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America has a problem. How much bigger will we get?


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This is a repost of something I said in another thread.

 

Wow....Americans really have no grasp of healthy eating or fitness if some Americans think you need to starve yourself or take diet pills in order to be a more healthy weight. I hear people constantly talk about how the media makes us this we need extreme diets and to be unrealistically thin....huh?

 

As someone said in another thread, for a country thats supposedly so "obsessed" with being thin, why is our nation so overweight?

 

Sorry, but this isnt about hollywood expectations...especially when you consider the fact that most Americans ignore Hollywood and are big despite what the media thinks. Climbing obesity rates, heart disease and diabetes rates dont seem to phase people. They still yammer on about Hollywood standards.

 

Americans have gotten bigger over the last two generations, and its largely down to poor diet and low physical activity. Stats will show you this change in weight, diet, and physical activity.

 

Anyone whos eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly will have no trouble staying a trim healthy weight. This idea that we have to starve ourself for "unrealistic hollywood standards" is hogwash. The idea that the size of people we see on tv or the movies is "unrealistic" is hogwash too. All of our so called "stars" would be considered a healthy, fit and trim weight anywhere else in the Western world or East Asia.

 

Yet we as Americans have gotten so big, and so insecure about weight and health, that we consider a slim healthy build "unrealistic" and that it takes "extreme" diets and workouts to get there. Does no one see the problem here? Im not trying to put down overweight folks. Im trying to draw attention to a problem in America. We merely accept this unhealthy lifestyle and its killing us and our young people.

 

Why the hell does the first lady need to get involved in order for some parents to wake up to this too?

Edited by kaylan
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fortyninethousand322

Well, to be fair, the obesity rates have flattened out over the past 5-10 years. So the problem isn't getting worse, it's just the same.

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Well, to be fair, the obesity rates have flattened out over the past 5-10 years. So the problem isn't getting worse, it's just the same.

That's because the people who got fatter exploded and are not counted.

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The op is correct. It's getting to be ridiculous. I'm in college with young people and a lot of them all ready obese. I'm 33 maybe older the most of the people in these forums but I remember back 1999-2004, obesity was nothing near the level it is now.

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People are just really lazy. You can't do anything about it. If they want to be lazy and overweight and unhealthy, then let them. Just worry about yourself I always say to people. Just make sure you never get like that and then live with it.

 

Since this is a relationship forum, I'll relate it to one. You can't make someone love you just because you want them to or feel it is right.

You can't make people lose weight and be healthy just because you want them to. If they want to be obese and unhealthy, but they are happy, then by all means, leave them be.

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amaysngrace

Obesity is a sign of poverty.

 

Mississippi has the highest poverty rate as well as the highest obesity rate. The same money will get you 500 calories of healthy food or 3000 calories of carbs.

 

Hungry people want to get full. They eat the bad foods. It's cheaper and it's because the big majority of the subsidies go to the wheat, corn and soy industry while a much smaller percentage goes to dairy, stock and produce so those foods cost much more per calorie.

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ScreamingTrees

Honestly, I eat pretty healthy off of 100$ a week. Lots of healthy, nourishing foods that can cost a 1$ a piece.. So if you're the type to waste a good 2-4$ every other day on a bottle of soda and some candy or a bag of chips like I used to, it seriously adds up and could've been saved and spent weekly on healthier choices. I don't know if poverty is really the problem.

 

I also know people who just would never actually enjoy the act of exercising, bettering themselves, improving.. They find the repetitious exercising tedious and boring, but I wonder if that's just because it's too hard on them mentally to slog through it. I consider it as important and necessary as brushing my teeth and actually enjoy it.

 

I also eat fruit instead of candy. That's nature's candy, far as I'm concerned. Much healthier. Natural sugars.. I have barely any appetite for candy nowadays, though I do cheat from time to time. I'm barely old enough to drink, and to some I probably already have the diet of a health-conscious 50 year old. And you know what? I've got a body/shape like this guy

 

http://www.sixpackwallpapers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/The-Swimmers-Body.jpg

 

I probably would still have it if I ate like ****, but I choose not to take my health and nice physique for granted, I still eat well. Simply because you cannot see the damage being done, don't mean it ain't occurring due to your ****ty choices.

