Thanks For Being Fat America

I would consider myself "vertically challenged, but horizontally advanced." I am glad nexus posted this - I don't think they were trying to press any buttons. The FDA, government, and the Sugar/Meat/Dairy companies are said to meet every five years to discuss the "american" diet AKA the food pyramid. Guess what - these companies help fund the government in ways that help put their foods in the pyramid and are greatly encouraged by the FDA as "healthy" - even though we should only be eating the foods (meat, dairy, sugar) less than what our pyramid states. (find the info in the book: Breaking the Food Addiction By Neal Barnard, MD)

The FDA is not here to help us - nor are the pharmaceuticals companies or the medical field. Now throw in the media/advertising agencies and you get guilt trips and confusing statistics. Oh and lets not forget the fact that our society never has any time - quick fixes are now the norm.

If you think about it - it's a vicious cycle:
You're told what to eat, you consume, you become unhealthy, you don't have time nor money to get healthy the old fashioned way, so you become unhealthy, you go to the doc, get meds, but get sicker, and after you've spent an arm and a leg you're still unhealthy and "they" get richer.

There's a reason why bad food is cheap and the good food is expensive...or am I being to paranoid?

[edit on 10-1-2010 by Soulfulwonder]

[edit on 10-1-2010 by Soulfulwonder]

I hear this time and time again:

"Bad food is cheap and good food is expensive"

That is one of the most pervasive lies going on these days. Perhaps it makes people feel better, maybe it's an easy scapegoat. Who knows.

Simple fact is that eating healthy costs no more (and often times less) than eating poorly.

It's lazy to buy pre-made food, processed food, and fast food rather than to bring your own food or make something. I'm sure there will be the "but we don't have time".

Bologna, people have time for what they want to have time for.

reply to post by KrazyJethro


Completely agree. Im in my early 20's and i am not lying when i say i only know ONE friend that can actually cook a good hearty meal. Most others can't cook, think it's a waste of time and expensive. Tonight i made a fish pie and it cost me next to nothing, plus i still have some left over fish and king prawns for another time. When i say things like that to my friends they try and tell me im "showing off"...when the hell did being able to cook good simple food equate to showing off?

Alien conspiracy.

Everyone knows marbleized meat is much tastier.

Ok, a more serious response...

We live in filth. We eat filth. And, we drink filth.

Is it any wonder there are so many metabolic disorders today?

Even the third world is gaining weight, and it ain't because of the quantity of food they eat.

....which begs the question....

Why are we only focusing on fat Americans? The problem is global:

The World Is Fat

Over the past 20 years a dramatic transition has altered the diet and health of hundreds of millions of people across the Third World. For most developing nations, obesity has emerged as a more serious health threat than hunger. In countries such as Mexico, Egypt and South Africa, more than half the adults are either overweight (possessing a body mass index, or BMI, of 25 or higher) or obese (possessing a BMI of 30 or higher). In virtually all of Latin America and much of the Middle East and North Africa, at least one out of four adults is overweight. Although undernutrition and famine remain significant problems in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, even desperately poor countries such as Nigeria and Uganda are wrestling with the dilemma of obesity. Worldwide, more than 1.3 billion people are overweight, whereas only about 800 million are underweight--and these statistics are diverging rapidly.

The obesity rates in many developing countries now rival those in the U.S. and other high-income nations. What is more, the shift from undernutrition to overnutrition--often called the nutrition transition--has occurred in less than a generation. When I return to villages that I visited 15 years ago in India, China, Mexico and the Philippines, I see enormous changes: kids guzzle soft drinks and watch television, adults ride mopeds instead of walking and buy their food from supermarkets. In addition to adopting more sedentary lifestyles, people in the developing world are also consuming more caloric sweeteners, vegetable oils and animal-source foods (meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products). The combination of lifestyle and dietary changes has paved the way for a public health catastrophe, with obesity leading to an explosive upsurge in diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses.

[edit on 10-1-2010 by loam]

While I tend to take care of myself, and would hope others would too (for the most part), in my opinion it's a personal choice and people who are "fat" have two choices, either continue being "fat" and live with what ever consequences or benefits that comes with, or get in shape and live with what ever consequences or benefits that comes with it.

With that being said, in my opinion I would hope that we as people would "shape up", because boy would I hate to end up like the people in Wall-E!

Well, if the U.S. wants to ever get a medical system like our in Canada ( ), then it would be wise to slim down, and get healthy. Obesity is a very expensive burden on our health system, soon to be worse than smoking!!!

