America is doomed

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Replies

  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    God bless America! I love that we have "double pepperoni and bacon" pizza. What bothers me is that people in poor neighborhoods often don't have access to healthy, whole foods. What disturbs me is that high fat, high sodium, high sugar foods are marketed to the masses, who have been systematically dumbed down by institutions that are owned by heartless corporations. If you don't like what I'm sharing, be grateful that we live in America, where we have freedom of speech. If you understand what I'm saying and agree, feel free to friend me:)

    This doesn't sound like paranoia or zealotry at all.

    tin_foil_hat_answer_2_xlarge.jpeg

    Omfg this picture is hilarious.
  • estaticaa
    estaticaa Posts: 67 Member
    I hope I am not misinterpreted for what I'm about to say, but I have to agree with the OP when he says that food chain restaurants are creating bigger portions each day and I think that in itself makes it harder for people to estimate accurately the amount of food they need to sustain themselves without gaining weight.

    Yes, people need to take full responsibility for what they eat and shifting the blame to the big companies doesn't really fix anything. The problem is, we are wired to eat what's in front of us and underestimate how much we really eat, so if we live in an area where one normal serving can actually contain enough calories to sustain one adult for 2 days, how many of us is well informed to see that? How many of us would choose to eat just half of it and not eat anything else the rest of the day?

    I have only been the the US once and was appalled at the gigantic servings in fast food restaurants. I mean, do companies think that US people hungrier and thirstier than people in my country? Because they certainly serve smaller portions and the mega portions are nowhere to be seen here. I can attest that.

    So is it possible to be healthy and eat what's right for you in the US? Absolutely. But in my opinion, it's got to be a lot harder to eat the right amounts of food when the servings are so disproportionate with people's actual requirements to sustain a healthy diet. I hope this made sense.
  • pamperedhen
    pamperedhen Posts: 446 Member
    Someone smell lawsuit??? #theamericanway :laugh:
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    There shouldn't be confusion over why so many Americans are overweight when a popular pizza chain advertises on the radio a new "double pepperoni and bacon" pizza. I'm sure most people who eat something like that don't know or care how much fat and calories they are getting. The restaurant would say they are just giving people what they want.
    So the solution is what, go back to struggling for food? Or maybe having food that is so nasty nobody wants to overeat it?
  • kikityme
    kikityme Posts: 472 Member
    When I lived in Ottawa the best bar food was at this little pizza place.

    It was a giant *kitten* slice of pepperoni pizza absolutely smothered in chicken gravy. (Think KFC gravy, but homemade.)

    I am not proud of those Elgin Street Friday nights.
  • BettyBombshell6
    BettyBombshell6 Posts: 17 Member
    What's poutine? I thought Canada had beer, maple syrup, cheese (IDK why), and hockey.

    POUTINE IS AMAZING. It's cheese curds, gravy, and fries. We make our own every so often. I've even made poutine gnocchi (using gnocchi instead of fries) with homemade gravy. Definitely one of my favorite indulgent meals. SO filling, though!
  • thesupremeforce
    thesupremeforce Posts: 1,206 Member
    I skipped the double pepperoni and bacon on my pizza. Instead, I went the "much healthier" route of bacon and Italian sausage.
  • Slacker16
    Slacker16 Posts: 1,184 Member
    <--- Not a big fan of pepperoni on pizza.
    Let me know when they introduce triple bacon pizza. That I would get excited about.
    The arguments seem to be mounting in favour of moving to Canada. They even have a sophisticated-sounding name for that mess of grease and gunk (tasty, tasty grease and gunk...)
    Maybe it's because I lived in Quebec for a long time, but the notion that anything about poutine could be considered sophisticated (or mock-sophisticated) made me lol.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    This thread really makes me wanna order pizza now, lol
  • PennyVonDread
    PennyVonDread Posts: 432 Member
    I hope I am not misinterpreted for what I'm about to say, but I have to agree with the OP when he says that food chain restaurants are creating bigger portions each day and I think that in itself makes it harder for people to estimate accurately the amount of food they need to sustain themselves without gaining weight.

    Yes, people need to take full responsibility for what they eat and shifting the blame to the big companies doesn't really fix anything. The problem is, we are wired to eat what's in front of us and underestimate how much we really eat, so if we live in an area where one normal serving can actually contain enough calories to sustain one adult for 2 days, how many of us is well informed to see that? How many of us would choose to eat just half of it and not eat anything else the rest of the day?

