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OECD Obesity Update: Almost 39% of American Adults over age 15 now classified obese
- Thread starter Madness
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DiipuSurotu
Banned
Because it's not part of Scandinavia? Neither geographically nor culturally.
Lamel
Banned
Having worked in healthcare, BMI is completely acceptable to stratify the general population. There is also significance of BMI in terms of various health outcomes, not just appearance. All of this argument about build/muscle etc. is fine for individuals but it is not accurate for the vast majority of the USA. There is a severe problem in this country as these numbers show.
As a super skinny dude, clothes shopping here sucks. I either have to go to h&m, express, or order online to find stuff that fits me.
I kinda agree. Haven't read the whole thread, so excuse me if it's already been addressed, but how do we address the US's obesity problem without, for lack of a better term, offending that same demographic?
Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku!
Member
shocked that the country with the lowest % is the country with the highest life expectancy
Undermining people's confidence in themselves and their bodies creates the opposite effect of what you want. "Fat acceptance" as a concept AROSE from people being constantly insulted for being fat. I don't know why you're including parents and children, unless you are suggesting that parents insult their kids when they get fat.
TheOfficeMut
Unconfirmed Member
Wow, I was jealous from your initial post but you worked so hard to bring your weight down. I'm hovering around 220-230 and it's been a bitch to bring my weight down. I was 210 last year due to working two manual labor jobs and that was the thinnest I've been in 10 years.
I've changed alot of my eating habits but I just can't cut calories, I enjoy food too much
Eating habits are definitely hard. Every person is different and you could even lose weight without touching the gym just by cutting certain foods and sugar.
In addition to the running I did, I stopped drinking sugary drinks cold turkey and transitioned exclusively to water. I still have a somewhat bad diet because I can't stop eating pizza and chips, so I have to work extra hard to make sure it doesn't creep up on me. I had a huge bowl of some terrible cereal this morning and a bunch of Sriracha chips, so now I ran 10 miles to offset what I had and what I will have later today. It's terrible but that's how I am. Gotta punish myself in some manner (running) for over-indulgence.
Master Yoshi
Member
Meanwhile I can't gain weight to save my life at about 120 lbs.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
When it takes an hour to run off half a large French fry of calories, it's absolutely the food.
To make matters worse, people generally have *no idea* how calories play into gaining/losing weight. Most recognize 2000 cals as the recommended daily amount for adults since its on every food label, but even that is misleading since it's going to vary drastically based on a person's size/activity, etc.
Like, I didn't learn about how calories impact weight until I finally decided to start losing weight a few years ago, and while trying to figure out what to eat, I learned about how ~3500 cals eaten/burned = 1 lb gained/lost (probably not exact, but good enough for a ballpark estimate for planning purposes). I also had absolutely NO idea how many calories I was eating until I started tracking it obsessively. It is incredibly easy to go over your calorie goal if you aren't watching labels carefully.
Before that, I had no idea and generally thought it had something to do with fat (since for a long time it was commonly accepted that fat makes you fat)
So I can see how people can be totally clueless about why they are fat. There is a LOT of contradicting and misleading information out there regarding weight loss/fitness.
That's part of the problem, but not the root cause. I would wager that a higher percentage of people eat out in Japan than in the US (would like to find statistics for this), and yet they have one of the lowest obesity rates in the world. Of course, they also do a lot more walking so I'm sure exercise plays a role as well.
When I was in Japan, I'd wager that the vast majority of my meals were in the 500-800 calorie range. I could certainly overeat by just buying a ton of food, but if I were just ordering meals (e.g. ramen, gyudon), the portions were always more than reasonable and I never felt stuffed.
I know parents that have the mentality of "you're still a kid, eat anything don't worry about it!" to their kids. Insults and degredation are not the answer, but obese people must be aware on why being obese is not okay. The best way to do that is by educating them in the real health risks obesity brings. Parents should have the primary responsibility on the this.
This is an important point which unfortunately won't get much attention.
I've not experienced much of this emasculation at not finishing a meal. Maybe if you're out with a few bro friends or something, but I've been out to eat with my family and friends a lot and pretty much no one finishes their shit.
