Why are people so overweight, unhealthy and ill?

WorkHardEatHealthyBeHappy

I hope everyone takes the time to read this topic.

First thing is first, your body needs water! A human body is said to usually require sixty to seventy percent of water. It is said that babies bodies may need up to seventy five percent of water. Where as some adult bodies may need fifty seven to sixty percent water. I realize that a lot of food now does have hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Not everyone will care about that and will eat the toxic foods regardless. It's a choice. It's your life. I am in no way convincing you to go all natural. I'm simply giving you facts. We need to take charge of our lives and we can do that by simply having control of our health. Proper nutrition is very important! You want to make sure that your body has everything it needs in order to be fully functioning and healthy. Nutrition doesn't only affect your weight but it affects your mind, skin, nails, hair, ect. Carbohydrates, calories, proteins, fiber, and many more are all essential parts of nutrition. Nutrients maintain the organs and the bones, it provides you with plenty of energy and fuel. It also repairs your cells and the tissues in your body. Nutrients also gives you body heat. Protein protect our bodies from diseases and all of the disgusting infections. They have vitamins and minerals. Protein is important for the repair of our muscles, cells and tissues. They also are important for the growth of them as well. Now for Carbohydrates. I know that most us love them but when losing weight, try to avoid them. But Carbohydrates are important for our bodies. Our bodies need Complex Carbohydrates which simply means that they are high in fiber and very low in fat. It takes the body longer to break Complex Carbohydrates down and it provides longer lasting energy for the body. Of course there is so much more to go over when it comes to the human body, but this is it for this topic for now. Once again I will state that I am not trying to make you go natural or tell you what to put in your kitchen or better yet your mouth. I'm not even telling you to drink your water. As I said before, I am simply giving facts and trying to help the Myfitnesspal community. Many of you may already know these facts but some of you are unaware of what you are putting in your body and what your body needs. I hope you all enjoyed this post! Comment your feedback positive or negative! Feel free to add to this topic healthful tips and opinions!

ninerbuff

While food and water is important, if we're speaking of health then there's so much more to it than just food. Weight, exercise, rest, stress, environmental, risk behavior (IE smoking), genetics, disease, and mentality ALL are included as part of a healthy life. You could have a perfect diet and suffer from one of the others and still be unhealthy.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

WorkHardEatHealthyBeHappy

While food and water is important, if we're speaking of health then there's so much more to it than just food. Weight, exercise, rest, stress, environmental, risk behavior (IE smoking), genetics, disease, and mentality ALL are included as part of a healthy life. You could have a perfect diet and suffer from one of the others and still be unhealthy.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

That is very true! Thank you for including this!

Yanicka1

A bit judgemental dont you think.

make_it_so

We live in a food toxic environment. It's easier than ever to gain weight these days!

Nessalee77

Use of paragraphs would greatly improve readability of this post. People don't like to wade through solid blocks of text.

Contrarian

Thank you for introducing yourself. :flowerforyou:

twistygirl

I agree with everthing you said, of course the one long paragraph was hard on my eyes. Thank you for a positive post it reminded me to drink my water been up 2 hours and no water. :flowerforyou:

boatsie77

The truth is that most of us career 'overweight, unhealthy and ill' know enough about food, calories, nutrition and exercise to probably earn a PhD. We didn't get/stay fat because we lack that knowledge, the reasons we are/stay fat are many and varied. The key to unlock the secret to getting healthy is to face up to--and overcome--the reasons we use food as our drug of choice to swallow our fears and fill an emptiness inside. Once we find the courage to overcome the fear, then the mechanics of diet and exercise will easily remove the weight.

kimbelder

Great reminders! Thank for posting!

HoosierBecky

The truth is that most of us career 'overweight, unhealthy and ill' know enough about food, calories, nutrition and exercise to probably earn a PhD. We didn't get/stay fat because we lack that knowledge, the reasons we are/stay fat are many and varied. The key to unlock the secret to getting healthy is to face up to--and overcome--the reasons we use food as our drug of choice to swallow our fears and fill an emptiness inside. Once we find the courage to overcome the fear, then the mechanics of diet and exercise will easily remove the weight.

I couldn't have said it better.

