America's Growing Problem

[Papist]

It's the medical treatment when I get sick mentality of the US. Rather than preventive healthcare mentality.

[MithLuin]

Yeah. That's why it's so hard to convince someone that being obese is a problem...it's not until you actually develop heart trouble or diabetes that someone takes you seriously and says, 'Oh...maybe I should change some things.' The doctor can say for years at a checkup 'You should change these habits,' but how many people actually take that seriously?

[b]Hassan[/b], while I agree with your basic premise that it's something within reach to make lifestyle changes, eat healthier (and smaller portions!) and incorporate moderate exercise into your day...I think it's important to keep in mind that the results you will see from this effort are going to vary. A young male will trim down quickly. An older female is gonna have to work at it for a long time to see the changes. It's easier when you're younger, just because. Sure, this should be a motivation to start now, not wait til later, but...for the people who [i]are[/i] older, it can be a very daunting uphill battle, so it's good to acknowledge that.

My sister has probably lost her entire body weight or more in the past 5 years. Before you tell me that's not possible, I should mention that she gave birth to her third child a month ago. She's had great success with WeightWatchers+breastfeeding to take off the extra baby weight, and hopes to trim down over the next year to reach her target weight....again. Telling her that 'it's easy!' might get things thrown at you. Sure, it's not a huge deal...but she has a family to feed and very little personal free time with little ones underfoot. She's resourceful, so she makes it happen. Gyms have childcare. Etc. But she's under no illusions that her body is ever going to look like it did pre-motherhood. She might be able to fit into a size 6 this time next year, though, and that will be exciting.

Self-control and discipline can be a challenge for anyone. Some people need more encouragement and accountability than others to stick with a diet/exercise plan. Sometimes, you need to hear, 'You can do it!' ...not 'It's your own stupid fault!'

[cmotherofpirl]

To say obesity is easy to fix is simplistic, assumptive, and wrong, because IF it were that easy, we would all be skinny minnies. Middle-class and higher social economic groups have a much easier time staying slim because they have more resources to allocate for fitness activities, leisure time and healthy food.

[MIKolbe]

I would say it's easy to do, but hard to stay resolved to do.

Listen, if i were not to eat for a month, i would probably drop some weight. But i am certainly NOT resolved not to eat for a month.

Similarly, if I were to eat nothing but lettuce, carrots, lean protein, and all that other good stuff, I would prbably lose weight. But, because of my sloth or gluttony, I have not the desire to stay resolved to that lifestyle change. I did it once, i hated it. It was too hard. I am too lazy. Until I have the resolve to make it happen, it won't happen. I can drop weight, I've done it before... i just need to be resolved to do it again...

i want a chili che.ese dog now.

[MithLuin]

Yes, I dropped a good deal of weight the Lent I went a bit overboard on the fasting. Skinniest I've ever been in my adult life!* Of course, I also convinced my body that I was in starvation mode or something, so there were some consequences to that. 'Not eating' is not a long term option, of course, but it's also not remotely healthy. The goal is to find that happy balance in your diet, your exercise, your lifestyle. THAT isn't an easy task, especially for people who have a lot of responsibilities pulling them in different directions. Sure, it CAN be done....and laziness works against it. But it's not simply laziness that's causing the problem.


* [size=1]I was about 125 lbs (and flat chested). I get more exercise now, but weigh closer to 170 lbs. If I could break my internet addiction, things would improve. I think the move to Ethiopia will have a positive impact on my lifestyle. [/size]

Edited September 21, 2011 by MithLuin

[sixpence]

[quote name='rachael' timestamp='1316603389' post='2308001']
nothing like a man living off of crappy fast food. yuck.

wether or not he hit a satisfactory calorie goal isn't the issue with me...it's the fact that the food he's eating isn't quality food for the body. it shows a lack nutrients essential to the body.
[/quote]
yeh Super Size Me was Gross

[sixpence]

It has also been found that the ratio of different microbes in your gut influences obesity A LOT

[Norseman82]

I have also heard that getting enough sleep helps, since there is a chemical that controls appetite that is affected byteh amount or lack of sleep you get.

[Norseman82]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' timestamp='1316629447' post='2308166']
To say obesity is easy to fix is simplistic, assumptive, and wrong, because IF it were that easy, we would all be skinny minnies. Middle-class and higher social economic groups have a much easier time staying slim because they have more resources to allocate for fitness activities, leisure time and healthy food.
[/quote]

At the same time, classes of people who do manual labor will spend their working hours being physically active, instead of sitting behind a desk.

