U.S. is a fat Nation

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  • rayray61
    rayray61 Posts: 68 Member
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    Good point
  • karmahunger
    karmahunger Posts: 373 Member
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    You're wrong.

    Mcdonalds Angus blah blah cheeseburger, $3.89 for one person.

    Pound of raw chicken breasts, $6, six pack of whole wheat buns $3, head of romaine lettuce $2, bottle of light dressing $2 = $13 for 6 people = $2.17 for one person.

    One example amongst thousands of examples when a MORE nutritious, MORE filling, LESS fattening meal can be made at home if you're actually smart with your resources.

    What about those who don't have more than ten bucks? And where I live, chicken isn't that cheap, or buns. Watch Fast Food Nation, Supersize me and Fat Head. All the arguments are settled.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
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    Fast food is cheaper, actually. And the convenience makes it easy for poor families who are busy; it's easy to pick up McDonald's on the way home from work or to get an egg mcmuffin on the way TO work.
    It's not laziness, it's poverty and the lack of time. Some people work two or three jobs and still don't make enough.

    I don't eat fast food, but I don't judge those who do. Watch Fat Head, very inspiring.

    I don't think poor families have got the surplus money to go to McDonalds to feed their family every day. I don't think your point is well thought out at all. A cheap tin of beans on two slices of toast is way cheaper even when you factor in the energy to cook it, feeds more people per volume and has more nutrients than a basic Macdonalds burger.
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
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    I dont know about the rest of the U S , but i am off the obesity train and on the get and stay fit train.... Honestly, the choice is each individual's choice - you either want to eat healhty or you dont.
  • karmahunger
    karmahunger Posts: 373 Member
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    People on this site are so *****y.

    Anyway, at the end of the day, it's not the US. I mean, I am surprised this has carried on so long. No one commented on how the OP original post was poorly written, now did they? And couldn't I see where he is from, and say that everyone from there is stupid?

    It's just really rude to make a message calling out one nation to be "fat"; even places like Australia and have a high obesity rate.
  • beedeevee
    beedeevee Posts: 10 Member
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    Put simply: people like to blame others. They don't like to take personal responsibility for their actions.

    With smart home-prepared meals (stocking up when proteins, beans, even canned/frozen veggies are on sale) the cost is cheaper, if not less than the drive-thru. Cook in large servings and reheat for for the next day(s).
  • truddy6647
    truddy6647 Posts: 519 Member
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    fast food taste really good

    I guess each their own, however, for me fast food doesn't taste really good, it actually does not agree with my body so I avoid it
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
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    False. It's cheaper to eat at home; almost always. Just saying :) I bought a HUGE list of groceries for less than $200 and it lasted over a month (for two people) and that included cat food.


    **edit: This was 2 months ago, and I'm still going strong on grains, meats, and things like sweet potatoes, onions, beans, etc.
  • truddy6647
    truddy6647 Posts: 519 Member
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    I dont know about the rest of the U S , but i am off the obesity train and on the get and stay fit train.... Honestly, the choice is each individual's choice - you either want to eat healhty or you dont.

    for some individuals it may not be. I volunteered at a food pantry and they have a lot of processed things that they give out. Those items are not really healthy but if it is what you have access too, this is what you use
  • acuratlsd
    acuratlsd Posts: 228
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    I don't know about you guys but I can get through a walmart check out line during Military Pay weekend then these guys at the drive thru windows at McDonalds... I think working at a going no where job has made the workers lazy themselves.

    One thing is going through Hardee's and they cook the food as you wait, it is another thing going through McDonald's.. waiting the same amount of time and getting your burger and fries cold.
  • Audiejude
    Audiejude Posts: 42
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    Healthy doesn't mean you will lose weight, switching to organic lasanga wont change the fact that the two servings dinner was 800 calories.
    In fact, a lot of healthy foods are full of healthy fats, all of which are 9 calories per gram like trans and saturated fat. The label healthy makes you eat more.
    Granola is very fat and calorie dense(close to 400 calories a cup). Really, if it's weight loss your after your better with lucky charms(114 cal per cup).
    Olive oil has more calories per tablespoon than butter.
    Even if your solution didn't disregard the the effects on an increase in demand, it would only make people less conscious about what they put in their mouths.
    People should learn moderation and how to love exercise.
  • msafunk
    msafunk Posts: 163 Member
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    I completely disagree that fast food is more expensive than healthy food. I can easily spend $8-$10 on a single meal at fast food place. When I pack my own lunch full of healthy food, I pack *maybe* $3 worth of food.
  • XandyNoCandy
    XandyNoCandy Posts: 9 Member
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    Two words: politics and greed.

    It's all tied up in the USDA Farm Bill. Start at this link to get you going.

    http://www.foodpolitics.com/2012/09/the-farm-bill-r-i-p/
  • jg627
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    A taco at taco bell costs about the same as a can of dog food, but the taco doesn't have as much dog food in it and they put some taco seasoning and cheese on it so it doesn't taste like dog food then put it in a tortilla. I guess it depends on how you want to look at it.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    Three words - greed, money, and business.

