What do you think of the obesity epidemic in the U.S.?
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Ya know, last night I had thai food and thinking about getting this fat and flab off of me as well as this thread...what I did was fill up on lots and lots of water at the restaurant, and a nice/decent size (smaller) portion of the pad thai shrimp and skipped the cashew chicken and had a small portion of thai fried shrimp rice and one Thai Ice tea. Then, I had 3 ice creams...YEP, 3...Lynchee, Green Tea and Thai Coconut ice cream. The difference is, instead of eating a whole scoop of each...I just had a spoonful of each one and ya know what? I was totally and completely FULL, filled to the maximum and totally enjoyed my dinner.
I'm writing this because these dishes were enough for an entire family and we still brought stuff home. My hubby and children are all slim and trim and I'm the only fat one in our family. This is how they eat all the time. This is how people who are slim and trim eat. Afterwards, we walked around the city for some time...instead of getting in the car right away/sitting down--we walked it off. My point is I think another reason for the yucky obesity epidemic is how much food we in the U.S. are eating ALL the time. I hear people on here saying all the time, it's a matter of cals in and exercise out (or something like that). If we are ever as a nation going to kick this ugly, unattractive and unhealthy plague of obesity from our homes and nation, we're(at least I'M) going to have to practice portion control and moving my body afterwards with something as wonderful as a nice walk...not every once in a while, but from now on!
This is why I'm so glad we are MFP friends. You get me... :flowerforyou:
MFP FRIENDS ARE GOOD.
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That. With some exceptions like special occasions and holidays. That is what's called moderation. Notice they don't completely avoid "junk" food or have ridiculous/extreme eating habits. That's the way to do it, you can be happy AND healthy at the same time, you don't have to choose one or the other.My hubby and children are all slim and trim and I'm the only fat one in our family. This is how they eat all the time. This is how people who are slim and trim eat.0 -
I knew it existed but it didn't slap me across the face until I spent four months working in Korea. I was "the fat one" (I found out people actually called me that behind my back) and probably the second fattest person in my town of over 12,000 (#1 was a girl from NZ, and right around me was another American) and I'm only around 230... When I came back to the States I was blown away by how big people are! It was a real eye-opener, and 4.5 months later I still notice it.0
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I knew it existed but it didn't slap me across the face until I spent four months working in Korea. I was "the fat one" (I found out people actually called me that behind my back) and probably the second fattest person in my town of over 12,000 (#1 was a girl from NZ, and right around me was another American) and I'm only around 230... When I came back to the States I was blown away by how big people are! It was a real eye-opener, and 4.5 months later I still notice it.
So deep! Seeing this major problem of obesity everywhere is also a serious wake-up call to and for me too! It's actually helping me desire to get to a healthy weight (as slow as this process is) but more important, helping me to see that I have put myself in the awful position of being numbered among the overweight and obese I simply must not be a part of this ugly and unhealthy problem anymore, period. It's no longer an option to merely "complain" but to DO what it takes (eating smart and moving my body in lots of walking and exercise) everyday.0 -
Ya know, last night I had thai food and thinking about getting this fat and flab off of me as well as this thread...what I did was fill up on lots and lots of water at the restaurant, and a nice/decent size (smaller) portion of the pad thai shrimp and skipped the cashew chicken and had a small portion of thai fried shrimp rice and one Thai Ice tea. Then, I had 3 ice creams...YEP, 3...Lynchee, Green Tea and Thai Coconut ice cream. The difference is, instead of eating a whole scoop of each...I just had a spoonful of each one and ya know what? I was totally and completely FULL, filled to the maximum and totally enjoyed my dinner.
I'm writing this because these dishes were enough for an entire family and we still brought stuff home. My hubby and children are all slim and trim and I'm the only fat one in our family. This is how they eat all the time. This is how people who are slim and trim eat. Afterwards, we walked around the city for some time...instead of getting in the car right away/sitting down--we walked it off. My point is I think another reason for the yucky obesity epidemic is how much food we in the U.S. are eating ALL the time. I hear people on here saying all the time, it's a matter of cals in and exercise out (or something like that). If we are ever as a nation going to kick this ugly, unattractive and unhealthy plague of obesity from our homes and nation, we're(at least I'M) going to have to practice portion control and moving my body afterwards with something as wonderful as a nice walk...not every once in a while, but from now on!
This is why I'm so glad we are MFP friends. You get me... :flowerforyou:
MFP FRIENDS ARE GOOD.
:bigsmile:
why is that face blueish?Hitler & nazi's.
