Why do people allow themselves to get fat?

With all the informaton about the severe effects of obesity, I have a hard time understanding why anyone woulf let themselves get fat. Why would someone want to put poison in there mouth? It makes no sense. Put down the fork and go out and exercize. Sorry but it has to be said. Listen to Michelle Obama. She's got her head on straight when it comes to this issue. For that I'm thankful. Fatties are FINALLY getting called out. Didn't use to be that way and look what happend.

• They've probably allowed themselves to get fat for the same reason you've allowed yourself to become an asshole.

• OP=body fascist.

  Anonymous

• Why do people smoke? Why do people drink alcohol? Why can't people stop smoking or drinking?

• Why do people engage in promiscuous sex and engage in analingus?

• The weekly fat troll thread is here. Why don't people automatically tip well? Why do people smoke? Why do only fraus have fibromyalgia? Why do autistic people exist? What about vegans? They have so many dietary restrictions! I love prepared frozen foods from the supermarket! What's your favorite junk food? Why do people bareback? I think Barak Obama is a fascist! Fundamentalist Christians ___________ (fill in the blank) Why do Jews Control Hollywood? Why do black people commit so much crime? What's Your Favorite White Trash First Name? Children ___________ (fill in blank) 100,000th Anderson Cooper Thread Lesbian Insult Jokes Ann Hathaway (fill in blank)

  Your%20Datalounge%20Weekly%20News

• OP has peanut allergies.

• I was a morbidly obese kid. Just under 6 feet tall and at my heaviest weighed in at about 350 lbs. Lost most of it in my late teens after I went away to college. I am now 50 years old and weigh 194 lbs. I was so powerless over what was happening to me ... too many depressing things happening in my life ... closeted, drunk dad, lots of family obligation. In my memory the weight piled on because I was exhausted and depressed. I had no control over any aspect of my life. Once I started calling the shots I moved toward a healthier lifestyle. I am totally responsible for the fact that I used to weigh over 300 lbs. My life. My responsibility. Losing the weight was my accomplishment. I learned a lot from that part of my life so I try not to regret it, but life is much better now. Sometimes when I see an overweight kid in a store I want to hold a mini intervention and tell them how much more they deserve and that they'll learn a lot from losing the weight. I don't do it but the temptation is almost as strong as the cravings I used to have for Hostess Twinkees.

• Some of us just as as perfect and awesome as you OP.

• R5: "What's Your Favorite White Trash First Name?" Tiffany

  Amber

• Why is OP retarded?

• If you can toss out the moralizing and name calling, I think it's a legitimate question. People are huge now compared to how they were 30 years ago. How does it happen? I know how you feel, r7, I feel for the heavy kids I see. No one has taught them the proper way to eat and they don't understand the rewards of fitness.

• Because we're soulless pieces of shit who deserve to die in agony, OP. Is that what you wanted?

• "Why do people allow themselves to get fat?." 1. I'm currently working 60 hours a week because I have an important position with my company and am working on a project that involves a great deal of effort. 2. Everything other weekend, I get on a plane and travel 1000 miles to visit my mother, who has dementia, and tend to her affairs, something I've been doing for the last 5 months. 3. When I do have a free minute, which isn't often I simply veg out and eat junk food. Any other questions?

• They like to eat. And drink. It gives them pleasure beyond just fueling the meat. As we get older we burn fewer calories so we should eat fewer calories, but many people don't adjust their diets. They will gain a pound or two a year from that alone. Others have food tied up with emotional needs. They eat when they are depressed, or bored or anxious. Their physical appearance is not a priority. The health costs are easy to ignore or address by making resolutions that are never followed.

• Why are overweight people called fat,greedy pigs and skinny people are given sympathy because they have an illness. Personally I think both fat and skinny people are ill. Once upon a time I was morbidly obese. It had happened to me without me even realising. I was working in a sedatary job for 12 - 15 hours per day, I worked through lunch breaks and my car journey to work took me 45 minutes. I would get home about 8.00 p.m. at night often. I would eat late at night and snack on chocolate bars to get some energy. During my working day I would not take any exercise or get any fresh air. This situation went on for about 10 years. God how I wish I could have got those 10 years back. I guess I am lucky to just be alive. I found myself a new job which allowed me quality of life. I joined a gym. I was really horrified when I first went to the gym because the state I had left myself get into. I hired a Personal Trainer to help with with toning up the excess fat that I lost. Now I have an active, wonderful and happy life. I never judge anyone but would like help people who were in that situation. I honestly think that if I hadn't changed I would have been dead by now.

