OMG!! Look how FAT we've gotten!! This is scary...

[ailsagirl]

This from a program I saw on PBS (Frontline) called "Diet Wars."
What the hell is going on???

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/diet/

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/trend/maps/

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

1. Not Me. 5'6 31 year old male weighing in at 115 pounds lol

[Occulus]

3. 5'7" 140 pounds

Work out some, get lots of exercise daily while I'm at work (pushing around 700#-1500# carts full of mail and then continually lifting 15#-35# trays of mail all day)... I'm in good shape.

AND I EAT LIKE SHIT.

[XOKCowboy]

136. Laugh it up boys... LOL

I used to be just like you. Tall, skinny, eat anything I wanted till one day in my late 40s my body said "That's It. Time to start a gut". It's been downhill ever since.

Enjoy it while ya can! :D

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

140. Fuck No I Don't Enjoy It. I hate it. It is near impossible for me to

gain weight and I'm sick of bein a thin piece of shit. I'm not tall either.

I have a very fast metabolism and a lightning quick racing brain that burns calories like you wouldn't believe. I can eat whatever junk I want and not gain a goddamn pound.

But it ain't no walk in the park. Because of all the damn fat people cryin for low fat shit I can barely find food with calories anymore. Everything fucking low fat this and low fat that. When I'm shopping I actually do the reverse of everyone else. I look at the nutritional info and compare calories/fat calories between servings of different brands and even if I like one more than the other, if the other has even 10 more grams per serving that's what I get.

So I look forward to my damn metabolism slowing down, so I can not be so embarrased by being a goddamn piece of paper with legs, arms and a head.

[undeterred]

2. Its because of Bush

We eat more comfort food. :shrug:

[greenman3610]

9. corn syrup

in sodas and everywhere else.
People are lazy and don't give a shit
about their appearance or the way they
feel. They've been totally convinced
that their miserable way of life is
"living it up" and "having it my way".

[ailsagirl]

13. Now that vending machines for Pepsi and snack foods are all

over the schools... that certainly has contributed. A lot of factors.

[FreedomAngel82]

15. That isn't more of a problem than a person's

personal diet plan. You can walk by you know. Just because someone else might want some doesn't mean it's bad for everyone. It's about personal responsibility and controlling your own eating habits.

[ailsagirl]

20. This is true but for teenagers it's got to be tough

It's too enticing having those around, IMO. Are they really
necessary?? Sure didn't have them when I went to school.

I think the food industry is largely complicit-- they keep
super-sizing portions. Fast-food joints are popping up all
over the place.

As with so many things, it comes down to the Almighty Dollar.

[KansDem]

42. "You can walk by you know"

True, but wouldn't it be nice to have some choice? Like having bottles of non-sweetened ice tea or cans of flavored seltzer? Many times, I've wanted a liquid refreshment but was disappointed to find the vending machine had nothing I could drink without HFCS or artificial sweetener.

That's one of the main reasons I don't go to movie theaters any more. There's nothing for me to drink. One of the last times I went (several years now) I asked the concessionaire, after seeing the usual HFCS-based or artificially-sweetened drinks, if I could have some water. He said "Sure" and handed me what appeared to be an 8-ounce paper cup and pointed me toward the drinking fountain.

[Skittles]

144. I take my own low fat snacks and water to the movies

I'm a movie buff and found that popcorn and soda made me pack on pounds

[Jed Dilligan]

81. I actually saw a treatment strategy at a drug rehab

where I was doing research:

"Subject should

1. stay away from meth

2. stop drinking Mountain Dew."

Even after he got "clean" his soda addiction caused behavior that made him unable to participate in the program.

[SPKrazy]

149. Mountain Dew, lots of corn syrup and CAFFEINE

Just what a speed freak needs to stop using meth?

Interesting story.

[colorado thinker]

32. EXACTLY!!!!

Start reading labels to see which products have corn syrup, it's amazing and disturbing! Also, hydrogenated oil, it's in everything now and is REALLY bad for us.:mad:

[ailsagirl]

92. Oroweat makes bread without trans fats!! And they make a lot

of different kinds of bread. It's heartening!!

BTW, Welcome to DU!!

:hi:

[politicat]

137. Greetings to another Coloradan!

The state forum doesn't get a lot of traffic, but please feel free to introduce yourself - there are several of us here!

:hi:

[KansDem]

40. I've been trying to avoid HFCS for decades....

(High-fructose corn syrup)

Not always an easy thing to do...

For example, one morning a few years ago, I went out for breakfast. To amuse myself while waiting for my food, I surveyed a nearby table and took stock of the customers' meals (a family):

Items that I was certain contained HFCS--
HFCS-based, artificially favored "maple syrup."
Coke (for breakfast drink)
HFCS-based, artificially favored jelly (for toast)
Ketchup (for scrambled eggs and hashbrowns)
Chocolate syrup (found on children's' breakfasts of waffles or pancakes)
Chocolate milk or hot chocolate (found in chocolate favoring)

Items I suspected contained HFCS--
Bread (for toast. It's in almost every brand of bread in the supermarket)
Pancakes (batter, see "bread")
Fruit cup (HFCS-based "syrup")

Just about every item on the table contained HFCS. You just can't get away from this shit!

And "some people say" we live in a nation of free choice...

[Clark2008]

120. This is why Atkins works for so many, I bet.

It's not all the carbs one may or may not consume - it's that cooked meat and eggs and most cheeses don't have HFCS! Neither do fresh veggies! And you can't have fruit or fruit cups or bread.

I think we've found something, here.

Stay away from the HFCS and you'll lose weight.

[hatrack]

138. HFCS is freaking DEATH, and it's damned near impossible to evade

It's in EVERYTHING - whoever makes Health Nut has it in their whole wheat bread, and the label's just about illegible.

It's everywhere.

