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America's Obesity Problem Is Getting Even Worse
- Thread starter Jadentheman
- Start date
Doesn't help when you have shit like this
UK Oreo McFlurry
US Oreo McFlurry
Is that because of size or different ingredients?
What are you talking about?
The nutrition label reform that happened a couple of years ago does require that companies transition to the format you're showing.
while obviously that's far more helpful than a lack of information, we have had this in the UK for while now and are still steadily getting fatter too so sadly it won't be some huge magic fix for you. It's useful though for those that are counting calories of course though don't get me wrong
Doesn't help when you have shit like this
UK Oreo McFlurry
US Oreo McFlurry
Literally twice the size. I always wonder what the European tourists here in Las Vegas think when/if they order McDonald's here for the first time.
As a general rule, I think people are overstating the impact of media here. People aren't going to become fat because there are fat characters on televisions. What it *does* have a greater chance of doing is reinforcing complacency among overweight and obese people. In regards to normalizing a health problem I think there are a lot more avenues that come before the media in impact (vanity sizing and euphemisms in clothing, etc.)
But skinny people can be unhealthy too. /S normalizing obesity is something that shouldn't be done and like you said if your fine with your image that's good but know that there can be implications because of it.
As someone who topped 330LBs and was overweight a majority of his life, never again. It was the worst thing I could've done to my body. Walking around and just doing normally every day activities tired the hell out of me. Plus, I was super self conscious and I always thought I looked ugly with my weight which really prevented me from going outside.
I decided to turn it around ended up packing my own food to work and eating more healthy choices. Ended up going all the way down to 240 but gained some back so I'm at 250 now.
Regardless of that I'm way more happier than I was before and went from a XXXL to a XL. Back on that right loss journey and am hoping I can get myself to 200.
A regular McFlurry in the US is huge. It's a 12oz concrete in a 20oz cup.
The cups in the UK are tiny by comparison.
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/healthy-vs-unhealthy-diet-costs-1-50-more/
And that's not even accounting for cost-of-access to fruit and vegetables.
People were fat long before it was even a thing. Most fat people dont even know it exists
I know it's part of what irritates me so much when people try to peddle it out. I'm more bothered by our need to put garbage in every fucking thing and healthy education in schools being a joke. (Granted that'd be less necessary if our foods weren't loaded with trash to begin with).
That blurb is very misleading. That difference is specifically highlighted for healthy Mediterranean diets with lots of fish and nuts, two especially expensive things. I'm not saying food deserts don't exist, but the next paragraph in the study says
Basically, 2000cals of fish costs more than 2000cals of fatty ground beef, but that's not useful information.
Because the problem is more than food. Notice how most of the developed nations that is having these problems are the Anglo-Saxons ones, those countries that openly embraced suburban style development in the last few decades? It also about the design of our cities and car dependency. Most people just gloss over them because they think it's a separate issue entirely. You also see the same pattern in developing nations that are embracing these American style developments as they get wealthier.Yeah, it's fucking crazy. Thankfully we don't have as much sugar pumped into regular foods here in Britain as Americans seem to have, but even then it's such a trap to fall into and it's incredibly difficult to get out of.
I'm currently losing weight and, so far, it's worked out quite well (around 22lbs lost since July ), and one of the main things I had to do was quit the sugary stuff. It got to a point where I would have to have some sort of large sugary "treat" every single day (usually ranging in the 600-1,000 calorie range) or else I'd feel, well, wrong. After two months of really only eating sugar-free Jelly (Jello), fruit and the occasional Apple Pie for deserts I bought a bag of chocolate as a treat and... I just didn't enjoy it. It felt like nothing, like it simply wasn't worth it.
Unfortunately I wouldn't agree. We have great nutritional information in the UK and even then we've constistently been getting fatter as a nation over the past decade or so. We also have stuff like government-funded advertising schemes, free fruit for kids at supermarkets, and the 'traffic light' system (see below):
It would help, definitely, but to make a massive change there's going to need to be massive changes to go alongside it.
Why, the burbs provide you with ample trails or paths to run or walk?
I would argue that smartphones, tablets and a general sedentary lifestyle are more harmful. I personally spend at least 12 hours a day sitting. That can't be good for my body.
So it costs 1.50 per day more. Times 30 that's 45 a month. This should be doable for most Americans. Also I could not find out if the research took into account farmer markets and such.
No they don't. What are you basing this off of or am I missing your sarcasm?
just look at all those "Fastfood chain X now offers bacon-wrapped cheese-filled sugar canes" threads here at resetera which pop up almost weekly.
