The Men who Made Us Fat

Originally the point is the food industry, targeting certain groups of people, including kids, with junk food products.

If these companies weren't there to advertise their junk, then people would be less aware of it, thus resulting in less consumption of foods that are essentially bad for us.

As for parents with kids. I'll use my own childhood to summarise this. I was never fat as a child, I used to eat what was cooked for me by my mum and my nan. Sunday we would get an ice cream from the ice cream van, I may have got a multi pack of Snickers or something, and eaten them throughout the week. I can't ever really recall adverts for McDonalds, Burger King and KFC. Now all there is on TV is adverts about food, and America and certain European countries have huge obesity problems. It's not coincidence and it's not parents faults, it's food industries that are pumping peoples minds with ideas.

Now, you can rattle on all you like, justify things to suit your own opinions all you like, these huge food industries don't spend money on advertising, for it to not work.

Your logic is flawed. You gained weight because of your own eating habits, not an advert on television.

I was fat, because I ate food. Plenty of people are fat who don't eat fast food, and only eat "healthy & clean".

OK, so adverts, that make people want to go out and buy junk food has nothing to do with people getting fat?

We are aware that physically, after watching said adverts, people need to put one foot in front of the other, plod to their car (or whatever) and go to the restaurant, and buy said food. We are aware of that. But you are also telling me that the adverts that put the idea in ones head about going to get the junk food have nothing to do with it?

I think sir, it is you who is flawed. Not just your logic, just you in general.

Adverts don't make me want to go out and buy "junk" food. There is no such thing as "Junk" food to me regardless, I eat everything and fit it into my macros and calories.

If you see an advert and you want to go buy that junk food, that;s you, not everyone. Yet you're calling me flawed and you're the one who obviously can't control your eating habits? I don't understand.

At what point did I say I cannot control my eating habits?

I say you're flawed, in general, so your response is about something I didn't even say?

Yeah, think I'll stick to my original analysis.

I said you obviously cant, it's an assumption because you're the one talking about how adverts make people eat. So you're telling me you speak for the entire world then do you?

Tell me why I'm flawed then, don't just say it.

We don't have an obesity epidemic because of adverts.

You know, I don't really want to divulge. I already made Trogalicious (whatever the name was) abandon the post after reporting me for hurting his feelings, I don't want to cause you to resort to running to moderators.

You said I can't control my eating habits. So, please point out to me where I said I cannot control my own eating habits. Don't deflect by asking me questions, answer my question first.

About you being flawed. That's my opinion. You try to claim that THE ONLY reason one becomes fat, is because one chooses to eat the wrong foods/too much food. You claim adverts have nothing to do with weight gain. I say that "No, Ritchie, you're wrong, adverts do indeed play a part in people wanting to eat the wrong kinds of foods, it influences people to make decisions about eating food that is generally unhealthy" to which you claim my logic is flawed.

If my logic is flawed, then prove it. Prove that these food industries and conglomerates have nothing to do with influencing people to eat the wrong kinds of foods. Prove that they spend millions on advertising for nothing. Prove that billboards, bus stops and adverts on television have no effect on people, then I will accept that my logic is flawed.

He's got a point. An ad for Ford bewitched me into switching from Chevy to Ford and my life has been a constant downward spiral since. If only I had been able to say no to that ad. Why oh why didn't someone invent an interconnected web of networks that would enable me to research and educate myself before I bought. I blame you multi-national conglomerates! You and your gun-to-my-head advertisements making all of my decisions for me. smh

Same thing happened to me!! Instead I bought a smart car and can barely fit in it!!!!!! ERRRRRRR!!!!!

I don't know about you, but there's only one person that made me fat...myself. There's only one person making me skinny too. It's pointless to blame the food industry for making you fat, that's like blaming spoons and forks for making you fat. The didn't force the food into your mouth, only one person decided what you eat...

Yes some of it does boil down to what we choose to put in our mouths, but knowing that they create food to be addictive, and that some people can't handle just having a little bit of certain things, to completely avoid it to break free from it.

Some of the replies, geez! Next time you wish to talk about a UK topic, you might be better off posting it in Team UK ;-)

There's a thread there already about the "spin off show", the men who made us thin.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1068631-the-men-who-made-us-thin-starts-bbc2-8-august

I was wondering if this strange, reflex, 'I made me fat!' reaction was an American phenomenon. I posted something I thought was equally innocuous quite recently and had people on mfp I normally totally respect pull it to pieces because I hinted that there might be external factors that affect our choices.

