World Obesity - we're #1 and it's getting worse

[Las Vegas Mixx]

Latest statistics show that adult Americans are 34% obese with another 34% overweight.
That trend, among other things, is still expanding.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11447809@N08/4784506232/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11447809@N08/4787931008/

[damntexdem]

1. Living off the fat of the land. Or rather, dying off of it.

However, fitness is more important. Better to be fit and fat than skinny and unfit. The problem is that Americans, and especially American children, are both unfit and fat.

[Radical Activist]

55. Or the high fructose corn syrup of the land

to be more specific.

[Jennicut]

2. Not surpised. As a type 1 diabetic I can barely find decent food to eat from the grocery store.

Whole grains made without corn syrup should not be THAT hard to find, should it?

[mrcheerful]

3. Well it is easy to find if you can afford the 3 to 4 x mark up for corn syrup free

products.

[Jennicut]

7. Yeah, that too. Eating healthier is more expensive.

[reggie the dog]

21. funny, in france you get a litre of cola

for under a euro and it is sweetened with sugar....

[Sebastian Doyle]

51. And a decent health care system too.

Not that the French are perfect, of course. They still think Jerry Lewis was funny.

[SoCalDem]

58. Manufacturers/processors of food have been "new & improving" us to death

A study report today (MSNBC, probably) said we were consuming 15 lb more sugar now than "before"...are we actually BUYING 15lbs of extra sugar and eating it? NOPE. It's being secreted in the same old foods we have always bought..and "sugar" as in "a" sugar is now most likely HCFS.

And "foods" that were once a special treat..cakes, cookies, soda pop, candy, are now apparently a daily food requirement.

There's a reason kids used to love Easter, Halloween , Christmas & birthdays (Christmas & B-day obviously meant presents), but those special holidays also meant CANDY & special foods like pies & birthday cakes..

Soda pop & chips were PICNIC & CAMPING foods

a kid's sack lunch probably had a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, an apple, a thermos with milk, & a couple of cookies if they were lucky...or it may have had a ham sandwich & an apple. Little kids don't need to eat a lot, and most kids (back then) had an after school snack at home and then a balanced dinner, after they had played outside for 2 or 3 hours (riding bikes, jumping rope, roaming the neighborhood). Kids from earlier eras had breakfast at home BEFORE school..oatmeal, cereal, eggs, pancakes..y'know real breakfast..so by lunch, they were not starving & in need of 1000 calories.

They did not come home to an empty house & chug a quart of Coke & eat a bag of Doritos..& then play video games for 3 hours until Mom brought home a pizza for dinner..

[Name removed]

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[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

83. I didn't know a 1979 Steve Martin movie could post at DU. -nt

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[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

87. OK, I'll try to speak your language.

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[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

89. Only three molybdenum tetrahedrons. But they root for the Packers, so it's gotta be Tuesday. -nt

[Vinca]

4. Finally - #1 at something.

:sarcasm:

[SunnySong]

5. It is so bad it has caused our death rate to shoot up...

As you can see the death rate has skyrocked since this crisis started....

[pitohui]

9. older people do better w. a little weight on them

that chart doesn't surprise me too much, we have an aging population and when you're elderly, it's good to have a little meat on your bones, you don't want to be underweight already when say you're facing chemo (you're more likely to get develop cancer in later life)

[BuelahWitch]

30. If more of us die young

they won't have to worry about paying out that awful Social Security that's eating up the budget, will they? Kill a third in the war, one third from HFCS obesity, and keep the last on as wage slaves, sounds like a plan to me! :tinfoilhat:

[Urban Prairie]

6. We seemed to be doing so well in the early-mid 80s though...

What happened?!?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWz9VN40nCA

Leg warmers and neon-colored body-hugging shorts, t-shirts, and leotards went out of style by 1990, I guess...

Baggy, knee length shorts and pants and XXXL t-shirts hide a lot of sins...heh!!

[KurtNYC]

40. So if they would legalize cocaine again

we would all be exercising in dated clothing.

[Name removed]

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[pitohui]

8. yes an aging population will be heavier

i'm not getting too exercised by that chart, it almost can't be right, it has portugal at number 15 and those folks are skinny as hell, maybe i visited the wrong part of portugal, i dunno

[treestar]

49. That ought to be accounted for, definitely

[taterguy]

10. Yet another bad thing that's due to relying on cars for transportation

Not trying to fan flames, just pointing out a basic fact

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3062-2004May30.html

[SocialistLez]

12. +1 NT

[Kievan Rus]

24. It's one of at least a hundred reasons I don't live in a McMansion suburb

You literally can't go anywhere outside your house without having to drive there. And most of the vehicles in those neighborhoods are giant SUVs with the drivers yakking away on a cell phone.