U.S. fastfood restaurants sell the trashiest food imaginable. even the worldwide famous ones. fat and sugar bombs held together by fillers and artificial crap. now add a huge soda and you have a problem.
Apparently the food standard in the US is ridiculously low. I was totally shocked how much worse a simple mcdonalds burger tastes in the states.
U.S. fastfood restaurants sell the trashiest food imaginable. even the worldwide famous ones. fat and sugar bombs held together by fillers and artificial crap. now add a huge soda and you have a problem.
Apparently the food standard in the US is ridiculously low. I was totally shocked how much worse a simple mcdonalds burger tastes in the states.
Yes they do. Every suburb in the tristate area I have lived in has/had access trails or walking paths.
As someone who is trying to lose weight, and has been for two years now, and keeps falling off...
It's so fucking hard. I'm back on the train, and I'm lower than I was when I started, but I've stagnated at ~280 (after getting as low as ~260 (starting at ~310)). Eating out with coworkers for lunch doesn't help at all. I basically have to refuse to be social to eat better, even when I try to order the healthiest stuff. Tracking calories is the only thing that works for me (I also workout at least two days a week, sometimes three).
On top of all that, it's hard to just stop when your body's used to that shit. Sometimes I've eaten way too much out of habit without even realizing it, and afterwards I'm like fuuuuck and then I plug it into MyFitnessTrainer and I'm like FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK.
Anyway...
Living in America on top of all of that does not help at all. It's a culture of overeating and/or eating a dozen fried fucking sticks of cheese with a side of spaghetti.
So, at the very least, I understand why people like me are obese. U:
It's so fucking hard. I'm back on the train, and I'm lower than I was when I started, but I've stagnated at ~280 (after getting as low as ~260 (starting at ~310)). Eating out with coworkers for lunch doesn't help at all. I basically have to refuse to be social to eat better, even when I try to order the healthiest stuff. Tracking calories is the only thing that works for me (I also workout at least two days a week, sometimes three).
On top of all that, it's hard to just stop when your body's used to that shit. Sometimes I've eaten way too much out of habit without even realizing it, and afterwards I'm like fuuuuck and then I plug it into MyFitnessTrainer and I'm like FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK.
Anyway...
I can empathize with being overly self-conscious. Took me 30 years to stop caring. If I'm at the gym and someone's going to mock me for being fat, fuck them. But it took a long time. I lack self-esteem, I've always been super shy, I suffer from social anxiety and depression (the last of which makes me exhausted and unmotivated quite regularly and also contributes to over-eating!!).
Living in America on top of all of that does not help at all. It's a culture of overeating and/or eating a dozen fried fucking sticks of cheese with a side of spaghetti.
So, at the very least, I understand why people like me are obese. U:
I can't speak to this with a hundred percent certainty, but I'm pretty sure I've read a lot about how poor people eat poorly (sorry) because they can't afford to spend the extra money on healthy food. 45 bucks might not sound like a lot to you (sure doesn't to me), but when you're literally living paycheck to paycheck? I've given money to a friend here and there just so they could afford rent, and I know they weren't faking it. I don't know how much "most Americans" means to you, but I know there's a not insignificant number that live in poverty.
Because those are separate activities you have to think about. Living in a walkable neighborhood makes you walk to the grocery store, makes you walk to the bus station, makes you walk to the bank, etc. All these little walks add up and you don't even have to think about it and before you know it you already walked two to three miles before even hitting the gym that day. No joke, many Americans' only form of exercise is walking from the parking lot to the store/office each day.
If your area is walkable, there is no need for 'motivation' to get out and take advantage of those trails. You just walk as an everyday part of your life.
Doesn't help when you have shit like this
UK Oreo McFlurry
US Oreo McFlurry
A 30 years old, 6 feet tall, 190 lbs male needs to walk for 108 minutes at 3 mph to burn 512 calories.
( https://keisan.casio.com/exec/system/1350891527 )
I guess, I have always lived in towns where this is doable or part of everyday life as well.
I find people's concern over other people's obesity to be silly, so I posted nonsense.
Though I do think that you will only get Americans to care about this topic by making it affect them financially.
Quoted for the truth. Sit at home to sit in traffic to sit at work to go home and sit.