  Former Fatty

• R11--The surge in obesity is largely attributable to the gradual but stunning increase in food serving sizes. Also, the food industry has learned a lot about how to engineer snack foods to be physically addictive, manipulating levels of sugar, salt and fat which have affects on brain chemistry.

• R5, you forgot to mention Heath Ledger.

• Same reason why people still smoke - they don't care. They will rationalize it by saying they enjoy it, they only live once, they'll die anyway, blah, blah.

• I should have said "snack foods and fast foods."

  R16

• Part of the problem is frankenfoods. People are eating a lot more partly because they're not getting the nutrients they need from their food. Meanwhile, agribusiness thrives on the profits it gets from producing vast quantities of edible foodlike substance.

• Why don't people like the OP stay in school long enough to spell correctly.

• R5 So true, and what it ultimately boils down to is: "Why are people who don't look like me, act like me, think like me and validate my every thought, word, deed and aesthetic allowed to live?"

• Why do people spend their whole adult lives in their mother's basement watching porn?

• A good place to start understanding the obesity epidemic is "Fast Food Nation," by Eric Schlosser, see link. Here are some of the things he points out. Until the Green Revolution, the United States produced the food we needed and some for export. When it became possible to produce much more at the same cost on the same acerage, we started producing all that we could. With more beef and corn came more marketing to get rid of the surplus. "Can I super-size that for you?" Our incomes have held steady since 1973. People work longer hours and often two or three jobs. We have less free time to cook and eat slowly with our families. We grab stuff on the run -- marketing to that hectic lifestyle led to McDonalds, drive-throughs, and unhealthy convenience foods. Bad eating habits get perpetuated the same way cigaret companies market to young people -- fast food places give toys and have play-stations. They have made entries into schools. McDonalds are all over the interstates and have become the defacto restrooms of choice for parents with children. We are bombarded with 24/7 advertising for crappy food. Before you say we should exercise more control, advertising does work or it wouldn't exist.

  http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Food-Nation-Dark-All-American/dp/0547750331/ref%3Dsr_1_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1359993556%26sr%3D8-1%26keywords%3Dfast+food+nation

• R7, your post brought tears to my eyes because your story is so much like mine, only I am a female and was sexually abused as well. Food brought me both comfort and self loathing for so many years. It wasn't until after college and therapy, that I realized that I didn't need to abuse myself anymore with binge eating. People's issues with food go much deeper than you realize, op. For some, including children, it is like a drug. Don't be so quick to judge.

  Former%20fattie%2C%20now%20a%20size%204%20

• R13: You sound like you think you are a martyr, but you come across as a bit stupid.

• Actually, R26, he sounds like a normal person. Not at all stupid.

• R27: It's not very bright to binge on fast food all the time just because you think your life is demanding. It's a lot smarter to eat healthy meals when you are under pressure.

• It makes me feel anonymous. It's my armor to protect me from people. It's my burden, my punishment for being a "bad" person. It's the way I show my anger to my parents who want me to be thin. It's my way of avoiding intimate relationships. It's my excuse so I can hide out at home. It's my excuse so I can play victim in any situation. These are MY top reasons, and there are more. Now realize that my food and weight were coping mechanisms to deal with life and my feelings because I didn't have any other tools, until OA.

  recovering%20overeater

• I'm fat and I know I didn't make a decision to become fat. It happens. Was skinny as a rail as a kid. Started working out in my 20s and was in fantastic shape all though my 30s. It all went to hell when I hit 40. Developed a back condition and live in constant pain. I'm no longer as active as I used to be. As a result, the weight started creeping on. When I have the rare periods, I'll do all I can to try and lose the weight. A couple of years ago I dropped 50 pounds and then my back went out and I spent months in physical therapy. All the weight came back on. I'd give anything to be living without the pain and being able to live the life I used to. So no, I did not decide to get fat. Go fuck yourself OP.

• Agree with r13 and r15. A lot of it has to do with the crazy hours/jobs people in the US are expected to work now. In Europe, you get time off to take a vacation and you're expected to GO on vacation. You get to go home at the end of the day and enjoy a meal with your family. You can talk a walk at lunch without someone screaming their lungs out at you for "slacking". In the US, if you don't eat at your desk and work every possible minute, you're a "slacker" and the first to get shit-canned. There's no time to "work out" or take a walk or hell, even SLEEP. You work on weekends and you're so fucking exhausted that you grab the first thing you can find and stuff it in your mouth (fast food, candy, energy drinks) so you can just keep working. Then your body gets addicted to the fat and sugar so even if you WANT to stop, it's really hard. Fucking bunch of bullshit and our health care costs are going to get even WORSE because of it.

