[OT] Why are so many Americans "overweight"

[mmadsen]

From From Wallet to Waistline:

Obesity rates in American adults rose by 60% between 1990 and 2000 alone, while childhood obesity rates doubled over the last 20 years. Obesity causes an estimated 300,000 premature deaths each year, second only to smoking as the nation’s leading cause of preventable death. Type 2 diabetes can no longer be called “adult onset” diabetes because it now occurs so frequently in children.

“If you walked into a McDonald’s in the 1950s and ordered a burger, fries and a 12-ounce coke, you’d have bought a meal with about 590 calories,” said Carol Tucker Foreman, director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America. “Today a popular super-sized meal may contain 1,000 calories more. As a result, we’re super sizing our kids and super sizing ourselves.”

 

[S'mon]

Lots of factors. One thing I've heard is that American cities tend to be younger than cities in other developed countries; many of them were built after the automobile, and getting around in them pretty much requires driving. Cities in, for example, Europe tend to be older and easier to get around in by foot.

I know that in my personal life, I rarely walk except for pleasure. I can walk to a grocery store near my house, but that's a relatively new luxury for me -- and there's no sidewalk, and part of the walk is along a busy road.

Friends of mine who've spent time in France, by contrast, report walking daily to get to and from jobs and to go to the market for groceries.

I think Americans don't have much exercise built into our lives, compared to folks in other parts of the country.

So remind me again -- how does this relate to gaming? Maybe D20 modern should give Americans a -2 penalty on CON?

Daniel

This hits the nail on the head IMO. Americans do eat more than Europeans, bigger portions, better food (than us Brits), and lots of all-you-can-eat deals. But the big reason for widespread obesity is lack of exercise - most Americans don't seem to walk anywhere, they drive. I remember my first visit to America, complaining to my American (future) wife that we never walked anywhere. She took me the 1/4 mile 'walk' to the nearest post office. Suburban Knoxville in August. Hell on Earth.

1/4 mile of no sidewalk, poison ivy, 100% humidity, 100 degrees fahrenheit heat, cars whizzing past, people looking at us from the cars like we were escaped felons...

We staggered back into the apartment after the 1/2 mile round trip, drenched in sweat, exhausted, and in my case convinced never to try walking in the USA again outside officially designated walking zones (national parks, city centres etc).

 

[TeaBee]

Why are so many Europeans "underweight"?

 

[S'mon]

Why are so many Europeans "underweight"?

Europeans tend to be overweight also. Just not as much as you lot.

 

[Wormwood]

Re: Why are so many Americans "overweight"

I was just looking at the photo thread and remembering 2 vacations in the States and 90% of europe is skin and bones compared to the average american I've seen, Americans are extreme in lifestyles, opinions and size I've come to experience. Is it the food... or what?

I had no idea that you Europeans were so dangerously underfed!

Is there anything that we can do to help?

Maybe we could throw a benefit concert (Euro-Aid, perhaps?). If that fails, there's always another Marshall Plan.

(Attempted disclaimer: Not trying to insult anyone just a question that pops up in my head eveytime I see footage of average europeans and lifestyles.)

 

[ErichDragon]

Because we are rich. We can afford it because Americans have worked long and hard to make us the most prosperous nation on earth for close to the last 100 years. Americans are, on average, more overweight than the rest of the world. On the other end of the spectrum we produce more world class atheletes than any other country on earth. The French are whining themselves into a frenzy because an American can't be beat in their own backyard bike race. Whatever else may be wrong with America, we can more or less choose our destiny ourselves. If you want to be a big fat lard-a**, go right ahead. You want to win the Tour de France 4 times in a row, no better place to train than here.

 

[Heap Thaumaturgist]

Not only does nobody take the stairs, but you can't FIND the stairs ... stairs are usually relegated to fire escapes behind doors. Ugly, starkly lit, functional appliances to be used in case the building is burning down around your ears.

An effect of buildings being too tall ... even healthy, fit, thin people probably don't want to jog up twenty flights of steps every morning to get to work ... and go to lunch ... and come back from lunch ... and go home again.

I like older buildings with decorative staircases ... being a lazy fat wad, though, I take the elevator.

*shrug*

Food. Sedentary living. I know what it is. It's actually sort of nauseating how lazy I really am, when I think about it. When I diet, exercise ... I tone up and trim down faster than anybody I've met. But I do so many sedentary things, I just don't find the time for active movement very often. And food is always ... there. I grew up with it. It's how I was raised ... "Here, have something to eat." "Would you like some pie." "Clean your plate."

My parents cook and eat like everybody works the coal mines for 10 hours a day. But we all sit on our duffs ... high-fat, massive carb-loaded side dishes, bacon ...

So we have to work on it. Sociocultural conditioning predisposes us to being lardballs. Then again, there are high-intensity americans that work harder and play harder than anybody you'll meet.

I hate those people.

--HT

 

[Voneth]

It is nice to know that you have met all 284 million of us, and can make such a broad statement about us.

I spent a great deal of time in the military, stationed around the world. If anything, Americans are not "extreme in lifestyles, opinions and size". America's lifestyle is fairly conservative. We do not have legal prostitition and nude/semi-nude beaches everywhere. America is still fairly dominated by religious institutions.

I thought when he met extreames, I read in that we have a wide variety of lifestyles, not that we have an "extreame" lifestyle.

We don't have legal prostitution everywhere, but we do have it (Nevada of course). And we also have the Amish, who live their way by choice. In most other countries, that life style would be by neccessity and abadonded as soon as something better came along.

 

[SHARK]

Greetings!

S'MON!

Your post put me in tears laughing! LOL!

So true! There are areas to walk in, though. Some cities have made better planning and development, for example, than others. Where I live in Cypress, California, it is fairly nice to walk about. San Diego, Sacramento, and parts of San Francisco can be very pleasant to walk in, too. But indeed, there are areas of many cities where it is, as you so eloquently wrote, hell to walk in!

I just love your description S'mon!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[Ds Da Man]

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

I'm not fat, just large-boned!