 

 

I've been insulted for my body type, been told I look 90 lbs soaking wet by older females who mistook me for someone around their age, and I'm also rather lightweight... I don't care anymore. Considering I'm technically still a teenager until right before the summer starts, I don't expect to look like a fully grown man and I don't feel like less of a male because I don't.

 

Anyways, people can get lots of healthy foods in 10/10$ deals, that's what I do.. I'm sure that if someone thinks about the food groups and considers the healthiest "super foods" in each category (fish, non-fat dairy, meat, vegetables, fruits, ect), they could figure out a cheap and healthy product to buy. 100$ lasts me for about a week or a little longer and I have a bit of something from each grouping at least once a day throughout the week, if not more than once.)

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Obesity is a sign of poverty.

 

Mississippi has the highest poverty rate as well as the highest obesity rate. The same money will get you 500 calories of healthy food or 3000 calories of carbs.

 

Hungry people want to get full. They eat the bad foods. It's cheaper and it's because the big majority of the subsidies go to the wheat, corn and soy industry while a much smaller percentage goes to dairy, stock and produce so those foods cost much more per calorie.

Though poverty will give you a bad diet and can make you obese...the impoverished in other nations of the world are skinny and under-grown as all get out.

 

Poverty doesnt fully explain the nations weight problem. Especially when you consider that most people are middle class, and that even most middle class people are overweight.

 

While poverty can be a factor, its not the sole cause. Education is a big issue to. People just dont know anything about nutrition or portion control. Learning how to stretch a budget is good too.

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ScreamingTrees
Though poverty will give you a bad diet and can make you obese...the impoverished in other nations of the world are skinny and under-grown as all get out.

 

Poverty doesnt fully explain the nations weight problem. Especially when you consider that most people are middle class, and that even most middle class people are overweight.

 

While poverty can be a factor, its not the sole cause. Education is a big issue to. People just dont know anything about nutrition or portion control. Learning how to stretch a budget is good too.

 

But even then, the biggest 'tard could type "(top 10) healthy food choices" into Google. If they were conscious of their ill health and cared enough, they could visit a public library and use the computers there, or buy a cheap book on a healthy diet, ect..

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amaysngrace
Though poverty will give you a bad diet and can make you obese...the impoverished in other nations of the world are skinny and under-grown as all get out.

 

Children in other countries don't have subsidies making the high calorie foods the cheapest or eat growth hormones in their meat. Do they even eat meat?

 

No it's not the whole problem at all. Lots of kids socialize from home on their couch or in their bedroom as well and that adds to the problem.

 

I think our food is really unhealthy still though.

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I think 'poverty' is relative: ie poor kids in Africa starve, poor kids in America lead a disadvantaged life compared to others but the vast majority of them will not go without food for days or eat literally nutrition-free food like many Africans do.

 

I live in an area in London that has a high % of people from low socio-economic backgrounds, they are pale, fat and badly dressed. My sister used to live in one of the poshest areas in London and all her neighbours were tanned and wore super expensive trainers out on their evening runs. Your lifestyle will largely depend on your socio-economic status in my experience.

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As someone said in another thread, for a country thats supposedly so "obsessed" with being thin, why is our nation so overweight?

 

Obsession with being thin may be part of it. I agree with others who say this is often a poverty related issue, with people who are lower down on the socio-economic scale tending to be more likely to eat a lot of junk food. Thinking of people I know who are overweight, though, dieting is their life - yet they never actually lose weight. The more obsessed people become with dieting, the more obsessed they are with food.

