What do you think of the obesity epidemic in the U.S.?
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I also people watch and am saddened by the size of all ages of people, especially young people. I find it hard to buy clothes because I am short and smaller. When I asked why stores don't carry petite lines anymore I was told plus sizes is what the market dictates. I hate to see what the next decade is going to bring. It's like watching the show My 600 lb life, growing up I only knew one woman who was remotely that obese, now 200-300 is common and 600 lb is not the rarity it used to be. It is a sad state of our society not only in the US but here in Canada as well.
This must vary region to region. Because if I go to a mall around here, or to Target, or to Kohl's...I can not buy anything larger than a size 16 or maybe 18...unless I go to the extremely pricey Lane Bryant, almost as pricey CJ Banks (the "fat version" of Christopher & Banks) or if I submit to the super-cheap and often ugly crap that is in the "Women's" section at Walmart and Kmart (Kmart often has nicer looking clothes).
Sears and Penney's have a limited plus size collection.
This is all fascinating to me especially since the county I live in is one of the most obese in the state, according to some obesity map from the CDC that someone posted either earlier in this thread or in the CICO in school's thread.
Same here, I don't think I've ever seen a size above 18 in a non-plus size store, or as you say, in specifically plus-size collections. I don't think I generally see 20s or above hanging on racks with the "regular" clothes. I'll have to look next time but I feel like I would have noticed that as especially in el-cheapo stores such as Walmart, everything is color-coded, the sizes stand out at a glance.
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As for vanity sizing, someone challenged that, I think...? Come on.
When I was 13 years old in 1980, I wore a size 7 at 112 pounds. I got down to 107 and went down to a size 5 sometimes, other times, still a 7. I wasn't "skinny-fat," either. I used to sit down and bend slightly forward to make sure I couldn't "pinch an inch" either way. I was VERY active and in addition to walking 2.25 miles (total -round trip) at a very fast pace to get to and from school (because I was always running late) and daily gym class, I'd either walk or ride my bike to friends' houses after school, to my babysitting jobs, and into town. Then at night, to "firm," I'd do "calisthenics" - sit-ups, push-ups and so on. Eventually I got lightly into weight training because my boyfriend was into it and I remember being proud that I could bench press my weight - 100 pounds.
I finally got down to a size 3 at under 100 pounds. I never got to a size 0 although I eventually got down to 95-98 pounds.
Today I see people posting how they're "finally" in a size 6 at 150-160 pounds.0 -
People's perceptions around food is so skewed from all the conflicting research that's reported as well as Madison Avenue's marketing. I think it's going to be awfully hard to change this.0
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lithezebra wrote: »I think that theAmerican lifestyle is at odds with human physiology. However, I don't take the obesity epidemic personally, nor am I unduly shocked by other people's weight.
Humans are engineered for hunter/gatherer days, where famine is common. Food for us is always 10 feet away, not somewhere in the forest and running. Unfortunately, our ingenuity has outpaced our biological evolution many times over, and now people are fat because of it. Not to mention, the.government likes to give you crap that has special interest written all over it. The last 30 years of American Civilization have destroyed the ecosystem of human life. Now, everyone is fat, everyone has diseases, the air is about as healthy as a warzone thanks to pollution, and the fat people cant breathe so America gives them wheelchairs so they dont have to walk. Go figure.0 -
As for vanity sizing, someone challenged that, I think...? Come on. When I was 13 years old in 1980, I wore a size 7 at 112 pounds. I got down to 107 and went down to a size 5 sometimes, other times, still a 7. I wasn't "skinny-fat," either. I used to sit down and bend slightly forward to make sure I couldn't "pinch an inch" either way. I was VERY active and in addition to walking 2.25 miles (total -round trip) at a very fast pace to get to and from school (because I was always running late) and daily gym class, I'd either walk or ride my bike to friends' houses after school, to my babysitting jobs, and into town. Then at night, to "firm," I'd do "calisthenics" - sit-ups, push-ups and so on. Eventually I got lightly into weight training because my boyfriend was into it and I remember being proud that I could bench press my weight - 100 pounds.
I finally got down to a size 3 at under 100 pounds. I never got to a size 0 although I eventually got down to 95-98 pounds.
Today I see people posting how they're "finally" in a size 6 at 150-160 pounds.
I agree with all of the above. I would say that it matters how tall the person is, a 5'2" in a size 6 at 150/160 is super vanity sizing while someone who is 5'11" is probably relatively normal sizing.0 -
The part I don't get is why is body positive part of feminism. Seems out of place. But that's getting off topic.
Why does it seem out of place with feminism? Women have been objectified, considered overgrown children or personal property, inferior, & unequal for centuries.
