Weight of average American
pierinifitness
Posts: 2,226 Member
Replies
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Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
So, weight is increasing and we’re getting shorter.
This honestly hurts my heart. I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.29 -
Looking over the data, one thing that stands out to me in the females is that there is an increase in mean weight until 50-59 years old, then it drops off back lower. What this is telling me is that the impact your weight has will likely lead to fatalities before you hit 60. If you make it to 75+, you likely have a BMI in the healthy range.
This is just my quick analysis of the data though. Not sure how accurate that is.
*Edited for grammar.16 -
Never mind.7
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I don't understand how the average waist measurement can be so big. I'm only comparing to myself, but I'm over that average weight (approx 180lbs), and my waist is 80cm. The average in the article is 170lbs but with a waist of 98cm.
Are body shapes changing drastically as well as weight? Moving to more weight being carried around the middle? (which can be caused by stress - so might be a reasonable conclusion).
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loveisapineapple wrote: »I don't understand how the average waist measurement can be so big. I'm only comparing to myself, but I'm over that average weight (approx 180lbs), and my waist is 80cm. The average in the article is 170lbs but with a waist of 98cm.
Are body shapes changing drastically as well as weight? Moving to more weight being carried around the middle? (which can be caused by stress - so might be a reasonable assumption).
How tall are you? If you’re taller your weight is probably distributed more. Otherwise, more muscle mass would be a variable.0 -
I think stress is a big part of it, working so much, eating out.3
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I would be interested to see similar statistics on fat distribution, and if types of fat (subcutaneous vs visceral) have changed. I find it interesting because it can lend weight (pun not intended) to the arguments around changing eating habits and lifestyles impact on obesity - external of calorie increases.1
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msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
Agreed. Body positivity is a fantastic movement, but it doesn’t mean we can’t acknowledge and try to change our unhealthy ways. Nobody has to feel bad about it. Just because we strive to become healthier doesn’t mean we aren’t accepting of our selves or our bodies.19 -
msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
Agreed. Body positivity is a fantastic movement, but it doesn’t mean we can’t acknowledge and try to change our unhealthy ways. Nobody has to feel bad about it. Just because we strive to become healthier doesn’t mean we aren’t accepting of our selves or our bodies.
I definitely expect some push back, I’m sure it’s not a popular opinion, but that’s okay.
There’s a thread where one woman describes her personal reason for gaining weight. She said she took this movement in a way that made her feel defiant towards losing weight or living a healthier lifestyle, because didn’t want to be shallow like everyone else, thinking she was an independent woman who loved herself and her “curves”. She was very brave to confront this mindset, as those two things are not mutually exclusive.2 -
Cassandraw3 wrote: »Looking over the data, one thing that stands out to me in the females is that there is an increase in mean weight until 50-59 years old, then it drops off back lower. What this is telling me is that the impact your weight has will likely lead to fatalities before you hit 60. If you make it to 75+, you likely have a BMI in the healthy range.
This is just my quick analysis of the data though. Not sure how accurate that is.
*Edited for grammar.
I would have looked at that as the lifestyle and diet these older people have had over their lives which is still impacting on their current BMI rather than earlier life expectancies because of the impact of weight.4 -
msalicia07 wrote: »
There’s a thread where one woman describes her personal reason for gaining weight. She said she took this movement in a way that made her feel defiant towards losing weight or living a healthier lifestyle, because didn’t want to be shallow like everyone else, thinking she was an independent woman who loved herself and her “curves”. She was very brave to confront this mindset, as those two things are not mutually exclusive.
I don't think that mindset can be described as body positivity. If you're actively changing your body either to fit in, or to deliberately not fit in to societal standards then (in my opinion) you're missing the point. The point being that your body size doesn't matter and says jack all about who you are as a person.22 -
msalicia07 wrote: »
There’s a thread where one woman describes her personal reason for gaining weight. She said she took this movement in a way that made her feel defiant towards losing weight or living a healthier lifestyle, because didn’t want to be shallow like everyone else, thinking she was an independent woman who loved herself and her “curves”. She was very brave to confront this mindset, as those two things are not mutually exclusive.