 

If somebody were 250 pounds then that's going to be difficult for them to lose. They might diet rigidly for 6 weeks, up their exercise programme and be doing very well - but if they're still being sneered at for being obese then it's going to be hard for them to stay on track. For that reason, I think weight loss support groups like Weightwatchers are probably one of the best ways for them to lose weight effectively. They can get that support and encouragement they need from people who are in the same position, and be validated for meeting their weekly targets for weight loss.

 

 

Sorry, but this isnt about hollywood expectations...especially when you consider the fact that most Americans ignore Hollywood and are big despite what the media thinks. Climbing obesity rates, heart disease and diabetes rates dont seem to phase people. They still yammer on about Hollywood standards.

 

One of the problems about Hollywood expectations is that even people in a normal, healthy weight range fall far short of them and end up feeling that they're not good enough. When people set themselves impossible targets (I should look like a photoshopped picture of a swimwear model with not an ounce of cellulite) then they're setting themselves up to fail. If people feel that at their healthy weight they're "not good enough" then a certain amount of "why bother at all?" might easily set in. Impossible targets can be extremely demotivating.

 

Obesity is on the increase everywhere. France has long congratulated itself on the "French women don't get fat" mentality, but the reality is that although France does well in comparison to the rest of Europe, it is increasingly developing its own obesity problem - and this seems to be coinciding with McDonalds doing a roaring trade there. Which is very unfortunate because traditionally I think the French did set a good example on how to be in decent shape without being obsessive about it.

 

Walking or cycling instead of taking the car, trying to cook meals rather than just always using a microwave (and using a lot of natural flavouring in food - spices, sundried tomatoes etc - as this helps people to feel fuller quicker). Taking a bit of time over meals rather than being in the habit of eating on the run, which encourages people to get into a pattern of snacking between meals.

 

Generally I find that the single best way to keep at a healthy weight is to use the car/public transport as little as possible and to walk/cycle instead. Shopping for small amounts regularly, rather than taking the car to a huge out of town supermarket and loading up with way more than necessary. As a teen I babysat for an American family and remember being astonished by all the bulk buying they did. The amount of food in that home was astonishing. And if it's there, of course it will get eaten.

 

I'm not going to go on about American obesity too much, because our obesity rates in the UK aren't very far behind. However, any time I've visited the US your portion sizes have left me staggered. Consistently it gives people the message "it's okay to eat this amount in one sitting. It's normal." But the reality is that those portions are double or even three times the size that is actually necessary.

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sweetjasmine
Though poverty will give you a bad diet and can make you obese...the impoverished in other nations of the world are skinny and under-grown as all get out.

 

Among other things, people in impoverished nations aren't eating food laced with corn syrup/corn derivatives, nitrates, etc. from packaging containing endocrine disruptors like bisophenol A. Food in this country is often engineered to satisfy without providing actual satiety ( http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html ). Give those impoverished nations the same food supply, and watch the numbers change.

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Obsession with being thin may be part of it. I agree with others who say this is often a poverty related issue, with people who are lower down on the socio-economic scale tending to be more likely to eat a lot of junk food. Thinking of people I know who are overweight, though, dieting is their life - yet they never actually lose weight. The more obsessed people become with dieting, the more obsessed they are with food.

 

If somebody were 250 pounds then that's going to be difficult for them to lose. They might diet rigidly for 6 weeks, up their exercise programme and be doing very well - but if they're still being sneered at for being obese then it's going to be hard for them to stay on track. For that reason, I think weight loss support groups like Weightwatchers are probably one of the best ways for them to lose weight effectively. They can get that support and encouragement they need from people who are in the same position, and be validated for meeting their weekly targets for weight loss.

 

 

 

 

One of the problems about Hollywood expectations is that even people in a normal, healthy weight range fall far short of them and end up feeling that they're not good enough. When people set themselves impossible targets (I should look like a photoshopped picture of a swimwear model with not an ounce of cellulite) then they're setting themselves up to fail. If people feel that at their healthy weight they're "not good enough" then a certain amount of "why bother at all?" might easily set in. Impossible targets can be extremely demotivating.

