Extreme obesity and paper plates. Question for people in the USA
Fatgonegirl
Posts: 126 Member
Sorry if this is not the correct board.
I watch My 600lb Life - I know I should be ashamed but I find it entertaining. One thing that puzzles me is the number of people shown eating from paper plates using plastic knives and forks. It is not everyone but it is fairly frequent. Is this a common practice in the USA?
In England, disposable crockery and cutlery are only used at gatherings where the host does not have sufficient pottery plates and metal cutlery or for children's parties as a novelty. Possibly the participants on the show are not fit enough to fill the dishwasher or wash up by hand. However, they often have family members who could undertake the task.
Is paper plate use linked to eating junk food or is it a common practice across the general population?
I watch My 600lb Life - I know I should be ashamed but I find it entertaining. One thing that puzzles me is the number of people shown eating from paper plates using plastic knives and forks. It is not everyone but it is fairly frequent. Is this a common practice in the USA?
In England, disposable crockery and cutlery are only used at gatherings where the host does not have sufficient pottery plates and metal cutlery or for children's parties as a novelty. Possibly the participants on the show are not fit enough to fill the dishwasher or wash up by hand. However, they often have family members who could undertake the task.
Is paper plate use linked to eating junk food or is it a common practice across the general population?
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Normally if someone that obese is always eating that way, it's likely due to take out (or take away in England).Fatgonegirl wrote: »Sorry if this is not the correct board.
I watch My 600lb Life - I know I should be ashamed but I find it entertaining. One thing that puzzles me is the number of people shown eating from paper plates using plastic knives and forks. It is not everyone but it is fairly frequent. Is this a common practice in the USA?
In England, disposable crockery and cutlery are only used at gatherings where the host does not have sufficient pottery plates and metal cutlery or for children's parties as a novelty. Possibly the participants on the show are not fit enough to fill the dishwasher or wash up by hand. However, they often have family members who could undertake the task.
Is paper plate use linked to eating junk food or is it a common practice across the general population?
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It's just their own personal preferences.
I haven't used a paper plate or plastic utensil in years, but I make all my own meals and I'm physically able to clean up afterwards. People use them for picnics, take out, or parties, yes.6 -
The only time I buy paper plates for our house is when I know I won’t be around and my boys think doing the dishes would kill them!6
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It's not uncommon. My mom and my best friend's parents both keep paper plates on hand and use them even for home-cooked family dinners. They do OWN real plates and silverware, they just don't always use them. For bestie's parents, their sink and dishwasher are both quite small, so especially if the meal is home-cooked they may opt to eat off of paper plates so that they can wash up everything else (pots and pans, cooking utensils) in one load and not have to hand-wash anything.
There are some people who use disposable flatware for everyday meals because they can't wash dishes for whatever reason - "not fit enough to fill the dishwasher" is a rather unkind way to phrase it but not necessarily inaccurate in some cases, although there are plenty of people who aren't morbidly obese but nonetheless have balance, mobility, or dexterity issues that make tasks like loading a dishwasher or cleaning dishes by hand difficult or dangerous. Especially if they have children in the house, they may have decided it's better to keep disposable dishes on hand rather than worry about breaking glasses/plates or constantly rounding up dishes from other rooms (having been a child that would just...accumulate cups in her bedroom, somehow).
There are also issues of water access; if you're in an area affected by drought, or where tap water is questionable, you may well calculate that it's cheaper for your family to buy and toss disposable flatware than it is to use the water needed to wash them, especially if you can't use tap water to do that for whatever reason. I hate that that's true in what should be a developed country, but there you go.
