drinking too much (see 1-5).
7) No emphasis on physical education in schools (see recent "Newsweek" article) and minimal nutritional education. There is, however, plenty of emphasis on encouraging soft drink consumption in high schools, since local school districts make money from the vending machines;
And one last thing:
With the majority of adult Americans now overweight or obese, it's now "normal" to be that way. Have a 42 waist? Or a 44? Bigger? You'll have NO PROBLEM finding pants that fit. This, of course, simply reinforces the destructive behaviors described above. (But if you have a 28 or 29 or 30 waist -- god help you. Lots of stores don't even carry those sizes anymore.)
It is a combination of many things, as many above have stated before me. Cheap fast food, expensive fresh and healthy food, time strapped families, all you can eat places that are cheap, serving sizes that are WAY too big for a normal person and so on and so on the list grows and grows !
I used to make the excuse that no one would find me attractive anyway so why bother putting the effort in to loose the weight and get in shape ? So I let myself get fatter and fatter until one day I looked in the mirror and, quite literally, threw up in the sink and stared in horror at what I had become in the mirror. It was just a sudden realisation and shock at how much I had let myself go and how just plain ugly and undesirable I had made myself become THROUGH MY OWN WAYS AND CHOICES.
A lack of Will Power, knowledge of healthy foods that taste just as good as bad foods, lack of motivation but above all a lack of self accountability and responisbility.
We can't seem to blame ourselves and as long as we pass the buck, we'll never get to the source of the problem; our selves
This "serving size" response is making me sick. It's called will power, folks. It's not like McDonald's or the all-you-can-eat buffet is making you go up for seconds (or thirds...hell, I'm sure someone's gone for 4th's) and eat every last morsel! Get real and stop blaming someone else for what you do and for what you have complete control of (but mostly lack thereof). Please.
Slowdive said [/quote] i agree with you. i make the time to eat right and work out but there people out there that say time is a factor cause i work with them and they are overweight and out of shape.[/quote]
Yes, and I'm sure American Idol two or three times a week along with the daily dose of Oprah, Court TV, Soaps, and the tons of Reality TV shows that they have the need to watch don't have anything to do with it. It's called prioritizing.
Irony of McDonalds being the sponsor. Safe bet other than some weight advantage sports those athletes never see the inside of a McDonalds except for commericals. Some told me once that the ads they had for the Atlanta Games the Burgers were made with 95% lean beef
OMG! It's so easy to get fat it's ridiculous! I've always been fat, work out 6 days a week now, and am STILL fat! I can only imagine my situation if I didn't work out, and I don't even eat that much ;(.
But if you've got an office job, drive to work, eat anything but raw vegetables and water, and have less than great genetics, you definitely run the risk!
re: the clutter issue Yes, there is a psychological aspect to clutter and to the continual accumulation of goods (particularly through building emotional attachments with objects); I question whether this accumulation is directly causal in terms of increased waistlines. I agree that "comfort eating," in terms of eating in response to high levels of stress, can increase a person's caloric intake to the point of increased levels of fat.
The book he presented on the show I watched was Does this Clutter Make my Butt Look Fat.
re: directing ire and ridicule toward the US From my own experience, the ridicule of the United States has little to do with a lack of personal nationalist pride and more to do with the US on-going hegemonic status in terms of economics, military affairs, politics, and culture. Some of it can be envy, but I'd say that it largely stems from the US remaining in international spotlight and from years of US-worship followed by years of US-reality and then suspicion toward the US. The attention of the European-influenced world (Europe and the Americas) remain with the US.
As to why the US is the (apparently) single-most significant economy of our world:
two World Wars devastated Europe (a devastation that alleviated through the US' Marshall Plan)
colonial histories and fairly recent histories of institutionalized racism kept many countries from expanding and industrializing
the size of the US and its abundance of resources
the US normative ideals of productivity and tech development, including immigration programs intended to draw in skilled and intellectual labor from abroad
There are more factors, but I am not an economist, nor a historian of economics.
I hate to say it, because I love my parents, but so few parents from the last generation taught their children to eat right. If I hadn't had great metabolism until recently I'd have probably turned out to be a fatty, too. Add on growing up in the South, and here you have an example of a true health convert. Its a wonder I didn't have a heart attack before 18 with the way those people eat. My mother HONESTLY put more than a whole stick of butter into mashed potatoes for three people.
Fortunately as I grew into my 20's I started realizing I felt like shit when I ate bad, and better when I ate healthy. I've recently kicked into high gear, eating a lot more lean and being conscious of WHEN in the day I'm eating things.
