Reply #128: This discussion is interesting ... [View All]

[heliarc]

I wrote a twenty page diatribe about this but decided not to post. Seems everyone here is trying to blame obesity on one thing across very wide cultural divides. I imagine the problem is different every where you go. I frankly didn't see much obesity in Hong Kong while I was living there. Didn't see much in Spain while living there. Didn't see much in Sasebo or Tokyo either. Where I see obesity is in LA, Miami, and Philadelphia.

Order of Obesity from most obese to least (my own lame observations): Miami, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Cambrils,Spain Sasebo, Japan, Tokyo, Japan.

Not sure what I'm trying to say by that except that every where I go I seem to see different reasons why people are or are not obese. In Spain I think the thin bug has something to do with the amount of time people spend smoking, sleeping and drinking coffee and dancing in clubs (all ages). In Los Angeles I think it has a lot to do with class and race. In Japan, I think the lack of obesity has something to do with the cost of living, and walking everywhere + Smoking... Hong Kong's a little fattier because of the amount of Pork, Beef, noodles and viscous fatty sauces in their diets.

So, to little old unscientific me it seems like a whole myriad of reasons can contribute to obesity and no one reason has a monopoly on the others. My two cents. I'm gonna get flamed I know it.