I don't think that mindset can be described as body positivity. If you're actively changing your body either to fit in, or to deliberately not fit in to societal standards then (in my opinion) you're missing the point. The point being that your body size doesn't matter and says jack all about who you are as a person.
I agree I don’t think it is either, that’s just how she took it. It was an interesting POV and experience in the other direction.1 -
msalicia07 wrote: »msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
Agreed. Body positivity is a fantastic movement, but it doesn’t mean we can’t acknowledge and try to change our unhealthy ways. Nobody has to feel bad about it. Just because we strive to become healthier doesn’t mean we aren’t accepting of our selves or our bodies.
I definitely expect some push back, I’m sure it’s not a popular opinion, but that’s okay.
There’s a thread where one woman describes her personal reason for gaining weight. She said she took this movement in a way that made her feel defiant towards losing weight or living a healthier lifestyle, because didn’t want to be shallow like everyone else, thinking she was an independent woman who loved herself and her “curves”. She was very brave to confront this mindset, as those two things are not mutually exclusive.
I don't agree that she was being brave, to me it just sounds like an immature teenager doing something intentionally wrong/harmful just to make their parents mad. She might have been thinking she was making a point by going against society's "shallow" views of body weight, but the only person she's sticking it to is herself.13 -
msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
So, weight is increasing and we’re getting shorter.
This honestly hurts my heart. I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
I think we're just eating too much. I would bet the number of fast food (high calorie) meals increased with our weight. The size of our sodas increased with our weight. We've lost sight of what a reasonable portion size means.22 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
So, weight is increasing and we’re getting shorter.
This honestly hurts my heart. I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
I think we're just eating too much. I would bet the number of fast food (high calorie) meals increased with our weight. The size of our sodas increased with our weight. We've lost sight of what a reasonable portion size means.
^ This times a million. Too much food of too high a caloric value is too easily attainable. We went from a society/species where food was not scarce, but not dropped in our laps out of drive-through windows every 5 seconds... we were more active, ate more whole foods that were prepared at home.
Not so sure any of that happens anymore.13 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
So, weight is increasing and we’re getting shorter.
This honestly hurts my heart. I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
I think we're just eating too much. I would bet the number of fast food (high calorie) meals increased with our weight. The size of our sodas increased with our weight. We've lost sight of what a reasonable portion size means.
Totally agree. I find myself now thinking about what size of coffee to buy. Even though it has no calories--When I first starting working, summers in college, in the1980s, I would buy a coffee and the only option was an 8 oz. paper cup or in a coffee shop in a cup or mug (at most 8 oz. probably). The smallest you can get today is 12 oz. I'm tempted to get a larger but always have to ask myself "do I need that much?" (I usually drink decaf so it's almost like drinking water, but still). Nobody sells a soda that is 8-12 oz. unless you buy a can or a kid's size. When I was growing up we couldn't drink soda without permission. My mother would buy occasionally and a 12 oz. CAN was for four people. We never drank a whole can of soda. I remember being excited when finally they gave you a whole can on the airplane. Nowadays people buy 32 oz. and a 16 oz. is the "small."7 -
lucerorojo wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
So, weight is increasing and we’re getting shorter.
This honestly hurts my heart. I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
I think we're just eating too much. I would bet the number of fast food (high calorie) meals increased with our weight. The size of our sodas increased with our weight. We've lost sight of what a reasonable portion size means.
Totally agree. I find myself now thinking about what size of coffee to buy. Even though it has no calories--When I first starting working, summers in college, in the1980s, I would buy a coffee and the only option was an 8 oz. paper cup or in a coffee shop in a cup or mug (at most 8 oz. probably). The smallest you can get today is 12 oz. I'm tempted to get a larger but always have to ask myself "do I need that much?" (I usually drink decaf so it's almost like drinking water, but still). Nobody sells a soda that is 8-12 oz. unless you buy a can or a kid's size. When I was growing up we couldn't drink soda without permission. My mother would buy occasionally and a 12 oz. CAN was for four people. We never drank a whole can of soda. I remember being excited when finally they gave you a whole can on the airplane. Nowadays people buy 32 oz. and a 16 oz. is the "small."