Not too surprising. Staying at a healthy weight is a lot of work. I hit 235 lbs (at 6 feet tall) in 2011, partly due to side effects of a medication I was on, partly because I was eating like complete garbage. It has taken me 7 years and a complete rework of how I approach food to lose 40 lbs. I cut out soda almost completely and my entire sugary drink consumption is about 10 L a year. I almost never get baked goods at a store anymore unless it is a special occasion- if I want cookies or brownies I force myself to bake them. I eat a lot more fruits and vegetables, and my meat consumption is perhaps a third or half of what it used to be. I even gave up my 1 bag of chocolate creme Oreos every two weeks recently in favor of cereal and whole milk. Which might seem like a bad trade, but 2 chocolate creme Oreos is 14 grams of sugar so 4 of those is equivalent an entire bowl of cereal and a cup of whole milk. I get full off a bowl of cereal and whole milk, 4 Oreos just makes me want to eat another 10.
I also forced myself to start exercising 3 times a week for an hour each time. All of this was ridiculously hard when I first started changing my habits. but after a while I realized how much better I felt. Heartburn went way down and eventually disappeared. My breathing when I went to bed got a lot easier. I have so much more energy now than I did before.
And I'm not even at my final healthy weight yet. I've got another 10 lbs to go. Also, family pressure to eat really sucks. I usually have the benefit of not eating with family, so I don't have the typical holiday weight gain that a lot of people see. I had Thanksgiving with my sister last year, and I felt awful the next month or so.
I also forced myself to start exercising 3 times a week for an hour each time. All of this was ridiculously hard when I first started changing my habits. but after a while I realized how much better I felt. Heartburn went way down and eventually disappeared. My breathing when I went to bed got a lot easier. I have so much more energy now than I did before.
And I'm not even at my final healthy weight yet. I've got another 10 lbs to go. Also, family pressure to eat really sucks. I usually have the benefit of not eating with family, so I don't have the typical holiday weight gain that a lot of people see. I had Thanksgiving with my sister last year, and I felt awful the next month or so.
I am part of the 38.9%!
It's pretty fucked up that my take-away from this thread is not going to be "lose weight", but that I should get some $5.99 pizza tonight.
It's pretty fucked up that my take-away from this thread is not going to be "lose weight", but that I should get some $5.99 pizza tonight.
Indeed. Processed foods are so bad because of all the sugar content.
Really wish more people would learn how to steam vegatables and bake some chicken.
I'm sorry folks. It seems a consensus has been made in this thread about people getting fat because they eat unhealthy calories and don't go to the gym. Fine, thanks for that scientifically accepted and well-known opinion.
That's just not working like that. It's more complex.
Yes, without doubt, we can say that X people will have more chance gaining weight by eating a lot (note how i don't speak about calories here) and have a very sedentary life. But, it is not as simple as that, some won't gain weight in any circumstance. Some will gain weight in any circumstance.
Metabolism and how body stores fat and sugar varies a lot depending of the people you'll observe. That's a fact, any doctor, any nutritionnist will acquiesce. And yes, the mechanism to LOSE fat is well-known, eat less and go to the gym... Or in fact it isn't. Some people are blocked here and can't easily lose weight thanks to their metabolism and insulin level. That's the fucking real fact, get real please.
Now, my testimony. I'm french, i'm 31years old, i am a guy. 1m82 for 115kg, i am obese. For all my life, i've eaten veggies as the majority of every meal. I don't like sugar (no candy, only some not-processed black chocolate once a week), i am disgusted by fat since childhood (don't eat it if i see it). I cook myself every meal at every time with good food, local often, veggies most, potatoes, pasta, meat (i'm no vegetarian), etc, for my family. And my parent did the same in my childhood. Approximately no processed food, little sugar, little fat... Sports ? I've practiced soccer since i was 7 years old and until 19, trainings twice a week, etc. I'm a strong guy, and i've become obese all of a sudden after my teen years.
"but you stopped soccer..."
19 years old to 25. University ! Youpi ! I had to walk 12km everyday to go there because no cars, no bus line between me and the fac. I'm a good walker, that was fine. But i've gained 35kg in two years between 19 and 21. Explain that to me. I wasn't even eating much, i had very little money, fasting was rampant in my life. 35 f***ing kilos in two years ! Then, ten until now.
Now, i have two child, one is 3.5 years old and his very healthy. 14.5kg, skinny. Second one is 1.5 year old, problem of growth since birth. 8kg, very skinny. They eat what i cook to them everyday, no processed food, little sugar, little fat. They don't gain weight. I wasn't gaining any fat until 18 years old myself, exactly the same as my children. Very skinny, i could have eat everything in my teen, with the excess that comes with it, nothing.
