This is why America is so fat!

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laurasimmons
laurasimmons Posts: 578 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I couldn't believe it when I read that only 5% of us get vigorous exercise daily. That is a horribly low amount! Here is the article:

http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=114175&catid=28
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Replies

  • bjerkins
    bjerkins Posts: 107 Member
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    So glad I'm now in the 5%. Thanks for sharing.
  • AnaNotBanana
    AnaNotBanana Posts: 963 Member
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    This is definitely eye opening! And I'm with bjerkins, I'm glad to say that in the last two months I've moved into that 5%.
  • TheKitsune6
    TheKitsune6 Posts: 5,798 Member
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    I would argue alternative causality.
  • amg_89
    amg_89 Posts: 184
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    It is very sad. And they even considered pretty much any activity that is purely for exercise (that is, not chores and things) vigorous. And we all know it's not due to lack of time. There are people who are literally busy all day long and they find time to exercise. Americans spend hours upon hours in front of the tv. At least through in a workout dvd if you feel the need to stare at a moving picture box all night! At least there are articles out there to try and educate us. We just need to take action now.
  • merimeaux
    merimeaux Posts: 304 Member
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    I couldn't believe it when I read that only 5% of us get vigorous exercise daily. That is a horribly low amount! Here is the article:

    http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=114175&catid=28

    Well, that's one reason why America is so fat, but so is this:

    http://www.thisiswhyyourehuge.com
  • azlady7
    azlady7 Posts: 471 Member
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    I have happily joined the 5% in the last 5 months!!
  • azlady7
    azlady7 Posts: 471 Member
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    I couldn't believe it when I read that only 5% of us get vigorous exercise daily. That is a horribly low amount! Here is the article:

    http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=114175&catid=28

    Well, that's one reason why America is so fat, but so is this:

    http://www.thisiswhyyourehuge.com

    those food pics were enough to make want to puke lol
  • PaisleyLotus
    PaisleyLotus Posts: 60 Member
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    Tell me about it! Plus, unhealthy CONVENIENT foods are soooo readily and easily available to us! It's no wonder, when I leave this country, that I lose weight!
  • LoriT129
    LoriT129 Posts: 312 Member
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    I argue that it isn't America but the individual. The same applies to anyone in any other country on this Earth. We as individuals choose to either exercise or not and you can choose to eat healthy foods or not. I don't like blaming my current situation on anyone or anything but me. If I didn't have the information that I need to make me healthy, that is one thing, but I do and so does everyone else. Just like my doc told me the last time I was there: "If you don't own the condition you are in, it owns you." And uhm...nothing and no one owns me! :)
  • TropicalKitty
    TropicalKitty Posts: 2,298 Member
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    And this is why America is so ignorant. Too many people take studies beyond what they say!

    This study wasn't merely set up to look at sportly activity - it was a Time Use Survey and if you look at the design of the survey they are more concerned about work, childcare and other things than how active in a gym (or whatever activity) a person is. They ask only about the day prior to the call. Also, it's intriguing to see that the coding of the questions posed by the callers has NO CODE for athletic activity pre-set into the system.

    Look into the studies before you jump to conclusions. They mention nothing about people's weight or BMI, either.

    *off soapbox*

    With that said, yes, we Americans do need to have more physical activity put into our lives, but that isn't the only factor. The majority of our body composition comes from what we put INTO our bodies. There's a lot that our culture needs to change.
  • Melora
    Melora Posts: 65 Member
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    I argue that it isn't America but the individual. The same applies to anyone in any other country on this Earth. We as individuals choose to either exercise or not and you can choose to eat healthy foods or not. I don't like blaming my current situation on anyone or anything but me. If I didn't have the information that I need to make me healthy, that is one thing, but I do and so does everyone else. Just like my doc told me the last time I was there: "If you don't own the condition you are in, it owns you." And uhm...nothing and no one owns me! :)

    AMEN!!! it really bugs me when people blame McDonald's (or whomever) because they are overweight and eat unhealthy. Do not go to McDonald's. McDonald's use to be a treat and we ate the fries!! Makes me upset that they had to add apples to a happy meal. Why should they? People should be able to take care of themselves and not rely on someone else to decide for them.
  • sgp329
    sgp329 Posts: 184
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    I am so tickled to have been in that 5% for the last few months. Life really is better and so much more fun!
  • sjaudio
    sjaudio Posts: 52
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    There are a lot of cultural problems/trends that will take a long time to overcome if we (as a country) want to change the downward slide of health that we are all on. How many of us grew up being told that we had to clean our plates? "There are starving children in Africa, finish your dinner". There are starving children in Africa (and the rest of the world), but that doesn't mean that we should overeat to make up for it. I'm sure that everyone here has been disheartened when trying to find a quick and healthy meal while being out and about. How many calories are in a typical lunch from McDonalds? Yet tons of Americans eat there everyday. We rush out of the door in the morning only drinking a coffee, yet eat a huge meal right before we go to bed at night (when out metabolism slows down). We look at food as porn (the Food network) and celebrate gluttony (Man vs. Food, eating contests...) all the while we stuff our faces with "food" that is nothing more than reprocessed corn. Have you looked at food labels and see how many things contain high fructose corn syrup? Just walk down the cereal isle in your local grocery store....this is what we are feeding our children.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    So glad I'm now in the 5%. Thanks for sharing.