    I have only been the the US once and was appalled at the gigantic servings in fast food restaurants. I mean, do companies think that US people hungrier and thirstier than people in my country? Because they certainly serve smaller portions and the mega portions are nowhere to be seen here. I can attest that.

    So is it possible to be healthy and eat what's right for you in the US? Absolutely. But in my opinion, it's got to be a lot harder to eat the right amounts of food when the servings are so disproportionate with people's actual requirements to sustain a healthy diet. I hope this made sense.

    FFS.

    Weight is not an accurate indactor of health. Health is a moving target. Health is an individual template, not a set standard for everybody. There's no way it can be the latter.

    You can be "overweight" and still be pretty healthy.

    People all have different dietary needs. The amounts of salt and cholestrol I can consume with my autosomal recessive disorder are healthy for me, and the sodium especially to keep my heart beating. But someone with hypertension may not ever be able to see such foods as healthy for them.

    We're not obligated to keep our weight a certain number, or be healthy, nor is anyone obligated to subscribe to healthist elitism and judge others for not eating what we deem to be "right." Stop associating morality with food. Weight shouldn't be so political- it's personal. That's all. If they want cake, or pizza, or big portions, or whatever, it's not up to governments or companies to police. Why would the government or companies regulate food portion sizes any more than they do alcohol? People can be addicted to either, it's a personal problem, and companies just sell for profits.

    As far as I'm concerned, 1 in 3 adults being obese isn't some pseudo epidemic- that's just a number. There is no in-depth analysis of health and weight accurately posted anywhere at this time. How many of those 1 in 3 obese are actually sick or currently suffering complications? Being "at higher risk" =/= currently "unhealthy" as a default diagnoses. I've also know many of those 1 in 3 BMI below 25 (AKA "healthy) population who -are- actually sick, with cancer, with diabetes, or like me with a hereditary disorder that has squat to do with my weight.

    All I'm saying is weight is just a number. Stop policing people under the guise of "health concern" it's actually pretty degrading when you face the numbers. "Fat is bad" is not a thorough argument in favor of sizism.
  • them_and_me
    them_and_me Posts: 60 Member
    Poutine.jpg

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTHBfa7U1qpRYo-MdT01u_s6HQTWY3IFhRWstbazsiePVVJzPLy6Q
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    Ouch, I apologize for unthinkingly saying the wrong thing to tick off so many people. All I meant to say is that the restaurant business keeps coming up with new ways to increase fat and calories in readily available food. I think the American food landscape makes it hard to eat right, it takes effort to research better choices. Of course it's not my business what the guy down the street eats. I just feel concerned about our calorie-rich eating culture.

    Honestly...this really just shows that you still have a lot to learn. You can have any pizza you want when losing weight. I have pizza almost weekly and have lost weight. The American food landscape doesn't make it hard to eat "right". You go to McDonald's and you can get a side salad with your burger instead of fries and get this....most locations will do the swap without charging extra *GASP* (at least at the McDonald's I go to does)...same thing with the pizza places, and all the "calorie-rich" eating there is. It is the person's choice to get the large fries instead of small or to eat the entire pizza instead of one or two slices (which honestly, a slice of hand-tossed medium supreme pizza from Dominos is only like 300 calories so really even someone eating oly 1200 could fit that in).
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    I just had bacon, pepperoni, and sausage pizza yesterday. Yum! 2 slices and I still hit my macros. :smokin:
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    If I want to eat something really indulgent, I can workout a little harder and do it. Health is relative to function. Even if I eat the whole pizza, one pizza isn't going to un-do my function in one day. Also consider:

    No one is obligated to be healthy.

    No one is obligated to be skinny.

    No one cares if you don't approve.

    It's not just "America," we're not even the worst per capita, we just have more "obese" people because we're a huge country.

    Obesity rates have been pretty leveled out with the American population for a while now, and in the years where the rates seem to have drastically risen were due to changes in how obesity is diagnosed, particularly in children obesity rates.

    Being fat isn't the worst thing you can be. There are plenty of hard-working fat people who enjoy life being able to eat whatever they want and who don't enjoy exercising. That's okay.

    Correlation is not causation, and not everyone who is fat will experience diseases that show correlation with higher weights. And even if they are diabetic and unhealthy, they are still human beings worthy of treatment for managing illnesses and aren't obligated to ever get healthy or lose weight if they don't want to put in the work to do that.

    No one else's habits or diet or anything are really any of your business if they didn't ask you for commentary on their life choices. If you wouldn't approve of people judging you for your sexuality, your race, your nationality, your hair color, or any other trivializing comments to pick apart your identity, then you shouldn't be doing this to other people and their diets/weights.
    I like the way you think, PennyVonDread!
  • CouleeRunner
    CouleeRunner Posts: 256 Member
    We have to avoid Canada because of that damn poutine! Doomed! Doomed, I say!

