America is doomed

jim180155

I hope I am not misinterpreted for what I'm about to say, but I have to agree with the OP when he says that food chain restaurants are creating bigger portions each day and I think that in itself makes it harder for people to estimate accurately the amount of food they need to sustain themselves without gaining weight.

Yes, people need to take full responsibility for what they eat and shifting the blame to the big companies doesn't really fix anything. The problem is, we are wired to eat what's in front of us and underestimate how much we really eat, so if we live in an area where one normal serving can actually contain enough calories to sustain one adult for 2 days, how many of us is well informed to see that? How many of us would choose to eat just half of it and not eat anything else the rest of the day?

I have only been the the US once and was appalled at the gigantic servings in fast food restaurants. I mean, do companies think that US people hungrier and thirstier than people in my country? Because they certainly serve smaller portions and the mega portions are nowhere to be seen here. I can attest that.

So is it possible to be healthy and eat what's right for you in the US? Absolutely. But in my opinion, it's got to be a lot harder to eat the right amounts of food when the servings are so disproportionate with people's actual requirements to sustain a healthy diet. I hope this made sense.

You made perfect sense, and I agree, the food industry and restaurants make it difficult to judge reasonable portion sizes. Before I started tracking my food late last year, I didn't really know how many calories I was eating, and had only the vaguest idea of my macro content. The information is available to those who seek it and then make it part of their daily lifestyle, but those people, like us on MFP, are a small minority.

Like someone said a page or two ago, companies try to provide what will sell. Companies don't care if their products are healthy, they care only about selling what people can be tempted to buy. (The exception would be companies making specialty products marketed as healthy.)

healthygreek

I hope I am not misinterpreted for what I'm about to say, but I have to agree with the OP when he says that food chain restaurants are creating bigger portions each day and I think that in itself makes it harder for people to estimate accurately the amount of food they need to sustain themselves without gaining weight.

Yes, people need to take full responsibility for what they eat and shifting the blame to the big companies doesn't really fix anything. The problem is, we are wired to eat what's in front of us and underestimate how much we really eat, so if we live in an area where one normal serving can actually contain enough calories to sustain one adult for 2 days, how many of us is well informed to see that? How many of us would choose to eat just half of it and not eat anything else the rest of the day?

I have only been the the US once and was appalled at the gigantic servings in fast food restaurants. I mean, do companies think that US people hungrier and thirstier than people in my country? Because they certainly serve smaller portions and the mega portions are nowhere to be seen here. I can attest that.

So is it possible to be healthy and eat what's right for you in the US? Absolutely. But in my opinion, it's got to be a lot harder to eat the right amounts of food when the servings are so disproportionate with people's actual requirements to sustain a healthy diet. I hope this made sense.

If your country serves the correct portion sizes, how did you become overweight?

estaticaa

Ironically enough, I gained weight by abusing my olive oil intake everyday and reducing my activity throughout the day. I'm working on that and have been steadily getting back into shape, thanks to MFP. Thanks for asking! I hope you're doing great as well

Quick edit: I didn't state my country has the correct portions. (Can we talk about correct portions? Because I only know what would be right for me.) I only said it had smaller portions than the US.

juliebean3

Dude that pizza sounds pretty good. I'd loose sleep over eating it. But I probably still would.

jim180155

Ouch, I apologize for unthinkingly saying the wrong thing to tick off so many people. All I meant to say is that the restaurant business keeps coming up with new ways to increase fat and calories in readily available food. I think the American food landscape makes it hard to eat right, it takes effort to research better choices. Of course it's not my business what the guy down the street eats. I just feel concerned about our calorie-rich eating culture.

I don't think it's your fault. I reread your OP just to make sure, and now I'm sure you never suggested government intervention or regulation. It seems some people want to have a certain type of argument, and your OP was close enough to set them off. Don't worry about it. Do like the rest of us and make a bowl of popcorn or order a pizza, sit back, and watch the show.

geebusuk

Do you think companies want to give more product away for not much more money?

Could it be that, being a 'business' they are offering what people want to buy?

Oh and today I ate 3800 calories.
I was at a 500+ calorie deficit.

For some people large portions are useful fuel.