[Missy Vixen]

57. Interesting opinion

>People are lazy and don't give a shit
about their appearance or the way they
feel.<

Really? And you'd know this why?

Julie

[shanti]

108. that's it - not sugar

high fructose corn syrup is a primary culprit - and in so many foods, often hidden.

[otohara]

125. If Something Has Corn Syrup In It - I Don't Eat It

anything that ends in "tose"

[Paulie]

128. tose as in Fructose?

Then stop eating fruit. :)

Lactose, no more milk/latte's. :D

Glucose.... :P

[EstimatedProphet]

124. I am, I won't argue it

and I know I need to change. However, every time I have tried to get on any kind of exercise program in the past, I have torn up a joint somewhere, and I'm fed up with having surgery to patch myself. Most of my joints don't work very well anymore.

[Junkdrawer]

132. Self Delete - Posted wrong spot. n/t

[politicat]

139. I know the feeling - I'm hyperflexible.

I have fragile connective tissue and I'm far more likely to tear a ligament or tendon than to strain a muscle or break a bone. My parents really should have sold me to a circus as a child because I needed the gymnastics and flexibility training to manage this issue; ballet was not enough.

However... the only way to combat the injuries is to build muscle, increase my strength and improve my grace. (I have one bad shoulder, both knees are damaged (one repaired, one due to be repaired later this year), one achilles tendon injury, a wrist injury and random other stresses and strains.) Nothing else works - and letting my body atrophy makes things worse in the long run. I was out of trim for nearly a year with an injury, and it meant that when I got back into the process, I ended up damaging other joints.

Talk to a doctor - an osteopath is better in this arena, as it happens - and see if you can find someone who works in sports medicine to build an exercise plan. Most of us with fragile joints and fragile connective tissue get our injuries by starting off too fast and doing too much. We have to build up to it. (My example: I have a treadmill at home that I use every day - I started off walking a mile a day at 2.5 miles an hour. I'm now up to 5.75 miles a day at 3.3 miles an hour - over 6 months or so.)

[Jed Dilligan]

4. Please drop in at my thread on cheap, fake, unhealthy food

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2336390

IMO, the root cause of many, many problems.

[ailsagirl]

7. I'll do that... thanks

I had no idea how out-of-control this trend has gotten...

:(

[Ravenseye]

113. Yup spot on

I forget the book on that but it's true. My wife and I watch what we eat to make sure it's both cheap and lacking in corn syrup. It's actually quite possible, but you have to be carefull, and not be afraid of cooking. ;)

Other than a few random snacks at her daycare which have stopped at our request, our daughter has never had corn syrup either ingested, nor through breast milk.

Anyway I also think it's a serious lack of activity and excersise. People are far less active than they used to be. Maybe the corn syrup thing leads in that direction, i wouldn't be surprised. It's funny when you take someone who eats their crap, and doesn't excersie, and put them on a good diet (not a limiting one...they can fill up, just not on crap) and make them do active things for an hour or two each day. Not 'Excercise' but games, activities, things like that.

They're always healthier and happier and feel better within a week. Coincidence?

[Jed Dilligan]

114. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

One poster got extremely offended by what I wrote and I'm not sure why.

A lot of people don't have cooking facilities or skills. I think we have an amazing opportunity to make a two-pronged assault here. For one thing, let Democrats be the "pure food" party. On the other hand, let's start feeding organics to the poor and especially poor children and watch the consciousness rise...

[Ravenseye]

117. It's just that it's really tough

It's funny there aren't many cookbooks out there for cheap meals that are good. There are tons of books for fast meals, 30 minute meals, etc...but it's hard.

For our meals we have a top limit of 1 dollar per meal per person. We can make a Lasangna that has 6 servings in it for less than 6 dollars for instance. It's tough to do things cheap and healthy, and I have no idea how to educate people in this matter when most people don't want to hear it.

People don't want to hear that you shouldn't eat at McDonalds. People get excited stopping at a rest stop on the highway so they can get something from Burger King. I used to be that way, but can't even comprehend it. It's like when you're a smoker you can't smell that you reek of smoke, but when you quit you smell other people and realize that you used to. Same thing with food. You give up the greasy fat corn syrup flavored crap and it just...smells...It's not like I have a mental block. Given the choice of a BK Broiler and death, i'll eat the damn sandwich without retching, but it just TASTES...bad for you.

It's like convincing a person who loves a good steak to never eat meat again. How do you do that? It's almost impossible if the person doesn't want to quit meat, they won't. If they don't want to quit Taco Bell, they won't.

Anyway, not sure why people get offended by it. People get defensive too easily sometimes.

[politicat]

141. Please post some of your recipes!!!!

Either in frugal living or in Cooking and baking if you don't mind. *begging*

I'm working on a guide for frugal feminism for our local women's shelter - a way to help women who have lost everything take control of their economic lives in creative, effective ways. I'd love to have some of your recipes.

Thanks!

[meganmonkey]

121. I work for a food rescue agency

meaning that we "rescue" food from various sources such as grocery stores, distributors, bakeries, cafeterias...and we distribute it to 150 programs that feed low-income populations (soup kitchens, low-cost daycare, church pantries, AFC homes, etc). We get cases upon cases of Organic produce that is just fine, the store just ordered too much or whatever and they give it to us because they can't sell it fast enough.

One time I did a distribution and we had cases of Organic avocados, and the people were like "eeew - what's that, it looks gross, no one here will want those blah blah blah" so I used a couple avocados, a tomato, and made one woman go up to her apartment and bring me a fork, a bowl and some salt and mashed it all together and they LOVED it, and now every time we deliver there they want us to bring avocados!

We've had similar experiences with bread - people want their mushy nutrition-less white bread, but once you get them to try the good stuff they won't go back to the crap!

I love spreading the word!

[hobo_baggins]

5. 6' tall, 135 pounds here.

I defy the odds!