    I had poutine pizza last month. True story.
    And to the OP, I'm not even obese lol.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I would totally eat that pizza. And wash it down with a beer or two. And fit it into my goals for the day. :drinker:
  • allaboutthecake
    allaboutthecake Posts: 1,535 Member
    This from someone who ate fast food 6 out of 7 days last week.:flowerforyou:
  • cychogal
    cychogal Posts: 39 Member
    i had bacon cheeseburger pizza last night. And leftover pizza for lunch today. It fit in to my calorie limits. Not that I've had heaps of success with this weight loss business, but I truly believe we cannot blame any type of food, or restaurant for our problems. I made the choice to eat the pizza. I'm not going to blame Casey's for selling it.
  • Sinisterly
    Sinisterly Posts: 10,913 Member
    FYI: America isn't the #1 fattest anymore :3

    Thought you should know.
  • estaticaa
    estaticaa Posts: 67 Member
    I hope I am not misinterpreted for what I'm about to say, but I have to agree with the OP when he says that food chain restaurants are creating bigger portions each day and I think that in itself makes it harder for people to estimate accurately the amount of food they need to sustain themselves without gaining weight.

    Yes, people need to take full responsibility for what they eat and shifting the blame to the big companies doesn't really fix anything. The problem is, we are wired to eat what's in front of us and underestimate how much we really eat, so if we live in an area where one normal serving can actually contain enough calories to sustain one adult for 2 days, how many of us is well informed to see that? How many of us would choose to eat just half of it and not eat anything else the rest of the day?

    I have only been the the US once and was appalled at the gigantic servings in fast food restaurants. I mean, do companies think that US people hungrier and thirstier than people in my country? Because they certainly serve smaller portions and the mega portions are nowhere to be seen here. I can attest that.

    So is it possible to be healthy and eat what's right for you in the US? Absolutely. But in my opinion, it's got to be a lot harder to eat the right amounts of food when the servings are so disproportionate with people's actual requirements to sustain a healthy diet. I hope this made sense.

    FFS.

    Weight is not an accurate indactor of health. Health is a moving target. Health is an individual template, not a set standard for everybody. There's no way it can be the latter.

    You can be "overweight" and still be pretty healthy.

    People all have different dietary needs. The amounts of salt and cholestrol I can consume with my autosomal recessive disorder are healthy for me, and the sodium especially to keep my heart beating. But someone with hypertension may not ever be able to see such foods as healthy for them.

    We're not obligated to keep our weight a certain number, or be healthy, nor is anyone obligated to subscribe to healthist elitism and judge others for not eating what we deem to be "right." Stop associating morality with food. Weight shouldn't be so political- it's personal. That's all. If they want cake, or pizza, or big portions, or whatever, it's not up to governments or companies to police. Why would the government or companies regulate food portion sizes any more than they do alcohol? People can be addicted to either, it's a personal problem, and companies just sell for profits.

    As far as I'm concerned, 1 in 3 adults being obese isn't some pseudo epidemic- that's just a number. There is no in-depth analysis of health and weight accurately posted anywhere at this time. How many of those 1 in 3 obese are actually sick or currently suffering complications? Being "at higher risk" =/= currently "unhealthy" as a default diagnoses. I've also know many of those 1 in 3 BMI below 25 (AKA "healthy) population who -are- actually sick, with cancer, with diabetes, or like me with a hereditary disorder that has squat to do with my weight.

    All I'm saying is weight is just a number. Stop policing people under the guise of "health concern" it's actually pretty degrading when you face the numbers. "Fat is bad" is not a thorough argument in favor of sizism.
    Look, I'm not trying to antagonize anyone here. Nor am I saying that weight equals health or that fat is bad. I love fat, I eat all sorts every day. And, contrary to what you may have interpreted from my post, I only know what's good for me and for me alone.

    I don't consider the fact that big companies have increased servings in the US over the years is irrelevant. When McDonald’s first opened, a soda was 7 ounces. Today, the child size is 12 ounces, a small is 16 ounces, and the large 32 ounces. (I googled this bit) I don't know how much of this has impacted people's eating habits, but I do know that if I had to deal with those larger than life servings every day, it would be harder for me to make the right choices for my body. That is all. Not trying to police anyone as you implied. I'm just saying that I would have a harder time if I was constantly faced with those mega portions and I imagine others like me would feel this way too. English is not my native language so forgive me any mistakes.
  • jim180155
    jim180155 Posts: 769 Member
    I hope I am not misinterpreted for what I'm about to say, but I have to agree with the OP when he says that food chain restaurants are creating bigger portions each day and I think that in itself makes it harder for people to estimate accurately the amount of food they need to sustain themselves without gaining weight.

