[VinceG]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Novus', 'M')ost Americans put in very long hours and get only one week vacation. The tempatation at the end of a long work day is to drive over to that fast food resturant and fill up on fatty foods.

[LadyRuby]

Someone said that archaeologists have found that some societies have gone through periods of fattening that were followed by periods of famine. Like a cycle. Well, maybe Americans without realizing it are just prepping for the famine so we'll be better able to live off the fat of the land!!!

[frankthetank]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')(AP / CBS)"The time when obesity was thought to be a problem on the other side of the Atlantic has gone by."
Mars Di Bartolomeo, Luxembourg
(AP) The proportion of overweight or obese men is higher in some European countries than it is in the United States, experts said Tuesday in a major analysis of Europeans' expanding girth.
The International Obesity Task Force estimated that Finland, Germany, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Malta have all now exceeded the United States' 67 percent in overweight or obese males.
"The time when obesity was thought to be a problem on the other side of the Atlantic has gone by," said Mars Di Bartolomeo, Luxembourg's Minister of Health.

In Greece, 38 percent of women are obese, compared with 34 percent in the United States.

[I_Like_Plants]

He probably had to pay mucho tax on his winnings, had to go on publicity tours, etc. And 100k isn't that much these days, he's probably amazed how fast he went through it and how little it got him.

[VinceG]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'B')eing over 6ft tall and weighing less then 150pounds i get this all the time
"Do you eat?"
Its like "yes bitch, i eat!" I

[Wildwell]

The articles says
'According to projections, 73% of US adults could be overweight or obese by 2008, Trust for America's Health warned.'
In other words there is exponential growth of Fat people. By 2020 100% of Americans will be fat, and by 2025 they will be trapped in their homes unable to escape through narrow door ways and drive SUVs...solving peak oil...Hey the market works every time!

[Leanan]

When I said "McDonald's," I didn't mean McDonald's specifically. I was using it as an example of globalization/capitalism.

Yes, people have some responsibility for what they put in their mouths. But Americans are no different from anyone else. In the same economic environment, Europeans get as fat as Americans, or so it appears from what is happening in Britain, France, etc.

In the U.S., it is much harder to eat healthy. In Europe, people often shop every day, buying fresh fruits and vegetables. That's not really practical for many Americans, especially poor ones. We don't have local markets everywhere, like they do in England or France. We drive 30 minutes to Wal-Mart, or some other far-flung grocery store. This is especially difficult for the poor, who must either pay high prices for processed food at convenience stores, or take the bus or a taxi out to the suburbs to a supermarket. They may shop only once a week, even once every two weeks. That means buying fresh food is not practical, because it won't keep.

I've watch this happen in my small city. There used to be several grocery stores in town. I shopped at one I passed every day on my way to work. But new, "big box" supermarkets and malls opened in the industrial strip a 15 to 30 minute drive away. Wal-Mart, Sam's, BJs, several chain grocery stores. Commerce is now more or less dead in the city. And the people who live there, mostly lower-income, many carless, have nowhere to shop.

[o2ny]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('VinceG', 'T')he important question to raise here is if McDonalds is really responsible for obsesity problems, or if the people who voluntarily decide to eat at McDonalds are responsible for themselves. ... I just don't go to McDonalds because I'd rather stay healthy and want to stay in shape...

[Specop_007]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '(')AP / CBS)"The time when obesity was thought to be a problem on the other side of the Atlantic has gone by."Mars Di Bartolomeo, Luxembourg
(AP) The proportion of overweight or obese men is higher in some European countries than it is in the United States, experts said Tuesday in a major analysis of Europeans' expanding girth. ... In Greece, 38 percent of women are obese, compared with 34 percent in the United States.

[Kez]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Leanan', 'I')n the U.S., it is much harder to eat healthy.

[skyemoor]

An 6'2" American, I was once far overweight at 225 pounds, and showed it. I though photographs of me somehow had problems of parallax.
I started getting rid of saturated fats and simply carbohydrates. The latter is very difficult to do in the US, as most foods are pumped up with sugar and corn syrup.
I dropped to 198 lbs over about a 2 year period. While much better, I still had excess poundage around the middle. Then my wife asked me to read the South Beach Diet book (note: this is not an ad!).
I found that it's primarily the approach I was taking, except to seek out food sources that did not add sugars. There is an initial 2 week metabolism restructuring, and I lost 13 pounds during that.
So the answer is; whole grain, lean meats/dairy, fresh vegetables/fruit, and healthy snacks between meals. There are actually good fats (e.g., non-hydrogenated vegetable oils) that should be a part of one's diet.
I've been hovering around 185 lbs for over a year now. It helps that I work out or bike/walk at least 3 times a week.
I have no problems fitting into my Honda Insight or in my vanpool.

