What do you think of the obesity epidemic in the U.S.?

zephtalah

I guess I don't like the term epidemic. In my mind, an epidemic is a communicable disease. I don't believe being overweigh is communicable nor do I believe it is a disease.

Actually, studies prove that obesity is contagious:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/yourlife/food/diet-nutrition/2010-11-05-obese05_ST_N.htm

Studies "prove" all sorts of things. All I know is I have never gotten fat from sitting next to someone who is fat. Also, sitting next to fat people never made eating less and moving more fail to work in losing weight.

dixiewhiskey

Blaming vaccines? Wow. Just wow. Doesn't account for lower rates in Europe.
In my personal opinion making your kid fat and unhealthy is paramount to child abuse. So sad.

Agreed

PamelaGatorMom

It’s funny you posted this, because just yesterday I was at the mall with my 16 year old daughter (who BTW is very fit & athletic, she plays basketballs & also runs track & cross country) and as I looked at other families I was just overwhelmed to see entire families completely out of shape & some extremely over weight. It is sad I was thinking I never struggled with my weight till I was in my mid 30’s these girls are the same age or younger than my daughter trying to wear clothes that were clearly designed for a thinner body. What are they going to do when they can’t be as active because of life stresses like motherhood & work?
I think there are several factors as to why this is becoming such an epidemic…
1) Technology – I never spent hours at a video game or computer when I was younger (cause we didn’t have one) also TV, we only had a handful of channels we couldn’t DVR shows or watch on demand, so we went OUTSIDE & PLAYED!!
2) Super-size EVERYTHING why do we feel like we have to have the biggest of everything. Who really needs a hamburger with 4 meat patties on it, a half a pound of French fries?? It’s crazy but we want more for our money so we think the “value meal” is a value…it’s NOT!!
3) So much of our foods is processed & uses chemicals.
4) Families need two incomes and with both parents working it’s less time to cook, prepare meals from scratch, instead we are grabby fatty foods from the drive through.
5) Family habits – mom/dad drink sodas then the kids do as well, mom/dad are not active so the kids aren’t either, the parents make poor health choices and the kids follow suit.

FredDoyle

"...Yep, those that didn't die from small pox, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, whopping cough and polio (or permanently disabled) did just fine. Obviously most of these that did die of these never became anyone's grandparents. How soon we forget..."

None of my grandparents siblings nor those of my friends died of any of those diseases. Small pox epidemics waned long before routine small pox vaccinations came about--same for polio. That's the way of epidemics--they come and go. Great numbers of our population died of cholera and tuberculosis in the past yet no one has proposed routine vaccination against them. It was modern sanitation that won the victory in both of those cases. The mother of my father-in-law died of tuberculosis when he was an infant (they thought he would die too, as that was normally the case). Yet he survived and lived a very long life. It must have been the amazing breast milk of the wet nurse that they hired for him, or the fact that he must have had an incredible immune system (I never knew him to be ill once in the 30 years that I knew him). He died at 90 of heart failure.

Brilliant logic there from a typical anti-vax loon.
The dead ones don''t live to reproduce do they...

robynj88

That's the way of epidemics--they come and go. Great numbers of our population died of cholera and tuberculosis in the past yet no one has proposed routine vaccination against them. It was modern sanitation that won the victory in both of those cases. The mother of my father-in-law died of tuberculosis when he was an infant (they thought he would die too, as that was normally the case). Yet he survived and lived a very long life. It must have been the amazing breast milk of the wet nurse that they hired for him, or the fact that he must have had an incredible immune system (I never knew him to be ill once in the 30 years that I knew him). He died at 90 of heart failure.

Actually you're wrong, the BCG vaccine protects against TB and we have a routine programme of delivering this to children in the UK.

I was fully vaccinated as a child, I had no history of taking antibiotics in my childhood, I am not morbidly obese and there is nothing wrong with my thyroid. You're spouting drivel mate, and there have been numerous posts on her challenging you quite efficiently. Give it up already.

charovnitza

Here's an example of how in denial we are of this epidemic. Rather than insult people with the realization of how obese they are, clothing sizes have shifted with our body sizes over time. A woman's size 8 in 1950 would wear a size 00 today. Most people can't actually even fit into vintage clothing. There is a similar trend with clothes sized S,M,L. The simple fact is that people don't like buying clothing that tells them how fat they are, so retailers select brands that are sized larger than others and over time this has increased the size of S,M, and L. Retailers that make their own brands are really aware of this and market to their clientele, so S, M, L run larger at Walmart than say the GAP.