AmandaReimer1

Just for the record, babies aren't supposed to have water by itself until solids are introduced.
But, I get the idea, I am always drinking water, but I've always been that way even at my highest weight.

zyxst

OP doesn't want to tell us what to put in our mouths, then proceeds to do just that.

Crazyartgrrl

Because unhealthy foods are highly subsidized by the government. A family of four who is struggling gets far more calories from cheap processed foods from McDonalds or even the aisles of Walmart compared to the organic produce section of any food store for the same limited $ they have to spend weekly. Want more information about the answer to your question? Watch "Killer at Large: Why Obesity is America's Greatest Threat". It's available instantly on Netflix if you've got it.

And because unfortunately unhealthy foods have the benefit of that magic fat/sugar/salt combination that whole or limited processed foods don't. Billions of dollars go into researching those combinations. If you're interested in that, read "The End of Overeating" by former FDA Commissioner David Kessler. Even places that are more "sit down" rather than fast food like Applebee's and TGI Fridays don't necessarily look at their food in the same perspective as you do if you cook at home. They look at their foods in terms of fat/sugar and salt and how they can get you to eat and drink more of it by manipulating those ratios.


Lots to learn out there. But I hope that helps answer your question .

Lleldiranne

Interesting info, many valid points. The title was a bit misleading, though … I didn't really see this as a report on why people are overweight, etc. It was more like the abstract (overview/summary) on general, broad nutrition. And yes, breaking it into paragraphs would increase the readability. (But hey, at least you have it in well-formed sentences and you use punctuation! I'm not being sarcastic, either … there have been many posts in all caps with no punctuation, like one big run on sentence)

I agree with the above poster. Most people already know WHY they're overweight (they eat too much, don't move enough!). It's a matter of developing the good habits, though, which is a lot easier said than done. We do need the reminders once in a while, of course.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

Lleldiranne

Just for the record, babies aren't supposed to have water by itself until solids are introduced.
But, I get the idea, I am always drinking water, but I've always been that way even at my highest weight.

Very true! They get all their needed hydration from breastmilk or formula.

Makes me wonder why some people say we can ONLY count water for our liquid tracking. (FWIW, I don't count milk or juice or soda , anyway)

Oops, off topic … We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread

eric_sg61

"Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements."
- Peter Gibbons

Hint: it isn't only food, it is inactivity. My grandparents and great-parents never sat down until around bedtime and to eat.

kagenw

While food and water is important, if we're speaking of health then there's so much more to it than just food. Weight, exercise, rest, stress, environmental, risk behavior (IE smoking), genetics, disease, and mentality ALL are included as part of a healthy life. You could have a perfect diet and suffer from one of the others and still be unhealthy.

^This. Take a look at this youtube article on the subject:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgnbRK8pij8

Iron_Feline

May I suggest paragraphs on your next post :flowerforyou:

hookilau

one word...paragraphs :huh:

Bownzi

Good post... Lots of great information ... For the most part there a lot of depression and if people understood these facts which you posted their bodies would not have the issues... Weight would not be an issue.. But, most people are too lazy to get up and do something about it...that's why I love this place it reminds me to do better..

CoachReddy

good post OP.

funny how people react when faced with things they don't want to hear. lol chill out.

eric_sg61

Something I have noticed in my family is that the people with the most labor-intensive jobs lived the longest, regardless of diet.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

CoachReddy

Because unhealthy foods are highly subsidized by the government. A family of four who is struggling gets far more calories from cheap processed foods from McDonalds or even the aisles of Walmart compared to the organic produce section of any food store for the same limited $ they have to spend weekly.

Uh, no. I bought a whole chicken and a bag of organic carrots for less than $6. That could feed a family of 4 for dinner, maybe some left overs, and then you can make soup with the rest. It's false to say eating junk is cheaper. That same $6 isn't even one meal at McD's. I really wish people would get off this band wagon that healthful food costs more. It's a myth. Learn to cook. It's cheap. It's like this dark secret that only a few people know about. Everyone else thinks food is expensive. A few of us stand around scratching our heads not understanding what you are talking about.

the poster you quoted is correct in that government subsidies make unhealthy foods cheaper and that fast food has more bang for your buck calorically speaking. Split that chicken and carrots up among 4 people, and it's probably 300 calories or less per person. for a buck at McD's you can get more than 300 calories.

