This gallery explains why millions of Americans are obese…
Replies
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Oh. so then there's no point in trying. You can't do it. Might as well give up, give in and eat whatever you want.
So what's the answer then?We're obese because we eat too much and sit on our butts all day.
Personal responsibility for our health? Whaaaaat?!
Everyone quit your office jobs and go get a job on a farm. Sunshine, exercise, fresh air, personal responsibility. I bet the farmers won't care if we eat the occasional fresh fruit or veggie straight out of the ground, either.
Overhaul our society and system. Cut work hours to 30, then 20 gradually, since both parents are working outside the home now. People will then have more time to cook and exercise.
Start subsidizing expensive healthy foods.
hmm...I'm going to return to: personal responsibility.0 -
My coconut oil is chemical free.
Now that is some incredibly special coconut oil! I'm guessing it doesn't weigh very much...0 -
Portion sizes matter.
shhhhh ixnay on the ortionpay izesay its the secret I don't want to get out there0 -
The only thing I've learned about bagels is they have gotten so much smaller in recent years. They used to be these big delicious things, now they are these little hockey puck sized balls of stale dough.0
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My coconut oil is chemical free.
Now that is some incredibly special coconut oil! I'm guessing it doesn't weigh very much...
Touche. You guys are going to keep me on my toes. There is supposedly no chemical in it that didn't start off as a coconut.0 -
My coconut oil is chemical free.
Now that is some incredibly special coconut oil! I'm guessing it doesn't weigh very much...
Touche. You guys are going to keep me on my toes. There is supposedly no chemical in it that didn't start off as a coconut.
Now, that, I can get behind.0 -
My coconut oil is chemical free.
Now that is some incredibly special coconut oil! I'm guessing it doesn't weigh very much...
I squeeze mine myself. There's no lime in my coconut.0 -
So what's the answer then?We're obese because we eat too much and sit on our butts all day.
Personal responsibility for our health? Whaaaaat?!
Everyone quit your office jobs and go get a job on a farm. Sunshine, exercise, fresh air, personal responsibility. I bet the farmers won't care if we eat the occasional fresh fruit or veggie straight out of the ground, either.
Overhaul our society and system. Cut work hours to 30, then 20 gradually, since both parents are working outside the home now. People will then have more time to cook and exercise.
Start subsidizing expensive healthy foods.
:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:
Yeah, I know. Never happen in a society where we're all getting worked to death for corporate profit.
I don't know if you know this but...
most farmers already receive subsidies to keep the price of commodities (read fruits, vegetables, milk) down.
I am very aware of it. And we need more of this. And stricter controls on what can be put in and on our fruits, vegetables, milk and meat (meat is very heavily subsidized in various ways).0 -
http://www.eufic.org/article/en/expid/review-food-choice/
Title: The Determinants of Food Choice
A much more nuanced and of course researched rundown on the mix of determinants in food selection.0 -
So what's the answer then?We're obese because we eat too much and sit on our butts all day.
Personal responsibility for our health? Whaaaaat?!
Everyone quit your office jobs and go get a job on a farm. Sunshine, exercise, fresh air, personal responsibility. I bet the farmers won't care if we eat the occasional fresh fruit or veggie straight out of the ground, either.
Overhaul our society and system. Cut work hours to 30, then 20 gradually, since both parents are working outside the home now. People will then have more time to cook and exercise.
Start subsidizing expensive healthy foods.
:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:
Yeah, I know. Never happen in a society where we're all getting worked to death for corporate profit.
I don't know if you know this but...
most farmers already receive subsidies to keep the price of commodities (read fruits, vegetables, milk) down.
I am very aware of it. And we need more of this. And stricter controls on what can be put in and on our fruits, vegetables, milk and meat (meat is very heavily subsidized in various ways).
right, get the government MORE involved in our lives...because they are already doing such a great job of ruining all the stuff they already control....0 -
So what's the answer then?We're obese because we eat too much and sit on our butts all day.
Personal responsibility for our health? Whaaaaat?!