  It%27s%20not%20the%20fatties%20-%20it%27s%20the%20corporations%21

• Because, OP, millions of years of evolution is totally at odds with your ill-informed view of the world. [blockquote]"In study after study, overweight and moderately obese patients with certain chronic diseases often live longer and fare better than normal-weight patients with the same ailments. The accumulation of evidence is inspiring some experts to re-examine long-held assumptions about the association between body fat and disease."[/blockquote]

  http://www.google.com/url%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D1%26cad%3Drja%26ved%3D0CDUQFjAA%26url%3Dhttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/health/research/more-data-suggests-fitness-matters-more-than-weight.html

• You can't stay up all night working unless you eat every couple hours.

• Surprised nobody has yet brought up high fructose corn syrup Much cheaper than sugar, this was introduced in the 1960s, and its increasing use coincides with the rise in obesity rates starting in about 1970 and continuing. The idea is still controversial, however. Last year I watched an hour-long Youtube video by a doctor, Robert Lustig, MD, who runs a clinic for obese children at UC San Francisco--he said that switching those children from HFCS-sweetened "juice" to either milk or water resulted in significant weight loss for all the kids in their clinic. It's probably still available online. The HFCS people publish studies (saw one in Nature just now) trying to counter this idea, but just look down the page at who pays them. Individuals are different in their genetic makeup as well and some people do inherit genes that make them prone to weight gain. Some people can eat anything and never gain weight. But you all knew that already.

• Maybe the better question is why are there so many shitheads in this world that rape, molest, and emotionally abuse people to where they have to hide themselves behind a wall of fat.

  former fatty

• Some of the overeating is due to emotional anxiety or depression. Genetics may also be a factor; probably less than one might think, though. The truth is that these days we get less outdoor activity. There are hundreds of cable channels and Xbox games to keep us inside. Some kids are now growing up knowing nothing about outdoor activity. We have a surfeit of fast-food restaurants serving enormous portions, and this has changed our eating patterns. (An aside: when I worked in downtown NYC in the 70s, you had two choices: the deli or the hotdog cart. Nutritionally, it wasn't good food, but it was hard to pig out on ham and cheese or a couple of hot dogs. Now there's a fast-food restaurant every 15 feet or so.) We are bombarded with advertising both for junk food of all kinds AND for diet products of all kinds. We have never had such an array of both fast-food and diet products to choose from. It is so messed up that the fast-food and diet businesses are both multibillion-dollar industries. Some of us can resist this advertising; many cannot. I don't have any kids, so I don't know if nutrition is routinely taught in the schools, but it should be. Yes, obesity is a significant public-health problem, but there is no point being snide toward people who are engaging in unhealthy eating patterns. That won't solve it.

• Let me know when Michelle Obama gets rid of that fat ass, OP. Until then, shutup!

• R32, a doctor friend said he hated it when he was presented with a thin older woman with pneumonia because he knew he was probably going to lose her. He said many or most of the diseases that hit older people are wasting diseases. If your body does not have the resources to fight them, you will lose. He said he would never advise an older patient who was 30-40 pounds over their so-called "right" weight to lose the weight.

• [quote]Part of the problem is frankenfoods. People are eating a lot more partly because they're not getting the nutrients they need from their food. There's no evidence for that.

• We self destruct when we feel unhappy and are too afraid to address or confront our inner turmoil. We distract us by eating too much / not enough / the wrong stuff, putting our noses in other people's business, take drugs, engage in dangerous activities (like bareback sex), become hoarders, etc.

• R39 works for ConAgra where they're working their GMO magic.

• Every single fucking time someone disagrees with the GMO obsessives they are accused of working for Monsanto or ConAgra. I'm just someone who appreciates evidence and honesty. If GMO foods offend your sensitivities , be honest and just say you find them creepy. Don't make up shit. There is no evidence that GMO foods are less nutritious. Even if this were true, lacking nutrients doesn't make you eat more. It makes you have vitamin deficiencies and get advice from doctors and nutritionists to eat different foods.

• My post that you objected to never mentioned GMO, R42. I think most agribusiness-produced food is not nutritional and most of it is trash. I totally agree with Michael Pollan when he describes that crap in the grocery store's freezers as edible foodlike substance. That's my opinion, I firmly believe it and I will stick to it.

• Carlessness to eat properly high in carbs and fat. And lack of exercise. Due to laziness.

• "Frankenfoods" refers to GMO, not to all mass-produced foods.

• R43--I certainly agree that engineered food has contributed to obesity. It is a point I made before you in R16.

• Why do people, like R26, allow themselves to be pompous, know-it-all, one-size-fits all assholes and blowhards?

