What do you think of the obesity epidemic in the U.S.?
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Interesting observation..
The problem is PERCEPTION.. We have been overweight for so long that our perception of what is a healthy weight has been seriously skewed...
Yes this.0 -
as much as it is a choice to be healthy, it's a choice to be obese.
not to say people wake up and say "i am going to work on upping my body fat percentage today,".... but everyone is aware of the fact that they could be making healthier choices on a daily basis. these are usually thrown to the side for a number of reasons/excuses.
throwing the option to make a better choice for reasons being for convenience or lack of willpower, is making the choice not to change.
i'm still technically obese, but that was because i made the decision for years not to work out and to eat fast food multiple times a week (and sometimes a day).
but now i've made the choice to be healthy, and it's paying off.
as for the children.... i find it selfish of the parents who choose to feed them unhealthy meals for their own convenience. if you decide to have children, it's your responsibility to make sure they grow up strong and healthy.0 -
What do you think of the obesity epidemic in the U.S. ?
I think it's hard to NOT be obese in this country. There is so much fast food, junk food, soda, etc. None of it is healthy but we buy it because it's cheap and it tastes good. Especially when money is tight, like it is now. I'm as guilty of this as anyone.
The food industry makes tons of money off our hunger, and the medical industry makes tons of money when we get sick. It's a win-win situation for them. So they keep shoving this cheap crap down our throats, knowing we will buy it. Until something major changes in this country, the obesity epidemic will continue.0 -
What do you think of the obesity epidemic in the U.S. ?
I think it's hard to NOT be obese in this country. There is so much fast food, junk food, soda, etc. None of it is healthy but we buy it because it's cheap and it tastes good. Especially when money is tight, like it is now. I'm as guilty of this as anyone.
The food industry makes tons of money off our hunger, and the medical industry makes tons of money when we get sick. It's a win-win situation for them. So they keep shoving this cheap crap down our throats, knowing we will buy it. Until something major changes in this country, the obesity epidemic will continue.
Um. People need to have personal resposibility.
Come on. Fast food is not great for you. But this isn't exactly breaking news. It's about decisions.
NOBODY is shoving ANYTHING down throats.
FFS.0 -
But then you called schools "glorified daycare centers." Have to disagree. I raise other people's kids. Literally. I teach them their subjects, but also how to do everything else. Because their parents sure as hell don't teach them. They dump them on us and forget they exist.
What you just described is a glorified day care.
I do agree about the school lunches though. The school encouraged us big time to sign up for the free lunches. And I qualify but I send her lunch in every day (Gotta keep her fed while you are busy raising her and I am off gettin' my nails done!).
Also - Really glad you're not my kids teacher. You are on a power trip, sweetheart.0 -
I don't think it can be singled out as an issue of portion sizes / eating out as the main culprit.
I lived for a year or so in Singapore and the culture there is to eat out a lot, with all kinds of pastries on offer and food at hawker stalls being plates of rice and some meat & veg. The serving sizes aren't ginormous, but they aren't small. Everyone finishes their meals, nboody wastes much (ie they will clean the meat off a chicken bone completely). Probably engrained in the culture since while the country is rich-ish now, it's only 2 generations removed from basically being a fishing post.
However, even with the eating out culture, the people are overall quite thin, especially women. One of the main things is the amount of walking that you have to do on the island - there are pretty big $$$ barriers to entry for car ownership, walking a few KM's a day is standard for basically everyone. There is also a culture of sports - every little neighbourhood will have a public area with open footsal fields, bball courts, tennis, etc.
They just seem to do a much better job of balancing out their total consumption. So while they are eating out for maybe lunch and dinner, that'd be basically the bulk of their food. They're not supplementing with 2 liters of cola and a bag of chips.
Very interesting indeed. I personally am kicking my daily walking up something tremendous. Just last night, I ran outta something and instead of driving to the grocery store (like is my natural lazy inclination) I walked to the store and back, about 2 miles both ways. I believe walking and getting out of our convenience and comfort zones DAILY will play a huge role in my getting down to a slim and trim size just as much as my eating properly too. Thanks for posting this!0 -
I literally started counting how many slim/trim people I saw, because they were so few and far in between--I could literally count them. I saw many overweight people (especially young people) as well, I mean A LOT, everywhere.
