Chow Down, Wide Loads - Just HOW disgustingly FAT are Americans? Pretty fat.

We are out of control.

Check out these obesity rates:
Our *skinniest* state now (Colorado @ 19.1%) is fatter than our fattest state was, 20 years ago (Mississippi @ 15.7%) - read that sentence again, if you need to.

Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation


Click this link - as the embed below, likely won't work - and Page down for a hilarious video clip from the Colbert Nation, depicting just how far we've fallen:

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Note to Mods: I tried to pull the link from Comedy Central's Colbert Nation site, but (for the 2nd week in a row), the links are not working - this was the only one I could find.

I completely agree we are out of control in this regard.

People have succumb to convenience and they do not care about anything else.

It also has nothing to do with fast food companies or soft drink producers or whatever other fattening foods you want to list. It is all about self control which Americans seem to be lacking when it comes to what they cram into their pie holes.

I love when people attack fast food companies because the food is unhealthy... Here is an Idea, make a home cooked meal or eat healthy even if it is raw. People need to learn that we should eat for fuel not for personal satisfaction. Don't get me wrong it's fine to eat sweets once in a while or have a nice fattening meal just don't make it a habit. If we used those things as rewards for eating well throughout the week we would be a hell of a lot healthier. And believe it or not you can make a good tasting healthy meal very easily or even healthy desserts that taste great.

Oh the irony,on the same page an add for the NYC food and wine festival with all proceeds going to help fight hunger.
Keep on eating until you explode!MP-The autumn years
www.youtube.com...

Before you take this all so seriously - I would just like to point out the following facts.

The Robert Woods Foundations owns major shares in Johnson and Johnson. J & J makes about a billion dollars a year for smoking cessation aids. Last year alone, the Foundation donated 700 million dollars to fund anti-smoking campaigns. This year that amount of money is down to 4 million dollars.

Guess which campaign RWF has decided to fund this year? Why the obesity campaign of course! And guess who sells anti-obesity fat drugs - why Johnson and Johnson of course!

Comparing the wieght of americans now to what they weighed 50 years ago is also very misleading. That was the end of world war II with its massive campaigns of rationing. People weighed less cause there was less to eat.

Further - americans have grown almost an inch taller than they were 50 years ago (mostly because the generation that fought that war also went through a depression in their childhoods).

So are we fatter or are we better nourished. Considering that life expectancy has increased from about 65 years to almost 80 years, is this a bad thing?

Further, studies have consistantly shown that overwieght people live longer and healthier lives than our slimmer counterparts.

So is this really an issue or is it another propaganda campaign to convince us to buy more pharmaceutical drugs?

TIRED OF CONTROL FREAKS

Aw... come on guys I just got my grill fixed.

But to stay on topic one thing I have discussed with some of my friends is the shear size of the younger men nowadays. I am 6 feet tall and 280 lbs. and in fairly good shape. I keep seeing guys in their late teens to early twenties that are 6 ft 5 in and 325. I don't think it is the eating I think it has more to do with the DNA.....

reply to post by TiredofControlFreaks


Sorry but this is not about people being bigger in height or weight in general. These statistics are for OBESE people. Yea certain people may be larger than most were back in the 50's but if they are not obese then they are healthy.

Please show me these studies that show that Obese people live longer... I have a very hard time believing that.

Even if that is true and they do live longer are they really living life or are they sitting on the couch eating chips and watching TV?

[edit on 28-7-2010 by TV_Nation]

Here is a link for the information about how Robert Woods Foundation is throwing its money around

www.nytimes.com...

here are some links on the "overwieght live longer" theme

www.telegraph.co.uk...

searchwarp.com...

And beyond this - the average life expectency 50 years ago was about 65 - now its closer to 89 - but we are fatter. This is a fact.

www.independent.co.uk...

Think just a few minutes here - that is all I am asking. Compare the size of medieval man. He was shorter and leaner and he had a much shorter life span. Man has generally gotten taller, better nourished and lives longer.

TIRED OF CONTROL FREAKS

Reply to TV Nation:

You are playing with words here. Overweight / obese.

Consider this - People are generally classed as over weight if they are within 20 lbs or so of the aver BMI. BMI is obtained by dividing weight by height and it is absolutely a meaningless number!

BMI does not take into account the percentage of your weight that is fat and the percentage that is muscle.

content.onlinejacc.org...

The issue was further complicated when "healthy" BMI numbers were changed to reflect the american population. Petite chinese woman were included. Now you must admit that racially chinese people are generally smaller in height and much lower in weight than the average caucasion.

This happened late in the 1990's and had quite an effect. For example - at my height and bone structure, my desired weight used to be about 150 lbs. Since the average BMI was changed to include asians, my desired weight dropped to 133 lbs. Considering that the medical definition of over weight is about 20 lbs and anything over that is considered obese - voila - overnight I went from over weight to obese!