• Sometimes obesity is related to a health issue like an underactive thyroid. Don't be such a prick.

• Why can't the world live up to the shining example of perfection that I set for it? If only they'd listen to me all their problems would disappear!

  OP

• I've never been overweight, but I have a lot of sympathy for those who are. Think about it - they have an addiction, just like those who are addicted to smoking/drinking/drugs, but unlike many of those types of addicts, their addiction causes very real physical side effects. Anyone can just look at them I know what their problem is, and instantaneously judge them for it without knowing anything else about them. (I know that other types of addictions can cause telltale physical signs too, but there are many functional alcoholics/drug addicts who successfully keep it under wraps and don't show physical signs. They aren't going to be instantly judged for what their issues are by any random person who sees them walking down the street.) Both my parents were overweight when I was a kid and I think that's part of why I have more sympathy for overweight people. My dad always drilled into my head how important it was to not get fat like him. He explained how he was often socially ostracized for it throughout his life and didn't want me to go through the same things.

• Some of our current ideas both about the prevalence and the dangers of obesity are well...overblown. I, for one, am sick of hearing about it. Everybody I know, fat and thin, is SO neurotic about food and weight now. It's a national hysteria. Tedious and unnecessary if you ask me.

  http://www.obesitymyths.com/

• Lots of reasons, OP. Some people are just lazy and don't give a shit. Others have hormonal problems, mobility issues, or are medicating with food. In any case, it happens gradually and maybe they don't realize they have a problem or are in denial until they have put on a significant amount of weight. That was the case for me. I kept telling myself I was just curvy until an embarrassing weight-related incident shook me into reality. Only then did I decide to do something about it.

• I spent my late teens and early twenties being anorexic. I fought that battle and was at a normal weight. I was doing well until the day came when I knew it was time to give up a terrible nicotine addiction, but something I was afraid of was blocking me. I came to realize that my fear was that I would gain weight and reawaken the eating disorder. I went to a therapist who helped me see that I can love myself no matter what I weigh. I quit smoking, gained some weight and discovered I actually liked my body with a little extra weight. I'm about 20 pounds over optimal weight according to charts, but I'll be damned if I try to lose a single pound. It's my body, I'm healthy and it's nobody's business but my own.

• R34, I can tell you why that study is inherently flawed. I also lost a large amount of weight (around 40 lbs) by switching from fruit juice to water and Crystal Light. The fruit juice that I drank was Martinelli's Apple Juice. It is 100% fruit juice and contains NO corn syrup. The truth is that fruit has a lot of natural sugar in it. When you eat the fruit whole it makes you full so you won't get fat from it since it keeps you from eating other things. However, drinking fruit juice gives you all that sugar without making you full, so it's very easy to get fat from drinking it regularly.

• [quote]There is no evidence that GMO foods are less nutritious. Even if this were true, lacking nutrients doesn't make you eat more. MSG stimulates appetite in a lot of people and the makers of food products that are high in MSG know this. I know that whenever I've eaten Chinese food, which is notoriously high in MSG, I'm always amazed to find myself hungry again an hour later no matter how much I ate. I'm not saying that this alone can MAKE people put more food into their mouths, but it's not totally inconsequential.

• I've started exercising portion control. I used to eat everything I'd prepare for myself in one sitting, now I save half of it as leftovers. It's counterproductive to skip meals, because eating raises your metabolism. It's especially important to eat breakfast. I'd probably have to exercise too to lose much weight, but I figure the small meal thing will at least keep me from being bloated. Over-eaters will eat until it hurts, at least I've stopped doing that, and hopefully I'll start losing a little weight too.

• From a sex and love standpoint it makes no difference in the sack. Fat people are not much worse or more disgusting than anybody else. It only really matters from a health perspective and fat people who are healthy should not be attacked.

• [quote] Think about it - they have an addiction, just like those who are addicted to smoking/drinking/drugs, R50 Think about this: do you have a peer reviewed scientific study that clearly demonstrates food is an addictive substance, and people become addicted to it as they do with drugs or alcohol? I am not aware of any such peer reviewed studies. If you do know of one, please post a link to it.

• Since both sexes gain weight as they age perhaps the offensiveness of fat people is one of having sex with an old person. The idea of having sex with a very old person is so gross that it resonates with fat people as well. But here's the problem: our culture has sexualized everything so when we see people we rate them on a scale of attractiveness. We shouldn't do that--we need to see people as human beings first.

