Why do you think obesity is increasing in America?

[Hacker]

Hi,
I wanted to start a thread to perhaps get an idea of how other's view the obesity epidmeic. Why do you think this epidemic is increasing ever so rapidly? What needs to be done? In what ways could we implement a better system of encouraging obese patients to exercise and eat healthier?

 

[Djamila]

Gluttony. Huge portions of unhealthy food, but that's the same in lots of places without as big an obesity problem.

I think it's a sedentary lifestyle. I think, though, the main reason for obesity in America is the layout of the American city. You can't really walk anywhere, you have to drive. In Europe, outside of the absolutely enormous and mainly-modern-style (and consequently North-American-style cities, ie London, Moscow) it's difficult to drive somewhere. The roads are narrow, there's no parking, everything is chopped up by districts with pedestrian-only streets. It's congested, it's unpleasant... it's far easier to to just walk.

If I wanted to drive from Vratnik to downtown Sarajevo it would take me, in the middle of the night, without another car, about 30 minutes to reach the street nearest to downtown that allows cars, and park. In the day time, even on a holiday, it would take at least another 20 minutes to find parking and I'd be a much more significant distance from downtown where I parked.

If I walked... I could walk for about 15 minutes to a tram stop, take a tram downtown and be there in less than 10. 25 minutes. That's why we walk so much, and I think that's the single biggest difference I've noticed in European vs North American life.

 

[Willamena]

Sugar.

 

[doppelganger]

It's the inverse of a healthy weight loss program. To lose weight one should eat sensible portions of healthy, whole foods and get regular exercise. Though there are health conditions that can cause obesity and genetic factors make it more likely for some than others, the two main issues are:

(1) our diet, which is rich in processed and fast foods; and

(2) our work, which in the information age is increasingly in offices, vehicles, in front of computers, etc.

We have a built in biolgical preference for sugars and fats because they pack tons of energy. It's no accident that these two types of food are so quick to frequently cause a pleasurable feeling. Next up is carbohydrates.

With Americans' abundance in cheap, fatty and sugar-laden food, our bodies' natural system for targeting these foods makes us our own worst enemy. Combine that with a lack of regular exercise and we are pretty much in the sort of shape I'd expect.

 

[mostly harmless]

People need to eat healthier:
More fruits and veggies
less sugar and processed food and other crap
People also need to exercise more
less sitting in front of the tv
Educate kids on the importance of eating healthy, set a good example, and encourage them to make healthy choices

 

[Willamena]

less sitting in front of the tv

...or the computer

 

[lilithu]

High fructose corn syrup.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2002658491_healthsyrup04.html

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/79/4/537

 

[doppelganger]

High fructose corn syrup.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2002658491_healthsyrup04.html

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/79/4/537

That is awful stuff. I'm amazed at how many food have it and how frequently it is the first or second ingredient.

 

[MaddLlama]

Because everything now is so "convienent" that nobody feels the need to get up off thier fat butts and do something physical. And, foods with unhealthy ingredients are cheaper than wholesome foods, and cheap and tasty wins out over expensive and good for you. Most people would rather go down to Wendy's and have a burger and fries for lunch than bring an apple and a salad with them to work.

 

[nutshell]

Transfat.

 

[lunamoth]

Too much sugar and a sedentary lifestyle for sure are big factors. Has anyone else noticed that it is less expensive to each nutrient-poor processed and fast foods than it is to buy fresh veggies and the ingredients for healthy foods? If I shop for a typical healthy home-made meal the cost averages around $30 for our family, or we can get pretty good Chinese for $20 for the four of us.

 

[nutshell]

Too much sugar and a sedentary lifestyle for sure are big factors. Has anyone else noticed that it is less expensive to each nutrient-poor processed and fast foods than it is to buy fresh veggies and the ingredients for healthy foods? If I shop for a typical healthy home-made meal the cost averages around $30 for our family, or we can get pretty good Chinese for $20 for the four of us.

