I bet gay guys balance out that minority gap lol.
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Obesity Rises Despite All Efforts to Fight It, U.S. Health Officials Say
- Thread starter Bel Marduk
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I bet gay guys balance out that minority gap lol.
RumblingRosco
Member
Has anyone mentioned yet the Call of Duty / Mnt Dew ad that is popping up at top of the screen in this thread (at least for me on page 1)? GAF is part of the problem, advertising a combination of sedentary gaming with high-sugar beverages.
Thanks Malka!
Thanks Malka!
Whenever I hear Malka, I can't help but think of Vitamin R deficiency in our kids these days.
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
ha, spot on.
I think the more important question is whether childhood obesity is still climbing, and if it is ... 'all efforts' should be directed there.
Not to say you are beyond fixing as an adult, but realistically there will be more success attempting to fix dietary and exercise habits of people that are still developing. People that have decades of bad habits are always going to be more difficult to change.
When a problem is this bad, efforts need to be smart. You need to at least begin with the demographics that are likely to have the higher success rates. Once that is in motion, then it makes sense to move to the wider (lol) audience.
Not to say you are beyond fixing as an adult, but realistically there will be more success attempting to fix dietary and exercise habits of people that are still developing. People that have decades of bad habits are always going to be more difficult to change.
When a problem is this bad, efforts need to be smart. You need to at least begin with the demographics that are likely to have the higher success rates. Once that is in motion, then it makes sense to move to the wider (lol) audience.
Yeah obesity will always increase. And not just because of cheap sugary foods. But because of our crappy lifestyles. Americans work too much
If you work and have kids, you barely have time to do anything. You have to make a concentrated effort to excercise. You have to make a concentrated effort to eat multiple meals a day. Its a hard lifestyle unless you have family assistance or hired help. If you are exhausted all the time you just aren't gonna be motivated to do anything.
And when you do eat, probably even more likely to eat like shit to feel temporarily better
If you work and have kids, you barely have time to do anything. You have to make a concentrated effort to excercise. You have to make a concentrated effort to eat multiple meals a day. Its a hard lifestyle unless you have family assistance or hired help. If you are exhausted all the time you just aren't gonna be motivated to do anything.
And when you do eat, probably even more likely to eat like shit to feel temporarily better
Battersea Power Station
Member
Is the rate at which obesity is rising falling? That would at least be a minor success, especially considering "all efforts" are basically one small effort.
Chezzymann
Member
I'd say a big portion of the problem is our car culture. People sit in cars for like an hour in rush hour to go to work, sit at work all day, sit in cars to get home, and then are tired after a long day and sit on the couch watching TV.
Our cities should be designed around people, not cars. But sadly I think we're past the point of no return.
Our cities should be designed around people, not cars. But sadly I think we're past the point of no return.
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
Yep. People do literally nothing all day everyday and don't even notice.
The 2000 calorie / day recommendation is terrible as well for those people. That's way too much, and most people probably eat over 2000 a day.
shinobi602
Member
Holy shit.
NihonTiger90
Member
Sounds a lot like where I'm at. 5'7" and 180 lbs at my heaviest after I graduated college. Cutting back on some unhealthy foods and exercising a bit dropped me first to 165, then 160, where I plateaued for a long while. Got serious and dropped another 7-8 lbs. over a year, and eventually got to where I am today around 145. It has required both eating better and working out. I still get to have some things like ice cream but they're not common treats and I usually get a small portion size.
In order to address the real issues causing obesity in this country, you'd literally have to reshape almost every facet of our culture.
The country is just too large and our public transportation infrastructure is too small to support a lifestyle where we can walk to where we need to go. You NEED a car to get anywhere. Our shitty diets and lack of time accelerate this which then results in huge medical expenses.
The country is just too large and our public transportation infrastructure is too small to support a lifestyle where we can walk to where we need to go. You NEED a car to get anywhere. Our shitty diets and lack of time accelerate this which then results in huge medical expenses.
You've mention stuff like car culture, but what's your concrete list of solutions rather than problems?
And if the ideas require a complete reworking of society, that's a non-starter, what bits and pieces can we segregate into individual policies? Because huge shifts in government policy are already difficult for big ticket items like worker's rights or corporate taxation, so what makes you think an obesity campaign can help backdoor more socialist liberal authority powers into government? To fight car culture? And being cynical doesn't help stymie the rate of acceleration of obesity.
Advocating solutions like the Bloomberg sugary drink law are bound to fail because they are legally on shaky ground and often disillusion urban poor and white Southern populations, groups who we actually WANT to reach out to.
Krauser Kat
Member
soy and corn are great but the majority of what we grow does not actually go to feeding us it goes to shittier things like ethanol and making meat.
HFCS is terrible though.
DrROBschiz
Member
Agreed 100%!!!
THey can start with Public school lunches
WAY too much processed foods, salt and SUGAR. Oh god the sugar
lol.
Though it sucks that so much food has added sugar in it.
I had milk with cereal this morning with a banana and that puts me at 40 grams of sugar already.
bennywhatever
Member
Something that might help is putting nutrition facts on alcohol. I know it won't do too much, but it's something that seems like a no-brainer.
Unfortunately, alcohol isn't regulated by the same group as most food & drink.
Unfortunately, alcohol isn't regulated by the same group as most food & drink.
AstroNut325
Member
Any chance of eliminating the corn subsidies?
Yup. The supposed point of public school lunches was to provide at least one nutritious meal for student's who's family either have bad eating habits and/or are financially strapped. It seems we've moved a fair bit away from that.