[Wcross]

112. Hobo- You need to eat ya a samwhich! n/t

[zippy890]

6. people stopped smoking for one thing

and spend more time in front of computers,
like me

[rzemanfl]

18. I've gained about 20 pounds since I quit smoking. Not obese,

just have a big gut I didn't use to have.

[NashVegas]

8. BMI Came Into Being

Sometime around 1996 or maybe just a little bit later, didn't it? That was when the standards for obesity changed.

[alarimer]

29. yes they might be comparing apples and orange here

Not that obesity isn't a problem but the standards of measurement have changed.

[erinlough]

65. I remember that and when they changed from using the

insurance industry charts to bmi, the level for a person to be considered obese went down 20lbs.!!! I wrote to the National Health Agency to ask why and why they make no differentiation between optimal weights for men and women (they are now the same). I was given an explanation that it was on the basis of doctor recommendations. I have always thought it was to sell diet pills. I have no illusions that we are heavier, for many reasons. One is an aging population, one is the reliance on so called diet foods which actually contain as many calories as non-diet foods, and one is that they changed the standard. It is a con-job in my opinion.

[alarimer]

66. I don't like it much either

I definitely don't meet the standards for my age and height and my diet and exercise could be better but I am healthy. And I guess that is what matters most. We obviously have a problem in this country (and in Europe too now I guess but less so). And I think education is the key. We should all learn from an early age to avoid the really bad stuff, especially fast food and soft drinks. I am as guilty as anyone else for going for the quick and easy; it is so ingrained in our culture that I don't know what it will take to fix it. Mandatory viewings of "Supersize me"??? I don't know.

[The Straight Story]

10. Quick, we need the government to save us

oh wait, bush runs the government....

[SammyWinstonJack]

11. All I know is since bush** stole his way into office, I have put on many

unwanted pounds. I think it's stress related! :grr:

[Sanity Claws]

12. Too much food and less active

I used to take my car everywhere. I changed this a few months ago because of the gas prices and the very thought that I was helping Halliburton and *. Since I started to rely on public transit and walking, I've lost a few pounds. I think Americans on the whole rely too much on their cars and have become more reliant on them (and used to eating in them) over the past decade.
Also, I'm appalled at how serving sizes have increased. Look how big muffins have grown.

[JuniperLea]

17. there is a flip side to that tune

see my post #16...

[ailsagirl]

22. You're not kidding!! Muffins used to be little things the size of

an apple. Now they're the size of a cantaloupe!! Also, cookies
(like in bakeries and deli's) are the size of CDs!!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

45. True, the coffee shops used to sell reasonable sized sweets

Now the portions are so large that I feel as if I could give myself diabetes by eating one brownie.

[ailsagirl]

96. And what about movie theaters? The small popcorn must fill a

garbage can!! And the "small" coke must be a quart!!

(and the prices are way up there too-- ridiculous)

[tabasco]

14. Whoda thunk it?

The Deep South is flab country :shrug:

[Rob H.]

130. Fried foods are common down here

and during parts of the summer it can oppressively hot outside (think 90+ degrees with 80-90% humidity)--it can be next to impossible to exercise outdoors unless you get out right before sunset or early in the morning.

Not trying to justify the flabbiness, I'm just sayin'. :)

[JuniperLea]

16. Chemicals in our food and water

Corn syrup in everything. We are a nation that is becoming insulin intolerant; we will all be diabetic before long. Add to that those of us who had a rigorous exercise regime for thirty some odd years thinking we were doing ourselves a favor, only to find that all that jarring of joints and internal organs is now causing us pain and we therefore can no longer keep up with the regimented exercise our bodies now crave in order to maintain that girlish/boyish figure.

[progressivebydesign]

46. I've just started Kundalini Yoga and think there's an answer there.

You mentioned the rigorous exercise, etc. The type of yoga I've started doing is active, yet not jarring... very cleansing and easy on the body.

[pitohui]

70. kundalini yoga easy on the body

not if you're doin it right

:-)

[Warpy]

19. It's been pointed out in a few journals

that this is the pattern of an epidemic.

We know that weight loss programs have a 90% failure rate within 5 years.

There has got to be something at work here besides lack of will power, too much hidden sugar, fast food, weak morals, or sheer laziness.

Remember the 50s? Everything was soaked in grease gravy and buried in Jello topped with miniature marshmallows. The 50s were every bit as food toxic as today is. That isn't the problem.

I think they need to be searching for a slow virus.

[crispini]

34. Well, why can't it be all of the above?

And in the 50's, I bet a LOT more people had jobs that demanded physical work, not desk-jockeying.

[Warpy]

35. More people were desk jockeying

since every office function was labor intensive prior to the introduction of computers. Remember Selectric typewriters? Carbon copies? Comptometers? Offices employed a lot of the workforce that is now doing more physically intensive work at fast food and big box retail stores.

Hell, look at banks. Prior to ATMs, all those teller stations were occupied at the lunch hour when working folks did their banking. Even branches had offices where teller totals were proofed.

Before credit cards, there was the charge account. Large retail stores required huge office staffs just to keep track of that stuff.

So that isn't the reason, either, but if it helps the thin feel morally superior...

[crispini]

41. Yes, but ...

the two biggest kinds of jobs that have declined have been industrial jobs and farming jobs. Eight hour work days burning calories has to help.

And I don't quite get your "if it helps the thin feel morally superior." What does that have to do with anything? :shrug:

[sandnsea]

47. video games

Has to be video games. Nobody wants to go outdoors anymore.

And the internets.

:hide:

[manic expression]

58. Video games are part of it

but just one small part of a huge trend IMO.