[BigJon16]

[quote name='Norseman82' timestamp='1316649818' post='2308337']

At the same time, classes of people who do manual labor will spend their working hours being physically active, instead of sitting behind a desk.
[/quote]

But how often do we see manual laborers that are obese or overweight?

My brother works pretty hard at work, moving furniture and pallets and the like, but he is still 400 pounds...

Edited September 22, 2011 by BigJon16

[kamiller42]

[quote name='sixpence' timestamp='1316583001' post='2307954']
may i haz a source for claims that food inc is full of flaws plez?
[/quote]
The source is me and my brain.

The movie contradicts itself. It spends part of the first 1/3 saying the evil cooperations are killing the small farmer. No way can they succeed. Somewhere in the middle of the movie, they cover a free range farmer who is doing well. So, what is it? Can or can't make it?

The attempt to draw a line between obesity and industrialized farming was wrong. They believe the way the food is made has lead to an obese nation. Right. Because before industrialized farming, there were no fat people. If industrialized food has made people fatter, it's because it's made more food more accessible to more people. Is this a bad thing? As they say in "Fat Head," you have a brain. Use it. You CAN say "no."

Then, the story of the family trying eat healthy on the cheap. That was exploitive and disgraceful. The point of the story was the family was tight on time and money. Because of this, they can't afford a decent meal. They show them shopping for food in the produce department, unable to to find affordable produce. They are then driving down the road, eating fast food.

The flaws are as follows:[list=1]
[*]The fast food meal they bought was $8 or $9. You can create some delicious healthy family meals for that amount of money. My mom and dad on limited income raised 6 boys with never full bellies. Get creative. Yes, we had to spike real milk from time to time with powdered to stretch it out. But, this is one way to make it work.
[*]Ok. The mom, and apparently no one else in the family, has no time to put a dinner together. Throw some beans in a crock pot and a bucket of rice in the microwave! Cut half an hour out of TV watching and cook dinner. I mean, really. I don't buy this. Staged.
[*]Back to their fast food meal. They are tight on money, but they order 2 sodas! How about cut back on the 2 sodas and get water instead? Roll the savings into buying a bushel of bananas.
[*]That's right. They can't buy a bushel because the grocery store charges too much for produce. Why not shop Walmart instead of your local grocer? Costs less. But, they had a point to make, so make it look as dire as possible.
[/list]
That family didn't need healthy food. They needed a course in home economics.

I could go on and on. It is so agenda driven that they end up being sloppy.

I agreed with two points in the movie: subsidies and, if true, legal harassment of farmers that have by accident plants grown from proprietary seeds. Unlike the movie's opinion, I have no problem with safe genetically modified food.

Super Size Me is another bad movie. Morgan Spurlock is a liar. He can't produce his eating diary, and no combination of items on McDonalds' menu using his rules can equal the calories he claimed to have consumed.

racheal,

Fat Head was not about eating all the junk food you want. It was done more humorously and tastefully (punny!) than Super Size Me.

[CatherineM]

If you want to talk about the amount of weight someone can lose without having surgery, I win. It can be done, but it takes determination. We should bring back recess for kids, and kick KFC out of our school cafeterias.

[sixpence]

i hate using my brain... it hurts me a lot

[Mr.Cat]

[quote name='CatherineM' timestamp='1316656008' post='2308368']We should bring back recess for kids, and kick KFC out of our school cafeterias.[/quote]I do like the idea of more recess for children... but I like the idea of improving our physical education/athletics programs even more.

If this was 6th grade student council debates, I know I would of just lost the vote.

[iheartjp2]

What I personally find disturbing are the criteria based on height vs. weight used to determine whether someone is overweight/obese or not. Based on my height vs. weight proportion (5'9":225 lbs), I should be considered overweight, though no one in their right mind who ever looked at me would once think that I was overweight. I think there are more people who fit this description than many are comfortable saying. I've always been stocky and built and therefore, have always proportionally weighed more than my peers. I looked more or less like all the kids in my third grade class (in terms of body weight) but I weighed 113 lbs while most of the other guys weighed between 60-70. It's ever-so-easy for skinny people to blame their weight/shape on their biology ('I just can't gain muscle'), but it seems that everyone who's a bit bigger than average [i]chooses[/i] to be that way. Yeah, I'm mostly muscle, but I have some cushion as well. So what? I'm not at an unhealthy weight (for me). I will even go so far as to say that the way I am (give or take maybe 10-15 lbs) is because of [i]my[/i] biology and no one should pressure me to lose weight because I go into a check-up and they're telling me that my height vs. weight proportion is off-balance somehow. Just my $0.02