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Fast food and obesity
Replies
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On the “conspiracy”: Fast food places sell what they sell because people show that they want to buy it. Periodically, the chains add “healthy” menu options. If these sold well, they’d continue selling them, and create additional ones.
More often, those drop off the menu, or are modified into a more calorific form (crispy chicken on your salad, anyone?) in order to garner adequate profitable sales. Even the chains that position themselves (sometimes) as healthier, like Subway, tend to have calorie/richness/portion-size creep of their overall menu over time.
On “education” (broadly): I was certainly taught about nutrition in school, and got fat anyway (without much fast food BTW – I’ve been vegetarian for 42+ years). Nutrition information is widely disseminated; ignorance is a self-deluding choice.
In the US, product labels use a 2000-calorie daily goal as their basis, and are pretty clear about it. That level doesn’t work for everyone, of course, but it does imply that a 1500 calorie meal can’t routinely happen 2 or more times a day for most of us.
What further should be done? I don’t think we yet have the technology to inject a healthy calorie goal directly into people’s brains.
Culture: Besides restaurant portion-size increases (dramatic) and increase in “eating out” since my 1950s-60s US childhood, there are other major changes. Back then- Most people were not routinely eating/snacking in their cars.
- Virtually no one carryed giant cups/bottles of soda, sweet tea, etc., with them through their day.
- The bowls/plates on average were smaller. (I recently replaced some standard salad/cereal/soup bowls I bought back in the 70s/80s: The smallest ones I could find (“dessert bowls”) were at least 1/3 larger than the ones they replaced (unless I wanted to buy custard cups, which, by the way, are 25% larger in the smallest-size current incarnation compared to the earlier ones).
Over time, “healthy” food categories migrate to become higher in sugar/fat/calories/salt, because our collective dollars say that’s what we want. Granola bars, for example, have always been pretty carb-y and calorific for their nutrition. But they haven’t always been candy bars by another name. Originally, most were whole grain & sugar/honey plus maybe nuts. Then they added chocolate chips. Those sold better. They added caramel-y stickum or marshmallows to them. Those sold better yet. And so on.
Similarly, “unhealthy” foods have progressively become more extreme. Pizzas got thicker crusts, and things like “meat lovers” and “cheese lovers” and “cheese-filled crust” were added. Burgers got doubled and beyond, bacon added, everything got supersized and breaded and deep-fried. Why? Because our collective dollars say we want that.
Bottom Line: Marketers of all types are not stupid. They give us what we want, based on how we mass-vote with our money. Yes, they advertise the heck out of it. But they’d do that for actual “healthy” things if we proved we wanted them.
Pogo said it best: We have met the enemy, and he is us.10 -
I have a dip bowl I use for my ice cream because any bowl they sell now looks downright empty and sad with one real serving of ice cream in it. I had the darnedest time finding cereal bowls that weren't made for holding 1/2 a box of cereal either.The bowls/plates on average were smaller. (I recently replaced some standard salad/cereal/soup bowls I bought back in the 70s/80s: The smallest ones I could find (“dessert bowls”) were at least 1/3 larger than the ones they replaced (unless I wanted to buy custard cups, which, by the way, are 25% larger in the smallest-size current incarnation compared to the earlier ones).2 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »lisamerrison wrote: »The problem is that you are right CI/CO but unfortunately we live in a world where everything has been supersized!
No they haven't, as shown by the fact that you have to supersize the McD's meal for it to be supersized. You can still get small fries and a regular burger. (I almost never eat that kind of fast food, but I stopped at Culvers this summer and got a burger and small fries for a lunch not much more than my normal lunch calories -- around 500 or so. This was after 5 hours biking hills, so I felt I probably could have justified more, actually.)The least calorific main meal would be six chicken nuggets with no dip (boo!), a garden side salad and a bottle of water or a medium black coffee, which would result in a man consuming 10.4% of his daily intake and a woman chowing down 13% of her recommended daily average. For me, I can think of far more foods that would fill me up and be less calorie dense which means that I am not going to go hungry. chicken nuggets and a garden salad from Maccy D's - who does it!!