[pitohui]

76. warpy i think it's drugs

of course you are correct abt the 1950s, indeed, i saw a study that said people in pioneer america (1880) consumed 6000 cal a day to be slimmer than people today who consume around 2000 calories a day

my theory is that it is drug metabolites in the water and also out and out drugs

ssri's cause people to get freakishly fat -- had it happen to a friend

and they know now that prozac metabolites are way big in the water supply

birth control bills, female hormones, etc. cause some people -- prob. a majority -- to gain weight

my friend had a male-to-female sex change and must take hormones, he was tall but fit, she is so enormous that at times she is in a wheelchair because she cannot walk due to the pain in her knees, this dramatized to me the risk of taking female hormones(altho i still do for medical reasons under a doctor's orders)

when you drink water, it doesn't know if you are man or woman, you get the same metabolites from those of us who take female hormone replacement, birth control pills etc

and there are lots more medicines that have a side effect of weight gain

so yeah i blame the water, guess i shoulda been a co-star of dr. strangelove

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

122. I think there might be something to that

based on my own experience. I switched to non-hormonal birth control last February (because of side effects) and found that eating a lighter, healthier diet has been a breeze for me all year long. I dropped weight that I had been gaining for years, and am now back to the slender weight I was in my twenties. I have always exercised and have not eaten all that much food, but could not seem to lose those extra pounds. I did not understand why, but after switching the birth control, I stopped craving carbs the way I used to and find it easier to eat yogurt, fruit and vegetables instead.

It might be just me, of course. The doctors always say to eat less if you don't want to gain weight on birth control pills, but all I am saying is it sure has seemed easier to lose it.

[Stephanie]

97. HFCS is a new invention, though, as are hydrogenated fats

People used to use real sugar and cook with lard.

[El Supremo]

21. It's Clinton's fault!

The economy was too good. People had jobs. We thought we were in hog heaven so we ate and didn't exercise. And Bill led the way with all his Big Macs.

:sarcasm:

[ailsagirl]

25. LOL!! I was going to say that, in a kidding way, but then...

I remembered how he loved his Big Macs!!

[bammertheblue]

50. Me too!

One time didn't he go jogging and then get hungry and go get a Big Mac? It might be a joke, but it's funny either way.

[ailsagirl]

91. Yes, I remember he went jogging then ended up at a

McDonalds and the patrons were all excited to see him there.

"sigh"

Things seemed so normal back then...

:(

[HysteryDiagnosis]

23. Not fat.... just not using the proper

mirrors for the job....

http://www.tmj4.com/_content/News/coverstory/stories/20051031.asp
Skinny Mirrors
Kimberly Kane - Special Assignment
You buy clothes that look good... But when you get home, they look totally different. Why? Skinny mirrors. They really exist.
Kimberly Kane found some in local stores.

Skinny mirrors aren't a myth. They're mirrors that actually make you look slimmer.
"it's lying and it's deceptive and the company that makes those should be put in jail!" says one woman.
"i don't like that at all i think that's very rude!" another tells us.
Why are these women so angry?
What they call misleading advertising. Mirrors in the dressing room that are crafted to deceive the eye.
We took our hidden cameras into the mall to try to track down these "skinny mirrors."
How to detect them? We asked physicist Vladimir Yakovlev.
"You can play with it, you can tilt it this way so you become thinner.”
Just a slight curve in the mirror can shave dress sizes off your image.
Kat says, "i actually have one at home and all my friends laugh at it."

[Viva_La_Revolution]

61. I have a Fat Mirror... but it was an accident...

I bought one of those $10 door mirrors and to save a few bucks, I only bought 4 fasteners to put it up with. (they couldn't sell them in packs of 6, kinda like 10 hot dogs to a pack, and 8 buns to a pack) So I put the damn thing up with only 4 fasteners, none in the middle and now every time I look in the mirror I am fatter than I really am.

So I figure, if I still look good in that mirror.... then I must really look fantastic! :rofl:

[DJ MEW]

24. Stop eating out people

I used to work at McDonald's and let me tell you I am not surprised at all.

People order the Big Mac meal and add extra bacon to it then they make it extra large sized and think that asking for the diet coke makes up for it.

Not to mention that we all spend our days inside in air conditioning in the summer cause it is too hot to go outside and in the winter we stay in cause it is too cold. No one ever does anything anymore we just sit around and watch society fall apart around us.

[El Supremo]

28. You need a comma in that subject line.

;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)

[ailsagirl]

37. Ah yes... punctuation!! ;=)

[lumberjack_jeff]

56. Doh! Everything I like is bad for me

:D

[Clark2008]

135. LMAO!

I'd hate it if people stopped eating out people.

Foreplay is adult fun!

:7

[warrior1]

26. Not me either

[mainer]

27. For me, it's the wine.

Damn hard to give THAT up.

[skipos]

30. Woo hoo! Michigan is leading the charge! nt

[shawn703]

78. Wonder if it has anything to do with Paczki Day

Or Fat Tuesday as other people know it. I lived in Hamtramck for a while, and I used to look forward to those artery cloggers. ;)

[benevolent dictator]

153. MMMM Paczki... Seems like no one in Ohio knows what those are...

and oh how I miss them.

I think this year I may have to send my mum down to Hamtramck to get some good ones and overnight them to me.

[Scooter24]

31. 25, 5'10", 140lbs.

Not too bad for a guy. :) When I started college I shot up to 160, but once I stopped drinking pepsi and cooked more often, I dropped those extra pounds easily.

[pitohui]

72. oh you're 25

you're going to find no one cares what you think abt weight

[Butterflies]

129. ha!

:-)

[baldguy]

33. Carmakers widen seats for wider ... seats

If you gorged at the holiday buffet, don't worry: You'll still fit in your car.

As Americans grow heftier, automakers are making seats wider, adding more space to interiors and using bigger virtual mannequins to help design vehicles.

Domestic automakers say they already had seats for increasingly rotund motorists. Now foreign brands are catching up.

Getting bigger:

- Honda. The 2006 Civic offers front seats that are three-quarters of an inch wider than those in the 2005 model. Purpose: "To meet the growing needs of our customers," spokesman Sage Marie says.

more:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1228gns-wideseats28-ON.html

[DainBramaged]

142. They should make the seats as skinny as they can

to encourage people to either lose weight or use public transportation.



