Who to BLAME for obesity?

[ldy_solana]

This is one of the many reasons why I love Cathe. She doesn't sell her product by claiming I'll lose x pounds and x inches by Friday or something equally ridiculous.

ITA. and it seems every other infomercial seems to be "the secret" which is when the light bulb went off in my head and saw through the bull. even now i still get sucked in by the glory of the program but quickly realizing the only way i am going to get those results is my food choices and quite frankly i would be happy if i lost my belly pooch i am getting done with this perfect body issue and can't have certain foods restriction to get the "perfect body". my life will not be any easier if i had a six pack. it would be easier with a healthier body fat ratio but having the ripped body doesn't make it easier for me just healthy would so i will go with that,healthy!!

kassia

 

[carres1973]

One question that I have, is how is it that this issue is, by and large, an issue in America? You just don't see other countries complaining about these same problems. People plagued by food. Yet that's one of the top issues discussed in America. I'm not suggesting that obese people do not exist outside of the US. But it's not the plague and drain on healthcare that it is here. Why is that?

Other countries have the same access to fast food. I've been to many, believe me, it's there. They have the same convenience stores with the same snacks available. And many of them (France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, etc...) have daily diets that begin and end with white starches and butter, etc...

How did we get like this?

I don't think it is only an American issue. I lived in Germany for 6 years and there were plenty of people there who were trying to lose weight or had weight issues. I didn't see as many commercials for weight loss products. Is it an American obsession to be thin? I don't think so but not really sure.

One thing I do know is that Americans shop different than many other countries. We have HUGE refrigerators and freezers and shop for a week or two at a time. In Germany, most people bought fresh items for the day. Did they eat health all the time? Not unless you consider breaded veal, potatoes, fries, and cream on every vegetable good for you. We also don't have the great public transportation systems most industrialized nations have. I used to walk to the train station, take the train into downtown Frankfurt, and walk for hours. Here, I have to take two or three buses to get downtown.

Your statement that it is a "plague and drain on healthcare" is false. There is a distinct difference between overweight, obese, and morbidly obese. However, all three of these categories get lumped together when talking about the cost to healthcare. Here is a personal (to me) example: I work in an office with 8 women. 4 of us are either categorized by BMI as overweight, obese, or morbidly obese. However, NONE of the 4 of us have health issues that are commonly attributed to weight. No diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. AND if I were to get high blood pressue, I would actually attribute it to my job more than my weight!

Carrie

 

[sparrow13]

I think part of the problem in the US is that we want to compartmentalize (spelling?) the issue. We give people sound-bite health advice instead of encouraging them to live a healthy LIFE, not just how to prepare a low-cal meal. To me this means not only teaching people about calories in/calories out but also educating them on the crap quality of our foods, even so-called healthy foods. I truly believe if we encouraged the population to eat moderate amounts of REAL food, food that came from the ground or had a mother, we'd see a huge downturn in obesity.

That said, at the end of the day it comes down to the individual and his or her brain. Science is showing that our ingrained habits are actually that, ingrained in our brains via neural pathways, which makes it extremely difficult to lose weight, especially for obese persons. Unfortunately though the only way to create alternative neural pathways is to take on new habits. Easier said than done of course. My little bro went from almost 300 lbs to a svelte and buff 165. The hardest thing for him? Breaking the morning habit of popping into "his" bakery on the way to work for 2 chocolate croissants and a giant latte. He told me it took almost a month of fighting that urge and choosing a different walking route before he began to feel like he wasn't white-knuckling his way work every morning.

 

[BuffyR]

I recently finished reading "The End of of Overeating" by David A. Kessler, MD, former commissioner of the FDA. It covers all of the issues ranted about here and more. I found it interesting and uniquely informative.

I heard an interview with this Dr./Author on NPR several months ago. Very interesting stuff. I think I recall hims saying that there are certain chemicals (maybe?) added to food that makes us crave it more. Kind of like chemicals added to tobacco to make it more addictive. Is that right? I have to put that in my ever-growing list of stuff to read.

 

[sparrow13]

I heard an interview with this Dr./Author on NPR several months ago. Very interesting stuff. I think I recall hims saying that there are certain chemicals (maybe?) added to food that makes us crave it more. Kind of like chemicals added to tobacco to make it more addictive. Is that right? I have to put that in my ever-growing list of stuff to read.

One of the points he makes is that humans are hard-wired to desire salt, sugar and fat. So many food companies will provide a combination of all three in their products, simply because it's almost impossible for humans to resist or break the addiction to these, chemically speaking.

 

[carres1973]

Not only that but the food industry strives to find just the right mix of sugar and fat to keep us "hooked." It is quite a racket!

Carrie

 

[Tamrahan]

Tami, what the heck is that line drawing in your signature?

I think anyone who has a signature line has one automatically put in separating your post from your signature line. Just a guess.
You have one too.

 

[BuffyR]

One of the points he makes is that humans are hard-wired to desire salt, sugar and fat. So many food companies will provide a combination of all three in their products, simply because it's almost impossible for humans to resist or break the addiction to these, chemically speaking.

Thanks for the info. Another reason to avoid processed food.

 

[EricaH]

Something else I thought of....years ago, I was anorexic and started to lose control and began binging on refined foods - granola bars, puffed rice, cereal, etc. I was upset about this loss of control and went to my doctor and was prescribed Prozac. The Prozac stopped the cravings very quickly and I didn't have that urge to eat those kinds of food anymore. Eventually, the effects of the Prozac did wear off, but that made me believe that my cravings were not all about willpower or coping - there was a biological aspect to them and my body wanted the serotinin that the Prozac and carbs provided.

Erica

 

[bjbowers]

I think anyone who has a signature line has one automatically put in separating your post from your signature line. Just a guess.
You have one too.

It's an angel, isn't it? I thought that's what she was asking about anyway.

 

[Liann]

It's an angel, isn't it? I thought that's what she was asking about anyway.

I think it's a doggy because it says "ruff" underneath it.

 

[bjbowers]

I think it's a doggy because it says "ruff" underneath it.

Oh yeah! Now I see it.

 

[DirtDiva]

I personally choose to blame these two men.

I laughed when I saw this, here's my version below