[SocialistLez]

11. I've seen online where someone said fast food exploded when wages started stagnating.

It would not surprise me.

It also doesn't help we have a car-dependent nation.

[Art_from_Ark]

26. From my vantage point, fast food started "exploding" in the early '70s

Of course, McDonald's got its start in the '50s, and there were a few other nationwide fast food places like A&W and Dairy Queen, and several locally-owned drive-ins in the '50s and '60s, but it seemed like the whole hamburger-joint-on-every-corner stuff really started in the early '70s, in my neck of the woods at least.

[EstimatedProphet]

13. How does it get worse than #1?

[Las Vegas Mixx]

14. The American state-by-state chart

Here's the original USA 2007-2009 obesity-by-state chart. Notice that even our least obese American state, Colorado, has a higher rate than all except the seven most overweight nations.

[Name removed]

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[branders seine]

15. well, at least we're #1 in something.

it's been awhile since that was true.

[MrMickeysMom]

16. Exercise, exercise, exercise...

The take home message is that we don't move our bodies around.

Walking is the best exercise. I'm lucky in that we have hills and terrain and if I do a lot of exercise, I can get away with just be a few pounds over my ideal.

I eat healthy, which means I eat a lot of veggies, pasta, beans, and just lean meats. I DO like one to three bears a week, but if I don't exercise 5 days a week, it's going from my hips down, baby.

WE MUST exercise more!

[bobbolink]

17. *yawn*

[MrMickeysMom]

19. You know what I mean, bobbolink...

All the people who don't have to KEEP walking to survive... WE have to exercise. It's OUR hierarchy of need because we put TOO much food in our mouth and sleep in a comfortable bed each night.

[bobbolink]

38. Oh, I know exactly what you mean. That everyone is just like you....

who can AFFORD good nutrition (thank your lucky stars instead of judging others, for a start), and single moms and those working two jobs..... Yeah, we ALL have the time and $$$$ to keep in shape.

Start looking around and realize that some people in this country are living hellish lives, and those lives are made much harder by this kind of judgment and discouting.

I have been at DU long enough that I no longer expect any kind of compassion here, but if you are going to keep calling yourselves Dems and "progressives", then develop that consciousness.

Otherwise, it is no different from the attitudes that you decry on other issues.

[Name removed]

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[LanternWaste]

68. Because suggesting exercise is so...

Because an all-things-being-equal suggestion that exercise is a positive step is so... horrible and lacking in compassion?

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[Lucian]

70. You don't have to eat healthy to lose weight.

I'm on a college student diet of macaroni and cheese, spaghetti-o's, and ramen, and I'm still losing weight. The key is eating less of it.

Oh, and I exercise too. That's also key. Getting off your ass and doing something physical is the best way to go.

[Name removed]

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[smalll]

23. You eat one to three bears a week?

That must call for a lot of hill-walking to work all that off!

[Art_from_Ark]

28. I don't think that even Daniel Boone

could eat 3 bears a week :crazy:

[MrMickeysMom]

37. No...

But I betcha he'd be a good one to sit around the camp fire and drink a few BEERS, eh?

[MrMickeysMom]

35. !!

:spray: Oh, damn.... They ARE hard to digest! :toast:

[pipi_k]

41. Well shit, even where I live, we don't get more than two bears all summer...

The rest of the time we have to make do with chipmunks and the occasional (careless) Mourning Dove...


:cry:

[MrMickeysMom]

44. How about cat beer. Ever try that?

Doves love it every mourning!

:beer:

[JI7]

25. Diet counts for a lot more than exercise when it comes to weight

especially if one is overweight or obese.

exercise helps more when you get towards the weight you want.

[MrMickeysMom]

36. Ah, but there's more to it than that...

Exercise and lifting (any kind of) weights actually builds muscle and burns fuel much more efficiently.

When you build muscle it burns more of your calories. You actually burn more calories even at rest. This is because you can burn body "fuel" much better when you have a bigger "engine" (more muscle mass). You can LOOSE weight by calorie reduction, sure, and probably in quick order. However, the using the ultimate reduction of fat by those means, your body not only looses fat, but also muscle. From the point past the weight loss by just dieting, your body would not burn fuel as efficiently because you didn't maintain the same or even more muscle mass.