I know, I'll be the first astronaut to reach Pluto before that happens nationwide. :sarcasm:

[MsKandice01]

36. At one time I was 385 lbs...at 25 years old

And I know it was a result of inactivity and eating too much junk food. I didn't eat very large portions, just always ate the processed junk. I eventually had gastric bypass surgery and lost 210 pounds and now, 5 years later, I have to struggle to keep weight ON. I'm 6'1" and everyone keeps telling me that now I need to GAIN weight because I've gotten too skinny. I can't win for losing.

[ailsagirl]

38. Are you glad you had the surgery?? Any regrets?

Just curious. I've heard about people that had it and wish they
hadn't.

You must be glad you don't weigh that much anymore, regardless

:)

[MsKandice01]

39. I'll never regret it..

The problem I'm having now is that I've been having a lot of episodes lately with my blood sugar dropping suddenly and it makes me very ill. However, I'd still rather have that than be 385 pounds. Back then, I was in constant pain, physically AND emotionally, I didn't even feel comfortable going out in public. I felt ugly and disgusting and that's a horrible way to live. If I had to do it over again, I'd STILL have the surgery, even with all the "side effects".

[pitohui]

74. pm me if you have a chance, i have questions

my friend is 68, about 265 pounds, he is about six four height, he is getting a gastric bypass next month for cosmetic reasons

my understanding is that he will lose his teeth and his hair which despite his advanced age, he actually still has & i'm not sure he knows this, he is just obsessed w. being skinny

i just worry

of course it's his decision and i'm biting my lip and i'm not saying anything but if you have reassurance to offer it would be fantastic

[RebelOne]

107. My daughter had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago..

She has lost over 200 pounds.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

43. Comparing the U.S. with Japan, here's what I notice:

1) Food portions are much larger here. The typical meal in a middlebrow restaurant would be considered appropriate for two or three in Japan. Yet one doesn't feel hungry after finishing a Japanese restaurant meal.

2) We drive everywhere and walk less. Even Japanese people who take the subway to work almost always walk or bike there, and if they have to transfer on their commute, they may have to walk a kilometer underground to get to the other line. When they go out for lunch to eat their small portions, they walk to the restaurant.

3) Instead of eating huge piles of one kind of food, they eat small portions of a wide variety. I once bought a box lunch on the train that contained a tablespoon or two each of EIGHTEEN different items.

4) However, the notion that their diet is extremely low fat is a myth. Their cuisine includes a lot of deep-fried foods, and the meat you get in meals may be very fatty. Milk cartons boast of high butterfat content. I think the small portions prevent this from being a problem.

5) The culture has a strong tradition of appreciating seasonal foods in season, which makes for the best possible nutrition.

6) While the Japanese eat rice and noodles, their diet is not extremely high-carb, either. You get maybe two ice cream scoops of rice or noodles in the typical serving.

[pansypoo53219]

52. no shit

i rarely go out, and lately, those meals would feed me for 3 meals! heck, i think i got 4 out of applebee's chicken fajitas.
i'm 5'5" 125ish, was 123 last night. not that i check much. live in WI too! BUT, i avoid fast food and cook myself. tastes better too.
and i am very fond of sweats. breakfast is coffee and cookies i make.
luckily i have no spawn, the female fat helper.

[pitohui]

77. yeah the japanese are fat now

i had fun shocking my diet nazi friend w. photos of me w. middle school kids from kyoto -- all way bigger than moi

i blame the fried pork thingies on a stick and kfc!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

89. Some Japanese are fat now, but not nearly as many as

in the States.

There were always SOME fat people, even 30 years ago when I first went there.

But they're getting into some of our bad habits, such as fast food and not playing outside (gotta study and play video games, ya know).

However, i have a picture of myself with middle school kids in Kobe taken just two months ago (don't have a website to post it to), and those six kids are not fat.

[Bonobo]

95. I agree with everything you said, except for noodle amount.

Hi Lydia, hope you are well and Happy New Year!

"You get maybe two ice cream scoops of rice or noodles in the typical serving."

Boy, give me a heaping order of zaru soba on a summer day (and maybe a refill!), or a big plate of yakisoba or even a bowl of ramern has more than that, I think.


But your definitely right about the variety of foods and the rational-sized portions.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

115. Of course, soba is buckwheat, which has a low level glycemic index

:shrug:

Douzo yoi o-toshi o o-mukae kudasai!

[progressivebydesign]

44. High fructose corn syrup, and portions out of control, and inactivity.

There are too many factors out there: 1 is the corporate dependence on using CHEAP high fructose corn syrup in everything! It's much more lethal, obesity-wise, than ordinary sugar. 2 is our total disregard for correct portioning. You have no idea how our portions have jumped in the past decade or so. It's obscene. 3. Inactivity. I think the majority of people I meet spend most of their waking hours watching tv, sitting at the computer, or playing video games. 4. Driving to everything because we're being mcMalled and strip malled to death. 5. Poverty and cheap and easy food. I, myself, won't eat food advertised as "99 cent" anything.. but many people do. 6. people rarely sit down and eat a prepared meal together at home anymore. Used to be that eating in a restaurant was a rare treat.. now it's at least once a week. 7. Happy meals.

[Scout1071]

64. Darn. Should have read the whole thread before I replied.

Please see #63. But in all fairness, your post is entirely more informative.

[WillyT]

48. And Your Problem Is What... Exactly...

[Codeine]

49. People just eat too much godamned food.

Portions are huge. Drinks are the size of food service buckets. People eat until they are full, or physically ill, instead of just eating until they aren't hungry anymore. People wolf their food so rapidly their body doesn't have a chance to register that it doesn't need any more food.

Pigs, the lot of 'em. Slow down at the table. Eat a smaller portion. Lay of the fat. Skip dessert. Move around a little, for god's sake.

