Why are so many men fat?

[Remobz]

Too much food, too little exercise. Wanna be less fat? Eat much less, work out more.

I grew up in a Country with ZERO and I mean ZERO fast food franchises. Any fast food franchise in ANY part of the world you can think of then it is NOT here. There is no local franchise as well. Just a crap load of mom and pop type joints focusing on local dishes mainly. My mother was a health "nut" and she made sure we ate healthy and felt guilty for buying fatty foods.

I was a cyclist and walked a lot as well if need be (did not drive for along time) and was in top shape and good weight. My metabolism was high as well.

Then I went to study in Canada and lived there for awhile (work visa). Now imagine being in an area with tons of fast food joints and fat foods galore!

Needless to say, by the time I went back home I was like almost 35 pounds overweight Been a nightmare to get the weight off ever since.

For the past 7 years I have joined the ranks of the overweight crowd and will probably never be skinny again???

 

[OverVolt]

"My BMI says I'm too short"

Actually, people are just eating more because they have more income and food is cheaper. I'm also a bit suspect about HFCS, as it seems people really started ballooning up when they introduced it in the 80's.

Yea I agree here.

HFCS seems suspect because you are adding sugar to staple foods, like bread. Bread can be a persons #1 source of salt too. Its like 9% DV for some brands per slice. Nothing against bread though just wish it didn't have sugar and as much salt as potato chips

 

[Remobz]

What also happened in the 80's? Cable TV, the VCR and video games.

Ha!

In the 80's (my high school days) I was like a bmx bandit and baseball freak. You could not keep me in the house. I had no video games, computers or cable TV until 1991 or soon after. My neighbor had a video store near me and would mainly watch VHS tapes on our VCR and I would read and play many board type games.

 

[dank69]

Because money is more important to women than looks while looks are more important to men than money.

 

[OverVolt]

Because money is more important to women than looks while looks are more important to men than money.

Lol

 

[BoomerD]

Because, if you have a quality tool, one that you're proud of...you build a shed over it.

 

[Red Storm]

Because money is more important to women than looks while looks are more important to men than money.

This feels true.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Because, if you have a quality tool, one that you're proud of...you build a shed over it.

Perhaps the best response yet. :awe:

 

[lyssword]

1. None of these guys are over 300lb
2. They are serious statistical outliers. Lets say there are 1500 players in mlb, you would have to find me 150 players like this to prove that 10% (compared to 30% in general population) are obese. You will find at most 30 players fitting that description (<3%).
3. They are good in SPITE of being fat, not because of it, unlike football.
4. They would outrun you any day, because they do have to workout just like everyone else. They are not your typical lard asses.

 

[Fritzo]

1. None of these guys are over 300lb
2. They are serious statistical outliers. Lets say there are 1500 players in mlb, you would have to find me 150 players like this to prove that 10% (compared to 30% in general population) are obese. You will find at most 30 players fitting that description (<3%).
3. They are good in SPITE of being fat, not because of it, unlike football.
4. They would outrun you any day, because they do have to workout just like everyone else. They are not your typical lard asses.

Babe Ruth was a gigantic fat ass too. However, near the end he had to have someone run bases for him.

He always reminded me of Jonathan Winters.

 

[Mixolydian]

I despise fat people.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I despise fat people.

Ahem:

Aside from working part-time, I really don't do anything productive. When I'm not working I'm usually either on the computer surfing the web, or sleeping.:\

Yet it doesn't seem to bother me. :hmm:

I despise people who only work part time and don't do anything else.

 

[Mixolydian]

Ahem:



I despise people who only work part time and don't do anything else.

spoken like a true fatty.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

spoken like a true fatty.

Spoken like a buffoon who works part-time throwing boxes on a truck and then tells us all that he doesn't do anything else.