What do you think of the obesity epidemic in the U.S. ?
The sentence above caught my eye, because as an older adult I can remember a time with the exact opposite was true. I could name every overweight child I ever attended school with, because they were so rare. And even the adults we thought were fat in the 60's and 70's would not be considered overweight today by most.
It does scare me. The medical care for obesity related ailments is a huge financial burden. Insurance rates and tax rate will continue to rise as our nation grows sicker from overeating and sedentary lifestyles. And there really is no end in site.0 -
We have to be careful about classing children as obese as sometimes that is not the case.
When my daughter was 10 she was naturally chubby. She had to go into hospital for some tests and the nurses pointed out to me that her weight was in the 95th centile for her age and height.
I pointed out to the nurse in question that she was very active and also sailed every weekend throughout the winter and summer and had just gained a place in the region's junior sailing squad.
Now, six years later, she sails in international competition and competes against Olympians (although she's never beaten one ... yet!)
Some children really do just have puppy fat.
BTW, before eveyone starts really beating me up over this, I'm aware that childhood obesity is a very serious issue but I'm just saying don't just judge by appearances.0 -
I think it's hard to NOT be obese in this country. There is so much fast food, junk food, soda, etc. None of it is healthy but we buy it because it's cheap and it tastes good. Especially when money is tight, like it is now. I'm as guilty of this as anyone.
People eat fast food because they like it and it's convenient. Driving a gas guzzler through the drive thru is much easier than preparing a healthy meal at home. But it absolutely is not cheaper.0 -
We have to be careful about classing children as obese as sometimes that is not the case.
When my daughter was 10 she was naturally chubby. She had to go into hospital for some tests and the nurses pointed out to me that her weight was in the 95th centile for her age and height.
I pointed out to the nurse in question that she was very active and also sailed every weekend throughout the winter and summer and had just gained a place in the region's junior sailing squad.
Now, six years later, she sails in international competition and competes against Olympians (although she's never beaten one ... yet!)
Some children really do just have puppy fat.
BTW, before eveyone starts really beating me up over this, I'm aware that childhood obesity is a very serious issue but I'm just saying don't just judge by appearances.
I think the issue is that while some kids grow out of the puppy fat phase, a lot don't. And the percentage of ones who don't is growing (pun intended).
How long do you wait for your kid to "grow out of it" all the while they're continuing to pile on weight, before you realise that they're now an adult and have a genuine weight problem that you've ignored for years because you were hoping it was just a puberty/growth thing?0 -
It makes me incredibly sad. There are so many "fat jokes" about the USA, but sadly it really is true... I hate that our country gets such a bad reputation for people's bad decisions, but I really think a lot of it is that we aren't being educated about it. Growing up I had no idea about calories or the proper exercise, etc. despite having health classes in school. They only really taught us about the "food pyramid" but never gave any real advice on day-to-day choices. Sadly this lack of education carries on from parent to child and keeps going. I can only hope that some of us can break the cycle; as I've started learning about health and fitness myself, I've also been able to educate those around me. Anyways, it scares me too but I also have hope that maybe we can turn it around somehow.0
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Hi New Life - Since I'm one of the overweight, I appreciate your compassion. I guess I pray for us all, because the addictions behind eating are so intense. I was surprised to find out from a nutritionist that obesity often indicates malnutrition - eating the wrong thing, the body calls out for nurtients which is felt as hunger. I feel more hopeful knowing that if I eat JERF (Just Eat Real Food) that craving will go away. Hang in there - some areas of the country are fatter than others. Really, especially in the deep south.0
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We have to be careful about classing children as obese as sometimes that is not the case.
When my daughter was 10 she was naturally chubby. She had to go into hospital for some tests and the nurses pointed out to me that her weight was in the 95th centile for her age and height.