PU...what an appropriate name, you wear it well--
:laugh: 0 -
^ this 0 -
Actually Hawaii was quoted as the healthiest state in the nation. New York was the most improved. This is from 2014. There are all you can eats here, but believe me. Not as many people go as the cost is ridiculous. It can go up to $70 for dinner. The main reason it's the healthiest is we have a HUGE Asian population and the culture is known to be petite as well as huge consumers of vegetables and fish. The great weather means the whole state has 365 days to work out in the sun, whether it's beach or just walking outside.0
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I'm not reading every reply. But I want to know why...of so much of America is obese....it's so darn difficult to find plus sized clothing. I have to go to specialty stores (Lane Bryant, CJ Banks ) to find size 20 clothing that doesn't make me look like a circus tent or Far Side Lady.
Of course I'll soon be out of the 20 size and down to 18 but even 18 is hard to find in some stores. Some only stock clothes to 16. If so much of America is so obese wouldn't you think more stores would cater to those buyers...?0 -
There's a facebook post on the today shows page about a obese super model. It kind of blew my mind reading comments of several people who believe you can be obese and healthy.
America is in a huge state of denial.
I get it. At 5'2 and 171 I was obese and thought I was healthy. Now that I'm maintaining between 119-123 I know for a fact I wasn't. It's not normal to get breathless walking in a parking lot, or walking to the mailbox.0 -
squirrelythegreat wrote: »I look at my before and after picture, and I think to myself "self, what epidemic are people talking about. Clearly this country is just 90 days from being in great shape, they are just too lazy to put down their cable and workout"
Its self inflicted, like calling suicide murder. Parents are bad for raising their kids with technology. And the upcoming generation will need to fix itself all on its own since nobody is going to do it for them.
I do that too. Look at my before and after. Today was day 233 for me on here and in those 233 days I lost 50lbs, can run 4 miles and walk 10. I can climb hills and look completely different. In less than a year, 233 days exactly we could make America 50lbs lighter if people would stop saying I can't, or falling for expensive schemes
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I am a school teacher and the lack of exercise and recess in school is dismal. My school gives 10 minutes of recess at lunch and that's it, PE on a rotating 3 week schedule. Parents drive their kids to school, this is so unnecessary. And kids just don't play outside anymore.
It's different in England. My son is nearly 6 and at primary school. He does PE twice a week, and they get 20 mins for morning break, and an hour for lunch. We also walk to school and back, plus go out at the weekend and sometimes after school, and every day in the school holidays.
I'm a secondary school teacher and kids get 2 breaks, one of around half hour, and lunch is between 30-45 mins depending on the school. They usually get PE twice a week, more if they've chosen it for a GCSE option.
We have a healthy schools policy and schools aren't allowed to serve 'junk food'
I don't see that many obese kids to be honest, and I work in quite a deprived area. However, if you walk past McDonald's on the high street there are plenty of obese adults!
The thing that makes me the saddest is seeing young overweight kids. I've taken my 5 and 3 year old to loads of their friends' birthday parties, and there are a couple of kids I've seen who are overweight. At that age it's all down to the parents. I see young children in pushchairs eating a huge chocolate bar, or a fizzy drink. In fact, a lot of them should be walking anyway.
One of my friends has a daughter 10 days younger than my middle child. She's twice the size of my girl! Yep she's going to be tall as her dad is 6'4, but she's just so big! Then she spends her time sitting playing with dolls, and my daughter spends her time on her scooter, or doing forward rolls off the sofa
I think people just aren't as active. We're out at the beach, park etc whatever the weather, and it's often very quiet. In Summer it gets so busy, but where is everyone for the rest of the year?0 -
Silly question but unfortunately I haven't had the chance to visit US except for Texas and New Mexico.
Are veggies and fruit expensive in the US?
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SanteMulberry wrote: »We moved from Boston to Charlotte 3 yrs ago. The number of fast food places in this place is crazy!! Outside the apartments where we first stayed, these are the places I can list right away: Dominos, Dunkin Doughnuts, Starbucks, Bugerking, One Chinese buffet, Two Chinese takeaway places, Hungry Howes, Wings, Red robin, a Mexican place. Across the road there was Macdonalds, Applebee's, Ihop, Paneras, Arby's, Chiptoles, Chick Fil A, O'Charley's,. On the other side was Bojangles. Driving down the other way less than a mile was Jack in a box, Cookout, Sonics, which brings you right into another plaza full of restaurants like Fridays etc. There is a pandas another Chick Fil A, Macdonalds, Starbucks . Across this plaza there is a Quiznos, Chinese food, that place that sells pizza for five bucks and other places. The smell of fried food was nauseating and stagnant in the air.
We moved into our house to a suburb area where you'd expect some quiet and not a lot of fast food. Wrong! On my way to the grocery store less than two miles I pass a Sonics, Then outside the grocery store is a Bojangles, Wendy's, Pizza Hut. Across the street is Subway, Dominos, Chic Fil A, Macdonald. Oh, and a Chinese buffet and Mexican restaurants are next to the grocery store.