Obesity's disease burden worse than smoking

I will take another hall to that....

Peace,

Magnum

I only eat nuts and berries and seeds, never touch root veggies, like taters or yams or carrots, they don't like to be yanked from the ground by their roots.

oh and

Only eat apples or oranges or any tree bearing fruit after it has fallen from the tree,

reply to post by KrazyJethro


I was specifically saying "organic" food is expensive - have you seen the prices of genetically modified food versus organic?!?!? Or if you go to the market, you have to make sure they aren't using horrid pestesides - which I'm deathly allergic to. I try to go to the market and search every aisle for food without aspartame, high fructose corn syrup and just about anything I can't pronounce, and most of the time I end up with very little in my basket. There's more to it than just "good food is expensive and bad food is cheap". I guess I should have been more clear in my last post.

It's hard to break free from our bad habits, but when you do, you run into a lot of barriers, you know? I agree that a lot of us don't know how to properly cook. I grew up in a single parent household who taught me burned food is "cajun" style - not the best environment to learn. I'm learning at a late age in my life how to eat properly, it's rather sad, but I did not grow up in a home that taught me how important vegetables, fruit and legumes were for you. I'm learning, but I have noticed I spend more money when I cook healthier than when I go and grab some over processed food off the shelf.

Now instead of saying healthy food is not expensive, can you please show me how you can walk into a store and buy a completely healthy dinner to cook without it costing an arm and a leg? Or suggest some books I should read - a lot of people are at the same stage as me. We want to be healthy, we just don't know where to start.

[edit on 10-1-2010 by Soulfulwonder]

[edit on 10-1-2010 by Soulfulwonder]

[edit on 10-1-2010 by Soulfulwonder]

[edit on 10-1-2010 by Soulfulwonder]

Originally posted by blupblup

Originally posted by Deny Arrogance

Who worship little statues of a fat guy.

Do you hate Buddha as well?

What are you talking about?

LOL

www.travelgrotto.com...

Organic is a scam,

Even if they are truly organic how would one know?

You would only know if you plant it yourself, then it still get pollution from rain water and air.

reply to post by Stormdancer777


That is very true. I just know that buying non organic has a higher chance of being genetically modified. We still don't know the long term effects of this type of food can have on us. We do grow a lot of vegetables in our backyard and we have several apple and cherry trees; not to mention a lot of wild blackberries . I now live in a very communal-like setting with my boyfriend and his family. (It helps everyone out greatly). We are fortunate to have the space and time to grow food to eat, but it doesn't last all year long. Not everyone is fortunate to have space to grow their own food.

Originally posted by KrazyJethro
I hear this time and time again:

"Bad food is cheap and good food is expensive"

That is one of the most pervasive lies going on these days. Perhaps it makes people feel better, maybe it's an easy scapegoat. Who knows.

It's lazy to buy pre-made food, processed food, and fast food rather than to bring your own food or make something.

Why do you think obesity rates and poverty rise exponentially and proportionally? Is it because poor people are lazy, or because they eat too much?

Funny, because it's usually the poor people engaging in the most physically demanding jobs, often times working multiple ones just to make ends meet.

Eating healthily is indeed more expensive than eating crap. A loaf or two of bread, a bag of rice and a sack of potatoes are all foods that can feed a large family to satiety inexpensively but will contribute heavily to obesity. Nuts, seeds, meat and fish are examples of foods that can feed a large family to satiety expensively and healthily.

The Pima, a group of American Indians, would definitely disagree with you, Jethro. Before American settlers came for the gold rush, this group of Native Americans lived in an abundance of food from the land. They were healthy, robust and lean, and free of chronic disease. But once the settlers came in and ran the food off of the land they were forced into poverty. Eventually they had to rely on limited government rations, which led to widespread obesity and diabetes.

Their traditional diet was that of a hunter/gatherer diet, living off the land. Lots of meats and some farmed vegetables. Their governed rationed diet was of almost exclusively refined and easily digestible carbohydrates.

The people went from having an abundance of food and being lean, to having limited rations and becoming fat and diabetic.

Simple fact is that eating healthy costs no more (and often times less) than eating poorly.

Eating healthily costs more, my friend. Just ask any college student who eats a McDonalds Dollar menu/Raman Noodles diet. Unhealthy=Cheap

-Dev

I would suggest that you can feed a family of 5 a healthy dinner for $5-6 a day.

How do I know? Because I do it every day. I have 4 children, my wife and myself (my youngest is 2 months old so doesn't really count in the tally for obvious reasons).

