What do you think of the obesity epidemic in the U.S.?
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Oh and half a pizza here - depends on where you get it. Half a frozen pizza is probably 600 or 800 calories. Half of a pizzeria pizza is probably double that because they are huge compared to the frozen pizzas and often have more cheese and grease. And let's not event think about the extreme topping pizzas from restaurants like Pizza Hut, etc.0
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Thepinkdaisy wrote: »I notice this stuff too all the time. I play a game as I am driving and count how many overweight ppl I see vs how many healthy people. Nearly everyone you see is overweight.
However, when you go to places like San Diego CA it is the opposite. Nearly everyone IS in shape. My bf and I played a game to see if we could find an overweight person. It took us about an hour and we only saw ONE. Everyone was walking, biking, skateboarding. I guess where it is warmer, there is more of an opportunity to "get out and move". In colder states we would freeze many days in the winters if we tried to walk. The ice, snow and freezing rain are also a factor. Lack of sun is yet another factor as the sun (vit D) can speed metabolism.
When I visit my home state of Nebraska I notice that there are more heavy people there (by an alarming rate) than there is in my current state in the south.
The children are what scare me the most. For the first time in the history of the world, our children's life expectancy as adults is less than ours. It has always been that each generation was expected to live to an older age than their parents due to modern medicine, etc. Now that has changed, it's due to lifestyle and the poisons in foods (video games, Internet, texting, McDonald's on every corner).
As a school teacher, I remember looking at the children lined up to go out for recess and nearly every one of them had an electronic game in their hand. They were wanting to go out and sit under a tree and play their games. I made each one of them put them up. They asked, "what are we going to do?". . .I said "grab a ball", you'll figure it out. They were 'BORED!'
In the cafeteria at school, the children in some schools don't have to eat their lunch, before allowed to purchase countless cookies. Yet in a different state where I taught, sweets are not allowed in schools, even if it is a birthday or Halloween, etc. Everyone must bring a healthy snack. We can't take recess away for punishment according to our new laws, so instead we made them walk outside as punishment.[/quote]
Thus guaranteeing they'll never like walking outside.0 -
Mississippi has a severe problem. My guess is inactivity is the main problem and also the fact that eating healthy is expensive. After all the buffets sprung up, obesity increased even more. Out of about twelve customers at the last burger joint I visited, nine people would have been much better off not eating that type of food. My husband and I looked rather skinny in the burger empire environment.0
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What do you think of the obesity epidemic in the U.S.?
I think we should find a way to heal ourselves from obesity, then heal our families, and then our communities. But it all starts with us first. Heal yourself, then heal the world.0 -
I have been obese for most of my life, but unfortunately I used the phrase, "active obese" which really is just an excuse. On the good side, I have taught my three sons good eating habits. I am learning to walk the walk, and not just preach but to practice them. I think obesity in America stems from parents starting their children on fast-food way to early. Fast food isn't meant to actually feed people, but to get people addicted to the salt, the fat, and the sweetness. That is their primary marketing ploy. I have also learned that most food banks in cities carry high fat, loaded with sodium, and processed food items. Food that is suppose to sustain you, but sadly most foods are just gobbled up along with their poor eating habits. It's a sad situation. If more companies donated to charities with items that would sustain a family PLUS keep them healthy then we wouldn't have young toddlers weighing the size of 8 yr olds. That is just my opinion.0
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I have been obese for most of my life, but unfortunately I used the phrase, "active obese" which really is just an excuse. On the good side, I have taught my three sons good eating habits. I am learning to walk the walk, and not just preach but to practice them. I think obesity in America stems from parents starting their children on fast-food way to early. Fast food isn't meant to actually feed people, but to get people addicted to the salt, the fat, and the sweetness. That is their primary marketing ploy. I have also learned that most food banks in cities carry high fat, loaded with sodium, and processed food items. Food that is suppose to sustain you, but sadly most foods are just gobbled up along with their poor eating habits. It's a sad situation. If more companies donated to charities with items that would sustain a family PLUS keep them healthy then we wouldn't have young toddlers weighing the size of 8 yr olds. That is just my opinion.0
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I have been obese for most of my life, but unfortunately I used the phrase, "active obese" which really is just an excuse. On the good side, I have taught my three sons good eating habits. I am learning to walk the walk, and not just preach but to practice them. I think obesity in America stems from parents starting their children on fast-food way to early. Fast food isn't meant to actually feed people, but to get people addicted to the salt, the fat, and the sweetness. That is their primary marketing ploy. I have also learned that most food banks in cities carry high fat, loaded with sodium, and processed food items. Food that is suppose to sustain you, but sadly most foods are just gobbled up along with their poor eating habits. It's a sad situation. If more companies donated to charities with items that would sustain a family PLUS keep them healthy then we wouldn't have young toddlers weighing the size of 8 yr olds. That is just my opinion.0
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opps not my fault...MFP was saying error...0
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What do people think of the body positive/beauty at all sizes movement that seems to have links with feminism/tumblr feminism? Even unhealthy body sizes as in extreme over or under weight sizes.
