As a nation, we're getting steadily heavier - WHY?

Silver_Star

I don't think we are necessarily lazier as a nation, I think over booked. We are constantly running around carting ourselves, children, etc.. to functions, events, etc... It's easier and more convenient to hit the fast food drive through or make a frozen meal. All of which is unhealthy, full of calories, sodium and the such. Eating unconsciously on the go.

Additionally economic reasons generally require both parents in a family to work. (I do and I'm not saying women should stay home, I wouldn't want to) But let's face it, when I was a child mom stayed home and there was a hot, homemade, healthy meal on the table at night. We rarely ate out, and fast food was a treat!

I think if families made a effort to have more meals together, of fresh homemade food it would help.

THIS ^^ !!! More effort needs to be put into making really healthy meals...so as not to start depending on ready made stuff , Too many preservatives....

monicalosesweight

"10. Wheat has been hybridized to the point that the gluten content is very high. This is because when wheat is bred, the total number of gluten genes will be from the combination of both wheat forms used to hybridize the wheat. In order words, if wheat A has 12 gluten genes and wheat B has 5 gluten genes, then the new form of wheat will have 17 gluten genes. Why is this important? Because gluten has detrimental effects on the pancreas and insulin levels. It causes the body to store fat more readily, especially around the waist. Fat around the waist places the person at high risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Think of all the foods you eat that is made from flour and you will understand why this is affecting the weight of Americans."

I'm really curious about the hybridization of gluten wheat breads. It makes me wonder if this is why I developed a wheat allergy. I know that gluten is becoming a huge problem and tons of people are becoming sensitive to it. There are people who've stopped eating it because it was causing a stomach growth issue, migraines, skin rashes - the list goes on. The question is whether this increase of gluten is a big cause of some of these issues. Hmmm.

mahlerosa

Our food supply is being poisoned by refined carbs, hidden sugar, modified grains. Even if they wanted to eat healthy the poor do not have access to good foods. ITS not Laziness. Educate yourself:
http://www.uctv.tv/shows/Sugar-The-Bitter-Truth-16717
http://www.uctv.tv/shows/The-Skinny-on-Obesity-Extra-Four-Sweet-Tips-from-Dr-Lustig-23901

ARDuBaie

A lot of valid points in the thread. The most contributing factor is portion control. You can be lazy all you want, stressed, eat overly-processed foods but at the end of the day, if you didn't portion your meals, you will gain weight.

Agreed -- how many of us grew up with this "Clean your plate, there are starving kids all over the world".... and as portions got larger, well guess what happened when we still cleaned our plate. What is scarier isn't the adults, its the kids! Take a look around, there are so many overweight kids! I attribute this to:

* More moms were home, cooking balanced meals for their kids -- also -- did you dare go into the kitchen when it wasn't meal time? NEVER
* Playing with friends meant biking or walking to the park, or basketball courts. Even in harsh winters - mom always kicked us outside!
* The only good TV for Kids was Saturday morning. And you had to wake up at 7am , cuz if you slept until 10, you'd miss them all!
* Video games, for those who had them, got old after a few weeks - there were only 3 games and 5 different levels. It was much more fun to play the REAL thing -- remember the problems Dungeons and Dragons caused? My mom was convinced they were nothing but a source of evil.
* Eating out was limited to take=n= bake Pizza on Friday nights, , , cuz Mom's were home cooking for their families!


People worked just as hard, if not harder "back in the day", but usually only one spouse worked, while the other concentrated on the well being of everyone. Money made was spent very carefully. you bought a NEW car when you wer in your 40 's if you were lucky. You lived in the same house for 50 years, things were paid for, you enjoyed people's company, not their things, and the list goes on. But I do agree a large part of us are "waking" up... I just hope we pass that onto our kids!

I know I am guilty of many of those faults -- and on my way to correting them!

Ah, you took me back to when I was a child and mom would be in the kitchen cooking up my favorite meal, all from scratch. We didn't dare step into the kitchen for a snack. There were no snacks!! You ate three square meals, with dessert at dinner, and that was it. Then I would go outside to ride my bike over to my friend's house, about two miles away.