And yeah, as I said, even at a half, Cheesecake Factory is still a bit much. That's what I was talking about when I said we still have portion control problems. For a dinner something like 900-1000 isn't bad, but that's assuming you haven't been an idiot the rest of the day. When I was losing my weight I actually did have 1000+ calorie dinners for a while there, but that's because my breakfast and lunch added up to somewhere around 900 and then I had exercised off about 600-800 every day, too. Not everyone does that, obviously.
Anyway, I do agree that calories should be listed on everything. Everywhere. It's so helpful. Calorie information should be bigger and more noticeable, too.
I really wanna know what you're cooking that takes 15 minutes to cook for multiple people, lol. Maybe if you cook more one day and average out through the week with leftovers. Most of the things we cook take 15-20 minutes just for prep and those are the quick recipes.
constantstatic
Member
No but in my defense I was reading overweight and not obese on the BMI chart my bad. So technically I'm overweight according to BMI not obese. But still I would hit obese at 200 pounds and I wouldn't need a cart to get me around or anything I would still be in decent shape. I just find people's attitudes in this thread over other peoples bodies kind of gross.
My brother did make a good point that even though he has little body fat carrying that extra weight as muscle is still bad for his heart. Like I definitely have some body fat but my little bro has very little and is still considered over weight according to the BMI.
I take boneless chick breasts marinade them ahead of time then use a cast iron grill pan or my grill to cook them then have some steamed veggies. Dinner usually takes 20-30 mins to cook.
Mt Heart Attack
Member
What the hell is even Chicken Carbonara. That should be illegal regardless of many calories it contains.
It's good is what it is lol.
That doesn't mean you wouldn't be obese. It already puts you at a way greater risk for a multitude of diseases. You are thinking about Obese Class III.
BMI doesn't really make sense at least as far as overweight is concerned though.
It's extremely easy to be considered overweight even if you are very fit because of muscle mass. Lots of people have an "overweight" BMI but it's not because of fat.
Also BMI seems to skew kind of low. 135lb male at 5'11" is a normal BMI but it seems pretty underweight to me.
It's extremely easy to be considered overweight even if you are very fit because of muscle mass. Lots of people have an "overweight" BMI but it's not because of fat.
Also BMI seems to skew kind of low. 135lb male at 5'11" is a normal BMI but it seems pretty underweight to me.
You're still missing the point by making it about you. You -should- know being muscular is far from being the norm, and these results are not targeting you.
Did you live with a host family or were you exposed to eating habits outside of home environments? In my experience home cooked japanese food is very healthy. Certainly more so than here in sweden and we are still doing pretty well.
We had a conference in San Jose last year (I live in the UK) and this really surprised me, it's something which you don't hear about. The city just wasn't designed at all for pedestrians, the whole thing is a grid so you cross a road every 30 seconds. It's stupidly tedious. Because of this no one seemed to be walking.
We asked some firemen for directions and they thought we were crazy for walking somewhere that was a 15 min walk away. They literally said it was too far.
As a fat person who has lost a lot of weight (I was very obese) it is the food choices and sedentary lifestyle. Also didn't hit me until my doctor was very fucking blunt and told me how my life was going to be if I didn't shape up.
I am still overweight, but I am in a much better place than I was years ago. Still slowly losing pounds (I am down about 140 from my heaviest), but it is harder now.
I am still overweight, but I am in a much better place than I was years ago. Still slowly losing pounds (I am down about 140 from my heaviest), but it is harder now.
NorthAndSouth
Member
^This.
I would also add that exceptions to BMI, like being an athlete, definitely occur. But it is not common and it does not apply to anyone/ everyone who works out. If you have a large waist circumference and consider your weight "muscle", or because you're "swole"... all I can say is that it is highly unlikely you're BMI does not accurately predict you as overweight or obese.
Lmao. You'd hate being in Indiana. There are so many small towns where you have to drive to get to the store or something unless you live in the center of town.
rokkerkory
Member
We love our cars here. Lol
hope peeps just wake up and realize to make better health choices when it comes to food intake.
hope peeps just wake up and realize to make better health choices when it comes to food intake.
