Why are Southerners so Fat?

I don't know about how much heat is an issue. I live near Phoenix (right now it's 110) and except for the Mexicans there is not a preponderance of fat people. In fact a lot of people here look like they're in great shape. I see a lot of bicyclists on the roads all year round.

Laziness it's that simple , Me and some friends went to Florida this previous winter . I observed some constuction workers and pool builders near the place we were staying at near Navarre Beach and let me tell you they work very slow down there. Us Yankees run circles around them guy's , guess that's why they dont like us starting buisness' down there.

Maybe it has something to do with there ancestors , you know the slave owners . They are used to not working or working very slow.

Don't Southern fast food places have the same "healthy" options that we have here in NY? What about the salads at McDonalds, Wendy's, etc?

Also, what is the fascination with Hardee's, Denny's, Arby's, etc? We don't have any of those on LI ... well we have exactly TWO Arby's according to their website but I have never been to either.

Ahh dangit, now from reading the replies to this thread, i am SERIOUSLY hungry.


*sigh* I knew that was going to happen. Guess I read it all on purpose, to have an excuse to go get some food lol


Great thread, and oh, tea is not tea unless it's been changed from a liquid to a semi-solid state from so much sugar.

Just sayin'.

reply to post by Samblack


Gee, guess what?

I grew up in the hills of NC and none of my ancestors had slaves.
In fact, the majority of Southerners were poor and were not
slave owners.

As said before, diet has a lot to do with it.

Fried green tomatoes
Fried okra
Fried squash
Biscuits and gravy etc, etc.

The invention of the personal computer certainly didn't help matters. lol

Damn, now I wish I had a tall glass of sweet ice tea.

I have lived in hot climates all of my life and spent most of my days working out of doors. I weighed 210 lbs. in the US and now weigh 178 after 10 years away from the US. I did little to change my diet other than to stop eating fast food and anything that contains corn syrup as it is all genetically modified. I still drink 2 or 3 soft drinks a day but they are made from sugar and not GMO corn syrup. I eat more fried food that I have ever eaten in my life yet maintain my present weight. I have seen plenty of fat asses in my journeys to the US especially up north in places like Chicago and New York City. Agri-business is the culprit in co-operation with fast food and soft drink companies.
I live in South America and rarely do I see a person that would be considered obese. We fry everything but use natural oils and drink soft drinks made of natural sugar. This is not only my experience but also the experiences of many former industrialized world dwellers that now live here. Write your food providers and ask if they use GMO foods. I did and never received any response because we all know the answer. I visited the US for a month and gained 5 lbs without any change in my diet. I do not claim to know the answers but America is fat and not big boned as Cartman would say.
The French eat some of the fattiest food in the world and are not fat as a whole. Ask questions and stop eating out and you will lose weight. I eat out maybe twice a year and am better off for it. Try cooking for yourself and see what a difference you will make in your life or just call Dominoes and watch the game.

Originally posted by Jomina
Ahh dangit, now from reading the replies to this thread, i am SERIOUSLY hungry.


*sigh* I knew that was going to happen. Guess I read it all on purpose, to have an excuse to go get some food lol

Great thread, and oh, tea is not tea unless it's been changed from a liquid to a semi-solid state from so much sugar.

Just sayin'.

yeah me too! i am going to get myself some fine hotwings later on at the Chicken "Halal" that is
Anywayz i love all those franchise in the US, wendy's, denny's etc. One thing i didn't get was all the Chlorine in the water [i thought that was more in the east coast] and then they fill your cup for 95% with ice[chlorine] cubes
every time..


p.s
just go to a gym with AC, i eat fat all the time love it and just burn it at the gym...

[edit on 10-7-2009 by Foppezao]

Why are Southerners so Fat?

They eat meat that's full of Human Growth Hormone.

The 2nd fattest city in USA, Houston, is incredibly polluted. There are pollutants called obesogens that are endocrine disruptors. They will make people fat.

Not all southern people are fat....My ex wife was from Ohio...never saw so many chunky women in my life...all they eat is sweets..People can cook in the south..not like the garbage food in the North..

Originally posted by Iamonlyhuman
Have you ever considered the fact that the South is known for it's "nice, laid-back" people... could it be related to the fact that our food makes us happier?

I don't get that last bit.

I'd have said: could it be related to the fact that our food makes us completely incapable of movement?