 

[Mixolydian]

Spoken like a buffoon who works part-time throwing boxes on a truck and then tells us all that he doesn't do anything else.

jealousy is powerful bro.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Being fat is a great way for men to get laid. If you're fat, it means you have access to resources, and are therefore in a greater position of wealth and power than the skinny males of the herd. This attracts females who crave the security which comes with the control of resources. The female's reward comes when the fat male dies at age 36 from a heart attack and she inherits the resources.

Seriously, it's gold-digging 101 people.

 

[DigDog]

men are larger, women are smaller. it's easier for a woman to hit their physical effort target to maintain a high metabolism and burn their calories. more muscle requires more exercise, yet larger people will always eat more.

 

[festa_freak]

I can only describe my situation and those closest to me.

I've lost ~35lbs this year so far. I've been running and cycling and now lifting weights. I've also been eating much healthier and making my own meals instead of eating out of cans or metal containers from the store.

My father is huge and eats ice cream every day. That is not a winning combo.

I decided one day that I did not like myself in the mirror and decided to change that. I've lost 8 inches off my waist and my pants are very loose.

I'm not trying to brag, what western civilization needs is a kick in the pants and we need to take control of our eating habits and get off our butts and get some moderate exercise!!!

Yesterday I knew I was going to have a busy evening. I had about two hours of free time before I had to be out again. I really wanted to go for a run but decided against it because I was feeling I needed some down time. so what did I eat? KD! Double bad. I felt terrible lol. It's all about minimizing those bad decisions and making healthy decisions more often.

 

[Via]

Are you a goose being prepared for foie gras? I can't recall ever having anything shoved down my throat; suck to be you if that is how you get your sustenance.

KT

An medium sized apple costs $1.50-$2+ where I live.

Bags, cans, and packages of processed garbage cost anywhere from 40 cents to $1.

Which way do you think someone on a tight budget is going to turn for sustenance?

But you know what I meant.


I also have first hand knowledge of what fast food can do to you. One year in college I had to live in a basement pretty far from campus. I didn't have a car, and the only convenient places to eat were a Hardees and a McDonalds that accepted University points. So I fell into a pattern of eating there (I had no money and was dependent on my parent's generosity to keep refilling my food card).

By Thanksgiving, probably earlier, my clothes were tight. By Christmas my mom took me aside worriedly and lectured me about my weight and health. I blew it off....

......until I saw the Christmas pictures sometime in January or February. Oh my God.

I couldn't believe it. I was unrecognizable. I looked like a pear, and I had a huge double chin. It was shocking to me. Looking at those pictures prompted me to change, and I eventually solved then problem by borrowing a dorm fridge and a hot plate from a friend, and by making the effort and dragging my fat ass to eat salads and fruits at the cafeteria more often. My parents gave me cash to buy food instead of paying for points.

iirc by April I had stabilized my atrocious condition, and by Summer friends who hadn't seen me since Christmas were all saying "man, you lost some poundage there, dumpy".

Again - I didn't change a thing except what I put in my mouth.

 

[Kaido]

I'm not trying to brag, what western civilization needs is a kick in the pants and we need to take control of our eating habits and get off our butts and get some moderate exercise!!!

Affluence is two-edged sword. In America, 2/3 of all adults are overweight and 1/3 are obese. Diabetes is a first-world problem, not a third-world problem. A big part of it is manipulative food companies. Google Monsanto sometime or watch some food documentaries on Netflix. It's scary. Everything is corn-based and pumped with chemicals. Food science is an enormous, unstoppable business because we get hungry every few hours and readily-available packaged food wins the day. But we don't care, because we're addicted. It's just too easy to gloss over and ignore when your stomach is growling and hot, delicious food is only a credit card swipe away.

Every human being on the planet is a food addict. If you give an addict drugs, it's going to be hard for them not to take it. It's a simple formula: load up your food with sugar, fat, salt, and flavor enhancers and put it in shiny packages in stores and in convenient drive-throughs. You deserve a break today! Come hungry, leave happy. Obey your thirst. Unwrap a smile. We're open all night! The reality is that the food industry is not interested in your health but in your dollars and therefore production, and the medical community is not interested in prevention but rather treatment, so we have a disconnect in individual's health - buyer beware!