So true! As an example, when I was in high school, I weighed 135 pounds at 5'6" and wore a size 13/14,,,now I weigh 162 pounds and wear a size 10/12. Vanity sizing.

robynj88

Also since someone above mentioned burgers with 4 patties - the whole glorification of stuffing our faces on programmes like Man vs Food arent helping either. Kids grow up seeing this guy get treated like a hero for eating something that would give most healthy people a heart attack and you wonder why they want to shove tons of processed meat into their bodies?! Because they think its cool.

Most of the places you see popping up here across the Pond that have an American theme to them will have some kind of monster food item they market and challenge people to take on. And people are falling for it over here too.

servilia

"...Thankfully most people vaccinate which allows your un-vaccinated grandkids herd immunity..."

You are kidding yourself with the whole "herd immunity" notion. In the most recent outbreak of pertussis (whooping cough) in California, health officials reported that the vast majority of children who contracted the disease HAD BEEN FULLY VACCINATED. Pertussis is most serious in infants and the vaccine cannot even be given to them. And the argument that "...if we vaccinate the older children, then they won't bring it home to their infant siblings..." is obviously false as older children can often carry the bordetella bacterium that causes pertussis while being totally unaware of it. AND (this is the most important part) HAVING BEEN VACCINATED against it.

I think you need to look up what herd immunity means.

Calliope610

It’s funny you posted this, because just yesterday I was at the mall with my 16 year old daughter (who BTW is very fit & athletic, she plays basketballs & also runs track & cross country) and as I looked at other families I was just overwhelmed to see entire families completely out of shape & some extremely over weight. It is sad I was thinking I never struggled with my weight till I was in my mid 30’s these girls are the same age or younger than my daughter trying to wear clothes that were clearly designed for a thinner body. What are they going to do when they can’t be as active because of life stresses like motherhood & work?
I think there are several factors as to why this is becoming such an epidemic…
1) Technology – I never spent hours at a video game or computer when I was younger (cause we didn’t have one) also TV, we only had a handful of channels we couldn’t DVR shows or watch on demand, so we went OUTSIDE & PLAYED!!
2) Super-size EVERYTHING why do we feel like we have to have the biggest of everything. Who really needs a hamburger with 4 meat patties on it, a half a pound of French fries?? It’s crazy but we want more for our money so we think the “value meal” is a value…it’s NOT!!
3) So much of our foods is processed & uses chemicals.
4) Families need two incomes and with both parents working it’s less time to cook, prepare meals from scratch, instead we are grabby fatty foods from the drive through.
5) Family habits – mom/dad drink sodas then the kids do as well, mom/dad are not active so the kids aren’t either, the parents make poor health choices and the kids follow suit.

This - 100%

Acg67

It’s funny you posted this, because just yesterday I was at the mall with my 16 year old daughter (who BTW is very fit & athletic, she plays basketballs & also runs track & cross country) and as I looked at other families I was just overwhelmed to see entire families completely out of shape & some extremely over weight. It is sad I was thinking I never struggled with my weight till I was in my mid 30’s these girls are the same age or younger than my daughter trying to wear clothes that were clearly designed for a thinner body. What are they going to do when they can’t be as active because of life stresses like motherhood & work?
I think there are several factors as to why this is becoming such an epidemic…
1) Technology – I never spent hours at a video game or computer when I was younger (cause we didn’t have one) also TV, we only had a handful of channels we couldn’t DVR shows or watch on demand, so we went OUTSIDE & PLAYED!!
2) Super-size EVERYTHING why do we feel like we have to have the biggest of everything. Who really needs a hamburger with 4 meat patties on it, a half a pound of French fries?? It’s crazy but we want more for our money so we think the “value meal” is a value…it’s NOT!!
3) So much of our foods is processed & uses chemicals.
4) Families need two incomes and with both parents working it’s less time to cook, prepare meals from scratch, instead we are grabby fatty foods from the drive through.
5) Family habits – mom/dad drink sodas then the kids do as well, mom/dad are not active so the kids aren’t either, the parents make poor health choices and the kids follow suit.

lol

NewLIFEstyle4ME

Wow...that :laugh: funny and deep at the same time!

bethlaf

Here is part two of my take on the obesity crisis .