I watched the programmes, and I would like to point out the following:

1) It's looking at men who made potentially historically important decisions when it comes to how food is sold to us, thus the title. In the same way a general might make a decision in battle that changes the outcome of the war, in any aspect of life there may be these turning points.to me, these are fascinating.

2) Despite the first person plural title THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU. It is about the population as a whole and what they can be persuaded to buy into. My parents both believed the whole 'low fat' thing, so I grew up on margarine, skimmed milk, etc, while the research against sugar hit them far less. Neither of my parents, in their whole lives, have been anything more than slightly overweight, and they have always rectified that intelligently, but that doesn't mean they were immune to public health campaigns etc.

3) You can believe in personal choice and free will and still acknowledge that we live in an enviroronment that encourages obesity. It is the ease of availability of high calorie density food options, a shift in our perception of portion size and other man made factors that created such an environment. It is why, I often argue, calorie counting stands a better chance of success than intuitive eating in the vast majority of cases. The loaded gun analogy definitely fits for me here.

Glad to see this thread wasn't completely killed before I woke up :laugh:

How lovely for someone to speak some sense.

or alternatively, you can stop passively absorbing and consuming the food and the message and cast a critical eye over what it is you are actually being told, shown and sold and realise we as individuals make the choices that decide our health, life and future.

200 years ago food came with dirt and blood on it. You only have to look at an average supermarket shelf to see something isn't as it should be. Can you still buy food with dirt and blood on it? Yes, so therefore the choice is mine.

Did those men's decisions make me overweight? No, my decisions did, and it is the same for every single overweight person out there whether they choose to accept that or not.

So mcdonalds is sold on every trading estate, retail park and town centre, I am capable, should I choose, to abstain from shovelling processed crap down my throat despite being out of the house for 4 hours. Whether i want to, is something else entirely.


As i said earlier, I am not in the mindframe that apportioning blame (onto individuals with issues, whatever they may be) per se is effective, productive or helpful, but until and unless i am physically forced to take in the foods and the quantities of foods that will make me unhealthy and overweight, then it is all on me. Infact, I am pretty anti blaming and shaming people, but the recognition that we have the choice and the control and the power, for me, necessarily means you can't place responsibility anywhere else. That doesn't mean we shouldn't sympathise, empathise, encourage, enthuse, educate and help people though.

I know one thing worth focusing on, no one will take the excess weight off your body, aside from yourself. So for me, the sooner we come to terms with that, the sooner we will take control.

Obviously everyone is different and we all put on weight for a multitude of reasons, for me, I have battled depression for years and quite often gave up on myself, didn't care for myself and semi consciously proceeded down a road of self destruction. Of course, others will have different reasons for being where they are physically, but until they come to terms with the fact that temptation exists and they have to navigate their way around this world in a way that helps them achieve their goals themselves, then we will be waiting a long time if we are looking for the world to change for us.

I think all of you people that are saying you made yourself fat are missing the point. this is not about shirking personal responsibility. This is about explaining why the default food choices, the cheaper food choices, and the most pervasive food choices, are all very fattening and bad for your health. This is good information to have. I can't tell you how many people I have been telling this stuff to for several years and they look at me like I am some strange alien because they don't have a clue as to why they are not able to stay slim despite eating very little food. They don't realize the effects of the default food choices.

wouldn't it be nice to be able to get better choices at the same price as you can get a value meal? or a 99 cent hamburger? on almost every corner.

I have to hunt to find a nice salad place every day and i end up paying at least 9 dollars every day for lunch alone. And its grilled chicken everywhere. If you want a nice salmon salad its 18 dollars in NYC. If i want some crap like pizza its a 1.50 for all that processed flour, cheese and tomatoes.

Ben&Jerry? Seriously though, no one can make you fat (unless you are hooked up to a force feeder against your will). If you are still looking at anyone other than you for reason why you are fat then you have already failed. The day you stop looking for someone else to blame and get off your rear and make the changes you have to make will be the day you start to lose the weight. Until then you are just wasting your time reading these forums and pretending to count calories.