Not sure, but I think it's a reaction to the "shaming" that women have endured for not being "perfect." Whatever "perfect" is...Meaning, we all deserve to be treated with respect. We are all beautiful. We all need to love ourselves.
There are some women on this forum who have posted that people have cat-called them while they were out walking/exercising, yelling "Move it fattie" or something like that. One of my MFP friends posted in her newsfeed today that one thing that got her motivated was going on a cruise with her husband and someone on the cruise made a rude remark about her size.
My friend won a trip to an indoor water park for her family and she was apprehensive about going because...she is bigger than she wants to be and is unhappy with her self.
My mother on the other hand was rail thin and probably weighed 80 lbs soaking wet. She would endure wearing long sleeved blouses and long pants in the heat of summer when she left the house to avoid people making comments about her skinny arms or legs. She was asked multiple times if she was anorexic. She was not. She was a nervous woman, but worried about fat, she was not. She tried unsuccessfully, for years to gain weight.
People - men and women - deserve to feel comfortable in their skin, no matter how heavy or skinny they are. They deserve to not be spoken to harshly because they are obese or skinny. They deserve respect.
Yeah everyone deserves respect and to not be abused.
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What do people think of the body positive/beauty at all sizes movement that seems to have links with feminism/tumblr feminism? Even unhealthy body sizes as in extreme over or under weight sizes.
Not sure, but I think it's a reaction to the "shaming" that women have endured for not being "perfect." Whatever "perfect" is...Meaning, we all deserve to be treated with respect. We are all beautiful. We all need to love ourselves.
There are some women on this forum who have posted that people have cat-called them while they were out walking/exercising, yelling "Move it fattie" or something like that. One of my MFP friends posted in her newsfeed today that one thing that got her motivated was going on a cruise with her husband and someone on the cruise made a rude remark about her size.
My friend won a trip to an indoor water park for her family and she was apprehensive about going because...she is bigger than she wants to be and is unhappy with her self.
My mother on the other hand was rail thin and probably weighed 80 lbs soaking wet. She would endure wearing long sleeved blouses and long pants in the heat of summer when she left the house to avoid people making comments about her skinny arms or legs. She was asked multiple times if she was anorexic. She was not. She was a nervous woman, but worried about fat, she was not. She tried unsuccessfully, for years to gain weight.
People - men and women - deserve to feel comfortable in their skin, no matter how heavy or skinny they are. They deserve to not be spoken to harshly because they are obese or skinny. They deserve respect.
I think there's a difference between the idea that shaming is a stupid hobby, and the tumblr-related body positivism @Merkavar mentioned. The tumblr movement is like a fat version of pro-ana. They'll gang up and attack other women for mentioning that they're trying to lose weight, while reporting other tumblr pages which belong to normal sized people as being thinspo if they so much as mention exercise. They disown friends and family who lose weight, and if their doctor tells them their weight is causing health issues, they'll rant about the stupid, bigoted doctor and whine about having to find a new one. (keep in mind, like most of the activism on tumblr, the majority of those involved are teenagers and college students, so not emotionally mature enough to have perspective on the topic at all)0 -
Fishshtick wrote: »Here's an example of how in denial we are of this epidemic. Rather than insult people with the realization of how obese they are, clothing sizes have shifted with our body sizes over time. A woman's size 8 in 1950 would wear a size 00 today. Most people can't actually even fit into vintage clothing. There is a similar trend with clothes sized S,M,L. The simple fact is that people don't like buying clothing that tells them how fat they are, so retailers select brands that are sized larger than others and over time this has increased the size of S,M, and L. Retailers that make their own brands are really aware of this and market to their clientele, so S, M, L run larger at Walmart than say the GAP.