[manic expression]

62. True

but I was able to eat completely natural foods for 1 week (the food was provided for participants in a program). I could eat until I was way more than full, even with "non-stomach friendly" stuff like Indian food sometimes. The amazing thing is that I did not get sick at all, I did not feel ill...I just felt full.

Another thing is that when I went back to "regular" foods (at a Subway), my stomach started acting up like crazy.

I'm convinced the food itself has a lot to do with it.

(I hope that made sense...)

[stop the bleeding]

51. I'm getting fat just from reading this

[ailsagirl]

94. Makes me never want to eat again!! (not really, but you know)

I believe people CAN lose weight and keep it off-- it's not always
doomed to failure.

Hell, if I ate everything I wanted, I'd we as wide as I am tall!!

:eyes:

[Nicole]

53. Urban sprawl

When I was a kid we could walk to do all our shopping. Or to visit friends. Or go to the movies.

No way can I walk 3 miles to the nearest grocery store. Well I can but I can't carry it all home so I use the car.

I walk daily for exercise but to actually do any errands or visit friends requires driving.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

59. There actually are studies that show that people are fatter in the burbs

than in the cities.

Just think--in the burbs it's not only possible to live without getting out of the car, it's downright easy. You back out of your attached garage, drive to work to the underground garage or the closest part of the parking lot, sit at your desk all morning, drive to lunch (perhaps to the drive-through), get enough to feed three people, spend the afternoon at the desk, drive home, be too tired to cook so pick up more prepared stuff or go out to eat at another place with immense portions, come home and zone out in fron of the TV. Go to bed. Repeat the next day and the next.

[Nicole]

60. I haven't seen those studies

but it makes perfect sense to me.

[pitohui]

79. haven't seen those studies either and it don't make sense to me

it depends on the burb i guess

where i live (southeast louisiana) there is no question the skinnier are in certain zip codes and those zips are suburban not urban or rural

compare the city (new orleans) to say the suburb of mandeville, there ain't no comparison, the little blonde doctor's wives of mandeville are skinnier than the folks in the city

go out a little further in the country and you're fat again

now why is that?

because guess what to be slim over 40 requires technology, people, and inner city won't pay for it, country people can't pay for it, only the pretty lady in the burbs is going to pay for it

got nothing to do w. walking

i suggest an experiment, i weigh myself every day, try it and mark it on the calender, you will soon quickly note that weight does not correlate to walking except for days when you walk more than 10 miles a day, walking is not exercise, it's cheap transportation, if i want to lose weight (which i don't because that's more wrinkles in my face to botox out) i have to drink mineral water or alcohol and watch the diet, exercise firms but doesn't cause weight loss

[Nicole]

85. I guess we see it differently

Walking is exercise to me. I'm not talking about a leisurely stroll. I walk fast enough to make carrying on a conversation difficult. I do that twice a day when the weather permits it. I can definitely tell a difference in weight when I don't walk. I usually gain a few pounds over the winter, when I walk less, even though my diet remains the same.

I'm over 40 & don't use technology to remain slim, unless you count the iPod I carry while walking. I do it by walking, watching what I eat & how often I eat. I'm 5'5 & weigh 120 lbs. I'll probably gain 5-10 lbs. when normal winter temps arrive here. Right now we are breaking records for high temps so I'm still walking twice a day.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

90. Rich people rarely get fat

It's considered low class, and they can afford expensive gym memberships. Besides, the restaurants that rich people patronize tend to serve SMALL portions.

[benny05]

100. Interesting how in Shakespeare's Day

Those who were plump were considered more wealthy.

[shanti]

109. and it's still that way

in third world countries.

[AgadorSparticus]

67. your post is so depressing....but so utterly true. nt

:(

[Hand]

54. That chart gives a whole new meaning to "red states"! nt

[rucky]

75. As Big As Texas! n/t

[lumberjack_jeff]

55. It's because we have too *little* leisure

People gobble a hamburger behind the steering wheel between errands, scarf down a donut between meetings, microwave a burrito (with some extra cheese) for a dinner. Paradoxically, we're getting fat because we work too much.

Read American Mania by Peter Whybrow
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393059944/104-6396254-0107162?v=glance&n=283155

[conflictgirl]

101. That is exactly my life

I know all about better nutrition, and on days that I have the time, I cook healthier, nutritious food. But since I started back to school, I'm gone in the evening while hubby stays home with the kids - I'm often gone from 3pm to 10:30pm without a significant break in there. I am frequently grabbing crap food on campus and pulling through a drive-through on the way home just because my schedule is so messed up.

[Jamison]

102. Good observation!

At one point in my life, I used to work 80-100 hours a week with no days off. My co-workers did the same, and it left NO time for healthy living. We were all obese as you can imagine.

[Scout1071]

63. Bill Maher thinks it is the corn syrup that is put in everything.

And it's hard to argue. We subsidize all these corn farmers to grown corn we don't need. So, they turn it into corn syrup and put it in every single damn thing we eat. I don't have any graphs, facts, or figures, but Bill seems to think that there is a direct correlation to the amount of corn syrup we are consuming to our obesity as a nation.

I'll see what I can dig up.

[Jed Dilligan]

83. He's right, and people are catching on

It's not corn syrup, regular, but the high-fructose corn syrup that does it.

[sakabatou]

68. 6' 00" at 175

[pitohui]

69. "we" ?

i am not fat, don't know what to tell ya

an older population will trend heavier since healthy people naturally gain weight as they age

i doubt it's as hazardous to health as claimed because i've had too many of my skinny friends die in their 50s but if you have proof that being thin is good, fine, show it, i need reassurance right abt this time of century

[LittleClarkie]

71. I resemble that remark

5' 210 pounds

Worship the Buddah.