My daughter right now says she hates feminism. What she actually hates is what I call the crazy over the edge man-hating feminism - but if she had to grow up not too long ago where it was common and normal for women to be sexually harassed, paid a lesser wage if they got past being a secretary, to be denied the right to vote or be denied the right to her own bank account in her own name without her father's or husband's permission...she might have a different idea of what true feminism is about.
this perplexes me, because i've never seen a "crazy over the edge man-hating feminist" in real life. every feminist i've known wants equal pay, equal treatment at work, full reproductive rights, etc. all have partners or brothers or fathers they care about. it's a bogeywoman, very sad0 -
neanderthin wrote: »The USA is ranked #1 and eating itself into economic abyss.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity
The data from this link is 2003. I kept thinking about this and thought I remembered in my nutrition class 2 semesters ago that the U.S. was no longer ranked #1. So I went over to the World Obesity Federation website and found this:
http://www.worldobesity.org/aboutobesity/world-map-obesity/
Someone has mentioned San Diego. My first thought reading the initial post was the it is more geographical than anything. I'm from San Diego and I just don't see very many obese individuals. Very active lifestyles..into Southern Cal cuisine.
Another location I spend a great deal of time in is up in Oregon. Although there are a few "obese" individuals and possibly 6 or 7 morbidly obese, I just don't see it. There are a few kids in the high school that appear to need to lose a bit, but who knows why they are as they are. The only fast food place in the area is Subway. There's just no opportunity to get the crap at the drive-throughs.
It's huge and affects all of us in one way or another. Because everyone has their free agency to choose for themselves how they will eat, I don't believe we will ever truly get it under control. But what a sad society if we ever stop trying!!!!!
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The part I don't get is why is body positive part of feminism. Seems out of place. But that's getting off topic.
Why does it seem out of place with feminism? Women have been objectified, considered overgrown children or personal property, inferior, & unequal for centuries.
My daughter right now says she hates feminism. What she actually hates is what I call the crazy over the edge man-hating feminism - but if she had to grow up not too long ago where it was common and normal for women to be sexually harassed, paid a lesser wage if they got past being a secretary, to be denied the right to vote or be denied the right to her own bank account in her own name without her father's or husband's permission...she might have a different idea of what true feminism is about.
this perplexes me, because i've never seen a "crazy over the edge man-hating feminist" in real life. every feminist i've known wants equal pay, equal treatment at work, full reproductive rights, etc. all have partners or brothers or fathers they care about. it's a bogeywoman, very sad
I haven't either. It smacks of urban legend to me. I mean sure, die-hard proponents of the existence of such total "man-haters" will always pull an incredible story out of their pockets, but...I don't know. Maybe I've just been lucky?
All the "feminists" I've known have wanted exactly what you've stated - equal pay, a degree of respect for one's efforts and so on. I don't consider that rabid or misandrist...??? I consider that, you know, the freedom to make one's living and survive without being forced into a marital situation, for example, someone doesn't want, as seems to have happened with some regularity in centuries past and which could easily include abuse, because I mean, where was the woman going to go? She could run away and become a prostitute so she could eat...? "Feminists" have a disliking of that and take exception to it. If that seems an over the top desire to anyone or rabidly man-hating, well...I hardly know what to say.
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neanderthin wrote: »The USA is ranked #1 and eating itself into economic abyss.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity
The data from this link is 2003. I kept thinking about this and thought I remembered in my nutrition class 2 semesters ago that the U.S. was no longer ranked #1. So I went over to the World Obesity Federation website and found this:
http://www.worldobesity.org/aboutobesity/world-map-obesity/
Someone has mentioned San Diego. My first thought reading the initial post was the it is more geographical than anything. I'm from San Diego and I just don't see very many obese individuals. Very active lifestyles..into Southern Cal cuisine.
Another location I spend a great deal of time in is up in Oregon. Although there are a few "obese" individuals and possibly 6 or 7 morbidly obese, I just don't see it. There are a few kids in the high school that appear to need to lose a bit, but who knows why they are as they are. The only fast food place in the area is Subway. There's just no opportunity to get the crap at the drive-throughs.
It's huge and affects all of us in one way or another. Because everyone has their free agency to choose for themselves how they will eat, I don't believe we will ever truly get it under control. But what a sad society if we ever stop trying!!!!!
I'm English, but I have been to San Francisco, LA and Las Vegas. I don't remember seeing many overweight people in California. San Francisco seems to be somewhere where people walk a lot. It seemed almost European in that respect! We were near Venice Beach in LA and there were a lot of active people there. Maybe the obese ones stay at home! I did, however, find portion sizes massive wherever I went.