i mentioned before , food insecurity and economic class, im not going to rehash that,
BUT! here
lets look at this, i live and see many a neighborhood of nicer homes, well, middle class high roof cookie cutter monstrosities, but i digress, i am currently living in one similar to that as well,

here's the thing my house has 2 built in fridges one in the kitchen and a mini fridge upstairs in the "family room", and 7 tv jacks one in each room one in living room and one in upstairs "family room"
I have no sidewalk.
the combined square footage of my house exceeds the square footage of my yard.-as it does for most of the homes in my neighborhood

I (now) walk my kids to the park in our development,
RARELY do i see anyone there

My kids go out to play though i know there are about 12 kids besides my brood who live on my block- i see them when i walk my kids to the bus stop- 9 times out of 10 , my kids are the only ones outside...

this is an upper middle class neighborhood, my house before i rented it was on the market for 285k this is Texas, so its not cold.....

we were here before school started same scenario,
i see one neighbor every week , when he washes his car..
there are "every other weekend " boys who i see outside tossing football when they come...
but that's it,.... my kids complain because when they go visit friends, all the friends want to do is sit inside for video games or TV...
we are raising slugs and mushrooms,

i am fat, technically i rate as morbidly obese, (B MI over 40) but i walk , i move, I run up and down stairs at least 20 times a day at work , my office is the only one on second floor... but i am still fat... I am also over 40
and i remember playing outside all summer, sunburn was the norm, we rode bikes and horses, we would be playing in the barn and outside every day , we rode 3/4 of a mile up the road to the church cause they had a playground we could play in ...

We protect ourselves from stranger danger, we protect our kids from harm we create a culture of fear of the outdoors, and anything that could sting bite or burn you, instead of accepting nature as a challenge and basically safe place.
skinned knees are not bad.. bumps and bruises from hiking are ok...
and if the nurse calls me again about my kid itching her bug bites im going to scream ...

ok , can someone give me hand this soapbox is taller than i thought..

bethlaf

Here's an example of how in denial we are of this epidemic. Rather than insult people with the realization of how obese they are, clothing sizes have shifted with our body sizes over time. A woman's size 8 in 1950 would wear a size 00 today. Most people can't actually even fit into vintage clothing. There is a similar trend with clothes sized S,M,L. The simple fact is that people don't like buying clothing that tells them how fat they are, so retailers select brands that are sized larger than others and over time this has increased the size of S,M, and L. Retailers that make their own brands are really aware of this and market to their clientele, so S, M, L run larger at Walmart than say the GAP.

So true! As an example, when I was in high school, I weighed 135 pounds at 5'6" and wore a size 13/14,,,now I weigh 162 pounds and wear a size 10/12. Vanity sizing.

i was dismayed to see that Walmart carries size 4xl and womens size 30 pants..(thats a 48 inch waist in men's sizes). and they carry 54 inch waist and 5xl clothing for men too

while i would have been happy to see it before, when i was still just eeating and letting <b>"fat happen"</b> it proves , that we retail to the consumers we have,

ichoose2believe

That said, i'd feel so ****ing fat knowing that people are looking at me and "counting" me as some kind of lined up cow.

Seeing me for a few seconds in a mall, you'd not know that I've worked hard and busted my *kitten* to lose 65 pounds. Maybe half of them just started eating right in the Jan. 1st crowd.

I have to say I agree with you. Before joining this site I lost 40lbs but still have a very long way to go. I am one of those obese people but I am making the changes needed to become healthy.

As for the epidemic it does make me sad. I know for me the reason I got so bad is not knowing exactly how many calories (fat and sodium) were in the items that I was eating. Sure before I knew my way around the produce department but I didn't eat nearly as many fruits and veggies that I eat now. I let marketing dictate to me what a serving size was and didn't bother to read labels. I have CHOSEN to become more informed and educate myself on nutrition and my body. As I said its a process that does take time.

A_nori

I have always struggled with my weight, but I want better for my son. Consequently he does not get juice or pop (he is only 12 months, I figure he doesn't need either for some time!) but I am always getting flack for that choice.

We were at a birthday party a few weeks back and there was apple juice and coke offered. I filled my sons sippy cup with water, and he was happy as a clam. His 14 month old cousin was drinking the coke. I allowed my son to have a slice of pizza as a treat and a few bites of my cake, but he didn't get a full piece of cake because he doesn't need it. His cousin did. It is no wonder to me that his cousins mom is morbidly obese, and she is setting her sons up for the same future. It breaks my heart, but it is not my place to say anything. Yet our choice to not allow our son all the sugar resulted in many eye rolls.