Why would you want to limit lunch or dinner to 13% of your recommended intake? My goal is around 1600-1700, and I usually have 500+ calories for at least one of those, maybe both depending on breakfast and whether I snack (I often don't snack at all, so meals can be larger or I have some kind of dessert after dinner). And my maintenance is a lot more than 1600-1700 -- doing that I can have a dinner out over the weekend for a lot more if I want. (I wouldn't waste them at McD's or KFC, but again, personal preference.)
I'm also confused why one of on average 2-3 meals a person has should be less than 13% of your intake.1 -
The_Enginerd wrote: »
I have a dip bowl I use for my ice cream because any bowl they sell now looks downright empty and sad with one real serving of ice cream in it. I had the darnedest time finding cereal bowls that weren't made for holding 1/2 a box of cereal either.The bowls/plates on average were smaller. (I recently replaced some standard salad/cereal/soup bowls I bought back in the 70s/80s: The smallest ones I could find (“dessert bowls”) were at least 1/3 larger than the ones they replaced (unless I wanted to buy custard cups, which, by the way, are 25% larger in the smallest-size current incarnation compared to the earlier ones).
We just registered for our wedding earlier this year. We went to a ton of stores; for me the deciding factor was finding a cereal bowl that wasn't ridiculous and the set had a "snack" bowl that would work for gelato and ice cream.3 -
moderation is the key. no bad foods, just bad habits5
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TavistockToad wrote: »
Suddenly I'm interested! If it's gonna be *that* tasty, I might make the indulgence and use your salad recipe on an intense gym day. So a certain amount of bacon, some kind of cheese, and... ? *gets out note pad*
Houmous, edamame beans....
Exactly. Avocado as well (for me).0 -
Suddenly I'm interested! If it's gonna be *that* tasty, I might make the indulgence and use your salad recipe on an intense gym day. So a certain amount of bacon, some kind of cheese, and... ? *gets out note pad*
LOL. Again, it comes down to your definition of crappy. One of my favorite salads at Wendy's has very little bacon (I believe it does have some). I get it with the homestyle chicken breast and use the barbecue ranch dressing. If you get a full one, it is pretty dang caloric, but also very tasty to me. I've also made some salads at Ruby Tuesday's that are pretty caloric. My salads may be crappy to you, but they are tasty to me, even with no bacon.0 -
lisamerrison wrote: »The problem is that you are right CI/CO but unfortunately we live in a world where everything has been supersized! A McDonalds Meal, or KFC for that matter comes in at a lot of calories. The recommended daily average calorie intake for men is 2,500, and for women it's 2,000. This means if I waltz into a McD's for lunch and order a Chicken Legend with medium fries and a milkshake, A man would be consuming 51.4% of his recommended daily calories. For a me, a woman, the percentage would rise to 64.25%. Which means it don't leave a lot for breakfast and dinner.
The least calorific main meal would be six chicken nuggets with no dip (boo!), a garden side salad and a bottle of water or a medium black coffee, which would result in a man consuming 10.4% of his daily intake and a woman chowing down 13% of her recommended daily average. For me, I can think of far more foods that would fill me up and be less calorie dense which means that I am not going to go hungry. chicken nuggets and a garden salad from Maccy D's - who does it!!
yeah but entering mcdonalds and ordering food from the menu is a choice. If you are trying to argue that it is not a choice but the only option for the empoverished then what exactly is your suggested solution? I mean grocery shopping and cooking you can make healthy meals for less money so its not just about money. If it is about time and money then are you suggesting some sort of goverment subsidization of home cooked style meals provided in a convinience sort of way?
I don't fault McDonalds for existing..McDonald's exists because a heck of a lot of people choose to go eat there.
I avoid McDonalds...but mostly because I think their food actually tastes pretty crap. I love me some Panda Express or Taco bell though and I continue to eat it even if I am losing weight (my diary is open, wouldn't take long to find examples of that). Its a choice and I for one am for having choices.