And there are also just some people who hate washing dishes and figure the cost of buying however many hundreds of paper plates and plastic forks each year is worth not having to wash up, which they're free to do.
edit to add one last thing: American TV shows in particular also do deliberately make staging and editing choices that serve their narrative. It's not something that I would necessarily clock as adding to the spectacle of "look at this incredibly fat person," since as demonstrated I can think of half a dozen other reasons to eat on paper plates, but if you're picking up on it it's possible some set designer somewhere decided "Oh, let's film this segment with paper plates to add to the slovenliness, so our audience can feel even better about themselves for not being 600 lbs," because that is *a* goal of airing programs like this even if it's not the primary one or even a goal the showrunners would publicly admit to having.10 -
I’m trying to become a better global citizen and use fewer paper plates. I always use metal silverware, but until the last year or so, anything I couldn’t eat out of the container got plopped on a paper plate. I rarely cook though, so most of what I eat is either takeout or stuff I order from Splendid Spoon type places. I usually don’t even need to use my own dishes whether they’re paper or porcelain.2
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Hardly use them ever. Sometimes for picnics or family gatherings with a lot of people. Even camping we have reusable plates/utensils.
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I think @goal06082021 brings up a lot of really good points, so I won't bother repeating everything she's said.
My preference is to use regular dishes as much as possible, but there have been times in my life when we've used a lot of disposable ones. In my case much of that has been related to pregnancy or recovery from childbirth, but really any situation that causes a lot of fatigue it makes sense. I'd rather use paper plates and reheat meals I've frozen in foil pans than constantly order takeout (though we also do more of that then.)
I used to, unfortunately, really look down on the idea of buying items like prechopped veggies or precut fruit etc that was not obviously geared towards those hosting a big party. I've learned since then that lots of people can maintain greater independence using items like these and that is valuable in itself.5 -
Fatgonegirl wrote: »Sorry if this is not the correct board.
I watch My 600lb Life - I know I should be ashamed but I find it entertaining. One thing that puzzles me is the number of people shown eating from paper plates using plastic knives and forks. It is not everyone but it is fairly frequent. Is this a common practice in the USA?
In England, disposable crockery and cutlery are only used at gatherings where the host does not have sufficient pottery plates and metal cutlery or for children's parties as a novelty. Possibly the participants on the show are not fit enough to fill the dishwasher or wash up by hand. However, they often have family members who could undertake the task.
Is paper plate use linked to eating junk food or is it a common practice across the general population?
Most likely they are getting take out/delivery. Using paper plates on the daily isn't particularly common I don't think. I'm sure some people do it, but I don't know anyone personally who uses disposable plates and flatware on any kind of regular basis.
I use it only when I'm camping or we're going for a picnic in the mountains or something.6 -
Here in Australia it is not at all common to use paper plates for everyday meals.
Have never known or heard of anyone doing so
More for bbq's or parties or picnics - and some people use washable plates for those things too.
Incidentally it is getting less common to get disposable plastic cutlery - seems more and more cardboard cutlery, presumably for environmental reasons.3 -
I only use them for large gatherings.
Frankly, unless there are health/mobility issues that physically prevent you from doing dishes, it's just lazy and environmentally irresponsible to use disposable plates/cutlery on a regular basis.
"I don't like doing it" is a lame excuse. Does anyone LIKE doing the dishes? We do it because we are adults who understand that not everything has to be enjoyable.20 -
When I was an adolescent/teenager in the 90s, my parents always bought a huge stack of paper plates. We had lots of regular plates as well. We tended to use the paper plates for things like toast and microwaveable snack foods, but always ate meals off of regular plates. The thinking was if it "wasn't worth dirtying a regular plate" you would eat it off a paper plate. As a kid/teen I didn't think much of it. Maybe my parents felt like growing kids dirtied too many dishes with all the snacks. I was always within a normal weight range, my parents were overweight. As a teen I washed dishes but maybe every other day, it was never a thing to wash dishes after every meal. I never buy paper plates now that I'm an adult, and my eating habits have also changed quite a bit.1
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I feel we have a very "disposable" society. It is really sad IMO. Not so bad with paper as that will degrade but the single use plastic like cutlery (water bottles, food containers etc.)is really bad. You think you can recycle this stuff but you cannot. Only 8% of the items we put in our recycle bin (US) is recycled.9
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Sooooooo speaking as a single girl who lives alone with a dishwasher, I don't see the need for real dishware. I have it but I either use a few plastic bowls for some specific foods I eat, paper plates if I need to microwave something that should be microwaved on a plate, and plastic forks and spoons that I wash and reuse until they're unusable. I do use a real knife to spread things.