Selunca

I've watched a few documentaries about this (Food Inc. Fathead, etc.) and find it an intresting topic to see how people feel about it.

I will admit, I was 'obese' for my height/weight when I first started MFP. As I lost the weight, I started to notice those who were overweight more. Mostly because it made me sad that with a little patience (For me, around a year.) they could lose quite a bit and be healthier. However, because of the american life style of go go go go go and eat what is close and easy, they won't. It makes me sad that my family is almost all in the obese catagory.

Wetterdew

I feel frustrated with the adults, especially poor parents and lawmakers who can make being healthy easier and more affordable. I feel bad for children who are born to grease, sugar, and fat.

nokanjaijo

This is certainly no cure, can't honestly say there is one, but in my honest opinion this would help.

Government legislation to enforce a very high price on any foods that contain large amounts of sugar or corn or other based syrups, be it food or drinks.

That money saved then be put in to subsidising healthy more nutritional foods.

Sugar free drinks be allowed to supersize, and sugar drinks and foods be made to be kept to a much smaller size and more expensive.

This would do 3 things.

1st: no money making business is going to keep making the sugary products if ti can make way more money off the no sugar products, thus once the business's embrace the new regime, and get the subsidies for the healthy options, they will then promote it.

2nd: Once promoted and becomes much cheaper, the masses will do as they always do and like sheep follow what they are told, will always be exceptions to change but overall, if the better foods are cheaper and ya money is limited, which are ya going to go buy?

3rd: Once people get used to the more healthy options, they may not get much slimmer, but they will be much healthier, and maybe feel like they can do more.

But, we all know this will never happen, 1st because government is making way too much in taxes off of the junk foods, so is the business's that give them money to allow them to sell it unchallenged....

And the pharmaceutical companies that will pay them millions because they get to peddle their drugs to help maintain the problems the others have caused.

Would take a government with balls of steel to go up against both the pharmaceutical companies and the food industry giants.

Something i think none of them have yet.

The sugar in those drinks and foods is manufactured from corn. The reason for this is that corn is so heavily subsidized in the US that you can buy it for less than cost. That is how they can sell it for so little. That's why junk food which require tons of processing and packaging manages to be cheaper than produce which you just pick up from the ground. Most any junk food you find is some version of corn.

The government isn't profiting from the junk food. It is paying for it.

RooBug88

I work third shift at a 24 hour major retail center and I have noticed that even though very few customers actually come in during my shift, many of the ones who DO come in are so obese that they require those motorized shopping carts to get their groceries. Two in particular (a father/son pair) have regularly asked me to help them reach things for them on the top three shelves because it was so difficult for them to stand and reach upward, even for a few moments. They once admitted to me (with a shame I know all too well) that they choose to shop at 3am because there are fewer people there to stare, point, and make hateful comments. It is not my place to pass judgement, but the food choices I've seen them make are absolutely awful. Sugary cereals, jumbo bags of candies, and never a veggie or fruit in their baskets. It's a terrifying health epidemic. I, myself, am morbidly obese, but seeing these people who have gotten so out of hand that they can't even walk anymore? That scares me. I never want to be like that, so I'm doing my best to reverse the damages I've already done.

fabry12

I totally agree, at the base of everything there is a lack on understanding about nutrition. There should introduce a nutrition program starting from primary school.

devilwhiterose

We're going to be like the movie Wall-E. Everyone fat and riding around in hovers with a 64oz drink in the hand.

kmakar

Not sure if anyone had mentioned it in this thread, but there's a good 4-episode documentary series called "Weight of the Nation" that you can watch for free online. It discussed a lot of the causes and consenquences of the obesity epidemic in the US. Touches on the medical consequences, the impact of modern food production and urban design, childhood obesity, and also folks trying to lose weight. I highly recommend it.

