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Does anyone see the U.S. Obesity/overweight problem getting better anytime soon?

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What if you don't like shrimp? And I don't remember shrimp being all that cheap when my mom used to get it. And why do you have such a hardon about mcdonalds? You realize you get fat from eating stuff other than fast food at mcdonalds right? Just because they're fat doesn't mean all 3 meals are from mcdonalds. You seem really out of touch with things.

I don't think I every said mcdonalds once. I simply said hamburger and fries. You could replace that with fried chicken or chicken sandwichs. Either way if that is all you eating you probably aren't eating healthy. Seafood is healtier for you than red meat, so that is why I recommend it. If you can't eat it, then eat meat.

Ya, I just checked the circular for shoprite by me. Shrimp is $6.99 a pound. That's considered cheap for meat? What world do you live in OP?

It depends where you buy it from, but sometimes it can be cheaper that a lot of meat.

That's not healthy, either. Way too much carbs.

I don't understand where this whole carbs are bad came from, but it really isn't bad for you. I just finished my nutrition class and they said carbs aren't bad for you like diets want you believe. Sure if that is all you eat then it could be bad, but this whole low carb stuff is just ridiculous. Your brain's primary source of energy is glucose and you need carbs to get that unless you want your brain to start using ketones. Also, remember that sugar are carbs too. That is what they want you to avoid, sugar and processed foods not whole grains.

Well high starchy, carb filled pasta can be just as bad eating it daily.

Carbohydrates are suppose to be about 25% of your daily intake, so no eating rice or pasta for lunch or dinner everyday would not be bad for you. When they say carbs are bad for you they mean sugar and processed food, not whole grains.
 
This generation and the ones before it is already lost, but we can do better for the next one with more education and restrictions. Emphasis on education. Unfortunately, we've seen how a lot of the country reacts to such a plea...

So yeah, it's not getting better any time soon nor in the future.
 
You seem to have trouble putting yourself in their position because you're so removed from it personally, and then you act like you're more correct than other people when it doesn't make sense to assume that given your background.

I see fat people every day, constantly around me. It's not hard to imagine how their life is. It must feel bad being fat I know that, that doesn't take away anything from what I said though.

And a very skinny person trying to gain weight has the same problems of a fat person trying to lose it. Both require extreme time/dedication/work. I know what it's like because I know the lazy feeling, that feeling where you come home from school/work and don't feel like doing anything because you're mentally/physically tired. But the people who are able to overcome this are the ones who succeed.

I'm not going to pretend it's my 'high' metabolism or anything like that when I can't gain weight and fat people should do the same. Take some responsibility for yourself and figure it out. If you're eating shitty food go on google and research good food, it takes 10 minutes at best. Put together a schedule and get to work. Christian Bale supposedly ate an apple and a can of tuna per day over 4 months to lose weight. That's dedication. I don't' know if this is true/possible or not but it's what's been said about the machinist and given his track record I wouldn't be surprised.

It's different if you have some kind of disability, or asthma or something. I can understand that and I wouldn't hold that against them. I may be giving off the impression that I'm sounding callous like I hate fat people or whatever but that couldn't be further from the truth. I think I'm right in what I'm saying when it comes to losing/gaining weight and the mental factors involved. If it's mean but right to say they're being lazy that's better than being false/nice and putting a hand on their shoulder and telling them it's okay it's all out of your hands you can't lose weight don't bother trying etc.
 
Fat people should be treated like a stain on society. Instead, they are coddled and viewed as victims of circumstance. I don't see it getting any better.
 
Let me ask you this, do you think that in general the rest of the population of Earth should be more accepting of overweight people or less accepting?

In general? I think the population of Earth should be more accepting of all people.
 
Fat people should be treated like a stain on society. Instead, they are coddled and viewed as victims of circumstance. I don't see it getting any better.

Well, some are victims of the food industry to a certain extent. As are almost all people.

As to the OP I think ending corn subsidies would go a long way. It would both reduce the use of HCFS and balance diets more by changing some food price dynamics across borders. Realistically, its doable, and soon, but not without a lot of political grandstanding.
 
Fat people should be treated like a stain on society. Instead, they are coddled and viewed as victims of circumstance. I don't see it getting any better.

This attitude is just as useless and counter productive as attitudes that authentically "coddle" overweight people.
 
Carbohydrates are suppose to be about 25% of your daily intake, so no eating rice or pasta for lunch or dinner everyday would not be bad for you. When they say carbs are bad for you they mean sugar and processed food, not whole grains.

