Obesity...
 

Okay, this whole obesity issue...

I know we have had many threads devoted to the topic, but what are the real problems. Lets try not to fight...

Why start another thread? Fine, I'll continue.

There are so many causes of obesity. Geneitics, poor diet, lack of excersice, other medical problems.

There isn't one cause that we can pin point. Sometimes it can't be blamed on the individual. Obviously eating better and getting enough excercise is important for everyone, and it wouldn't kill anyone to do this things, overweight or not, but if you're trying to get people to come on here and say oh it's becasuse they're lazy, well that's wrong.

Don't forget emotional eating. Statistics show that people who have went thru a truamatic experience (rape, abuse, etc) are most likely to have weight problems

Not sure what this has to do with politics(?) Somone want to move it to Chit Chat?

I'll let it live, but if it does turn into a flame war, I'll close it.

I blame the transportation problem in the United States. Does anyone walk anywhere anymore?

I heard on the news a few months ago that suburban women are on average 5 lbs. heavier than city dwelling women. The theory is that the suburbs aren't really set up for walking. Meanwhile, I walk many places in NYC as long as the weather isn't too bad.

You may be on to something -- SoCal, where I live, is a temple of suburbs and non-walking.

Re: Obesity...
 

Part of the blame is because of the manufacturers and marketing strategies. When I was a little kid I rember my town had a general strore. The store had a old fashioned soda machine outside. The machine had 7 oz sodas. Then they got a new machine with 12 oz sodas. Then they upgraded 16 oz sodas. Now the machine probably has 20 oz.

When you go to a convenience store/grocery/fast-food or wherever they intentionally set their prices to sell the most product at a maximum profit. If it costs a .o1 to add more product but then can charge .05 more then they do it. Then the consumers are suckered into buying the larger portion. From a dollars and cents point of view you are getting a better deal with the larger portion. Just look at soft drinks. They sell the small for .90 the medium for .95 and the large for 1.00. You spend and extra nickel and you get double the portion. At the end of the year everyone is fat.

So we in the suburbs are supposed to walk 10 miles to school? In the snow? In an ice storm? And we're supposed to walk 5 miles to the mall/store/wherever?

Sorry this ain't Texas. It's not always Sunshine up here.

ps... no offense to Texas people... I just think it's ridiculous to make a comment about transportation being the problem when obviously different cities are built differently and the weather is a HUGE deal in Michigan.

Which is another factor. I don't know the statistics of facts cuz I'm too tired to look them up, but I learned somewhere that the seasons have a LOT to do with it. Especially in Michigan, when it's cold and people would rather sit at home under a blanket then get out of the house.

I think obesity is an entirely different things than just being overweight.

I think there are numerous reasons why someone is obese, many more than I could list here.

Being overweight however, I feel is easier to expain, though there are also millions of reasons. Being not at my ideal weight myself, I feel there is a bit of truth to those that say that you, i.e., me, are overweight because you choose to be. I believe that and feel in my case it's true. I also think laziness has something to do with it, I also think genetics has A LOT to do with it as well as portions in restaurants, mental state, sheer luck, where you live, financies, stress, etc etc etc.

I also feel that it's way too complicated to think of just one answer however, the United States is the only country whose children living in poverty are overweight. That makes no sense if you really think about it.

Weather can be a huge factor. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) could also be a cause of weightgain/obesity, because during the winter days are shorter so people are getting less sunlight and that causes depression in many people, and when people are depressed, they eat.

When I went to UK before transferring, I often walked the mile from my house here in Lexington to campus........got honked at quite a bit too so it boosted my ego :) If i had a bike(thanks mom for selling it without permission and then not telling me) I wouldve rode that quite a bit too.

I do think that weather plays a big role, as well as town/city layouts.

Our genetic make ups today are not different than those of humans in the days of "cave men" so to speak, nor is our metabolism. Compare the diets and physical activities of then and now. They were much more active, being walking everywhere and having to chase/stalk and then preparing to eat their dinner. Today we have processed foods that are ready to eat loaded with excess salt/sodium, trans fats, carbs etc by way of fast food, tv dinners etc. Our lifestyles today are also much more sedentary---we drive, we sit at home, we sit at work, we take elevators for one or two floors instead of taking the stairs, we drive around and around hunting the closest parking space to the entrance(which also wastes gas and time) instead of parking farther out and walking to the entrance........etc etc.

In short, I think while society dictates the necessity/desire to be skinny and to exercise, I think modern technology as well as society also encourages laziness and unhealthy eating.
Not to get too far off topic but next time when you are watching your favorite tv show....count how many food/snack commercials you see in that 30 minute or 1 hour time slot.

Re: Re: Obesity...
 

This is a good point. Supersizing a meal can really make a person fat.

I also think that people eat for comfort and emotional reasons instead of hunger. Plus people are not as active as they were when we were an agricultural society. Very few people plow farms nowadays. :)

Re: Re: Re: Obesity...
 

I do in TriBeCa.

Re: Re: Obesity...
 

Suckered????? Joking???

Here is what they should do, ban everyone's right to buy soda. Let no one buy fast food, or eat more than 3 meals a day for that matter. It is a marketing scheme you know, these things called "snacks". Let's blame it on corporate America.

By the way, I find this VERY political, so do the demcoratic hopefuls.... just an fyi...