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

bberg0521

Being Lazy, no motivation, being consumed with televison, computers, electrionic gadets. Convenience foods. So many things contribute to this and I myself am no exception to this.

All this is why I look the way I do. I cannot change each and every American but I can change myself and I can be a better example for my children and family and hope they follow in my change and be healthy themselves so they don’t have to go through this.

jcjsjones

Education - If there are McDonalds in high schools the kids don't stand a chance!

I agree! My son started middle school the other day and the only thing I could get him to tell me was the cafeteria was "awesome". Yep, all the doughnuts, pop tarts, pancakes, and juice you could handle!

Needless to stay he eats breakfast at home...
And I am seriouly considering starting to fix his lunch.

jadesign19

I don't think you can just say laziness... maybe when it comes to exercise but we didn't become the top nation in the world by being lazy. I think when we were in a economic boom most were focused on careers and a lot more people found themselves behind desks for 8 hours/day. I kind of feel like we're on the rebound though and people are starting to hit the gyms like never before. People are getting bored and looking for things to do. I bet we get healthier in the next 10 years!!
my two cents.

I totally agree with this!

myownadvice

Follow the money, there is no profit to be made in a healthy population.

Totally agree!

Marll

Increasingly sedentary lifestyle
Wheat
Sugar
Processed foods

I know plenty of people with great willpower and drive, and workout like crazy yet still gain or can't loose weight. A good friend of mine has struggled his entire life with weight, and only after going low carb and eliminating processed foods, wheat and sugar has he been able to loose weight. He is a driven successful professional....don't ever equate lazy with being fat unless you know first hand the person.

ninerbuff

Straight up: Most Americans don't really care. If they REALLY did, they'd do what the ones that really care are doing too. I really care, which is why I don't have a weight/health issue.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

bcattoes

Straight up: Most Americans don't really care. If they REALLY did, they'd do what the ones that really care are doing too. I really care, which is why I don't have a weight/health issue.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Yeah, except for a very small minority, it all really boils down to this.

Jeneba

New Yorkers (ih the 5 boroughs) are slimmer as a population than most of the rest of the country.... because we walk more, are less dependent on automobiles.

AlabasterVerve

Fear of dietary fat consumption based on bad science, a food pyramid based on bad science, subsidising agriculture, politics and commercial interests overriding good health.

You are eating too much nutrient poor rubbish supported by recommendations that have no basis in fact.

Follow the money, there is no profit to be made in a healthy population.

Rampant diabetes and statins are a logical result of this madness.

Gluttony and sloth? Less so.

Yup!

ETA:
There's research being done right now that shows one of the biggest indicators of childhood obesity is the diet of the mother while she was pregnant. It seems that it can "turn on" the fat gene (or some such) and even though these children are born a normal weight they just get fatter in an environment with abundant food.

Not that I expect anyone to care. It's much more satisfying to believe there's no biological and environment reasons for the obesity epidemic and that it's "their own fault" for being bad, lazy people instead of something driving people to overeat. Everyone seems to absolutely revel in this idea that being fat is a well deserved punishment for a lack of character and thinness is a reward for a good, virtuous character. Truly bizarre.

LowcarbNY

Why?

The Food Pyramid and fat phobia.

Hmm, pretty sure those were around long before the 90's.

Pretty sure the US was getting fat before the 90's

Sidesteal

The problem is overconsumption of calories.

odusgolp

The problem is overconsumption of calories.

WRONG! It's Totinos Pizza Rolls. God, you never listen to me, SS!

:sad: :sad: :sad:

Sidesteal

The problem is overconsumption of calories.

WRONG! It's Totinos Pizza Rolls. God, you never listen to me, SS!

:sad: :sad: :sad:

You are correct. And if those were wheat-pizza rolls we'd all be dead.

bcattoes

Why?

The Food Pyramid and fat phobia.

Hmm, pretty sure those were around long before the 90's.

Pretty sure the US was getting fat before the 90's

The OP asked why we were getting heavier since the 90's.

drmerc

Lack of raspberry ketones in our diet

Dad_of_3

I have not read all these posts- too busy, so if this is a quote or paraphrase of someone else, that's ok.

Sidesteal said over-consumption of calories. True. But why?

Until the late 1800s the world was an agrarian society. Not only that, but an agrarian society that used man and animal power to get tasks done around the farm.