I really don't think this is true. Someone who wears a 0 now really couldn't be much thinner than they are. My sister used to fit in a tight 0 and she weighed 120 lbs at 5'10''. If they were that much thinner I am glad people are more aware that it is unhealthy to be much thinner than that. And I think people should consider quality of life when looking at weight. Someone who is simply overweight can have exactly the same quality of life as someone who is 20 or 30 lbs thinner. I think it is the attitude of people that make it worse for them. I could run a mile and walk hours at an amusement park at 20 lbs overweight. I could work out like I wanted to and have plenty of good sex. My quality of life was fine And if you go to a fast food store it is not only overweight people in there. There are skinny people as well. Some people just have really bad problems with portion size and self control with certain foods, including myself. When you get morbidly obese though or close to it your quality of life goes down tremendously and I think those people need more help than is offered to get better. They need help to get better because they are like food addicts. I am a food addict but I try to eat pretty healthyfully most of the time just to reign in the weight gain. Losing weight is so hard for me, but I have maintained fairly well the past few years.0 -
I work at an indoor amusement park in Florida, and several of our rides have weight requirements, so we weight everyone who gets in line to ride our roller coaster simulator. Previous to this job, I had noticed overweight people, but now that I actually measure it, it's eye opening. I still remember the first time I weighed a ten year old boy who was the same weight as I am, and it made me want to cry. I firmly believe you can be (most) sizes and healthy, but when I see young kids severely overweight, it just makes me so sad for them.
I was quite humiliated last summer when our family was going horseback riding...to learn I only JUST made the cut-off weight for riding a horse.
A horse.
A thing that pulled covered wagons across the prairie.
I am so very sorry. I have never had that happen to me, but I have had to tell people that they cannot ride because they can't fit, and let me say it's also really embarrassing to have to say it.. I always want people to have fun when they come in, but sometimes I have to be the bearer of bad news, and it sucks pretty hard. I do hope that whoever had to tell you about the weight limit was at least kind and respectful.
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I don't have the word skills to write what I think with out sounding like a jerk or being reported for abuse.
What do people think of the body positive/beauty at all sizes movement that seems to have links with feminism/tumblr feminism? Even unhealthy body sizes as in extreme over or under weight sizes.
My limited understanding/experience suggests Americans portion sizes are a far bit larger. My mum went on a cruise and was eating with some Americans and she said they pile the food onto the plate and then go back for more. Maybe they were going extreme cause they were on holiday.
Pizza, I think on here I mention pizza and someone looked it up and said some thing along the lines of the pizza being small. I'm from Australia and I think they were from the U.S. and didn't think a pizza could have as few calories as I said. Leads me to think that when I say I eat half a pizza (600 cal) Americans think half a pizza as in 1200 cal or some other large number.
Off to google pizza sizes
I think like with everything else, that group is also defined by their extremes. I am absolutely and unabashedly a feminist. Feminism is about gender equality, not the mess of whatever it has become because of first the anti-men brigade and now because of tumblr. It makes me sad that feminism the concept has been abused this way.
As for the fat acceptance movement, same thing - defined by the extremes, i.e. the people who are actively trying to get more overweight or the ones who shame people for deciding to lose weight. For many people, learning to love themselves is what convinced them that they needed to be healthier, and I think that's what the original intent was that has now been perverted into what it is perceived as today.
If you see weight loss, exercise, etc. as a way to love yourself and as punishment, I think we might be a bit better off as a society.
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What do people think of the body positive/beauty at all sizes movement that seems to have links with feminism/tumblr feminism? Even unhealthy body sizes as in extreme over or under weight sizes.
Not sure, but I think it's a reaction to the "shaming" that women have endured for not being "perfect." Whatever "perfect" is...Meaning, we all deserve to be treated with respect. We are all beautiful. We all need to love ourselves.
There are some women on this forum who have posted that people have cat-called them while they were out walking/exercising, yelling "Move it fattie" or something like that. One of my MFP friends posted in her newsfeed today that one thing that got her motivated was going on a cruise with her husband and someone on the cruise made a rude remark about her size.
My friend won a trip to an indoor water park for her family and she was apprehensive about going because...she is bigger than she wants to be and is unhappy with her self.
My mother on the other hand was rail thin and probably weighed 80 lbs soaking wet. She would endure wearing long sleeved blouses and long pants in the heat of summer when she left the house to avoid people making comments about her skinny arms or legs. She was asked multiple times if she was anorexic. She was not. She was a nervous woman, but worried about fat, she was not. She tried unsuccessfully, for years to gain weight.
People - men and women - deserve to feel comfortable in their skin, no matter how heavy or skinny they are. They deserve to not be spoken to harshly because they are obese or skinny. They deserve respect.
(keep in mind, like most of the activism on tumblr, the majority of those involved are teenagers and college students, so not emotionally mature enough to have perspective on the topic at all)
This exactly is why I stopped going on tumblr. A hashtag or reblog is not activism and the "patriarchy" is not out to get you.
