Obesity in America

<p>Okay I'm not saying that I'm super fit and can run a 4:00 min. mile, but seriously, obesity is just off the charts in America.</p>

<p>One thing I do when I go to the super market: The Fat Test....</p>

<p>Yes, The Fat Test
It is actually pretty easy: All you do is go through a super market and look in each aisle and see if there is a well...rather...obese person. It doesn't sound nice, but this was my observation.</p>

<p>OKay so I went through the local Wal-mart and did this....the results were staggering...almost all the aisles had obese individuals.</p>

<p>Now, I don't hate obese people or anything like that. I am actually proud of those individuals who are obese and are trying to lose weight. This was just my observation.</p>

<p>Try this and tell me what you see....</p>

<p>I've already noted the problem. But the insistence that everyone be thin only makes it worse.</p>

<p>I am embarassingly overweight. I used to be skin and bones. Literally. I was anorexic. I could survive on five raisins and a bowl of chicken broth per day for weeks at a time. I was so mentally messed up it wasn't funny. Then I snapped and have been binge eating for the past three months, gained 50 pounds back and am now struggling to keep myself from running to the cupboard to stuff myself until it hurts so badly I have to throw up.</p>

<p>Too graphic? Well, this thread invites it. About 30% of obese people have Binge Eating Disorder or are Compulsive Overeaters. Please be careful before you judge.</p>

<p>I don't understand why everyone doesn’t eat more vegetables. Vegetable is mostly water (up to 90%) and indigestible cellulose.</p>

<p>cuz vegetables suck.
if you have a pack of sweet gooey gushers and a hot cinnamin bun
next to some cut up raw squash and cauliflower ... what are you gonna choose? my brother read tkm's post and told me to write "pwn3d" toward sr6622 cuz he doesn't have an acct on this site and doesn't wanna get one but i thought that was kinda mean =p</p>

<p>...because vegetables dont taste as good as unhealthy food, and it's not as convenient to carry around. there's no wrapper to save it in, and people are too lazy to cut or prepare them.</p>

<p>tkm256, sorry to hear that. i hope it gets better for you. </p>

<p>ok this isn't the only reason for obesity, but i'm sure it contributes to the problem....american's don't have to walk anywhere. i never noticed this before until i went to paris and london for spring break. people there walk almost everywhere they go, or at least a fair amount. and i actually stood at a bsy intersection in paris with a friend and told him "no one here's is remotely overweight". and we stood there looking at people for 15 minutes and didn't see one person who was overwieght. the only time i really was in a vehicle in london or paris was on the bus tours. we walked everywhere else and took the subways. however, when i came to america, i noticed i never had to walk more than a couple feet to get where i was going since everyone seems to use their cars to get around since it's soo spread out in america (exceptions are new york). anyway, i trully believe that has SOMETHING to do with it. </p>

<p>also fast food is a definite factor, as is the food sold in the supermarket. </p>

<p>also, many people make the mistake of eating more whenever they feel hungry. the thing is, a lot of times the sensation of being hungry is from not being hydrated. next time you are hungry and you've already eaten a meal, drink a glass of water and you'll see the "hunger" will go away. however, you shouldn't ONLY drink water everytime you feel hungry. in other words, don't just drink water all day to lose weight and not feel hungry. that's not healthy.</p>

<p>coqui is right. "hunger" sometimes means u need to drink some water. I have about 5 water bottles by my comp cuz i drink so much of it.</p>

<p>not to be a snob, but soda and other junk no longer appeal to me. water is so much more thirst quenching. whenever i drink soda now, i always end up feeling thirsty 30 seconds later, so i stay away from it.</p>

<p>Food can sometimes be a substitute for some emotional or other issue in one's life, just like tobacco, alcohol and drugs. People will use food to take the pain away!</p>

<p>sarorah: what the hell was your brother trying to say to me?</p>

<p>I was hoping no one would take it the wrong, but who was I kidding, people did.....oh well</p>

<p>tkm256: if you do really have that problem...nothing against you....</p>

<p>Was it becuase I put "The Fat Test"?</p>

<p>Sorry, alright? I was wrong if I offended any one at all</p>

<p>I just made that observation while walking through the super market one time</p>

<p>So what's the point of it?</p>

<p>sr6622, it's okay. i see what you are trying to say.</p>

<p>i used to be a bit overweight. i've almost stopped drinking sodas (except and occasional coke zero... which tastes soooo good). and since i made myself stop drinking soda, i no longer crave them.</p>

<p>and another thing. i have started to run... and run. and i've also started playing tennis. i just thought i would like to try it one day, so i did and now i play habitually.</p>