The whole massive increase in portion sizes over the years is what I think is an issue, too. So I agree with you. It's odd, really. I suppose it was done by restaurants and food companies to make money of course but I grew up with "normal" portion sizes like you described. And IF we had pop it would be a can split between my sister and I. The food servings my mom gave us were normal and we were both health weights as kids.
Now, for some reason, both my parents and sister are overweight and eat full restaurant portions, large size drinks, multiple servings of food at home, etc. and don't see anything different. It truly surprises me. I don't discuss it with them but find it quite shocking to observe.2 -
lucerorojo wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
So, weight is increasing and we’re getting shorter.
This honestly hurts my heart. I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
I think we're just eating too much. I would bet the number of fast food (high calorie) meals increased with our weight. The size of our sodas increased with our weight. We've lost sight of what a reasonable portion size means.
Totally agree. I find myself now thinking about what size of coffee to buy. Even though it has no calories--When I first starting working, summers in college, in the1980s, I would buy a coffee and the only option was an 8 oz. paper cup or in a coffee shop in a cup or mug (at most 8 oz. probably). The smallest you can get today is 12 oz. I'm tempted to get a larger but always have to ask myself "do I need that much?" (I usually drink decaf so it's almost like drinking water, but still). Nobody sells a soda that is 8-12 oz. unless you buy a can or a kid's size. When I was growing up we couldn't drink soda without permission. My mother would buy occasionally and a 12 oz. CAN was for four people. We never drank a whole can of soda. I remember being excited when finally they gave you a whole can on the airplane. Nowadays people buy 32 oz. and a 16 oz. is the "small."
Exactly. I remember a post on here a few years ago. A sweet young woman was "whining" that she couldn't "eat normally" while dieting. When we inquired further we discover that her specific complaint was that she couldn't do her weekly lunch out with friends. We asked more and discovered that their regular routine was EACH of them ordering a regular sized pizza and eating it. We tried to explain that a pizza that size, with 6 or so regular sized pieces, was designed to be shared, that it was much too much food for a woman's lunch. We tried to explain that she could, indeed, participate in her regular outings just not eat a whole pizza. We've lost perspective.13 -
An interesting corollary to these population health statistics is info on what happens to first and second generation immigrants compared to family members who still reside in their countries of origin. In the case of immigrants from Mexico, family members can live just over the border. Bottom line is that immigrants become fatter and less healthy than those who remain in their home countries. Major contributors include the higher fat & sugar in "typical" American fare that mean more calories and often less healthy overall nutrition, and the increased stress of everyday living, which seems to have a major impact on mental health as well as physical health.4
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lucerorojo wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
So, weight is increasing and we’re getting shorter.
This honestly hurts my heart. I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
I think we're just eating too much. I would bet the number of fast food (high calorie) meals increased with our weight. The size of our sodas increased with our weight. We've lost sight of what a reasonable portion size means.
Totally agree. I find myself now thinking about what size of coffee to buy. Even though it has no calories--When I first starting working, summers in college, in the1980s, I would buy a coffee and the only option was an 8 oz. paper cup or in a coffee shop in a cup or mug (at most 8 oz. probably). The smallest you can get today is 12 oz. I'm tempted to get a larger but always have to ask myself "do I need that much?" (I usually drink decaf so it's almost like drinking water, but still). Nobody sells a soda that is 8-12 oz. unless you buy a can or a kid's size. When I was growing up we couldn't drink soda without permission. My mother would buy occasionally and a 12 oz. CAN was for four people. We never drank a whole can of soda. I remember being excited when finally they gave you a whole can on the airplane. Nowadays people buy 32 oz. and a 16 oz. is the "small."