Carb intake should be less than that. Whole grains aren't good for you either.
 
I don't understand where this whole carbs are bad came from, but it really isn't bad for you. I just finished my nutrition class and they said carbs aren't bad for you like diets want you believe. Sure if that is all you eat then it could be bad, but this whole low carb stuff is just ridiculous. Your brain's primary source of energy is glucose and you need carbs to get that unless you want your brain to start using ketones. Also, remember that sugar are carbs too. That is what they want you to avoid, sugar and processed foods not whole grains.



Carbohydrates are suppose to be about 25% of your daily intake, so no eating rice or pasta for lunch or dinner everyday would not be bad for you. When they say carbs are bad for you they mean sugar and processed food, not whole grains.

Oh wow, he took a nutrition class! Case closed!

Let's just ignore the fact that very little science actually takes place in the field of nutrition and that the curriculum is probably at least partially influenced by grain lobbies.

It sure is a lot easier to just buy into the conventional wisdom and chow down on a plate of 'heart healthy' pasta with a side of garlic bread! Yum!
 
Our culture and cultural direction would need a severe shift. That is not happening.

Considering people that are clearly overweight are considered "average" i'm gonna go with no. Our culture needs to change and we're too depressed, lazy and fat to get up and do anything about it, in this case, literally.

The best we can do is do what we did against tobacco companies - reveal them for the evil assholes they are and then legislate the crap out of them. In other words, require nothing of us and everything of our leaders. That's our best shot.
 
In general? I think the population of Earth should be more accepting of all people.

Nobody should be accepting of this kind of gross overindulgence:

2903331179_dc555fbf5a.jpg


Being fat is not the same as being a race/gender.
 
Fuck Scoularis and his little act. You aren't a gaf star, stop trying to make a name for yourself.

You don't like his threads that are based on previous threads that he found interesting, which just happened to be started by him as well?
 
I don't think acceptance is the issue here folks.
In general, very few decisions in life in the 21st century is about what others will think of you. We live in bubbles now. Case in point - you are reading this sentence right now in the comfort of your own space.
 
Is that really true? I mean isn't it cheaper to buy a large bag of rice/spaghetti/pasta and some sauce and meat to sustain you for a week+ than to eat fast food for three servings a day for a week?

Yes, fattening and unnutritious foods like rice, spaghetti/pasta is much cheaper than real foods like steak and veggies.
 
No, I just hate college kids.
College graduates?

I'll concede that the stain remark was needlessly sensationalist, but I'm not trolling when I talk about the coddling attitude toward obesity. Our concept of what an average person should look like is severely warped.
 
Oh wow, he took a nutrition class! Case closed!

Let's just ignore the fact that very little science actually takes place in the field of nutrition and that the curriculum is probably at least partially influenced by grain lobbies.

It sure is a lot easier to just buy into the conventional wisdom and chow down on a plate of 'heart healthy' pasta with a side of garlic bread! Yum!

Actually, I have a degree in biology, but I just finished a nutrition class this semester as part of my second degree. Anyway, one of the topics was that low carb diets aren't that much better for you than a normal carb diet like a lot of diets try to convince you. I eat tons of spaghetti and rice and I am on the low end of the BMI index. Then again, I also only drink water, eat lots of fruit, and exercise a lot weekly.

The point that I was trying to make is that carbs aren't bad. They have been the staple of diets of most countries for centuries and there hasn't been an obesity problem until now. It is all about intake and output. If you want to lose weight eat less calories than you burn. If you want to maintain your weight, intake as many calories as you burn. Not that hard.

Yes, fattening and unnutritious foods like rice, spaghetti/pasta is much cheaper than real foods like steak and veggies.

I wasn't saying a person should only eat pasta. I was saying if they ate that instead of fast food, they could save money by buying pasta in bulk and then be able to spend the extra money on fruits and veggies to go along their diet. It is all about planning and thinking ahead. Is it hard? Of course, but if you care about your body then you should be willing to do it.
 
Fat people should be treated like a stain on society. Instead, they are coddled and viewed as victims of circumstance. I don't see it getting any better.

Are they? In the UK, where we also have an obesity problem, they are routinely ridiculed as being unable to look after themselves. It is not viewed as the same as sexism, racism. If you eat too many calories in relation to the number you burn and allow yourself to become obese then you are fair fodder. Doesn't seem to make a jot of difference though.
 