Yep, I remember those Saturday morning cartoons. Then we went outside. Even in the wintertime, we were outside building snowmen, sledding, or having snowball fights.

I do believe that having both parents work is a contributing factor, because the parents are too tired to play with their children outside and fast food or processed food is often the chosen meal for dinner.

Additionally, I am appalled that children get picked up at their doors by the schoolbus. The bus passed our house when I was a child, but didn't stop. We had to walk a mile to the busstop, even in the winter. You just walked faster in the winter so that you could get to the bus shelter faster.

Francesca3162

we simply eat more than we need to fuel our bodies activitiy level.

yoovie

cause they are all perpetuating the wrong ways to workout and lose weight and basically they are turning into those fatties in Wall-E that had the scooter chairs already attached to the iPads. with cupholders.

ShannaHeidelberg

It's all about getting more for your money nowadays so I think the "All You Can Eat" buffets contribute to the problem also.

krisiepoo

In general, affordable food is bad for us. Hamburger helper can feed a family of 4 and costs next to nothing but it loaded with fake ingredients and loads of sodium. when deciding how to ensure your family eats, sometimes people have to choose the less healthy option.

I think we rely more on cars whereas we used to walk/bike more places. I know where I live we have virtually no mass transit infrastructure so to go anywhere, I almost need to drive.

Plus, with 200+ channels most people have in their homes, with huge TVs, gaming systems, etc, why would they want to get off the sofa?

A_Shannigans

My vote is lack of activity combine with shortage of natural foods... ie a lot of processed food and hormone enhanced foods.

Going4Lean

Obviously it is carbs that has caused all this, as they are the only thing that makes you fat

^^^ This.

Check out Fat Head on Hulu. This topic is discussed.

You do know he was being sarcastic ?

anneerick

Poor choices. In the end, everyone has a choice whether they eat fast food or make a salad at home. Whether you watch T.V. or go for a walk. We can blame the food industry, government and so on and so forth.... but everybody has the choice of what they put in their mouths and what they accomplish in a day. The only "excuse" would be that they don't comprehend what healthy choices are - in which case - its another choice.... to educate yourself.

monicalosesweight

This is actually pretty funny. Apparently, the gluten free culture is now hitting big tv. Ironically, it's exactly how I felt when I first started to go gluten free.

Luckily, I've discovered lots of wheat free products (including low cal cheese puffs to replace the ones in the video). Grin.

http://youtu.be/8ifQjo-P12M

Cese27

Obviously it is carbs that has caused all this, as they are the only thing that makes you fat

^^^ This.

Check out Fat Head on Hulu. This topic is discussed.

You do know he was being sarcastic ?
REALLY !

Raiderlifer

Food Producers had to take the fat out of processed foods when there was a public outcry towards saturated fats. In order for the food to be tasteful to consumers they replaced the fat with sugars and by products such as cornstarch. Until the nation stops buying processed foods (anything in a package) and realizes fresh natural foods are the only way to go it's only going to get worse. Take a look at diabetes forecasts..it's an epidemic.especially in our children.

ARDuBaie

"10. Wheat has been hybridized to the point that the gluten content is very high. This is because when wheat is bred, the total number of gluten genes will be from the combination of both wheat forms used to hybridize the wheat. In order words, if wheat A has 12 gluten genes and wheat B has 5 gluten genes, then the new form of wheat will have 17 gluten genes. Why is this important? Because gluten has detrimental effects on the pancreas and insulin levels. It causes the body to store fat more readily, especially around the waist. Fat around the waist places the person at high risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Think of all the foods you eat that is made from flour and you will understand why this is affecting the weight of Americans."

I'm really curious about the hybridization of gluten wheat breads. It makes me wonder if this is why I developed a wheat allergy. I know that gluten is becoming a huge problem and tons of people are becoming sensitive to it. There are people who've stopped eating it because it was causing a stomach growth issue, migraines, skin rashes - the list goes on. The question is whether this increase of gluten is a big cause of some of these issues. Hmmm.

According to the author of Wheat Belly, this is one of the main reasons why people are becoming sensitive to wheat. Add in the fact that wheat is used as a filler in so many things, things you wouldn't expect it to be used on. I never knew that french fries may have wheat on the outside to make them crispier.