    Ditto!
  • LoriT129
    LoriT129 Posts: 312 Member
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    There are a lot of cultural problems/trends that will take a long time to overcome if we (as a country) want to change the downward slide of health that we are all on. How many of us grew up being told that we had to clean our plates? "There are starving children in Africa, finish your dinner". There are starving children in Africa (and the rest of the world), but that doesn't mean that we should overeat to make up for it. I'm sure that everyone here has been disheartened when trying to find a quick and healthy meal while being out and about. How many calories are in a typical lunch from McDonalds? Yet tons of Americans eat there everyday. We rush out of the door in the morning only drinking a coffee, yet eat a huge meal right before we go to bed at night (when out metabolism slows down). We look at food as porn (the Food network) and celebrate gluttony (Man vs. Food, eating contests...) all the while we stuff our faces with "food" that is nothing more than reprocessed corn. Have you looked at food labels and see how many things contain high fructose corn syrup? Just walk down the cereal isle in your local grocery store....this is what we are feeding our children.

    Sure there are cultural issues involved with food. I am from the south...we like our chicken fried real crispy and not in Canola oil but in LARD. Those of Italian descent like loads and loads of pasta. But how many of us KNOW that it isn't good for us? I was informed of the starving children in Africa when I was a young child but do I use that as an excuse to eat another plate of food? Nope...not anymore. The point I am trying to make is that no one has anyone to blame but themselves. I could blame my mom and dad for raising me on high fat foods and carbs, but I don't. I could blame McD for not baking their nuggets, but I don't. I could blame the processed food that fills our grocery shelves, but I don't. The blame game is a losing game. It all starts with ourselves and what we choose for ourselves and what we choose to feed our families.
  • sjaudio
    sjaudio Posts: 52
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    I think you are missing the intent of my message. While everyone is responsible for their own bodies, we have a culture that praises and pushes things upon us, that are bad for us (who as a child didn't want to go to McDonalds to get a happy meal with a toy?). The starving child comment was more to illustrate that habits formed as little children (as well as phobias, hangups, etc...) are hard to break. It's not as if the media shies away from telling us from informing us as to which foods are bad for us. Heck, many local and state governments are doing their best to outright banning certain foods (look at NYC). And yet, the country continues to get heavier. I'm certainly not assigning blame. I'm just making an observation about the situation.

    Not everyone has the same access to quality food and quality education about what they eat. It may be easier to just point a finger and say, "you're fat and it's all your own fault", but I'd rather put my energy into helping the situation.
  • Red13
    Red13 Posts: 287 Member
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    I think you are missing the intent of my message. While everyone is responsible for their own bodies, we have a culture that praises and pushes things upon us, that are bad for us (who as a child didn't want to go to McDonalds to get a happy meal with a toy?). The starving child comment was more to illustrate that habits formed as little children (as well as phobias, hangups, etc...) are hard to break. It's not as if the media shies away from telling us from informing us as to which foods are bad for us. Heck, many local and state governments are doing their best to outright banning certain foods (look at NYC). And yet, the country continues to get heavier. I'm certainly not assigning blame. I'm just making an observation about the situation.

    Not everyone has the same access to quality food and quality education about what they eat. It may be easier to just point a finger and say, "you're fat and it's all your own fault", but I'd rather put my energy into helping the situation.

    Your statement "Not everyone has the same access to quality food and quality education about what they eat" is the key point. Why would someone who struggles financially not want to order from the dollar menu and get a complete meal? Why wouldn't a processed box of noodles and chemicals with some sort of vegetable be healthy? And really, a lot of people don't care where their food comes from as long as it tastes good and is cheap. This is such a problem because the big industries don't care what they put in it either, as long as people are buying. We all need to remember, what you buy is like voting. The more organics and natural fresh foods you buy, the more we can sway the country to be healthy.
  • LoriT129
    LoriT129 Posts: 312 Member
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    I think you are missing the intent of my message. While everyone is responsible for their own bodies, we have a culture that praises and pushes things upon us, that are bad for us (who as a child didn't want to go to McDonalds to get a happy meal with a toy?). The starving child comment was more to illustrate that habits formed as little children (as well as phobias, hangups, etc...) are hard to break. It's not as if the media shies away from telling us from informing us as to which foods are bad for us. Heck, many local and state governments are doing their best to outright banning certain foods (look at NYC). And yet, the country continues to get heavier. I'm certainly not assigning blame. I'm just making an observation about the situation.

    Not everyone has the same access to quality food and quality education about what they eat. It may be easier to just point a finger and say, "you're fat and it's all your own fault", but I'd rather put my energy into helping the situation.

    I'll concede on one point. It shouldn't be more expensive to eat healthy than it is to eat badly BUT there are ways to do it. Rather than allowing the influence of big business and government tell you what you should and shouldn't eat, don't you think that part of changing those attitudes is first making the right choices for yourself and then implementing it within your family and then sharing it with your neighbor? It all begins with ourselves and the changes we make. I'm not going to blame McD that their Big Mac has a bazillion calories and then order it. I will appreciate the fact that they have grilled chicken go wraps and fruit. And I agree with the post above, if we stop buying all that fat laden crap then they will start offering a better option. But am I going to blame the government and big business for making me fat, nope, they didn't do it, I did. I had a choice and I made the wrong one. I had a choice of exercising or not and I didn't. I'm not going to blame anyone for those mistakes but myself. Now that I make better choices, I am teaching my children to do the same thing and I am sharing healthy recipes with others and I am sharing this site. You can blame McD if you want to but really, how is that helping others get healthier?
  • amg_89
    amg_89 Posts: 184
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    Watch Food, Inc. and you will see that big business and government has a lot more influence on our eating habits than we realize. I'm not pushing the blame on anyone else but us, for we have chosen to eat poorly. However, big business has a lot of influence on government and vice versa. And obviously big business+government= twice as much influence on the average American. It's pathetic. And it's all greed. Just watch it.
  • Scorpiomom222
    Scorpiomom222 Posts: 1,462 Member
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    I'm wondering if this website is making that statistic go up?

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