Weight of average American
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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.13 -
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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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." [/quote]
I had to giggle a bit at this, and myself. I remember thinking we had it rough because my brother & I always had to share a can of coke. We weren't ever allowed to have a whole one to ourselves.
BUT... do you remember that "Freshen-Up" gum that had the liquid in the center?
My mom used to bite a piece of that in half & make us share it too. Haha
(Also, I quit drinking all cokes in 2000. If I do have any, it's splitting one can with my mom at Christmastime. Sometimes I think I miss it, but once I have a taste..nope.)
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You can see how rates of obesity in the USA have been steadily increasing since 1990 on this page. Adult obesity rates exceed 35% in seven states, 30% in 29 states, and 25% in 48 states.
https://stateofobesity.org/adult-obesity/
This in spite of the fact that "...Americans spend more money in dieting, dieting products and weight loss surgery than any other people in the world." Still think fad diets work?
Source: https://www.livestrong.com/article/390541-facts-statistics-about-dieting/
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You can see how rates of obesity in the USA have been steadily increasing since 1990 on this page. Adult obesity rates exceed 35% in seven states, 30% in 29 states, and 25% in 48 states.
https://stateofobesity.org/adult-obesity/
This in spite of the fact that "...Americans spend more money in dieting, dieting products and weight loss surgery than any other people in the world." Still think fad diets work?
Source: https://www.livestrong.com/article/390541-facts-statistics-about-dieting/
I mean the US population also spends more on health care with worse results and far worse access than quite a number of other high income countries (here's a link from Reuters).4 -
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."
Plus the cup of coffee was black or maybe some cream and sugar adding maybe 100 calories, not the 500+ calorie things Starbucks and others pass off as coffee.
5 -
You can see how rates of obesity in the USA have been steadily increasing since 1990 on this page. Adult obesity rates exceed 35% in seven states, 30% in 29 states, and 25% in 48 states.
https://stateofobesity.org/adult-obesity/
This in spite of the fact that "...Americans spend more money in dieting, dieting products and weight loss surgery than any other people in the world." Still think fad diets work?
Source: https://www.livestrong.com/article/390541-facts-statistics-about-dieting/
I mean the US population also spends more on health care with worse results and far worse access than quite a number of other high income countries (here's a link from Reuters).
That was a general question to the thread's readers in general, I wasn't trying to contradict you.0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »Plus the cup of coffee was black or maybe some cream and sugar adding maybe 100 calories, not the 500+ calorie things Starbucks and others pass off as coffee.
My grande Starbucks coffee is sweetened with stevia, and lightened with three tablespoons of half and half, which is 60 calories, and well worth the calories to me. The calorie-laden things they sell at Starbucks (Venti Peppermint Mocha: 540 cals) are desserts for people who don't like to drink coffee. Some of the things they sell don't have any coffee or tea in them at all. A medium chocolate shake at Steak & Shake is 478 cals. I'd rather blow that many calories on a real milkshake made with ice cream than on one of the flavored abominations at Starbucks. But that's just me.7 -
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’ve heard this stat before! I’m 5’10” and my heaviest weight was 150. It’s hard for me to fathom being the “average” weight. Then again I’m 20, have a high metabolism and eat all the time.6 -
The map is informative. I'm in PA, and we have 31% obesity, but ranked 24, so that means still almost half the country lives in a state that has more obesity in the population. I think cuisine does have a lot to do with it, since the only southern state that is in the lowest percentile is Florida. Several are in the top 10 and typical southern food tends to be high in calories and humungous portions. They also don't have very much public transportation in some of those rural areas so many people probably drive everywhere.0
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takemetosingapore2019 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’ve heard this stat before! I’m 5’10” and my heaviest weight was 150. It’s hard for me to fathom being the “average” weight. Then again I’m 20, have a high metabolism and eat all the time.
When I was 20 I weighed 115. At that time I surely couldn't image EVER weighing over 200 lbs. But it happened. Stress had a lot to do with it in my case, along with menopause, and general ignorance about caloric intake--since for 40 years of my life I could control my weight more or less without knowing.5 -
Packerjohn 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."
Plus the cup of coffee was black or maybe some cream and sugar adding maybe 100 calories, not the 500+ calorie things Starbucks and others pass off as coffee.
I can remember, back then, that every once in a while, you'd see someone in a diner or similar, who was painstakingly ripping over 5 or more of those tiny paper sugar packets, and putting them in a cup of coffee. People with other tables were inclined to unobtrusively nudge one another and roll their eyes in that person's direction, because it seemed eccentric.
If someone put many more packets in a cup (say, 8+), folks were likely to tell other people about it later, and laugh.
Kinda thinking even a small mocha is gonna have that much sugar in it, these days, but no one bats an eye.5
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