Exactly. I remember a post on here a few years ago. A sweet young woman was "whining" that she couldn't "eat normally" while dieting. When we inquired further we discover that her specific complaint was that she couldn't do her weekly lunch out with friends. We asked more and discovered that their regular routine was EACH of them ordering a regular sized pizza and eating it. We tried to explain that a pizza that size, with 6 or so regular sized pieces, was designed to be shared, that it was much too much food for a woman's lunch. We tried to explain that she could, indeed, participate in her regular outings just not eat a whole pizza. We've lost perspective.
Yes we have lost perspective. Food has become entertainment and experience. Think about it: there's the must have local fare, must go to restaurant, must try recipe, and cooking shows. There are constantly changing food trends, and FOMO (fear of missing out) drives people to seek these things out. YouTube has extreme cooking and eating videos (30 lb cheeseburger anyone?). Thanks to Seamless and Grubhub you don't even need to leave home for McDonald's. If you live your life around eating experiences, you have to think about the repercussions.4 -
It's not just the food, it's the movement. NEAT, especially, has decreased while portion size (and ubiquitous 24-hour availability of calorie-dense but non-nutrient-dense ready to eat food) has increased.
I was in the sedentary workforce starting in 1978. We walked down the hall to the file room, got files, carried them back to our desks. (That's meant to be just a tiny example.) By the time I retired, I sat at a computer and clicked all day, to do the same work.
Things that are new or much more common since then: Riding lawn mowers; Roomba; dishwashers; use of housecleaning services and lawn services by middle-class people; hobbies that involve mostly watching and maybe clicking (gaming, TV) vs. hobbies that involve doing (playing musical instruments other than MIDI, sewing, gardening, dancing, board games or physical games). From the 1960s to now, we went from separate stores to malls where you could walk between stores, to shopping centers where you drive between stores again, to Amazon and kin, as the dominant retail modes. Grocery delivery or online order + pickup are available nearly everywhere.
The habits embedded in culture have marched alongside: Cars from my childhood didn't have cupholders, and it wasn't because we were balancing Big Gulps on our knees as we drove down the road.
Last I looked, per capita sugar intake had been trending down, but portion size, frequency of eating, and calorie density keep trending up; and daily-life automation/conveniences plus ubiquitous passive entertainment keep daily-life NEAT trending down.
Ten calories a day is over a pound a year. 100 calories a day is 10+ pounds a year. It doesn't take much intake/output change to make a weight change.18 -
New_Heavens_Earth wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lucerorojo wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
So, weight is increasing and we’re getting shorter.
This honestly hurts my heart. I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
I think we're just eating too much. I would bet the number of fast food (high calorie) meals increased with our weight. The size of our sodas increased with our weight. We've lost sight of what a reasonable portion size means.
Totally agree. I find myself now thinking about what size of coffee to buy. Even though it has no calories--When I first starting working, summers in college, in the1980s, I would buy a coffee and the only option was an 8 oz. paper cup or in a coffee shop in a cup or mug (at most 8 oz. probably). The smallest you can get today is 12 oz. I'm tempted to get a larger but always have to ask myself "do I need that much?" (I usually drink decaf so it's almost like drinking water, but still). Nobody sells a soda that is 8-12 oz. unless you buy a can or a kid's size. When I was growing up we couldn't drink soda without permission. My mother would buy occasionally and a 12 oz. CAN was for four people. We never drank a whole can of soda. I remember being excited when finally they gave you a whole can on the airplane. Nowadays people buy 32 oz. and a 16 oz. is the "small."
Exactly. I remember a post on here a few years ago. A sweet young woman was "whining" that she couldn't "eat normally" while dieting. When we inquired further we discover that her specific complaint was that she couldn't do her weekly lunch out with friends. We asked more and discovered that their regular routine was EACH of them ordering a regular sized pizza and eating it. We tried to explain that a pizza that size, with 6 or so regular sized pieces, was designed to be shared, that it was much too much food for a woman's lunch. We tried to explain that she could, indeed, participate in her regular outings just not eat a whole pizza. We've lost perspective.