Seriously. I love southern food. But if you're not used to it, don't make any plans for after dinner beyond sitting, blinking, and occasionally raising a glass to your lips. It's a happy paralytic state, granted. But still...

Being from the North (Canada) but living in the South most of my adult life I would have to say that the South has way...very much...better food!

Makes me want some now!

Nothing can compare to Southern cooking and even reading about it makes my mouth water.

Great BBQ!!

Awesome deep fried Turkey at thanksgiving as well as all the trimmen...

Even the Burgers are the BEST!

A place just outside of Rogers Arkansas has THE best Cheeseburger...cannot think of the name but all the Razorbacks should know the place.


Tulsa has Rons Chiliburger...the best ChiliBirger I have ever ate.

Stillwater has Eskimoe Joes...

Go to Branson for son=me REAL tossed rolls...

just sayen iz all

Fat is not just in the South, it's everywhere. Here is why:

This is why your fat.

Southern cuisine is built on the foods that families used to eat after working their asses off in a field for 8 to 12 hrs a day back when.

Their lifestyles could support that kind of caloric intake. Indeed many of the folks who used to eat this way were actually skinny because it still was'nt enough to make up for the output of calories that were burned working.

The change in lifestyle and general laziness is why most ALL of us Americans are overweight.

Not just us long-haired southern boys.

PEACE and LIGHT

Im from the UK but at least once a year i visit Mississippi. I find the problem is that theres to much space. Everything is so far away that nobody walks anywhere they just drive from place to place (except in New Orleans).

Originally posted by Blanca Rose
Another thought on the obesity in the south.

The first time I ordered iced tea when I moved here, I was served a huge glass that was about 32 oz. I thought to myself, nice, since it was really hot out.

I took a sip, and directly spit it out. I asked the waitress did she make a mistake and serve me something else, to which she wondered if I meant to ask for un-sweet tea.

The sweet tea down here is about 50% sugar, and I am not kidding. It's almost like syrup.

If you ever order tea, and don't like it sweet make sure to specify down here in the south.

This made me giggle, I had the same experience in reverse. Oh my I love my sweet tea. One time I had a yankee waitress and I ordered iced tea. Well everyone in the south knows iced tea is sweet unless you ask specificly for un sweet. She brought me unsweet, like you I spit it out and gagged. I asked her why she didnt bring me iced tea she looked at me crazy and said she did, Oh lord I educated that poor girl real fast. Honestly we love our sweet tea and we don't want no one messing with it either.

Proud Louisiana Cajun here.

I can assure you any extra weight on my bones is by choice not by lack of nutrition.

Come live a month with me and my Taunte's gumbo. You'll never be fatter and happier.

Well as a vegetarian now in Texas, I can tell you there are very, very, very few restaurants that have edible food. BBQ is the #1 kind of food. There seems to be a genuine disregard for politically correct eating which I think it great! Weather does play a part, I'm sure. But mostly they just love greasy food.

As a Canadian, I can honestly say this is one of the most amusing threads I've read on here in a while.
I'm glad everyone has kept such a good attitude in this thread- It was pleasent to read about the cultural difference from a place so close.

Originally posted by Iamonlyhuman

"When you're poor, you tend to eat more calorie-dense foods because they're cheaper than fruits and vegetables," explains Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America. Poor neighborhoods also have fewer grocery stores, even in the rural South.

Sorry, not buying it. It's a cultural thing.. we love fried things and biscuits and gravy, to name two. Plus, the fact that it's very easy climate-wise to grow vegies. Ever heard the title "Fat and happy"?

so like.. 100% of the entire southern obese population have lived there their entire life and none have moved there from other places bringing their own cultural tastes?

lol "not buying it" ... evidently, yes you are and lots OF it!

-

[edit on 10-7-2009 by prevenge]

reply to post by grapesofraft


You're making it sound like there are NO fat people in the North.

All of my husbands family lives in Conn, and every single one of them are fat Italians.

By the way , I live in the deep south and I couldn't live without my grits with lots of cheese and butter, fried eggs, lots of bacon and fresh baked big biscuits EVERY morning.

My favorite is southern fried chicken with mashed potatoes with sour cream and butter and pepper in them and a great big bowl of delicious greens and hot cornbread.

For a late snack , nothing is better than a bowl of leftover cornbread with sweet ice cold buttermilk.

oh, did I say I live in the south?......lol