Now lets drive down to the Mall area by Target which is like 3 miles from the grocery store. You are right in the middle of a bunch of restaurants like Olive Garden, Red Robin, on the border etc. I can't name them all. Throw in Paneras, Wendy's , McDonald's, Chick Fil A and the food court in the mall.
When I take my daughter to the park, there's a Dominos, Subway right next to it. Then a few miles down the road there is a Taco bells, Chic Fil A, Macdonalds, KFC. Next town over which is 15 minutes drive, there is a blvd of every fast food joint you can think of. It's crazy.
The junk mail we get is coupons to fast food places. I had never seen this in Boston and some of these places are not up there. This city is supposed to be small but it surprises me. The other day I drove out to a town you'd expect to be rural but Lo and behold it was so busy with tons of restaurants and fast food. There is no shortage of places to eat no matter where you are. It's like they have a code to throw in these joints even in the suburbs. They even have restaurant week downtown. And every church usually has a barbecue or fish fry for the public.
Oh the amount of junk food places is crazy. I pass 2 edos, 2 subways, 2 mcdonalds, burger king, dq, mucho burrito, extreme pita, a&w, canadian pizza, boston pizza, 2 chinese food places, fat burger, pizza hut, all on the way to the grocery store. Those are all off just the top of my head lol. it's crazy!
Yep--it does seem that we have never before had such easy access to calories. Those of our ancestors who had to work very hard to get enough calories to avoid starvation would be agog at the plentiful bounty that is set before all of us today.
Wow...this is too deep what you've all said, and especially about our ancestors who had to work VERY hard to get enough cals--something I never considered and for me to think about for sure!
Yes, you don't have to go very far back into history to note the gnawing hunger that was a regular part of the life of the average person in urban areas (and in rural areas during times of crop failures), and that it was especially the lot of children. The writings of Charles ****ens presents a fairly bleak picture of 19th century England and the struggles of the average citizen to live a life of dignity. More than a talented writer, he was a social critic of his times and had thinly veiled disgust for the stinginess of many in the privileged classes. This comes through strongly in his classic work, "A Christmas Carol". His own life had been marked by dire poverty when his father was cast into debtor's prison and Charles was forced to go to work in a factory at the tender age of eleven to help support the family. The cruel and exhausting conditions there (he worked six ten-hour days per week) left an indelible mark on him and his writings.
It was a bit better in the U.S., largely because we did not yet have a private central bank run by the privileged elite (such as those who ruled and robbed Europe in those days). We also had the advantage of a tremendous food bounty and Americans saw this as God "shedding His grace" on this continent. What is interesting about that period is that the U.S. was on the ascendancy much the same as China is today. Cheap food exports from the U.S. to Europe drove European farmers from their land and sent many of them to settle here, in the great waves of immigration that characterized the tumultuous decades of the 19th century. Immigrants believed that the streets here were literally "paved with gold" as they escaped cruel oppression and poverty. Because we did not have a class system here, they knew that they could eat reasonably well IF they worked hard---which they were determined to do. They would be amazed to see our lives.
THIS!!! @SanteMulberry - I completely agree. The Fed is responsible for a TON of issues - it's called unintended consequences. I am so glad there's more than one of us out there who believe the Federal Reserve is the most immoral institution in the world, next to all the other fiat central banking schemes. End the Fed!!!0 -
Silly question but unfortunately I haven't had the chance to visit US except for Texas and New Mexico.
Are veggies and fruit expensive in the US?
Now that I'm buying more of these and less junk. The price seems high, but not buying junk counters the price. It's actually pretty close to the same. I just buy less in one trip but go a few times a week to replenish. This year I am growing my own veggies like peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and will use farmers markets as often as I can.
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I dont think it helps that we keep accommodating it. I myself have lost about 60lbs as in the UK it is even harder to come by fashionable plus size clothing but it's my husband's story I want to share. We went to a theme park in the UK and he was removed from the ride in front of a full carriage as he was too large - the embarrassment was the shove he needed to lose weight. Unlike in the states where there are often larger seats, the UK seem reluctant to do so and good! I think there comes a point where we need to stop it being OK to be that large else where will modifications stop!0
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higgins8283801 wrote: »Now that I'm buying more of these and less junk. The price seems high, but not buying junk counters the price. It's actually pretty close to the same. I just buy less in one trip but go a few times a week to replenish. This year I am growing my own veggies like peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and will use farmers markets as often as I can.