People act like its some massive change to pay attention to diet, but its so damn easy! Unless you have metabolic issues, your body is designed to say "THAT'S ENOUGH CRAPPY FOOD, DAMNIT." Mine sure does!
Because almost all the food products here in the United States have Trans-Fat, which also known as Partially Hydrogenated Oil. Sometime under the food products label it say Tran-Fat 0% and that is not true. Always look at the food's ingredient that have Partially Hydrogenated Oil in it. That will cause your heart disease or heart attack and gain much more fat in your body. It is good try to avoid partially hydrogenated oil products.
STAY HEALTHY!
Europe, Middle East, and some states in the United States like New York don't carry any products that have partially hydrogenated oil.
Well, the majority of America is fat because the majority of America is largely ignorant--particularly where diet, nutrition, and exercise are concerned.
Many people read "low-fat" as "eat-more". Many people don't understand the dieting is NOT the way to permanently lose weight because fat cells more efficiently store fat when you eat less. Most people eat fats that are solid at room temperature, which are the WORST fats you can ingest. Portion sizes are out of control. Very often obese people eat for emotionally/psychologically-related reasons that require counseling. Most people's regular food intake is largely sugar/simple carbohydrate rich. The majority of America is ingesting FAR too much protein--particularly animal protein. The poorest quality foods are also the least expensive. Most people eat fast food. Most people don't eat balanced diets and think the attempt at such is too challenging...etc...etc...etc...ad nauseum, ad finitum.
One of these days, hopefully pre-body breakdown, people will realize that they take far better care of their exterior while thoughtlessly polluting and neglecting their interior. There's truth to that age-old saying, "You are what you eat". Is it any surprise, with that in mind, that most people are full of, well, crap? (and too much of it, at that)
I think the fact that alot of people can't cook is a factor.. it forces many to rely on eating out of prepared foods. I've met tons of people ( men and women) with no fundamental knowledge of cooking, they're completely lost in a kitchen
Slowdive saidi agree with you. i make the time to eat right and work out but there people out there that say time is a factor cause i work with them and they are overweight and out of shape.
VineyardHmo saidYes, and I'm sure American Idol two or three times a week along with the daily dose of Oprah, Court TV, Soaps, and the tons of Reality TV shows that they have the need to watch don't have anything to do with it. It's called prioritizing.
re: VineyardHmo I am curious: where did you get ahold of the TV viewing schedule of the people he's referring to? You criticize generalizations later in the thread, yet are quite guilty of providing your own.
re: Slowdive As to time being a factor in rationalizing a lack of exercise, I'll offer a vague generality: you don't find the time...you MAKE the time.
Initiating a lifestyle of exercise and fitness is, in part, something you do out of respect for your body and for yourself (similar to how engaging with other humans and the written word is something you can do out of respect for your mind). The extent to which you want to run with that respect is up to you; just make sure that you are aiming for and working toward something you want rather than something pushed onto you.
Almost everyone drives. City planning need not be efficient ==> sprawl. Walking becomes impractical.
2) Diet
Man-made "advances" in food, e.g. High fructose corn syrup, trans-fat, etc., became prevalent in a relatively short amount of time. I don't think the human body knows how to deal with these high-tech foods. One can take in all the calories without ever feeling full.
Lack of fruit and vegetables in diet. When potatoes (e.g. french fries) can be considered as vegetable/fruit servings, there's a problem.
3) Portion size
Yes, it does matter. There have been research that show people tend to eat more when served more. Even if you "know" when to stop, you might have already consumed more than required.
Asian countries generally have lower obesity rates (See iguanaSF's post). Cars are still considered luxury items. Processed foods are not common and they, including fast food, are generally more expensive. I am still surprised by how small the portion sizes are, but they are adequate.
Starbucks, SBC, and Tully's. We've gotten fatter with all the soy and milk they put in our lattes and mochas before we go back to sit on our asses (arses for those in the UK) and work for 40-50+ hrs a week. Then we drive home and crash.
I've started getting short lattes or mochas. It has the same amount of caffeine and half the milk added than what's in a tall. It's also cheaper to get it, now that a tall at Starbucks is about the same price as a gallon of gas.
(I'm not even going to start on Krispy Kremes --especially since I just had two donuts during a meeting. My body's not happy with me right now.)
Asides from having a limitless supply of fattening foods, the American lifestyle is always about being on the go. Our food consumption has a lot to do with time AKA "fast" food.
There are lots of factors, one is that many schools are cutting out PE programs and have supplimented their funding with money from fast food/soda vendors who pay for the chance to feature their products in cafeteras and vending machines.