But, yes, most normal people would mostly use them for picnics and large gatherings.
No shame in NOT using real dishware tho. Paper plates are a hell of a lot easier to clean up.
(I REALLY hate the an adult knows not everything is fair or enjoyable argument. An adult should also know making things easier in a life that's already hard isn't wrong.)
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Fatgonegirl wrote: »(snip)
Is paper plate use linked to eating junk food or is it a common practice across the general population?
I'd suggest being wary of making any inferences from "reality" TV shows - any inferences at all.
Others have covered lots of the reasons people might use paper plates/plastic utensils in the US. I'd guess that most of us use or have used them sometimes. (Example: Last weekend, I went to a potluck lunch at my rowing club. People used paper plates and plastic utensils. We could've brought our own reusable dishes/utensils from home, and washed them at home later (no running water at the boathouse). No one did.)
Other than takeout that comes to me on a paper plate, I never use those at home for myself. (I might use a paper plate to take cookies to a neighbor, or something relatively rare like that; I have some in the house.) I keep utensils in my car for takeout that I don't eat at home (often plastic utensils I've kept from situations where they were provided, then I took them home, washed them, throw them in a closed container in the car). Those who are physically able, with easy access to good water, and who think it's desirable to avoid creating excess waste, are likely to do things reuse plastic utensils, I suspect.4 -
Sooooooo speaking as a single girl who lives alone with a dishwasher, I don't see the need for real dishware. I have it but I either use a few plastic bowls for some specific foods I eat, paper plates if I need to microwave something that should be microwaved on a plate, and plastic forks and spoons that I wash and reuse until they're unusable. I do use a real knife to spread things.
But, yes, most normal people would mostly use them for picnics and large gatherings.
No shame in NOT using real dishware tho. Paper plates are a hell of a lot easier to clean up.
(I REALLY hate the an adult knows not everything is fair or enjoyable argument. An adult should also know making things easier in a life that's already hard isn't wrong.)
I so feel this! My thought is I'm not going to put more effort into dishes than I'm willing to put in to feed myself in the first place.6 -
we rarely use them.
the old homesteader we help out quite a bit uses a lot of disposable tableware but he has a hand dug well, so its not deep and water availability/ conservation/ usage is an issue and he is not physically able to stand and wash dishes, really. so, in his case, it makes sense.2 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »I only use them for large gatherings.
Frankly, unless there are health/mobility issues that physically prevent you from doing dishes, it's just lazy and environmentally irresponsible to use disposable plates/cutlery on a regular basis.
"I don't like doing it" is a lame excuse. Does anyone LIKE doing the dishes? We do it because we are adults who understand that not everything has to be enjoyable.
Well said. I HATE flossing, but do it every night.
We do have a dishwasher, but I only use it for large gatherings. I'll have to time regular cleanup for the two of us. It's less than a half hour - probably closer to 15 minutes since I clean as I prep. I put on the TV, radio, or podcast and get it done.
Growing up, Mom cooked and Dad and we kids did the dishes.
When Mom took over her father's house, she removed the dishwasher and replaced it with a cabinet for storage. She cooks, and my brother does the dishes.3 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Fatgonegirl wrote: »Sorry if this is not the correct board.
I watch My 600lb Life - I know I should be ashamed but I find it entertaining. One thing that puzzles me is the number of people shown eating from paper plates using plastic knives and forks. It is not everyone but it is fairly frequent. Is this a common practice in the USA?