Yes we have lost perspective. Food has become entertainment and experience. Think about it: there's the must have local fare, must go to restaurant, must try recipe, and cooking shows. There are constantly changing food trends, and FOMO (fear of missing out) drives people to seek these things out. YouTube has extreme cooking and eating videos (30 lb cheeseburger anyone?). Thanks to Seamless and Grubhub you don't even need to leave home for McDonald's. If you live your life around eating experiences, you have to think about the repercussions.
Treating food as an experience that one should enjoy does not mean that you'll somehow gain weight. It's not new and it is in no way unique to the US (if anything it's probably somewhat new to the US). Food as entertainment and as an experience doesn't have to mean large portion sizes. It means good dishes (as in food), quality ingredients, a good environment, etc.13 -
New_Heavens_Earth wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lucerorojo wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
So, weight is increasing and we’re getting shorter.
This honestly hurts my heart. I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
I think we're just eating too much. I would bet the number of fast food (high calorie) meals increased with our weight. The size of our sodas increased with our weight. We've lost sight of what a reasonable portion size means.
Totally agree. I find myself now thinking about what size of coffee to buy. Even though it has no calories--When I first starting working, summers in college, in the1980s, I would buy a coffee and the only option was an 8 oz. paper cup or in a coffee shop in a cup or mug (at most 8 oz. probably). The smallest you can get today is 12 oz. I'm tempted to get a larger but always have to ask myself "do I need that much?" (I usually drink decaf so it's almost like drinking water, but still). Nobody sells a soda that is 8-12 oz. unless you buy a can or a kid's size. When I was growing up we couldn't drink soda without permission. My mother would buy occasionally and a 12 oz. CAN was for four people. We never drank a whole can of soda. I remember being excited when finally they gave you a whole can on the airplane. Nowadays people buy 32 oz. and a 16 oz. is the "small."
Exactly. I remember a post on here a few years ago. A sweet young woman was "whining" that she couldn't "eat normally" while dieting. When we inquired further we discover that her specific complaint was that she couldn't do her weekly lunch out with friends. We asked more and discovered that their regular routine was EACH of them ordering a regular sized pizza and eating it. We tried to explain that a pizza that size, with 6 or so regular sized pieces, was designed to be shared, that it was much too much food for a woman's lunch. We tried to explain that she could, indeed, participate in her regular outings just not eat a whole pizza. We've lost perspective.
Yes we have lost perspective. Food has become entertainment and experience. Think about it: there's the must have local fare, must go to restaurant, must try recipe, and cooking shows. There are constantly changing food trends, and FOMO (fear of missing out) drives people to seek these things out. YouTube has extreme cooking and eating videos (30 lb cheeseburger anyone?). Thanks to Seamless and Grubhub you don't even need to leave home for McDonald's. If you live your life around eating experiences, you have to think about the repercussions.
Treating food as an experience that one should enjoy does not mean that you'll somehow gain weight. It's not new and it is in no way unique to the US (if anything it's probably somewhat new to the US). It food as entertainment and as an experience doesn't have to mean large portion sizes. It means good dishes (as in food), quality ingredients, a good environment, etc.
Maybe I should have clarified those who just eat for entertainment and experience without moderation or balance in activity. Never said it was new or unique, but one can't expect to eat every day, or even every weekend like it's Christmas without gaining weight. The problem is that somehow this has become normalized.4 -
New_Heavens_Earth wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lucerorojo wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
So, weight is increasing and we’re getting shorter.
This honestly hurts my heart. I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
I think we're just eating too much. I would bet the number of fast food (high calorie) meals increased with our weight. The size of our sodas increased with our weight. We've lost sight of what a reasonable portion size means.
Totally agree. I find myself now thinking about what size of coffee to buy. Even though it has no calories--When I first starting working, summers in college, in the1980s, I would buy a coffee and the only option was an 8 oz. paper cup or in a coffee shop in a cup or mug (at most 8 oz. probably). The smallest you can get today is 12 oz. I'm tempted to get a larger but always have to ask myself "do I need that much?" (I usually drink decaf so it's almost like drinking water, but still). Nobody sells a soda that is 8-12 oz. unless you buy a can or a kid's size. When I was growing up we couldn't drink soda without permission. My mother would buy occasionally and a 12 oz. CAN was for four people. We never drank a whole can of soda. I remember being excited when finally they gave you a whole can on the airplane. Nowadays people buy 32 oz. and a 16 oz. is the "small."