[Leanan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')pec eats like a horse. He has been gifted with an exceptionally efficient metabolism.

[Heineken]

America is a desperately ill society, and all things show it, including our fat-assed bodies. Much of the rest of the world is now foolishly seeking to emulate us.

There is a small subset of intelligent, better-educated, usually (but not always) richer Americans that seems to be getting a grip on just what's wrong with us. I would definitely count the typical POer among that group. It is so refreshing to be able to communicate with like-minded people instead of the ignoramuses one frequently encounters at the gas station or, say, on the Yahoo bulletin boards.

However, I believe that the future with be so destabilizing that few of us will be living in the ways we would prefer; even the most informed and proactive among us can't fully anticipate or prepare for the changes that are coming. A lot of what's going to happen is going to be far beyond our control. It's fun talking about PO, but it may not be fun experiencing its consequences. We'll be worrying about getting enough to eat, not how much we eat or even what we eat. As Kunstler rightly points out, one of the first things to go out the window will be issues of style and appearance (although, obviously, we're also talking health here).

One thing's for sure: Americans won't be getting fatter!

[mgibbons19]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Leanan', 'W')But Americans are no different from anyone else. In the same economic environment, Europeans get as fat as Americans, or so it appears from what is happening in Britain, France, etc.

[I_Like_Plants]

It's possible to walk 500 steps a day, or even less, in the US. I know someone who went to Japan, she found herself walking about 5 miles a day. I was in Germany for a week and walked a good 10 miles in a day just for fun. There's a difference in how things are structured. You go from your house to your car to work, sit at a desk or workbench, walk to the lunchroom and maybe the bathroom a few times a day, then outside where your car is less than 100 yards away, then to the fastfood place or market (after fighting with fellow fatties for the nearest parking spot of course!) and then home and an evening spent in front of the TV gobbling pizza etc and guzzling high fructose corn syrup.

Thing are set up so that you can't walk places if you want, in many cases. It's a weird, sick, place.

[SD_Scott]

America is a very stressfull place to live. I worked for a Swiss company years ago and I was surprised at how many of them really look down on over weight people. A friend of mine just went to Belgium to work for a year. He is hugely fat, and I mentioned to him that they sorta look down on that, and he has more than confirmed that. The dude is hating life over there.

[frankthetank]

Hydrogenated oil (oil thats solid at room temp) seems to be in about everything these days. I go out of the way to pay more for things without it.
Did anyone catch that article (or was it tv) on how they don't put this crap in some cookies or something in Europe, but they do here??? I swear there in cahoots with medical industry.
I see so many udders and cankles @ work that its really difficult concentrate.
I've often thought of moving to Denver, CO (leanest state...atleast the last i heard) because the last time i was there the people were actually thin and in shape!
That was a couple years ago...so who knows!

[dukey]

with developed countries there is a problem
theres (almost) no hard work left to do
people don't even know what hard work is anymore.
About as stressful as it gets is walking to the car and back with a couple of bags of shopping. Evereything is done by machines now .. from house work (washing machines etc) to industry etc etc. So if people actually want to get any real excercise they have to go the the gym. For people which work full time and have kids .. there isn't really a lot of time for that. I bet there are countless people in this country which just get up drive to work. Sit at a desk all day, maybe walk about and have a couple of cups of tea have lunch, then drive home. Sure they may not be fat but they are all as unfit as fuck !

from my experience of USA, its probably mostly the food. People just dont eat out here a lot because its fairly expensive. People seem to eat out every day in USA, and its all fatty shit, and perhaps all the fatty shit you can eat !

[strider3700]

BMI is a pretty crappy way to determine how healthy a society is.

I'm 5'9" a few years back I was obese according to the index, at that point I was 205 lbs, with a visibile 6 pack and muscles hanging out everywhere. I was probably below 10% bodyfat. These days I've socked on an extra 20 lbs of mostly fat, and now I'd agree I might be stepping into obese territory but the index would say I'm morbidly obese.

Having said that there are a lot of fat people out there and it's getting worse.

[Leanan]

There's little genetic difference between Americans, and, say, the British, French, or Germans. At least, white Americans. We haven't been apart long enough for there to be much of a difference.

However, genetics do matter. You see this with some ethnic groups. Pima Indians, for example. They are extraordinarily prone to obesity and diabetes. Something like 50% of them are diabetic.

Bad luck in the genetic lottery? No. Scientists believe it's the result of natural selection. They are a tribe living in marginal lands (the southwest), that in the past suffered frequent famines. People with a tendency to gain weight during good times were more likely to survive the bad times. IOW, those with a tendency to be skinny died off. Now that we are surrounded by Doritos and Big Macs, the metabolic tendency to gain weight is unhealthy. (Nature just never imagined such bounty.)

So what is currently seen as unhealthy - being fat - may be a very healthy survival trait once we're past peak.