How is that for an instant obesity crisis! See how easy it is to create a "health crisis"?

www.bigfatblog.com...

And by the way - the same changes were wrought to drop the average healthy blood sugar to less then 7 and create a diabetes crisis at the same time.

The greatest disease caused by obesity is heart disease. Will you or won't you, the fact is that heart disease is decreasing - not increasing. And it has been decreasing for the last 50 years.

How does that match up with the idea that there is an obesity crisis?

Tired of Control Freaks

Here is a CNN article explaining the changes in calculating BMI that occurred in 1998

www.cnn.com...

TIRED OF CONTROL FREAKS

Americans are less active and have poor dietary habits. Back when my parents were kids, they didn't have all the time saving devices we have now. Clothers were washed on a scrub board or a wringer washer if you could afford one. Then they were hung out on a clothes line to dry. Mom spent most of the day cooking, canning and cleaning. The older kids took care of the younger ones. They relaxed at night around the radio if they could afford one.

When I was a kid, we had to play outside unless it was raining. We played ball in the streets and rode our bicycles. There were very few fat kids. We were allowed to watch tv in the evening after dinner if our homework was done. We had to go to bed by nine pm. Mom always cooked a large dinner with meat, veggies and a starch. We were not allowed to waste food but most of us didn't get fat. Candy and sweets were a treat.

Fast food came out around my senior year of high school. Pong came out a few years later. I seldom see kids outside now and I live about a block away from a park. It's not the fault of fast food, computers or video games. It is our fault. We know that poor diet and inactivity can lead to obesity, but we have little will power. We feel guilty so we order a diet drink to go with that hamburger and fries. And most of us will continue to live like this until we suffer a major health problem and have no other alternative but to change our lifestyles.

"Yeah i called you fat, look at me I'm skinny".. Humpty
well anyway I hate to say this but It may not be the fat peoples fault..
Our American way of living is at fault..
gimme gimme gimme and I don't wanna work for it.
Add that to the fast food industry, super size it and Bam,,.. Fattie

there has been a thread opened that is somewhat factual,.
People don't know HOW to eat healthy,. they expect the FDA to be the responsible ones to good health,. Well they certainly don't care.

Everything in the store is set up for EASY BAKE.. Just set the time and Ding time to eat..
Nobody really cooks anymore( well I do, and coincidentally I am not fat)
and lets look at the sugar content in the foods today
High fructose corn syrup= EVIL
it is in almost everything,.. hip packin calories..
Not to mention this country is heading for the highest diabetic increase in the world.. YA thats right..

It is sicking to look at people that are so overweight
WHAT,.. thyroid issues?? blow that out your but..
Very few have that as an issue and many use it as a reason to eat..
Ya hear it all the time on shows like "Biggest Looser"
person comes to the show with high blood pressure, heart issues, diabetic issues ect. ect.
And that remarkably goes away with a heal;thy diet and exorcise.
Not rocket science. Just drive to wanna live..
Have a nice day

reply to post by Dockman45

I am 6 feet tall and 280 lbs. and in fairly good shape.

You must sure have a ton of muscle at 280 pounds to say you're in good shape. I'm almost 6 inches taller than you and I weigh 240 and I'm overweight.

I think the BMI is a bunch of crap. At 220 pounds that is pretty much the perfect weight for me, if I go lower I start to look skinny. At 220 pounds it has my BMI at 26.1 which is smack dab in overweight.

Originally posted by Pimpish
reply to post by Dockman45

 

I am 6 feet tall and 280 lbs. and in fairly good shape.

You must sure have a ton of muscle at 280 pounds to say you're in good shape. I'm almost 6 inches taller than you and I weigh 240 and I'm overweight.

I think the BMI is a bunch of crap. At 220 pounds that is pretty much the perfect weight for me, if I go lower I start to look skinny. At 220 pounds it has my BMI at 26.1 which is smack dab in overweight.

Dude ,.. If your 6.6,.. at 240 I'd say thats great,.. I wouldnt change a thing
Jus sayin

[edit on 28-7-2010 by Lil Drummerboy]

reply to post by Lil Drummerboy


Thats exactly my point, the BMI is crap...at least in my case, maybe for some people it works perfectly. It says at 180 pounds I'm right in the middle of where I should be, but I weighed 180 pounds all through high school and all I heard constantly was that I needed to gain weight.

I think so long as someone is healthy and not ginormous then who cares. Now, if you have diabetes and heart disease and other health problems due to your weight, then you definitely have issues. Just my .02

You got in an edit on me!! I would be fine at 240 if I had more muscle, but I have a pretty good beer gut going that I am working on losing. Not because I'm unhealthy, but because I enjoy the ladies!

