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Obesity and Overweight Prevalence for the U.S

cdc.gov

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Re: Obesity and Overweight Prevalence for the U.S

#101

Post by nickcoury »

pascalxus wrote: post #31
izietto wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm italian and I visited united states a couple of months ago. In my opinion the biggest problem is that you don't have decent food at affordable prices. Healthy food has nonsensical high prices and if you want something at a human price you don't have much choice except fast food. What a shame.

That's partly because much of the government subsides go towards subsidizing corn, ending up in high fructose corn syrup and all the junk food most people consume. It's quite sad, that everyone is so okay with this. Personally, I try to eat as healthy as possible and use my nutrient finder ( https://kale.world/c ) to find high nutrient, low calorie foods, which end up being mostly beans, vegetables and fruits.

Agreed, the subsidized corn is also used as cheap feed for low quality meat. On the flip side fruits and vegetables receive the lowest subsidies. Plus the lower cost of unhealthy foods decreases demand for relatively more expensive healthy foods, lowering demand which drives prices up even higher. Tough to keep perishable foods when people don’t buy them as quickly. It’s a self reinforcing cycle to the bottom.

Re: Obesity and Overweight Prevalence for the U.S

#102

Post by bunderbunder »

protonimitate wrote: post #45
3pt14159 wrote: post #8

This is directly related to the way American cities are designed. It’s a car centric culture where big houses are far away from each other. That means driving everywhere. That means long commutes. That means TV over communal activity. That means big grocery runs with shelf stable food. Then pile on hyper sweet drinks and nutritional misinformation campaigns, and of course Americans are going to be overweight. The wor…

While I agree American cities don't promote the most healthy lifestyles, it's not like city-dwelers are less healthy or more obese on average than those who live in the country. You're spot on with your second paragraph though. There is a lot of misinformation about nutrition, dieting, and food in general, and it's all aimed at one goal: turning a profit. Sugar is one of the major culprits, but over eating in general…

It really depends on the city. A lot of the "urban/rural" statistics are somewhat clouded by the fact that most American cities aren't really walkable outside of a central business district that nobody really lives in, and that its residents probably have to drive out of to get to such basic places as a grocery store.

The correlation looks a lot firmer when you look at overweight rates compared to population density or walkability instead of trying to just coarsely bucket it into "urban/suburban/rural".

Re: Obesity and Overweight Prevalence for the U.S

#105

Post by jacquesm »

TheAdamAndChe wrote: post #72
jacquesm wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a combination of: - food quantity - genetics - physical activity or lack thereof - food quality and make-up (plant / animal for instance) - and an addictive element thrown in for some individuals

I'm curious, what makes you say genetics is an important factor? And what would make our genes change en masse in the last 50 years?

Our genes did not change but some people are simply more predisposed to obesity than others on account of their genetic heritage.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2787002/

Re: Obesity and Overweight Prevalence for the U.S

#106

Post by Joeri »

CharlesMerriam2 wrote: post #11

Methinks that if 70% of you population is affected, something is effecting them. It's not just "low will power" even if that explanation makes 30% of people smug.

It's the food. I've visited the U.S. several times, and every time I'm shocked by how hard it is to find affordable healthy food. Even so called "healthy" options like salads are often loaded with egg yolks, fatty dressings, bacon bits and all kinds of unhealthy ingredients. Portion size is also way off.

Re: Obesity and Overweight Prevalence for the U.S

#107

Post by _dark_matter_ »

bogomipz wrote: post #97
3pt14159 wrote: post #8

This is directly related to the way American cities are designed. It’s a car centric culture where big houses are far away from each other. That means driving everywhere. That means long commutes. That means TV over communal activity. That means big grocery runs with shelf stable food. Then pile on hyper sweet drinks and nutritional misinformation campaigns, and of course Americans are going to be overweight. The wor…

>"This is directly related to the way American cities are designed. It’s a car centric culture where big houses are far away from each other." New York City is perhaps one of the most walkable cities in the world. It's also a place where you absolutely do not need a car and the majority of residents don't have a car. Yet 34% or New Yorkers are overweight and 22% are obese.[1] The BMI statistic for the EU are none too…

I think you may have proven the point. That's less than half the general population.

Re: Obesity and Overweight Prevalence for the U.S

#108

Post by minikites »

adrr wrote: post #61
izietto wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm italian and I visited united states a couple of months ago. In my opinion the biggest problem is that you don't have decent food at affordable prices. Healthy food has nonsensical high prices and if you want something at a human price you don't have much choice except fast food. What a shame.

Healthy food isn't expensive. You can buy chicken breast for $3 to $5 a pound. You can buy a head of lettuce for $2. Oatmeal is dirt cheap. Most vegetables are less than $3 a pound.

Vegetables have very few calories. Look at the cost per calorie: http://www.mymoneyblog.com/what-does-200-calories-cost-the-e...

Broccoli is $2.93 per 200 Calories. Doritos are 39 cents per 200 calories. That's the issue.

Re: Obesity and Overweight Prevalence for the U.S

#109

Post by jacquesm »

adrr wrote: post #84
8ytecoder wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Diet is more complicated than that. I lost a significant amount by being on a low-carb diet. I didn't really try to control the portion size - though that may have happened naturally. What you eat does matter.

High fat and high protein provides high satiation which prevents the over consumption of calories. I've also lost significant weight on a keto diet. I've also done it with intermittent fasting and eating anything but keeping my calories below my required calorie intake.

You can't extrapolate to the population at large based on what works for you.

Re: Obesity and Overweight Prevalence for the U.S

#110

Post by danharaj »

adrr wrote: post #61
izietto wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm italian and I visited united states a couple of months ago. In my opinion the biggest problem is that you don't have decent food at affordable prices. Healthy food has nonsensical high prices and if you want something at a human price you don't have much choice except fast food. What a shame.

Healthy food isn't expensive. You can buy chicken breast for $3 to $5 a pound. You can buy a head of lettuce for $2. Oatmeal is dirt cheap. Most vegetables are less than $3 a pound.

If you're buying non-frozen leafy greens that have been sitting around before getting sold a great deal of nutritional content has degraded and you can definitely taste it.

Vegetables aren't subsidized the same way corn is.

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