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| Conundrum |
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We have tons of knowledge about diet. We now list calories and fat content on many foods. We have had record numbers of obese adults receiving stomach bypass surgery so they are no longer obese. We have more fitness clinics, pools, fitness equipment then we ever had. We have access to more healthy foods (even at fast food restaurants) than we ever had. We spend more on kids sports, sport camps, and sports of all kinds then we ever have. Yet we are the fattest that we have ever been. 1/4 of the population is too fat to join the military affecting recruitment. What the hell is going on in this country? |
| Sir Thickbrain of Dunderhead |
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Because food is tasty and running would require getting up from the computer. |
| The Bare Facts |
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It's a very serious problem, that's for sure. One article I read recently pointed out that food companies, like General Mills and Nabisco, have in the past twenty years or longer invested tons of money in artificial methods to enhance the taste of the food they sell. Their motive is the same motive for all companies: profit. But what they've created is a hyper-eating nation. Couple this with the more sedentary life style of the non-blue collar worker, and you have a recipe for weight gain. |
| Slow and Steady |
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HFCS. That's why. |
| jjjjjjjj |
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we're sedentary and the cheapest food, mostly ready to eat, is the most calorific. portion sizes have increased parallel to obesity since the late 1970s. sugary drinks are a major culprit, as is suburbanization (equals no more walking). |
| rekrunner |
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Which country/nation do you mean? Shall we presume you mean the USA? You didn't say who "we" are. Perhaps the problem lies in your assumption of "tons of knowledge". Maybe the knowledge we have isn't so much, and it's combined with a lot of mis-information, or too simplified to be meaningful. Who gives "us" this knowledge? A lot of what Americans know about nutrition comes courtesy of the "Meat and Dairy Associations" and "Dairy Councils", who curiously recommends meat and dairy. The obvious conflict of interest shouldn't go unnoticed. Part of the problem is incentives. Ask yourself how much money is spent by food corporations on advertising, versus the budgets of government nutritional campaigns. Take dietary fat for instance. The original message about fat was rather complex, making a distinction between mono and poly, saturated, non-saturated, fats. To get the message across to everyone, it has been "dumbed-down" to "fat is BAD". So today we find food corporations offering a wide-range of "no-fat" foods to replace the original versions. Try to find full-fat yogurt in the grocery store -- it's not easy. Is diet Coke really more healthy than "the real thing"? Did your grandparents eat low-fat Pringles with 1/3 less salt? But are these "no-fat" substitutes better for you than the original food? To improve the taste, they usually contain more sugar. It helps to know that consuming more carbohydrates than you use results in a repeated cycle of a sugar-rush, insulin overdose, eventually terminating with the process of converting the unused carbs into stored fat. That "we" are fat as a nation is a predictable outcome of many factors of American society we take for granted: - In order to earn enough money, both parents work in many households. This means that the traditional idea of a family eating a home-cooked meal, is replaced by ordering pizza, or grabbing fast-food on the way to the cinema. - Much of what we think we know about nutrition comes from food corporations, who want to make you lighter in your wallet, not your waistline. - Even traditional foods that were once grown in organic ways by real farmers planting seeds in naturally enriched soil, or raising free-ranging animals, are replaced by massive agri-farms, that over-utilize chemicals, pesticides, anti-biotics, and ultimately genetic manipulation. - The car, TV, and computer mean we spend more time sitting on our butts, then our ancestors did. The solution is obvious. If we know that what we do and have today makes us fat, we must replace enough of these things with what we did and had, when we were not fat. |
| Mike Rowave |
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seriously, it is because we lack intelligence, only 35% of us are somewhat intelligent, come on, look at us, we are fat, we do stupid things all the time, we are a mess, not only physically |
| Put Ron on the Rock |
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Because of Communists like you who sit behind a computer all day and complain, but have no constructive solutions. |
| Conundrum |
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While I do agree misinformation is out there particularly regarding nofat foods, I don't think that is a reason. By the way, I am not a communist. Really I am not. (not even socialist) |
| American Way |
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a)People operate based on incentives, and the short term incentive is to get good tasting food to fulfill hunger. The cheapest way to do this is unhealthy food. The long term is too far into the future to play a major role for most people. b)Historically, fats came at a premium, so humans are predisposed to eating as much of them as they can. This was a matter of survival thousands of years ago, but now it is causing disease because fats are no longer difficult to attain. To solve the problem, the incentives need to be drastically changed. Better tasting and cheap health foods need to be offered and people would have to pay for unhealthy living in the form of extra health insurance costs. Otherwise, the negative aspects of an unhealthy lifestyle lay dormant for too long to affect the vast majority of people. If they had to pay extra insurance on a monthly basis, this might change. |
| been thinking |
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I have a theory. We see this as a fairly recent problem, right? I think we can all agree on that. Now, go online and find a cookbook from thee 50's and 60's and look at the shit they were making. Some of it was downright disgusting. We're getting to a point were nearly _everything_ tastes freaking great. Look at your frozen section. Stuff in there would have beaten most restaurants back in the '70s. No wonder there weren't tons of overweight people back then...food wasn't THAT great. Sure, it was ok, but a $2 box from the freezer wasn't the equivalent of a gourmet meal. We are our own worst enemy in that we strove to make the meals better and easier and affordable, and now we wonder why people are fat?? We made the food better, duh. If a person could only eat beef and drink water, and nothing else (i.e. no spices or flavorings), it's hard to imagine them ballooning up and becoming overweight. While I think it's easy to blame an individual for their weight, I think there is a bigger picture here. I think the food is triggering the response to overeat. Sure, a person can make a mental choice and force themselves to drop weight, stop eating as much, but that doesn't seem natural does it? You're going against what your body is telling you to do. So why is the body telling you it wants more cookies? Because they're good. Too good. Ok, I've rambled on here long enough. I'm not really siding with overweight people here and I'm not saying they shouldn't be accountable for themselves, I was just thinking about "why", had a thought and let it out as I was typing. |
| Experimenter |
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Have you been to a WalMart lately? It's the blue collar workers who comprise the majority of America's fat slobs. Most white collar people take care of themselves because they have the knowledge (as well as income) to do so. |
| StallionOP |
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what country are you speaking off? well im going say Spain. |
| rekrunner |
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Ironic someone mentioned Communist to describe a very "western world" problem, largely aggravated, if not caused, by the unchecked greed associated with "capitalism". Mis-information is maybe a small part of the problem, but to say we have "tons of knowledge" is exaggerated. My point about mis-information, is there is too much information, and a lot of it is conflicting, and not enough individual knowledge to know how to interpret this information. Is a vegan diet healthy? Lot's of conflicting information says it is, and it isn't. Is red meat really that bad for you? Well, yes and no, depending on who you ask. Are eggs really bad for you, or nature's ideal food? What's the scoop in cholesterol anyway? Is it an artery clogger, or an essential substance? Is margarine better than butter? (That's easy: no). Is Miracle Whip even Mayonnaise? No. What's the difference between Cool Whip and Whipped Cream? What's in Cool Whip anyway, if we are so informed? Who else puts aerosol cheese in a can? And who buys it? That can't be good for us, nor the environment. In the old days, Coke came in 8 oz. or 12 oz. Whose idea was it to offer bigger Cokes, and why? Who wins when you buy a Super-big Gulp? Your belly and your wallet, or Coca-Cola shareholders? Depends on your definition of "win". Is buying sliced ham preserved in sodium nitrate the same as buying ham freshly sliced at the butcher? Whatever happened to the butcher? Or the baker? Is Wonder even bread? Why is it easier to find donuts than good bread? Do we need vitamin supplements? Why? Does the average American even give any of this a first thought, let alone a second thought? Who is responsible for getting un-biased and complete information to the public? Who is more powerful, the FDA, or Monsanto? I would say being fat is the predictable result of the American Way, and the never-ending quest of saving time and money, at all costs. In a free market, the consumer makes many choices regaring the best value for money, and the seller who can provide the best value, for the lowest price, should be rewarded with the most business. The problem is that what the consumer decides is value for money, is making him fat. To solve the obesity problem, we need to change what the consumer decides is valuable. Coca-Cola Corporation will not solve that for America, unless shrinking your bottom, makes their bottom line grow.
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| themanontherun |
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Our over-reaching government gives massive subsidies to farmers in the midwest (hypocrites) which allows them to produce cheap meat and refined grains, which get sold in the form of fast food all over the country. It's cost effective, particularly for those of lower incomes, because it's tasty and cheap (nevermind that the expenses come back to bite them in the ass when they need a heart bypass at 50). Also, we don't like exercise. |
| Rahm Emmanuel |
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is it perfectly legal to inject cows with steroids and hormones |
| Moonraker Elite TC |
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Was this really necessary? |
| nsmb, armchair anthropologist |
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More generally: once upon a time it was harder to get enough food, period. As a consequence we probably have an instinct to eat as much as we can of what's available - or at least eat a good bit more than our minimum requirement - as a hedge against a shortage next week. Similarly, if just surviving was a lot of work (and on a sometimes inadequate diet, no less), it's plausible that we developed the instinct to chill, rest, relax, conserve energy in the rare moments it was possible. These instincts obviously don't serve us as well in times of plenty, when loads of cheap calories are always within easy reach, and when rather than laborious hunting and gathering, fashioning tools from stone, and fighting off sabertooth tigers and tyrannosauri rexing to protect one's family and tribe, we take a car or train to work, plant our ass in an office chair for eight hours, and punch two buttons on a microwave. And maybe get hit by a hit on an especially tough day. |
| bauhaus |
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HFCS - you nailed it. |
| Satansmouf |
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Due to our social programs we've turned the world upside down. Throughout most of human history fat was synonymous with well fed and successful, rich. In the modern USA your stereotypical "fat a ss" is on welfare, while the thin and fit are very successful. Also when looking at the USA compared to any other nation you have to take into account our VAST diversity. Most other countries are much more homogeneous than us. That makes a HUGE difference in anything to do with health care, body weight, life expectancy, etc... |
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