Men are fat because of human nature and manipulative companies. Fattening foods are easily accessible and the market has been calculated to make junk food cheaper than healthy food. Why buy a bag of apples when you can get a burger off the dollar menu? And even if companies wanted to become responsible, we won't let them because we're addicts - look at the extra-large soda debacle in NYC.

Ultimately it comes down to personal responsibility. A trap is laid for you before you are born in America, a trap to make you fat, clog your arteries, and keep you addicted to factory food, and then further down the line to buy medicine and treatment for your health issues. Simply being aware of that doesn't change anything; I watched "Supersize Me", was thoroughly grossed out, and on the way home bought a McDonalds chicken sandwich anyway. The only way that America will change its waistline is if people decide, on a personal basis, to lead a healthier life. Otherwise, there's plenty of coffee, Red Bull, and 5-Hour Energy to go around

 

[Sonikku]

It's because men could be fat and still be rich and powerful.

Women kinda need those good looks to get ahead because a fat female is more damning in most cultures than a fat male.

 

[Remobz]

It's because men could be fat and still be rich and powerful.

Women kinda need those good looks to get ahead because a fat female is more damning in most cultures than a fat male.

Good point.

I see many overweight men who own houses and nice cars with good jobs who get a fair amount of sex and good looking females as well.

In my society, lots of younger women (18-30 range) rush after men 40 and older who have "means" for the most part.

Hell, some mothers even encourage their daughters to date older men because they help support their daughters with higher education or income. Heck, I even know some younger girls who have a BF their age and a secret older man lover on the side.

You guys have to remember that things are different in other cultures (non-Western) when it comes to overweight men and women.

Trust me here when I say a lot of overweight American guys who can't get laid or struggle at getting laid would be in sexual heaven in other cultures.

Please do not get into morality here because I am just reporting it as I see it. A moral debate on this subject is a whole other story.

 

[Carfax83]

<< 4% body fat.

Now that I'm done bragging, I will say that being fat or overweight is not just about aesthetics..

When you have excess body fat, your testosterone levels are going to be lower than they should be, and your estrogen levels higher than they should be. This hormonal imbalance will have a lot of far reaching consequences in your life, with everything from your sex life to work to personal health.

All over the World men's testosterone levels are falling because the foods we eat no longer has the nutrition and vitality it once had. And then there's pollution, lack of sleep, inactive lifestyle etcetera..

Our very masculinity is under assault, and no one seems to care. I wonder what the World will be like when there are no masculine men left.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Nothing magical about it. It's easier to scarf down foods that have most of the fiber removed and that have been designed in food labs to be high in carbohydrates/sugar, fat, and salt. Those kinds of foods taste good to us because they provide calories and sodium which are naturally scarce without the technology and specialization that is possible in modern civilization.

Processed foods don't make people fat, but I defy you to gain a lot of weight on a natural diet. Provided you aren't just eating a lot of meat, it's very hard to get fat off a high fiber diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. They take up more volume and are less calorically dense, and digestion (or indigestion) of fiber produces a lot of gas, making you feel full (also making you gassy, which is why beans are notorious, but they aren't the only high fiber food).

Via's post, with reference to "horrible ingredients" and whatnot, implied more than what you're talking about. Otherwise you could define any baked goods as "processed", whether made by Hostess or your under the loving care of your grandmother. Why would you make that stipulation that people don't eat a lot of meat? The South of full of fatties that gorge themselves on red meat and chicken wings.

I don't need anymore proof than I've seen myself. I lived in Rome for 6 weeks, partied like there was no tomorrow, ate and drank like an absolute pig, got less than 3 hours of sleep many nights....

...and lost 20 pounds.

If I don't watch what I eat like a hawk here in the US I immediately begin to puff.

lol sure you did

 

[IronWing]

Why are so many men fat?

'Cause your mom cooks a mean breakfast.