On the first episode of "I Can Make You Thin, with Paul McCenna," he tells people this about how to eat:
Dont do anything else while you are eating...no TV, no reading.
Pay attention to your food, savor the flavor.
Put your knife and fork down between bites. Enjoy the bite you have.
The idea is that when one is distracted while eating, one eats more.
If one eats quickly, the body doesnt have time to signal the brain that it has eaten enough before way more food than is necessary has already been shoveled down the gullet.
NickoftheNorth said[b]As to why the US is the (apparently) single-most significant economy of our world:
two World Wars devastated Europe (a devastation that alleviated through the US' Marshall Plan)
colonial histories and fairly recent histories of institutionalized racism kept many countries from expanding and industrializing
the size of the US and its abundance of resources
the US normative ideals of productivity and tech development, including immigration programs intended to draw in skilled and intellectual labor from abroad
There are more factors, but I am not an economist, nor a historian of economics.
Check out:
The Case for Goliath: How America Acts as the World's Government in the Twenty-First Century
How does the United States use its enormous power in the world? In The Case for Goliath, Michael Mandelbaum offers a surprising answer: The United States furnishes to other countries the services that governments provide within the countries they govern.
Mandelbaum explains how this role came about despite the fact that neither the United States nor any other country sought to establish it. He describes the contributions that American power makes to global security and prosperity, the shortcomings of American foreign policy, and how other countries have come to accept, resent, and exert influence on America's global role. And he assesses the prospects for the continuation of this role, which depends most importantly on whether the American public is willing to pay for it.
Jackal69 saidAccording to recent a Salon.com piece, the obesity rate is rising in spite of the increase in gas prices and food. Shouldn't this be having the opposite effect, forcing folks to walk more and eat less/better? WTF?!? What is it gonna take to tackle this epidemic and am I the only one who thinks there's something really wrong with this trend? Thoughts appreciated!
Salon piece: http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/scitech/2008/04/07/D8VT9SK00_nyc_obesity_rate/index.html
no as punitive measures on there own seldom create behavioural change as people justify the increase and get on with it.
But if you took the to one side and explained how eating healthy and walking could benefit their pocket rather than focussing on the negative aspect of obesity then you may stand a chance of achieving a change. To encourage them to walk you nee dto break down misconceptions about safety and provide them with decent legible information that is fool proof, heck yuo may even have to encourage them by showing them how to shop or where to walk.
All these things can be applied to any aspect of behavioural change.
Obesity has risen due to the expanding wealth of our fore fathers. Our parents made a few bucks so they began to introduce what were treats and then habits begin to form. Mothers go out to the workforce and they seldom cook and opt for pre-prepared. Demand for natural fresh food slumps.
Cooking skills are not passed on nor are they made an enjoyable part of growing up nor is the family meal. Knowledge on good balanced nutrition decreases, you only have to look on here at people that believe they eat healthy and yet dont achieve the cut or the bulk they desire.
I'm sorry but why are people obese? Answer is they have more excuses at not achieving than they can shake a stick at. Wether its cheap pre processed or natural wholefood ignorance is what creates the problem.
But hang on how do we break the loop? We teach children that an active lifestyle will keep the pounds at bay. Yay thats great we then expect them to spend hours studying and send them through education with high demands but still plenty of sports opportunities and then what? We get them into the workforce with a voracious appetite and limited knowledge of what makes up good nutrition and how many calories do they actually need.
A holier than thou attitude is not whats required nor is sympathy for a message that simply is not the cause of the problem. Education is the key, wether its kindergarten or highschool they need to have social skills and home economics as standard throughout education.
Caslon said[quote][cite]VineyardHmo said[/cite]Fast food + cheap VALUE meals = fat bodies. Wait until McDonald's grasp is felt in Europe....it won't be long before they too are porking up.
They are already porking up. We went thru this a few months back. It just is a favorite thread theme to diss americans and their obesity problem...like the rest of the world has to worry about falling thru grates.[/quote]
Stop blaming fast food I get sick of the ignorance on this one.
Caslon saidcities in America are not laid out for walking. No longer is there the corner market for your everyday shopping...like buying your food fresh.
Whilst I partly agree with you that modern development control in the US is somewhat lacking in that regard even in the areas where it is they do not encourage nor entice it. But that is changing.
I was in dialogue with US conterparts this week and they are gradually starting to get a take on the situation and are trying to influence future construction.
But my argument is if its not made for foot whats wrong with bike? Answer excuses and justification not "why not try it".
No one expects anyone to walk a million miles carring bags of shopping but come on the mentality is "if I could slide out of bed into my car and from that to my desk or to the shop then I will".