If McDonalds was literally the only way to acquire food then okay perhaps we need to take a hard look at it and what it offers...but it isn't so we don't.1 -
TavistockToad wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »
'good' or not is a different matter, but eating mcdonalds doesn't make someone obese... eating too many calories does.
Understand, that was why my example was of a 1500 calorie + lunch. A Big Mac, side salad (light on dressing) and Diet Coke not so bad. It's how much one eats. And I would be pretty sure most people know the 2 Big Mac lunch in my example is too much.
so a long distance cyclist or runner who has burned a couple of thousand calories cant use those calories on McDonalds as a refuel...? 1500 cal lunch is not 'too much' for everyone.
Late to the thread, but it's definitely too much for people who never walk any further than from their sofa to their car.0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »
'good' or not is a different matter, but eating mcdonalds doesn't make someone obese... eating too many calories does.
Understand, that was why my example was of a 1500 calorie + lunch. A Big Mac, side salad (light on dressing) and Diet Coke not so bad. It's how much one eats. And I would be pretty sure most people know the 2 Big Mac lunch in my example is too much.
so a long distance cyclist or runner who has burned a couple of thousand calories cant use those calories on McDonalds as a refuel...? 1500 cal lunch is not 'too much' for everyone.
Late to the thread, but it's definitely too much for people who never walk any further than from their sofa to their car.
Then they should order less off the menu, save some money.4 -
Angela2ndChance wrote: »This article might be interesting in light of this discussion...http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dmr/nutrition-portion-distortion.pdf. We choose what we eat, but our culture has also done a major shift in the distortion of sizes of any food. Is fast food to blame? I love fast food, but have had to drastically cut back, not necessarily because of the calorie counts, but because of the sodium count. Fast food can be nutritious, but again, it comes down to what and how much we choose to eat. Just my two cents, anyway.
That article is a load of nonsense. 20 years ago, single serving bottles of pop were 500ml, here, just like today. And the basil with the meatballs magically grew.
It's like the published nonsense suggesting that a single portion of ready meal cottage pie used to be 200g. Nope. I remember it being 300g in the 80s/90s and we had it with chips (fries) on the side and a load of baked beans.These days, the 400g cottage pie is more likely to be served with just the beans (or even veg, actual veg!)1 -
Hm, considering the hamburger is German in origin, that surprises me. And honestly, I'd think the more common associate is for uniquely American items, like apple pie.
Wiki tells me the national food in the US includes hamburgers, hot dogs, apple pie, fried chicken, buffalo wings, and mac and cheese.
Those 9 year olds know what's up.
Although I was surprised to see mac and cheese on pretty much every menu I saw in Scotland. I guess it's an easy vegetarian option?
My youngest doesn't have school dinners, but for the brief period my oldest did, the veggie options on the 4 week menu included 5 days of macaroni cheese and as many of "baked potato with [baked] beans or cheese"
In England, the default pub lunch veggie option is "vegetarian lasagna" with goat's cheese and beetroot tart or mushroom risotto appearing on the more sophisticated menus.1 -
OK sorry.... crappy salads. Truly crappy to me and probably many others, and very fatty..... Mom used to do this. Plain mayonnaise on top and lots of it. Not even miracle whip, plain mayo.
*shudders*0 -
Karb_Kween wrote: »One time I had a chicken sandwich over doused with mayo and gained 5 lbs over night
The struggle is real folks
Not every item of FF is created equal as the last, and also the maker of your food might click mayo pump more than once
You don't take it back because there's too much mayo do you?
No you eat it,
As the mayo, tomato and meat juice dribbles over the side of your bun, falling onto the food wrapper you're holding it over
You get a fry and dip it into the mayo, tomato juice cocktail
You're in fat, salt and sugar Heaven
Caloric Hell
if the mayo weighed 5lb, I'm surprised you could even eat it.0 -
Just to turn this on its head isn't convinient, cheap high calorie to cost food exactly what is needed for people who work long hours on manual labor jobs that don't pay very well?