Therefore, it doesn't make too much sense to loose weight by "only dieting" if you don't add to it some form of exercise that produces MUSCLE BUILDING. (We're not talking high tech, go into the gym machine, but basic free weights).

If you don't believe me, read the statistics that come out of the diet industry (and it IS an industry). That's why in the long term exercise is more important, and you don't have to get fancy about it.

[Las Vegas Mixx]

48. Body Mass Index (BMI) categories - World Health Organization

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11447809@N08/4790060025/

[Las Vegas Mixx]

50. Height vs Weight BMI charts - metric and inches/pounds

Body Mass Index (BMI) charts - both metric and inches/pounds.



link to: #image">"extended chart"

[Scout]

56. either way you measure, metric or pounds, BMI is still a bullshit measurement. n/t

[MrMickeysMom]

62. Personally, I think BMI makes people look too heavy...

... and I say this, of course, because I'm right on the border. I'm guessing that I'm carrying about 10 more pounds than I'd like to be in order to be a little vain. However, I have a lot of bone density and at least my lower body has more muscle mass (strong like bull, eh? Good Mediterranean stock!)

[Lucian]

71. The BMI is a bunch of crap.

According to the chart, I'm damn near obese, but I look nothing like it. I guess they fail to realise that muscle weighs more than fat.

[maxsolomon]

54. 3 entire Bears?

[MrMickeysMom]

64. Man...

this is a tough crowd, I tell ya...

[nickinSTL]

18. We're Number One! We're Number One!

Ok...sure, it's not something we WANT to be number one at, but...it isn't often we can say that :evilgrin:

Seriously, the HFCS and transfat and other unnatural and unhealthy crap they put in food needs to go. I want to be able to buy all the cool, healthy foods I see in the local store that carries lots of them, but I can't afford to. I'm reduced to shopping at Aldi and trying to avoid all the HFCS and transfat filled stuff there.

There really need to be changes in how food is grown, how farming is subsidized to encourage healthy foods instead of unhealthy foods.

[reggie the dog]

20. 68 percent are too heavy

and I am 6 feet tall 158 pounds which is considered healthy/athletic in France and too skinny from what i have seen online! i shit you not i have taken the online body type surveys and the ones in english from the usa recommend that i put on 5 or 10 pounds whereas the ones in french say i am at a fine weight. Sorry if this sounds rude but a solid 65 to 70 percent of women are just too damn heavy for my liking in the USA, in France a scant 15 to 20 percent of women are too damn heavy for my liking, small wonder that i stay in france even though my french wife is divorcing me and i left the usa to follow her! if you are happy being fat that is fine with me but for those of you waiting for a diet pill i say just eat less and work out more, i dropped 20 pounds when i did that 9 years ago while in my last year of undergraduate studies

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. Damn we did a good job on getting back on to number one

didn't we?

[Las Vegas Mixx]

29. 2005-2007 - USA 31% vs Canada 14% (chart)

Canadians are not as affected by the American overeating disorder.

http://eaves.ca/2008/07/08/fatness-index-canada-vs-united-states/

{ Original unlabeled chart modified (2005-2007) to assist geography-challenged viewers. }





http://www.lasvegasmixx.com/702/viewtopic.php?id=2221

[Las Vegas Mixx]

46. OECD data references by country - 1. measured (more reliable) and 2. self-reported

http://www.ecosante.fr/OCDEENG/814020.html (Overweight or obese population - MEASURED)

http://www.ecosante.fr/OCDEENG/814010.html (Overweight or obese population - SELF-REPORTED)

[Hannah Bell]

31. that's data from 2002-2003, some self-reported. not sure how valid it is.

DEFINITION: Percentage of total population who have a BMI (body mass index) greater than 30 Kg/sq.meters (Data for Australia, Austria and Portugal is from 2002. All other data is from 2003). Obesity rates are defined as the percentage of the population with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30.

The BMI is a single number that evaluates an individual's weight status in relation to height (weight/height2, with weight in kilograms and height in metres).

For Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, figures are based on health examinations, rather than self-reported information. Obesity estimates derived from health examinations are generally higher and more reliable than those coming from self-reports, because they preclude any misreporting of people's height and weight. However, health examinations are only conducted regularly in a few countries (OECD).