Should those that do have active lifestyles (I don't always) be penalised because those that do want to consume as much as them?

healthygreek

Ironically enough, I gained weight by abusing my olive oil intake everyday and reducing my activity throughout the day. I'm working on that and have been steadily getting back into shape, thanks to MFP. Thanks for asking! I hope you're doing great as well

Quick edit: I didn't state my country has the correct portions. (Can we talk about correct portions? Because I only know what would be right for me.) I only said it had smaller portions than the US.

Yes, thanks, I've been at goal for awhile now. I also gained due to eating too much-not fast food, probably olive oil like you and chocolate, lol! I don't eat at fast food places but simply gained from eating too much and not moving enough.
I'm glad you're doing well. Bottem line is we need to eat the correct portions for our body and activity levels even if the portions served are way over what our body requires;-)
No matter how large (or small) the portion sizes are-we (in all counties) need to take responsibility for what we eat.

RHachicho

Oh noes it's not rabbit food we all dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooomed!

I'm gonna sing the doom song now.

Doom doom doomdoomdoomdoomDOOM doomie doomei doom doomie doom Dooom dom Dooom ....

PennyVonDread

I hope I am not misinterpreted for what I'm about to say, but I have to agree with the OP when he says that food chain restaurants are creating bigger portions each day and I think that in itself makes it harder for people to estimate accurately the amount of food they need to sustain themselves without gaining weight.

Yes, people need to take full responsibility for what they eat and shifting the blame to the big companies doesn't really fix anything. The problem is, we are wired to eat what's in front of us and underestimate how much we really eat, so if we live in an area where one normal serving can actually contain enough calories to sustain one adult for 2 days, how many of us is well informed to see that? How many of us would choose to eat just half of it and not eat anything else the rest of the day?

I have only been the the US once and was appalled at the gigantic servings in fast food restaurants. I mean, do companies think that US people hungrier and thirstier than people in my country? Because they certainly serve smaller portions and the mega portions are nowhere to be seen here. I can attest that.

So is it possible to be healthy and eat what's right for you in the US? Absolutely. But in my opinion, it's got to be a lot harder to eat the right amounts of food when the servings are so disproportionate with people's actual requirements to sustain a healthy diet. I hope this made sense.

You made perfect sense, and I agree, the food industry and restaurants make it difficult to judge reasonable portion sizes. Before I started tracking my food late last year, I didn't really know how many calories I was eating, and had only the vaguest idea of my macro content. The information is available to those who seek it and then make it part of their daily lifestyle, but those people, like us on MFP, are a small minority.

Like someone said a page or two ago, companies try to provide what will sell. Companies don't care if their products are healthy, they care only about selling what people can be tempted to buy. (The exception would be companies making specialty products marketed as healthy.)

And still you miss the point that no one is obligated to be healthy. Being fat isn't equivalent automatically unhealthy; that means you can't accurately claim that there is a "correct" portion size to anything, especially since individual needs vary so widely. Who cares how many calories anyone eats in a day? Food is not a moral decision. We are not doomed when the latest research determines that weight has less to do with health and more to do with lifestyle, yet no one measures the life habits for statistics. When about 70% of the population has a BMI under 30 and is low risk for health issues with low mortality.

America is actually doing fine. Only 1/3 is obese, and that's not even taking into consideration whether or not those who are obese are healthy. Or whether or not they are obese due to illness or if they are or ever were able-bodied. That's not taking into consideration any health factors other than a few vague charts that show there are correlations between weight and certain illnesses, and even then that many illnesses are more likely induced by hereditary and lifestyle reasons than just weight.

Eat anything, whatever. Watch your weight or don't. But don't condemn others, let alone a whole country, based on your own internalized size prejudices.

For the record, Americans don't eat fast food everyday. Some of us don't at all because it's expensive vs. cooking at home. There is no right or wrong size to be, only habits suggested to improve or maintain function per individual over time, but also keeping in mind that all bodies wear down mechanically and die eventually, larger ones just tend to wear out a little faster.

This whole thread is just elitist and hateful and completely ignoring the facts in favor of shock factor to shame Americans (specifically) and their supposed (*cough* stereotyped *cough*) lifestyle.

