Reply #68: I hear ya, I grew up eating crap/fast food too. [View All]

[Stumbler]

My mom rarely cooked from scratch, and was always enamored by the newest processed creation in the supermarket: I'm talking JenniO "Turkey Loaf"s, chicken patties, frozen pizzas, etc. And "eating out," which was usually a special occasion, often meant using a drive thru. As a result, I didn't start to learn how to cook for myself until early high school, and even then rarely did so.

As an adult, I've cut out the sodas and fast food trips, but I have to say, it wasn't the easiest transition to make. When you've been raised on cheeseburgers and pizzas, it's hard to make the adjustment to beans, rice and veggies. This is especially true when your parents failed to teach you proper nutrition, and you have to learn much of it on your own. And I personally think there are a lot of American households who are in the same situation. Not all of our fellow country-members are as enlightened as some of these posts seem to expect them to be.

Something else all of us should keep in mind is the amount and type of advertising we absorb regarding our eating habits. Look at the billboards lining our freeways, or the ads in our magazines. Better yet, during an hour or two of prime-time television programming, compare the amount of ads for fast-food or pizza delivery, vs the amount of ads for eating beans, rice and veggies at home with the family. The answer is many to none. And those messages are being delivered endlessly to our children, as we all were once. And if we don't have the parental or societal structure to tell us those fast foods are bad in large quantities, then we'll accept what we're being sold, and begin down the road of obesity and heart disease in the guise of a friendly smiling clown.

So while I agree with others on this thread regarding personal responsibility, there are other significant factors we all should consider before criticizing those who say it's tough to eat right.