SOURCE: OECD Health Data 2005


More recent report (2010) here:

http://www.oecd.org/document/16/0,3343,en_2649_34631_2085200_1_1_1_1,00.html

[bobbolink]

39. Thank you, Hannah, I knew we could count on you to keep an eye on these things.

That site has a lot of good info..... I am using some of it for a special and large educational project.

Thanks! :yourock:

[Name removed]

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[MrMickeysMom]

45. Here's a recent one from CDC/NCHS

[unc70]

32. Adenovirus-36 likely responsible for much of the increase sinc 1978

AD-36 antibodies are found in the blood of over one third of those who are obese, but in under 10% of those who are not obese. Those with the antibodies to AD-36, fat or thin, have very high rates of lipid-related conditions including diabetes and high levels of cholesterol.

Several other agents are also implicated as causal for fat retention and weight gain.

While the use of HFCS instead of cane sugar in our food has received considerable attention by reseachers, other topics have received very little. For example, soy protein)

[Socal31]

33. Yet I still see parents bringing their obese children into fast food places.

Running shoes can be had for cheap.

Eat whatever you like, but get off your ass people.

[Las Vegas Mixx]

34. JAMA: NHANES study - with breakdown by age, sex, ethnic group, etc.

Prevalence and Trends in Obesity Among US Adults, 1999-2008

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/303/3/235

[KeyWester]

42. I get to see a great spectrum of Americans ...

in Key West, they come from all over, and a great number are over weight and wearing to little clothes with their pale white skin pushing past the stretched fabric of their bathing suits.

People on vacation have little shame :shrug: :woohoo:

[Javaman]

47. We're Number One! We're Number One! burp! oh god, I hurt myself...

I think I need my stomach stapled...

We're Number One! We're Number One!

[nadinbrzezinski]

52. Here is a difference in approach

The US... really doing sometihng about it? Not that I can see it. Hell, as I was talkign to my doc even telling a patient they should lose weight can be tricky. I mean people will not accept it... it is their god damn given right...

Mexico... you go see the doctor for ANY reason, they will do BMI and ahem prod you to lose weight.

So Mexico overcame the US in obesity two years ago... now they are back in second place and they see this as a NATIONAL SECURITY MATTER. We don't.

Anecdotally I had to to to the hospital this morning to the lab, and well, I had to get breakfast there and not quite for their fine cuisine. It is just simple, I needed to eat after going there with no food in tummy.

I had two eggs, and some hash and a medium apple that I did not finish... since well shit it was TOO BIG.

Lady besdies me is getting easily on her plate 2,000 calories... four eggs, four slices of bacon, several hash and well two apples. She looks at mine and goes, that's not enough food. So instead of pointing out the girth issue I pointed out that she really had a problem with portion control, but did it softly... we had a long talk while having breakfast. She's been told the same by her dietitian but dietitian forgot that soemtimes silly things like going... you know don't eat more than oh a fistful of food can be useful. Yes, she needs to lose about 300 pounds. She said, you don't get it, thin people don't... (I AM technically overweight)... I pointed to her that I have lost fifty pounds and could use losing another twenty... and that yes I get it. And that even five percent weight loss will do wonders for her health. But see, she is here at the medical center, and she's not seen a good PSA on good nutrition in years. I also complemented her for eating the fresh fruit...

Mexico, on the other hand, when you watch the TEEVEEE machine, they have been running PSAs for a few years now, and I see they are starting to bear some fruit. Oh and that includes a few taxes on sin foods, and mickey D is not happy. And you know what? To hell with Mickey Ds. I remember telling the Director of the SOcial Security System 20 or so years ago when they first oppened that this was comming and PSAs, as well as other health programns should be done... but hey, what would a lowly medic (with oodles of research papers) know?

One of my hopes is that as we swtch our emphasis from critical care to preventive, we will start treating fast food and desert zones for what they are... public health enemies and a national security matter.

[snooper2]

53. Didn't you know, it's the fat gene...

being spread to every generation now...

Ignore the escalators, elevators, addiction to posting on Internet forums sitting on your ass for hours at time, paying to have your lawn cut and not knowing how to grill a fucking piece of chicken.

[nadinbrzezinski]

57. Which is mal adaptive in modern society

I know sciency stuff is not convenient, why the snark.

And I was expecting this to show up FAR EARLIER.