I believe that's a rumor. I've seen some studies and shows that refute the claim. I think the main difference isn't that fast food is less expensive, but that it does not take time to make. With all the adults in the home working jobs outside the home, it becomes more of a burden to make a healthy home-cooked meal. McD's or the Chinese becomes the fast and easy alternative.

 

[Ðanisty]

Hi,
I wanted to start a thread to perhaps get an idea of how other's view the obesity epidmeic. Why do you think this epidemic is increasing ever so rapidly? What needs to be done? In what ways could we implement a better system of encouraging obese patients to exercise and eat healthier?

One of the big reasons is because there is such a huge push for dieting and such. I know that doesn't seem right, but the more someone is pushed to diet and exercise, the less likely they are to go out there and do it. Frankly, all the talk about obesity is having a negative impact. I have a lot of experience with this.

I believe that's a rumor. I've seen some studies and shows that refute the claim. I think the main difference isn't that fast food is less expensive, but that it does not take time to make. With all the adults in the home working jobs outside the home, it becomes more of a burden to make a healthy home-cooked meal. McD's or the Chinese becomes the fast and easy alternative.

I have to agree with you. It's much cheaper to make home-cooked meals. Lunamoth, what are you cooking for dinner that costs $30? I could make a 4 course meal for less than that.

One of the biggest problems is that nobody has time. We don't have time to fix a salad and take it to work. We don't have time to come home and cook healthy meals. I'm thankful now that I don't have to work overtime at my current job. With my last job, I never got home before 7pm...often not until 9pm (and I had gotten to work at 8am). I didn't have the energy to cook a meal. That or I was at work so late I had to get fast food for lunch and dinner. I don't even have any children. It's just me and my husband. If I had kids, I'd have to help them with homework, get them cleaned up for bed, and take them to any extra-curricular activities, etc. A lot of people now take their work home with them too. If people were working real 8-5 jobs, they would have time to cook good meals. I know because I'm doing it now.

 

[Faint]

Hi,
I wanted to start a thread to perhaps get an idea of how other's view the obesity epidmeic. Why do you think this epidemic is increasing ever so rapidly? What needs to be done? In what ways could we implement a better system of encouraging obese patients to exercise and eat healthier?

Here's one of your problems...

 

[lunamoth]

I have to agree with you. It's much cheaper to make home-cooked meals. Lunamoth, what are you cooking for dinner that costs $30? I could make a 4 course meal for less than that.

You and nutshell are probably right. I added up the cost of our dinner tonight and it came to about $15. I make our dinners 6 out of seven days a week at least; there are many weeks we don't have any take-out food. I realize that this is a huge luxury these days. But, even when I worked full time we usually cooked for ourselves, it just was much simpler. We certainly do not usually eat elaborate meals; tonight it was homemade mac and cheese with a little bit of ham and a lot of fresh broccoli. But, for sure a bag of frozen broccoli would be a lot cheaper than fresh. Same with almost all veggies.

'course, if I bought the ingredients to make Thai chicken curry and chinese veggie stir fry it would come to at least the $20 simply because of all the fresh veggies and the specialty ingredients like lemon grass and coconut milk.

One of the biggest problems is that nobody has time. We don't have time to fix a salad and take it to work. We don't have time to come home and cook healthy meals. I'm thankful now that I don't have to work overtime at my current job. With my last job, I never got home before 7pm...often not until 9pm (and I had gotten to work at 8am). I didn't have the energy to cook a meal. That or I was at work so late I had to get fast food for lunch and dinner. I don't even have any children. It's just me and my husband. If I had kids, I'd have to help them with homework, get them cleaned up for bed, and take them to any extra-curricular activities, etc. A lot of people now take their work home with them too. If people were working real 8-5 jobs, they would have time to cook good meals. I know because I'm doing it now.