• In my case, I sat at a computer desk for too many hours, daily. I neglected exercise because watching joggers go by my apartment window exhausted me. I was still in the oral stage of my existence. I put food or alcohol in my mouth which was a substitute for a pacifier. Then, one day I happened to see a wizened, old man sitting in a parking lot. I appealed to his wisdom as I asked him why was I so fat? He turned his beautiful, wrinkled face upwards toward me, and said.. "Because you're a douche!" I went home and had fried chicken and mashed potatoes, and...

  anonymous

• Read the Obesity Myth Edited excerpt in link below. It's time for people to stop being hysterically obsessed with fatness.

  http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CADA2.htm

  Typing%20fat

• Maybe some people allow themselves to get fat because they realize, no matter what your size-you are still going to die.

• r58, there is physical addiction, and psychological addiction. Pot for instance, isn't physically addicting at all, but people can become psychologically addicted to it. Obviously food isn't physically addicting, but people can become psychologically addicted to over-eating. You've never heard the term "comfort food?"

• Why do I pop Vicodin in my skinny body for a good time? Shit happens.

• [quote]Sorry but it has to be said. Thank you, OP for being so wise and brave to yank this issue from the shadows!

  Oh%2C%20brother...

• People who usually say things like "Sorry but it has to be said." are narcissists who think they're being so revelatory and ground-breaking.

• To piss you off, OP. Because you're that important. Oh, wait. No, you're not.

• [quote]Maybe some people allow themselves to get fat because they realize, no matter what your size-you are still going to die. Funny you mention that. Just had a long conversation with my sister, who wants us to have some kind of intervention because our father-- now 73 -- has put on a lot of weight in the last five or so years. My sister is somewhat hysterical about the matter "he's not taking care of himself! he can't live like this!", whereas I am more of the "well, exactly how much time are you looking to add to his life at this point?" mindset. I mean, why should we care if he doesn't want to take care of himself at 73? He's NEVER taken care of himself, and he still drinks too much and smokes; the only new bit is that his weight has now also become a pronounced problem. But honestly at this point, I hardly see much reason to care. In addition to likely being unsuccessful (is it even remotely possible to change the bad habits of a cranky old man?), I don't even care to. If his bad habits mean he will only be around two more years rather than 20, I have no issue with that. Neither does he.

• Why do people let themselves get poor?

• Getting poor is a lot cheaper and easier than getting fat.

• I agree with OP, a of people could be doing a lot better with maintaining their weight. But, I'll never understand DLers obsession with (presumably) OTHER people's obesity.

• I'll be honest - I'm depressed. I don't like my life nor do I like my circumstances. I'm trying to change but it isn't easy. I've lost about 10lbs and will keep plugging away until I'm happier about my fitness level. The depression is being dealt with medically.

• I was always in reasonable shape--then I was diagnosed with cancer--the treatment for which has sent me into menopause about 10 years earlier than is typical. The cancer I have is incureable--tho thankfully it hasn't done a whole lot...yet...so part of me is like who cares? I have a terminal illness--I'll eat whatever I want...but, at about 30 lbs beyond my usual weight I hate it. Goes to show you, you never know what is going on with someone....

• R72 and R73, feel better dears.

  xoxoxoxo

• Because (R71) if a group is looked down upon by society, they find it convenient to find a group that is even more looked down upon and judge them loudly and fiercely. And oh yes, fat people are much, much worse because they "can help" being outside society and do nothing about it. But shouldn't the point be that everyone should be allowed to be who they are whether they can help it or not? Lots of straight people are convinced that gay men can help being gay. Stop being sheep everybody. Stop buying into this useless moral panic about weight.

• Because food tastes so good.

• (R73) Those 30 extra pounds might be of help to you right now. People with long term illnesses survive longer and better if they have some fat reserves. I hope you can stop worrying about it.

• 77 replies, but this time I think R1 got it right.

• I would agree with r1 too.

• So I guess you think a person who is on medication, that helps their chronic pain & gains weight from the drug, without changing their eating habits, is letting themselves get fat, right OP

  Not%20always%20the%20case

• Shut up!

  Gov.%20Christie

• There are a lot of really good points & heartfelt stories in this thread. I think a major factor for obesity in poor people is how high calorie food is so much cheaper. Honey Boo Boo's family gets by on spending $100 a week for groceries for 4 people (or so says Mama June). I spend $100 on groceries for one person for a week and I'm sure that people who live in urban areas probably spend more. If you're poor and don't have access to fresh food, you're going to tend to eat stuff like pasta and breads and other high calorie foods. It's not say it's impossible to eat healthy, but I can easily understand how poor people become obese.

• Addiction. Ever heard of it?

