S'mon said:
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).
Me=American, Your Statement=True.
Grocery store = 2 Miles (Average load of groceries is 20 lbs. a person in my house
Fast Food Places = 1 Mile (Not so bad, but then again doesn't the excersise contradict the food?)
School = 32 Miles (Screw walking this. 32 Miles is for Military Academy Trainies to walk to school, not anyone else.)
Not to mention how true it is that people look at anyone who is on foot, with a certain hint of animosity towards them.
Amarica is a little to big and spread out in my opinion. This helps to generate more money, but it drains resources quicker and results in some severe lack of efficiency. America is the strip-mine of the world, fast production, but wasted resources.
I manage to float weights that vary as much as 40 (yes 40) pounds in a year, with no edit to my diet.
Freshman year I weighted 130 pounds - 130 pounds
Sophomore year I weighed 130 - 150
Junior year I weighed 140 - 180 (briefly)
Senior year (just started) I'm beginning at 150
I notice, personally, that I gain the most weight when I don't eat with my family. If I miss dinner, I snack all night. If I do this for like a week straight (like I did when I worked my old job) I gained about 5 pounds each week. When my schedule is normal and I eat a full breakfast (two eggs, hash browns, and steak sauce on both) and miss lunch (which is actually my normal schedule) and eat dinner of whatever (a grilled chicken breast and about a cup of rice for example), I maintain my weight of about 140 pounds.