Like if you work at a warehouse moving heavy boxes for 8 hours and then you go grab a meal right before going to your second job on a road construction crew moving barriers what kind of food is it that you would benefit the most from other than very high calorie, convinient and cheap?10 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »...If McDonalds was literally the only way to acquire food then okay perhaps we need to take a hard look at it and what it offers...but it isn't so we don't.
This is an overlooked point within the context of the original question. Nobody is forced to go to McDonalds or Jack in the Box or Carls Jr. or wherever. It's not like fast food is anybody's only option for sustenance. Those who go there make a conscious choice to do so - and once there, they again make a conscious choice as to what they order. Personal responsibility comes into play here, although that's a largely lost concept in society today.10 -
The_Enginerd wrote: »
I have a dip bowl I use for my ice cream because any bowl they sell now looks downright empty and sad with one real serving of ice cream in it. I had the darnedest time finding cereal bowls that weren't made for holding 1/2 a box of cereal either.The bowls/plates on average were smaller. (I recently replaced some standard salad/cereal/soup bowls I bought back in the 70s/80s: The smallest ones I could find (“dessert bowls”) were at least 1/3 larger than the ones they replaced (unless I wanted to buy custard cups, which, by the way, are 25% larger in the smallest-size current incarnation compared to the earlier ones).
Yeah. A rational serving looks like a chihuahua in the bottom of an empty swimming pool.
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Hm, considering the hamburger is German in origin, that surprises me. And honestly, I'd think the more common associate is for uniquely American items, like apple pie.
Wiki tells me the national food in the US includes hamburgers, hot dogs, apple pie, fried chicken, buffalo wings, and mac and cheese.
Those 9 year olds know what's up.
Although I was surprised to see mac and cheese on pretty much every menu I saw in Scotland. I guess it's an easy vegetarian option?
I always thought it was sushi. Cuz sushi. 3 -
OK sorry.... crappy salads. Truly crappy to me and probably many others, and very fatty..... Mom used to do this. Plain mayonnaise on top and lots of it. Not even miracle whip, plain mayo.
*shudders*
Okay, but I make my husband a Greek salad that's dressed with olive oil, lemon, etc., and that has chunks of feta,olives, etc...it's very, very easy for a dinner-sized portion of that to start climbing close to a thousand calories once I throw some chicken on it for him. We've never had mayo in the house.
I also make him a salad with sliced rare steak, balsamic glaze, goat cheese, caramelized onion, and craisins (and lettuce and lots of raw vegetables) that's probably pretty close too.
Both of those salads have a ton of fresh vegetables in them (I generally use a whole head of romaine for his steak salad, for example) but they're still pretty calorie-dense. And delicious.6 -
snickerscharlie wrote: »The series Superfat to Superskinny was one. At least I think thats what it was called.
They took obese UK people over to the US and had them see Americans homhad been obese for years, were undergoing surgery and all the problems like, wheelchairs, special medical teams and beds for the obese etc.
It did seem to help th UK people get the motivation to lose weight before it got any worse.
The UK doesn't have any morbidly obese people of their own they could've used?
not to the extreme levels of what you have.
However we have an "Obesity crisis" (still incomparable to you) and the country is trying to do something about it which is commendable.
Over the last 10 years, the country started with tackling schools to ensure nutritious meals are provided to children and Jamie Oliver is to salute for this. He started the trend.
Just today it was announced on the radio that all of the food retail businesses have a responsibility to reduce salt/sugar by 20% over the next 5 years. Good or bad, I don't know but it's an attempt to move forward.
..and there might be more but I am not versed on everything.
Also, we DONT use Americans as an example to motivate ourselves. We do have a growing concern here and there are several programs on TV that bring awareness to that using brits as an example.
However big and successful documentaries from the states do get aired here for educational/awareness.
There's certain things where the UK cannot compare itself to America and I will not deny it!0 -
lisamerrison wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »
'good' or not is a different matter, but eating mcdonalds doesn't make someone obese... eating too many calories does.