I expect the weather makes a difference. If its warm you're more likely to spend time outside, and to eat less.
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The part I don't get is why is body positive part of feminism. Seems out of place. But that's getting off topic.
Why does it seem out of place with feminism? Women have been objectified, considered overgrown children or personal property, inferior, & unequal for centuries.
My daughter right now says she hates feminism. What she actually hates is what I call the crazy over the edge man-hating feminism - but if she had to grow up not too long ago where it was common and normal for women to be sexually harassed, paid a lesser wage if they got past being a secretary, to be denied the right to vote or be denied the right to her own bank account in her own name without her father's or husband's permission...she might have a different idea of what true feminism is about.
this perplexes me, because i've never seen a "crazy over the edge man-hating feminist" in real life. every feminist i've known wants equal pay, equal treatment at work, full reproductive rights, etc. all have partners or brothers or fathers they care about. it's a bogeywoman, very sad
Ive never met one in real life either. My daughter's total experience is with what she stumbles upon on the internet. As you know many of the "wackadoos" we find online in no way resemble anyone we meet in real life...so...
I have also never encountered anyone in real life who shamed me for being fat (but that doesn't mean there aren't people who do that). I have also never encountered anyone in real life who shamed me for trying to lose weight. Online I have encountered heavy women who were somewhat offended by my desire to no longer be obese..."as if there were something wrong with being who I was..." but that's about it. So I don't know what to say about it all other than...the internet is where you run into all the crazies.0 -
You don't get out much, I take it. Pretty much every college has, at least, the "sex is rape," "marriage is subjugation," "men are the problem with the world" brigade.The part I don't get is why is body positive part of feminism. Seems out of place. But that's getting off topic.
Why does it seem out of place with feminism? Women have been objectified, considered overgrown children or personal property, inferior, & unequal for centuries.
My daughter right now says she hates feminism. What she actually hates is what I call the crazy over the edge man-hating feminism - but if she had to grow up not too long ago where it was common and normal for women to be sexually harassed, paid a lesser wage if they got past being a secretary, to be denied the right to vote or be denied the right to her own bank account in her own name without her father's or husband's permission...she might have a different idea of what true feminism is about.
this perplexes me, because i've never seen a "crazy over the edge man-hating feminist" in real life. every feminist i've known wants equal pay, equal treatment at work, full reproductive rights, etc. all have partners or brothers or fathers they care about. it's a bogeywoman, very sad
In case you don't have time to swing by a college, you could read Amanda Marcotte or just about any writer at Feministing, though I wouldn't recommend either one to sane people.
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We've got a woman's magazine called Emma here where half the writing staff could be classified as that.0
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cwolfman13 wrote: »Thepinkdaisy wrote: »Now that has changed, it's due to lifestyle and the poisons in foods (video games, Internet, texting, McDonald's on every corner.
Mario and other video games never made people fat, just like playing board games like Monopoly never made people fat.
The Internet never made people fat just like televisions and telephones never made people fat.
Texting never made people fat, just like writing letters never made people fat.
You know what makes people obese? Eating more calories than they burn each day for extended periods of time. Period. Full-stop.
Assigning blame to things which are not the problem does nothing to solve the problem.
Yeah, ok, that's the immediate cause of any one person's obesity. It doesn't explain why 66% of murricans and canucks are overweight or obese now, vs. the past.
- Greater access to food in general...everyone is bitching about how it's soooo expensive to eat healthy or whatever...it's cheaper than it's ever been. Food is abundant and cheap...
- People are lazy and prefer convenience to cooking scratch meals...convenience food tends to be calorie dense particularly as compared to nutrient density
- People eat out WAY more and restaurant portions are huge. When I was a kid, eating out was an event...most people I know eat out at least 5x weekly. I would also argue that restaurant portions have also skewed people's perception of what a "normal" portion of food should be even with good home cooked meals.
- There are fewer and fewer physically demanding jobs out there and people sit all day, but consume energy as if they were busting their *kitten*
- People move less and are less active in general...when I was a kid, I was likely to be outside playing...playing catch in the yard with my dad...shooting hoops with my friends...riding bikes around the neighborhood, etc. Now I have to make sure I control my kid's screen time or they would literally sit their all day...sometimes my 5 y.o. is into the idea of a game of catch with me and other times he'd rather I sat and played a video game with him, etc.
- People are generally lazy...I'm one of just a handful of people I know who actually exercises on a regular basis. Out of 95 people at my office, there are 6 of us who actually use the stairs regularly.
- etc, etc, etc...there's just way more to it than just junk food or junk food being cheaper (I still say it's not) than healthy food, etc.