I do not support hate speech.

Ang108

FYI: America isn't the #1 fattest anymore

Thought you should know.

Actually they are #2 after Mexico. Have you checked the numbers ? The difference is less than a tenth of one percent.......big deal I say.
Also if you break the statistics down, you will find that Mexico has lots and lots of overweight people, but by far not as many obese and morbidly obese ones as the US. Place #2 is not really something to be proud of, because people have worked on eating healthier.....it's just a small statistical coincidence.

estaticaa

Ironically enough, I gained weight by abusing my olive oil intake everyday and reducing my activity throughout the day. I'm working on that and have been steadily getting back into shape, thanks to MFP. Thanks for asking! I hope you're doing great as well

Quick edit: I didn't state my country has the correct portions. (Can we talk about correct portions? Because I only know what would be right for me.) I only said it had smaller portions than the US.

Yes, thanks, I've been at goal for awhile now. I also gained due to eating too much-not fast food, probably olive oil like you and chocolate, lol! I don't eat at fast food places but simply gained from eating too much and not moving enough.
I'm glad you're doing well. Bottem line is we need to eat the correct portions for our body and activity levels even if the portions served are way over what our body requires;-)
No matter how large (or small) the portion sizes are-we (in all counties) need to take responsibility for what we eat.

I completely agree with what you said. Individual responsibility is key. All I was trying to say is that we're often not educated enough to make the right choices for us and having mega servings makes this even harder. Not trying to shift the blame here or suggesting there should be some sort of regulation.

I find it really inspiring that you reached your goal and are maintaining. I think that's what attracted me to this site. To read posts about people who took charge and changed their lives for the better

BusyRaeNOTBusty

My calorie goal for today is 3200. I could totally work that in.

GeeWillickers

I had a medium one of these this past week. http://www.neworleanspizza.ca/images/products/HardyMeatLover.png
Those fascists removed the double bacon cheeseburger one. And by the way did blood test last month and according to my doctor am strong like OX.

healthygreek

Ironically enough, I gained weight by abusing my olive oil intake everyday and reducing my activity throughout the day. I'm working on that and have been steadily getting back into shape, thanks to MFP. Thanks for asking! I hope you're doing great as well

Quick edit: I didn't state my country has the correct portions. (Can we talk about correct portions? Because I only know what would be right for me.) I only said it had smaller portions than the US.

Yes, thanks, I've been at goal for awhile now. I also gained due to eating too much-not fast food, probably olive oil like you and chocolate, lol! I don't eat at fast food places but simply gained from eating too much and not moving enough.
I'm glad you're doing well. Bottem line is we need to eat the correct portions for our body and activity levels even if the portions served are way over what our body requires;-)
No matter how large (or small) the portion sizes are-we (in all counties) need to take responsibility for what we eat.

I completely agree with what you said. Individual responsibility is key. All I was trying to say is that we're often not educated enough to make the right choices for us and having mega servings makes this even harder. Not trying to shift the blame here or suggesting there should be some sort of regulation.

I find it really inspiring that you reached your goal and are maintaining. I think that's what attracted me to this site. To read posts about people who took charge and changed their lives for the better

Thank-you! You also will reach your goal soon and when you do-you will feel strong, healthy and proud!

Ang108

I hope I am not misinterpreted for what I'm about to say, but I have to agree with the OP when he says that food chain restaurants are creating bigger portions each day and I think that in itself makes it harder for people to estimate accurately the amount of food they need to sustain themselves without gaining weight.

Yes, people need to take full responsibility for what they eat and shifting the blame to the big companies doesn't really fix anything. The problem is, we are wired to eat what's in front of us and underestimate how much we really eat, so if we live in an area where one normal serving can actually contain enough calories to sustain one adult for 2 days, how many of us is well informed to see that? How many of us would choose to eat just half of it and not eat anything else the rest of the day?

I have only been the the US once and was appalled at the gigantic servings in fast food restaurants. I mean, do companies think that US people hungrier and thirstier than people in my country? Because they certainly serve smaller portions and the mega portions are nowhere to be seen here. I can attest that.

