[OT] Why are so many Americans "overweight"

[Rashak Mani]

I thought this would have gone into a flame war long ago... but to those who complained that this reeks of generalization I would say that HOW people perceive a certain place is sometimes to be taken seriously. No matter what americans might respond or complain most Brazilians think that a very high proportion of Americans are Fat. The same way most Americans might think europeans are stuck up or whatever.

So the original poster might not have been very politically correct but was putting forward what is a very common perception (in many countries) of how america is a little chubby.

Why this is so isnt actually part of this common prejudice. Thou I myself would say those snacks. US snacks and candies and some junk food outlets are great ! Overworking and bad eating habits figure in as well. Every country has fattened up... thou in Latin America the women are fattening up more than men. Here video games and snacks are getting blamed for fat children.

Maybe americans dont see fat people in such a bad light as other countries do. Grossly overweight people in America dont seem too concerned about how people see them. True ?

(neat economist survey)

 

[Heap Thaumaturgist]

I think there are two reasons for this. One, there is a certain segment of the population that is too lazy to cook. Two, junk food and pop are cheaper than bread and water.

Well, this isn't really true. Bread and water isn't more expensive than junk food and pop, and some of the most obese poor people you'll meet cook constantly.

It has more to do with quality of food in America. Fatty cuts of meat are cheaper. Older, more "classical american" cooking styles include huge dishes of fatty meats and high carb sides. Cheap food items like hotdogs, potted meat, processed cheeses, bargain soda ... all contain more fat/sugar than, say, lean turkey, swiss, and diet coke.

As a college kid I notice it more than doubles my food bills when I start cooking ... not that I'm aiming to cook "healthy", but it's easier and cheaper to cook, say, meatloaf and mashed potatos than mint-rubbed salmon with a chilled arugula and pasta salad.

--HT

 

[Wicht]

Well, this isn't really true. Bread and water isn't more expensive than junk food and pop, and some of the most obese poor people you'll meet cook constantly.

I was using hyperbole, but its not far from the truth.

Granted water out of the tap is cheap, but water is easily more expensive then pop if you compare it at the grocery store. Strangely enough, most water bought at the store is far more expensive then even gasoline.

A loaf of bread runs well over a dollar in most stores anymore. You can buy a large bag of cheap potato chips for the exact same price. We aren't talking Coca-cola and Lays - we are talking Walmart brand Pop at 50 cents a 2 liter and Walmart brand chips at a dollar a bag.

 

[Heap Thaumaturgist]

Maybe americans dont see fat people in such a bad light as other countries do. Grossly overweight people in America dont seem too concerned about how people see them. True ?

In general, false.

There are some fat happy people, I'm sure. It's sort of an archtype ... fat jolly people.

Being obese in America is a complex thing. You don't see alot of fat people on TV. If you do, they're in specific roles ... usually ones that, at the end of the movie, you see the credits go by and : "Fat Man played by John Dough". Well, great. The fat guy was, well, The Fat Guy. Not alot of important parts to play in cinema or TV for fat people. (They ... we ... make bad action stars, anyway.) (Other than Sammo Hung).

Fat people are "accepted" because they have to be, especially in the 30+ set where people are begining to settle down, have their lives locked in, and will be doing pretty much what they are now for the rest of their lives.

I was "The Fat Kid" from about 2nd Grade on. Obese people get their own little "class" of people. Think about it. The stereotype of the funny fat kid is usually a defense mechanism against teasing, rejection, and feelings of low self-worth engendered from living in a society and culture that PRODUCES fat people, but idolizes thinness. I didn't get teased as much as most, but that's because I had a reputation as a head-breaker and I'd beat the snot out of two or three kids at the time ... because I could, and I was angry. Didn't know why, but I was.

Then you hit puberty and the $*#( really hits the fan. Nobody is attracted to fat people. Fat people aren't even attracted to fat people. People, really, aren't even attracted to "normal" people. It's another stereotype, another "classing" ... You can date a girl who is annoying, stupid, and not very attractive ... as long as she isn't fat ... then you're dating "A Fat Chick".

I remember watching a movie with a feminist studies class (being the only man in there) and a female friend of mine (perfect body, surgically enhanced) walked in and was watching the movie with us. There was a woman in the movie who was nude ... she had a totally "average" body shape. Not fat, but normal for any random woman who ate right but didn't work out. No flab, but no defined abs or sculpted calves. Nobody thought anything of it but my friend said: "Oh my God. If I were that fat I so wouldn't be naked on camera. Why are they showing that?"

America idolizes thin. We just produce fat. It doesn't mean we love fat, or even accept it. We push the fat off into a corner and complain about how fat America is.

--HT

 

[Squire James]

I'm not fat... I'm just a Gargantuan Beast in a Medium-sized Humanoid's body!

 

[The Forsaken One]

Hmmm good points, and I must note indeed that I'm very happy that this is conducted in MANNER and that it isn't turning into a flamewar. Glad to see there are alot of reasonable and intelligent people here who can put things into perspective...
Thanks for the manner guys!

I haven't had time to respond in full with my own little comment as original poster but that will be done on short notice =]

(Darkness thanks for the topic correction How are you doing btw? haven't talked for ages now)

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Maybe americans dont see fat people in such a bad light as other countries do. Grossly overweight people in America dont seem too concerned about how people see them. True ?

False. Fat people are one of the few groups left that it is OK to openly insult and belittle. The US media is geared towards telling us just how bad it is to be fat - from commercials to the news to TV shows. Fat people are constantly and openly mocked.

I'm not sure what you mean by fat people not being overly concerned about how others see them. If you mean they actually go outside occasionally or go to work, well, I don't know if that constitutes not being overly concerned - I think it means people have to live life.

Are Americans as fat as everyone believes, or is it a misperception engendered by American media, with its obsessive-compulsive need to focus on the unusual, bad, or strange? How do most Brazilians know that Americans are fat? Probably from television, and probably US television. I'm not saying Americans aren't more overweight thn average; I'm saying it's not as bad as the media makes it out to be. The same thing goes for the crime rate; crime is bad, sure - but how do we know that? By statistics and the media. We are probably the country that keeps the best and most detailed crime statistics, and our media swarms on any crime like ants to sugar. Countries with neither as good statistics (or law enforcement) nor media may well have crime as high, if not higher - how would we know?

 

[SimonMoon5]

The massive growth in American cities in the last 50 years has mostly been in "suburbs". Suburbs are planned for the convenience of cars, not people.

Not just the big suburban wastelands, but most smallish towns in America are now pedestrian hostile.

And it's not just that it's hard to walk around. If you're walking around in the suburbs, you're automatically a suspicious character. There's a good chance a cop will pull up and ask you for some I.D. After all, no decent citizen would walk when he could drive!

I found this out a couple of times when I tried walking around when my car was in the shop. I've also got a friend who walks around as an attempt to get exercise.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Being obese in America is a complex thing. You don't see alot of fat people on TV. If you do, they're in specific roles ... usually ones that, at the end of the movie, you see the credits go by and : "Fat Man played by John Dough". Well, great. The fat guy was, well, The Fat Guy. Not alot of important parts to play in cinema or TV for fat people. (They ... we ... make bad action stars, anyway.) (Other than Sammo Hung).

Fat people are "accepted" because they have to be, especially in the 30+ set where people are begining to settle down, have their lives locked in, and will be doing pretty much what they are now for the rest of their lives.

I was "The Fat Kid" from about 2nd Grade on. Obese people get their own little "class" of people. Think about it. The stereotype of the funny fat kid is usually a defense mechanism against teasing, rejection, and feelings of low self-worth engendered from living in a society and culture that PRODUCES fat people, but idolizes thinness. I didn't get teased as much as most, but that's because I had a reputation as a head-breaker and I'd beat the snot out of two or three kids at the time ... because I could, and I was angry. Didn't know why, but I was.

Then you hit puberty and the $*#( really hits the fan. Nobody is attracted to fat people. Fat people aren't even attracted to fat people. People, really, aren't even attracted to "normal" people. It's another stereotype, another "classing" ... You can date a girl who is annoying, stupid, and not very attractive ... as long as she isn't fat ... then you're dating "A Fat Chick".

I remember watching a movie with a feminist studies class (being the only man in there) and a female friend of mine (perfect body, surgically enhanced) walked in and was watching the movie with us. There was a woman in the movie who was nude ... she had a totally "average" body shape. Not fat, but normal for any random woman who ate right but didn't work out. No flab, but no defined abs or sculpted calves. Nobody thought anything of it but my friend said: "Oh my God. If I were that fat I so wouldn't be naked on camera. Why are they showing that?"

America idolizes thin. We just produce fat. It doesn't mean we love fat, or even accept it. We push the fat off into a corner and complain about how fat America is.

--HT

This is a good post. The only thing I'll add is that when a fat person is shown in a movie or on TV, he or she is almost always the butt of a constant stream of ridicule passing as "jokes." There are only a very few exceptions - "Roseanne" with Roseanne and John Goodman, for example. Fat people are generally portrayed in movies and TV as buffoons. And they never have romantic interests on TV and in the movies, except with other fat people.

 

[mmadsen]

I was "The Fat Kid" from about 2nd Grade on.

It's interesting that you say that, because I think most of us remember having a fat kid in our class in school, and he was, as you put it "the fat kid". A quick look at kids today demonstrates that most of them qualify as the fat kid of yesteryear.

Have kids stopped playing outside and stopped eating balanced meals provided by mom? Evidently. I remember watching lots of TV and playing lots of video games, but we always played outside too. I can't imagine a childhood without backyard baseball, Nerf football, etc.