In England, disposable crockery and cutlery are only used at gatherings where the host does not have sufficient pottery plates and metal cutlery or for children's parties as a novelty. Possibly the participants on the show are not fit enough to fill the dishwasher or wash up by hand. However, they often have family members who could undertake the task.
Is paper plate use linked to eating junk food or is it a common practice across the general population?
Most likely they are getting take out/delivery. Using paper plates on the daily isn't particularly common I don't think. I'm sure some people do it, but I don't know anyone personally who uses disposable plates and flatware on any kind of regular basis.
I use it only when I'm camping or we're going for a picnic in the mountains or something.
Here takeout provides plastic ware, but not paper plates.
If the "My 600lb Life" people's delivery service is not providing paper plates, I'm assuming they use them because mobility issues make washing dishes difficult.
@Fatgonegirl: I've watched the show too, and don't feel guilty about it - I love transformation stories! I can't remember though - after the surgery, towards the end of the show - are they using regular plates and utensils?0 -
I rarely use them and if I do it is for parties and things. Even then, I usually use my own dishes. I hate being wasteful and using any kind of plastic if I don’t have to. Growing up we never used them either.5
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Typically, I'd say that they're mainly just used for outdoor gatherings & picnics. Or indoors for a party with quick-cheap-takeouty-type things like pizza and wings.
Although lately, I'm finding that more and more people get various takeout or buy pre-prepared foods at the grocery on a daily basis... using paper plates for the things not already in eating containers would probably be somewhat more common versus using them for meals cooked at home.0 -
I can only speak for my personal experience (me, family, friends, acquaintances I've eaten with) but I only use paper plates at home for cookouts, to take to block parties, and (holiday-themed paper plates) to pack up treats for neighbors at the end-of-year holiday season. Occasionally on family vacations we would do paper plates when we brought carryout food back to wherever we were staying (even if it had a kitchen and real dishes, because who wants to do dishes on vacation?). Oh, and kids' birthday parties, but I haven't been to one of those in years, as all the youngsters in my family currently live at some distance.
I hadn't thought about it, but I can certainly see the argument for disposable plates and utensils if you have mobility, stability, gripping strength, or other issues that make breakable dishes and loading and unloading a dishwasher (or washing by hand) problematic. I have some inexpensive plastic plates I bought for serving heavier or damp/greasy things like burgers at cookouts so I didn't have to worry about paper plates collapsing, but that would only help with the breakage issue.2 -
I'd suggest being wary of making any inferences from "reality" TV shows - any inferences at all.
Yes, 'My 600lb. Life' is a scripted TV show complete with a neatly segmented story arc. Have you ever wondered why all the participants sound exactly the same when reading their voice-over lines? When they relocate to be near Dr. Now's facility, even with the production stipend, the rental units usually do not include kitchenware and cutlery. 9 times out of 10, the rental's commode will need to be replaced or re-seated (sometimes more than once) after or during the participant's stay and is one more line item in the show budget.
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I'd suggest being wary of making any inferences from "reality" TV shows - any inferences at all.
Yes, 'My 600lb. Life' is a scripted TV show complete with a neatly segmented story arc. Have you ever wondered why all the participants sound exactly the same when reading their voice-over lines? When they relocate to be near Dr. Now's facility, even with the production stipend, the rental units usually do not include kitchenware and cutlery. 9 times out of 10, the rental's commode will need to be replaced or re-seated (sometimes more than once) after or during the participant's stay and is one more line item in the show budget.
That is also a good point and one I hadn't considered, even though I did mention that TV isn't real life in my post. I think if I were temporarily relocating somewhere, especially for less than a year, I would probably not bother bringing crockery, either. Might get a plastic mess kit at the dollar store, if that, maybe, especially if I were relocating solo to do something extremely stressful. I've never watched My 600Lb Life so I don't know anything about it beyond "look at this incredibly fat person," so thank you for the insight from the production side.1 -
I use paper plates every week.
I have a family of 5 - I work from home and my kids homeschool, so we are home all day. I think this is the difference. I don't see how families get by not using them, unless they wash dishes all the time.
We have service for 4 (8, 7 plates, one shattered) of actual dishes, and 2 sets of resuable plastic children's plates.
If we eat three meals, that is 15 plates each day. We wash dishes once a day. You do the math, it isn't enough.
Now, we don't use them every day, DH washes the plastic kids plates by hand from breakfast and use them for lunch and dinner. But sometimes we don't do dishes EVERY day, or we are in a hurry and the dishwasher is still running at dinner time, or we are just having sandwiches.
We plan to buy more plates eventually, I'd like to get a set that matches what we have. We DID buy additional silverware and haven't had to use plastic silverware since.
MIL uses plastic silverware, she can taste the metal (she isn't crazy, it's legit, most people just filter it out). I suggested some washable plasticware for her, but I don't think she got it.3 -
For me, if it is something that is not particularly messy: I'll use paper plates. Easier on cleanup. I don't often use disposable utensils though. I only buy those for social gatherings, so none lately!
Regarding the show you mentioned - it often has the show subject relocating to Texas to live near the clinic. I imagine these people do not fully furnish/stock the apartment or home they rent since they are only there temporarily. That would make the use of disposable/temporary dishes sensible.Fatgonegirl wrote: »Sorry if this is not the correct board.
I watch My 600lb Life - I know I should be ashamed but I find it entertaining. One thing that puzzles me is the number of people shown eating from paper plates using plastic knives and forks. It is not everyone but it is fairly frequent. Is this a common practice in the USA?
In England, disposable crockery and cutlery are only used at gatherings where the host does not have sufficient pottery plates and metal cutlery or for children's parties as a novelty. Possibly the participants on the show are not fit enough to fill the dishwasher or wash up by hand. However, they often have family members who could undertake the task.
Is paper plate use linked to eating junk food or is it a common practice across the general population?
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ExistingFish wrote: »I use paper plates every week.
I have a family of 5 - I work from home and my kids homeschool, so we are home all day. I think this is the difference. I don't see how families get by not using them, unless they wash dishes all the time.
We have service for 4 (8, 7 plates, one shattered) of actual dishes, and 2 sets of resuable plastic children's plates.
If we eat three meals, that is 15 plates each day. We wash dishes once a day. You do the math, it isn't enough.
Now, we don't use them every day, DH washes the plastic kids plates by hand from breakfast and use them for lunch and dinner. But sometimes we don't do dishes EVERY day, or we are in a hurry and the dishwasher is still running at dinner time, or we are just having sandwiches.
We plan to buy more plates eventually, I'd like to get a set that matches what we have. We DID buy additional silverware and haven't had to use plastic silverware since.
MIL uses plastic silverware, she can taste the metal (she isn't crazy, it's legit, most people just filter it out). I suggested some washable plasticware for her, but I don't think she got it.
Yep, our kids are at school now but when we homeschooled, we used a ton of dishes every day just for eating - and I cook mostly from scratch so there are all those dishes too, though I really do try to be efficient with my dish usage. Even now we run our high-capacity dishwasher at least once per day and handwash a sinkful of dishes besides - when they were always home, we often ran it twice, sometimes three times!
Our dishes and cutlery have mostly been gifts or hand-me-downs and we have service for 12, though we rarely use the large dinner plates and just do the small lunch plates instead.2 -
penguinmama87 wrote: »ExistingFish wrote: »I use paper plates every week.
I have a family of 5 - I work from home and my kids homeschool, so we are home all day. I think this is the difference. I don't see how families get by not using them, unless they wash dishes all the time.
We have service for 4 (8, 7 plates, one shattered) of actual dishes, and 2 sets of resuable plastic children's plates.
If we eat three meals, that is 15 plates each day. We wash dishes once a day. You do the math, it isn't enough.
Now, we don't use them every day, DH washes the plastic kids plates by hand from breakfast and use them for lunch and dinner. But sometimes we don't do dishes EVERY day, or we are in a hurry and the dishwasher is still running at dinner time, or we are just having sandwiches.
We plan to buy more plates eventually, I'd like to get a set that matches what we have. We DID buy additional silverware and haven't had to use plastic silverware since.
MIL uses plastic silverware, she can taste the metal (she isn't crazy, it's legit, most people just filter it out). I suggested some washable plasticware for her, but I don't think she got it.
Yep, our kids are at school now but when we homeschooled, we used a ton of dishes every day just for eating - and I cook mostly from scratch so there are all those dishes too, though I really do try to be efficient with my dish usage. Even now we run our high-capacity dishwasher at least once per day and handwash a sinkful of dishes besides - when they were always home, we often ran it twice, sometimes three times!
Our dishes and cutlery have mostly been gifts or hand-me-downs and we have service for 12, though we rarely use the large dinner plates and just do the small lunch plates instead.
My dishes are the original set we got when we got married, and there were two of us...we fed the kids on high chair trays and toddler plates for a long time, but they are now bigger and eat more!
DH doesn't eat vegetables, so I get the dinner plates to load up with veggies for dinner and he gets the small ones for protein and calorie dense carbs
Nothing like filling a big dinner plate with lots of broccoli for very few calories! 1 -
I use paper plates in the microwave because it makes regular plates too hot. I sometimes will use them for snacks but not dinner. I use disposable cutlery with my lunch at work. I could bring silverware. I have not watched that show but if they are not very mobile washing dishes might be an issue.0
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ExistingFish wrote: »MIL uses plastic silverware, she can taste the metal (she isn't crazy, it's legit, most people just filter it out). I suggested some washable plasticware for her, but I don't think she got it.
No, she's not crazy. I don't use metal water bottles because I can taste it. I can taste real silver silverware but fortunately not the stainless steel kind.
Chiming in from Canada. Disposable plates and cutlery aren't the norm for anyone I know although you do see them at large gatherings because no one wants to be saddled with dishwashing and miss out on the festivities. Also for event type things where catered meals are brought in and there aren't dishwashing facilities on site.
I've attended these sorts of functions in recent eco-conscious times and been provided with bamboo utensils instead of plastic. I can't stand the feeling of bamboo so I will have to start carrying portable silverware when group functions resume.
Having seen 600 Lb Life and knowing that a lot of the participants have significant mobility issues, particularly with standing for periods of time (some are completely bedbound), my guess would be that it's just easier to use disposable dishes. Most live with someone else, require assistance with personal care and aren't really performing any household chores so eliminating one chore is probably helpful for the carer.
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As a kid, my family only ever used disposable plates/utensils if there was a large picnic or party where we didn't have enough dishes to cover the people there, or on a very rare occasion like a pizza night or something similar. My mom didn't get a dishwasher until I was a Junior in high school, so we all took our part in washing dishes.
Near the end of last summer we had to use them quite often because our(DH and mine) well had dried up and we had to shower at my in-laws or my mother's. At the time there just wasn't enough wiggle room in our budget to fix it, so we had to make do. There just wasn't any water to wash dishes, let alone ourselves. I did, however, take my pyrex containers with me to work, and washed them out in our break room, dried them and brought them back home, so I was only using 1 plate at home for the most part. I try to be very environmentally conscious-I compost, try to grow a majority of my own food, buy from local farms vs. supermarkets when I can, use canvas/reusable bags, use a reusable water bottle, donate things I no longer need/use instead of throwing away, and limit the amount of plastic that is brought into the house which is quite difficult these days. There's just so much waste, and we are trying our best as a house to keep our footprint down. Having to rely on paper plates definitely upset me a little bit.
I am happy to say that this summer, we have had an abundance of rain and our well is holding steady. We still plan on expanding it, but it was not an issue this summer.3
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