I pointed out to the nurse in question that she was very active and also sailed every weekend throughout the winter and summer and had just gained a place in the region's junior sailing squad.
Now, six years later, she sails in international competition and competes against Olympians (although she's never beaten one ... yet!)
Some children really do just have puppy fat.
BTW, before eveyone starts really beating me up over this, I'm aware that childhood obesity is a very serious issue but I'm just saying don't just judge by appearances.
I think the issue is that while some kids grow out of the puppy fat phase, a lot don't. And the percentage of ones who don't is growing (pun intended).
How long do you wait for your kid to "grow out of it" all the while they're continuing to pile on weight, before you realise that they're now an adult and have a genuine weight problem that you've ignored for years because you were hoping it was just a puberty/growth thing?
You don't just ignore it and hope, you should be in control of your child's wellbeing. You know what you feed your child and what exercise they do. If they're active and well fed (healthily fed, that is) then there should be no need to worry.
What annoyed me at the hospital was that I was made out to be a "bad mother" because my child was chubby whereas the truth was that I knew she was healthy (apart from the small issue that she was having tests for!) and had an active lifestyle. The nurses at the hospital made me feel like crap and that I wasn't looking after my daughter properly.0 -
I recently pointed out to an almost 60 year old overweight family member.... You really don't see any obese old people... I don't think it's because they all suddenly decided to lose weight.
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I'm sick of all the whining about school lunches in U.S. public schools. It is your responsibility to feed your kids, not the school's, not society's at large. If you don't like what the school offers, you have a crap ton of options, ranging from sending your kid to school with his own lunch all the way up to getting involved with the school board so you can play a role in determining what food the school brings in. The last thing we need is more levels of government stealing more money from taxpayers that can be further mismanaged by a bunch of institutions that are mostly just glorified daycare centers anyway.
I don't think some children HAVE this option. So many kids in my school district (where I work AND live, which is a rarity, I think I'm the only teacher that lives where I teach, most live on the 'better' part of town), depend on school lunches and breakfasts for their food. In fact, several schools keep their food programs open all during the summer so kids can go there and get something to eat. I know it is the parent's responsibility to take care of the kids, but other than taking these kids away from the families and finding families that want them (and it would be hard to find people who want them), what options do these kids have? I can't blame the kids, but I can advocate for them to get better food in their lunches and breakfasts. I can talk to them during lunch about eating healthy. I can share with them my healthy lunches when they see that I'm eating things like sugar snap peas ("what are those, Miss?") I can coach a sport and encourage physical fitness (which I do, I coach cheerleading). I am fitter than all of my girls and thinner than several. It is really sad to see kids who struggle so much. Every day I deal with kids that have sometimes zero adults in their out of school lives that have things 'together'. Kids don't have their school stuff (binder, computer, etc.) because they had to stay the night with a different parent or family member or they didn't sleep because they had to take care of their little brother or sister all night...so prevalent where I live... I've even seen parents keep their kids home from school to take care of smaller siblings because the parents have to work.
I think I'll get down from my soap box now! Sorry to rant so much...I just live right in the middle of it, so it is really in my thoughts.
For my own kids, I try to lead by example. They do eat healthier than many around them, but they get influenced a lot by other family members. In fact, I need to have a conversation with my mom about not constantly having treats around....and due to my somewhat low paying teaching job and the fact that my husband has an even worse job, we are in the very low middle class. I struggle with paying bills and getting healthy food for my family, but I keep trying! 0 -
Hi New Life - Since I'm one of the overweight, I appreciate your compassion. I guess I pray for us all, because the addictions behind eating are so intense. I was surprised to find out from a nutritionist that obesity often indicates malnutrition - eating the wrong thing, the body calls out for nurtients which is felt as hunger. I feel more hopeful knowing that if I eat JERF (Just Eat Real Food) that craving will go away. Hang in there - some areas of the country are fatter than others. Really, especially in the deep south.