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What do people think of the body positive/beauty at all sizes movement that seems to have links with feminism/tumblr feminism? Even unhealthy body sizes as in extreme over or under weight sizes.
Not sure, but I think it's a reaction to the "shaming" that women have endured for not being "perfect." Whatever "perfect" is...Meaning, we all deserve to be treated with respect. We are all beautiful. We all need to love ourselves.
There are some women on this forum who have posted that people have cat-called them while they were out walking/exercising, yelling "Move it fattie" or something like that. One of my MFP friends posted in her newsfeed today that one thing that got her motivated was going on a cruise with her husband and someone on the cruise made a rude remark about her size.
My friend won a trip to an indoor water park for her family and she was apprehensive about going because...she is bigger than she wants to be and is unhappy with her self.
My mother on the other hand was rail thin and probably weighed 80 lbs soaking wet. She would endure wearing long sleeved blouses and long pants in the heat of summer when she left the house to avoid people making comments about her skinny arms or legs. She was asked multiple times if she was anorexic. She was not. She was a nervous woman, but worried about fat, she was not. She tried unsuccessfully, for years to gain weight.
People - men and women - deserve to feel comfortable in their skin, no matter how heavy or skinny they are. They deserve to not be spoken to harshly because they are obese or skinny. They deserve respect.
I think there's a difference between the idea that shaming is a stupid hobby, and the tumblr-related body positivism @Merkavar mentioned. The tumblr movement is like a fat version of pro-ana. They'll gang up and attack other women for mentioning that they're trying to lose weight, while reporting other tumblr pages which belong to normal sized people as being thinspo if they so much as mention exercise. They disown friends and family who lose weight, and if their doctor tells them their weight is causing health issues, they'll rant about the stupid, bigoted doctor and whine about having to find a new one. (keep in mind, like most of the activism on tumblr, the majority of those involved are teenagers and college students, so not emotionally mature enough to have perspective on the topic at all)
That about sums it up
The part I don't get is why is body positive part of feminism. Seems out of place. But that's getting off topic.
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What do people think of the body positive/beauty at all sizes movement that seems to have links with feminism/tumblr feminism? Even unhealthy body sizes as in extreme over or under weight sizes.
Not sure, but I think it's a reaction to the "shaming" that women have endured for not being "perfect." Whatever "perfect" is...Meaning, we all deserve to be treated with respect. We are all beautiful. We all need to love ourselves.
There are some women on this forum who have posted that people have cat-called them while they were out walking/exercising, yelling "Move it fattie" or something like that. One of my MFP friends posted in her newsfeed today that one thing that got her motivated was going on a cruise with her husband and someone on the cruise made a rude remark about her size.
My friend won a trip to an indoor water park for her family and she was apprehensive about going because...she is bigger than she wants to be and is unhappy with her self.
My mother on the other hand was rail thin and probably weighed 80 lbs soaking wet. She would endure wearing long sleeved blouses and long pants in the heat of summer when she left the house to avoid people making comments about her skinny arms or legs. She was asked multiple times if she was anorexic. She was not. She was a nervous woman, but worried about fat, she was not. She tried unsuccessfully, for years to gain weight.
People - men and women - deserve to feel comfortable in their skin, no matter how heavy or skinny they are. They deserve to not be spoken to harshly because they are obese or skinny. They deserve respect.
(keep in mind, like most of the activism on tumblr, the majority of those involved are teenagers and college students, so not emotionally mature enough to have perspective on the topic at all)
This exactly is why I stopped going on tumblr. A hashtag or reblog is not activism and the "patriarchy" is not out to get you.
Look at all that internalized misogyny!
I was accused of that one when I told someone to grow up after she was whining about her "misogynist boss" not letting her wear a face piercing.
I do think that whole mess needs to implode soon. While it can be either entertaining or infuriating to watch them get themselves all worked up, it doesn't change that there are thousands of girls out there actively encouraging each other to become morbidly obese just to prove some misguided point.0 -
What do people think of the body positive/beauty at all sizes movement that seems to have links with feminism/tumblr feminism? Even unhealthy body sizes as in extreme over or under weight sizes.
Not sure, but I think it's a reaction to the "shaming" that women have endured for not being "perfect." Whatever "perfect" is...Meaning, we all deserve to be treated with respect. We are all beautiful. We all need to love ourselves.
There are some women on this forum who have posted that people have cat-called them while they were out walking/exercising, yelling "Move it fattie" or something like that. One of my MFP friends posted in her newsfeed today that one thing that got her motivated was going on a cruise with her husband and someone on the cruise made a rude remark about her size.