Everyone quit your office jobs and go get a job on a farm. Sunshine, exercise, fresh air, personal responsibility. I bet the farmers won't care if we eat the occasional fresh fruit or veggie straight out of the ground, either.
Overhaul our society and system. Cut work hours to 30, then 20 gradually, since both parents are working outside the home now. People will then have more time to cook and exercise.
Start subsidizing expensive healthy foods.
:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:
Yeah, I know. Never happen in a society where we're all getting worked to death for corporate profit.
I don't know if you know this but...
most farmers already receive subsidies to keep the price of commodities (read fruits, vegetables, milk) down.
I am very aware of it. And we need more of this. And stricter controls on what can be put in and on our fruits, vegetables, milk and meat (meat is very heavily subsidized in various ways).
three cheers for this! Tell me what to eat. Tell me where to work. Tell me how much I should be paid. Tell me what I can say. Tell me what I can write. Tell me what kind of tinfoil to make my hat out of. *phew* This will make life so much easier0 -
So what's the answer then?We're obese because we eat too much and sit on our butts all day.
Personal responsibility for our health? Whaaaaat?!
Everyone quit your office jobs and go get a job on a farm. Sunshine, exercise, fresh air, personal responsibility. I bet the farmers won't care if we eat the occasional fresh fruit or veggie straight out of the ground, either.
Overhaul our society and system. Cut work hours to 30, then 20 gradually, since both parents are working outside the home now. People will then have more time to cook and exercise.
Start subsidizing expensive healthy foods.
You really think people are going to use their extra time to cook and exercise? People are lazy.
Generalization.
Why is thinness considered beautiful in some societies and overweight or even obesity in others? Because in societies where the cheap food makes you fat, being thin is a sign of wealth because you can afford better food and the time and energy allotment to exercise. In societies where all food is scarce, being overweight or obese is a sign of wealth.
So say anthropologists. If you think they're wrong, take it up with them.
I would if I knew any.
The second part I can agree with - plenty of cultural basis for fat being synonymous with wealthy. The first, not so much. Being thin isn't a sign of wealth. Walk the streets - lots of rail-thin homeless people. You need some money to get fat regardless of what food you're buying.
Being fit, and really well groomed I could see. It would indicate that you have the time and inclination to take good care of yourself, and that your fitness isn't likely the result of manual labor.0 -
People don't get fat because food gets bigger. Food gets bigger because people demand it.
Has anyone seen the new 1-lb Snickers bars? 2,070 calories! Sure, the wrappers say "Slice and Share", but b]you know the manufacturers are just making them bigger because "King size" isn't enough anymore.[/b]
I'm not sure I know that is why they are doing it. So what if you can buy a giant Snickers bar with (ZOMG) 2,070 calories? I think it's awesome, and I would buy one. What is different from that bar and buying 6 small bars?0 -
right, get the government MORE involved in our lives...because they are already doing such a great job of ruining all the stuff they already control....
Ever read "The Jungle"? Government sucks. No regulations sucks far more.0 -
So what's the answer then?We're obese because we eat too much and sit on our butts all day.
Personal responsibility for our health? Whaaaaat?!
Everyone quit your office jobs and go get a job on a farm. Sunshine, exercise, fresh air, personal responsibility. I bet the farmers won't care if we eat the occasional fresh fruit or veggie straight out of the ground, either.
Overhaul our society and system. Cut work hours to 30, then 20 gradually, since both parents are working outside the home now. People will then have more time to cook and exercise.
Start subsidizing expensive healthy foods.
You really think people are going to use their extra time to cook and exercise? People are lazy.
Generalization.
Why is thinness considered beautiful in some societies and overweight or even obesity in others? Because in societies where the cheap food makes you fat, being thin is a sign of wealth because you can afford better food and the time and energy allotment to exercise. In societies where all food is scarce, being overweight or obese is a sign of wealth.
So say anthropologists. If you think they're wrong, take it up with them.
I would if I knew any.
The second part I can agree with - plenty of cultural basis for fat being synonymous with wealthy. The first, not so much. Being thin isn't a sign of wealth. Walk the streets - lots of rail-thin homeless people. You need some money to get fat regardless of what food you're buying.
Being fit, and really well groomed I could see. It would indicate that you have the time and inclination to take good care of yourself, and that your fitness isn't likely the result of manual labor.
Good point about homeless people. Although I've seen portly homeless people, too. Doesn't mean they're well fed, just overfed, possibly fat and malnourished.
But if you're homeless you are suffering from a food scarcity the working poor are not experiencing. So you then fall into a situation more like our past than our present, and you might be skinny as a depression era sharecropper. Or fat and still as malnourished as one.0 -
People don't get fat because food gets bigger. Food gets bigger because people demand it.
Has anyone seen the new 1-lb Snickers bars? 2,070 calories! Sure, the wrappers say "Slice and Share", but b]you know the manufacturers are just making them bigger because "King size" isn't enough anymore.[/b]
I'm not sure I know that is why they are doing it. So what if you can buy a giant Snickers bar with (ZOMG) 2,070 calories? I think it's awesome, and I would buy one. What is different from that bar and buying 6 small bars?
I'm no marketing expert, but my guess is they're doing it so they stand out from the rest of the candy bars on the shelves. More visibility usually == more sales == more profit.0 -
See, I don't think it's the size of the food stuffs, it's the access and marketing thereof. Families used to cook dinners, now they see how 'easy and convenient' a hamburger helper dinner or a quick drive thru at McDonald's would be. I don't think it's just the size, it's the marketing as well.
right, so we are all robots that automatically go to McDonalds when the fast food overlords say "jump"
what ever happened to personal responsibility...
No, but there have been numerous studies proving that frequent exposure to advertisements for food, especially through commercials, signals our brains to feel hunger and crave that particular food. While, sure, people have the choice to say no, the problem is people aren't used to needing to tell themselves no when they feel "hunger." Evolution has prepared us to crave foods when they're readily available, and now that they are, people are consuming to their heart's desires and their brains are rewarding them for it. Food manufacturarers are fully aware of this, and do everything to make it even more appealing and irresistible. People may have the option of saying no (I fully believe in taking accountability for what you consume), but it's hard to compete with your own personal predispositions.
I think we are watching evolution going on right now. People who can no longer say 'no' to food, are not living as long and procreating less. Eventually we will whittle out all the cravers and over eaters and adapt to our opulent life styles.
*only partly tongue in cheek0 -
I think we are watching evolution going on right now. People who can no longer say 'no' to food, are not living as long and procreating less. Eventually we will whittle out all the cravers and over eaters and adapt to our opulent life styles.
*only partly tongue in cheek
From what I'm hearing from researchers lecturing, you aren't at all wrong.
But can any society survive the cost of this transition?0 -
Also, "home cooked" does not automatically default to "healthy" . If I take some lard and fry up some chicken and eat that every night, is it healthier because it is "home cooked"?
Hey now, nothing wrong with lard. It's a crap-ton better than crisco, which is what people were using as a replacement for lard for decades.
Yep. So is butter. But I'm furious because today I checked the ingredients list on my butter. It has natural flavoring in it, which is code for chemical additives I don't want and don't need. Is nothing sacred anymore?
I hate to be the one to break it to you, but butter is a chemical. lol0 -
You guys aren't mentioning the "all you can eat" restaurants. My husband is from Italy and when I brought him home to Minnesota he was agast at the "all you can eat" places. He would spread his arms wide out from his sides and say--all you can eat!0
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right, get the government MORE involved in our lives...because they are already doing such a great job of ruining all the stuff they already control....
Ever read "The Jungle"? Government sucks. No regulations sucks far more.
ever read "the road to serfdom" - government involvement sucks more.0 -
right, get the government MORE involved in our lives...because they are already doing such a great job of ruining all the stuff they already control....
Ever read "The Jungle"? Government sucks. No regulations sucks far more.
ever read "the road to serfdom" - government involvement sucks more.
I haven't. I'll check it out.
But nothing will convince me that a return to pre-1940s working and living conditions for the average worker and purchaser is a viable option.
Maybe there is another way that doesn't involve government or corporations that are free to do as they please?0 -
You guys aren't mentioning the "all you can eat" restaurants. My husband is from Italy and when I brought him home to Minnesota he was agast at the "all you can eat" places. He would spread his arms wide out from his sides and say--all you can eat!
No one is forcing you to go to those either. The food tastes awful anyway. I can't remember the last time I was at one.0 -
My mom was a single mom and for the first 12 years of my life, we were poor. My mom knew how to stretch a dollar at the grocery store and she cooked every day. Even when she started going to school during the day and working nights, she always cooked dinner. Fast food was a once a month treat.
You know when I became a fast food/junk food fiend? In middle school when my mom graduated nursing school and started making more money. We started eating out more because she could afford it then. We also had more things around the house like cookies and chips. When economics made it a choice between fresh food and snack foods, those types of food weren't an option often.
And that is why it always puzzles me when I hear reports that poor people rely on fast food. Unless they are buying solely from the dollar menu, how do they afford it? Having lived it, it doesn't make any sense to me.
I ate at McDonald's with my mom a few weeks ago. She had a Big Mac "value" meal and I had a Filet O' Fish, small fries, and ice water. The bill came to $13.00 and I felt ripped off. I could get three times as many meals out of that amount at the grocery store buying fresh food. Cheaper?0 -
Those are now kid meals. /sigh0 -
So what's the answer then?We're obese because we eat too much and sit on our butts all day.
Personal responsibility for our health? Whaaaaat?!
Everyone quit your office jobs and go get a job on a farm. Sunshine, exercise, fresh air, personal responsibility. I bet the farmers won't care if we eat the occasional fresh fruit or veggie straight out of the ground, either.
Overhaul our society and system. Cut work hours to 30, then 20 gradually, since both parents are working outside the home now. People will then have more time to cook and exercise.
Start subsidizing expensive healthy foods.
Stinks of Big Government to me. :frown:0 -
My mom was a single mom and for the first 12 years of my life, we were poor. My mom knew how to stretch a dollar at the grocery store and she cooked every day. Even when she started going to school during the day and working nights, she always cooked dinner. Fast food was a once a month treat.
You know when I became a fast food/junk food fiend? In middle school when my mom graduated nursing school and started making more money. We started eating out more because she could afford it then. We also had more things around the house like cookies and chips. When economics made it a choice between fresh food and snack foods, those types of food weren't an option often.
And that is why it always puzzles me when I hear reports that poor people rely on fast food. Unless they are buying solely from the dollar menu, how do they afford it? Having lived it, it doesn't make any sense to me.
I ate at McDonald's with my mom a few weeks ago. She had a Big Mac "value" meal and I had a Filet O' Fish, small fries, and ice water. The bill came to $13.00 and I felt ripped off. I could get three times as many meals out of that amount at the grocery store buying fresh food. Cheaper?
It isn't just grocery store versus eating out, there are also unhealthy foods at the grocery store that are cheaper. And I'm lucky enough to have access to a grocery store, many people with less grocery money to spend each week than I have don't live close enough to a grocery store so their choices are even more limited.
Here is my cheap week grocery store budget:
Mac N Cheese
Bread
Peanut Butter
Ice Cream (the cheap gallon size)
Cookies
Over a week's worth of calories for less than $20
Here is my healthy, I can lose weight on this and feel good grocery store list:
Chuck roast 2 for $18 (last four days)
Ground beef $10 (Three days)
Coconut oil (about five bucks a week, I buy it in the giant size container at Costco)
Onion, chili pepper, garlic, maybe spinach: $5
Cheese: $5
$38
Pretty plain eating and it's a week's calorie deficit (which is fine when I'm losing weight obviously but not when I'm trying to maintain).0 -
So what's the answer then?We're obese because we eat too much and sit on our butts all day.
Personal responsibility for our health? Whaaaaat?!
Everyone quit your office jobs and go get a job on a farm. Sunshine, exercise, fresh air, personal responsibility. I bet the farmers won't care if we eat the occasional fresh fruit or veggie straight out of the ground, either.
Overhaul our society and system. Cut work hours to 30, then 20 gradually, since both parents are working outside the home now. People will then have more time to cook and exercise.
Start subsidizing expensive healthy foods.
You really think people are going to use their extra time to cook and exercise? People are lazy.
Generalization.
Why is thinness considered beautiful in some societies and overweight or even obesity in others? Because in societies where the cheap food makes you fat, being thin is a sign of wealth because you can afford better food and the time and energy allotment to exercise. In societies where all food is scarce, being overweight or obese is a sign of wealth.
So say anthropologists. If you think they're wrong, take it up with them.
I would if I knew any.
The second part I can agree with - plenty of cultural basis for fat being synonymous with wealthy. The first, not so much. Being thin isn't a sign of wealth. Walk the streets - lots of rail-thin homeless people. You need some money to get fat regardless of what food you're buying.
Being fit, and really well groomed I could see. It would indicate that you have the time and inclination to take good care of yourself, and that your fitness isn't likely the result of manual labor.
Good point about homeless people. Although I've seen portly homeless people, too. Doesn't mean they're well fed, just overfed, possibly fat and malnourished.
But if you're homeless you are suffering from a food scarcity the working poor are not experiencing. So you then fall into a situation more like our past than our present, and you might be skinny as a depression era sharecropper. Or fat and still as malnourished as one.
Ah, but we weren't talking about whether any of these people, wealthy or poor are properly nourished. Just whether thin or fat is a cultural signal of wealth. Like I said, plenty of cultural evidence that being fat is, or was (still is in some cultures). It's the thinness I question. Kind of hard to automatically view thin as wealthy with signs of thin people asking for help for impoverished groups, you know?0 -
Stinks of Big Government to me. :frown:
Nothing wrong with big government if it does what we want it to do.
But I better get off this part of the topic before I get my posts deleted.0 -
So what's the answer then?We're obese because we eat too much and sit on our butts all day.
Personal responsibility for our health? Whaaaaat?!
Everyone quit your office jobs and go get a job on a farm. Sunshine, exercise, fresh air, personal responsibility. I bet the farmers won't care if we eat the occasional fresh fruit or veggie straight out of the ground, either.
Overhaul our society and system. Cut work hours to 30, then 20 gradually, since both parents are working outside the home now. People will then have more time to cook and exercise.
Start subsidizing expensive healthy foods.
You really think people are going to use their extra time to cook and exercise? People are lazy.
Generalization.
Why is thinness considered beautiful in some societies and overweight or even obesity in others? Because in societies where the cheap food makes you fat, being thin is a sign of wealth because you can afford better food and the time and energy allotment to exercise. In societies where all food is scarce, being overweight or obese is a sign of wealth.
So say anthropologists. If you think they're wrong, take it up with them.
I would if I knew any.
The second part I can agree with - plenty of cultural basis for fat being synonymous with wealthy. The first, not so much. Being thin isn't a sign of wealth. Walk the streets - lots of rail-thin homeless people. You need some money to get fat regardless of what food you're buying.
Being fit, and really well groomed I could see. It would indicate that you have the time and inclination to take good care of yourself, and that your fitness isn't likely the result of manual labor.
Good point about homeless people. Although I've seen portly homeless people, too. Doesn't mean they're well fed, just overfed, possibly fat and malnourished.
But if you're homeless you are suffering from a food scarcity the working poor are not experiencing. So you then fall into a situation more like our past than our present, and you might be skinny as a depression era sharecropper. Or fat and still as malnourished as one.
Ah, but we weren't talking about whether any of these people, wealthy or poor are properly nourished. Just whether thin or fat is a cultural signal of wealth. Like I said, plenty of cultural evidence that being fat is, or was (still is in some cultures). It's the thinness I question. Kind of hard to automatically view thin as wealthy with signs of thin people asking for help for impoverished groups, you know?
You're absolutely right on that. Being thin isn't necessarily a sign of health. But people perceive it as a sign of someone who not only does control their food choices and possibly physical activity, but who also CAN choose it.0
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