Fat people should be treated like a stain on society. Instead, they are coddled and viewed as victims of circumstance. I don't see it getting any better.

What if - hear me out for a second - obesity is a complex issue and shouldn't be completely polarized in either of the ways you just described?
 
I don't understand where this whole carbs are bad came from, but it really isn't bad for you. I just finished my nutrition class and they said carbs aren't bad for you like diets want you believe. Sure if that is all you eat then it could be bad, but this whole low carb stuff is just ridiculous. Your brain's primary source of energy is glucose and you need carbs to get that unless you want your brain to start using ketones. Also, remember that sugar are carbs too. That is what they want you to avoid, sugar and processed foods not whole grains.



Carbohydrates are suppose to be about 25% of your daily intake, so no eating rice or pasta for lunch or dinner everyday would not be bad for you. When they say carbs are bad for you they mean sugar and processed food, not whole grains.

Whole grains like whole wheat? You do know that the Amylopectin-A that is in some of these "whole grains" spike your blood sugar higher than pure sugar?
 
I see fat people every day, constantly around me. It's not hard to imagine how their life is. It must feel bad being fat I know that, that doesn't take away anything from what I said though.

And a very skinny person trying to gain weight has the same problems of a fat person trying to lose it. Both require extreme time/dedication/work. I know what it's like because I know the lazy feeling, that feeling where you come home from school/work and don't feel like doing anything because you're mentally/physically tired. But the people who are able to overcome this are the ones who succeed.


Fat people want to be thin, they want it a lot. Being fat makes you less attractive, causes health problems and makes you feel embarrassed when you're in public. Attribute people remaining fat to "being lazy" if you wish, but these people are only lazy insofar as 95% of the population at large is lazy, including most of the people who aren't fat. Telling people they need to be less lazy is a supremely futile gesture, because it does not help them get any actual motivation (in this case, being fat already provides great motivation to become thin, but they still can't seem to work up the motivation to lose all the weight anyway).
 
Actually, I have a degree in biology, but I just finished a nutrition class this semester as part of my second degree. Anyway, one of the topics was that low carb diets aren't that much better for you than a normal carb diet like a lot of diets try to convince you. I eat tons of spaghetti and rice and I am on the low end of the BMI index. Then again, I also only drink water, eat lots of fruit, and exercise a lot weekly.

The point that I was trying to make is that carbs aren't bad. They have been the staple of diets of most countries for centuries and there hasn't been an obesity problem until now. It is all about intake and output. If you want to lose weight eat less calories than you burn. If you want to maintain your weight, intake as many calories as you burn. Not that hard.



I wasn't saying a person should only eat pasta. I was saying if they ate that instead of fast food, they could save money by buying pasta in bulk and then be able to spend the extra money on fruits and veggies to go along their diet. It is all about planning and thinking ahead. Is it hard? Of course, but if you care about your body then you should be willing to do it.
This post exemplifies why we haven't been able to do anything to stop the obesity epidemic.
 
What if - hear me out for a second - obesity is a complex issue and shouldn't be completely polarized in either of the ways you just described?

What about fat people who have lost weight who say it's not as complex as people think?

I'm not disagreeing with you btw, I'm not entirely sure where I'd stand on it (since diet does play a large role) but there are many who say that.

Fat people want to be thin, they want it a lot. Being fat makes you less attractive, causes health problems and makes you feel embarrassed when you're in public. Attribute people remaining fat to "being lazy" if you wish, but these people are only lazy insofar as 95% of the population at large is lazy, including most of the people who aren't fat. Telling people they need to be less lazy is a supremely futile gesture, because it does not help them get any actual motivation (in this case, being fat already provides great motivation to become thin, but they still can't seem to work up the motivation to lose all the weight anyway).

I definitely wouldn't try to get someone to lose weight by telling them to be less lazy, lol that wouldn't work at all. I'm just saying that's what they're being imo. But if I was a personal instructor I'd focus more on making schedules for them, positive reinforcement/motivation (imagine what you'd look like, the confidence, etc.) and so on.

I didn't mean to say that it was as easy as just not being lazy (although this is a big part of it, I do realize there needs to be enough motivation as well). And I think you could argue that people who coddle them kill that motivation.
 
Fat people want to be thin, they want it a lot. Being fat makes you less attractive, causes health problems and makes you feel embarrassed when you're in public. Attribute people remaining fat to "being lazy" if you wish, but these people are only lazy insofar as 95% of the population at large is lazy, including most of the people who aren't fat. Telling people they need to be less lazy is a supremely futile gesture, because it does not help them get any actual motivation (in this case, being fat already provides great motivation to become thin, but they still can't seem to work up the motivation to lose all the weight anyway).