I have an allotment and grow my own veggies and fruit too and it makes a big difference money-wise. For example, here most people wages are approx. £6.50 (10$) per hour (minimum salary) and a kg. of tomatoes costs £2.00 (3$), a kg. of cherries £14 (18$), a kg. of oranges £3 (4.50$), a pineapple £1.50 (2.25$),... which isn't so bad. On the other hand, almond or rice milk, organic products, fresh fish and seafood, chia seeds, quinoa, tofu, fresh blueberries and cranberries, nuts, wheat-grass, etc. are extremely expensive.0 -
I guess it depends on where you shop....some times fruit is ridiculous. $3.99-$4.99 for a pound of grapes...$8 for a pound of cherries... during the "season" it's a little better....bananas are usually the least expensive coming in at 49-69 cents a pound... Veggies...I saw some bell peppers the other day that were NOT organic but were $6.49 a pound. Some of the veggies are wilted and often the containers of strawberries have several "turning" berries in them that will be moldy by the next day. You pay premium prices for produce that should be on the Reduced for Quick Sale Rack.
Extra lean ground beef can be $6 a pound...this is for "regular" not organic stuff. These are the prices in the local store that we are "supposed to support..shop local!" Prices are better at Walmart (but I have to drive 30 mins to a Walmart) and then you get slammed by locals for being a part of the "problem" putting Mom and Pops out of business. But you can stretch your dollar further at stores like Walmart and bigger chain supermarkets... and a lot of the time the produce is of a better quality.0 -
NewLIFEstyle4ME wrote: »Today, while I was out and about shopping...I saw something that broke my heart and then scared me. Almost everyone I saw, men, women, little boys and girls, teens and even babies...so many people, I'd say 10 to 1 people were/are obese, morbidly obese and overweight and while it sadden me greatly...it SCARED me too. Everywhere I looked people are totally obese and morbidly obese and overweight EVERYWHERE! Of course, I'm one of them, which is why I'm here, but still--it was like something from the movie Wall-E or the Twilight Zone or something
:brokenheart: :ohwell:
I literally started counting how many slim/trim people I saw, because they were so few and far in between--I could literally count them. I saw many overweight people (especially young people) as well, I mean A LOT, everywhere.
What do you think of the obesity epidemic in the U.S. ?
What do you think when you see soooooo many obese, morbidly obese and overweight people(men, women, children, teens and even babies) far out numbering the so-called normal weight (I like to call slim and trim---NOT skinny...I did see a couple/few skinny people (mostly girls) but hardly any skinny/underweight people at ALL). What do you think of this--or do you think about it at all?
What do you think will happen to us as a society--because this isn't news, but obesity seems to be spreading outta control--it looked terrible and sad and scary and I'm super concerned--are you?
It's just humanity getting used to a constant surplus of food. We evolved to survive starvation, we might evolve to survive this.
As for my fat bottom, I'm not forcing my kid to eat, he picks portions. Plus I let him run and dance like a madman. So long as no one calls CPS on me I'll let him start walking out if the neighborhood around 7 (give or take for maturity)0 -
I mostly hear about the weight problem when I am watching weight loss shows. Most of the people I know are probably over weight. I do not really have a problem with it or worry about it. Their weight is their thing, I pay more attention to my own.0
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I am not surprised. The lobbyists in our counrty do not consider fitness, health or healthy food industries viable industries to lobby for so they don;'t. The american gvt does not feel health is a money making deal0
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Holy two year old thread, Batman.0
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I think this is one of the few areas where I'm right up there with the majority. For me, it seems that every occasion is the right occasion for food. Celebrating? Eat lots of yummy food. Sad? Eat to console myself. Mad? Eat to stop myself from biting someone's head off. and so forth0
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Silly question but unfortunately I haven't had the chance to visit US except for Texas and New Mexico.
Are veggies and fruit expensive in the US?
The US is a huge country with many different agricultural regions, there are tons of different fruits and veggies with different supply options, and "expensive" is a relative thing, so this question is basically impossible to answer.
That said, my understanding is that food costs in the US--including fruits and veggies--are relatively low as a percentage of median income compared with many other countries (on average). But people in the US also expect this to be the way it is, so may perceive changes in cost to be a big deal still or care about the relative cost differential between veggies and something else.
Where I live, though, my perception is that fruits and veggies in the mainstream supermarket options are not particularly expensive, no. Obviously it would be cheaper to focus your diet on something like dried beans than fruits and veggies, however.0 -
Yes produce and meat is far more expensive than any fast food option or junk food option on the shelves. (in the us)0
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us farmers are competing heavily with lousy thoughtless corporations. so...,0
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where do you live0
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Chicago. North side. You?0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »
Mine either.
Is this thread full on tinfoil hat? I really don't want to go back through it.0 -
I only read the posts from this year and actively chose to ignore anything about the Fed, so may not be the one to ask. ;-)0
This discussion has been closed.
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