 

Obesity is on the increase everywhere. France has long congratulated itself on the "French women don't get fat" mentality, but the reality is that although France does well in comparison to the rest of Europe, it is increasingly developing its own obesity problem - and this seems to be coinciding with McDonalds doing a roaring trade there. Which is very unfortunate because traditionally I think the French did set a good example on how to be in decent shape without being obsessive about it.

 

Walking or cycling instead of taking the car, trying to cook meals rather than just always using a microwave (and using a lot of natural flavouring in food - spices, sundried tomatoes etc - as this helps people to feel fuller quicker). Taking a bit of time over meals rather than being in the habit of eating on the run, which encourages people to get into a pattern of snacking between meals.

 

Generally I find that the single best way to keep at a healthy weight is to use the car/public transport as little as possible and to walk/cycle instead. Shopping for small amounts regularly, rather than taking the car to a huge out of town supermarket and loading up with way more than necessary. As a teen I babysat for an American family and remember being astonished by all the bulk buying they did. The amount of food in that home was astonishing. And if it's there, of course it will get eaten.

 

I'm not going to go on about American obesity too much, because our obesity rates in the UK aren't very far behind. However, any time I've visited the US your portion sizes have left me staggered. Consistently it gives people the message "it's okay to eat this amount in one sitting. It's normal." But the reality is that those portions are double or even three times the size that is actually necessary.

 

I was the one who asked the question mentioned in the OP (sorry for the thread-jack on the other thread :laugh:), and this answer makes a lot of sense, thanks.

 

The portions bit is interesting, and probably very apt. Coming from an Asian country, the first time I went to a Caucasian country (not even the USA), the portion sizes were huge! Any time I ate food that I didn't cook myself, I had to gorge myself into oblivion to come anywhere close to finishing it. Eventually my stomach got used to the larger sizes, and I gained 10 lbs in a few months from that. :laugh: That scared me, and I started training myself to get used to my original meal sizes, doggy-bagging whatever I could and just leaving behind whatever couldn't be doggy-bagged. That was much better for my weight.

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fortyninethousand322
Among other things, people in impoverished nations aren't eating food laced with corn syrup/corn derivatives, nitrates, etc. from packaging containing endocrine disruptors like bisophenol A. Food in this country is often engineered to satisfy without providing actual satiety ( http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html ). Give those impoverished nations the same food supply, and watch the numbers change.

 

Yeah. Get rid of the corn subsidies. All they go to is big corporate farms who turn the corn into high fructose corn syrup. That crap is horrible for your body.

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I was the one who asked the question mentioned in the OP (sorry for the thread-jack on the other thread :laugh:), and this answer makes a lot of sense, thanks.

 

The portions bit is interesting, and probably very apt. Coming from an Asian country, the first time I went to a Caucasian country (not even the USA), the portion sizes were huge! Any time I ate food that I didn't cook myself, I had to gorge myself into oblivion to come anywhere close to finishing it. Eventually my stomach got used to the larger sizes, and I gained 10 lbs in a few months from that. :laugh: That scared me, and I started training myself to get used to my original meal sizes, doggy-bagging whatever I could and just leaving behind whatever couldn't be doggy-bagged. That was much better for my weight.

 

Yeah. Massive portions do create that sense of generosity and hospitality - but unfortunately it's too easy to work your way through a good bit too much of it.

 

When I was in San Diego a few years ago, I stayed at this hotel that served pancakes covered in fruit and whipped cream and accompanied by whipped butter and maple syrup. I became obsessed by these bloody things. Every morning, that together with a really large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee.

 

Those pancakes covered an entire plate, and I would eat them all. Not only that, but I would actually use the whipped butter and maple syrup from the little side dishes because...well, because they were there basically, and I was on holiday, didn't feel like depriving myself etc. I put on about 5 pounds on that relatively short trip, and it was harder to shift than I expected it to be, because when I got home I still wanted to eat stuff like that. I usually have home made muesli for breakfast, but I was making my own version of those pancake breakfasts for about a week.