I agree with all of the above, but would like to add two more:
- People are constantly eating. Everywhere you look people are eating. I have a hard time walking around the office and not finding someone munching away at something. At my in-laws house, there's always some sort of food out and everyone just grabs a handful every time they walk by. There's just no break in the eating, people graze all day long. It wasn't like this when I was growing up. You ate breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack when you got home from school. You didn't graze in between. Meal timing doesn't matter as long as the calories consumed is the same. But if you're going to eat 6+ times a day, each meal needs to be smaller to account for the calorie load. It's easy to get into trouble quickly when you eat frequently and aren't counting calories.
- Many cities/towns in the US are not walkable. I can't just walk to where I need to go to do my errands. I wish I could. Everywhere you go, you need to hop in a car to get there. In Europe, people walk everywhere simply because you can. In the US, cities like Boston and New York tend to have lower rates of obesity. Both of those cities are extremely walkable AND its more difficult to drive because parking is a PITA. There's actually a study that shows a link between obesity and car usage. It's not the whole answer, but its interesting. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/191648160 -
I don't have the word skills to write what I think with out sounding like a jerk or being reported for abuse.
What do people think of the body positive/beauty at all sizes movement that seems to have links with feminism/tumblr feminism? Even unhealthy body sizes as in extreme over or under weight sizes.
My limited understanding/experience suggests Americans portion sizes are a far bit larger. My mum went on a cruise and was eating with some Americans and she said they pile the food onto the plate and then go back for more. Maybe they were going extreme cause they were on holiday.
Pizza, I think on here I mention pizza and someone looked it up and said some thing along the lines of the pizza being small. I'm from Australia and I think they were from the U.S. and didn't think a pizza could have as few calories as I said. Leads me to think that when I say I eat half a pizza (600 cal) Americans think half a pizza as in 1200 cal or some other large number.
Off to google pizza sizes
I have read your posts and I think you express yourself eloquently and in a very detailed way. We have resident experts in this community who attack the writers when they read things they disagree with. Its ignorance please don't take it to heart.
Your mum's observations about americans overeating and out of control with their portions is accurate. Statistics will comfirm that for you and her.
Do not attack me for my post. You can disagree with my opinion without reposting me and without attacking me. Thank you.0 -
I definitely think its a huge problem here in the US and other countries. But it also depends on where you are. In Florida, my class size of 112 I'm one of two people who are overweight. Ages range from 22 to 34. Which is a lot different then when I went to undergrad on the west coast, i had more company there lol0
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I definitely think its a huge problem here in the US and other countries. But it also depends on where you are. In Florida, my class size of 112 I'm one of two people who are overweight. Ages range from 22 to 34. Which is a lot different then when I went to undergrad on the west coast, i had more company there lol0
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The part I don't get is why is body positive part of feminism. Seems out of place. But that's getting off topic.
Why does it seem out of place with feminism? Women have been objectified, considered overgrown children or personal property, inferior, & unequal for centuries.
My daughter right now says she hates feminism. What she actually hates is what I call the crazy over the edge man-hating feminism - but if she had to grow up not too long ago where it was common and normal for women to be sexually harassed, paid a lesser wage if they got past being a secretary, to be denied the right to vote or be denied the right to her own bank account in her own name without her father's or husband's permission...she might have a different idea of what true feminism is about.
this perplexes me, because i've never seen a "crazy over the edge man-hating feminist" in real life. every feminist i've known wants equal pay, equal treatment at work, full reproductive rights, etc. all have partners or brothers or fathers they care about. it's a bogeywoman, very sad
Spend a few months on a college campus. I've sadly met more of them than I was comfortable with, and my only hope is that they somehow grow out of it before they have children of their own.0 -
similar experiences. Sitting outside the dollar store one day last year and i estimated around 70-80 percent overweigh and over half of that would have been bmi classed at or near enough at obese.
I have started to notice that in grocery stores i tend to see a smaller percentage of overweight folks in the produce and "heatlhy" areas and more overweight in the frozen foods and snack isles...... while this makes sense on the face of it i also have started to wonder how much of it is about choices and how much is about the cost of food. Prepared foods and snacks tend to be cheap or on sale while produce and healthy foods tend not to be so much. I know since we have started eating healthier our bill has gone up a fair bit and im sure many cant afford it. I also suspect its the vicious cycle thing too of you get use to what you eat.
I think it comes down to mindless eating and uncontrolled portions. We can all eat processed foods/junk foods (not promoting this) and as long as it is in your calorie goals it is fine. Saying they can't afford healthy food is causing obesity is something I don't agree with.0
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