    Its cheaper & more profitable to mass-produce burgers and fries than it is to mass produce fresh produce and lean meats. Especially since the former are more addictive than the latter, which means more money in the pockets of greedy fast food companies.

    Oh please, the fast food companies just sell what people want to buy. If any fast food company tried selling healthier food, everyone would stop going there and they'd be out of business in a week. Are you old enough to remember how long the McLean Deluxe lasted? And how did BK revitalize their profits several years back? Oh yeah, by giving consumers what they wanted . . . incredibley unhealthy and tasty food.
  • Erienneb
    Erienneb Posts: 592 Member
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    Three words - greed, money, and business.

    Its cheaper & more profitable to mass-produce burgers and fries than it is to mass produce fresh produce and lean meats. Especially since the former are more addictive than the latter, which means more money in the pockets of greedy fast food companies.

    Oh please, the fast food companies just sell what people want to buy. If any fast food company tried selling healthier food, everyone would stop going there and they'd be out of business in a week. Are you old enough to remember how long the McLean Deluxe lasted? And how did BK revitalize their profits several years back? Oh yeah, by giving consumers what they wanted . . . incredibley unhealthy and tasty food.

    It's not the fault of the company that the consumer is overweight and unhealthy. I ate fast food for years for a variety of reasons (convenince, no one would see me if I ate in the car, etc) and I gained weight partially because of that. I'm also an adult who can spend my money how I want. Same goes for the rest of the country, overweight or not. These corporations aren't using voodoo magic to force people to buy their product. There's no one that says "I have absolutely no other option I'm compelled to do this". Yeah they may make excuses about convenience and cost or whatever but that is their right. In a consumer driven market it is NEVER the fault of the company that they provide a product that is being bought at a fast rate. If you don't like it, don't buy it. If enough people don't buy it, the product changes.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    People don't choose fast food because it's cheap. They choose it because it's convenient. People only use the excuse of eating fast food to save money as an excuse. It's pretty easy to lie to oneself and others, but deep down you always know it's a lie.
  • _lizzie_
    _lizzie_ Posts: 130
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    People on this site are so *****y.

    Anyway, at the end of the day, it's not the US. I mean, I am surprised this has carried on so long. No one commented on how the OP original post was poorly written, now did they? And couldn't I see where he is from, and say that everyone from there is stupid?

    It's just really rude to make a message calling out one nation to be "fat"; even places like Australia and have a high obesity rate.

    Actually, I think its against site rules to belittle someone over their command (or lack thereof) the English language...not that I don't agree with you that he was rude and its not just the U.S. Just saying people don't want to get in trouble.
  • _lizzie_
    _lizzie_ Posts: 130
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    1) Nauru: 95 percent

    The tiny South Pacific island of Nauru tops the world's fattest list. A whopping 95 percent of its people have a BMI above 25. Nauruans historically engaged in fattening ceremonies, where well-born young women were kept inside and fed to excess. That legacy, plus the transition for agriculturally poor Nauru from a diet of fruit and fish to Western-style meals, has been devastating.

    2) Micronesia: 92 percent

    3) The Cook Islands: 92 percent

    4) Tonga: 92 percent

    5) Niue: 84 percent

    6) Samoa: 83 percent

    7) Palau: 81 percent

    8) United States: 79 percent

    9) Kiribati: 77 percent.

    10) Dominica: 76 percent

    Other countries that are close:
    Kuwait: 75 percent
    Argentina: 75 percent
    Mexico: 73 percent
    Australia: 71 percent
    Egypt: 70 percent
    Greece: 70 percent
    Belarus: 67 percent
    United Kingdom: 66 percent

    Just to say, we aren't the fattest...not that the number of unhealthy people is is exactly encouraging. The number is anyone with a BMI over 25, which we all now isnt the perfect measure but you can check the site, its from: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/health/101119/fat-top-10-obese
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    It amazes me how people are lumping an entire nation together, saying they are "lazy". I am not American. I don't usually care to defend Americans, but it bothers me that pretty much everyone who has replied here says that people who eat fast food are lazy or uneducated when it comes to healthy choices.
    Also, it isn't fast food that plays the only part in the obesity epidemic - it's because people don't portion control. Yes, eating at a fast food joint everyday is not healthy, but it's also not going to kill you if you eat it a couple times a week. People also think of "fast food" as grease and fake food, when places like Subway and Quizno's have VERY healthy options but are also fast food restaurants.

    I am American and I don't take the "U.S. is a fat Nation" as a personal insult. Obviously, when one is talking about an entire nation they are not talking about each and every individual. There are a lot of overweight people in the U.S. Offensive or not, that's a true statement.

    Blaming fast food for that fact is silly, though. Americans are not force fed fast food. They choose it. No matter what their excuse for choosing fast food, they have other choices.

    Also there a lot of nutrition experts who would disagree that Subway or Quizno's have "VERY healthy options". More healthy than some other fast food, or "it probably won't kill you" doesn't necessarily = very healthy.

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