Hidden Sugars & fats in food, is it only a US problem?

ferrytrip

Thank you all for your input. Sorry to hear that the obesity issue is spreading. I just think it is sad that even if you start your day with plain white toast, there's sugar.

agidavis

Iam originally from Hungary, but lived in Ireland and now in Colorado. I think the biggest issue here is that eating out is more affordable here then in Europe, and the hidden calories and prcessed food is part of nearly everyones diet.
In europe if you are poor you eat at home, here if you are poor you eat in gas stations and dollar menues. HUGE difference.

But it comes down to individual effort. It might be harder to stay thin here, but its just as easy to get fat here then in hungary or ireland. Also here we have all nations food, that is very tasty, in ireland there was only one mexican restaurant whre i lived and tasted like crap:)

firstsip

I know this is a whole can of worms, but I'm surprised high fructose corn syrup wasn't brought up; in the US, this is generally the specific added "sweetener." The sugar content and sweetness of many processed foods in the US is due to this added ingredient, because it's cheaper and easier to use than cane sugar. It's very political for why it's used (corn subsidies; corn lobbyists; cheap, sweetens, etc.), and I know many things outside of the U.S. don't use it (I live on the border of Canada and go over very often, and I'm often surprised at the flavors of things, even ketchup, compared to the "US" versions). Most of my family is immigrants who go back and forth from Italy, and they're often surprised at the quality and quantity of food over here.

I know there's always the "HFCS isn't that bad" comments, but there is quite a bit of research out there saying it isn't. It doesn't metabolize the same way as other sugars. It doesn't trigger the same "full" feelings, and a recent study found that eliminating HFCS in the diets of patients with Alzheimers and Dementia (without altering any other medicine, diet, or exercise plan) had markedly improved conditions, etc.

EDIT: By the way, to make sure this doesn't spark strawmans; I'm fully aware HFCS isn't responsible for obesity. Everyone can read the labels, everyone can make their own food decisions. But to say it's not a contributing factor to decreasing health is another.

Lipstickcherry

One thing I've noticed is how things have changed for me being in the Silicon Valley and the new law that restaurants must post their calories. Some restaurants are reticent to give this info...you must ASK for the special calorie showing menu sometimes. I am glad I don't like eating meat since the veggie burger is usually the lowest calorie thing on the menu. Staying below 1000 calories per meal is hard in a restaurant! No wonder they like hiding the menu. The restaurant I went to today with my mom and boyfriend was Mimi's Cafe in El Paseo in San Jose. They had the menu with the calories on it. I ordered a veggie burger, a Caesar salad and had decaf coffee. I also stole some of my boyfriend's potato chips. 494 Calories is what I managed to keep my calories at. I used to get sick all the time eating out (an upset stomach). Nowadays, I realize just how much I used to consume in oils and sugars eating out! And the processed lean cuisine meals I used to eat have so much sodium. I eat now a lot of veggies (mostly frozen veggies we stir fry) and that has made a big difference. I still eat bread but mostly wheat bread. And some fruit. Americans often treat our junk food like staples. I used to do that. I even think of frozen dinners are condensed junk food. I used to think those things were healthy, but the sodium alone was contributing to high blood pressure (mine is normal now).

wellbert

Yet to total caloric content is on the side of the food item, so there are no excuses. Only personal responsibility.

geebusuk

1000 calories for a meal at a restaurant doesn't seem too bad - for the 'average' person eating a healthy balanced diet and presuming they don't eat big meals for the other meals that day.
If we're looking at 2000 - 2500 calories burnt.
Say a 300 calorie breakfast, 1200 calorie meal 'out'; we're still left with 500-1000 calories to play with for a final meal.

One of my problems is that I can easily eat several 1200 (or way, way more) meals in a day.

Thankfully I don't have high blood pressure (do a fair bit of exercise etc, which helps I suspect), so happily eat lots of 'frozen dinners' as it works out nicely for calorie control for me.

louised88

So I know that when Europeans think of Americans they think "FAT" but not all of it is entirely our fault. My mother (from Ireland) visited me a few years ago and remarked that our bread was sweet. Even our plain white bread hs sugar in it.
Is this only a US problem?

You can't make bread without sugar (or some form of it). The yeast needs it to feed off of.

I just had to point this out, as it is an old wives tale that, as a bread baker, annoys the crap out of me. Yeast does NOT need sugar to "feed." Most of my breads contain zero added sugar. You can add a pinch of sugar to see if the yeast is still active and hasn't expired but it does nothing for bread rising. For instance, a classic baguette would never, ever have sugar added (and would be considered quite the sin!).
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I make bread with a mix of white and wholemeal flour, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of bread soda and a half pint of buttermilk. (Obvs the buttermilk has lactose, but it's not like i'm throwing in spoonfuls of sugar.)

johloz

I moved from the U.S. to Germany a year ago, and one of the major things I noticed is the difference in our tastes for food. When I get a pastry from a bakery here, it is far less sweet than the same thing in the U.S. Even Chinese food tastes much sweeter in the U.S. The average American pallet likes super sweet foods across the board. There are plenty of overweight Germans, but I think it may be more difficult to gain weight eating the same sort of foods than it would be for someone in the U.S.

Of course, culturally, most Europeans are more active than we are. They walk and bike a lot more than the average American.

Another factor may be that in the U.S. its not very expensive to go out to dinner, so poor people can afford to do it more. Over here, eating at home is signifcantly less expensive than going out for dinner. My husband and I can't have dinner out for less than 30 Euro. And that's just for 2 low priced entrees. If we go to a nicer place, have drinks, or multiple courses, that price can easily go through the roof. Dining out is more of a luxury than a regularity.