• I guess it depends on your priorities. I worry about getting diabetes or having a heart attack or something but then I know many thin people who have gotten seriously ill. I love good food and get a lot of enjoyment from cooking and eating. I don't know that losing weight would change my life for the better in a major way. My career is going great and I'm financially secure. When I put myself out there, I don't have trouble getting sex. The last time I lost some weight,nobody even noticed.

• Too bad Michelle can't cure her ugly.

• People who have never been addicted to any particular behavior, can never really understand. But if you have ANY kind of addiction, you should be able to understand.

• Oppressed group, feeling powerless, picks on another oppressed group. Gay men have always attacked the obese and other minorities. It makes them feel powerful.

• Charles Durning lived to be 89. I don't think there is a lot to be said for living past 80...I mean, it's over.

• [quote]"there is physical addiction, and psychological addiction. Pot for instance, isn't physically addicting at all, but people can become psychologically addicted to it. Obviously food isn't physically addicting, but people can become psychologically addicted to over-eating. You've never heard the term "comfort food?""-R63 That analysis does to the word addiction what Nan Michiganwomyn's hysterical outbursts do to the word rape.

• Hey, R73. What's your cancer? When did you have treatment? And how are you coping?

  Old Dyke (giving a big hug)

• Ask Michelle Obama. Her arms look great and above the waist is good. Everything goes south below the waist and the high belts are deplorable that she wears. Sure she's tall, and what she's saying makes a lot of sense but she can't stick to it herself and that's what is pissing people off. Plus she drinks like a fish, both of them do.

• Michelle Obama is just a pear shaped woman! Doesn't mean she's out of shape. But the fact that someone would even look at her and think that she's out of shape shows the anorexic thinking that has taken over the country. And she partially has herself to blame. I'm sure she meant well with her End Childhood Obesity campaign but she (pun intended) fed into a national hysteria by using the word obesity. Why not have a Campaign for Healthy Kids or a Get Fit America for kids? If you focus a campaign around obesity than all it does is make everyone look around to see and judge who can be considered obese (which could be many people now since the introduction of the BMI, which is in itself does nothing to measure a person's level of fitness or health) If you focus a campaign on obesity than all it does is further stigmatize a group of kids who already are the last ones picked for team sports. Why do we focus so much on who is fat and who isn't? Why don't we recognize that nearly everyone could stand to get more exercise and eat some more vegetables? Why don't we help guide kids to do this in a way that doesn't make them feel like shit? It seems to me that if most people were concentrating on little improvements they could make, everyone would feel better. All this point and ducking of the finger doesn't accomplish much at all.

• Cream cheese... nom nom nom

  Helen%20Sharp

• I worked a 70 hour a week job. When I wasn't at work I was still working or sleeping. They literally built my life so I would never have to leave the building and when I would go home they'd give me a car. I'd eat super late. However, the tricky part wasn't that I was eating too much. I wasn't eating enough and at the wrong time. It DESTROYED my metabolism. Once I got laid off, I started eating three times a day and I lost 35 pounds in three months.

• All the fst people I know completely lie about how much they eat, eat the wrong things because they love how this or that tastes and are in complete denial about what a healthy weight and body size look like. They're also all really emotionally stunted. They're disgusting and should go extinct.

• There are more than 300 million people living in America, and of those, more than 200 million are overweight or obese. Yet, oddly, restaurants continue to bury their plates under oversized portions of rich, indulgent foods. The reason? It comes down to what nutritionists refer to as the "fixed stomach," the idea that people can eat only so much food before they explode. So by convincing us that bigger truly is better, restaurants can sell us more food — at higher prices — and trick us into eating ourselves into a calorie-induced coma. (Ever notice how you feel the need to nap after a holiday dinner? That’s your coma.) -- The "larger" or "jumbo" sized anything -- every thing that is super-sized creates a larger profit margin for the food outlet whether it is an upscale restaurant, McDonalds or the movie snack bar. That's why these places push people into those choices.

• I omitted the last and final paragraph, also the link: So check it out: According to a 2002 study, the average steak is 144 percent bigger than the USDA recommends. The average muffin is 233 percent bigger. That’s a lot of extra calories moving through your stomach. With portions like these, it’s no wonder we have a hard time staying slim. Take a look at some of the other oversized meals that are wedging themselves between you and the body

  http://www.today.com/id/38959769/site/todayshow/ns/today-today_health/t/stuffed-weighty-truth-behind-restaurant-portion-sizes/%23.UROcNVrBPWo

• Wheat belly

• In fat people restaurants, I split the meal with my dining partner or order a light appetizer for dinner. It's sad that Americans have become such manipulated twits.