I think all of you people that are saying you made yourself fat are missing the point. this is not about shirking personal responsibility. This is about explaining why the default food choices, the cheaper food choices, and the most pervasive food choices, are all very fattening and bad for your health. This is good information to have. I can't tell you how many people I have been telling this stuff to for several years and they look at me like I am some strange alien because they don't have a clue as to why they are not able to stay slim despite eating very little food. They don't realize the effects of the default food choices.

wouldn't it be nice to be able to get better choices at the same price as you can get a value meal? or a 99 cent hamburger? on almost every corner.

I have to hunt to find a nice salad place every day and i end up paying at least 9 dollars every day for lunch alone. And its grilled chicken everywhere. If you want a nice salmon salad its 18 dollars in NYC. If i want some crap like pizza its a 1.50 for all that processed flour, cheese and tomatoes.

Oh waaaaa! Poor baby! If you don't like the food choices in NYC is anyone strapping you down in that city? If you don't want to pay $9 for a lunch salad, why not pack one you make yourself? When people stop buying the cheap stuff the companies will stop making it and the price of the salads will go down. The issue isn't the company it is the lazy customer that buys the product. I am so tired of people blaming the government, the city, the corporations, their parents, the economy, the police, the media, and even the neighbor's dog for the choices they make in life. You control you - period. No buts, no ands, no excuses, you are the only person running your life and if you want better you can go get it.

I'll admit that I had the same visceral reaction most of the other Americans had on here. I did this to me, not Anheuser-Busch who made the Bud Lights I drank. I chose to drink too many of them.

But that said, they do show every commercial with skinny, beautiful people consuming their product. Their product is shown as attractive to women. And it is labeled as a light beer. All of this is a bit misleading (even if I should know better), if they showed normal, American sized people partying and drinking the product, I'd probably have been less affected by their marketing.

When you walk past (because you aren't going in) a McDonald's or any other fast food place, look at the customer mix. It is pretty easy to see that the average customer is obese, some even worse so. They have the formula down for selling more and it works like a charm. I've educated myself, and as a result, I very, very rarely eat at a fast food place. And when I do, I know exactly what I'm eating and why. Most of the customers there just know it is cheap, convenient and it appears to meat the USDA food pyramid (and the kids think it's a great treat).

There will always be victims. The point is to not be one. But don't look to the government or the companies themselves to "wake up and save us." You can ask the CEO of McDonald's how often he eats at his own stores. He will say he does, and before he stops talking, you will hear the word "moderation."

Some of the replies, geez! Next time you wish to talk about a UK topic, you might be better off posting it in Team UK ;-)

There's a thread there already about the "spin off show", the men who made us thin.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1068631-the-men-who-made-us-thin-starts-bbc2-8-august

I was wondering if this strange, reflex, 'I made me fat!' reaction was an American phenomenon. I posted something I thought was equally innocuous quite recently and had people on mfp I normally totally respect pull it to pieces because I hinted that there might be external factors that affect our choices.

I watched the programmes, and I would like to point out the following:

1) It's looking at men who made potentially historically important decisions when it comes to how food is sold to us, thus the title. In the same way a general might make a decision in battle that changes the outcome of the war, in any aspect of life there may be these turning points.to me, these are fascinating.

2) Despite the first person plural title THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU. It is about the population as a whole and what they can be persuaded to buy into. My parents both believed the whole 'low fat' thing, so I grew up on margarine, skimmed milk, etc, while the research against sugar hit them far less. Neither of my parents, in their whole lives, have been anything more than slightly overweight, and they have always rectified that intelligently, but that doesn't mean they were immune to public health campaigns etc.

3) You can believe in personal choice and free will and still acknowledge that we live in an enviroronment that encourages obesity. It is the ease of availability of high calorie density food options, a shift in our perception of portion size and other man made factors that created such an environment. It is why, I often argue, calorie counting stands a better chance of success than intuitive eating in the vast majority of cases. The loaded gun analogy definitely fits for me here.

Glad to see this thread wasn't completely killed before I woke up :laugh:

Good job. Nice to see that someone can present a topic for discussion and supporting points with logic and humor even in the face of knee-jerk reactions and abruptness. So many reacted without the benefit of reading what the documentary (or the post, for that matter) was about....and, while I agree that we are responsible for our own choices, that does not negate the fact that faulty information and inferior food are presented in a disguised fashion, making the options less clear than they should be. I find it an interesting topic and would like to see the show to make up my own mind about it. Thanks for sharing.