So is it possible to be healthy and eat what's right for you in the US? Absolutely. But in my opinion, it's got to be a lot harder to eat the right amounts of food when the servings are so disproportionate with people's actual requirements to sustain a healthy diet. I hope this made sense.

You made perfect sense, and I agree, the food industry and restaurants make it difficult to judge reasonable portion sizes. Before I started tracking my food late last year, I didn't really know how many calories I was eating, and had only the vaguest idea of my macro content. The information is available to those who seek it and then make it part of their daily lifestyle, but those people, like us on MFP, are a small minority.

Like someone said a page or two ago, companies try to provide what will sell. Companies don't care if their products are healthy, they care only about selling what people can be tempted to buy. (The exception would be companies making specialty products marketed as healthy.)

And still you miss the point that no one is obligated to be healthy. Being fat isn't equivalent automatically unhealthy; that means you can't accurately claim that there is a "correct" portion size to anything, especially since individual needs vary so widely. Who cares how many calories anyone eats in a day? Food is not a moral decision. We are not doomed when the latest research determines that weight has less to do with health and more to do with lifestyle, yet no one measures the life habits for statistics. When about 70% of the population has a BMI under 30 and is low risk for health issues with low mortality.

America is actually doing fine. Only 1/3 is obese, and that's not even taking into consideration whether or not those who are obese are healthy. Or whether or not they are obese due to illness or if they are or ever were able-bodied. That's not taking into consideration any health factors other than a few vague charts that show there are correlations between weight and certain illnesses, and even then that many illnesses are more likely induced by hereditary and lifestyle reasons than just weight.

Eat anything, whatever. Watch your weight or don't. But don't condemn others, let alone a whole country, based on your own internalized size prejudices.

For the record, Americans don't eat fast food everyday. Some of us don't at all because it's expensive vs. cooking at home. There is no right or wrong size to be, only habits suggested to improve or maintain function per individual over time, but also keeping in mind that all bodies wear down mechanically and die eventually, larger ones just tend to wear out a little faster.

This whole thread is just elitist and hateful and completely ignoring the facts in favor of shock factor to shame Americans (specifically) and their supposed (*cough* stereotyped *cough*) lifestyle.

I do not support hate speech.

You say that only one third of the US population is obese and the number is correct and does not mean that America is doing fine. How many people do you think are over weight on top of that number and on their way to being obese ? If you check out the statistics you will find that the number of overweight & obese people who are so due to medical problems usually does not exeed 3% at least according to the WHO . Of course this also applies to other countries, not only the US.

As far as Americans are concerned I personally also do not care what and how much they eat. I do however care what and how much people eat here in Mexico ( right now one of the statistical averages is 68 spoonfuls of sugar a day through soft drinks ). We have socialized health care ( which as a European I am in favor of ) and the 3000 % ( yes, three thousand ! )increase in diabetes over the last 25 years, just to name one example. This has increased the health care contributions plus taxes of each taxpaying citizen/resident way beyond what was expected, because so many more people have to be taken care of, hospitals have to be built and early pensions have to be paid for those on early retirement due to disability . Apart from wanting my fellow men here in Mexico to be healthy I also would like to keep our and with that my personal tax burden down.

RGv2

FYI: America isn't the #1 fattest anymore

Thought you should know.

Actually they are #2 after Mexico. Have you checked the numbers ? The difference is less than a tenth of one percent.......big deal I say.
Also if you break the statistics down, you will find that Mexico has lots and lots of overweight people, but by far not as many obese and morbidly obese ones as the US. Place #2 is not really something to be proud of, because people have worked on eating healthier.....it's just a small statistical coincidence.

I also find those numbers laughably skewed...

<<<<<< I am an addition to the "obese" category/statistic.

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish

Ouch, I apologize for unthinkingly saying the wrong thing to tick off so many people. All I meant to say is that the restaurant business keeps coming up with new ways to increase fat and calories in readily available food. I think the American food landscape makes it hard to eat right, it takes effort to research better choices. Of course it's not my business what the guy down the street eats. I just feel concerned about our calorie-rich eating culture.