When the industrial age began, and the automobiles and tractors got rid of the horse and ox as beasts of labor, we no longer had to walk everywhere, and we no longer had to manually saddle up the horse or yoke up the oxen. As technology improved, our playtime outside (running, jumping, climbing, and skipping) was replaced with playtime inside (sitting, sitting, sitting and sitting). As we moved from an agrarian society to a manufacturing society, at the beginning, it was not so bad- there was much manual labor to be had to burn off calories. Now, with a more service oriented economy, with desk jobs, standing in one spot without aerobic exercise, fewer calories were/are being consumed.

We require fewer calories to live, but we consume way to many calories to be healthy. Also, with the mass-production of ready-made foods with salt and fat added for flavor, and the convenience of fast food, we are exploding out of our pants, skirts, shirts and blouses, our weight and waistlines ever ballooning upward until we have now become a nation of fat folks.

And I am changing my life here with MFP and Weight Watchers. Having lost 22.4 pounds so far, I have 127.6 more pounds to lose. I refuse to be a part of the problem. Cut the calories, increase the aerobic exercise and strength training. Problem solved.

bcattoes

There's research being done right now that shows one of the biggest indicators of childhood obesity is the diet of the mother while she was pregnant. It seems that it can "turn on" the fat gene (or some such) and even though these children are born a normal weight they just get fatter in an environment with abundant food.

Not that I expect anyone to care. It's much more satisfying to believe there's no biological and environment reasons for the obesity epidemic and that it's "their own fault" for being bad, lazy people instead of something driving people to overeat. Everyone seems to absolutely revel in this idea that being fat is a well deserved punishment for a lack of character and thinness is a reward for a good, virtuous character. Truly bizarre.

"They get fatter in an environment with abundant food". That would suggest they would not get fat if they did not overeat.

Sidesteal

Sidesteal said over-consumption of calories. True. But why?

That's an important question.

Until the late 1800s the world was an agrarian society. Not only that, but an agrarian society that used man and animal power to get tasks done around the farm.

When the industrial age began, and the automobiles and tractors got rid of the horse and ox as beasts of labor, we no longer had to walk everywhere, and we no longer had to manually saddle up the horse or yoke up the oxen. As technology improved, our playtime outside (running, jumping, climbing, and skipping) was replaced with playtime inside (sitting, sitting, sitting and sitting). As we moved from an agrarian society to a manufacturing society, at the beginning, it was not so bad- there was much manual labor to be had to burn off calories. Now, with a more service oriented economy, with desk jobs, standing in one spot without aerobic exercise, fewer calories were/are being consumed.

We require fewer calories to live, but we consume way to many calories to be healthy. Also, with the mass-production of ready-made foods with salt and fat added for flavor, and the convenience of fast food, we are exploding out of our pants, skirts, shirts and blouses, our weight and waistlines ever ballooning upward until we have now become a nation of fat folks.

And while I can't comment on our history, the above seems like a very reasonable assessment.

Bottom line is, we aren't as active and we eat too much. And the rather ridiculous availability of calorie dense food is not helping.

Jules2Be

The problem is overconsumption of calories.

WRONG! It's Totinos Pizza Rolls. God, you never listen to me, SS!

:sad: :sad: :sad:

You are correct. And if those were wheat-pizza rolls we'd all be dead.

I'm sure i read somewhere that wheat is BAD for you.

Dad_of_3

Sidesteal said over-consumption of calories. True. But why?

That's an important question.

Until the late 1800s the world was an agrarian society. Not only that, but an agrarian society that used man and animal power to get tasks done around the farm.

When the industrial age began, and the automobiles and tractors got rid of the horse and ox as beasts of labor, we no longer had to walk everywhere, and we no longer had to manually saddle up the horse or yoke up the oxen. As technology improved, our playtime outside (running, jumping, climbing, and skipping) was replaced with playtime inside (sitting, sitting, sitting and sitting). As we moved from an agrarian society to a manufacturing society, at the beginning, it was not so bad- there was much manual labor to be had to burn off calories. Now, with a more service oriented economy, with desk jobs, standing in one spot without aerobic exercise, fewer calories were/are being consumed.

We require fewer calories to live, but we consume way to many calories to be healthy. Also, with the mass-production of ready-made foods with salt and fat added for flavor, and the convenience of fast food, we are exploding out of our pants, skirts, shirts and blouses, our weight and waistlines ever ballooning upward until we have now become a nation of fat folks.

And while I can't comment on our history, the above seems like a very reasonable assessment.

Bottom line is, we aren't as active and we eat too much. And the rather ridiculous availability of calorie dense food is not helping.

Amen to what you said.