I think all of you people that are saying you made yourself fat are missing the point. this is not about shirking personal responsibility. This is about explaining why the default food choices, the cheaper food choices, and the most pervasive food choices, are all very fattening and bad for your health. This is good information to have. I can't tell you how many people I have been telling this stuff to for several years and they look at me like I am some strange alien because they don't have a clue as to why they are not able to stay slim despite eating very little food. They don't realize the effects of the default food choices.

wouldn't it be nice to be able to get better choices at the same price as you can get a value meal? or a 99 cent hamburger? on almost every corner.

I have to hunt to find a nice salad place every day and i end up paying at least 9 dollars every day for lunch alone. And its grilled chicken everywhere. If you want a nice salmon salad its 18 dollars in NYC. If i want some crap like pizza its a 1.50 for all that processed flour, cheese and tomatoes.

Oh waaaaa! Poor baby! If you don't like the food choices in NYC is anyone strapping you down in that city? If you don't want to pay $9 for a lunch salad, why not pack one you make yourself? When people stop buying the cheap stuff the companies will stop making it and the price of the salads will go down. The issue isn't the company it is the lazy customer that buys the product. I am so tired of people blaming the government, the city, the corporations, their parents, the economy, the police, the media, and even the neighbor's dog for the choices they make in life. You control you - period. No buts, no ands, no excuses, you are the only person running your life and if you want better you can go get it.

again, you are missing the point. but its ok. that is to be expected from some people. this is not about packing your food or not packing it. People have dioifferent lifestyles and not everyone can pack a nice lunch every day. there is more than one way to live your life. Everyone doesn't have to do it your way. That being said, the question still remains as to the default choices of food being very bad for you. You can live in a bubble if you want and ignore it, but some people choose to acknowleddge that it is there and make an informed choice, be it sopepend more money for lunch or bag it.

I've never actually been overweight, just kinda out of shape. So who gets credit for that? I want all the credit and I'll take any blame, too, because it means I have control of my own destiny. It's a great feeling. I wish everyone luck in finding their own sense of control. :flowerforyou:

Some of the replies, geez! Next time you wish to talk about a UK topic, you might be better off posting it in Team UK ;-)

There's a thread there already about the "spin off show", the men who made us thin.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1068631-the-men-who-made-us-thin-starts-bbc2-8-august

I was wondering if this strange, reflex, 'I made me fat!' reaction was an American phenomenon. I posted something I thought was equally innocuous quite recently and had people on mfp I normally totally respect pull it to pieces because I hinted that there might be external factors that affect our choices.

I watched the programmes, and I would like to point out the following:

1) It's looking at men who made potentially historically important decisions when it comes to how food is sold to us, thus the title. In the same way a general might make a decision in battle that changes the outcome of the war, in any aspect of life there may be these turning points.to me, these are fascinating.

2) Despite the first person plural title THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU. It is about the population as a whole and what they can be persuaded to buy into. My parents both believed the whole 'low fat' thing, so I grew up on margarine, skimmed milk, etc, while the research against sugar hit them far less. Neither of my parents, in their whole lives, have been anything more than slightly overweight, and they have always rectified that intelligently, but that doesn't mean they were immune to public health campaigns etc.

3) You can believe in personal choice and free will and still acknowledge that we live in an enviroronment that encourages obesity. It is the ease of availability of high calorie density food options, a shift in our perception of portion size and other man made factors that created such an environment. It is why, I often argue, calorie counting stands a better chance of success than intuitive eating in the vast majority of cases. The loaded gun analogy definitely fits for me here.

Glad to see this thread wasn't completely killed before I woke up :laugh:

yep,. I agree. its about being informed not blame. Once you are informed you can make better choices. My parent bought into the low fat thing too, as did millions of Americans. I t is good to be uniformed and not wish one thing and then come to find that your uninformed choices (uninformed to to a plethora of misinformation) are working against you.

I had to slowly learn about this stuff and slowly decipher the through the maze of misinformation out there to achieve my goal. It was not easy. I see many people struggling the same way and giving up because they try and try and can't lose weight because they are misinformed.