[Ksec]

73. Saw that on PBS

We are fat, man. And all that crap they sell us is making us that way. BTW I personally aint fat. Im 6' 1 in and a normal 200 lbs of pure manmeat.

[bullwinkle428]

80. Well, I've gained about 20 lbs. in the * era, but it's by design -

I've been weight training for nearly 4 years, and have actually gone down in waist size (32" to 31") for the typical pair of pants I wear. For the record, I'm 6'1" and around 175 lbs. at the moment. I know I'm nowhere near "bodybuilder" status by any means, but there's clear evidence that building muscle improves metabolism. I eat A LOT more than I used to, but it's all relatively clean protein, in an effort to continue to build muscle.

[britpopper]

82. What happened?!?

I thought I was blessed to live in a blue state...but not anymore...LOL

[Beausoir]

84. Oh My God ! Fat people are everywhere! Why do they hate America????

Jesus people... get a fucking grip.

Way to fall for the FoxNews spoon-fed hysteria.

[flvegan]

86. BMI is a completely irrelevent ranking/rating system

Any nutritionist will tell you that.

[crispini]

111. It is? Really?

I hadn't heard that. Why so? Very interesting.

[bullwinkle428]

116. It has to do with muscle tissue weighing more than fat -

"Body mass index (BMI) uses your height and weight to calculate your percentage of body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reliable estimate of weight-related health risks. But it does have limitations. Because BMI doesn't differentiate between lean muscle and fat, it may overestimate body fat in people who have muscular builds, such as weightlifters. As a result, your BMI can be high but your disease risk still can be low."

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/BMI/AN01219

Flvegan can probably explain better than I can - dude is huge and is capable of kicking my ass all over the place!

[flvegan]

146. bullwinkle428 explained it very well. I'd only add

That BMI also doesn't take into consideration the bodytype of the person (endo- ecto- or mesomorph). I've seen BMI tests that don't even take into consideration the sex of the participant.

As bullwinkle428 stated, someone like Ah-nold in his prime Mr. O form, ripped at 7 or 8% bodyfat, would still be considered morbidly obese. Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk from tv), Mr. T, Stallone, Mike Tyson...all morbidly obese per a BMI test. Vin Diesel would probably only be obese.

Obesity is best determined by water displacement, but the skinfold calipers are a good guide, as is the newfangled electronic absorption thing they're doing now.

[goforit]

87. Yes this is true!!!....I did a study that revealed that over 60% of people

in my state are now classified as obese.

You would almost think with your tin foil hat that this was
a conspiracy.

[Fox Mulder]

88. Probably from all that damn pop people keep drinking.

Full of calories.

[AntiCoup2K4]

105. Not full of calories, full of high fructose corn syrup.

Pop has always been high in sugar, that's no secret. Yet people have been drinking it at least since the turn of the 20th Century, and the obesity epidemic didn't show up until much more recently, in the 1980's.

Oddly enough, high fructose corn syrup began to replace cane sugar as the sweetener in soft drinks in the late 1970's, and by the early 80's the national brands (Coke, Pepsi, etc.) had jumped on board.

The problem with HFCS (for those who haven't read my rants on this poison before) is that its a type of carbohydrate that does not exist in nature. It's so refined that it leaves nothing for the body to break down in the process, so unless you're an athlete whose body is absorbing this stuff from a bottle of Gatorade you drink in the middle of a game (or a run or whatever) then the shit basically passes from the intestines into the bloodstream and to the fat cells, where it is stored. And that not only effects long term weight gain, but also short term blood sugar, for those whose insulin systems aren't working right. Consequently, adult onset diabetes has also increased dramatically during this same last 25 years.

I'm guilty as charged of using HFCS before I knew the facts. Used to drink Coca Cola like it was water. Went through a full case of it on the weekends and thought nothing of it (and that was only during the day time - drank beer at night. Worked jobs where the stuff was available for free, and relied on the sugar/HFCS and the caffeine to keep me going.

I was probably one of the worst abusers of this shit on the planet. And my body definitely shows the results today, unfortunately :(

[SoCalDem]

93. The US grows lots of corn.. HFCS is a "great" way to get rid of it.

Especially is it's added to foods that are already sweet and people won't notice it..Of course now we have 8 yr olds with type-2 diabetes, and people who are weighing more than they ever had before.

Schools sell overly sweet crap, load their "nutritious" lunches with carbs & fat, and then cut out phys ed because of budget cuts..

Poor people buy carbs & sugary foods because they are cheaper, filling and stretch further.. We have more poor people these days..

It ain't rocket-science.

[hopeisaplace]

98. Been at Weight Watchers since April 2005

Lost over 35lbs and feel like I'm in my 20's again. I love it.

[radwriter0555]

99. Americans let corporations take control of the food and eating process.

You let corporations feed you, and they're going to feed you with cheap, artificial and dangerous chemicals and products -- that aren't really food related.

Stick to fresh fruits and vegetables, water and juice, and natural and organic food goods not produced with chemicals, artifical flavorings and colors, and you will not get fat.

Plain and simple.

[Jamison]

103. 5'8" and 165 lbs. here...but in the process of losing.

At one point I was at 290lbs. I felt terrible. I used ephedra heavily in order to lose the weight. Yes, I know the dangers of ephedra, but I felt I was dead anyway because of all the weight I carried around.

I've always had a larger build, kinda like Mark McGuire when he played ball (and no, I was never on the juice).

[Rainscents]

104. You know, sad part about over weight nowadays, so many teens

are over weight. I remembered back 60's and 70's, you didn't see very many over weight teems and adults. I truly believes, chemical, GMO foods are the major caused.

[Raine]

106. Yeah it's the teens and

pre-teens being overweight that is the worst. I know when I was in school back in the 1960s it was very very rare to see anyone in school that was overweight let alone obese. In fact you didn't hardly see any overweight adults either.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

110. I still have my elementary school pictures, and in classes of 25-30 kids,

there was one fat kid and two who were slightly chubby. (These pictures are from the late 1950s.)