[edit on 28-7-2010 by Pimpish]

Speak for yourselves on the overweight issue. If I lost weight, I would be "under recommended weight" by any standards you can choose. Thus being equally unhealthy on the other (underweight) end of the spectrum.
Not all Americans are fat slobs. Just saying...before you generalize the entire country into an early double-wide grave.

[edit on 28/7/2010 by Chamberf=6]

Originally posted by Pimpish
reply to post by Lil Drummerboy

 

Thats exactly my point, the BMI is crap...at least in my case, maybe for some people it works perfectly. It says at 180 pounds I'm right in the middle of where I should be, but I weighed 180 pounds all through high school and all I heard constantly was that I needed to gain weight.

I think so long as someone is healthy and not ginormous then who cares. Now, if you have diabetes and heart disease and other health problems due to your weight, then you definitely have issues. Just my .02

You got in an edit on me!! I would be fine at 240 if I had more muscle, but I have a pretty good beer gut going that I am working on losing. Not because I'm unhealthy, but because I enjoy the ladies!

[edit on 28-7-2010 by Pimpish]

I had to laugh man,,,cause if you rally enjoyed the ladies you wouldn't have a "Beer Gut"

Despite definitions and ranges, and whatever arguments there are for measurement, qualification, and association with Big Pharma (per above), the trending cannot be denied...

Fatty-boomba-laddies

Reply to Squirrel-Nuts

I am sorry - the trending can be denied!

It is really sad that you don't recognise Orwell's predictions when you see them. How can anyone discuss trends when the very words with which you discuss them have been re-defined? When the framework upon which you hang those words has been re-jigged and re-sized to promote a desired conclusion.

For example - why are we comparing the size of american children today to the size of american children growing up in a post-world war? The conclusion is that american children are bigger now than they were before (and therefore it is unhealthy)

But - and this is an important but - in what way is it unhealthy? And why would you choose to make such a comparison? Obviously, due to immigration the face of american children has changed to include many races. This wasn't so 50 years ago!

The same thing was done in Japan - and it was determined again - that children today are fatter than post-war children. The average difference was 6 lbs! Is that really a "health crisis".

TIRED OF CONTROL FREAKS

People need to learn that we should eat for fuel not for personal satisfaction

There is no doubt in my mind that it's an issue, and not just in America.

For me personally the above quote was the biggest culprit in my massive weight gain from 16-25. When food became a form of entertainment I became obese. I wanted to blame genetics, but alas my family are all slim. I wanted to say it was the fast food, the processed foods ect; but the truth is my family ate quite healthy, growing up fast food was a once in a while treat. I wanted to blame diets not working, but the fact is diets did work, I just didn't stay on them.

In the end I had to accept it was all me. Food became a form of entertainment. It made me feel good to be really full. I remember a time, when I absolutley HAD to have a two litre of coke per day. It became an addiciton, that feeling.

I was over 300lbs but guess what so were most of the people I saw in everyday life. My friends, my teachers, my neighbours. It was not abnormal to be as large as me, and there were many people larger. Sure there was some teasing in school, but as the years went by the teasing became les as the kids became fatter too. When I entered the working world being fat wans't an issue, my boss was fat, my co workers were fat. When I went to the doctor he'd make some noises about weight loss, but he couldn't say much, he was fat too.

Then, about 5 years ago my life changed completely and I found myself living in Europe, Switzerland specifically. Suddenly, I was the fattest person where ever I went. People stared, people snickered, people complained when they had to squeeze past me. I don't ever remember once seeing a person as fat as me. It was one of the most demoralizing times of my life. I thought I was the fattest person in Switzerland.

My doctor in Switzerland was harsh. Lose weight or die. By this time I was walking with a cane as my knees just could not handle the weight. Emotionally I was a wreck, physically I was getting fatter. So, my doctor suggested weight loss surgery. Now I'd fantasized about his option many times whilst living in the US, but could never afford and when I did have access to medical care ( aka, could afford health insurance) it wasn't covered by insurance. But, Switzerland works differently. I qualified and I didn't have to pay anything. I quickly signed on the bottom line.

Today I am a normal sized woman. The surgery worked. It was very HARD at first. Even though my body no longer had the physical capacity to consume large amounts of food, my brain still yearned for it. It took time.

It's been 4 years since my surgery and I have finally conquered food. I now eat for fuel. Eating for pleasure is something I am no longer capable of doing and for that I am eternally grateful.

I wish I could have conqured this demon without surgical intervention, but to be honest I was just not mentally strong enough to do so.

I've recently visited Swizterland, my mom still loves there, and was pleased to see that I was no longer the fattest person in every crowd.

reply to post by TiredofControlFreaks


Not following you - what does the war (and which war?) have to do with it? This is the last 20 years.

And, it matters not what your definition of 'fat' is - this is the % of people in each state that are clinically diagnosed as Obese.

Bottom line: what are you saying - that we (collectively) NOT fatter and more unhealthy?