More importantly, it needs to be coupled with better health and nutrition teaching, and smarter approaches to gym class. For the latter, too many classes are competitive activities that outcast those that are not athletic. More time needs to be spent doing activities that burn some calories, increase core strength, etc ... without the embarrassment of competition. Gym class isn't supposed to be a training ground for team sports, it's supposed to be for general physical health and fitness.
There is a Simpsons image for everything
In regards to childhood, recess and phys-ed classes are on the decline, while sitting in a classroom, tests, and homework are on the rise. Basically kids at school are becoming like adults at work, sitting all day, so I wouldn't be surprised if the childhood obesity rates aren't improving.
LegendofLex
Member
Despite the fact that I spent a decent amount of time just sitting around as a college student, I still had a part-time job that required me to be on my feet and had to walk to class every day.
My weight was more or less fine (averaged in the 130s/lower 140s), but started to become an issue (creeping up into 150s, 100% attributable to weight gain in the abdomen, waist, and thighs) literally immediately after accepting a 40-hour-week office gig with a 40m-1hr commute. (Which translates to about 10-11 hours of my day being unusable for physical activity, and leaves me even more tired at the end of the day - I have metabolic/mitochondrial issues already.) And my GI system has started going to shit because of it - I need to get a colonoscopy at 27.
Now that I have full healthcare benefits, I actually have a need to use them.
Looking at my family history, it's clear I need to really change my diet and carve out some time for exercise, but damn is that hard when the part of my day dedicated to work pretty much takes all my energy out of me.
Always-honest
Banned
This. And stop putting putting MSG in "food" that makes people eat more of that shitty food. USA is worldleader in Cheap unhealthy food and some companies want to turn the entire planet to eat their shit.
Also, promote riding a bike. Walking.
I think putting 150 calories per glass of wine or 800 calories and 50g of sugar in this "cocktail" would deter quite a few people.
DrROBschiz
Member
Stop preserving canned fruit in fucking syrup
Miles Quaritch
Member
But how else are they supposed to make pineapple taste sweet?
Future PhaZe
Member
Davey Cakes
Member
I don't eat much canned fruit but yeah, these days I'm always going to opt for the lightest syrups or 100 calorie versions or...something other than the old standard.
They still sell canned fruit in heavy syrup as an option. That's just gross to me now.
FreedomFighter
Member
There are no real efforts to fight obesity since the sugar industry, soft drink industry, fast food industry, medical industry (yes, medicine is in on this) and others use their political and economic weight to block any meaningful reform.
The best we can do is try to inform people on their food choices. But we're competing against a multi-million dollar marketing machine that can easily drown out good public health messages.
There is an element of free will in this too, and you can't ultimately stop people from making food choices that are unhealthy, but there is an ethical component to the aforementioned industries as well. But they just don't give a fuck so long as they keep making that $$$.
The best we can do is try to inform people on their food choices. But we're competing against a multi-million dollar marketing machine that can easily drown out good public health messages.
There is an element of free will in this too, and you can't ultimately stop people from making food choices that are unhealthy, but there is an ethical component to the aforementioned industries as well. But they just don't give a fuck so long as they keep making that $$$.
perfectchaos007
Member
Not going to lie, for me eating fast food alone is a top tier pleasure. For some reason the pleasure is lost when I'm eating with friends. I like to be alone with my sinful cravings.
Wyndstryker
Member
Give people more time at home so they can actually cook and not be tired and order fast food/take out. Oh yeah, helps to pay them a bit more so they don't buy the cheap stuff.
0ptimusPayne
Member
I think of the biggest issues is that "healthier" food is more expensive than shitty food. We live in a horrible society where you can get a big ass bottle of pop/soda cheaper than a smaller FL oz bottled water..Im not making excuses for people, but I can see the turn off when you're shopping for "healthier" versions of what you're used to buying..
TheLostBigBoss
Banned
That's hardly why people are obese.
Unless you're thinking of the people who are 300+ pounds and have eating disorders, which isn't what obesity is for the most part.
Monocle
Member
Seriously.
GreenTornadoX
Member
I wished the leaner versions of meats (e.g. 99% fat free ground turkey) didn't cost an arm and a leg to their regular amount of fat counterparts. ($8/lb compared to $3)
NoblesseOblige
Banned
Venison is effectively free if you want to kill it yourself. I have a freezer full of it, and it's a pretty lean meat.
Glad to see people called out the "despite all efforts" line long before I got here. Not. Even. Close.
39 PERCENT ADULT OBESITY RATE. So completely unacceptable, especially considering how this country treats health care in general.
Speaking of which, maybe they could look in that general direction for a few obesity epidemic answers.
39 PERCENT ADULT OBESITY RATE. So completely unacceptable, especially considering how this country treats health care in general.
Speaking of which, maybe they could look in that general direction for a few obesity epidemic answers.
igordennis
Member
I feel like such an outlier in regards to this. Willpower for me has never seemed finite personally, no matter how many pizzas or candies or chocolates or brownies or whatever unhealthy thing you think of i get offered in a single day i never feel even remotely tempted to get out of my diet. Its been years since i have eaten a pizza or ice cream or even fried stuff. I dont miss it either ¯_(ツ
_/¯GreenTornadoX
Member
I did think about that, but I never had it before. Thanks for the suggestion!
(Backstory: I had bariatric surgery a couple of months ago, was 456 last year and now I'm 249. Nutritionist recommends me dense lean protein over pretty much anything else except for small servings of non-starchy vegetables)
FreedomFighter
Member
This is a good point actually. Depends on the methodology. For example, if they're using BMI, then there are limitations. Shaq, Yao Ming, Andre Drummond and many others would be "obese" by that metric.Wow at that black female statistic but I can't help but wonder how many of the 57% is actually this:
Shaq and Yao Ming are not statistically significant portions of the population that would even move the needle a little bit on this research.
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