Obesity. A worldwide problem?

[Vylent]

The thing that saddens me is that junk food is a lot cheaper than healthy food (for the most part). Now if there was some possible way to switch these around, I think a lot more people would eat healthier and I'm confident that % would drop. I know I would eat a lot healthier if such a think happened.

[Drakain]

The frugality of the average citizen with their earnings, the apathy towards what is consumed, the permeation of slick marketing techniques to lull those who do care what they eat into a false sense of security, and the dependency of time. It's much, much faster and cheaper to feed a family of 4 with happy meals and whoppers than it is to buy chicken from the grocery store and prepare it with vegetables.

We're brought up to consume consume consume in the U.S. from the moment we're born from a social and a media standpoint. It's almost like a competition - Let's see who can get the most stuff. Why make $30k a year when you can make $100k and buy more STUFF? Bigger STUFF. Better STUFF.

It isn't, go to college and get a degree so you can better yourself or learn for the good of mankind, it's go to college so you can get more stuff than you'd be able to get later without going to college.

Our expectations of the required quality of life for us to survive has been increasing exponentially since the industrial revolution. And it's all a sham centered around our own American Exceptionalism.

-Is how america specifically differs from the rest of the world in the respect of our diets for food and material goods. (There's a lot of overlapping and linking between the two)

Well, it's a world wide problem. Did you know that America feeds most of the world? Food is one of our primary exports. Next time you go the grocery store I invite you to buy a product that doesn't contain fructose or high fructose corn syrup, or any of it's derivates.

[Lyriok]

People aren't fat because of any food or bad food not regulated they are fat because they choose to be. Eat a carrot and jump on a treadmill.

To an extent that is true but the food people eat play a major role on their health.

Let's put what you said into perspective.

Two people eat the exact same food, One drinks water and the other soft-drink.
They both excercise at the exact same intensity and method.

The individual drinking water WILL be slimmer and healthier.

Soft drink narrows arteries reducing the rate of blood flow which is a early phase of cardiovascular disease.
Sugar promotes weight gain and storing fats.
Acids in foods remove calcium for our bones.
Oils and fats put more strain on the heart doing more harm than good, The list can go on and on.

To be healthy 50% is diet the other is excercise.

[Twotonsteak]

The Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has come up with a new report that most of the states from all states having the highest obesity rates are from the Midwest and the South, as per a recent report.

A total of 30 states were found by the group with highest rates of obesity, 12 amongst which were realizing more than 30%. Also, Illinois was one state at the 29th position for 27.1% rates. The team holds responsible the negligence of the government and health authorities for such high rates.

Seeing Colorado, which was though holding the lowest rank in terms of rates of the disease, was also showing 20.7%, executive director Jeffrey Levi says that it is all happening because of low investments to adopt curing ways.

Also, another main reason why the number of obese people is increasing is returns on health and savings being gathered. Currently, 17% of children are found to be the victims of obesity in America with a third of all adults going through the same.

The report revealed the previous day by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raises concerns for high risks of diabetes and heart disease as well. It is being suggested that it is time one and all become vigilant.

How to solve it?

Mod Edited: We're discussing the global obesity epidemic here. Not just focusing on Americans.

Get off our collective rears?

I'm sorry but I don't buy into the whole "obesity gene" thing. If you're obese it's because you're lazy and you eat too much of the wrong stuff. If people started eating smaller portions of healthier and exercised maybe, just maybe, obesity wouldn't be the issue it is now.

[Rukentuts]

The thing that saddens me is that junk food is a lot cheaper than healthy food (for the most part). Now if there was some possible way to switch these around, I think a lot more people would eat healthier and I'm confident that % would drop. I know I would eat a lot healthier if such a think happened.

That's not really true. Sure if you want organic that's more expensive, but generally the prices are comparable.

[Drakain]

That's not really true. Sure if you want organic that's more expensive, but generally the prices are comparable.

Some organic companies have figured out a way to make it work. Stoneyfield has worked out making organic yogurt very profitable. One problem producers have to overcome, however, is the entrenched special interests that are more interested in maintaining their bottom line then producing healthy, safe products.

---------- Post added 2012-08-17 at 03:22 AM ----------

That's not really true. Sure if you want organic that's more expensive, but generally the prices are comparable.

Some organic companies have figured out a way to make it work. Stoneyfield has worked out making organic yogurt very profitable and affordable. One problem producers have to overcome, however, is the entrenched special interests that are more interested in maintaining their bottom line then producing healthy, safe products.

[Socialhealer]

its obvious and its a few key points.

unhealthy/fatty foods are usually faster to get and cheaper to produce and buy or quicker to make, last longer, loads of pros when it comes to selling this product vs fresh fruit/veg etc.
taste better...i eat virtually no fruit/veg dont really like the texture/flavour at all if its sugar/fat free it tastes like its flavour free.
advertising for all these fasts foods, when do u see it for healthy stuff, basically everything is pointing you at unhealthy foods.
busy lifestyles with long work hours encourages fast food over home cooking.

i eat nothing but junk and a lot of chicken/pork and try to avoid saturated fat as much as possible i only drink water no sodas/coffee etc to balance out my dislike of fruit and veg and im 170lbs 6ft, so really fat people are just lazy and dont care because u dont need to eat healthy 24/7 to be slim.

[shimerra]

Obesity is frequently a result of behavior. That doesn't explain the unusual and significant increase in obesity across all ages types in the United States.

Sure if you don't dig even a tiny bit further. It really isn't a mystery why obesity is a problem in America and other 1st world nations. The mystery comes almost entirely in the best way to solve it while still retaining freedom of choice.

[Gulvar]

The Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has come up with a new report that most of the states from all states having the highest obesity rates are from the Midwest and the South, as per a recent report.

A total of 30 states were found by the group with highest rates of obesity, 12 amongst which were realizing more than 30%. Also, Illinois was one state at the 29th position for 27.1% rates. The team holds responsible the negligence of the government and health authorities for such high rates.

Seeing Colorado, which was though holding the lowest rank in terms of rates of the disease, was also showing 20.7%, executive director Jeffrey Levi says that it is all happening because of low investments to adopt curing ways.

Also, another main reason why the number of obese people is increasing is returns on health and savings being gathered. Currently, 17% of children are found to be the victims of obesity in America with a third of all adults going through the same.

The report revealed the previous day by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raises concerns for high risks of diabetes and heart disease as well. It is being suggested that it is time one and all become vigilant.

How to solve it?

Mod Edited: We're discussing the global obesity epidemic here. Not just focusing on Americans.

Education and truth in marketing. I've heard female friends on diets say some of the dumbest food related things ever. This one woman would call me and tell me what she was eatting like she wanted an award for it something. Congrats, you ate 400 calories and got the nutritional value of a pea because the box said diet fudge pops.

So much of what the average person believes to be true about nutrition is just flat out wrong. People eat garbage because it has a low-fat label and others drink/eat things which barely have more nutritional value than the package they came in. There are so many good books out there. People just need to watch four less hours of TV, read a book, and get their shit together.

[FusedMass]

It's much cheaper to go to McDonald's buy four burgers with 1 dollar each. Then drive all way to a supermarket and pick out (High Priced) food that is good for you and taste bad. It's much more simpler to go with the ready to eat hot pockets that taste good then spend more time fixing a salad. Let's be frank isn't that fulfilling. If they made ice cream shakes that were healthy. You would see more people go to them.

It's cheaper to make fat food, it's what customers want. How long do you think a salad shop would stay in business around fast food joints. I guess it's to take the food in moderation. The problem is many people don't get a chance to burn off the calories and eat more of them then they burn off which leads to them being overweight. I learned recently drinking soda because high sodium can lead to very high calories.

[schwarzkopf]

That's not really true. Sure if you want organic that's more expensive, but generally the prices are comparable.

Sorry - but junk food is WAY cheaper.

Can buy two meals worth of pizza for $5.00, a meal at maccas for $2.00 - the cheapest I can buy a health meal is around $10-$12.

That is a HUGE difference.

[Rukentuts]

Sorry - but junk food is WAY cheaper.

Can buy two meals worth of pizza for $5.00, a meal at maccas for $2.00 - the cheapest I can buy a health meal is around $10-$12.

That is a HUGE difference.

That's also wrong. Go poke around the produce department at your local Wal-Mart and get back to me.

[Khaza-R]

Obesity is a problem for the industrialized world. Not the entire world.

In the industrial world we have an abundance of food and lack of physical activity. Many parts of the world don't have this problem.

Sorry - but junk food is WAY cheaper.

Can buy two meals worth of pizza for $5.00, a meal at maccas for $2.00 - the cheapest I can buy a health meal is around $10-$12.

That is a HUGE difference.

I disagree. I ate fairly health during my college years. A bag of brown rice, and a few cans of black and red beans can feed you for days and costs less than $5. You can also eat frozen vegetables and fruit for fractions of what junk food costs.

[Rukentuts]

It's much cheaper to go to McDonald's buy four burgers with 1 dollar each. Then drive all way to a supermarket and pick out (High Priced) food that is good for you and taste bad. It's much more simpler to go with the ready to eat hot pockets that taste good then spend more time fixing a salad. Let's be frank isn't that fulfilling. If they made ice cream shakes that were healthy. You would see more people go to them.

It's cheaper to make fat food, it's what customers want. How long do you think a salad shop would stay in business around fast food joints. I guess it's to take the food in moderation. The problem is many people don't get a chance to burn off the calories and eat more of them then they burn off which leads to them being overweight. I learned recently drinking soda because high sodium can lead to very high calories.

It's not cheaper. That's the point. Obesity has huge financial implications when it comes to health-care costs, lost productivity, etc. People need to look at the big picture and not the immediate.

[Gorehowl]

we have a problem sure, but every country has obese people, america just has more media coverage of it than most. I think it was great britain that had the highest percentage of obese people? not sure could have been somewhere else, america just gets painted as this country of fatass hicks because of the media when in reality its rarely like that except for a few places.

[Curanhadin]

I think a lot of it isnt from pure laziness. I know a lot of people who arent lazy but they work in office jobs and sit at a desk on the computer or on the phone for 12+ hours a day. If you sleep 8 hours work for 12 or more plus have 30 minutes to an hour commute to work and back. you might be left with an hour or two when you finally get home shit, shower and shave. At what point of the day are these people supposed to work out. Americans on average put in more hours working then any other country in the world per year. Im not saying this is an excuse for the high obesity rate, but there are a lot of people who legitamitly dont have time to properly excersise.



Also a problem

I see is all the processed garbage thats on the shelfs, I myself eat about 80-90 % of my diet organic, natural whole grain foods. I hate seeing all the gmo, processed junk on the shelfs at the grocery stores, but most people eat it because its cheaper, faster and easier to prepare then a real meal, thats the biggest problem. How many people dont have or wont take the time to roast a nice lean turkey or grill a nice tuna steak when they can eat a premade box of shit in the microwave in less then 5 minutes.

[Rukentuts]

I think a lot of it isnt from pure laziness. I know a lot of people who arent lazy but they work in office jobs and sit at a desk on the computer or on the phone for 12+ hours a day. If you sleep 8 hours work for 12 or more plus have 30 minutes to an hour commute to work and back. you might be left with an hour or two when you finally get home shit, shower and shave. At what point of the day are these people supposed to work out. Americans on average put in more hours working then any other country in the world per year. Im not saying this is an excuse for the high obesity rate, but there are a lot of people who legitamitly dont have time to properly excersise.

Anyone who watches more than 30 minutes of television a few times a week has time to exercise. People lately are just grasping for excuses to justify not being healthy.

[schwarzkopf]

I disagree. I ate fairly health during my college years. A bag of brown rice, and a few cans of black and red beans can feed you for days and costs less than $5. You can also eat frozen vegetables and fruit for fractions of what junk food costs.

Disagreeing doesn't change the facts .... it is still a fact that healthy food costs more at least 3-4 times as much as unhealthy food.

That's HEALTHY food.

[Diraction]

"We" can't solve it. There is no way to force individuals to stop being super fat when they clearly choose to be so now. The only way to "solve" this is for individuals at the individual level to decide they don't want to be obese and that isn't happening.

We didn't force people to be thin in 1950 but most of them were. What's different now? We could start by eliminating agricultural subsidies. There is no reason why our tax dollars should be shoveled at giant corporations just so they can make food additives like high fructose corn syrup even more cheaply than they already do.

[schwarzkopf]

That's also wrong. Go poke around the produce department at your local Wal-Mart and get back to me.

We don't have wal-mart, but at my local supermarkets, all the healthy MEALS cost more than unhealthy ones.

Cheapest healthy frozen meal is around $8. Still way higher than a maccas or pizza option.