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fortyninethousand322

I know Kaylan's going to hate me for saying this, but when we're talking about massively obese people, it's not necessarily a story about how they eat massive portion sizes. I'm sure some do, but when I look at studies done on things like Metabolic Syndrome it's much more about how much sugar people consume. HFCS, even white sugar, and white flour causes a problem.

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I know Kaylan's going to hate me for saying this, but when we're talking about massively obese people, it's not necessarily a story about how they eat massive portion sizes. I'm sure some do, but when I look at studies done on things like Metabolic Syndrome it's much more about how much sugar people consume. HFCS, even white sugar, and white flour causes a problem.

 

That could explain why I put on that weight in San Diego. Round about that time I was visiting friends in France periodically. We'd regularly go out for those wonderful three course plus local wine for 12 euros deals you get in the South. Although I usually had a salad for the starter and a sorbet for the dessert, I still estimate that taking the wine into account I would probably put away 1,000 calories every time we had one of those meals. Which was every day.

 

All in all, I probably had about 3,000 calories worth of food put in front of me each day on those trips - but I never put any weight on. I think that was partly down to not eating all of it, but also that although the food wasn't exactly low calorie it was nutritious. Junk food tends to lack nutrition and be moreish.

 

Whether 1000 calories worth of the kind of junk food people are talking about here (with corn syrup and a lot of sugar) will put weight on a person that 1000 calories of healthy food wouldn't, I'm not sure. I think it's equally likely that 1000 calories of healthy food in one meal will leave you feeling that you don't want any food for the rest of the day (or if it's a lunchtime meal, only something very light). I think it's much easier for somebody to pack away 1000 calories of crappy food and then be hungry again a couple of hours later.

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fortyninethousand322
That could explain why I put on that weight in San Diego. Round about that time I was visiting friends in France periodically. We'd regularly go out for those wonderful three course plus local wine for 12 euros deals you get in the South. Although I usually had a salad for the starter and a sorbet for the dessert, I still estimate that taking the wine into account I would probably put away 1,000 calories every time we had one of those meals. Which was every day.

 

All in all, I probably had about 3,000 calories worth of food put in front of me each day on those trips - but I never put any weight on. I think that was partly down to not eating all of it, but also that although the food wasn't exactly low calorie it was nutritious. Junk food tends to lack nutrition and be moreish.

 

Whether 1000 calories worth of the kind of junk food people are talking about here (with corn syrup and a lot of sugar) will put weight on a person that 1000 calories of healthy food wouldn't, I'm not sure. I think it's equally likely that 1000 calories of healthy food in one meal will leave you feeling that you don't want any food for the rest of the day (or if it's a lunchtime meal, only something very light). I think it's much easier for somebody to pack away 1000 calories of crappy food and then be hungry again a couple of hours later.

 

Yeah it certainly fits my own experience. I first heard about the idea after reading Gary Taubes book "Why We Get Fat". It interested me because that's what worked for me. Once I cut out sugars and white flour I lost weight. And there were times where I'd eat a lot of food and exercise little and still not get fat. Hard for me to tell now though since I exercise quite a bit these days. But it's interesting.

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The obesity issue is a very complicated one, but my view is that it is exacerbated by some cultural quirks:

 

a) going out to eat frequently

b) high value is placed on automation of daily things

c) a complete over saturation of food availability and choices, year around

d) a shift from manual labor type jobs to jobs that require people to be mostly sedentary

 

To be fair, this is going on all over the world in places that are Westernized or are in the process of Westernizing. Obesity rates in China are going up, for example. Western Europeans are getting fatter too. I think it's human nature to get complacent and lazy when surrounded by a culture that glorifies excess.

 

It always amazes me to see a van or SUV being driven for 15 minutes around a grocery store parking lot, just so the driver can find a spot closest to the front entrance.

