Germans consume more fat, almost as much sugar, but only 14.7% obese vs USA 35%

Europeans can eat more and remain at a good weight because they get exercise, whether they want to or not. Plus the quality of the food is superior to the US. Soft drinks and deserts are at least half as sweet in Europe, in general.

Depends, there is still an obesity issue in the UK (although they don't want to be classed as European anyway ;)).

That sugar graph is a bit confusing, does it include sugars from carbs or just sugars etc ?

The main driving impetus for Obesity is quick carbs and fat together. That's the sledgehammer, and why the U.S has no hope. There are too many companies riding on the cash cow circle of U.S folk overdosing on carb/fat, and then overdosing on medical treatment at extortionate prices.

You can still get obese without that quick carbs/fat combo, but it's harder. Fat keeps you more satiated, same with protein, so eating plenty of those without so many carbs, you are less likely to have an issue.

Exercise helps, but it's a smaller part of the picture.

I am a european and personally I think obesity is rife here, AT LEAST 80% of people are sedentary and when I look at foods in the supermarket, there is a buttload of sugar and additives in pretty much everything. Literally nobody is in shape and everybody drives. I have never been to the USA but if this problem is even worse over there then no wonder you are all dropping like flies with heart attacks and cancer.

Where do you live? Certainly not in The Netherlands or France. There everyone is slim. Obese people are uncommon. Most people in Europe are forced by infrastructure to get exercise. Go to the US. The first thing you'll notice is most people are fat. We also have a high rate of morbidly obese people. You wonder: How does this person use the toilet?

other than Marx and Goering, I can't quickly think of any fat Germans. List some fat ones please.

Sgt. Schultz was pretty rotund but Colonel Klink, on the other hand, was a rail.

.. wrote:

Where did you get the idea that Germans arent fat from.

Do you always ask questions - that I assume you think are clever and challenging - without bothering to read the linked article?

From the article:

Germany, which ranks second in both sugar and fat consumption per capita, is among the skinniest nations in the developed world. Only 14.7 percent of its population over the age of 14 is considered obese, according to data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

You hit the nail on the head! I live in Germany....all sodas have sugar here. No corn syrup. That stuff creates fatty tissue even around the heart. It should be banned, full stop!!!

"Only 14.7 percent of its population over the age of 14 is considered obese,"

I like the use of the word "only" there. 14.7% still seems a lot to me.

Ultimately I think the problem in the U.S is very few people actually want to ever address any problem. It's all free will, or denial, often driven by capitalism. Same with gun control. No one actually has the balls to tackle huge problems, instead they spend all their energy on stuff like 'walls'.

"Skinny" is actually rather misleading. Germans might not be as obese as some others but they are still overweight, more than half of adults.

As for fat vs carbs/sugar. Fatty foods often are more satiating, this may be one reason.

You dont have to read anything to see that there are plenty of fat people in Europe.

It's not just "fats v. sugar" . For the first half of the 20th century, people ate both, but obesity was relatively rare. But they were consuming fat as saturated animal fat (lard, meat, etc) which is very saiating, and sugar was in the form of sucrose (which is only 1/2 fructose), which is less obesogenic.

The true firestorm (Fat Bomb) is when fat is switched to polyunsaturates (refined vegetable/seed oils) and sugar to high-fructose (corn syrup), in conjunction with refined starches. Think "donuts" or "fries (now cooked in oil rather than lard) with Coke", and you are on target. This transition occurred during the late 70s and 80s due in part to government recommendations to cut saturated fats and it was off to the races for weight gain.

Europe has been behind the curve on the Fat Bomb, but they are catching up, as is the Third World. Fructose and seed oils are cheap as dirt, addicting as hell, and very very profitable.

YMMV wrote:

sugar was in the form of sucrose (which is only 1/2 fructose), which is less obesogenic.

Just about 9% less than 55% HFCS, yes

But by the same logic, also about 18% more obesogenic than the 42% HFCS they put in food as opposed to soda.

"Europe has been behind the curve on the Fat Bomb, but they are catching up, as is the Third World."

Another simplistic generalization. You must feel powerful, son.

I personally think the addictive chemicals and additives in food are the biggest problem, they addict our bodies to terrible foods and give us withdrawal symptoms and deprssion whenever they are cut out of our diets. They are not made for human consumption. They are changing the way our metabolisms work, these additives are designed to pump out lots of hunger hormones and these additives stick around in our fat cells for years and change our DNA. Not everything is about calories in vs calories out, some of the fattest people I know are the ones who are so ill and unhealthy within themselves because of fibromyalgia or thyroid issues (which is DNA damage caused by these untested additives) that they literally never feel like eating. There is a woman I know who has fibromyalgia who find it hard to shove one meal a day down her neck because her guts are such a mess through living off unhealthy food her whole life. She must eat less than 600 calories in a day yet she is obese, and there rae a lot of people like this out there.

Tear homie

track chick wrote:

Phat Buoy wrote:

The main, pretty much only, factor in obesity is total calories, although there are factors in that. Exercise is not really a factor when you look at populations. Some urban Asian cities get almost no exercise at all (no, they don't walk or bike everywhere) and have very low obesity.

I came here to say pretty much this. What about protein, other carbohydrates, other calories? Sugar and fat only tell a percentage of the story, not the full story.

I also don't think exercise plays as much of a part as people make out either. It plays a small role, maybe 20%, I don't know. But diet is by far and away the most important thing. Fat actually probably helps keep weight down due to satiety.

I disagree!

When I lived in Europe, I was surprised at how much they ate and drink and almost no one had a gym membership, yet they were decided smaller than Americans. Most Europeans can get to wherever they need to on bike or on foot and the car is only used when places are more than a couple miles away. Like New Yorkers, some Europeans go their whole like with owning a car. Getting a license is much tougher in Europe, petro is must more expensive, much fewer parking garages...basically, Europeans are more active.

Trying to boil it down to individual factors doesn't do it. It's a compilation of factors where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Some of these factors include:

1. Greater walkability / bikeability of European cities

2. Lower aversion to walking / biking as a part of daily life (as opposed to specifically compartmentalizing it for exercise)

3. Smaller portion sizes in restaurants

4. Healthier foods (less processing, fewer ingredients, little or no HFCS)

5. Lower stress levels (Americans in general are angry, high strung, competitive, and always in a rush; Europeans are much more relaxed in life ... you see more Hygge here)

6. Accessible health care

7. Culture (probably the biggest ... we value sports like futbol, basketball, XC skiing, T&F, cycling; Americans value sports like American football (85% of the time is spent standing around) and baseball (99% of the time is spent standing around))

Being active isn't that big a deal compared to diet. Europeans don't burn off that many calories exercising compared to the extra calories the average U.S person has.