"Better choices" he says. Better than... what exactly? Because even though recent research determines people with overweight BMI have lower mortality rates compared to BMI below 25 or well over 30- http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/03/cdc-researchers-find-lower-mortality-rates-among-overweight-people.html#url=/articles/2013/01/03/cdc-researchers-find-lower-mortality-rates-among-overweight-people.html

And considering that of the "2 out of 3 adults" are overweight OR obese, aka "1 in 3 adults" is ACTUALLY OBESE and of the adult population, only 5% are considered to be "Extremely Obese" by American medcal professionals... wait, what? Yes. That means citizens with a BMI under 30, including overweight, are being shown to actually be healthier than our outdated reseach predicted. Only ~33% of the population is "obese" and only 5% are "extremely obese." ( http://win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/ )

Then considering the actual health note and not just BMI... that someone who exercises and is overweight has better cardio vascular health and lower mortality rate than someone who is sedentary and naturally thin, that the fat and active population has better heart health on average a lower mortality rate than the thin and inactive population... ( http://healthland.time.com/2012/09/05/can-you-be-fat-and-fit-or-thin-and-unhealthy/ )

Please, go one. Continue telling me how "bad" things really are, and how we're "doomed." Ignoring the fact that there are multibillion dollar industries who profit on you feeling bad about how you look, and that this type of research is often overlooked in favor of privately funded "studies" paid for by diet companies who are willing to pay more in advertising than legitimate researchers. SOOOOO DOOOOOOOOMMMMMMEEEEEDDDD!!!

Well, now you are going into the other direction of extreme with this. The problem with that type of study is we don't know why exactly the slightly reduced rate of mortality happened. The whole media hoopla and misinterpretation of studies and statistics applies here too. It could very well be that the "normal to thin range" has a higher percentage of other diseases which predispose people to being thinner and maybe a greater proportion in this category were seriously ill, smokers, or younger rash behavior leading to accidental deaths, there was obviously a greater proportion of eating disorder people in this group (this also shortens lifespan and causes improper nutrition), there may be more 'stressed' people in this group, etc, etc.

Plus then you have to look at the biases in this "overweight" range. It also captures the more fit people who are more likely to not die early: athletes, weekend warriors, whos muscle mass may easily push them into the "overweight" category. It also captures more who had a HISTORY of being very physically active and now are still active but put on some weight because of reduced activity. Maybe this group is also more economically well off on average and typically eat richer foods, happier, and less stressed and worry and improper nutrition is more common in the "normal" group. Maybe this group has a higher percentage of people who are exercising and trying to eat healthy on a long term basis to get rid of that stubborn weight, and the "normal" group has more sedentary people who don't. Its also well known if you start into old age with higher muscle mass, this is strongly correlated with increased (and mobile/active) lifespan. So it really does not follow that being "overweight" gives you any advantage in and of itself, unless maybe you have one of the situations above.

Being in the "overweight" category and exercising regularly gives large health advantages over just being normal weight and not. This is the reason why exercise is so important, and its not just a calorie focus that people should take in losing weight, but adding moderate exercise as well. If all you do is get out of the obese range and have regular exercise...that is absolutely huge in benefit. The difference from going into reg. exercising "overweight" to reg. exercising "normal" is not completely clear, and the advantage is much less than getting out of "obese" range down into "overweight". There are still definite advantages, including lowered joint pressure, probability of arthritis later in life and cardiovascular load.

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish

Let's all hope Mr. Cheesecurds isn't out to start a war.

missyjane824

Poutine = fries with cheese curds and gravy

This sounds so disgusting, but my Canadian friends constantly rave about it. I intend to try it some day.

I think it sounds glorious and have been meaning to make it but it hasn't gotten high enough on the list.

Sinisterly

FYI: America isn't the #1 fattest anymore

Thought you should know.

Actually they are #2 after Mexico. Have you checked the numbers ? The difference is less than a tenth of one percent.......big deal I say.
Also if you break the statistics down, you will find that Mexico has lots and lots of overweight people, but by far not as many obese and morbidly obese ones as the US. Place #2 is not really something to be proud of, because people have worked on eating healthier.....it's just a small statistical coincidence.

I also find those numbers laughably skewed...

<<<<<< I am an addition to the "obese" category/statistic.

Can't forget those pesky RNs telling built buff people to go on a 1000 calorie diet because they're "fat"...