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There's Definitely A Weight Problem In America

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rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
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some people here take "bigger is better" a little too seriously.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
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Originally posted by: DAGTA
1. Lack of exercise. Americans might walk the least of any people in the world.
2. Portions of food are growing larger (this is intentional)
3. Quality of food has been steadily declining for 100 years. Less nutrients (overworked soil) and more chemicals
4. Food corporations are intentionally developing and using chemicals (food additives) that make you gain weight and get addicted to their food. Fat people buy more.

Doubt me? Try drinking only bottled water and buying only organic food for three months. See how much weight you lose and how much better you feel.

The only thing you're right about is lack of excercise. Anyone can eat whatever they want if they ran 4 miles a day.. They only got half the equation right is the problem.
 

phantom309

Platinum Member
Jan 30, 2002
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Originally posted by: manohartvs
Originally posted by: phantom309
The difference really is striking. I saw more fat people in 15 minutes at the Philadelphia airport than in 10 days of wandering around Rome. They dress better there too. You never see anyone waddling around in sweats in a public place in Rome - unless they're some redneck slob from the US.

Isn't Philadelphia the fattest city in the US right now?
I think so. Of course I live in KC, which is usually in the top 5 for lardassery also. And a lot of people here dress like they just rolled out of bed. Apparently nothing is too sloppy to wear to the mall as long as it has "CHIEFS" or "DALE EARNHARDT" written on it.
 

glugglug

Diamond Member
Jun 9, 2002
5,340
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No, the fattest city in the US is Houston. They got ahead of Tampa in this dubious achievement while Bush was their governor. The northeast (including Philly) and California are very thin compared to the rest of the U.S. However, the Philly airport is a hub which would have lots of midwesterners on transfer flights.
 

Legend

Platinum Member
Apr 21, 2005
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you are joking, right? number 1 is DEFINITELY the main reason people are overweight. now a days, instead of kids going out and playing basketball or playing hide and seek or riding bikes, they instead get online and "chat" or they get behind the xbox and play games, all while drinking sodas and eating candies. and for adults, the 40 hour work week leaves many people thinking there is "no time to exercise" when that is utter BS. granted I don't have kids or anything yet, I still manage to workout 3-4 times a week while working 40 hours a week, and I know many people can too but just choose not to.

i would add to the problem of the fat children are that the parents are letting them get that way. its up to the parents what their kids eat. if the kids are going to be sitting on their lazy asses all day, don't feed them sodas and candy. give them water and some other healthier snack, like a sandwich or something.

No, #1 is not the primary reason.

You could do an hour of exercise a day. Won't do a damn thing if you drink soda all the time and eat large amounts of processed carbs that are almost immediately converted to body fat.

If you eat whole foods it's almost impossible to gain large amounts of weight. You'd have to eat several pounds of grapes every day.

And to people that think it's some far fetched conspiracy theory, I disagree. Why is caffeine in soda? Why is everything processed to make your body absorb the food faster and make you hungry more frequently? Sugar has been proven to be addictive.
 

Red Dawn

Elite Member
Jun 4, 2001
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Corn Syrup in a lot of the foods is a great contributor to obesity, especially among children, teenagers and young adults.
 

Legend

Platinum Member
Apr 21, 2005
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Yes, high fructose corn syrup is one of those processed carbs that a major cause of obesity.

Therefore, excessive fructose ingestion may result in blunting the body's ability to recognize when it is full, making a person want to eat more.

http://www.askquestions.org/details.php?id=27

Not exactly the best of sources, but I've heard this from multiple places. I'm too busy to look it up right now. I'm being a fat ass studying all day and being inactive. Oh, wait I'm 140lbs and 5' 9" because I eat whole foods.


Companies load their foods with this because they know it will make the consumers consume more.

This isn't a conspiracy. if you live in the US, just look around you.
 

fleshconsumed

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2002
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Someone asked why does anyone care that people are fat. I care because it's really damn hard to find a skinny girl, let alone skinny, average build at least. Kind of funny, most of the guys here at college are fairly well built, not really obese, not the girls though :x
 

squirrel dog

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
5,564
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Damn , I'm getting hungry just reading this thread , time to fire up the grill and roast me some fresh meat .
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
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Originally posted by: fleshconsumed
Someone asked why does anyone care that people are fat. I care because it's really damn hard to find a skinny girl, let alone skinny, average build at least. Kind of funny, most of the guys here at college are fairly well built, not really obese, not the girls though :x

Really? I was'nt in college more than 12 years ago and would love some of that "fat" about now.:p just wait...
 

EGGO

Diamond Member
Jul 29, 2004
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Originally posted by: MisterCornell
I hadn't been outside the country in some time. I thought much of the talk about obesity in America was probably an exagerration. I assumed that in other Western countries it was probably the same case.

But after 2 weeks in England, it's definitely not. There are very few fat people walking around the streets of London. Those who are fat are just a bit chubby. I only saw one guy get stuck in a pay-to-use-the-loo turnstyle at a train station because of his girth, and it was an American fellow.

Getting back here, it seems like half the people are fat, and the other half are so fat they look like the Stay Puft Marshmellow man from the Ghostbusters movie. Puffy faces, limbs half as wide as they are long, and massive torsos.

You just don't notice it living here, but getting back it's all so painfully obvious. If you're a normal sized "thin" dude, it's hard to find pants that fit properly, because most stores are just stocking "baggy" and "more baggy" styles.

Cost of food definitely has something to do with it. In England, food costs two to three times as much as it does here, and the serving sizes are about half as big. It's just not economically feasible to be a lardo over there, and I'm thinking that's not such a bad thing.


It's hard to find a "small" mens for me.