Even being overweight is called overweight for a reason, because being outside of the normal range is enough to start causing negative health outcomes. I was in the upper range of overweight / bordering obesity, and it was enough to start messing with my liver.
Teaching about health risks is not a successful strategy. You can't just walk up to someone and say "being fat is bad because x". This is the same as being a politician and saying "my opponent is bad because x" without offering any substantive solutions of your own.
What is known to be successful:
+ Teaching what a nutritious choice is, bearing in mind that there is a wealth of advertising claiming things are healthy that are not, and that if you do not deliver this message in a respectful way people will just think you are an academic talking down to them
+ Creating environments where healthy behavior occurs naturally (this is city planning, infrastructure, as well as incentivizing companies such as groceries to highlight nutritious foods) - this approach is called policy/systems/environment approach, or PSE. You can even conduct PSE in your own home by cutting up/preparing healthy foods all at once after a trip to the grocery and making sure those healthy foods (primarily fruits/veggies) are easily available to your children, while unhealthy snacks are kept on the top shelf and so on.
An aside: regulation of SNAP/"food stamp" benefits is sticky, last I heard this is not going to move forward on a national level any time soon - it costs too much to enforce and puts a burden on grocery stores, and of course part of your constituency will hate you for it - at a recent hearing on it, only 2 of the witnesses they called (out of many) argued in favor of regulating SNAP benefits.
I agree that parents are responsible for their children's health. That responsibility should take the shape of encouraging healthy behavior and presenting healthy food options, not in talking down to children or trying to explain why something is bad with no follow-up. Caring for children properly is very demanding, and the parents themselves often have no education on nutritious choices or behaviors. Well-educated parents with lots of spare time who simply neglect their kids for psychological reasons are actually a minority when you're thinking about the obesity problem.
edit: Too often when the obesity issue comes up, I see people thinking about the individual "bootstraps" level. You instead need to think about the population level. This is a population-wide epidemic, so you need population-wide solutions that work irrespective of an individual's "willpower".
AcademicSaucer
Member
It makes sense now that people were against a soda tax in that other thread
entremet
Member
Things is, we had cars 40 years ago but are way fatter today.
Something else is afoot. Well many things.
I have a 32 waist and at 5'11" 175 I'm on the bleeding edge of the normal weight range. If I gain even 5lbs I would be considered overweight. I don't really agree with that assessment. I think a lot of that has to do with cultural comparisons as well, as for my height I'm much skinnier and have less muscle than most other American men I see and know.
it's statistics, it literally doesn't matter what your individual case looks like.
Congrats on the healthy turn!
rokkerkory
Member
Agree its the $5 meals from the fast foods that are making it wayyy to easy and fast to get a meal vs having to actually go buy groceries and cook.
In the age of never having enough time peeps will just go the easy route for food.
Are you age 25 or under? If you are, I got 3 words:
Give it time.
I used to be able to out-eat any other member of my family easily and not gain weight, but the last 2-3 years I've been gaining some 6 kilograms not changing habits. And although that extra weight just barely makes me average weight, that was not distributed evenly. I've turned into a skinny guy with a bicycle tire below my belly button. Not a big deal, but... irritating, and making me rethink my habits
Just one of many factors. Another factor is us living alone or dual income households where both individuals work so there's no time to cook real meals. That's not to say women should get back into the kitchen, but the lack of time to cook real meals that taste good plays a big factor. Eating out and eating junk food is going to taste better than what most of us can cook. I recommend people read "The Dorito Effect" as well - the role of flavor and food and how it's affected our choices.
Sugar products are so fucking toxic, yet so fucking good, it's no surprise we have to face these stats today.
Currently working on myself, winter went hard on me, where I stopped running and started drinking Monster and eating dessert. I became the fattest that I ever was at 220lbs. After realising that a month and a half ago, I did cut on all sugar (except for my coffee) and started running again since winter is done and the sun is back and I'm at 205lbs, aiming to go back at my healthy 180 that I did hit two years ago. I start losing weight crazy fast the moment I starting moving and cut the sugar.