I think you two are talking passed each other. He's saying that it takes hard work to lose weight and most people are too lazy to do it, you are saying that it's hard work to lose weight and most people are too unmotivated to do it.

Seems like a meaningless distinction to me.
 
Fat people should be treated like a stain on society. Instead, they are coddled and viewed as victims of circumstance. I don't see it getting any better.

Better be careful, or your words of wisdom might be featured in yet another Cracked article.

Although, it's beginning to seem like that's what you want.
 
Whole grains like whole wheat? You do know that the Amylopectin-A that is in some of these "whole grains" spike your blood sugar higher than pure sugar?

Show me that facts. Not saying I don't trust you, but let me see the data. Also, how long does the spike in blood sugar last? Some foods raise you blood sugar for a lot longer period than others, while others give you a larger spike but don't last for as long.

Again, you are crazy if you think wheat, bread, and other grains which has been a staple for the diets of most people is the cause of our obesity problems today. I'll give you a hint, it isn't. It is due to the increase in sugar and hfcs in food and people eating larger portions and not exercising.

This post exemplifies why we haven't been able to do anything to stop the obesity epidemic.

We haven't been able to stop the obesity epidemic b/c I made a suggestion on how people should eat and that carbs aren't really bad for you? Really?
 
So in the 70s an obese person would be out of place if they were walking down the street. Today, nobody would blink an eye. Obesity levels have skyrocketed from the 70s to what they are today. Here are some stats from the CDC:

US Obesity in adults: 33.8% in 2011.
US Obesity in children: 17% in 2011.
US Overweight in adults: 68% in 2008. Probably over 70% now.

My questions is does anyone see these trends slowing down or reversing anytime soon?

If so, what would contribute that turnaround?

Fuuuc fuuu fuuck?!


Wow... Us regulars are rare now? Jesus fuck.
 
Show me that facts. Not saying I don't trust you, but let me see the data. Also, how long does the spike in blood sugar last? Some foods raise you blood sugar for a lot longer period than others.

Again, you are crazy if you think wheat, bread, and other grains which has been a staple for the diets of most people is the cause of our obesity problems today. I'll give you a hint, it isn't. It is due to the increase in sugar and hfcs in food and people eating larger portions and not exercising.



We haven't been able to stop the obesity epidemic b/c I made a suggestion on how people should eat and that carbs aren't really bad for you? Really?

Yup and you're more likely to find HFCS in grain based foods such as bread as opposed to proteins like chicken or tuna.
 
I have a disdain for fat people, but when 33.8% of adults are obese, not just overweight, but obese, it is no longer an individual problem of self-control, it is a structural issue.

Google Michael Pollan and read some of his books, watch Food, Inc., take a class on Poverty or Inequality; it's a societal problem that will not be fixed unless our society is changed or we run out of resources to sustain life. Saying, "Stop eating so much McDonald's fatty and get off your lazy ass and run" is ignorant, and is a reactive, not proactive solution to the problem.
 
What about fat people who have lost weight who say it's not as complex as people think?

I'm not disagreeing with you btw, I'm not entirely sure where I'd stand on it (since diet does play a large role) but there are many who say that.

I'm mostly talking about the larger scale contributions of entire population gaining weight, rather than how easy/hard it is for an individual to reverse it.

I have a disdain for fat people, but when 33.8% of adults are obese, not just overweight, but obese, it is no longer an individual problem of self-control, it is a structural issue.

Google Michael Pollan and read some of his books, watch Food, Inc., take a class on Poverty or Inequality; it's a societal problem that will not be fixed unless our society is changed or we run out of resources to sustain life. Saying, "Stop eating so much McDonald's fatty and get off your lazy ass and run" is mean, ignorant, and is a reactive, not proactive solution to the problem.

But ScOULaris thinks it's much fun that he does it anyway and goes several steps further by senselessly calling names. What a swell guy!
 
I have a disdain for fat people, but when 33.8% of adults are obese, not just overweight, but obese, it is no longer an individual problem of self-control, it is a structural issue.

Google Michael Pollan and read some of his books, watch Food, Inc., take a class on Poverty or Inequality; it's a societal problem that will not be fixed unless our society is changed or we run out of resources to sustain life.

Yep.