    Yes, people need to take full responsibility for what they eat and shifting the blame to the big companies doesn't really fix anything. The problem is, we are wired to eat what's in front of us and underestimate how much we really eat, so if we live in an area where one normal serving can actually contain enough calories to sustain one adult for 2 days, how many of us is well informed to see that? How many of us would choose to eat just half of it and not eat anything else the rest of the day?

    I have only been the the US once and was appalled at the gigantic servings in fast food restaurants. I mean, do companies think that US people hungrier and thirstier than people in my country? Because they certainly serve smaller portions and the mega portions are nowhere to be seen here. I can attest that.

    So is it possible to be healthy and eat what's right for you in the US? Absolutely. But in my opinion, it's got to be a lot harder to eat the right amounts of food when the servings are so disproportionate with people's actual requirements to sustain a healthy diet. I hope this made sense.

    You made perfect sense, and I agree, the food industry and restaurants make it difficult to judge reasonable portion sizes. Before I started tracking my food late last year, I didn't really know how many calories I was eating, and had only the vaguest idea of my macro content. The information is available to those who seek it and then make it part of their daily lifestyle, but those people, like us on MFP, are a small minority.

    Like someone said a page or two ago, companies try to provide what will sell. Companies don't care if their products are healthy, they care only about selling what people can be tempted to buy. (The exception would be companies making specialty products marketed as healthy.)
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    I hope I am not misinterpreted for what I'm about to say, but I have to agree with the OP when he says that food chain restaurants are creating bigger portions each day and I think that in itself makes it harder for people to estimate accurately the amount of food they need to sustain themselves without gaining weight.

    Yes, people need to take full responsibility for what they eat and shifting the blame to the big companies doesn't really fix anything. The problem is, we are wired to eat what's in front of us and underestimate how much we really eat, so if we live in an area where one normal serving can actually contain enough calories to sustain one adult for 2 days, how many of us is well informed to see that? How many of us would choose to eat just half of it and not eat anything else the rest of the day?

    I have only been the the US once and was appalled at the gigantic servings in fast food restaurants. I mean, do companies think that US people hungrier and thirstier than people in my country? Because they certainly serve smaller portions and the mega portions are nowhere to be seen here. I can attest that.

    So is it possible to be healthy and eat what's right for you in the US? Absolutely. But in my opinion, it's got to be a lot harder to eat the right amounts of food when the servings are so disproportionate with people's actual requirements to sustain a healthy diet. I hope this made sense.
    If your country serves the correct portion sizes, how did you become overweight?
  • estaticaa
    estaticaa Posts: 67 Member
    Ironically enough, I gained weight by abusing my olive oil intake everyday and reducing my activity throughout the day. I'm working on that and have been steadily getting back into shape, thanks to MFP. Thanks for asking! I hope you're doing great as well :)

    Quick edit: I didn't state my country has the correct portions. (Can we talk about correct portions? Because I only know what would be right for me.) I only said it had smaller portions than the US.
  • Dude that pizza sounds pretty good. I'd loose sleep over eating it. But I probably still would.
  • jim180155
    jim180155 Posts: 769 Member
    Ouch, I apologize for unthinkingly saying the wrong thing to tick off so many people. All I meant to say is that the restaurant business keeps coming up with new ways to increase fat and calories in readily available food. I think the American food landscape makes it hard to eat right, it takes effort to research better choices. Of course it's not my business what the guy down the street eats. I just feel concerned about our calorie-rich eating culture.

    I don't think it's your fault. I reread your OP just to make sure, and now I'm sure you never suggested government intervention or regulation. It seems some people want to have a certain type of argument, and your OP was close enough to set them off. Don't worry about it. Do like the rest of us and make a bowl of popcorn or order a pizza, sit back, and watch the show.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    Do you think companies want to give more product away for not much more money?

    Could it be that, being a 'business' they are offering what people want to buy?

    Oh and today I ate 3800 calories.
    I was at a 500+ calorie deficit.

    For some people large portions are useful fuel.

