How America's obesity is hurting the world

I didn't realize that it was such a pandemic. Is obesity an unintended consequence of civilization?

Originally posted by jawnaw2000
I didn't realize that it was such a pandemic. Is obesity an unintended consequence of civilization?

I have seen fat Americans mentioned a half dozen times on this forum, just today,

Anti American propaganda in overdrive

I think it is
something in the food we are eating.

When I ate fresh fish and game I never had a problem.

Obesity is not just a disease of developed nations. Obesity levels in some lower-income and transitional countries are as high as or higher than those reported for the United States and other developed countries

onlinelibrary.wiley.com...

The Obesity Epidemic Is a Worldwide Phenomenon

As the Washington Post reported in 2007:

Several recent animal studies suggest that environmental exposure to widely used chemicals may also help make people fat.

The evidence is preliminary, but a number of researchers are pursuing indications that the chemicals, which have been shown to cause abnormal changes in animals’ sexual development, can also trigger fat-cell activity — a process scientists call adipogenesis.

The chemicals under scrutiny are used in products from marine paints and pesticides to food and beverage containers. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found one chemical, bisphenol A, in 95 percent of the people tested, at levels at or above those that affected development in animals.

These findings were presented at last month’s annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A spokesman for the chemical industry later dismissed the concerns, but Jerry Heindel, a top official of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), who chaired the AAAS session, said the suspected link between obesity and exposure to “endocrine disrupters,” as the chemicals are called because of their hormone-like effects, is “plausible and possible.”
www.washingtonpost.com...
Bruce Blumberg, a developmental and cell biologist at the University of California at Irvine, one of those presenting research at the meeting, called them “obesogens” — chemicals that promote obesity.

"obesogens" -- chemicals that promote obesity

www.washingtonsblog.com...

The reason why I don't buy obesogens and prefer to attribute the pandemic of obesity to grazing throughout the day is because a chemical reaction would have to affect everyone pretty much equally. That's epidemology 101.

But, I've seen skinny people. And fat people. Most larger people that I know (me included) eat a lot throughout the day. The ones that don't are either gym rats or eat in a more controlled fashion.

reply to post by jawnaw2000


Fatten up the populace of Earth and prepare the aliens for a HUGE feast

So this is just another bash America thread because America has so much stuff it all has to be taken away from America to punish the country just for being a prosperous nation.

Nice.

It isn't about the calories but the ingredients that you digest. Not to mention the processing of foods with additive's, chemicals, HFC, preservatives, aspartame, antibiotics,etc. I don't see the average american eating a dozen banana's, kiwi's or a pound of Brocolli , green beans.

It is a problem how we treat our food! Another problem are the monocultures within farming that is destroying the diversity of the specie!

www.youtube.com... (Botany of desire)


HBO did a fine job documenting the obesity pandemic

www.youtube.com... (part 1)

www.youtube.com... (part 2)

www.youtube.com... (part 3)

www.youtube.com... (part 4)

I once read "Eat to live, Not live to eat." Food is another addiction. My step father always says he tries so hard to lose weight but nothing works. He has diabetes and high blood pressure. What he doesn't tell people is he eats all day large amounts of food.

reply to post by Mystery_Lady


Successful weight loss is a long, slow process. American culture is conditioned to desire quick, magic pill results. The reason why weight-loss is a multimillion dollar industry is because most of it is a scam and idiots buy into it thinking that by purchasing some retarded metal bar or taking Hydroxycut they will magically lose 50 pounds in a month. Of course, the work out equipment will maybe be used once or twice before being shelved away forever, and the pills won't do anything for you because they are a scam.

Starting a new diet/exercise program will cause you to lose some weight rather quickly, say 10 lb. Once your metabolism adapts, however, to your new habits, you will experience an average of 1-2 lb a week of weight loss. It's not that these weight-loss programs don't work, necessarily, but rather that people don't want to put the work into them; there is no "easy fix" for obesity. You can buy the p90x or the bowflex, but if you don't commit to a work out schedule and a low carb diet, you shouldn't expect much from it in return.

