We distribute information for profit.
Sometimes we also do the "greater good" thing but mostly it's profit.
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"We’re in a new age of obesity. How did it happen? You’d be surprised" [Guardian Column]
- Thread starter Sqrt
- Start date
Sometimes we also do the "greater good" thing but mostly it's profit.
There isn't one singular cause for all of this. It's the combination of a dozen different factors. It's not just education, policies, regulation, food science, health care, marketing, or capitalism- it's all of those things combined that are making these so bad.
Also: has someone already posted the "calories in calories out" line yet? we're 4 pages in, so it's gotta be here somewhere.
Also: has someone already posted the "calories in calories out" line yet? we're 4 pages in, so it's gotta be here somewhere.
Yes, if people have not figured out by now that Cookie Crisp for breakfast, Mickey Ds for lunch, and Dominoes for dinner is unhealthy then they need more than government assistance.
I guess it depends on the neighborhood sadly. I have been to a couple that aren't as good as my location.
You are right tho that they have no trainers or pros there... But I mean if you can only afford Planet Fitness it's not like you can just go to a place that has all those things and costs a lot more. It's the trade off. I suppose. In a good society there would be good gyms for everyone.
EDIT: At mine there is a ton of treadmills and other cardio equipment. I use the bikes personally. But there is also a decent amount of free weights and muscle specific machines.
I think the government was why America went down the deadend path of think fats in food was the problem, which evolved into the whole focus on unsaturated/saturated/trans fats. Those are way lower on the list of health concerns than sugar and high fructose corn syrup, and they knew it, but those products also have the most political influence for whatever reason.
A news media afraid to anger their unhealthy food advertising money was also a big influence on that too, so it's not solely government.
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I have a funny feeling that the people making decisions like that aren't making them because they think they're healthy, but that they're making them because they don't give a shit. Frankly I don't see why someone who's being drained by society should be concerned that their current habits will be a drain on society at some random later point in time. If society gave a shit they could actually do more than just moralize about the damn plight, y'know?
I knew it! Once again.
Might just be anecdotal but at least for me when I cut back on Sugar I never gained weighed again. Didn't even exercise.
We distribute information for profit.
Sometimes we also do the "greater good" thing but mostly it's profit.
Interesting. I only wish I could trust something from the Heritage Foundation. They're notorious for their climate science denialism.
Oh sorry, I didn't realize it was a heritage picture. Seems like they dominate this space for reasons I'm unaware of. Let me try again:
Basically there is a lot of money involved in pushing sugar consumption and this builds up over time. The obesity epidemic is the result of macropolitical choices made decades ago.
Have the laws of physics changed? Calories in, calories out is a truism, though for some people it may be quite difficult to sustain for long if their local food culture has been disrupted to the extent that pop tarts and flavoured yogurt are regular staples.
Food and car companies, actually.
Car companies are just as much liable in all of this as food companies. They exploit consumers psychology to convince all of us that buying a car is the only true way of 'making it' that we throw away all sensible urban planning wisdom and facts in favor of reliance on the car.
Basically unregulated capitalism with little protection for consumers is the problem.
There should be a government body that studies and regulates things that can affect consumer interest based on social behaviors instead of us being at the mercy of unregulated free market. Companies have psychologists and behavioral scientists working for them, consumers need some sort of shield against that.
Car companies are just as much liable in all of this as food companies. They exploit consumers psychology to convince all of us that buying a car is the only true way of 'making it' that we throw away all sensible urban planning wisdom and facts in favor of reliance on the car.
Basically unregulated capitalism with little protection for consumers is the problem.
There should be a government body that studies and regulates things that can affect consumer interest based on social behaviors instead of us being at the mercy of unregulated free market. Companies have psychologists and behavioral scientists working for them, consumers need some sort of shield against that.
That's how losing weight works though. Healthier food helps you lose weight because vegetables and lean meats have less calories for the same portions as things like beef and junk food.
Calories in calories out is a real thing. Your body can't create fat from nothing. But the macronutrients you're eating also plays a role in what type of weight loss you'll achieve.
One of the biggest obstacles to progress in this country is the fierce belief in personal responsibility.