I agree that eating well is not as expensive as people think, but in calories per dollar, fast food has the higher ratio.

fionat29

The truth is that most of us career 'overweight, unhealthy and ill' know enough about food, calories, nutrition and exercise to probably earn a PhD. We didn't get/stay fat because we lack that knowledge, the reasons we are/stay fat are many and varied. The key to unlock the secret to getting healthy is to face up to--and overcome--the reasons we use food as our drug of choice to swallow our fears and fill an emptiness inside. Once we find the courage to overcome the fear, then the mechanics of diet and exercise will easily remove the weight.

Well said! It's called comfort eating for a reason!

hookilau

Because unhealthy foods are highly subsidized by the government. A family of four who is struggling gets far more calories from cheap processed foods from McDonalds or even the aisles of Walmart compared to the organic produce section of any food store for the same limited $ they have to spend weekly.

Uh, no. I bought a whole chicken and a bag of organic carrots for less than $6. That could feed a family of 4 for dinner, maybe some left overs, and then you can make soup with the rest. It's false to say eating junk is cheaper. That same $6 isn't even one meal at McD's. I really wish people would get off this band wagon that healthful food costs more. It's a myth. Learn to cook. It's cheap. It's like this dark secret that only a few people know about. Everyone else thinks food is expensive. A few of us stand around scratching our heads not understanding what you are talking about.

I completely agree :drinker:

SanteMulberry

Because unhealthy foods are highly subsidized by the government. A family of four who is struggling gets far more calories from cheap processed foods from McDonalds or even the aisles of Walmart compared to the organic produce section of any food store for the same limited $ they have to spend weekly. Want more information about the answer to your question? Watch "Killer at Large: Why Obesity is America's Greatest Threat". It's available instantly on Netflix if you've got it.

And because unfortunately unhealthy foods have the benefit of that magic fat/sugar/salt combination that whole or limited processed foods don't. Billions of dollars go into researching those combinations. If you're interested in that, read "The End of Overeating" by former FDA Commissioner David Kessler. Even places that are more "sit down" rather than fast food like Applebee's and TGI Fridays don't necessarily look at their food in the same perspective as you do if you cook at home. They look at their foods in terms of fat/sugar and salt and how they can get you to eat and drink more of it by manipulating those ratios.

I learned this to my chagrin the other day when I went out to lunch with friends to East Side Mario's and ordered the scallop/shrimp salad, thinking it would be the save choice. Would you believe that it had 13 grams of sugar (when it should have had none) and 1,800 mg. of sodium---almost a whole day's supply!

McGruber03

Because unhealthy foods are highly subsidized by the government. A family of four who is struggling gets far more calories from cheap processed foods from McDonalds or even the aisles of Walmart compared to the organic produce section of any food store for the same limited $ they have to spend weekly.

Uh, no. I bought a whole chicken and a bag of organic carrots for less than $6. That could feed a family of 4 for dinner, maybe some left overs, and then you can make soup with the rest. It's false to say eating junk is cheaper. That same $6 isn't even one meal at McD's. I really wish people would get off this band wagon that healthful food costs more. It's a myth. Learn to cook. It's cheap. It's like this dark secret that only a few people know about. Everyone else thinks food is expensive. A few of us stand around scratching our heads not understanding what you are talking about.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I am a dietitian and I run into this excuse ALL of the time. So, I did a 7 day menu and went to our local Publix to price out my grocery list as a project for a presentation. My 7 day menu had 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 7 snacks, and 7 dinners. That's 21 meals with 7 snacks - WITH lean meats, fruits, vegetables, and foods high in calcium (milk, yogurt, cheese). The cost came out to $2.34 per serving. That's right. $2.34 per serving. To be clear, I did not include the cost of staples such as oil or flour because most people don't have to buy those weekly. Good luck getting a full meal at McDonalds, or anywhere for that matter, for $2.34.

Iron_Feline

good post OP.

funny how people react when faced with things they don't want to hear. lol chill out.

The op asked for feedback positive and negative, no one needs to chill out. Its called a discussion. :noway: