Why can't Americans lose weight? Obesity rate projections?

I will second the notion of cost/ease of bad foods. If you look back 50 years, if you were poor you basically didn't eat! Or you scraped together left overs made from whole foods. Now you can easily by highly processed mac-n-cheese, fish sticks or other crap from the store or just swing by McD's for the dollar menu. So instead of the poor eating less calories than the average person, they are taking in probably double (which seems counterintuitive).

Another thing that impacts us is there is simply too much to "do" now. With people becoming more e-inclined and focused on TV, no one wants to take the time to shop for and cook a legit dinner (I am definitely guilty of this), so they opt for the easy way out which is either take-out (high in calories) or easy microwaveable meals (high in empty calories and highly processed).

As I sit in my office, I see almost everyone in my age group (35) putting on weight. Average guys have a paunch and love handles, and generally look sloppy in their baggy business casual clothes, trying to keep up with the expanding waist line. I just am thankful that my neurotic OCD tendencies won't allow me to skip many workouts or runs.

Adenovirus-36 antibodies more frequent in obese children

http://www.endocrinetoday.com/view.aspx?rid=70604

Adenovirus 36 DNA in Adipose Tissue of Patient with Unusual Visceral Obesity

http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/5/850.htm

Human adenovirus-36 is associated with increased body weight and paradoxical reduction of serum lipids

http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v29/n3/abs/0802830a.html

Study links childhood obesity to adenovirus 36

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/health/2010-09/21/c_13522738.htm

I know a lot of chubby girls that are gay!

What wrong with being fat? I just punch my girl in the stomach and ride the waves.

1. Sedentary lifestyle.

2. Poor food choices.

Most jobs have people sit on their butts. There are too few manufacturing jobs and other jobs requiring physical labor. The one job that does require someone to be on their feet alot, teaching, gets poo pooed on. If you check the obesity rate of those in farming, manufacturing, and maybe teaching I bet it would be lower than the average.

Financial greed. In our society we are taught to work long hours to provide crap for our families. Bigger houses, cars, etc. If you sit at a desk for 10-12 hours a day you're likely not making good food choices nor exercising.

Convenient food. I can remember even just 20 years ago there weren't nearly as many sit down restaurants as there are today. Portion sizes at these places are typically larger than you would eat at home. Hot Pockets, danishes, pop tarts, etc...all convenient foods leading to obesity.

Lack of food preparation. If you actually prepare each and every meal you eat chances are you will not become obese. This is because you can control the exact nutrtion and portion sizes of your meal.

Lack of exercise isn't generally a big problem. It's lack of daily activity, which is different. Exercising is a relatively modern concept born of the lack of an active daily life. Farmers didn't exercise because they had loads of daily activity. I see lots of people exercising, but few actually losing weight. I see people exercising 5-6 days a week for an hour and not losing weight. You can't out train a bad diet.

I've met people who have NEVER eaten a vegetable in their lives because their parents NEVER game them anything else but convenient foods. People eat too few fruits and vegetables and too much bread. Why grab a McMuffin or a donut or some other processed food in the morning when you can just grap a couple pieces of fruit if you're on the go?

In general, in this country we lead a lifestyle that is conducive to creating overweight and obese people.

Alan

Because American food is crap. Even the vegetables you buy in a grocery store.

Grow your own tomatoes or peppers. Buy a bushel of apples from a local stand.

Then compare the taste with the taste of the same food from the supermarket. You'll soon realize that you are not eating what you think you are eating.

blame the government's sickening control over everything. No more free market means people don't even want to try and work hard.Not working hard means people get fat and lazy. The Socialist president now has contributed to this

no mandatory gym class, no fitness standards for youngsters to aspire to, no adults who are willing to take responsibility for their kids well being....blame everyone but yourself for this.

Plus, doctors who would rather medicate than prescribe diet and exercise, much easier.

My 22 year old niece had her gall bladder removed because her diet was crap and she did not exercise (but she took lots of medication for ailments that were caused in part by her weight). She claimed (and my lap band surgery that didn't help still obese sister-in-law claimed as well) that gall bladder issues run in the family - yeah for my 90 year old grandmother - great comparison.

But, she continued, my niece's liver would take over those functions soon enough and she would be able to eat normally again!! woohoo. So I basically told my niece she would not live to see 40 unless she started to exercise and eat better....sadly my advice was not taken.

adenovirus 36 is probably not the reason.

Yes, it's not the fat person's fault, it's the government's... I just don't understand it. You don't wake up one day weighing 250+ lbs. If you see yourself starting to put on a little weight, you're clearly doing something wrong and need to either A) Not take in as much; B) Expend more energy; or C) Both. It's not rocket science - if you want to lose weight, you expend more calories than you put in

blme wrote:

blame the government's sickening control over everything. No more free market means people don't even want to try and work hard.Not working hard means people get fat and lazy. The Socialist president now has contributed to this

I'm sure you're trolling but, just in case, answer me this:

If it's the Government's sickening control over everything that's causing obesity, why is it that more socialistic countries in Europe have much lower obesity rates than the U.S.? Being motivated by money and material goods, while working longer hours to attain them, probably isn't conducive to lowering waist sizes.

You're kidding right wrote:

If it's the Government's sickening control over everything that's causing obesity, why is it that more socialistic countries in Europe have much lower obesity rates than the U.S.?

HFCS. The government is undermining the free market. If they weren't, we would be able to buy products with real sugar.

I completely agree. The government sadly distorts the market with the farm subsidies that disproportionately reward the growing and harvesting of vast amounts of corn and soy. Consequently, this so drastically depresses the prices of corn and soy that they have become the cheap caloric source for all of our refined food products - from soda (obvious) to french fries, our vegetable oils (primarily soy), etc. Plus, the amounts of corn and soy grown means that the farmers growing them can't turn a profit on the products, leading to ever greater dependence on the government and thus into a horrible economic/agricultural cycle that is severely damaging our nation's health.

Just think what would happen if we shifted our subsidies to support produce, fruit, vegetables, and healthier foodstuffs grown in a more diverse, ecologically normal matter. Sure, the average price per calorie may go up, but the market will see decreasing prices in quality foods, boosting the nation's health and lessening the health burden. I think the differences there make up any slight price rises that may result.

The huge influx of Mexicans has skewed the stats. Obesity is measured as BMI (height /weight). Mexicans are short and wide, resulting in a higher BMI.

TheBlameGame wrote:

Yes, it's not the fat person's fault, it's the government's... I just don't understand it. You don't wake up one day weighing 250+ lbs. If you see yourself starting to put on a little weight, you're clearly doing something wrong and need to either A) Not take in as much; B) Expend more energy; or C) Both. It's not rocket science - if you want to lose weight, you expend more calories than you put in

Sadly it is rocket science to most. It's a matter of willpower. Once you get over that first month hump it's easy. Most never get out of the starting block and spin their wheels for an eternity.

Alan

Granny Shiftin wrote:

Nice points Lobster Chowdah but I disagree with number 5. You dont know when a heart attack's coming and it's not like Americans think about the consequences. You may be right in a sense with the cholesterol lowering drugs for Americans who claim "diet and exercise weren't enough." That's actually true for some people but not true for a whole lot.

My ass you don't know you're gonna have one after years of eating horribly. That is the kind of denial people get into that leads to this sort of issue.

Get Some Fresh Air wrote:

I completely agree. The government sadly distorts the market with the farm subsidies that disproportionately reward the growing and harvesting of vast amounts of corn and soy. Consequently, this so drastically depresses the prices of corn and soy that they have become the cheap caloric source for all of our refined food products - from soda (obvious) to french fries, our vegetable oils (primarily soy), etc. Plus, the amounts of corn and soy grown means that the farmers growing them can't turn a profit on the products, leading to ever greater dependence on the government and thus into a horrible economic/agricultural cycle that is severely damaging our nation's health...

Well said. And a point the Pollen, of course, makes in Omnivore's Dilemna. It isn't, of course, a Democratic problem, or a Republican problem. Its a bipartisan boondoggle. So, tangentially, add ridiculous campaign financing laws to the mix of reasons why people are fat. The AMD's of the world have lots of money for lobbyists and campaign contributions, afterall. Certainly more than the guy who grows organic apples.

In some respects, it is such a simple problem. People lead sedentary lives and eat highly processed food and way too much meat. No problemo. Just leave the suburbs, learn to cook and engage in regular and demanding physical activity. That was easy. But we know it ain't gonna happen.

Yeah, the big government in collusion with industrial food corporations are to blame for much of the problem. But if you are a parent and you don't teach your kids how to cook and enjoy healthy food, and to engage in regular and demanding exercise, aren't you being negligent? "Oh, McD's is so convenient!!" Yeah, factory farmed meat is so convenient. Antibiotic resistant diseases are so convenient. Type 2 diabetes is so convenient. Health care costs that will cripple the country are so convenient. When I was a kid, my friends and I all walked or biked to school. We never ate at restaurants of any kind unless it was a special occasion. Both my parents worked hard and long. Small business owners. We ate dinner at the dining room table every night. It all sounds so quaint and ancient. Yet that's the way my kids live too. They bike to school. They eat a home cooked dinner every night except for special occasions. Kids need a good foundation for healthy living. Sure, when they are teens they will eat at crap places, and they'll drink too much and whatever. I did. But don't inculcate your kids in the cult of fat and salt when they are too young to know better. McD's and the like is "great" hangover food when you are, say, 16 to 22. Otherwise, as Anthony Bourdain says, stay away from the Colonel, the King and the Clown.

Get Some Fresh Air wrote:

Just think what would happen if we shifted our subsidies to support produce, fruit, vegetables, and healthier foodstuffs ...

How about stopping all the subsidies BS?

Montana Fish wrote:

The huge influx of Mexicans has skewed the stats. Obesity is measured as BMI (height /weight). Mexicans are short and wide, resulting in a higher BMI.

Statistics are great. Remember when I read that on average, Americans are now shorter than 20 years ago and I thought "yep, no surprise with the majority of NEW immigrants being from Latin America/Mexico and Asia". Of course, the scientists came to another conclusion: it must be the nutrition in America.