America: Land of the Fat

Chicago Sun-Times ^ | June 29, 2003 | Jim Ritter

[xrp]

300,000 deaths a year

Being fat kills 300,000 more Americans a year than marijuana. We need to outlaw being fat!

[FreeKnight]

The key is to not combine carbs with fat. Lo carbs or low fat, but not both. Exercise is good, but Big Brother solutions create a new area for the liberals to play dictator.

[Mr. Mulliner]

It's true, a lot of the culture does have to change to solve our weight problem.

When one of my friends from China first immigrated to America, she found it very funny that Americans would talk about their need to exercise more, but then spend 5 minutes driving around the parking lot at the mall to try to get a parking place near the door instead of walking just a little farther.

[Dante3]

But it is fun and profitable to become fat. Instead of being active you lounger about stuffing yourself with all the delicious food. Then you sue McDonald's for millions.

And if McDonald's refused to sell you or doesn't serve you fast enough or their hot coffee is hot, you can sue again.

[SamAdams76]

Just a comment on the huge portions served up in restaurants. I've lost 44 pounds since April 1 and on Friday night, I went to a popular Mexican restaurant (On The Border) and ordered Blackend Chicken Fajitas. The portion was so huge that it came on three separate dishes. One plate was covered with beans and cheese, shredded cheese, Mexican rice and diced tomatoes and onions with sour cream and guacamole (sp). A meal in itself. The main plate had the blackened chicken with mushrooms, summer squash, onions, and a container of rich sauce to dip the chicken in. Then you had the dish with three tortillas.

All of the above for just $9.99! And don't forget, they give you a huge plate of tortilla chips before the meal even comes with free refills!

Now three months ago, before this diet and exercise madness began, I would of easily packed this away as well as the tortilla chips. And then I might have ordered dessert and an appetizer as well.

Suffice to say that I only ate about half the food they brought. Until I put myself on a diet and watched what I ate, I never realized just how insanely huge restaurant portions really were.

[BlackVeil]

The article mentions excessive tv watching as a cause of obesity, esp as people eat while watching, then go out and buy the junk food advertised. Yikes!

Another factor might be excessive internet use, with people sitting at the screen for their leisure, rather than taking a walk, etc. Except that, instead of food ads, the internet gives one scary stories about fat epidemics, that put one off ones next meal.

[wardaddy]

I'd guess 40% of America in lower income areas are over 20% overweight just from observing at Wal Marts.

Cracker Barrels (which I like) are also heavily frequented by heavies.

This is a fairly new trend....when I was growing up in the 60s, in the South (where I now live again) lower income folks were more often thin and weathered looking from a life of hard work.

[xrp]

spend 5 minutes driving around the parking lot at the mall to try to get a parking place near the door instead of walking just a little farther.

I've been an American for 30 years (born in AZ) and this never ceases to amaze me.

[wardaddy]

This article attempts to blame the producers rather than consumers.

The producers are making what the consumers want.

It's about discipline and personal responsibility baring a thyroid disorder.

I go to McDonalds for the indoor play area for my children and I eat the meat out of a burger and a diet drink and don't gorge...in fact I did just that with my 3 year old this afternoon.

As a teen and with a higher metabolism and more active life, I probably would have had a Big Mac and fries and large sweet pop.

Americans consume huge amounts of simple carbs...incredible amounts really...usually in the form of sugar or starches....and fat is the fall guy.

You can eat a no fat diet loaded with carbs and reach whale proportions.

[budanski]

We're not alone. :)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/853988/posts

[bfree]

You are correct. This is just another excuse to raise taxes.

[GrandMoM]

BUMP FOR LATER READafter I have my dinner of steak, baked potatoe and fried mushrooms and onions

[Panzerfaust]

Amazing, the article spends all sorts of time talking about genetics and then details how people eat ho-ho's and double cheeseburgers and get fat. A corpse would gain weight on a diet of junk like that. Mr Neal gets no exercise and eats like a pig, but he's a victim of genetics

[aSkeptic]

I've lost 30 lbs on the double cheeseburger diet plan.

[SamAdams76]

This is a fairly new trend....when I was growing up in the 60s, in the South (where I now live again) lower income folks were more often thin and weathered looking from a life of hard work.

You are right. I've been visting the South every year for pretty much my entire life (most of my family lives in Alabama and Georgia). During my childhood, almost everybody down there was rail thin and heavily tanned (weatherbeaten). Nowadays, I dare say that the obesity problem is more pronounced down there than it is even up north.

I was just down there last week and I noticed a lot of obesity (something I pay more attention to now that I'm losing weight myself). By my reckoning, the biggest contributing factor is air conditioning and satellite TV. When I was a child, nobody had air conditioning and the nearest TV station was in Birmingham and it hardly came in at all. So we always played outside. No matter how hot it was outside, sitting under a shade tree was always cooler than sitting inside. These days, most of my family down there sits inside all day watching the 300 channels of TV that is now available by satellite.\

I brought my son with me on this trip and he had a hard time getting anybody to come outside and play with him. They just don't do that much anymore.

Also, I should mention that I did 6-8 mile walks every morning and I didn't see a single soul. All I got was a bunch of dogs chasing after me!

[ijcr]

Force feed skinny people, what in God's name will these idiots say when they are told they are dying of nothing!

[Nick Danger]

Dear Carb Solutions,

I'm trying to lose a few pounds and last night I tried your Carb Solutions Taste Sensations - Creamy Chocolate Peanut Butter (Serial Number: MC53097 BEST BY040704) for the first time. The bar was a substitute for my dinner because I was on the road.

I want you to know that I have discovered your secret formula for weight loss and I plan on stealing it. I too will make something so truly disgusting in taste that it makes the victim... err, uhhh... "dieter" not want to eat anything because they're physically nauseous.

This morning I defecated an exact replica of the bar I ate last night. I plan on taking my feces and your bar to shopping malls and asking people to take a bite of each and see if they can tell the difference.

It is true that my butt won't be able to produce as many "Taste Sensations" as your company can, but at over $2 a bar it will be a nice second income for me. Like your company, I will probably only be able to sell one bar to a customer before they decide never to buy from me again -- so I'll have to keep moving all of the time. They'll probably make a movie about me.

Soon to be your competitor...

xxxxxxxx
Bellingham, Massachusetts

[FoxPro]

I have lost 30 pounds in the last year. I concur with your opinion on restaurant portions being outrageously big. I like going to restaurants because I know that for every 7, 8, 9 dollars I spend I can eat twice by taking the rest home. I actually order with this in mind.

Being recently divorced hi tech professionally and going from earning 100+ grand to earning 0 grand for a year is a great way to lose weight!

[aruanan]

America: Land of the Fat

This is simply another way of saying, America: Land of the Rich.

There are countries in which a person who has accumulated body weight is told that he looks prosperous or rich. The only significant reasons people in the U.S. and Western world are getting fat:

1. Large amounts of very cheap, highly nutritious, energy dense, highly palatable food that is easily obtained.
2. Relatively no necessity of physical exertion in their day-to-day lives.
3. Recreational eating.