Example: Mind you, these are not even sale prices (we literally buy nothing that isn't on sale, and a good sale at that, with coupons).

Nature's Own Bread 100% Whole Grain Wheat Sugar Free $2.99 - 18 slices per loaf, makes 9 sandwiches at $0.34 a sandwich

Nature's Promise Organics Peanut Butter Crunchy $2.99 - 15 servings per jar at $0.20 a sandwich.

Eating 2 sandwiches (which is all any normal lad might need for 1 meal) would cost a grand total of $1.04 without tax.

I would recommend drinking water more often.

Organic apples (not on sale) generally run about $1 a piece. Good natural sugar for a days work.

Considering one would normally buy at least 2 items from the "dollar menu" from McDonalds, that's a huge difference.

I would even suggest that you could easily make your own bread on the weekends (all you'd need for the week and more). That way you could control what ingredients went into the bread.

Meat is one of the most expensive non-processed foods so cut down on your meat consumption (I recommend this to all people).

Because some crap food is cheap does not mean most of the bad food people buy is actually cheaper. People do not live (on average) like college kids forever, so talking about stupid kids is a moot point.

Stouffer's Family Size Lasagna with Meat & Sauce - $9.99 - 57oz

vs

San Giorgio Pasta Lasagne Rippled Edge - $2.19 - 16 oz
Giant Cheese Ricotta Whole Milk - $2.49 - 15 oz
Nature's Promise Organics Pasta Sauce Parmesan - $2.99 - 26oz

Total - $7.67 - 57 oz

Anything else?

Salt is one of the biggest factors that is rarely talked about.

reply to post by Kieithsage


LOL, exactly... according to "BMI" I am 25 lbs over weight...yet I have just a tad over 1% body fat... LOL. (muscle mass is greater than fat) got old and a bit less active, that is why I am over 1%...

oh, yeah, I do not float very well in water.. I have a terrible tendancy to friggin sink when I exhale... LOL

[edit on 10-1-2010 by SideWynder]

[edit on 10-1-2010 by SideWynder]

[edit on 10-1-2010 by SideWynder]

Hey,

I'm kinda overweight myself (I'm not American though , jk!), but I'm the kind of overweight that you don't know when I got my clothes on. But then again I am a guy so I've never been shy about it. I always had girlfriends through high-school and college, and I always got accepted in to social groups, always had many good friends.

The point I am trying to make is that it is a myth that if you are overweight you get less social action. It is a lie. It all depends on how you look at yourself. If you feel bad then yeah, it'll have a negative effect, if you don't really care how people see you then you're gonna be fine.

The thing is, that people's opinion shouldn't be what drives you. I think that health is the big issue here, so just try to keep healthy. It's about feeling good, not more-not less.

Also, I forgot to add above that I have been exercising my whole life, so I am healthy. All my medical exams are always "perfect" as my doctor says. If you are a little overweight then it is not a bad thing, trust me. The problem comes when you feel overweight (panting when you walk, knee and back pains, cholesterols etc)

reply to post by KrazyJethro


Thank you Jethro; I greatly appreciate this information. You are most correct about baking bread, my BF's mom has been making her own bread since last year and we go through it fast, but it's the best bread we've ever had! Sodium is such a horrible thing to add to food, from my recent research you should never add any, there is so much in the food to begin with!

I lived the college life of ramen and cup o'noodles; I was also the unhealthiest then. If only we were educated on how to shop and how quickly it is to prepare a decent meal - I think we'd all be a heck of a lot healthier. I think lack of motivation and the depression that is caused by poor nutrition are some issues we face when eating healthy. If you're lazy and depressed - do you really want to go make a fresh meal? However, the biggest reason I believe we eat unhealthy is the addiction we have to it.

Here's some info from a wonderful page-and great movie|book I might add! (but not related to the site)

Research carried out in the United States shed some more light on why people can’t leave the burgers alone. If you thought it was just because they were lazy and fancied a quick bite to eat rather than cooking dinner, you could be wrong.

Apparently some people get addicted to the taste of popular fast food because it contains just the right mixture of fat, sugar and salt to set off the pleasure chemicals in the brain. Experiments carried out on lab rats showed that when they were fed a diet that consisted of 25% sugar – and then the sugar is removed, the rats become anxious, their teeth start to chatter and they suffer with the shakes - not unlike people going through a nicotine or morphine withdrawal.