Understand, that was why my example was of a 1500 calorie + lunch. A Big Mac side salad (light on dressing) and Diet Coke not so bad. It's how much one eats. And I would be pretty sure most people know the 2 Big Mac lunch in my example is too much.
Why diet coke as opposed to normal coke?
You are kidding - sugar is a killer
You'll find that the chemicals in diet coke are generally more harmful than sugar which comes from a natural plant.2 -
snickerscharlie wrote: »The series Superfat to Superskinny was one. At least I think thats what it was called.
They took obese UK people over to the US and had them see Americans homhad been obese for years, were undergoing surgery and all the problems like, wheelchairs, special medical teams and beds for the obese etc.
It did seem to help th UK people get the motivation to lose weight before it got any worse.
The UK doesn't have any morbidly obese people of their own they could've used?
not to the extreme levels of what you have.
However we have an "Obesity crisis" (still incomparable to you) and the country is trying to do something about it which is commendable.
Over the last 10 years, the country started with tackling schools to ensure nutritious meals are provided to children and Jamie Oliver is to salute for this. He started the trend.
Just today it was announced on the radio that all of the food retail businesses have a responsibility to reduce salt/sugar by 20% over the next 5 years. Good or bad, I don't know but it's an attempt to move forward.
..and there might be more but I am not versed on everything.
Also, we DONT use Americans as an example to motivate ourselves. We do have a growing concern here and there are several programs on TV that bring awareness to that using brits as an example.
However big and successful documentaries from the states do get aired here for educational/awareness.
There's certain things where the UK cannot compare itself to America and I will not deny it!
The ignorance and offensiveness of the bolded is just astounding.
Yes, our numbers are worse but they are in no way incomparable. America has an obesity problem just like most of the industrialized world but we're not a population made up exclusively of obese slobs like you continue to insinuate.
ETA: maybe you forgot this graphic from earlier in the thread
Just to break that down for you, overweight/obesity rates in the US vs UK are:
Men - 70.9% to 66.6%
Women - 61.9% to 57.2%
That's close enough that you'd not notice any difference between the two populations by living among them. You basically have to do a census in order to pick up on that small of a difference.19 -
lisamerrison wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »
'good' or not is a different matter, but eating mcdonalds doesn't make someone obese... eating too many calories does.
Understand, that was why my example was of a 1500 calorie + lunch. A Big Mac side salad (light on dressing) and Diet Coke not so bad. It's how much one eats. And I would be pretty sure most people know the 2 Big Mac lunch in my example is too much.
Why diet coke as opposed to normal coke?
You are kidding - sugar is a killer
You'll find that the chemicals in diet coke are generally more harmful than sugar which comes from a natural plant.
Really? How so?3 -
snickerscharlie wrote: »The series Superfat to Superskinny was one. At least I think thats what it was called.
They took obese UK people over to the US and had them see Americans homhad been obese for years, were undergoing surgery and all the problems like, wheelchairs, special medical teams and beds for the obese etc.
It did seem to help th UK people get the motivation to lose weight before it got any worse.
The UK doesn't have any morbidly obese people of their own they could've used?
not to the extreme levels of what you have.
However we have an "Obesity crisis" (still incomparable to you) and the country is trying to do something about it which is commendable.
Over the last 10 years, the country started with tackling schools to ensure nutritious meals are provided to children and Jamie Oliver is to salute for this. He started the trend.
Just today it was announced on the radio that all of the food retail businesses have a responsibility to reduce salt/sugar by 20% over the next 5 years. Good or bad, I don't know but it's an attempt to move forward.
..and there might be more but I am not versed on everything.
Also, we DONT use Americans as an example to motivate ourselves. We do have a growing concern here and there are several programs on TV that bring awareness to that using brits as an example.
However big and successful documentaries from the states do get aired here for educational/awareness.
There's certain things where the UK cannot compare itself to America and I will not deny it!