KANGOOJUMPS

I think EVERYONE IS FAT IN THE U.S/
PROUD TO BE CANADIAN..
ha ha ha ha ha

leantool

i am from India, and yes this is a problem, in cities , where people have access to global fast food chains and it is a kind of sign of prosperity to be able to afford them!retail chains are uprooting farmers' markets one by one,local species are being exterminated in favor of high yield hybrid varieties. . it's a bleak future. relentless advertising is pushing older children to processed food. we are the diabetes capital of the world.

servilia

I'm just curious - there are people saying they just didn't know how many calories was in everything they ate but did they not notice themselves getting bigger?

savithny

Here's an example of how in denial we are of this epidemic. Rather than insult people with the realization of how obese they are, clothing sizes have shifted with our body sizes over time. A woman's size 8 in 1950 would wear a size 00 today. Most people can't actually even fit into vintage clothing. There is a similar trend with clothes sized S,M,L. The simple fact is that people don't like buying clothing that tells them how fat they are, so retailers select brands that are sized larger than others and over time this has increased the size of S,M, and L. Retailers that make their own brands are really aware of this and market to their clientele, so S, M, L run larger at Walmart than say the GAP.

So true! As an example, when I was in high school, I weighed 135 pounds at 5'6" and wore a size 13/14,,,now I weigh 162 pounds and wear a size 10/12. Vanity sizing.

i was dismayed to see that Walmart carries size 4xl and womens size 30 pants..(thats a 48 inch waist in men's sizes). and they carry 54 inch waist and 5xl clothing for men too

while i would have been happy to see it before, when i was still just eeating and letting <b>"fat happen"</b> it proves , that we retail to the consumers we have,

Okay, so you don't like it that people have gotten that fat. Neither do I.

I see it as the outcome of a set of really awful social and economic changes in our society, most of which people weren't really aware of until they looked around and realized everyone had gotten FAT. Once we're here, its really difficult for many people to buck those circumstances and resist those changes and lose again.

So what the heck are they supposed to wear while they do this? Is this one of those arguments like "If Torrid didn't exist, then teenagers wouldn't be fat?" Because shaming people by making it impossible for them to get dressed in the morning is apparently the way to get them to take charge of their own health?

zillah73

Not sure if anyone had mentioned it in this thread, but there's a good 4-episode documentary series called "Weight of the Nation" that you can watch for free online. It discussed a lot of the causes and consenquences of the obesity epidemic in the US. Touches on the medical consequences, the impact of modern food production and urban design, childhood obesity, and also folks trying to lose weight. I highly recommend it.

I watched that on HBO – it really was very informative and compelling. I highly recommend it as well.

nokanjaijo

I work third shift at a 24 hour major retail center and I have noticed that even though very few customers actually come in during my shift, many of the ones who DO come in are so obese that they require those motorized shopping carts to get their groceries. Two in particular (a father/son pair) have regularly asked me to help them reach things for them on the top three shelves because it was so difficult for them to stand and reach upward, even for a few moments. They once admitted to me (with a shame I know all too well) that they choose to shop at 3am because there are fewer people there to stare, point, and make hateful comments. It is not my place to pass judgement, but the food choices I've seen them make are absolutely awful. Sugary cereals, jumbo bags of candies, and never a veggie or fruit in their baskets. It's a terrifying health epidemic. I, myself, am morbidly obese, but seeing these people who have gotten so out of hand that they can't even walk anymore? That scares me. I never want to be like that, so I'm doing my best to reverse the damages I've already done.

I know. I really can't understand how anyone could see something like that and then claim, without a shred of irony, that it's all about personal responsibility.

I mean, I don't personally believe in free will and I know that makes me a rare bird. I get it is near impossible to stop believing in free will.

But I still don't see how you could know that people are losing their mobility to food choices they continue to makes and still firmly believe those people are in control of their lives.

nokanjaijo

Not sure if anyone had mentioned it in this thread, but there's a good 4-episode documentary series called "Weight of the Nation" that you can watch for free online. It discussed a lot of the causes and consenquences of the obesity epidemic in the US. Touches on the medical consequences, the impact of modern food production and urban design, childhood obesity, and also folks trying to lose weight. I highly recommend it.

I watched that on HBO – it really was very informative and compelling. I highly recommend it as well.

I wept often while watching that doc.

toaster6

People make it more complicated than it is. It's the food. That's it. I lived in Thailand for some time and the only fat native I saw was my aunt. And she actually has a thyroid issue. There's fast food there-- people don't have it all the time and, more importantly, an adult meal there is hardly any larger than a kids' meal here in the U.S. If you go to a regular Thai restaurant, the entrees (in addition to being overall healthier) are closer in size to entrees here, but they're meant to be shared by a family (and they are). I noticed the same when I lived in Mexico and when I traveled in Europe. Nothing approaches the size of adult meals here. And that, is why the United States is fat.