[OT] Why are so many Americans "overweight"

[mmadsen]

"Super Size America: How Our Way of Life is Killing Us." http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/020819/health/19fat.htm

Some crunchy goodness from that article:

USDA food-supply data show a 500-calorie-per-person daily increase between 1984 and 2000. Similarly, the USDA's dietary intake surveys show a 236-calorie-per-person-per-day increase between 1987 and 1995. Even that smaller estimate translates into an average 24-pound weight gain per person every year. Putnam figures that about 39 percent of the increase comes from refined grains, 32 percent from added fats, and 24 percent from more sugar.

Americans consume the equivalent of 20 to 33 teaspoons of sugar per person per day. About 30 percent of it is in soft drinks, but sugar is also the No. 1 additive.

In 1977-78, Americans ate about 19 percent of their total calories out. By 1995, they were eating 34 percent of their calories away from home.

When McDonald's opened, its original burger, fries, and 12-ounce Coke provided 590 calories. Today, a supersize Extra Value Meal with a Quarter Pounder With Cheese, supersize fries, and a supersize drink is 1,550 calories.
About 50 percent of school districts have "pouring rights" contracts that allow soft drink companies to sell beverages in the districts' schools; some schools have individual contracts instead. Schools and districts receive a percentage of sales. At 37 percent of schools, payments are tied directly to a quota of drink sales.

 

[Uller]

Well crime in the states is bad... very bad.. at least in the larger cities (of which there are alot) in the States it's rediculous compared to other western countries. And especially the worse kinda crimes as rape, murder, armed robbery and stuff.

Statistics tell it, and friends of mine in the states and people I know on the boards veery well and who live there tell me.

You shouldn't believe everything people tell you. Yes. Crime is very high is some of our larger cities. But it is very low in much of the country. The town I live in (53,000 people) had ZERO murders in 2000. It's violent crime rate is 1/5 that of the rest of the country. I've lived in cities with much higher crime rates and never experienced any crime there either. You make it sound like in most of our cities, people are in constant danger. This simply isn't the case.

This whole thread has grown overly political, IMO. You Euro's are buying into some misconceptions about the US that simply are not true. Most Americans are not fat. Most Americans are not busily consuming everything they can. Most Americans are not living out their lives in fear of violent crime...despite what your (and our) media is telling you.

 

[gariig]

About 50 percent of school districts have "pouring rights" contracts that allow soft drink companies to sell beverages in the districts' schools; some schools have individual contracts instead. Schools and districts receive a percentage of sales. At 37 percent of schools, payments are tied directly to a quota of drink sales.

Wow, I forgot all about this. My High School had 2-3 soda machines and they had to fill them every day. Finally, they limited soda sales to the morning and afternoon. That is a huge industry a local high school got about $7000 worth of freebie spiffs to have Pepsi be the only soft drink sold on the campus...big industry right now.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

Hm, interesting point. I guess you're just a murderous lot.
I can't help thinking that ease of access to murder has something to do with it, though. It doesn't seem to be quite as big a taboo in the US as in most other Western countries, either.

I may get slapped by a moderator for this one but...

US murder rates now are very consistent with the 1st time the US went through Prohibition. The substances may be different, but the effect has been the same.

Even taking that into account, American are a murderous lot. Our peaceful times are historically quite violent compared to most other industrialized nations. Sadly, a lot of EU countries are catching up rapidly...

 

[Agback]

Americans are not "extreme in lifestyles, opinions and size". America's lifestyle is fairly conservative.

I would call it "extremely conservative". It is also extremely prudish, for a First World country. And extremely religious. But that's okay if you like conservatism, prudishness, and religiosity. Extremeness is not bad in itself. For example, something can be extremely good.

Regards,


Agback

 

[Agback]

US murder rates now are very consistent with the 1st time the US went through Prohibition. The substances may be different, but the effect has been the same.

On the contrary. During Prohibition there was nothing to match the incredible decline in the US murder rate over the last fifteen years. If you in the US can halve your murder-rate again you'll get it down below Australia's.

Regards,


Agback

 

[Heretic Apostate]

Wow, I forgot all about this. My High School had 2-3 soda machines and they had to fill them every day. Finally, they limited soda sales to the morning and afternoon. That is a huge industry a local high school got about $7000 worth of freebie spiffs to have Pepsi be the only soft drink sold on the campus...big industry right now.

I heard about a school like that. I also heard a kid got so disgusted at the crass commercialism, he wore a t-shirt for the competing beverage. And got suspended.

So much for free speech.

Of course, anyone remember the Channel 1 debacle? Pretty much, a company donated a bunch of electronics equipment to schools, but in return, they had exclusive rights to broadcast commercials to kids at the start of the day. On time that taxpayers funded.

Sheesh.

 

[Agback]

You shouldn't believe everything people tell you. Yes. Crime is very high is some of our larger cities. But it is very low in much of the country. The town I live in (53,000 people) had ZERO murders in 2000. It's violent crime rate is 1/5 that of the rest of the country.

Congratulations. That's very good by US standards. But the town where I grew up (20,000 population) has had only five murders in the past twenty years. Sixteen years out of twenty we have no murders at all. And Kempsey has a high crime rate by Australian standards. Furthermore Australia has a high rate of violent crime by the standards of the First World. What strikes you as extraordinarily peaceful is everyday expectation for people from most First-World countries.

To put your experience in context, I suggest that you turn to the Bureau of Justice Statistics web-page provided by the US DoJ. The crime rates in the USA are plummetting fantastically, but they still are nowhere near as low as most European countries. A situation that seems wonderful to Americans who remember American cities fifteen yeaers ago still seems bad to most Europeans.

Meanwhile, here in Australia, the homicide rate continues what it has been for two hundred years. It was unaffected by the government's very expensive 'Guns Buyback'. But the rate of other violent crimes has been rising alarmingly since the guns buyback, and if trends continue Australia's rate of non-homicide violent crimes will soon exceed that of the USA.

Regards,


Agback

 

[Agback]

On the other end of the spectrum we produce more world class atheletes than any other country on earth.

How does that work out when you correct for the size of your population? How many world-class athletes do you produce per ten million population? More than Australia? More than Kenya?

Regards,


Agback

 

[Agback]

Because we kicked AXISES A**, and become the richest most powerful nation in the world.

I'm not sure that kicking Axis arse had much to do with making the USA rich. I believe that the USA took over as the richest country in the world (on a per capita basis) about 1910. American wealth brought about Allied victory in 1945, not the other way around.

Regards,


Agback