Exactly. I remember a post on here a few years ago. A sweet young woman was "whining" that she couldn't "eat normally" while dieting. When we inquired further we discover that her specific complaint was that she couldn't do her weekly lunch out with friends. We asked more and discovered that their regular routine was EACH of them ordering a regular sized pizza and eating it. We tried to explain that a pizza that size, with 6 or so regular sized pieces, was designed to be shared, that it was much too much food for a woman's lunch. We tried to explain that she could, indeed, participate in her regular outings just not eat a whole pizza. We've lost perspective.
Yes we have lost perspective. Food has become entertainment and experience. Think about it: there's the must have local fare, must go to restaurant, must try recipe, and cooking shows. There are constantly changing food trends, and FOMO (fear of missing out) drives people to seek these things out. YouTube has extreme cooking and eating videos (30 lb cheeseburger anyone?). Thanks to Seamless and Grubhub you don't even need to leave home for McDonald's. If you live your life around eating experiences, you have to think about the repercussions.
Treating food as an experience that one should enjoy does not mean that you'll somehow gain weight. It's not new and it is in no way unique to the US (if anything it's probably somewhat new to the US). Food as entertainment and as an experience doesn't have to mean large portion sizes. It means good dishes (as in food), quality ingredients, a good environment, etc.
If anything - and I know I'm speaking from personal tastes here - food has, on average gotten less good, in my lifetime. A greater diversity of foods is available, which is at least partially a good thing (more variety in fresh veggies/fruits more of the year, for example).
"Hyper-palatable" food has probably increased, as a fraction of the average person's intake . . . but "hyper-palatable" foods (IMO) are more about pushing our evolution-installed buttons (enjoyment of relatively high calorie, higher-fat, higher-carb/sugar, salty foods), rather than about being delightfully tasty in complex and satisfying ways. (Reminder: Just My Opinion.)
Restaurant food is more consistent than it used to be (every Applebee's tends to make the same stuff the same way, for example), but the mom'n'pop or locally-managed places that used to exist had higher highs than modern chains, as well as lower lows. The lowest lows in quality are pretty much gone, IMO, but we're kind of at a high-average mediocrity, mostly, in the chains. Genius and delight is mostly still locally-managed.
The average person cooks way less frequently, and using more pre-processed ingredients, than was average in my youth/young adulthood. It just blows me away that when people would take a scratch cake or cupcakes to work (when I was in the workforce over a decade ago), I'd hear various people marvel that not only had someone made it themselves, they'd miraculously done it without using cake mix. Workplace potlucks had a shrinking fraction of actual homemade foods, and a higher fraction of purchased pre-mades, over my working decades . . . at least until my specific (higher ed, IT) workforce started including a larger number of recent immigrants, who upped the ante in the yummy homemade food department again.
ETA: I left out the <curmudgeon>,</curmudgeon> tags again.
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New_Heavens_Earth wrote: »New_Heavens_Earth wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lucerorojo wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
So, weight is increasing and we’re getting shorter.
This honestly hurts my heart. I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
I think we're just eating too much. I would bet the number of fast food (high calorie) meals increased with our weight. The size of our sodas increased with our weight. We've lost sight of what a reasonable portion size means.
Totally agree. I find myself now thinking about what size of coffee to buy. Even though it has no calories--When I first starting working, summers in college, in the1980s, I would buy a coffee and the only option was an 8 oz. paper cup or in a coffee shop in a cup or mug (at most 8 oz. probably). The smallest you can get today is 12 oz. I'm tempted to get a larger but always have to ask myself "do I need that much?" (I usually drink decaf so it's almost like drinking water, but still). Nobody sells a soda that is 8-12 oz. unless you buy a can or a kid's size. When I was growing up we couldn't drink soda without permission. My mother would buy occasionally and a 12 oz. CAN was for four people. We never drank a whole can of soda. I remember being excited when finally they gave you a whole can on the airplane. Nowadays people buy 32 oz. and a 16 oz. is the "small."