 

A cultural shift is needed (which starts with individual choices) to curb or reverse the problem, in my opinion. Before anyone jumps down my throat, I'm not encouraging fat shaming or anything like that. Not everyone has to look the same way. That said, I think we need to, as a society, "harden up". Learn to control impulses for instant gratification. Embrace exertion rather than shy away from it. Learn to cook delicious, home cooked meals from whole, raw ingredients, just like your great grandparents did. Embrace an "I can do this myself" attitude over "someone should do something about this" attitude.

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Mme. Chaucer

Regarding poverty / obesity in America:

 

It's often generational. The parents who are used to eating poorly bring their children up eating unhealthy food. Lots of fast food. I live in a place where there are many families on government assistance. A great many of them have fat kids.

 

It takes much consciousness and will to throw aside your own multi-generational family culture and decide to be thin and fit.

 

I agree it would be beneficial for everybody to do this. I have an issue, though, with the subtle and sometimes not subtle "fat shaming" that surfaces in discussions like this. By "not subtle," I am thinking about threads I've read right here where posters have said outright that they should shame fat people, because it's wrong that fatness has become socially acceptable in the USA. NOT because they care about health. But because they see fat as "disgusting" and a sign of poor character. And, they believe that fat people are inferior to them.

 

Fit people taking issue with fat people. But not fit people who are working actively in the health / nutrition / fitness field specifically aiming to improve the health and fitness of the overweight, and especially towards educating poor families on how to change their patterns for their good and that of their children.

 

So why do these uninvolved fit people have such an investment in talking about fat people?

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Fit people taking issue with fat people. But not fit people who are working actively in the health / nutrition / fitness field specifically aiming to improve the health and fitness of the overweight, and especially towards educating poor families on how to change their patterns for their good and that of their children.

 

So why do these uninvolved fit people have such an investment in talking about fat people?

 

Fat people take issue with fit people too, I've see that with fat girls, it happened to me most recently a couple of weeks ago - but that's not the point I want to make.

 

Not sure whether we are going off topic here but you can accuse me of being a fit person that takes issue with fat people. I dislike laziness, learned helplessness and instead of fixing issues like depression, their literally feeding by eating c**p making themselves feel worse. Complain that they have no will power. Bringing up chubby-faced kids with stretched faces and chubby fingers.

 

That's not to say that I look at people's waistline and hate them when it's wider than some model's. I just see really overweight people who struggle up stairs and stuff their face on the tube as weak and idle who have no pride. I know it's not nice but it's how I see them.

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How do people blame poverty? Most of the nation is middle class. And most of the middle class is overweight. Lets explain why the middle class is so overweight since we cant fall on the poverty argument there.

Among other things, people in impoverished nations aren't eating food laced with corn syrup/corn derivatives, nitrates, etc. from packaging containing endocrine disruptors like bisophenol A. Food in this country is often engineered to satisfy without providing actual satiety ( http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html ). Give those impoverished nations the same food supply, and watch the numbers change.

East Asia and India have plenty of junk food. Hell, Americans companies have been going there for years now. But those nations arent big like we are.

 

I think some people in this thread are removing personal responsibility away from the consumer. And that was one of the problems I highlighted in my OP.

 

While our foods do have a lot of crap in them...its not the only reason for our state of affairs. Laziness, video games, lack of nutritional education, technology, and several other things all play a part.

 

I think the biggest factor is portions, like Tara pointed out. But Americans seem to dumb to control their portions, and too whiny if the government decides to do anything about it.

Edited by kaylan
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How do people blame poverty? Most of the nation is middle class. And most of the middle class is overweight. Lets explain why the middle class is so overweight since we cant fall on the poverty argument there.

East Asia and India have plenty of junk food. Hell, Americans companies have been going there for years now. But those nations arent big like we are.

 

China is certainly well on its way there

 

China confronts problem of obesity - Asia - World - The Independent

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Globalization of crappy American food and norms I guess will make everyone fat lol

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