What do you think is the primary reason for obesity?

I think Americans have just become more lazy and also bad food choices. Today people are on their computers, phones, gaming systems, watching tv more than going outside and being out and about. Also we have sooooo many fast food restaurants in our country and it's cheap and you get your food fast.

SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR!!!!

True! They add sugar to things that you would never put sugar in if making it at home!

I thought it might be interesting to see what our site feels might be the root cause(s) to our country becoming 66% overweight or obese.

I didn't realise MFP belonged to one country :huh: - there are just as many non-US citizens here :bigsmile: ... but then few nations have such an acute obesity crisis...:ohwell:

Is it due to?

1. Poor food choices Perhaps, but more often choices are made for convenience rather than nutrition or taste.
2. Portion control The culture of SUPERSIZING certainly doesn't help
3. Lack of exercise This would be my #1
4. Lack of sleep Doubt this has much to do with obesity at all; only a secondary concern at best
5. Physical problems (thyroid, hormonal imbalances, diseases, chronic illnesses, genetics) Again a very small proportion of overweight people have a genuine medical condition; having said that there is some research that suggests some of us have issues that cause us to produce too little ghrelin thus we don't realise we've over-eaten until it's too late!
6. Mental issues (lack of an equal quality of education) Not sure what this alludes to???
7. Emotional problems (stress, finances, job loss, divorcee or a bad relationship. etc.) Yes, emotional eating can be a common factor - food, booze, drugs, all are used as crutches in times of stress.
8. Lack of self-control or will-power This is probably my #2
9. Lack of availability to get quality foods in some areas Nope, this is an excuse.
10. Sedentary lifestyles now common place in the work and home environments This goes hand-in-hand with lack of exercise; we don't have the physical demands of our grandparents' generation.
11. Fast food restaurants This is another excuse - just because they are there doesn't mean you have to frequent them and eat their calorie-dense, nutrient-light foods.
12. Regular restaurants who in many cases serve portion sizes twice what one should eat Certainly in the US portion size in restaurants is ridiculous. Food should be savoured and I prefer to go to establishments where they understand that concept and not just pile obscene amounts of food on a huge, serving-sized dinner plate.
13. TV/Cell phones/Internet/Gaming Again this is an excuse.
14. Something else ... see below...

The primary reason for obesity is simple: we consume more than we expend!

It's not rocket science, however, if you are looking for a reason why we eat more than we need then look no further than cultural changes in the last quarter of the 20th Century. We in the West became wealthier and food became cheaper. But corporate greed meant we were brainwashed into eating more and more to ensure their profit margins weren't similarly diminished. Convenience was the name of the game and our lives became less active as we spent more time at work. More and more people work in offices and/or behind computer screens. And people drive to work rather than walking or cycling. Media-hype has a paedophile on every street corner so we no longer allow kids to play outside and encourage them to stay at home playing computer games and/or watching TV. Kids are fed snacks and sugary drinks such that we are effectively fois-gras-ing our kids and in many cases ourselves too.

My main issue was eating based on my emotions and lack of activity. I am still learning to realize when I'm under stress, excited, etc and choosing to handle the situation appropriately.

There is no vast conspiracy in the food industry to addict (literally) us to junk to guarantee profits. That is just fantasy. Everything has "chemicals". Everything you don't pick yourself is "processed". I could eat nothing but frozen dinners the rest of my life and remain healthy and maintain my weight. There is no science that supports the notion that HFCS is any different than any other sugar.

The food industry is heavily into the organic trend now - to the tune of billions. They will, rightfully, make a profit regardless of what the eating trends are, as soon as they get ahead of the next trend. They don't need to be evil lab coat dude to make money.

I agree about the processed food. It might be a bit of a red herring. We've been processing and preserving our food since long before the "obesity epidemic".

Also, I remember us eating MORE "processed" food in the form of tinned and dried food when I was younger, because not so many people had freezers. So much food was fried, often deep fried. Remember when everybody had a deep fat fryer? From what I can see, the food we eat now is more "healthy", not less. People watch cooking programmes on TV and spend a fortune on cookery books. In the ready meals section at the supermarket, so many of the meals or of the "just cook" variety, using much the same ingredients you'd use at home.

I know that for years, while I was a healthy weight, I changed my level of activity and didn't think about what I was eating. Whether I was sedentary or active, it seemed that my calorie intake adjusted to keep my weight within a few pounds. In recent years, that system has stopped working, for some reason. It's nothing to do with me eating junk food, because if anything, I eat "healthier" food (lots more veg, for instance). The same thing has happened to many of us - we're eating healthier, and getting bigger, and somehow our appetite doesn't adjust to our activity any more.

I thought it might be interesting to see what our site feels might be the root cause(s) to our country becoming 66% overweight or obese.

Is it due to?

1. Poor food choices
2. Portion control
3. Lack of exercise
4. Lack of sleep
5. Physical problems (thyroid, hormonal imbalances, diseases, chronic illnesses, genetics)
6. Mental issues (lack of an equal quality of education)
7. Emotional problems (stress, finances, job loss, divorcee or a bad relationship. etc.)
8. Lack of self-control or will-power
9. Lack of availability to get quality foods in some areas
10. Sedentary lifestyles now common place in the work and home environments
11. Fast food restaurants
12. Regular restaurants who in many cases serve portion sizes twice what one should eat
13. TV/Cell phones/Internet/Gaming
14. Something else

I read them all and all I saw was

number 1.

1. Excuses....

processed foods......hands down. When I was growing up on a farm, we ate almost no processed foods and cake, pie etc was a once in a while treat. Everything was home grown and made from scratch. My parents still eat this way and still live on the farm. They are 91 and 82 and are VERY healhy, and can still run circles around me.

I should also add that it was very rare to see anyone overweight when I was growing up (I am 62). We had ONE chubby girl in our class the entire 12 years I was going to school. In my family we were all on the thin side until we grew up and settled into city life and started eating out and eating processed food.

I remember having an exchange student when our children were younger, who came here from Spain. One of his first comments was "there are so many fat people!" and he was astounded that we sat in front of the tv and ate. He had never seen that before. He said, in Spain, we either watch tv, or we eat, but never both. So we have created many bad habits in our country too. And of course I absolutely believe that our sedentary/technologic lifestyles do not help either.

I'm 44, there weren't a lot of fat kids when I was in grade school and junior high either, just a few of them, and I was one of the few.
I have to think at least part of it is some kind of genetic pre-disposition. When I was a kid we didn't own a microwave, mom home cooked nearly everything, we never went out to restaurants as a family ..ever..and maybe if we were lucky dad might get us burgers once every couple weeks, we had to ask permission to split the 8oz Pepsis, and rarely had a lot of treat foods. Ie, we had Wheaties, but dad wouldn't allow Fruit Loops. I had two brothers and a sister, one was fat, two were sliim, and looking at the pictures I started gaining weight in maybe 3rd grade, when the only control I had over what I ate was if I had a second helping. Yet I was still a chubby kid. I always did like reading and blocks more than racing around outside like the skinny brother. Though I think the processed food and eating out is a big contribute to why there are *more* fat kids and adults now.

Someone else mentioned gym class. Honestly the only thing having gym class in school did for me was making me absolutely hate exercise. Seriously. There never seemed to be much concept back then of working at your own level, competing with yourself to improve, and if you were at the bottom end of the class fitness or ability wise it was a very very humiliating experience. Not just for the fat kids..one small dainty girl in my gym class actually puked during the running (for 10 minutes straight, not allowed to stop or walk) because it was just beyond what she could comfortably do. [this would have been around '80] People made fun of her for weeks poor thing. I got it for not being able to do sit ups without the gym teachers help and not being able to catch a baseball if my life depended on it. And I wasn't a huge kid like some I see now, just a chubby one. If there is to be gym in school there needs to be a major change in mindset..toward teaching kids a joy of movement and improving their own level regardless of the others. It took almost 30 years to convince myself that moving around is actually pretty fun and exercise can feel good.

What we did do differently though was play outside. For hours. Even me the bookish one, would ride my bike all over or run around the yard playing games or climbing in trees. I hardly ever see my young relatives do that these days, they'd rather play video games.

For me personally. I was lazy. I could never stick to eating healthily and I didn't like exercising. My portion size was ridiculous and covered in cheese so yeah.

Gluttony and laziness......a no brainer......:bigsmile:

Yes, of course this is right... but why? WHY are we more lazy, WHY are we more gluttonous, WHY do we all make excuses?

Have humans fundamentally changed in two or three generations to become lazy slobs with no self control?

I don't know the answers, but it's a fascinating discussion!

we've not evolved to eat grains, we're meant to eat fat for fuel!

join the revolution!!!!

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/saturated-fat-healthy/