Blaming mostly the individual instead of the system causes problems with healthcare, racism, sexism, welfare etc.
Blaming mostly the individual instead of the system causes problems with healthcare, racism, sexism, welfare etc.
Robots can be manipulated into doing other things by other people who has a better understanding on how said robot works. I feel like this applies to humans too as companies do try to manipulate you. It's no accident that all fastfood companies have the color red prominent in their logo and why sugary cereals always has a cute mascot on the front of the box.
It's also no accident why all car commercials look and sound the same.
I'm not a nutritionist, a dietician, a medical professional or a personal trainer; I don't know anything about biology, anatomy or exercising... but I think, unless people are intravenously taking their food, eating is at the root of the cause. Call it a hunch.
I bet the same people on their high horse talking about personal responsibility and stop asking the government for help are the same people saying the government needs to step in about the opioid crisis
People's environment can have a huge impact on the way they act. This is basic stuff. I don't understand why there are still people talking about "personal responsibility" when we're talking about grand societal issues.
People need to stop eating like shit and actually get some fucking exercise. A couple years ago I was working in the midwest and the elevators were down one day. The amount of people that couldn't actually walk up 4 flights of stairs was unbelievable. It was like watching a comedy but it was real life. Like people would walk up half a flight and rest because they had to catch their breath!
It's not that hard to stop eating shitty food. It's not hard to take a walk. Most people just don't give a shit. I'm sure this is an unpopular opinion here but instead of food stamps or EBT cards I believe there should be government markets where there is fresh produce and healthy foods. It blows me away the government will pay for people to buy cheetohs and soda. Also, parents. Its fucking child abuse to allow your kids to eat fast food everyday. Parents should be held responsible for having fat children. It's not ok and its setting their kids up for a lifetime of health problems and self esteem issues. I don't know how to incentivize parents to keep their kids healthy but something needs to be done. It's heartbreaking to see obese children.
It's not that hard to stop eating shitty food. It's not hard to take a walk. Most people just don't give a shit. I'm sure this is an unpopular opinion here but instead of food stamps or EBT cards I believe there should be government markets where there is fresh produce and healthy foods. It blows me away the government will pay for people to buy cheetohs and soda. Also, parents. Its fucking child abuse to allow your kids to eat fast food everyday. Parents should be held responsible for having fat children. It's not ok and its setting their kids up for a lifetime of health problems and self esteem issues. I don't know how to incentivize parents to keep their kids healthy but something needs to be done. It's heartbreaking to see obese children.
I like how it's not hard to tell who read the article and even easier to tell who read the thread
Same. And not just the sugars that are common like table sugar and HFCS, but also learning of the hidden sugars that are added in food, reading food labels, and avoiding those food products altogether.
I've posted about this before, but in the 3 months I started that dietary change spanning from November to January of this year I lost damn near 50 lbs and did it without going to the gym or exercising in any significant amount. Seeing that dramatic a change in not only my physiology but the elimination of all of the heartburn, joint pains, inflammation and increased blood pressure I was suffering from wholly convinced me that its sugar that's the problem, and we would do best to severely reduce our intake of it at all costs.
Subsequent reading/viewing of studies into the effects on excessive sugar in our bodies (which is what the American low fat diet is), as well as learning of the huge fat vs sugar battle waged in the 60s/70s that helped shaped our modern diets, only reaffirmed my belief.
This is not true.
A bag of spinach costs $1.55 at ALDI. A box of Twinkies at Jewel-Osco cost $4.35. You can look these up on Instacart right now if you want.
Eating healthy isn't necessarily more expensive. This false narrative needs to end.
I'm genuinely shocked by how much garbage most people consume on a daily basis.
Like bro I eat like veggies and meat 95% of the time
Like bro I eat like veggies and meat 95% of the time
You ever cook a bag of spinach? Barely serves one person as a side dish lol.
And it's not a false narrative when speaking of produce.
I mean, there's 1300 calories in the box of twinkies and 65 calories in the bag of spinach (assuming 10oz). You would need to buy and prepare 20 bags of spinach to get the same caloric density. While most people won't pay attention to the caloric density, they will judge items based on "will this satisfy my hunger". A few twinkies, yeah, a bag of spinach, nope.
