More on America's Obesity Problem

[kairparavel]

Doing things in moderation, correctly and for sustainability doesn't make for great tv, yanno?

And really, does only two or three pounds really show those fatties those contestants (because it's a competition, after all, not a way of life) are committed to becoming healthier better people?

[Ser_not_appearing_yet]

The biggest loser is imo just another veiled freakshow.

So on the fat virus thing, is this about becoming addicted, or just having a body makeup which burns calories inneffectively? Or a vague mixture of both?

The only way to cure an addictive personality in my experience has been to replace your addictions with ones less dangerous. Like if I wasn't a smoker, I might be a junkie. Or maybe not, but you get the point.

[Tormund Ukrainesbane]

I guess the question is, what is it about the French and Italians that keeps them so fit? Their general diet can not be that different than that of the Candians, Chilenos, or Spaniards.

[Lord of Oop North]

Must be all the cigarettes and adultery.

[Artas]

But it does help to put things in perspective a bit. America is certainly heavier than most, but there are a number of nations that aren't far behind.

And all of them are English speaking. Not sure what that means, but it's striking.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Artas,

In Michael Pollen's book The Omnivore's Dilemma he bemoans the lack of a "Food Culture" in the U.S. and speculates that part of the problem may be the Puritan desire for asceticism that is endemic in the U.S. He says this rejection of all things pleasureable as sinful may contribute to our lack of a good "food culture" eeked out over several centuries as it implies food is more than mere fuel for the body but should be seen as a sensous pleasure that should be enjoyed. Given that this Puritan culture started in jolly old England it makes sense that they would suffer a bit from it's effects as well.

[Tempra]

And all of them are English speaking. Not sure what that means, but it's striking.

No, they are not.

Worldwide 400 million adults are obese and 1.6 billion are overweight.

Worldwide, 155 million children are overweight, including 30-45 million obese children.

Obesity levels have risen sharply across the globe. Even in those countries that have historically had lower rates of obesity, there is now evidence of increasing overweight.

In the Americas, the United States is by far the fattest country: 31% of adult males and 33% of adult females are obese.

Croatia has the largest portion of obese men in Europe, at 31% and Albania the most obese women, 36%.

In Lebanon, 36% of men are obese, the highest proportion in the Eastern Mediterranean and Jordan has the highest female incidence at 60%.

The most obese nations of the world are in the Western Pacific:

o in Nauru 80% of men are obese, 78% of women;

o in Tonga 47% of men and 70% of women are obese;

o in Samoa 33% of men are obese and 63% of women.

http://www.world-heart-federation.org/press/facts-figures/obesity/

[DanteGabriel]

No, they are not.

http://www.world-heart-federation.org/press/facts-figures/obesity/

"I wouldn't go so far as to call the brother fat, I mean he got a weight problem. What's the n***** gonna do? He's Samoan." -- Jules Winfield

[Edda van Heefmstra Ruston]

Liberal application of sarcasm, obviously.

[Datepalm]

What is it about Japan and Korea thats keeping the healthy? Wealthy countries, sedentary lifestyle, shop in supermarkets. Hm.

[MinDonner]

Not *that* sedentary. Public transport use is still way higher in Japan than it is in America; much less reliance on cars.

Maybe all the seafood and the lack of dairy?

note: if you live in Japan and eat mostly pizza and drink lots of beer, your weight may increase somewhat

[Datepalm]

Not *that* sedentary. Public transport use is still way higher in Japan than it is in America; much less reliance on cars.

Maybe all the seafood and the lack of dairy?

Is fish more common than other types of meat? That + no cheese might go some way towards explaining it. (Public transport is pretty prevalent in europe and mexico as well, and they mostly rank much higher.):dunno:

Googling reveals a tripling in pre school obesity in Japan thought. Oh dear.

[MinDonner]

Is fish more common than other types of meat? That + no cheese might go some way towards explaining it. (Public transport is pretty prevalent in europe and mexico as well, and they mostly rank much higher.):dunno:

Googling reveals a tripling in pre school obesity in Japan thought. Oh dear.

Yes, fish (and other seafood) is MUCH more common there than animal or bird meat. Plus, much of the population is lactose intolerant, so it's not just no cheese, but also no butter, no cream, no milk chocolate...

[smegma]

To chime in with something that I noticed regarding a friend of Darling's -

She had thyroid problems. She even had to have her thyroid removed when she was 18 (she's now 30-ish), and has been on a synthethic thyroid medication for years, obviously. Most of the time that I've known her, she's been very heavy, definitely verging on obese. However, last time I saw her at a party, she'd gotten down to a size 8 or 10 that my eyes could see, and was looking very svelte. "You look fantastic!" I said. "Thanks, I've been running 5 miles a day," she replied. "Oh, no cupcakes for me, but if you could pass the veggie tray, please?"

HMMMMMM...I wonder why she was able to slim down?