The researchers also noticed long lasting changes in brain chemistry of rats fed with foods that had a combination of sweet, salt and fat in, which led them to conclude that there was a possibility that people too could see brain changes – and become physically addicted to eating fast food.

Here's the link: Fast Food Nation

From my own experience, the addiction to dairy and meat is extreme. I went vegan for 2 1/2 months and gradually went back to my old eating habits, even though I felt better I still went back! However, I'm more determined than ever to eat healthier!

[edit on 10-1-2010 by Soulfulwonder]

Originally posted by KrazyJethro
I would suggest that you can feed a family of 5 a healthy dinner for $5-6 a day.

How do I know? Because I do it every day. I have 4 children, my wife and myself (my youngest is 2 months old so doesn't really count in the tally for obvious reasons).

Example: Mind you, these are not even sale prices (we literally buy nothing that isn't on sale, and a good sale at that, with coupons).

Nature's Own Bread 100% Whole Grain Wheat Sugar Free $2.99 - 18 slices per loaf, makes 9 sandwiches at $0.34 a sandwich

Nature's Promise Organics Peanut Butter Crunchy $2.99 - 15 servings per jar at $0.20 a sandwich.

Eating 2 sandwiches (which is all any normal lad might need for 1 meal) would cost a grand total of $1.04 without tax.

I would recommend drinking water more often.

Organic apples (not on sale) generally run about $1 a piece. Good natural sugar for a days work.

Considering one would normally buy at least 2 items from the "dollar menu" from McDonalds, that's a huge difference.

I would even suggest that you could easily make your own bread on the weekends (all you'd need for the week and more). That way you could control what ingredients went into the bread.

Meat is one of the most expensive non-processed foods so cut down on your meat consumption (I recommend this to all people).

Because some crap food is cheap does not mean most of the bad food people buy is actually cheaper. People do not live (on average) like college kids forever, so talking about stupid kids is a moot point.

Stouffer's Family Size Lasagna with Meat & Sauce - $9.99 - 57oz

vs

San Giorgio Pasta Lasagne Rippled Edge - $2.19 - 16 oz
Giant Cheese Ricotta Whole Milk - $2.49 - 15 oz
Nature's Promise Organics Pasta Sauce Parmesan - $2.99 - 26oz

Total - $7.67 - 57 oz

Anything else?

So....a total of 560 calories in one meal (two Peanut butter sandwiches). Sounds good. Except you're looking at 44g of carbs per meal. 3 meals a day and you've got 1680 calories. That would net you a negative energy balance.

Plus you'd be eating 4 slices of bread per meal. That's hardly a healthy diet.

And how many families will actually eat the same thing for every meal, everyday? They don't live (on average) on the same foods at every meal. I mean, let's be realistic here. Wouldn't your point, by comparison, be moot as well?

The combination of carbohydrates and caloric restriction would make a person lethargic and "lazy", and, ultimately, make them hungrier.

And do you seriously think pasta is healthy (pre-packaged or homemade)?

Salt is one of the biggest factors that is rarely talked about.

Well, since you brought it up, let's talk about it. What about salt makes it one of the biggest factors?

-Dev

Originally posted by Cuhail

Thanks for the clarification, there. You DID sound like a fattie-bigot!

I think the FDA can come down hard on everything, but, it still doesn't matter because people are in charge of raising that fork themselves.

Cuhail

DANG!! I wish i knew that before!! I always thought i need to sue someone for lifting this fork and forcing it into my mouth LMAO ESPECIALLY when it's my wife's cooking!!

OK now i need to do something - i just thought BMI was someone who just couldn't spell BMX - I thought BMI 22 was a 22" BMX...

LMAO

A thought came to mind (not too painful) Perhaps we should just eat while riding our bicycles. I can't believe how many calories some stuff is that we do not think of as being "fattening" - Man i would have to spend the rest of my natural life on a treadmill - i won't go on a hunger strike because i would still just die of old age!!

In biology 101, I was taught, Water goes where salt lives.
increase the salt, and you increase the water weight.

Now, about bread... lol I'd like to see someone make and eat bread with no salt. I'll pass though.

I've forgot my salt before and thrown entire loaves out to the chickens to pay for it. Salt not only is used for flavor, but the bread does not rise right or develop gluten right without it.

Also, when you are adding up your cost for your lasagne, you're leaving out meat and mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Now, I can live without the meat, but almost any lasagna recipe you'll see has more than just ricotta cheese in it! That's really not that fair a cost comparison, IMO.

[edit on 11-1-2010 by hadriana]