I know for sure something made me gain weight like never before in my early twenties and that changed something in my body ever since. What ? Explain to me please.
This mechanism is misknown, the nutritionist told me. I'm doing intermittent fasting for two months now, i feel healthy, but the kilos didn't move... Yet if ever.
That graph actually seals the deal to me.
It can't just be people eating too much calories and not going to the gym.
In 27 years, something concrete has to be causing this. I'm betting it's hormonal, with endocrine disruptors doing the work.
It can't be caused by a slow change of lifestyle over the years. It's absurd. We are talking about what ? 27 years ?
That's just not working like that. It's more complex.
Yes, without doubt, we can say that X people will have more chance gaining weight by eating a lot (note how i don't speak about calories here) and have a very sedentary life. But, it is not as simple as that, some won't gain weight in any circumstance. Some will gain weight in any circumstance.
Metabolism and how body stores fat and sugar varies a lot depending of the people you'll observe. That's a fact, any doctor, any nutritionnist will acquiesce. And yes, the mechanism to LOSE fat is well-known, eat less and go to the gym... Or in fact it isn't. Some people are blocked here and can't easily lose weight thanks to their metabolism and insulin level. That's the fucking real fact, get real please.
Now, my testimony. I'm french, i'm 31years old, i am a guy. 1m82 for 115kg, i am obese. For all my life, i've eaten veggies as the majority of every meal. I don't like sugar (no candy, only some not-processed black chocolate once a week), i am disgusted by fat since childhood (don't eat it if i see it). I cook myself every meal at every time with good food, local often, veggies most, potatoes, pasta, meat (i'm no vegetarian), etc, for my family. And my parent did the same in my childhood. Approximately no processed food, little sugar, little fat... Sports ? I've practiced soccer since i was 7 years old and until 19, trainings twice a week, etc. I'm a strong guy, and i've become obese all of a sudden after my teen years.
"but you stopped soccer..."
19 years old to 25. University ! Youpi ! I had to walk 12km everyday to go there because no cars, no bus line between me and the fac. I'm a good walker, that was fine. But i've gained 35kg in two years between 19 and 21. Explain that to me. I wasn't even eating much, i had very little money, fasting was rampant in my life. 35 f***ing kilos in two years ! Then, ten until now.
Now, i have two child, one is 3.5 years old and his very healthy. 14.5kg, skinny. Second one is 1.5 year old, problem of growth since birth. 8kg, very skinny. They eat what i cook to them everyday, no processed food, little sugar, little fat. They don't gain weight. I wasn't gaining any fat until 18 years old myself, exactly the same as my children. Very skinny, i could have eat everything in my teen, with the excess that comes with it, nothing.
I know for sure something made me gain weight like never before in my early twenties and that changed something in my body ever since. What ? Explain to me please.
This mechanism is misknown, the nutritionist told me. I'm doing intermittent fasting for two months now, i feel healthy, but the kilos didn't move... Yet if ever.
this trend is incredible. it doesn't look like it's going to stop either...
Coincidentally, I moved to Hawaii 10 months ago and have gotten back to a size 34 waist. Feels good man. I spend a lot of my free time in the ocean here.
That graph actually seals the deal to me.
It can't just be people eating too much calories and not going to the gym.
In 27 years, something concrete has to be causing this. I'm betting it's hormonal, with endocrine disruptors doing the work.
It can't be caused by a slow change of lifestyle over the years. It's absurd. We are talking about what ? 27 years ?
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I wasnt aware and just looked it up they have to be now compliant by January 1, 2020. But i havent seen many products move to the new label, (they should have all changed in 2018)
Dude, that's seriously great progress. Keep it up. You'll feel so incredible if you hit your goal.
Yup.
At 6'2 my "normal" range is 144-194.
I used to weigh 155 and I looked like a POW.
I currently lift a lot and have almost no body fat and am at 225 (which it says is overweight... to which I lol).
It's a general indicator but by no means accurate across the board.
For me calories is calories, they come from bio vegies & fruits like any other processed food. The only argument about good or bad colories when it comes to weight ( and not health ) is that non processed food should make you feel fuller for the same amount of calories; which does not mean that someone can't eat too much calories with mostly "healthy" food.
I went 96kg -> 72kg eating mostly frozen meat, canned vegetables, eggs, soups in bags..... there was nothing healthy about that diet, it just didn't go over 1500 cal a day, often less..
Then you're lucky. Some suburbs straight up don't have any sidewalks.