For most of my childhood, there was no fast food in our town. Eating in restaurants was something we did only while traveling.

[Skidmore]

118. Folks, I just refuse to get on this OMG! bandwagon.

There are people out here (myself included) who have trouble with weight because they have health problems with which weight gain and difficulty losing weight is associated. It's not all just life style and menu choices. I made up my mind to be satisfied with myself after spending many agonizing years trying to become a shape and a size that I could never realistically become. Part of the problem with this nation is that it has embraced an unrealistic concept of ideal beauty. I think many people rebel. It extends beyond the weight issue. Look at the money plastic surgeons and orthodontists are raking in now. Every girl has the same nose and the same bite. It's creepy. Remember that lady in Brasil, the movie? I think of her everytime I see some of these cookie cutter cyphers that pass as individuals now. This short, chunky, snaggletoothed person is happy with who she is and has had a good, although sometimes difficult, life. You rise above it.

[porphyrian]

119. BMI is not a very good indicator of obesity.

It only uses height and weight, and is based on a national average. It is much better to measure body fat.

Also, the BRFSS data is becoming less and less significant, as the sampling is done only of residences with a land phone line, only of one randomly-selected adult per household (though sometimes data is collected through them for other household members) and with a significantly declining response rate on a state-by-state basis. The contracts for conducting the survey have, over the last few years, moved from reputable university research labs to questionable corporate "phone slut" firms who had the qualifying characteristic of being the lowest bidder for the contract. Believe what you want, but I'm not betting any money on that data.

[Matariki]

123. corresponds to the development of the INTERNET

the internet is making us fat :rofl:

someone blamed george bush. that's funny.

[Butterflies]

126. I think it's partly because our people are aging

The baby boomers are middle-aged now, and that's when the pounds get added because metabolisms get slower and it takes much more effort to stay thin.

Though I agree it's also what others mentioned about portion sizes, driving instead of walking, etc.

[nossaguy]

127. Fat bias

The world truly is going to hell in a handbasket isn't it? God forbid we have fat people living in our midst. :eyes:

You should check out NAAFA at http://www.naafa.org/

[jennybunny]

131. 9/11 Conspiracy..what do you think?

http://forum.protestwarrior.com/viewtopic.php?t=123809

[Junkdrawer]

133. Check this thread. I think the two are related:

...

Mean World Syndrome is tied to both news and entertainment media. The corporate "news" media treat local crime stories (kidnapped children, missing women, etc.) as national crises and spend grossly inappropriate amounts of time and energy covering these stories. While it is correct for media to report crime, very often the stories with which the corporate media choose to saturate their "news" shows are of legitimate interest only to a specific community or region. The Lacey Peterson and Natalie Holloway stories demonstrate this beautifully.

...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5701359&mesg_id=5701359

Our kids hang out at home too much. And frightened, overworked parents aren't helping matters.

[Ksec]

134. Maybe Bitsh can start torturing the fat anti americans?

Itll serve them right, bein fat and shit. ... ...

[politicat]

143. Economically stressed areas + cortisol + cheap food = obesity.

When we humans are stressed, we kick the brain into "prepare for famine" mode. That increases the amount of cortisol in the body, which means we store more fat in case of impending famine. Those red states are states that have seen a greater degree of economic stress in the last five years than other states. The ones that transitioned from a lighter blue to a darker blue also had economic stressors.

Cheap access to food - be it healthful or not - means that we can eat even in cases of economic famine, so the cortisol actually has something to store.

People who are emotionally and economically secure are less likely to gain weight unreasonably.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

145. D you also have the date when they changed the weight standards....

...downwards for each body-type category?

Who do you think gains monetarily by that downward shift and all of the recent chatter about obesity?

[rainbow4321]

147. Car seats supersized to fit American bums

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17689082%255E2703,00.html

AMERICANS who gorged themselves at Christmas parties can take solace from the thought that the journey home will soon be more comfortable. Foreign car-makers are widening the seats to accommodate the spreading American bottom.

The front seats of Honda's 2006 Civic are 2cm wider than this year's model. Subaru's new B9 Tribeca, designed for the US market, offers front-seat passengers an extra 1.3cm over other models in the line. Mercedes Benz's R-Class Grand Sports Tourer gives front-seat riders 2.5cm of extra girth over its M-Class.

US producers say they have already accounted for the ample American derriere. But Ford, in what it says is an industry first, recently began using virtual mannequins in nine different body types - including extra large - in its computer-aided design.

The changes are being forced on the car makers by the much-heralded "obesity epidemic" in the US, where almost one in four adults is clinically obese and almost two-thirds are overweight.

[joystick]

148. Gotta love mcdonalds

Hey being fat is an american right. Mickey-d's everyday baby.

[jlseagull]

150. I live in Colorado.

It's scary when I go to the rest of the nation - people are insanely fit here.

[Conan_The_Barbarian]

151. I love my muscles

I started working out with weights in late 2004, I love it. Hell I lost over 100 pounds because of it.I've gained so much muscle all over the place, espically my arms and shoulders, not sure why, I don't put as much effort into those compared to my other muscle groups.

Weight training is great, you get to eat more than most people, cleaner healthier foods that taste pretty damn good too. You can even order a nice cheeseburger and not feel guilty about it knowing that you're body will end up using it just to build your body up. It's funny I stopped running for a month but just kept weight training and when I came back to running assuming I'd be out of shape I was in just as good of shape as ever.

I'm glad I'm now an outsider from that statistic and can merely observe.

[StellaBlue]

152. It's been said by others: HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP

I lived in the UK for four years, up until this summer. There is nary the corn syrup to be found - in sodas, cereals, lots of things that it is in over here. In fact, I am SHOCKED - my local grocery store - a regional chain in a town of about 30,000 people - carries not a SINGLE cereal that does NOT contain HFCS.