Poor eating habits...to much fast and processed food, and not active enough. When I take a walk in the evening, nearly every house has the tv on in the living room. People don't move!
joescorpio1970 said[quote][cite]Wysiwyg60 said[/cite]Several factors: - less exercising, more time watching TV, playing video games or being on the computer
UMMM! Did you just call me fat?
[/quote]
exactly my point
Your food intake dictates more than your lifestyle
RBY71 saidAaron McGruder's take on the subject is brilliant as always.
Ugh...all of those "food" descriptions were nausating, to say the least. Sure, salt+fat = tasty, but it quickly reaches a limit where further consumption stems more from force of habit than from actual interest.
people always use that argument I totaly disagree its just the way that you educate your pallete. If you go lower fat for a reasonable period of time the fat in food tastes totally vile and yuor mouth feels like its coated with axel grease if you eat any of it.
If you ever cook chinese food at home try this:
instead of adding oil to the wok when cooking veggies heat the wok up so its real hot and throw in your spices. Have a glass of water standing by and throw the veggies in the wok. Stir the veggies and splash in some water, not enough to create a puddle, and repeat gradually. Now eat and enjoy
It tastes a trillion times better than some grease infested msg soaked limp veg from a takeaway
Actually, NickoftheNorth, it's not a generalization. American's do sit on their ass and complain about having no time to do anything, whereas studies and reports say otherwise. American's watch, on average, OVER 5 hrs of television/day. So, seeing as a large percentage of people in the US are obese AND and we watch OVER 5 hours of TV/day, means my "generalization" is not really a generalization. It's more like sarcasm. Ever hear of it? Those TV examples are of those programs which are spoken of most as well as scheduled on television most. Have a nice day.
bfg1 said[quote][cite]Caslon said[/cite][quote][cite]VineyardHmo said[/cite]Fast food + cheap VALUE meals = fat bodies. Wait until McDonald's grasp is felt in Europe....it won't be long before they too are porking up.
They are already porking up. We went thru this a few months back. It just is a favorite thread theme to diss americans and their obesity problem...like the rest of the world has to worry about falling thru grates.[/quote]
Stop blaming fast food I get sick of the ignorance on this one. [/quote]
It's not ignorance, bfg1. Far from it actually and probably more-so on your end. This is part of a medical report that was published in the Lancet:
Participants who consumed fast food two or more times a week gained approximately 10 more pounds and had twice as great increase in insulin resistance in the 15-year period than participants who consumed fast food less than once per week.
"Fast-food consumption has increased in the United States during the past three decades," said Pereira. "While there have been many discussions about fast-food's effects on obesity, this appears to be the first scientific, comprehensive long-term study to show a strong connection between fast-food consumption, obesity, and risk for type 2 diabetes."
VineyardHmo saidFast food + cheap VALUE meals = fat bodies. Wait until McDonald's grasp is felt in Europe....it won't be long before they too are porking up.
It's a bit late for that! In my Italian class, we found a newspaper article that said one in five children are OBESE. Also, that 17 million adults are overweight, with a further 9% (about 5.2 million) being obese. And this was from 2006!
EDIT: In Italy, that is. Probably should have said that in the first place
Here's a value meal at MickeyD's that I'm sure most of us have enjoyed at some point in time (other's more frequently):
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese (because it just tastes better with cheese): 770cal 1440mg Sodium 47g Fat Large Fries (because a small just doesn't cut it): 580cal 960mg Sodium 28g Fat Large Coke (because we need something to wash it down; water just won't do) 310cal
And for those adventurous types, lets add a milk shake to the bar: 730cal 21gm Fat 103gm Sugar
So that's in ONE meal (and I use the term "meal" loosely): 2390cal 96gm Fat
Healthy, eh?! I can't wait for dinner!
So someone please tell me that it's ignorant to say that considering the number of times the average American eats at a fast food "restaurant" weekly/monthly, that it does not play a large reason as to why American's are fat. Please.
It's not ignorance, bfg1. Far from it actually and probably more-so on your end. This is part of a medical report that was published in the Lancet:
"Fast-food consumption has increased in the United States during the past three decades," said Pereira. "While there have been many discussions about fast-food's effects on obesity, this appears to be the first scientific, comprehensive long-term study to show a strong connection between fast-food consumption, obesity, and risk for type 2 diabetes."
The ignorance is in relation to the fact is its not the fast food they are consuming its the overall daily consumption, its knowing the value of what they have consumed and making informed food choices.
You could eat McDonald's every day if you like hell you could even live off of it if you made informed food choices.