• I don't think anyone consciously chooses to become obese. It's just so easy to go down that road today. Unhealthy food is cheaper and easier to obtain than healthy food. Portion sizes are crazy, there is no need for a "doggy bag" that contains half your meal. Super-size anything should not exist.

• R96, people who aren't gluttons actually stop eating when they are no longer hungry. You will not be thrown in jail for not eating everything on your plate.

• As for the poster who mentioned those fictional people who 'can eat anything' and never gain weight. The fact is they don't eat everything. HFCS is a monster I agree with that, but you still choose to ingest it.

• R91 is the resident racist pig...does she show up on every thread?

• [quote]I don't think anyone consciously chooses to become obese. Sorry, but that is not accurate. There are people -- sometimes referred to as "gainers" -- who purposely try and gain weight. Granted, it is a small subset of people, but one that certainly does exist.

• The problem is that Americans.... average Americans... don't know how to eat. Americans would never stand for it, but here in Italy, dinner could be a dish of plain rice dressed with olive oil, freshly grated parmesan, a few grindings of black pepper, a salad and a glass of red wine. I have been invited to lunches where the star of the meal was fresh string beans (or some other vegetable) that had been picked that morning. There is a small trattoria up in the hills near me that serves a dish of boiled white beans with their liquid over grilled bread. It is dressed with fine olive oil. People go crazy for it. People eat sardines, mackerel, anchovies. Anchovies on bread with sweet butter and a glass of white wine....yum. A dish of spaghetti dressed with olive oil, garlic and hot pepper. A dish of polenta dressed with a quick tomato sauce. A lunch of tomatoes and good mozzarella cheese, olive oil, bread and a glass of white wine. Invite someone to dinner and serve some good salumi, some good pecorino cheese, a salad of field greens and good wine and everyone is happy. And I'm not talking about just the wealthy or well educated...everyone eats this way. You can go to a truck-stop place and the guys are having a piece of grilled meat, a salad and a glass of wine. And people follow the seasons... no one is eating strawberries in January or broccoli in August. People also enjoy big elaborate dinners, but only now and then...everyday eating is light and simple.

• "There are more than 300 million people living in America, and of those, more than 200 million are overweight or obese" MYTH: These sort of statistics started when they started using the BMI as a standard. Read below: "Thirty-five million Americans went to sleep one night in 1998 at a government-approved weight and woke up "overweight" the next morning, thanks to a change in the government’s definition. That group includes currently "overweight" celebrities like Will Smith and Pierce Brosnan, as well as NBA stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. It even includes George W. Bush, considered the most fit president in U.S. history. "Overweight" had previously been defined as a BMI of 27.8 for men and 27.3 for women; in 1998 it was lowered to a BMI of 25 for both genders. The 1998 redefinition prompted a group of researchers to criticize the new threshold in The American Journal of Public Health. They wrote: "Current interpretations of the revised guidelines stigmatize too many people as overweight, fail to account for sex, race/ethnicity, age, and other differences; and ignore the serious health risks associated with low weight and efforts to maintain an unrealistically lean body mass … This seeming rush to lower the standard for overweight to such a level that 55% of American adults find themselves being declared overweight or obese raises serious concerns." A research letter published in JAMA (the journal of the American Medical Association) reported that 97 percent of players in the National Football League are technically overweight and more than 50 percent are obese. The NFL responded by calling the BMI "bogus," since it "doesn’t consider body muscle versus fat."

  http://www.obesitymyths.com/myth1.1.htm

• The BMI is BS, but people *are* heavier today than they were in the past. I contribute this to modern conveniences, including over-reliance on electronics, and "Frankenfood."

• R105 living in Italy and for a while Paris taught me to eat differently. You are so right about fresh beans being the star of a meal or a simple pasta. Many meals for me are salad and a little wine and a little something else. American Italians don't consider this a 'meal' they need to have multiple heavy courses with a ton of cheese and meat for it to count as dinner.

• I knew it, R106. You're Obesity Myth site is produced by The Center for Consumer Freedom. "The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), formerly the Guest Choice Network, is an American non-profit firm that lobbies on behalf of the fast food, meat, alcohol and tobacco industries." -Wikipedia I'm sure they have your best interests at heart. There's some reality in here but can tell this site is mostly bullshit by the way they dismiss the research.

• It doesn't matter what the BMI says or doesn't say... a soon as you land at an airport in the US or see American tourists around the world, it's pretty evident that the US has a gross weight problem. Look at group shoots of Americans from before the 1980s and note how much thinner people were. Look at the film Woodstock. Where are the fat kids?