What a beautiful and deep post and I am and will! I'm with you, and as one of the "unfortunate and unhealthy overweight--actually obese ones myself, it's shocking how many people will tell me "you're not THAT fat or you're not "THAT big" . It's SCARY...because my weight is not just affecting my physical appearance--but my stamina, my strength, my mental health as well--and not for the better, but for the worse. I LOVE what you said about the "additions hehind eating are so intense" I certainly can't and won't speak for ANYONE but myself--but for me, I was absolutely addicted to coffee, junk foods, sweets and an unhealthy mentally and physically lazy lifestyle. I say was, because for the past 23 days I've put myself on a (dare I say it...the "forbidden and seriously frowned upon word/lifestyle of a DIET) cutting out those foods and drinks that I've been absolutely HOOKED on (I'm doing this for the next 90 days) and wonders upon wonders, miracles of miracles...the "addictions" to these things are GONE...in just a we bit more than 3 weeks of saying NO to them consistently.
I've replaced those "addictions" with fresh organic (when possible) fruits and veggies and good stuff and walking outside a LOT (no matter the weather, because I want to do these things forever now) and I'm seeing tremendous results in just a bit more than 3 weeks...I've dropped almost 12 pounds, lots of inches (a LEAST a pant size--maybe 2 pant sizes), my energy is increased, I'm sleeping so much better. My husband says I'm not snoring anymore...lot's of GREAT things and I'm just 23 days into this. Lot's of people on here are saying obesity is a personal responsibility and I'm discovering more and more each day...IT IS!!! Lastly, I'm the only "fat" person in my entire family, Why? Because everyone else is super active and eats well, eats junk...but no where near what I was doing on a daily basis. My family is a big influence on me and for the first time in a long time, I'm finally being a better influence on them now too.0 -
It honestly surprises me even when I'm at the gym. At least half of the people there any given time are overweight. And about 80% are regulars. I've been going to the same gym for over a year and I've been seeing the same people everyday that are still overweight.0
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It honestly surprises me even when I'm at the gym. At least half of the people there any given time are overweight. And about 80% are regulars. I've been going to the same gym for over a year and I've been seeing the same people everyday that are still overweight.
That's really DEEP! When I read your post, the first thing that came to my mind was one of my new "mantras" of sorts:
"You can't out exercise a poor diet." I've always wondered about that and your post seems to provoke my thoughts on this "mantra" of mine even more!0 -
It honestly surprises me even when I'm at the gym. At least half of the people there any given time are overweight. And about 80% are regulars. I've been going to the same gym for over a year and I've been seeing the same people everyday that are still overweight.
That's really DEEP! When I read your post, the first thing that came to my mind was one of my new "mantras" of sorts:
"You can't out exercise a poor diet." I've always wondered about that and your post seems to provoke my thoughts on this "mantra" of mine even more!
you can't outrun your fork!!!
so true! i have worked out HARD for the past 10 months, and only lost 15lbs over all that time since i ate like crap. In the last 6 weeks, i've lost an additional 10lbs by eating clean 6.5 days of the week and allowing myself one cheat meal to keep me sane and honest. It's working!!0 -
It honestly surprises me even when I'm at the gym. At least half of the people there any given time are overweight. And about 80% are regulars. I've been going to the same gym for over a year and I've been seeing the same people everyday that are still overweight.
That's really DEEP! When I read your post, the first thing that came to my mind was one of my new "mantras" of sorts:
"You can't out exercise a poor diet." I've always wondered about that and your post seems to provoke my thoughts on this "mantra" of mine even more!
you can't outrun your fork!!!
so true! i have worked out HARD for the past 10 months, and only lost 15lbs over all that time since i ate like crap. In the last 6 weeks, i've lost an additional 10lbs by eating clean 6.5 days of the week and allowing myself one cheat meal to keep me sane and honest. It's working!!
Deep...I'm also going to add you're " you can't outrun your folk to my bio-computer too! I don't really like to label what I'm doing a "clean" eating either for some reason. I like to call it "smart, yummy and life sustaining eating "and drinking, rather than "clean-eating". Ya know, eating to live, rather than living to eat type of terminology--it inspires me calling it this more than "clean eating" for/to me.0
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