There's 260 calories in a twinkie and 231 calories in 140g of chicken breast (approximately 1 chicken breast).
We'd have a much better chance of tackling systemic obesity if eating a chicken breast was as trivial as popping a twinkie in your mouth.
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Unless you're popeye you ain't just eating the spinach, add in the cost of other ingredients and the time cost for cooking. Plus it assumes someone has both in front of them and that they are choosing between a bag of spinach or a box of twinkies and not a twinkie or a bag of spinach, you aren't finding spinach at the mini mart, gotta gas up and drive to the grocery store, that's if you have a car, which might be way further away, or take the bus. How many twinkies are in a box, what is the caloric equivalent of that versus the spinach?
It's not a false narrative when there's such things as dollar menus.
Well this is certainly a take.
We start with it being comedic that people are struggling with their health and weight. We follow through to the government needs to regulate what the poors are buying.
Pretty much every movement that can be co-opted for profit will be.
Time and money constraints on lower-middle class and below really puts the personal responsibility angle to bed. You're not just going to bootstrap you're way out of obesity if you work long hours at a job that pays very little
America could benefit heavily from more ready-made-food that isn't loaded with sugar and sodium, like in Japan.
It should be as easy as grabbing it at the grocers and putting it in your cart, and it should be better than the frozen dinner kind of stuff. The food should preferably be made that day in-house or shipped to stores from a central location.
It should be as easy as grabbing it at the grocers and putting it in your cart, and it should be better than the frozen dinner kind of stuff. The food should preferably be made that day in-house or shipped to stores from a central location.
It's no such the hours themselves, it's that:
- Both income earners also work full time in most cases
- Commutes are nuts
- Vacation time is pitiful
It's funny you say it's the government's fault when there was no scientific basis for the food pyramid and policy of demonizing fats was a direct result of certain food lobbies basically buying their spot on the pyramid... the food pyramid that was actually developed by scientists was completely changed. Link
Oh yeah, I forgot about the food pyramid thing. That was a big part of it.
Americans are Scott.
Bread doesn't make you fat. I eat tonnes of the stuff, it's really good food.
There is no such thing as a 'low fat' American diet.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-ta...w-americas-diet-has-changed-over-the-decades/
The American diet is full of fat and processed carbs. A double quarter pound bacon cheeseburger and 2 orders of large fries is not a healthy meal even though it is relatively low in sugar (about the same as an apple).
Supplying people with sugar after a workout is absurd, and detrimental to the client.
I have never made fun of anyone trying to better themselves.
So eating a single mint or tootsie roll will destroy the workout?
Chocolate Oreos are basically the cocaine of food for me. I really struggle to not finish them off in a day or two. Four days is really good for me. They taste so good, but they're not filling at all.
It took forever, but I stopped buying them every two weeks. I used to justify it as "this is the one item that I really enjoy, everything else I eat is pretty good." I replaced them with cereal and whole milk- one or two bowls fills me up for like half the day. And I can get cereal low on sugar if I feel up to it.
I feel it comes down to genetics. Some people can live with more carbs while being slimmer. For me, when I have a high carb diet, I tend to be constantly hungry leading to more eating.
Carbs and sugar foods are also cheaper to make and can be made on a large scale.
Carbs and sugar foods are also cheaper to make and can be made on a large scale.
The fucking prices of vegetables here are getting obscene. 8 bucks for a head of cauliflower. Onions at 3 bucks a pound (a large onion weighs nearly a pound). Carrots at 3 bucks a pound. Etc. etc. etc. Cooking healthy is expensive. It just is. I'm not even mentioning meat, since the prices of meat, even the cheaper cuts, has jumped nearly double since I've been an adult cooking for myself. Used to be able to buy a big pork shoulder roast for 8 bucks, and now they're always over 20, unless there's a sale.
All the processed garbage is SO MUCH CHEAPER. If I had to feed a God damned family, I couldn't afford to feed them well.
All the processed garbage is SO MUCH CHEAPER. If I had to feed a God damned family, I couldn't afford to feed them well.
You don't count the carbohydrates in the fries, the sweetened bun, and ketchup as sugar? 🤣
Uhhhh... where do you live? Never heard of high prices like that in LA