Now I just need to keep the pace next winter.
Currently working on myself, winter went hard on me, where I stopped running and started drinking Monster and eating dessert. I became the fattest that I ever was at 220lbs. After realising that a month and a half ago, I did cut on all sugar (except for my coffee) and started running again since winter is done and the sun is back and I'm at 205lbs, aiming to go back at my healthy 180 that I did hit two years ago. I start losing weight crazy fast the moment I starting moving and cut the sugar.
Now I just need to keep the pace next winter.
I would probably hate that, yeah 😂 I love walking to work/the shops and listening to podcasts etc.
theepicoftyler
Member
I have no trouble believing that a significant portion of people in the country are obese, but I do wonder if the numbers are skewed higher by the definition of "obese". I am borderline obese according to the definition of BMI, but I hardly look it. I am definitely a little on the soft side, but I don't have anything that resembles a gut, and my musculature is pretty defined.
BWJinxing
Member
I've recently started doing keto. I'm like day 5 in, and I can totally do this diet.
I'm eating steak, pork chops, basically fatty foods, pouring olive oil and eating coconut oil. If I get hungry, I just drink water.
There is a Reddit about the keto diet, it's high fat, moderate protein, low or no carbs. Eventually calories and protein intake become important, but I've not hit that plaeto.
https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/ read the FAQ at the top page for more details.
I'm only day 5 in now but I'm already 5 lbs, the energy level feels way better, feeling well oiled without much effort
I'm eating steak, pork chops, basically fatty foods, pouring olive oil and eating coconut oil. If I get hungry, I just drink water.
There is a Reddit about the keto diet, it's high fat, moderate protein, low or no carbs. Eventually calories and protein intake become important, but I've not hit that plaeto.
https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/ read the FAQ at the top page for more details.
I'm only day 5 in now but I'm already 5 lbs, the energy level feels way better, feeling well oiled without much effort
Because they are overworked and do not have sufficient time and energy to cook, and/or they don't understand basic concepts of cooking efficiency (ex. cooking big batches on the weekend and using them throughout the week).
Instead of blaming fast food, consider that our cities are not designed to enable people to live where they work unless they are wealthy, causing long commutes and creating environments that are not conducive to healthy behavior. Consider that our worker protections and salaries are not substantive enough to keep people from being exhausted as they come home, and that we have no basic homekeeping or family planning element in our schools to show people how to manage time, how to cook, or how to make healthy choices.
Once you have solved all that, then you can move on to fast food marketing.
Yep global epidemic, even countries at he lowest ends of the scale like Japan and China are seeing ballooning obesity problems and their governments are trying to take measures to stem the tide.
Nordic4tKnight
Member
I think one huge contributor is how fast Americans eat. When I was in France and Italy it wasn't uncommon to sit for 2-3 hours for meals.
Earthbound64
Banned
"Adults over the age of 15"?
So, for population 'p'
p > 15 && p > 18
?
So, for population 'p'
p > 15 && p > 18
?
The Greek Freak
Member
Most people that are 5'7 210 can't even bench their weight even if they trick themselves into thinking they are healthy.
Bmi is perfectly valid measure for 95%+ of people.
There is nothing wrong with pastas.
Nor bread. Look at France's spot.
Not drinking sodas and cookies and salsas, adding condiments etc... is key.
You can eat whatever you want as long as it's with moderation.
shira
Member
Contrary to this "athlete" term. A lot of so-called "athletes" don't stay athletes past their 20's or 30's.
High school and College football lineman need to be big to block, but if they don't make it to the NFL they are big guys that are used to eating 4000 calories. Some of these guys change their lifestyles, a lot don't.
Same with these steroid junkies and gym bunnies. Once you realize you can't spend $2k-5k every month on good PED's your body re-calibrates.
Seen a lot of these athlete/body builders go from an "obese" BMI to actual obese when they get injured/run out of money/lose motivation.
Being huge just for the sake of being huge is not healthy.
For this study adults were considered those over the age of 15
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