Exactly. I remember a post on here a few years ago. A sweet young woman was "whining" that she couldn't "eat normally" while dieting. When we inquired further we discover that her specific complaint was that she couldn't do her weekly lunch out with friends. We asked more and discovered that their regular routine was EACH of them ordering a regular sized pizza and eating it. We tried to explain that a pizza that size, with 6 or so regular sized pieces, was designed to be shared, that it was much too much food for a woman's lunch. We tried to explain that she could, indeed, participate in her regular outings just not eat a whole pizza. We've lost perspective.
Yes we have lost perspective. Food has become entertainment and experience. Think about it: there's the must have local fare, must go to restaurant, must try recipe, and cooking shows. There are constantly changing food trends, and FOMO (fear of missing out) drives people to seek these things out. YouTube has extreme cooking and eating videos (30 lb cheeseburger anyone?). Thanks to Seamless and Grubhub you don't even need to leave home for McDonald's. If you live your life around eating experiences, you have to think about the repercussions.
Treating food as an experience that one should enjoy does not mean that you'll somehow gain weight. It's not new and it is in no way unique to the US (if anything it's probably somewhat new to the US). It food as entertainment and as an experience doesn't have to mean large portion sizes. It means good dishes (as in food), quality ingredients, a good environment, etc.
Maybe I should have clarified those who just eat for entertainment and experience without moderation or balance in activity. Never said it was new or unique, but one can't expect to eat every day, or even every weekend like it's Christmas without gaining weight. The problem is that somehow this has become normalized.
I'm with aokoye -- I don't think it's foodie culture that's an issue, I think it's eating mindlessly and food being always around and, as sabine said, portion distortion. Plus for many very little regular activity as part of the usual day without having to plan it in.
I do agree with you that for some an easy and cheap indulgence is eating whenever and whatever you want. Mostly I don't think that's really about eating extremely good foods (nothing like you'd see on Top Chef) or even being that interested in food or cooking.2 -
New_Heavens_Earth wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »lucerorojo wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »msalicia07 wrote: »Ave height and weight for women is 5’3” and 170 lbs and on the cusp of obesity.
So, weight is increasing and we’re getting shorter.
This honestly hurts my heart. I can’t help but wonder if the movement of self acceptance was applied in the wrong direction. We cannot stop this unless we take responsibility.
I think we're just eating too much. I would bet the number of fast food (high calorie) meals increased with our weight. The size of our sodas increased with our weight. We've lost sight of what a reasonable portion size means.
Totally agree. I find myself now thinking about what size of coffee to buy. Even though it has no calories--When I first starting working, summers in college, in the1980s, I would buy a coffee and the only option was an 8 oz. paper cup or in a coffee shop in a cup or mug (at most 8 oz. probably). The smallest you can get today is 12 oz. I'm tempted to get a larger but always have to ask myself "do I need that much?" (I usually drink decaf so it's almost like drinking water, but still). Nobody sells a soda that is 8-12 oz. unless you buy a can or a kid's size. When I was growing up we couldn't drink soda without permission. My mother would buy occasionally and a 12 oz. CAN was for four people. We never drank a whole can of soda. I remember being excited when finally they gave you a whole can on the airplane. Nowadays people buy 32 oz. and a 16 oz. is the "small."
Exactly. I remember a post on here a few years ago. A sweet young woman was "whining" that she couldn't "eat normally" while dieting. When we inquired further we discover that her specific complaint was that she couldn't do her weekly lunch out with friends. We asked more and discovered that their regular routine was EACH of them ordering a regular sized pizza and eating it. We tried to explain that a pizza that size, with 6 or so regular sized pieces, was designed to be shared, that it was much too much food for a woman's lunch. We tried to explain that she could, indeed, participate in her regular outings just not eat a whole pizza. We've lost perspective.