Here's the deal, if you take on a healthy diet and commit yourself to exercising routinely for 1.5 years, you will not only lose excess weight and build muscle, but you will cultivate the habits to actually keep your new body. There is no easy fix for bad habits, and what the American people tend to have is a head full of bad habits.

reply to post by irencus


That's because fruit and veggies are very expensive


If you don't have much money and you have to choose between the box of donuts for $2.50 or 2 grapefruits, which are you going to choose? Which will last you longer? Which is going to give you more instant pleasure?

See the problems?
1) Most people don't think long-term.
2) Some people can't afford to eat healthy/whole foods because they can't blow their entire paycheck on a few days worth of food.

reply to post by DestroyDestroyDestroy


I agree that people like to eat sweets. Duh. But, I disagree that junk food is cheaper. I've made crock pot meals that feed me and my two kids for dinner for two or three days and costs maybe $10.

1lb hamburger $3.50
5lb potatoes $1.00
2 cans tomato sauce $1.50
Celery, carrots, other vegetables $3-4
spices to flavor $1.00

Total--$10

Large Value Meal at McDonalds for 1 person $5-7

Eating healthy can be very cheap.

I wish I was fat, id live longer during a food shortage

Btw, this whole low calorie food thing is a fraud, either way you look at it, you need a minimum of 1500 to 2000 calories a day to be healthy, you just have to spend more money to get the same calories in the lower calorie foods.
Id rather eat one high calorie food than 4 low calorie foods to get the same benefit but I dont like really like to eat either.

Being thin is worse than being fat. Because atleast it's easy to lose weight.

Don't think I'd have this problem in America though.

Originally posted by DestroyDestroyDestroy
reply to post by irencus

 

That's because fruit and veggies are very expensive

You can get like 5 apples for a pound, which would fill you up ten times more than twenty bucks worth of chocolate.

reply to post by Swamper


It's better to be thin than fat, ebcause you don't have people actively discriminating against you and calling for your complete social ostracization if you're thin.

Just remember, it's a cookbook.

Originally posted by Mystery_Lady
If loosing weight was as simple as eating less and exercising more, then why hasn't the obese Americans slimmed down yet?

Because most American's don't do that. Most american's are entirely dishonest about how much they eat. They consistently overestimate how much they burn through exercise and underestimate how much they eat. If you really want to know yourself write down every thing that goes into your mouth. You will be shocked at how much more you eat than you previously believed. Furthermore, the importance of exercise is not for weight loss, it is for your health. Exercise is a poor weight loss tool by itself. The old bodybuilder saying is "Abs are made in the kitchen not the gym".

Originally posted by Juggernog
I wish I was fat, id live longer during a food shortage

Btw, this whole low calorie food thing is a fraud, either way you look at it, you need a minimum of 1500 to 2000 calories a day to be healthy

This is not true, the amount you need depends on your activity level. The activity level of the average desk worker actually requires less food. Smaller people also require less food. It is perfectly acceptable for someone who is 4'11 to eat only 1100 calories a day at a low activity level. If you were 5'9 and active that would be inadvisable.

Most people don't know a lot about weight loss. There are so many myths Your best bet is not to focus on weight loss persay but rather building muscle instead, and you don't need to go to the gym to do that. Building muscle will raise you Basal metabolic rate. Check this out, no gym required. It also helps to know your caloric needs, check this site out. One shouldn't focus so much on weight, focus on body fat percentage.

When I traveled to Europe a few years ago, (Greece, Germany, and Italy), almost every place I stayed had everything I needed within walking distance. The days we decided to go to the market instead of eating out, we could walk and make a simple meal with fresh ingredients. I ate a ton while I was there, the food was amazing, but I walked almost everywhere,and even lost a few pounds. Here in America where I live, nothing is within walking distance like that, including bus stops. We don't move around enough because of that very reason in my opinion.

reply to post by antonia


That caculator says thatr I need 1700 calories a day. Thats about 5 swiss rolls

This is the first time I've heard of the term "grazing". What is that implying that fat people are cows? All you thin people need to mooooooooooooove over, the fat people need to graze.