I personally dislike obese people, i really do, a lot of them make me feel really uncomfortable thinking about how they feel. but really, i hate to say it, but it's not their fault. This shit is an issue that is perpetuated systematically, not on individual whims.

Aspects of culture are to be noted; We are known for our excess, but it's not an excess of apples we're eating, but excess of processed garbage
 
It is all about intake and output. If you want to lose weight eat less calories than you burn. If you want to maintain your weight, intake as many calories as you burn. Not that hard.

*sigh*

Not this calories in/calories out bullshit again. It's so much more complicated than that, and I would hope as a biology major you would recognize that the human body isn't a goddamn combustion engine. You should really do some research outside of your textbooks me thinks. Besides, it's not just the blood sugar spiking aspect of wheat that makes it bad for human consumption.
 
Fuuuc fuuu fuuck?!


Wow... Us regulars are rare now? Jesus fuck.

Actually, you could be overweight and not even know it. The standards for what constitute being within a normal or healthy weight range honestly seem very strict to me. At 6'1" and 205, I'm like 35-40 lb overweight according to one college textbook.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fucking lardass. My point is that I felt pretty normal and average at about 180, and even then I was quote unquote overweight.
 
Show me that facts. Not saying I don't trust you, but let me see the data. Also, how long does the spike in blood sugar last? Some foods raise you blood sugar for a lot longer period than others.

Again, you are crazy if you think wheat, bread, and other grains which has been a staple for the diets of most people is the cause of our obesity problems today. I'll give you a hint, it isn't. It is due to the increase in sugar and hfcs in food and people eating larger portions and not exercising.

Modern wheat is much different than wheat from a hundred years ago, much more so five thousand years ago. Modern processing of foods is also much different one hundred years ago than it is today. The carbohydrates in processed foods are rapidly digestible due to refining techniques. People in the past soaked, sprouted, and fermented their grains; thus has a much lower glycemic index than pure sugar itself. Nowadays, grains are pummeled into dust (rapidly digestible), then sugar and other sweeteners are added to it. There are three different kinds of amylopectin molecule complex carbohydrates. It just happens that amylopectin-a found in modern wheat gets digested as soon as you put it into your mouth. It is practically a long branchy stand of glucose.
 
*sigh*

Not this calories in/calories out bullshit again. It's so much more complicated than that, and I would hope as a biology major you would recognize that the human body isn't a goddamn combustion engine. You should really do some research outside of your textbooks me thinks. Besides, it's not just the blood sugar spiking aspect of wheat that makes it bad for human consumption.

And yet....working out more and eating less somehow works for the overwhelming majority of humanity.
 
I actually think that in the coming years we're going to start to see aggressive campaigns educating people on the problems with obesity and how/why it should be prevented or treated, and I am actually hopeful that they will work and go a long way toward solving the problem. I don't know if 15-20 years down the line is "any time soon", but I think it will be in control by then.

Why? Well, because we have a history of these campaigns working. Anti-smoking campaigns in the US have worked well, as far as I know, to the extent that smoking is less common here than in many developed nations. Another one that worked really well is cancer screening campaigns. Colon, breast, and prostate cancer screenings, which are driven largely by awareness campaigns, have lead the US to have pretty much the highest cancer survival rates in the world. These campaigns seem to work pretty well for us.

Given that, if the government and healthcare industries start campaigns about obesity, which they have, I think we're going to start to see positive results in the future. Already I have seen childhood obesity ads sponsored by a Philadelphia governmental organization on television, and quite frequently. I have also noticed more people paying attention to the problem in general. It looks hopeful, especially when you combine this with the government sponsored programs to get healthy food to the areas and people that need it.
 
This post exemplifies why we haven't been able to do anything to stop the obesity epidemic.
Not actually, it doesn't. If anything "nutrition experts" that are completely void of realism are part of the problem. They turn it into a you versus the world bullshit scenario. Need an example, look at your post.

Carbohydrates are a huge form of calorie intake and needs to be. To ask people to eat fruits, veges and lean meat all the time is nice if you're a gym nut, but is completely unrealistic production-wise and completely unnecessary for anyone else. For thousands of years people have been eating grains as a main calorie source. It's a great, land effecient way to produce calories for a society. Has been the case for thousands of years. It's NOT the problem. It's the amount, it's the quality (corn syrup, etc), it's the lack of inactivity. That's it, really. It's our consumerist culture that perpetuates those three things and makes having an unbalanced lifestyle not only okay but something to strive for.

Fat people live in a bubble. Health nuts live in a bubble just as thick.
 
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