Yes we have lost perspective. Food has become entertainment and experience. Think about it: there's the must have local fare, must go to restaurant, must try recipe, and cooking shows. There are constantly changing food trends, and FOMO (fear of missing out) drives people to seek these things out. YouTube has extreme cooking and eating videos (30 lb cheeseburger anyone?). Thanks to Seamless and Grubhub you don't even need to leave home for McDonald's. If you live your life around eating experiences, you have to think about the repercussions.
Treating food as an experience that one should enjoy does not mean that you'll somehow gain weight. It's not new and it is in no way unique to the US (if anything it's probably somewhat new to the US). Food as entertainment and as an experience doesn't have to mean large portion sizes. It means good dishes (as in food), quality ingredients, a good environment, etc.
If anything - and I know I'm speaking from personal tastes here - food has, on average gotten less good, in my lifetime. A greater diversity of foods is available, which is at least partially a good thing (more variety in fresh veggies/fruits more of the year, for example).
"Hyper-palatable" food has probably increased, as a fraction of the average person's intake . . . but "hyper-palatable" foods (IMO) are more about pushing our evolution-installed buttons (enjoyment of relatively high calorie, higher-fat, higher-carb/sugar, salty foods), rather than about being delightfully tasty in complex and satisfying ways. (Reminder: Just My Opinion.)
Restaurant food is more consistent than it used to be (every Applebee's tends to make the same stuff the same way, for example), but the mom'n'pop or locally-managed places that used to exist had higher highs than modern chains, as well as lower lows. The lowest lows in quality are pretty much gone, IMO, but we're kind of at a high-average mediocrity, mostly, in the chains. Genius and delight is mostly still locally-managed.
The average person cooks way less frequently, and using more pre-processed ingredients, than was average in my youth/young adulthood. It just blows me away that when people would take a scratch cake or cupcakes to work (when I was in the workforce over a decade ago), I'd hear various people marvel that not only had someone made it themselves, they'd miraculously done it without using cake mix. Workplace potlucks had a shrinking fraction of actual homemade foods, and a higher fraction of purchased pre-mades, over my working decades . . . at least until my specific (higher ed, IT) workforce started including a larger number of recent immigrants, who upped the ante in the yummy homemade food department again.
ETA: I left out the <curmudgeon>,</curmudgeon> tags again.
Could not agree more.
I do love trying new restaurants and going to old favorites, but they aren't chains, they are places I think might be interesting and teach me something. The chains aren't worth excess calories (the chains I go to sometimes are places like Pret, and that's about something consistent, that fits my goals, and has the calories a meal I'd have packed myself would have).
I used to use going to restaurants as an excuse to splurge, but I've come to terms with the fact that if it's a weekly or 2x a week event, you can't. Portions are often smaller than at the chains at the places I go (not always), but I know it's still way more cals than in something I'd prepare at home. I'll also plan for it.
Re supposedly hyperpalatable foods, I get the concept and why it pushes our evolutionary buttons, but I absolutely do not believe we eat more because that stuff is more delicious than homemade (it's clearly less, IMO) -- it's because it's so easy, so available, and so cheap, and maybe because it's just less satisfying than something that took work and is shared with family or friends in the context of a meal.3 -
Many Americans eat more than 3 meals a day. Maybe this contributes to average weight gain:
https://nypost.com/2018/09/26/nobody-eats-three-meals-a-day-anymore/2 -
^ I agree. When I was a kid, MAYBE we had a snack after school before dinner, but most likely we didn't, since we usually ate early around 5:00-6:00 pm. I also did not eat snacks in high school. Occasionally we'd get cookies or ice cream in college, but for the most part it was 3 meals a day. Since I've been on the weight loss program, I do my best when I just eat three good meals a day. Adding snacks just makes me crave more and go off the plan and just not helpful for me. I think if you know what you are eating and how much you should be, snacks can be effective. But the average American does not. I know before I started tracking, and I had been a healthy eater for the most part, including a vegan and vegetarian for about 10 years of my life, I still did not know how many calories I was supposed to be eating. I was shocked when I found out (since I'd been eating about 1,000 more per day).3
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They had to reduce capacity across our ferry system because average weight has gone up.5
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