[snooper2]

61. I was expecting you to show up far earlier

nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

63. I did... but for me this is not about morality

but a very complex set of issues that have become a perfect storm. And some of them I fear are very much man made... and we don't even want to aknowledge them. And yes stairs are part of it, but so are a slew of other matters... such as food deserts and public policy... cheap food policy to be exact.

[snooper2]

66. It costs me more to eat out for lunch than take leftovers from dinner

And we have damn good dinners...I was going to do this but forgot and threw the receipt away last night...

Take our grocery reciept, show how much healthy food we bought to make dinners and post it...I'll remember next time.


FYI, lunch today leftover lamb that was crazy reduced to a 1/3 the price since they were about to throw it out and some reduced linguine that was 99cents for the package. (resulted in big bowl of linquine and we had 6 nice size lamb chops for $7.30, enough for dinner and next day lunch for wife and I)

[nadinbrzezinski]

67. Try that trick in the inner city

I dare you...

Food deserts are real, and have been aknowledged by people in the know, you know like oh EXPERTS in food policy and poverty.

And as is... FRESH FRUIT is still MORE expensive than a bag of potato chips. Again, that is another reality accepted by experts who have spent their lives studying this matter.

I chose to spend my food dollars on fresh food at the LOCAL market, but I CAN AFFORD IT... and I know this. And yes it is even MORE expensive to go to the local farmer's market.

It don't matter how many studies you are shown... it really does not, why I no longer bother with them with you. But you could, if you wanted to, go on and find out about OUR CHEAP FOOD POLICY. The google is your friend. Now this has to be said... in the US we talk a good game. Our neighbors to the south have taken concrete actions... and PERHAPS they have managed to reverse the trend given that they have gone from number two, to number one and back to numnber two. They see this as a NATIONAL SECURITY matter, we don't.

[Name removed]

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[MrMickeysMom]

65. You sound like some of my Italian relatives...

Say it with me in your best Queens/Brooklyn accent... "It's GenETic!"

[Las Vegas Mixx]

69. Any speculation on why certain neighboring nations show such different results?

The most obvious obesity difference is between the USA at 31% and Canada at 14%. However, the UK at 24% vs Ireland's 13% and Slovakia's 22% vs Czech Republics's 15% also seem to stick out.

What factors would cause this kind of variance?

Diet differences? Activity differences? Health Care proactive preventative care? Measurement techniques?

Here's the 2005-2007 US vs Canada obesity combo chart (http://www.eaves.ca)
The chart was modified for the geographically challenged since the original had no country labels.

http://eaves.ca/2008/07/08/fatness-index-canada-vs-united-states/

- - -

[Lucian]

72. Don't need a study to show that.

Just look around the next time you're out in public. Everyone is getting huge. Hell, those motorized shopping scooters aren't for the disabled anymore. They're also for the obese, the one's who I see riding those most often.

[Brooklyns_Finest]

73. Cultural

It is a cultural thing. We live in a fast food reliant society. Until that changes, we will have this problem.

[Name removed]

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[Scout]

82. poisoned food must not be the only cause of dullness then. n/t

[Artie Bucco]

74. Like some have mentioned above all else people need to start cooking again.

I frequently shop at a 99 Cents Only store. It is an exception not the rule when it comes to Dollar stores since this one carries produce. Today I bought 2 pounds of kiwis and a pound and a half of strawberries. Along with organic frozen strawberries for my soy milk shakes.

Lots of staple foods at the store too; pasta, beans, potatoes, yams, rice and plantains. A half pound of pasta will set you back 30 cents. There is frozen meat and fish there too; the meat portions are only 3 oz and the fish are 4 oz. By no means do I view the 99 Cents Only store as a replacement to a grocery store but I know I can get some good stuff in a pinch.

I should add that I used to be overweight. I ate like a typical young American, lots of high fat and fast food. I used to weigh about 195 at 5,7. A part time job working a UPS warehouse made me lean fast and my lowest weigh was 137 pounds and I am now at 150. I won't have luxury of having a job that will help me burn absurd amounts of calories forever so I am eating healthier than I ever have before. However, it is exercise that I think will be the key in me maintaining my weight. I still indulge once or twice a week but I don't eat the amount of crappy foods I used to.

[Name removed]

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[Arugula Latte]

85. We were acclimated early to crappy, horrible, no-nutrition food like "American Cheese"

Who didn't grow up on those gawd-awful squares of plastic-wrapped cheese?

Little French and Italian kids didn't. We did. We learned early to accept the shitty, processed food-like products pushed by our corporate overlords. We're paying the price.