<p>i stay away from fast food. seriously... like once every two months.</p>

<p>since my freshman year or so... i've lost nearly 40 pounds. i'm pretty happy with my weight, but mostly happy that i had enough will power to do it.</p>

<p>i know how hard it is, but if americans would just get the mentality they could easily slow the obesity problem.</p>

<p>YAY for tennis. i've been playing since i was ten. of course i play for competition and tournaments, but its still a great way to stay in shape if you don't want to necessarily play competitively. actually now that i think of it, that's mostly all the exercise i do. i dont just run or ever go to the gym (though i should to build some strength). i do do a lot of conditioning and sprints during my practices though, which last about 4 hours a day now since its the summer. during schools it was about 2 hours a day. </p>

<p>anyway, i highly recommend people play sports or run or something. if you find it to complicated to find people to play sports with and you can't motivate yourself to run for long periods of time and you dont want to join a gym , the ride a bike. i find it a lot more fun than running, though running is better.</p>

<p>I don't mean to sound crude, but when people blame it on bad genetics on obesity is what is a pet peeve of mine. Unless you were born lacking certain digestive enzymes, even if you are big boned, one can lose weight.</p>

<p>It's about perservance and determination.</p>

<p>I'd just like to point out that you the fat test will yield a higher percentage at walmart, than somewhere like costco or something. so there is some discrepency in this study. thank you.</p>

<p>As much of a problem as it is in our country, I would rather we have an obesity problem than a starvation problem.</p>

<p>Exercise is one thing that can stave off obesity. I was actually obese from age 7 to age 12. I used to be 5' 2" 140 pounds and now I'm a healthy 6 feet and 160 pounds. What basically happened was: I started swimming at age 11.</p>

<p>It's a proven fact that any type of sustained aerobic exercise can and will speed up your metabolism for up to an additional 12 hours even after you stop the exercise (the exact time may vary depending on the individual). During that time your body burns extra fat for energy and to replace the sugars that you spent exercising. Also, your body will transfer fat from places like your gut, legs, butt, etc. to your muscles. Last, more of the proteins that you eat will be used to repair the muscles used in exercising, so in essence you burn those calories from protein as well.</p>

<p>If you're not into sweating like a pig during and after exercise, you can always take walks. During a walk your body almost solely depends on fat for energy. Its not as good as aerobic exercise, but it can still get the job done.</p>

<p>Typically, the best exercise to slim down is running/jogging for at least half an hour. Other aerobics like cycling also work fairly well, but not as good as running. Swimming is a very good conditioning exercise, but it's only okay for weight loss.</p>

<p>Referring back to the study that the OP mentioned, I really think that unless someone is really in fact, morbidly obese, the labelling of someone as "overweight" or "obese" is purely subjective. An obsessive marathon runner with 2% body fat may look at someone with a slight gut and a wider butt to be obese, while the average Joe could look at that same person and say that he's only slightly overweight.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Referring back to the study that the OP mentioned, I really think that unless someone is really in fact, morbidly obese, the labelling of someone as "overweight" or "obese" is purely subjective. An obsessive marathon runner with 2% body fat may look at someone with a slight gut and a wider butt to be obese, while the average Joe could look at that same person and say that he's only slightly overweight.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>very true -- it is relative</p>

<p>however, it's not just the way people LOOK when they are obese, but the health problems that come from it. high blood pressure, cholesterol, heart problems, diabetes, respiratory problems, musculoskeletal problems... that's where the danger lies.</p>

<p>I would say exercise is the best option to lose weight.Too much too soon tho can result in a stroke or heart attack,in cases like these diabetes is then found or made active as most diseases like these are already dormant in our bodies.However,an-all-of-a-sudden diet with everything bad cut out at once can **** your systems up.So a little exercise to start then progressing to more as time goes on and to carry out a "weening" process with your diet will work great.Weening is not completely stopping what you eat but it is simply cut down by 10 maybe 20% every so many months hence,weening yourself off the bad food.Don't forget to prevent bindging replace what you give up with something healthy to start up.Example,if you give up 2 choco waffles a week,then eat 2 bananas....nice!And full of potassium.
Hope this helps xx</p>

<p>Woah sheez people....I was just saying to try it out at your local store....I was not considering any other things like family history, relative perspective,....but it is CC...so go on....</p>

<p>Britain is probably runner up as far as obiesity is concerned.It is mainly a growing problem now with juniors aged between 6 and 13.It is becoming popular and I'm just peaved that the government aren't doing much about it.They're simply leaving the responsibility to the teachers in schools but like it stands,teachers are not around before and after school or for the rest ofthe kids lives.Its a shame,obiesity is beyond being fat.Mental,emotional and physical issues alongside profound health matters are elements of the aftermath of being "big" so to speak.Aswell as currently being obiese.</p>