    Should those that do have active lifestyles (I don't always) be penalised because those that do want to consume as much as them?
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    Ironically enough, I gained weight by abusing my olive oil intake everyday and reducing my activity throughout the day. I'm working on that and have been steadily getting back into shape, thanks to MFP. Thanks for asking! I hope you're doing great as well :)

    Quick edit: I didn't state my country has the correct portions. (Can we talk about correct portions? Because I only know what would be right for me.) I only said it had smaller portions than the US.
    Yes, thanks, I've been at goal for awhile now. I also gained due to eating too much-not fast food, probably olive oil like you and chocolate, lol! I don't eat at fast food places but simply gained from eating too much and not moving enough.
    I'm glad you're doing well. Bottem line is we need to eat the correct portions for our body and activity levels even if the portions served are way over what our body requires;-)
    No matter how large (or small) the portion sizes are-we (in all counties) need to take responsibility for what we eat.
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    Oh noes it's not rabbit food we all dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooomed!

    I'm gonna sing the doom song now.

    Doom doom doomdoomdoomdoomDOOM doomie doomei doom doomie doom Dooom dom Dooom ....
  • PennyVonDread
    PennyVonDread Posts: 432 Member
    I hope I am not misinterpreted for what I'm about to say, but I have to agree with the OP when he says that food chain restaurants are creating bigger portions each day and I think that in itself makes it harder for people to estimate accurately the amount of food they need to sustain themselves without gaining weight.

    Yes, people need to take full responsibility for what they eat and shifting the blame to the big companies doesn't really fix anything. The problem is, we are wired to eat what's in front of us and underestimate how much we really eat, so if we live in an area where one normal serving can actually contain enough calories to sustain one adult for 2 days, how many of us is well informed to see that? How many of us would choose to eat just half of it and not eat anything else the rest of the day?

    I have only been the the US once and was appalled at the gigantic servings in fast food restaurants. I mean, do companies think that US people hungrier and thirstier than people in my country? Because they certainly serve smaller portions and the mega portions are nowhere to be seen here. I can attest that.

    So is it possible to be healthy and eat what's right for you in the US? Absolutely. But in my opinion, it's got to be a lot harder to eat the right amounts of food when the servings are so disproportionate with people's actual requirements to sustain a healthy diet. I hope this made sense.

    You made perfect sense, and I agree, the food industry and restaurants make it difficult to judge reasonable portion sizes. Before I started tracking my food late last year, I didn't really know how many calories I was eating, and had only the vaguest idea of my macro content. The information is available to those who seek it and then make it part of their daily lifestyle, but those people, like us on MFP, are a small minority.

    Like someone said a page or two ago, companies try to provide what will sell. Companies don't care if their products are healthy, they care only about selling what people can be tempted to buy. (The exception would be companies making specialty products marketed as healthy.)

    And still you miss the point that no one is obligated to be healthy. Being fat isn't equivalent automatically unhealthy; that means you can't accurately claim that there is a "correct" portion size to anything, especially since individual needs vary so widely. Who cares how many calories anyone eats in a day? Food is not a moral decision. We are not doomed when the latest research determines that weight has less to do with health and more to do with lifestyle, yet no one measures the life habits for statistics. When about 70% of the population has a BMI under 30 and is low risk for health issues with low mortality.

    America is actually doing fine. Only 1/3 is obese, and that's not even taking into consideration whether or not those who are obese are healthy. Or whether or not they are obese due to illness or if they are or ever were able-bodied. That's not taking into consideration any health factors other than a few vague charts that show there are correlations between weight and certain illnesses, and even then that many illnesses are more likely induced by hereditary and lifestyle reasons than just weight.

    Eat anything, whatever. Watch your weight or don't. But don't condemn others, let alone a whole country, based on your own internalized size prejudices.

    For the record, Americans don't eat fast food everyday. Some of us don't at all because it's expensive vs. cooking at home. There is no right or wrong size to be, only habits suggested to improve or maintain function per individual over time, but also keeping in mind that all bodies wear down mechanically and die eventually, larger ones just tend to wear out a little faster.

    This whole thread is just elitist and hateful and completely ignoring the facts in favor of shock factor to shame Americans (specifically) and their supposed (*cough* stereotyped *cough*) lifestyle.

    I do not support hate speech.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    FYI: America isn't the #1 fattest anymore :3

    Thought you should know.

    Actually they are #2 after Mexico. Have you checked the numbers ? The difference is less than a tenth of one percent.......big deal I say.
    Also if you break the statistics down, you will find that Mexico has lots and lots of overweight people, but by far not as many obese and morbidly obese ones as the US. Place #2 is not really something to be proud of, because people have worked on eating healthier.....it's just a small statistical coincidence.
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