Is obesity 'normal' where you live, or 'abnormal'?

Seajolly
Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Just wondering if obesity is 'normal' in the where you live or 'abnormal'?

Sometimes I forget that the US is about 70% overweight or obese, living in the area I live in. But of course when I go on vacation to other parts of the US or drive a few hundred miles away, I realize it. But where I live (a wealthy suburb of NYC) you really don't see a lot of overweight or obese people here in this area. The area where I live spends a lot of money on high quality food (tons of health shops around here) and fitness is a part of every day life around here.
«134567

Replies

  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Where I live, I stand out as obese. There are a million active things to do and when you do them, there are generally 100 people who are clearly active all the time and 4 people who aren't. Generally, two of them are decked out in their new workout clothes huffing and puffing with their friend who is strolling along in high heels.

    Where my parents live, I am one of the small ones. When I go out dancing there are five to ten of us on the dance floor and fifty to a hundred sitting around watching.
  • AngelsInThighHighs
    AngelsInThighHighs Posts: 247 Member
    Its everywhere where i live, i honestly cant walk into ANY store, mall, restaurant, movie theatre, ect. Without seeig at least 10 obese people kids NOT included its really sad to be honest.
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    It is pretty common where I live unfortunatly. At my job, its kind of the normal, which is pretty sad. Almost all of the staff are overweight or obese... even our nutritionist :(
  • traininglady911
    traininglady911 Posts: 39 Member
    Obesity is NOT normal in Colorado. It was ranked as the first (or at least one of the first) in healthy-weight people. There is so many activities to do both summer and winter. Of course, we are known for skiing in the winter, but also hiking the "fourteeners" * in the summer.

    NOTE: The "fourteeners" refers to the 53 mountain peaks in CO that are 14,000 feet or more.

    Just makes me stand out more and feel bad about myself.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    Depends on what part of the city I'm in. The rich area? Less normal. The poorer areas, where I live? Absolutely normal.
  • blu_meanie_ca
    blu_meanie_ca Posts: 352 Member
    I live in a town just outside of major city. In the city there is a broad mix of everyone, although the trend for healthy living is showing, and you see far more slender women (particularily) that you do over weight. In town here, I think I am one the heaviest females I've seen. Men don't seem to have as much social stigma for being over weight, and less pressure.........

    The thing that does make me OMG is the amount of overweight children I see. I'll see mom's bopping around in their Lulumon work out clothes, and Zumba accesories, while the kids are sporting 2 or 3 chins.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    Abnormal.

    I can't remember the last time I saw what I would consider to be an obese person in the area that I live.
  • blondie_182_182
    blondie_182_182 Posts: 54 Member
    It's definitely normal here. We were voted the fattest city in America a couple of years ago by Men's Health.

    It's not suprising to me. We have a street festival that is second in size to Mardi Gras and you can get virtually anything you want deep fried.
  • DoneBroughtSexyBack
    DoneBroughtSexyBack Posts: 190
    Abnormal.

    I can't remember the last time I saw what I would consider to be an obese person in the area that I live.

    I didn't know there was a such thing as a town without a Walmart...
  • RSD73
    RSD73 Posts: 18 Member
    Absolutely not normal here in Vancouver, Canada. Active Outdoor living is a way of life!
  • DeeJayTJ
    DeeJayTJ Posts: 355 Member
    i live in Houston, Tx. one of the fattest cities..

    obesity is normal for both adults and children... i think pets too.
  • ReclaimingSarah
    ReclaimingSarah Posts: 250 Member
    I live in the most obese state in the country, so yes- it's pretty normal. I'm still about 30 lbs overweight and I'm usually one of the smaller people in a crowd.
    8990172.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • originalkazila
    originalkazila Posts: 200
    In my day to day I don't see a lot of obese people, but when I go shopping I always see at least 8 obese people.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Being fat is fairly normal around here, but obesity isn't too common. Mainly because it's a poor area and people can't buy enough food to get obese. When I visit Norway, people tend to be very average weight, though younger people for the majority look underweight - social pressure etc.
  • juliemouse83
    juliemouse83 Posts: 6,663 Member
    Same here. It's pretty bad that before I got back on the wagon I could go to Walmart and actually feel GOOD about myself, because compared to most? I was teensie.

