Presenting 14 Years Of Exponential American Obesity

This Is Your Country On Fat: Presenting 14 Years Of Exponential American Obesity

A week ago we had the displeasure of reminding America that in 8 years three quarters of the population will be obese. We said that "many forget that a much more serious long term issue for the US (assuming anyone cares what happens in the long run) is a far more ominous secular shift in US population - namely the fact that everyone is getting fatter fast, aka America's "obesity epidemic." And according to a just released analysis by BNY ConvergEx' Nicholas Colas, things are about to get much worse, because as the OECD predicts, by 2020 75% of US the population will be obese. What this implies for the tens of trillions in underfunded healthcare "benefits" in the future is all too clear." Subsequently, The Atlantic decided to do a follow up on what it titled "The True Cost Of Unwalkable Streets" in which author Kain Benfield says: "Perhaps the single most alarming public health trend in the United States today is the dramatic rise in the number of people who are overweight and obese, bringing serious risks of heart disease, diabetes and other consequences leading to life impairment and premature death. This is bad enough as it is, but I contend that it is particularly unfortunate that we do not sufficiently recognize the extent to which these trends are caused by environmental factors, particularly the shape of our built environment."

Call it what you will, but there is no denying there is a HUGE problem taking place.

I think the maps say it all.

Then you have the opposite end. A fair chunk of people are also underweight. Trying to get that disgusting supermodel look!

You are right, obesity is very prevalent in the US.

However, I read somewhere that one of the reasons for the huge spike involved a change in the definition of obesity. I don't remember where I read that, it was in a medical magazine. I'll try and find the article.

reply to post by loam


What is the one light blue state?

I thought Texas was supposed to be the fattest state

A recent police study found that you're much more likely to get shot by a fat cop if you run.

ETA All joking aside, the main cause is soda pop (sugar does turn to fat) and fast food. Not everything people like to eat is good for them.

Here is one article on defining obesity. Interestingly enough, members of the panel included pharmaceutical reps...the very folks who were in a position to benefit?

Interesting....

Article

The reason many more people are getting fat is a lot more complex than I originally thought. I am trying to understand this complexity. There is a difference between healthy fat and unhealthy fat and I still have to read another five hundred or so more articles to form an opinion completely. At that time I could probably come up with a solution. To me this is not a priority issue as much as other research. Five hundred research articles will take me about six months to complete, once I start. It involves studying more in depth the causes of a few diseases and using myself as a test subject. That can lower my intellect for a while by overexciting my brain functions. It will probably cause me to go in debt because the reward sections of the brain are usually exited after the weight loss occurs for about a year..

reply to post by smyleegrl


That's interesting. My question is: what were the previous requirements for being labeled overweight or obese? Were they still based on the bmi soley, or was something else involved?

Well when you consider that the "Food Pyramid" promoted by the FDA is the same as the one promoted for fattening pigs, What do you think will happen. Add that to restaraunts making portions huge and the promotion of buffet all you can eat type places. Hardly anyone eats in moderation. Some do but most don't. I to, am guilty of this.

Living in a land of plenty perhaps, isn't so good for us.

Everyone needs to burst train. It only takes 10-15 minutes 3-4 times a week with a day in between for rest. It raises your metabolism for the whole next day resulting in more actual fat loss. Fat in the torso area is what causes most of the health problems that comes with obesity.

And of course you have to eat healthily. BPA is heavily correlated with obesity along with a lot of other food additives.

reply to post by unityemissions


Being overweight really goes by body fat percentage, not BMI. Bodybuilders/athletes aren't overweight in common use of the word.

reply to post by unityemissions


I don't know. The article I posted here was not the article I read in the doctors office. But it's interesting that pharmaceutical reps would be present, don't you think? Especially since the diet pill craze hit the US about the same time.

Interestingly enough, I took my five year old son for a checkup. He's very small for his age (girls in his kindergarten class like to carry him around and he HATES that). He's about the height equivalent of a three year old, and weighs 32 pounds. He's extremely hyper, doesn't stop moving until he falls asleep.

The doc said he was borderline overweight.

I truly don't see how.

GMO, radiation, ie depleted uranium, and all sorts of horrible abuses of food. They also have people turned off real fats, that your body needs and eating margarine and artifical poisons.

Looking at that map it's shocking on one hand and not on the other. Usually researchers want to make it all the people's fault but anyone with a basic understanding about the food sold in stores today knows that it's not very nutritious and processing take even more nutrients. Less nutritious foods. The industry claims it don't have enough studies to know what effects GMO foods have on human health. 50 Harmful Effects of Geneticially Modified Foods Personally I don't buy it, they know exactly how detrimental that stuff is and I believe just by looking at the rate of obesity in this country people are consuming GMO foods more often than they realize and it's causing the high rates of diabetes, heart disease, and other ailments.

I have no doubt we are a fatter nation. Whenever you go out to the grocery store, or really anywhere, check out the percentage of fat people. I can't help but do this sometimes, and it is really sickening. Sorry, fat people, but it is. I blame both the PTB that run our food systems, advertising, and restaurants, and the people themselves.

I've known since I was a teen, that fast food is very bad, and I really think this is the worst cuprit. That, and eating at home in the same fashion....premade box food, fried food, and fake food.

Originally posted by RealSpoke
reply to post by unityemissions

 

Being overweight really goes by body fat percentage, not BMI. Bodybuilders/athletes aren't overweight in common use of the word.

I agree, but that's not how it's defined in this country, by medical standards.

As for the burst training, it's a good start, but the next step is HIIT, and then even a notch above is tabata intervals.

reply to post by smyleegrl


His fat seems to be healthy fat, healthy fat gives you usable energy. Fat is a system our body stores energy, some long term and some short term. Study his eating and see what he likes to eat. He's related, he may be eating in an order which creates the utilization of energy. Also study what foods he avoids. We need to start studying our healthy young to find out what is wrong with us. They haven't gained the conditioning yet that society is pushing on us. Brown fats, or fats containing blood vessels. have a purpose of somehow creating energy. Until recently it was thought that we lost this fat but it has been discovered that men still have it around their shoulders and women in their butts. Men use their arms to work and women use their energy for childbirth. Deficiencies in women can cause miscarriages and premature babies. The body stores bad chemicals it cannot detox in fat cells, releasing too much of these at one time without boosting the nutrients to make the liver work properly can be a huge problem. None of my recommendations for weight loss contain veggies with active Oxylates like raw spinach and Broccoli. Cooking these veggies makes them very good for you and they have a time when it's necessary to eat them raw with dip containing calcium.

reply to post by RealSpoke


You sound like you own a Bowflex, I use that kind of routine myself occasionally.

I found an article from 1998 which discusses the change in BMI.

It states under the old standards, in 1998, half the popupation was already considered overweight.

1998

I used the information provided in the article to extrapolate the old standard for being overweight based on the BMI.

It is 26.5.

That's not really too much of a difference.