Since I gave up gluten, I have gone off of six medications. My joints no longer ache. I no longer have the nerve pain in my feet. I no longer have the neuralgial headaches. (Gluten really affects the nervous system.) I no longer have the huge sores on my face, back, and scalp. I no longer have heartburn. I no longer have asthma and my allergies are manageable without prescription medication. I no longer have the abdominal pain that would be so bad that I couldn't even pull a sheet across my abdomen. I am more focused and have less anxiety. I no longer have to take Motrin, Protonix, Neurontin, Dicyclomine, Proventil, Flovent, and Singulair. They did a biopsy of my small intestines which showed that I didn't have Celiac disease, yet I had all these problems until I gave up gluten. The only medication that I take is Synthroid, for hypothyroidism, but that has been decreased. Why would it need decreased? Does gluten affect the thyroid? If so, how does that affect metabolism, since the thyroid is the regulator of metabolism? The author of Wheat Belly, where you will find out all about the gluten genes, mentions that gluten can affect the thyroid gland.

Sometimes the food industries are so busy asking if they can do something that they forget to ask if they should.

norcal_yogi

The most egregious is the genetic predisposition to obesity which hovers around 70%.

Ridiculous. Genetics change over thousands to millions of years in populations. Not in a couple generations. Genetics is used too often as an excuse. If it was a serious problem with 70% of the population, we would have seen similar rates of obesity 50 years ago.

WORD^.

NCchar130

Food is cheap and plentiful and any lots of options are available. Too many of us make poor choices, but I'm thankful to have this problem in the US instead of the opposite, the way it is for too many in this world.

In addition to that, most people don't and often can't live within walking distance of their job and other places they would need to go frequently. We are very sprawled out in the majority of the country. So, a car is a necessity here, not a luxury item.

Add to that the fact that with modern technology, most of the work you have to do around your home is mostly accomplished by one operating a machine of some kind. Again, I see this as a blessing - I can't even imagine having to do the daily chores like laundry the way my great-grandmothers did, it sounds absolutely back-breaking and I'm certain they would find modern technology a blessing. BUT, you have to get exercise somehow if you don't get anything substantial via normal daily activities.

monicalosesweight

This person went on a month gluten free diet and tried eating a pizza at the end to see the after affects. It's pretty shocking to hear the reaction their bodies had to the wheat when they tried it. They even went back on the gluten free diet after the experiment because they hated what it did to them.

http://youtu.be/sMM7-kuawdg

Lasirenn

I'd just also like to point out that as relatively quiet as it's kept, obesity is a rising problem in Europe as well. Some countries are thinner than others, but there is a good number of people in Europe who are overweight too. Obesity seems to be a modern problem. Even Africa is beginning to see a rise in obesity, despite historically serving as the poster child for starving people. It's the food.

drea85an

It seems like many people have changed their standards to suit themselves. I've told a few people that I've joined MFP and what my goals are and they're shocked. They think I'm already skinny and they know I'm already an active runner and I have lots of energy compared to others. However, I see a steady pound increase here and there and I could definitely use more muscle.

Even here, I see lots of people like a 5'3" woman with a goal of 150 lbs. That's chubby. It might be a drastic improvement but it's still chubby.

I've also noticed how little people know about food. Lots of people have already mentioned all the "diet foods" available. They're awful!!! I personally didn't know how to eat fresh fruit until I was out on my own. Growing up, I thought canned fruit was healthy. I also had my own personal struggles with diet food and it took me forever to figure out how bad they are.

You don't know everyone's personal goals or why they have them. I have pcos, my doctor, more than one, told me I will be starving myself to get below 150, and I have a large frame, at that height. My goal is still, 130, but I eat a mostly clean diet, I am a daily exerciser, and I have been doing this for quite a while. We are all different. Clearly this country has a problem, but don't put down others goals because they wouldn't work for you. Maybe their goal is 150, and then they will go from there. Maybe they were 400lbs, and 150 is where they can maintain and be healthy ( and slightly overweight can be healthy, if eating right and exercising)

I agree we have a problem, but everyone is different with their goals.