Blaming the fast food industry for peoples ignorance of nutrition is not the answer
Now show me the study that shows the knowledge of nutrition, the quality of cooker skills, the family values that has them sitting round the table? They are all behaviours accountable to the individual.
Fact is its easier to demonise and blame everyone else: Atkins didn't work for me, lack of protein shakes stopped me adding muscle, of course that programme was designed for an advanced athlete.
I'm not saying that if you lived off a super sized meal everyday you wouldn't get obese far from it, but you can make informed choices and minimise that impact. Heck if you want a grease filled burger to satisfy the need then have just count the calories as all deprivation diets do is make it a chore and lead to increased failure rates and yo yo dieting.
VineyardHmo saidHere's a value meal at MickeyD's that I'm sure most of us have enjoyed at some point in time (other's more frequently):
Double
because it just tastes better with cheese):
because a small just doesn't cut it because we need something to wash it down; water just won't do
lets add a milk shake to the bar:
and I use the term "meal" loosely
So someone please tell me that it's ignorant to say that considering the number of times the average American eats at a fast food "restaurant" weekly/monthly, that it does not play a large reason as to why Americans are fat. Please.
I have pulled out the pertinent words. These words all relate to the individual, the individuals greed, the individuals lack of knowledge and understanding etc
so if you were to have only consumed 1400 calories that day by informed choice and then just eaten the 770 calorie quarter pounder (with vile plastic cheese because it tastes better) then that would make a total calorie intake for the day of: 2170 calories for the day can you then explain how you would get obese on that?
Now don't get me wrong I am not saying that the fast food restaurants are not to blame as a contributory factor especially as they are only just starting to acknowledge that they need to display calorie intake and nutrition. And by god can they put spin on things IE their nutritional information putting across the need for fat is laughable but to blame them as the main reason for obesity is crazy.
Actions start with the individual and its questioning the understanding of the basics that will solve the issue not looking for a scapegoat
Ok so you dont think that I am a complete whacko and have gone off the rails here
I get messaged all the while from guys on here who say they have a squeaky clean diet and hell no they don't drink full fat coke as that's stupid but then they drink smoothies like they are going out of fashion or glug a litre of OJ a day or worse have protein shakes but don't count the calories (and have enough protein going in to support an elephant)
What do you think the end result will be for them? Will they lose weight? Could they end up obese? Its no different they don't understand the basics
Supermarkets provide Motorised scooters for people for obese people to roll them selves around on and disabled parking
A few years ago only Walmart provided sive 42+ pants now even designers such as Calvin Klien and Polo Ralph Lauren make plus size clothes
Being grossly overweight qualifies for social security as a disability.
Car manufacturers making bigger seats, airlines providing longer seat belts
Healthcare for obesity related conditions
Think about it if you were told you were too fat to drive, fly, wear clothes and it was your own fault for allowing yourself to get to that state and no one would support you and thus enable you to get even more overweight you would soon make an effort to loose weight and by example encourage your friends and family to live a healthier life style. Instead it's politically incorrect to do be so judgmental.
Were just enabling obese people and making it that more normal to be obese and if it's considered a social norm to be obese what's to restrain the rest of the population.
Because we live in a world that you can get almost anything you want with a click of a button. But there is no button for getting into shape. It takes time... I know, 7 years ago I was 265 pounds of one excuse after another. From my family is, my mom being over weight and diabetic, my dad being over weight and having heart problems. But then one day I got off the couch and did something about it... Today I am 180 pounds of proof that with hard work and a drive to be something more you can do it...
PhxAriz08 saidBecause almost all the food products here in the United States have Trans-Fat, which also known as Partially Hydrogenated Oil. Sometime under the food products label it say Tran-Fat 0% and that is not true. Always look at the food's ingredient that have Partially Hydrogenated Oil in it. That will cause your heart disease or heart attack and gain much more fat in your body. It is good try to avoid partially hydrogenated oil products.
STAY HEALTHY!
Europe, Middle East, and some states in the United States like New York don't carry any products that have partially hydrogenated oil.
With the falling economy and rising prices people will get fatter. Many people are aware that a great deal of the food on our shelves is "fake" and does not carry the nutritional values that one would expect. Switching from whole grains to white breads to save money increases weight gain, as does a great many switches that people make at the grocery store. As for gas problems outside of large cities, many people live too far from their polaces of employment to walk to work, thus exercise is still less. Add to this stress factors about job security and family matters and it's a
) or some other means.
.... what the hell am I talking to you for?" .... 
.....then I go home and take a bath in a tub of currency to get the smell of poverty off me! ..... 