    It's very unusual to see where the majority of people are of a healthy weight in our town. Sad, really.
  • CarlaChalk78
    CarlaChalk78 Posts: 60
    Normal here :( Not the wealthiest place here and I do believe that makes an impact, although others will disagree.... I still have 20 pounds to lose and people say I am looking too skinny....I think mostly because we are all so used to seeing people overweight now ><
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    i live in Houston, Tx. one of the fattest cities..

    obesity is normal for both adults and children... i think pets too.

    Yup, another Houstonian here. I blend in with the crowd. Since refocusing on my weight loss journey, I'm more conscious of it. I play where's waldo, but more like "find the skinny people"!
  • TS65
    TS65 Posts: 1,024 Member
    I just moved to a very small town in a very rural part of a rural state (100 miles from the nearest Wal-Mart). We have all sizes here, but they tend to be on the larger end (10+... see my next comment to know why a 10 seems large). Where I moved from (just outside th ecountry music capital, with movie stars as neighbors), it was hard to find normal size clothes. Everything was size 0-6! Honestly I find it nice to live in a town full of normal people.
  • Erica262
    Erica262 Posts: 226 Member
    I think it's about 50/50 here. I'm originally from Roanoke, VA where being over weight was kind of the norm. But I'm in Norfolk(/Virginia Beach) now and while there are parts of town that have a higher population that's obese, this is a beach town and a military town so there are a lot of very physically fit people. This is the home of the Shamrock Marathon, the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series comes here, and Tough Mudder is coming here this year. There are lots of runners and other outdoor activities. And of course the surfers and beach bums.
  • TimeForMe99
    TimeForMe99 Posts: 309
    Philadelphia - totally normal. Although we're making headway. We're no longer the fattest city in America; we've fallen off to 12th.
  • foxro
    foxro Posts: 793 Member
    Victims of utopia - most of us no longer have to use muscle and work physically hard or hunt to survive.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    I'm in the Southeastern US. Not only is it the Bible Belt, but the belt is freaking huge and gets a few new holes punched in it every year.
  • horseplaypen
    horseplaypen Posts: 442 Member
    I come from the least obese city in Canada: Richmond BC!!
    http://bc.ctvnews.ca/b-c-suburb-the-least-obese-city-in-canada-1.659588
  • darkguardian419
    darkguardian419 Posts: 1,302 Member
    Even on base I'm near average at 260lbs (yay body composition) unfortunately, there are a lot of fat people around here. Government workers make me feel anorexic sometimes.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    definitely abnormal. I've never lived anywhere where it's the norm actually--I've lived in Central Ca, Southern Ca, Florida, and now the Northeast.
  • MagicalLeopleurodon
    MagicalLeopleurodon Posts: 623 Member
    Pretty normal here. at least half my neighbors, and likely more than 3/4 of my town.
  • vlnalto
    vlnalto Posts: 64 Member
    I grew up in rural nowhere, and overweight/obese people were the norm. Now I live in a wealthier suburb and overweight/obese people are a very small percentage of the people I see on a daily basis, even though the suburb is only about an hour drive from where I grew up. I drive an hour to visit my parents and shop at their local stores for clothes because my local stores don't cater to larger individuals. Even the difference in clothing options between walmarts or kmarts in both locations is very noticeable.
  • ewestsca
    ewestsca Posts: 63 Member
    Where I live (Washington, DC) it depends on the time of year and the section of the city. When the tourists are in town obesity is normal and large children with two to three chins are a common site. In the poor sections of town obesity is also more common. Although I've noticed more gyms and people working out then ever before and also with the new bike share system there are always people on bikes.
  • AuddAlise
    AuddAlise Posts: 723 Member
    I live in SoCal and you would think that it would be a "thin/health" area but its not. When we go to the beach I would say 90% of the population (including children) are either overweight or obese. I am 5'5" and 164 so I am overweight too; though when I tell people my weight they are shocked. Am I just dense?
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,472 Member
    Not so "normal" where I am. I always seem to be the biggest at work, at the gym, etc. I don't have any friends that are my size. There are people bigger than me in my city, but they're the exception, not the rule.

Categories