You're right about the time it takes. It's a lot more work to prep things on weekends to have them on hand for quick meals during the week. I never was organized enough to do that. Salads especially: so much washing and chopping. And with kids' activities it does get harder to sqeeze in home-cooked meals. The night we are most likely to do take out is when Grace has soccer of gymnastics after school.

luna

 

[lilithu]

I believe that's a rumor. I've seen some studies and shows that refute the claim. I think the main difference isn't that fast food is less expensive, but that it does not take time to make. With all the adults in the home working jobs outside the home, it becomes more of a burden to make a healthy home-cooked meal. McD's or the Chinese becomes the fast and easy alternative.

I dunno. Most of these fast-food places have really cheap menus. I could easily fill up at MickeyD's or Wendy's on less than five dollars, including a fountain drink full of high fructose corn syrup. Whereas cooking for myself... and then there are the leftover ingredients some of which always seem to go bad before I can get to them...

It may be cheaper to cook for a family, but for a single person I bet that fast-food is less expensive.

 

[doppelganger]

I dunno. Most of these fast-food places have really cheap menus. I could easily fill up at MickeyD's or Wendy's on less than five dollars, including a fountain drink full of high fructose corn syrup. Whereas cooking for myself... and then there are the leftover ingredients some of which always seem to go bad before I can get to them...

It may be cheaper to cook for a family, but for a single person I bet that fast-food is less expensive.

It's much easier for a family, especially if you plan out the meals in advance so you don't waste any fresh foods. So if I buy a bag of snow peas for example, I know I'll have enough for at least two meals so I'll plan it that way. Have them in a "big salad" one night, a stir fry another. You can keep things like brown rice and dried whole grain pastas for a long time and buy them in bulk. I also buy soymilk by the case at Costco and the big bags of organic frozen mixed berries. That and a fresh banana and you've got a nice smoothie for beakfast and the ingredients will keep for weeks. I also buy the big containers of dried fruit and nuts at Costco and keep them around for snacks.

I've found some of the healthy alternatives to a lot of commercial foods aren't that expensive if you buy them in bulk. My daughter loved Cheetos. We buy "Tings" from Robert's American Gourmet, which is a dairy free organic snack that tastes as good (my daughter loves them anyway) and by buying them a case at a time through Amazon it costs about the same as the fat and preservative laden version.

Now if I could I could only give up my affair with coffee and tea.

 

[lilithu]

It's much easier for a family, especially if you plan out the meals in advance so you don't waste any fresh foods. So if I buy a bag of snow peas for example, I know I'll have enough for at least two meals so I'll plan it that way. Have them in a "big salad" one night, a stir fry another. You can keep things like brown rice and dried whole grain pastas for a long time and buy them in bulk. I also buy soymilk by the case at Costco and the big bags of organic frozen mixed berries. That and a fresh banana and you've got a nice smoothie for beakfast and the ingredients will keep for weeks. I also buy the big containers of dried fruit and nuts at Costco and keep them around for snacks.

Yeah, I rely heavily on brown rice and quinoa and other things that won't easily go bad. It's the fresh fruits and veggies that I have a problem with. I buy some because I want it, eat some, and then get busy (work late or have a lot of church meetings) and before I know it they've rotted in my crisper, and they're not cheap! So I've resorted a lot to canned and frozen.

I've found some of the healthy alternatives to a lot of commercial foods aren't that expensive if you buy them in bulk.

Buying in bulk isn't as attractive for a single person. I once bought a bulk package of paper towels at Costco. It took me three years to finish them. Yeah, I know, they didn't go bad, but they did take up space in my apartment.

Now if I could I could only give up my affair with coffee and tea.

Why would you want to do that?

 

[spacemonkey]

high fructose corn syrup

That's the major contributing factor to obesity in the United States. We (the US) produce so much corn that the government has to pay farmers NOT to grow it. There is so much corn that producing corn syrup is much cheaper then using suger as a sweetener. Being that it is produced from corn, the syrup has a much higher caloric value then the equivalent amount of sugar that would be need to produce the same sweetness.

Americans are cattle that are getting fat on the corn.

 

[Hacker]

Booko, where are you? I thought you wanted to discuss this further!