My friend won a trip to an indoor water park for her family and she was apprehensive about going because...she is bigger than she wants to be and is unhappy with her self.
My mother on the other hand was rail thin and probably weighed 80 lbs soaking wet. She would endure wearing long sleeved blouses and long pants in the heat of summer when she left the house to avoid people making comments about her skinny arms or legs. She was asked multiple times if she was anorexic. She was not. She was a nervous woman, but worried about fat, she was not. She tried unsuccessfully, for years to gain weight.
People - men and women - deserve to feel comfortable in their skin, no matter how heavy or skinny they are. They deserve to not be spoken to harshly because they are obese or skinny. They deserve respect.
I think there's a difference between the idea that shaming is a stupid hobby, and the tumblr-related body positivism @Merkavar mentioned. The tumblr movement is like a fat version of pro-ana. They'll gang up and attack other women for mentioning that they're trying to lose weight, while reporting other tumblr pages which belong to normal sized people as being thinspo if they so much as mention exercise. They disown friends and family who lose weight, and if their doctor tells them their weight is causing health issues, they'll rant about the stupid, bigoted doctor and whine about having to find a new one. (keep in mind, like most of the activism on tumblr, the majority of those involved are teenagers and college students, so not emotionally mature enough to have perspective on the topic at all)
Ah OK. Well I don't have a tumblr, so I am unfamiliar with the specifics on it. Sounds absurd.0 -
I've seen many obese people...but I've also seen people who don't look healthy either...
Just because you are not fat/obese, doesn't put them in the healthy category...
However, it is probably much better than being overweight...
Either way, I think there should be some kind of event monthly to promote healthy lifestyles.0 -
The part I don't get is why is body positive part of feminism. Seems out of place. But that's getting off topic.
Why does it seem out of place with feminism? Women have been objectified, considered overgrown children or personal property, inferior, & unequal for centuries.
My daughter right now says she hates feminism. What she actually hates is what I call the crazy over the edge man-hating feminism - but if she had to grow up not too long ago where it was common and normal for women to be sexually harassed, paid a lesser wage if they got past being a secretary, to be denied the right to vote or be denied the right to her own bank account in her own name without her father's or husband's permission...she might have a different idea of what true feminism is about.
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devilwhiterose wrote: »I think it's ridiculous. The lack of education is the biggest one that strikes me. Obviously I count calories, and I've had several friends, even my husband, that had no clue how much they were really eating. People get so wrapped up in "quick and easy boxed/canned/prepackaged dinners" that they forget how simple and easy it is to make a REAL meal with REAL food. For example, a bag of frozen veggies in a microwave tossed with some good seasonings/spices is so easy and so much healthier. I have a friend that gets milkshakes at Cold Stone Creamery. Those things are upwards of 1000+ calories.
Fruits and veggies appear to be a thing of the past. People opt for the bag of Muddie Buddies Chex Mix opposed to a sliced apple with some vanilla yogurt for dipping. Society and marketing have pushed junk food rather than promoting healthy food.
Everything is ok in moderation. I let my kids have a happy meal once in a while...but their idea of snacks are literately chopped fruit dipped in yogurt with some sprinkles. Or homemade granola. We don't drink soda (what's the point?) and juice is 100% (0% juice is scary...) It doesn't cost any more either.
I think the problem stems from the lack of education. We wouldn't have to continue to change our clothing sizes to "get with the times" if people UNDERSTOOD why they're getting so fat. How many of us on here logged our food for that first week and went "Holy batman, I didn't realize I ate this much." (I'm talking about myself too)? The best that can be done is share the knowledge. Government doesn't need to tax our junk food, or ban certain things...we just need to quit buying the crap 24/7.
Other problems? Send your kids outside to play. Seriously. We sit on our computers, sit in our offices, sit on the couch in front of the tv with a snack... When was the last time you took a walk, played outside with your kids, kicked a ball, rode a bike, did some natural exercise (yardwork, woodwork, etc.)?
I have to say fresh fruit from the store is expensive. Of course, there is the farmer's market but not everyone wants to go there or can't get there if it is out of the way. Also, meat is very expensive. For a poor family it is hard to eat healthfully and not live on pasta, beans, rice, milk, eggs and vegetables, which aren't very protein rich. Vegan from the grocery store is the cheapest way to eat, from my experience, and packed foods and fast foods are pretty equivalent. Oh, and some people don't like frozen or canned vegetables. Some get a really funky texture after they have been frozen.
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