Lol...most of my wife's extended family lives in the UK and we were just there a couple of years ago...it really didn't look any different than being in the U.S. in regards to the number of fat, obese, and morbidly obese people.6 -
Carlos_421 wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »The series Superfat to Superskinny was one. At least I think thats what it was called.
They took obese UK people over to the US and had them see Americans homhad been obese for years, were undergoing surgery and all the problems like, wheelchairs, special medical teams and beds for the obese etc.
It did seem to help th UK people get the motivation to lose weight before it got any worse.
The UK doesn't have any morbidly obese people of their own they could've used?
not to the extreme levels of what you have.
However we have an "Obesity crisis" (still incomparable to you) and the country is trying to do something about it which is commendable.
Over the last 10 years, the country started with tackling schools to ensure nutritious meals are provided to children and Jamie Oliver is to salute for this. He started the trend.
Just today it was announced on the radio that all of the food retail businesses have a responsibility to reduce salt/sugar by 20% over the next 5 years. Good or bad, I don't know but it's an attempt to move forward.
..and there might be more but I am not versed on everything.
Also, we DONT use Americans as an example to motivate ourselves. We do have a growing concern here and there are several programs on TV that bring awareness to that using brits as an example.
However big and successful documentaries from the states do get aired here for educational/awareness.
There's certain things where the UK cannot compare itself to America and I will not deny it!
The ignorance and offensiveness of the bolded is just astounding.
Yes, our numbers are worse but they are in no way incomparable. America has an obesity problem just like most of the industrialized world but we're not a population made up exclusively of obese slobs like you continue to insinuate.
You're assuming what I am insinuating by picking up a few words and throwing them out of context.
Your problem.
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Carlos_421 wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »The series Superfat to Superskinny was one. At least I think thats what it was called.
They took obese UK people over to the US and had them see Americans homhad been obese for years, were undergoing surgery and all the problems like, wheelchairs, special medical teams and beds for the obese etc.
It did seem to help th UK people get the motivation to lose weight before it got any worse.
The UK doesn't have any morbidly obese people of their own they could've used?
not to the extreme levels of what you have.
However we have an "Obesity crisis" (still incomparable to you) and the country is trying to do something about it which is commendable.
Over the last 10 years, the country started with tackling schools to ensure nutritious meals are provided to children and Jamie Oliver is to salute for this. He started the trend.
Just today it was announced on the radio that all of the food retail businesses have a responsibility to reduce salt/sugar by 20% over the next 5 years. Good or bad, I don't know but it's an attempt to move forward.
..and there might be more but I am not versed on everything.
Also, we DONT use Americans as an example to motivate ourselves. We do have a growing concern here and there are several programs on TV that bring awareness to that using brits as an example.
However big and successful documentaries from the states do get aired here for educational/awareness.
There's certain things where the UK cannot compare itself to America and I will not deny it!
The ignorance and offensiveness of the bolded is just astounding.
Yes, our numbers are worse but they are in no way incomparable. America has an obesity problem just like most of the industrialized world but we're not a population made up exclusively of obese slobs like you continue to insinuate.
You're assuming what I am insinuating by picking up a few words and throwing them out of context.
Your problem.
It's no assumption that you have continued to speak of Americans as nothing but a bunch of fat hamburger gulpers.
In case you missed the addition I made to my above post, the overweight/obesity rates in our countries are within about 4% of each other. That's such a small difference that walking through the US would look just like walking through the UK in terms of how fat the people are.10 -
lisamerrison wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »
'good' or not is a different matter, but eating mcdonalds doesn't make someone obese... eating too many calories does.
Understand, that was why my example was of a 1500 calorie + lunch. A Big Mac side salad (light on dressing) and Diet Coke not so bad. It's how much one eats. And I would be pretty sure most people know the 2 Big Mac lunch in my example is too much.
Why diet coke as opposed to normal coke?
You are kidding - sugar is a killer
You'll find that the chemicals in diet coke are generally more harmful than sugar which comes from a natural plant.
Which chemicals? By what mechanism do they cause harm? What specific harm do they cause?6 -
I've gone on holiday and travelled in the UK a few times. I didn't see any difference in the size of people compared to when I've been back to the US.