This reminds me of something a lady said to me once about thyroid patients. She felt having a thyroid problem was a terrible excuse for having trouble losing weight because, "I'm sure there were people in the concentration camps during the Holocaust that had thyroid problems, and you saw how skinny they were". Not that you were being that ridiculous lol :)

It's true that a lot of people that have thyroid problems can still lose weight, however it usually takes a great deal more effort than the standard population. There is a massive difference in the metabolism, and sometimes it borders on the ridiculous what many people on hypothyroidism have to do to lose weight (calorie intake of less than 1000 or massive amounts of exercise - such as five miles of running a day and STILL being a size ten, even if they had lost tons of weight). Also, most people with hypothyroidism still experience symptoms despite their TSH levels being normal - this is because they are often mistreated with bad medicine and no recommendations to their nutritive health. The docs say take this synthetic hormone and you'll be all better, and unfortunately a good many of them aren't fully better. A significant symptom is being worn out easily during exercise. This is a huge hurdle to overcome, and as someone that has gone from being super skinny to overweight due to thyroid changes (and admittedly a horrible diet that I was able to get away with for most of my life - it's how we ate in my house) working out now is WAY harder than it used to be when my thyroid levels were normal - even before I put on the extra pounds, as soon as I was going hypothyroid I noticed a big difference. It was actually scary to feel how shaken and winded I would get during a fast walk or a trot up stairs.

Another thing that I've uncovered in my research is that a lot of thyroid problems can be eliminated or reduced by removing gluten from the diet. This is because the gluten proteins resemble thyroid hormones - and since about 98% of thyroid patients are the result of an autoimmune disorder, the body is tricked into thinking that it has too much thyroid hormone and it goes on the offensive - so it is literally attacking all those thyroid hormones it thinks you have excess of. With the US diet being so carb and grain heavy (including mine for my whole life), it's no wonder that we have all these thyroid patients walking around with no relief from their symptoms. Taking gluten out of my diet and I've lost 9 lbs in just over a week. I think it's just that a lot of thyroid patients aren't aware of this connection (I wasn't until recently) and they have no idea that the pastas, breads, and even soy sauce they take in - even in tiny doses, can really be affecting their health. Hopefully with the advances in medicine, and the greater access patients have to medical information on the internet, more people will become aware of it.

[Datepalm]

Yes, fish (and other seafood) is MUCH more common there than animal or bird meat. Plus, much of the population is lactose intolerant, so it's not just no cheese, but also no butter, no cream, no milk chocolate...

I wonder what obesity rates are like amongst the lactoseintolerant in the US? A bit of googling didn't find much except that its high amongst african americans, who don't have markedly lower obesity rates than average that I can recall.

[MinDonner]

For some anectodal evidence, both my friends who became lactose intolerant, and my M-i-L who had to cut out dairy for a while for gallstones, all lost loads of weight really quickly. Dairy is a biggy.

[smegma]

Also, just wanted to add (and sorry if this has been discussed at length, this is a long thread and I'm late to the game) that there is definitely a culture of acceptance of obesity in the US. Granted, there are tons of different body types and not everyone is made to be a size 2, but we keep growing bigger and we are just in denial about how it affects us.

When I went from being thin to overweight, all of my overweight friends kept telling me "you finally look healthy" even though before I had been in my ideal weight range for years. Because I was skinny, I wasn't healthy? But now that I WAS unhealthy, sick, and overweight, they thought I looked better? I still hear about it, and it is so concerning to me that they think that me at 161 lbs looks better than me at 120 lbs. I used to get a bit defensive about the perception that foreigners have of the US and our largeness, but I've come to see that a lot of it is not without some truth.

[Datepalm]

The major dietary problem in the United States appears to be obesity. The prevention and/or treatment of obesity can be facilitated by the availability of calorie reduced foods including dairy foods. This can be achieved most readily by provision of foods with reduced fat content.

Thats just an utterly insane way of looking at it. We eat way too much of a natural food that is perfectly healthy is moderate doses, so instead of, you know, eating less and going for a more balanced diet with more vegetables and what not, lets make a processed, unnatural food with all sorts of additives to cover up for the fact we've taken out all the stuff that made it nutritious that also made our bodies appreciate it to and recreat the taste artificially so we can eat a lot more of it!

It just seems surprising to me that meat would be inherently bad for us given how much of human history involves meat consumption.

The blog in the OP (The one with the year old happy meal) is totally fascinating, and basically approves of meat...so long as its made entirely of meat:

Eating unprocessed beef, pork or lamb appeared not to raise risks of heart attacks and diabetes … suggesting that salt and chemical preservatives may be the real cause of these two health problems associated with eating meat.

And theres was another post I can't find someplace about the problem with corn fed cows that have to get antibiotics which then wind up in the meat and are likely not good for anyone.

[Sis Who Swears]

It just seems surprising to me that meat would be inherently bad for us given how much of human history involves meat consumption.

Saw this on TV the other night. It's an article from Dr. Oz on 'obesogens'.

I have never heard of these before.

Page 2 has the more specific info about meat and many other things. I don't know how legit it all is, kinda boggles the mind. Makes one feel that everything out there is going to make you fat.

Like air fresheners? Really?

At least it's something to think about.

The actual show itself had some interesting examples, like how farm raised tuna is actually more whitish but they dye it to make it look healthy and pink. And guess what? The dye makes you fat. APPARENTLY.

It's a lot more scientific than that but that's the basic premise anyways.

I haven't read through this whole thread so I'm not sure if these have been mentioned or not. Sorry if it has.

[Nichole]

That article mentioned that my shower curtain might be an obesogen but didn't have any recommendations on what to do about it. What am I supposed to do? :uhoh: