Obesity, a growing problem?

[Psychic]

Your fat-sympathising tone was the giveaway. Any "corpurashunnz!!!" gets me worried because it's bound to be inherently biased.

Why are you sidestepping my reiteration that I never said "corporations are the only factor"? Calling me a "sympathizer" because I listed a long set of causes for obesity the way one would list causes for poor eyesight is not a strong argument.

Also, please explain what fat sympathy is, and why not making people feel terrible is A Bad Thing. We all very well know that obesity is a vital issue, but fat-shaming isn't how we fix it. Likewise, you do not fix eating disorders like anorexia by making patients feel worse than they already do. You're failing to realize that while yes, obesity can often come from overeating, but overeating also has its sources, such as being a coping mechanism. When you make someone feel awful, they're going to resort to those same mechanisms. So no, fat shaming isn't actually going to do anything but make you feel all high and mighty while someone else feels terrible.

If you have research that proves that fat-shaming somehow works as a great motivation tool, now is the time to present it.

Yes, that is the free market and capitalism for you. Again though, a bit of common sense and moderation go a long way.

Agreed. Unfortunately, that's something we as a society lack at times, and obviously not just on this topic.

Well good. It's nowhere near common enough. Excuse the pun, but we should not be suger-coating these people's indulgences.

I'm not sure if you are trying to say that there is not enough fat-shaming. If such is the case, do you actually know anything about fat-shaming? Have you ever been on the receiving end of it? You clearly have little idea of how often it happens or how damaging it is if you think it's a Good Thing, or that it is The Solution to eliminating obesity.

If that wasn't your meaning, I apologize. Alternatively, if you do, you're going to need solid evidence of it.

As I say, I'm seeing a worrying number of articles which are starting to talk about "real women" and "curves" and normalising their excessive weight.

Are we talking about excessive weight here, however? I still haven't really seen you acknowledge that there is a line between morbid obesity (which is obviously not good) VS having an extra 20 pounds on you. If you have articles, now is the time to show them.

Also, what on earth does the term "real woman" even mean? Does that mean that there are fake women out there? What are the requirements for being a "real" anything? This seriously baffles me.

"Is and never will be". I'll grant you though that I may be wrong, we may once again learn to embrace poor health.

We haven't already done that? Supermodels of today are horrendously underweight and tend to have plenty of health problems, yet they are seen as the ideal. And when we're not trying to become sticks, we're tanning like crazy, doing loads of damage to our skin. The expression "it hurts to be beautiful" already fits the bill quite perfectly, but I haven't seen anyone make a fuss over any of that yet. Is fat truly the only indicator of poor health to some people?


~Psychic

[Amiちゃん]

Also, what on earth does the term "real woman" even mean? Does that mean that there are fake women out there? What are the requirements for being a "real" anything? This seriously baffles me.

I think "real women" translates into = ugly women or plain women. That how it seems to be in the media. Case in point, Dove commercials. They say that they use "real" women, but most of them are preeettty ugly and some were big to. Basically, if you aren't famous or have ideal attributes, then you are "real" in the media's eyes.

[ansem the wise]

Socially desirable, maybe, but being underweight can do some pretty severe things to your health just the same as being overweight can, only in different ways. (Plus, it's even less attractive when clothes come off and your ribcage is showing, or you're sagging and fatigued all the time because your body isn't getting enough energy... stuff like that.)

It's just unreasonable to ask people (girls, mainly) to be that thin, especially when 1) it's pretty bad for you, and 2) most of the women in media that look like this are either photoshopped or have some kind of illusion working to make them look much more skinny and flawless than they actually are. Girdles, makeup, whatever.

U make it sound like we're dissagreeing but that is exactly my point.

[MissDigitalis]

It wouldn't surprise me if this entire thread was about how fat Americans are compared to citizens of other countries and how that makes the US evil.

I think the biggest cause for the obesity problem in the world has to do with unhealthy food being cheap. I mean, if you're extremely poor and you have the choice of buying a tomato at $3 or a ton of Top Ramen noodles at 20 cents per pack which are you going to buy? The noodles obviously.

I don't think that weight is all about diet and exercise though. I lost a considerable amount of weight over the course of a year by starving myself and biking 24 miles a day 5 days a week. But on the flip side I've lost 40 pounds just since last summer with NO changes to my diet (which hasn't been the greatest) and little exercise at all because I had a change in my medications.

[Exeggudork]

yes, they're getting fatter so i would call it a GROWING problem.
nyek

[briguin]

My opinion: People worry too much about it.
People say that America is the fattest nation ( this is true), but the percentage of obese civilians in the U.s is less than 30%. And yes, the number go up every year, but 1) it only goes up one or two percent, and 2) The amount in which the percentage goes up decreases each year. So obesity isn't as big of a problem people say it is, at least when it comes down to numbers.

Also, people, please stop constantly saying "Diet and Exercise, or else, Get more active, eat healthy," etc. For 1) Not everyone has the time in their day to exercise. And 2) In this tough economy, some people simply don't have the money to diet ( I'm talking about those diet programs of "Lose 10 pounds in a month, we deliver").

And also, I swear the "get active" people do one armed push-ups daily.

[lanmanna]

My opinion: People worry too much about it.
People say that America is the fattest nation ( this is true), but the percentage of obese civilians in the U.s is less than 30%. And yes, the number go up every year, but 1) it only goes up one or two percent, and 2) The amount in which the percentage goes up decreases each year. So obesity isn't as big of a problem people say it is, at least when it comes down to numbers.

Also, people, please stop constantly saying "Diet and Exercise, or else, Get more active, eat healthy," etc. For 1) Not everyone has the time in their day to exercise. And 2) In this tough economy, some people simply don't have the money to diet ( I'm talking about those diet programs of "Lose 10 pounds in a month, we deliver").

And also, I swear the "get active" people do one armed push-ups daily.

It's more like 35 percent. Not worrying about it is exactly what got us to the percentage.

And LOL, diet programs; you don't need those to lose weight. Eating smaller portions goes a long way; it will also help people save money buying food in this "tough" economy.

Also, if someone has time to watch TV, read, play video games, hangout with friends, etc, they have enough time to exercise 30 minutes a day.

[aaron345]

**** you ****ing healthists who’ve been pushing this fat panic ******** ever since the lowering of BMI thresholds. **** you in the government for getting rich off panic-mongering and appropriating funds for giant new bureaucracies whose stated goal is to experiment on an entire generation of children. **** you employers for your ‘employee wellness programs’ that cause financial hardship to fat people who are penalized for having the wrong BMI. **** you insurance companies for profiting off the panic by charging fat people more for their policies. **** you stupid ****ing economists who do assumption-laced back-of-the-envelope calculations that suggest fat people are responsible for global warming. **** you private and public foundations for issuing giant grants to anyone who does a study that finds in the negative for ‘the obese,’ and **** you researchers who take that money.

The ‘obesity epidemic’ isn’t real, folks. It isn’t real. It isn’t ****ing real. Welcome to the Theatre of Panic, Hate, and Other Shameful Social Tendencies. They say life is a stage. Well, I want ****ing OFF of this one.

Im not even fat if you see my picture im skinny but I'm sick of this!!!?

[briguin]

**** you ****ing healthists who’ve been pushing this fat panic ******** ever since the lowering of BMI thresholds. **** you in the government for getting rich off panic-mongering and appropriating funds for giant new bureaucracies whose stated goal is to experiment on an entire generation of children. **** you employers for your ‘employee wellness programs’ that cause financial hardship to fat people who are penalized for having the wrong BMI. **** you insurance companies for profiting off the panic by charging fat people more for their policies. **** you stupid ****ing economists who do assumption-laced back-of-the-envelope calculations that suggest fat people are responsible for global warming. **** you private and public foundations for issuing giant grants to anyone who does a study that finds in the negative for ‘the obese,’ and **** you researchers who take that money.

The ‘obesity epidemic’ isn’t real, folks. It isn’t real. It isn’t ****ing real. Welcome to the Theatre of Panic, Hate, and Other Shameful Social Tendencies. They say life is a stage. Well, I want ****ing OFF of this one.

Im not even fat if you see my picture im skinny but I'm sick of this!!!?

This is the most B.S. I've ever heard.

[Kaiserin]

My opinion: People worry too much about it.
People say that America is the fattest nation ( this is true), but the percentage of obese civilians in the U.s is less than 30%. And yes, the number go up every year, but 1) it only goes up one or two percent, and 2) The amount in which the percentage goes up decreases each year. So obesity isn't as big of a problem people say it is, at least when it comes down to numbers.

According to the OECD, the percentage is actually closer to 33% circa 2009. (That is a PDF file, by the way; fair warning.) Increases are still increases, though, even if they increase less each year. Perhaps it does mean we're starting to curb the trend, but it's still a pretty interesting figure when you look at countries that have better diets (i.e. Japan) and have mind-bogglingly low obesity rates.

Also, obesity and overweightness are defined differently in statistics like these. Obesity only accounts for the ones who are on the very high end of being overweight, so that's still not including all the people who, while maybe not big enough to be an active danger to their health, are still above the target weight range.

Also, people, please stop constantly saying "Diet and Exercise, or else, Get more active, eat healthy," etc. For 1) Not everyone has the time in their day to exercise. And 2) In this tough economy, some people simply don't have the money to diet ( I'm talking about those diet programs of "Lose 10 pounds in a month, we deliver").

I don't think this is all there is to it. About the financial costs, though, you don't have to go out of your way to change everything you eat to organic things, or buy new foods you wouldn't normally bother with. You might instead find that abstaining on buying junk foods, for example, will help both your body and your wallet. It doesn't have to be a bank-breaking practice by necessity.

[Ipwnyou]

[QUOTE=Snorunt conservationist;15414349]

Urban myth.

Oh, are you referring to that smart-*** "it doesn't weigh more because a pund of this weighs the same as a pound of that" argument?

[miles0624]

Try walking 3 miles to school everyday at 7 in the morning, or try riding a bike through some of the worst traffic you'll ever see in your life, and then tell me how reasonable that sounds.

Shall we go back in history where this was common?

[Thomas Elliot]

Obesity is obviously a problem in American society there is no question about that. And it has only become a major problem I would say in the last century, if not the last 60 years.
While there are many culprits behind obesity, clearly our society has gone through a fundamental and permanent change within these last 60 years.
We have to create time to engage in physical activity where as 60-100 years ago we had to create time to actually sit down and rest.
We also live in a society where a Snickers and a Coke cost less than a piece of fruit and water. It is also because those products have huge companies behind them to push these brands and engage in product placement in media and even within the grocery stores itself. It's no secret that the reason the checkout aisles are stocked with candy is because companies pay big money for that prime location.

We live in a society where everything is at our fingertips, or where getting to a certain place requires some sort of fueled transportation. If you want to live within walking/biking distance then you will have to pay extra to live there.

[Nephilim]

It's enough of a problem to call for action on correcting it, that's for sure. I see too many people with this problem, and sadly not enough people working to bring themselves to a healthy weight. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we should make everyone skinny. I'm not skinny, but I'm far from obese. I don't prefer that people be super skinny either. We should just strive to reach that middle ground where we're not so overweight, yet not bare bones like some people feel so much pressure to be.

[Luthor]

It's enough of a problem to call for action on correcting it, that's for sure. I see too many people with this problem, and sadly not enough people working to bring themselves to a healthy weight. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we should make everyone skinny. I'm not skinny, but I'm far from obese. I don't prefer that people be super skinny either. We should just strive to reach that middle ground where we're not so overweight, yet not bare bones like some people feel so much pressure to be.

ok firstly there is undeniably a problem with obesity what i think has to be noted is that losing weight is hard.It's worwhile but i can tell you from personal experince it's a difficult task.It's hard for those who've never been large to understand.I was going to the gym every day and still was oveweight .What changed was I went to friends workout plan and that changed things for me.The problem was that while i thought i was following good advice originally it turned out i needed a different stratergy it was really tough but it worked and now i'm described as being slim but it was not easy.

[lollygag]

Well, I'm overweight myself, and for a long time it was hard to find stylish clothes because they're made for thinner people. Plus the chairs in waiting rooms are too small for the obese. They need bigger seats for obese people. We need to accomodate the growing obese population.

[Rakansen]

I actually heard somewhere that obesity is becoming a bigger problem than malnutrition. If people can help stop world hunger, we should also be solving obesity. Unfortunately, obesity's more difficult to solve than malnutrition, some people who are obese don't care about losing weight, whereas people who are starving are willing to eat food.

[ChedWick]

Well, I'm overweight myself, and for a long time it was hard to find stylish clothes because they're made for thinner people. Plus the chairs in waiting rooms are too small for the obese. They need bigger seats for obese people. We need to accomodate the growing obese population.

I really hope you're kidding.

[Marbi Z]

No... Mere Liberal Propaganda! 10 years ago they were fussing about how woman were not eating enough or at all.

[fitzy909]

It's really ridiculous. Some people are seriously obese and yet some aren't eating at all. Why? I used to be ob... slightly on the large side and trust me it was hard to fit in. I was always being picked on because of it and i know i'm not the only one. I mean with more people to feed we will have to start eating less, so people are going to have to change, but i know it never always works, some people want to lose weight others don't care.

[legendaryrattatta]

look, i weigh 411 BUT i am fitfat,i dont waddle,but i am big, my legs are muscular and my arms are,BUT ,y tummy is big

[Amiちゃん]

I really hope you're kidding.

Do you NOT want them to have clothes or a place to sit comfortably? :-/

[ChedWick]

Do you NOT want them to have clothes or a place to sit comfortably? :-/

No, I don't want them to continue to account for 20+ percent of total annual healthcare costs and continue to be nearly a quarter responsible for the continual increase in healthcare premiums.

[Cosmical El Amarna]

According to the Emergency Medicine Journal, researchers found that

“Findings ... suggest that obese vehicle drivers are more likely to die from traffic collision-related injuries than non-obese occupants involved in the same collision.”

In the statistics observed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there was an 80% increase in fatalities for individuals who are obese. And more than half of the entire nation of the United States is overweight or obese. I think that this epidemic deserves some more attention at least.

[miles0624]

According to the Emergency Medicine Journal, researchers found that In the statistics observed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there was an 80% increase in fatalities for individuals who are obese. And more than half of the entire nation of the United States is overweight or obese. I think that this epidemic deserves some more attention at least.

Its only one/third of the United States, but everything else is correct. Time to get rid of food stamps.