I hink, looking a the graph of obesity in the countries listed that unless we compare the top to the lowest, its not really that impressive of a difference. I mean obesity is a problem to those who suffer from it period, and it happens world wide, even in Japan.
Side note, I think the wikipedia list of obeseity in nations includes the category 'oceana' or something like that.
It tops the list, evidently Island people have the highest rate of obesity, knocking the US on the present graph down a notch, for those who care about graphs and things.2 -
I got fat because a ate too much crap and drunk too much beer.....and it was nobody's fault other than my own.5
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Carlos_421 wrote: »Carlos_421 wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »The series Superfat to Superskinny was one. At least I think thats what it was called.
They took obese UK people over to the US and had them see Americans homhad been obese for years, were undergoing surgery and all the problems like, wheelchairs, special medical teams and beds for the obese etc.
It did seem to help th UK people get the motivation to lose weight before it got any worse.
The UK doesn't have any morbidly obese people of their own they could've used?
not to the extreme levels of what you have.
However we have an "Obesity crisis" (still incomparable to you) and the country is trying to do something about it which is commendable.
Over the last 10 years, the country started with tackling schools to ensure nutritious meals are provided to children and Jamie Oliver is to salute for this. He started the trend.
Just today it was announced on the radio that all of the food retail businesses have a responsibility to reduce salt/sugar by 20% over the next 5 years. Good or bad, I don't know but it's an attempt to move forward.
..and there might be more but I am not versed on everything.
Also, we DONT use Americans as an example to motivate ourselves. We do have a growing concern here and there are several programs on TV that bring awareness to that using brits as an example.
However big and successful documentaries from the states do get aired here for educational/awareness.
There's certain things where the UK cannot compare itself to America and I will not deny it!
The ignorance and offensiveness of the bolded is just astounding.
Yes, our numbers are worse but they are in no way incomparable. America has an obesity problem just like most of the industrialized world but we're not a population made up exclusively of obese slobs like you continue to insinuate.
You're assuming what I am insinuating by picking up a few words and throwing them out of context.
Your problem.
It's no assumption that you have continued to speak of Americans as nothing but a bunch of fat hamburger gulpers.
In case you missed the addition I made to my above post, the overweight/obesity rates in our countries are within about 4% of each other. That's such a small difference that walking through the US would look just like walking through the UK in terms of how fat the people are.
yep. thats definitely an assumption but did you read the entire post?
It was a lead on from an ASSUMPTION made by your American brothers/sisters which as usual is almost always ignored.
One trend Ive noticed with some of you is that you tend to start on a person responding in defense and completely dissect and misinterpret sections as opposed to reading as a whole and understanding what that person maybe implying.
My post was overall positive, how did it become so negative? Because you found a FACT disturbing? That's beyond ridiculous.
I acknowledged a growing problem within my Country. You could've responded to that post with examples of how your country is trying to tackle the problem you have since you are pretty much on top of the charts. That would have been more educating but instead you are arguing over something so menial. Yeah 4% difference, yet that still doesn't deny that you have a higher risk/problem and considering your population size is greater, I suppose it comes across more saturated to some.
Getting defensive is silly and that is what you are doing.
PS - The charts, I remember. There are other charts too and you are still among the top 3. Boohoo. deal with it.
I want to discuss more about what each country is doing to stop this growing problem and not have to listen to a bunch of crybabies whinging and throwing their toys out.
Although it's not what you were saying here, I suspect he might be contextualizing what you said in other more explicitly unkind statements you have made about Americans and their culture, including on threads have have been deleted.
It is similar to Americans who callously make fun of English people's teeth, even though we have our fair share of teeth problems here: it's the pot calling the kettle black, and it is unkind.
America is certainly a land of extremes, on both ends of the spectrum. Perhaps when the British are brought over to observe grossly overweight people and their special beds and winches, they could also go to South Beach in Miami or Muscle Beach in Venice and do some observations there as well.9
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