• R10 the only reason they weren't fat is because they didn't have glands and thyroids and stuff that makes them fat.

  excuse%20for%20fat%20troll

• R104 you are right. I apologise, I should have said "anyone of sound mind". I've actually seen a movie about a lady who had a man feed her to death. It's definitely a mental illness of some sort.

• Food is addictive, especially the yum, 'unhealthy' kind. I've never been way fat (90 kilos is where I'm at right now and I haven't been much higher) but I do have quite a belly, and I'm trying to work at eating better but the temptation to eat yummy unhealthy food still gets the better of me. I think I'm on the right track though. I've kinda caught myself in time, but I can easily see how others would find it very tough to halt things if they were getting out of control. Things like depression, loneliness, anxiety and other personal issues would make it even tougher. And that's not even counting things like thyroid problems or other undiagnosed conditions. Basically, very insensitive OP. Shame on you.

  Aar.

• They like/find themselves addicted unhealthy foods and they don't care enough about staying thin. If that is important to you it is called a scale, pounds only sneak up if you let them. It isn't necessarily easy for me to stay at a healthy weight but I weigh myself once a week to make sure I am at where I want to be because personally I care about not being fat. No one gains 20 pounds over night.

• Fat is a choice, you make it one bite at a time.

• It's a hierarchy of needs kind of thing which is apparently too complicated for other people to understand or relate to.

• Similar to R39, I was a little chubby in grade school but, when my parents split up, I packed on the pounds. I was an emotional eater and still am. I lost the weight in HS as I discovered boys and stayed thin for a while until I started working days and going to college at night. I wasn't choosing the best foods late at night but, because I was doing alot of walking around campus, I stayed trim. Once I graduated however, I continued to eat the same way but without the exercise and the weight started adding up. I joined NutriSystem in the early 90s and lost about 25 lbs which put me at my ideal weight according to the charts. Started dating but wasn't ready for all the lying, cheating bastards I encountered. Once again, food became my friend. It never broke a date, cheated on me, didn't call when it said it would, etc. I subconciously let myself get heavy to keep the guys away. That worked until I met a guy who liked me with the extra weight. When he ended our relationship, it was emotionally devastating. I gained about 20 lbs when we broke up and have been trying to lose ALL of my extra weight. Last month,I joined WW for the 4th time in about 10 years and am committed to losing the weight this time. I am also re-discovering exercise; if I MUST watch TV between 6 and7 PM, its while I on the treadmill. I have to remind myself that the weight didn't come on overnight so losing 1-3 lbs a week is acceptable. I've also started dressing a little nicer as well. I used to enjoy shopping and getting dressed up to go to work. It may me feel pretty/beautiful. Casual Fridays was a nice change but, at least for me, casual dress M-F also contributed to my weight gain. Good Luck to those, like me, are trying to lose the weight/get healthier.

  The Big Girl With the Pretty Face

• 105 is spot on. I was born in NYC but my family came from Italy. That's how we ate dinner every night. Simple meals, when we had meat it was never the star of the show, it was just a side dish. We always ate lots of in season fruits and vegetables. I lived in the south for two years and gained 30 pounds!! I can't understand why people eat so much crap, it doesn't even taste good.

• When I was a kid in the 70s, Rerun from What's Happening was the fattest person I ever saw. Now looking at him, he looks like a regular guy.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARPJF_pb1Fc

• And you, r114, like/find yourself addicted to unhealthy, prejudicial judgments and you don't care enough about not being shallow, insensitive and mean. If that is important to you it is called assholery, which not only has snuck up on you, it's tackled you, and yet somehow, you find it very easy to be one because you personally care to be one. Perhaps you didn't became a jerk overnight, it may have happened over many years.

  Della

• I have a few theories. One is portion control. People eat too much, and restaurant portion sizes are to large. We're trained not to waste food, so finish everything we're served. Restaurants need to cut back on their portion sizes. But we're so used to oversized servings, a normal portion would look chintzy. Order a sandwich in a deli, and they put a half a pound of meat on it, slather it with 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise. Add two cups of fries or a half pound of potato salad and you have more than enough calories for the day. But chances are, this is one of three calorie-laden meals of the day, rounded out with several snacks throughout the day. People aren't even aware in some cases of how many calories they consume, or what constitutes a healthy serving size. You'd be better off with a quarter pounder and small fries from McDonalds or a slice of pizza than some of the "healthier" lunch options. Speaking of pizza, who the fuck came up with the concept of a personal pizza? A person should NOT eat a whole pizza. Ever. A slice or two is a meal. If you're still hungry after that, fill up on salad. Even if you cook at home, unless you buy all organic, food is bigger. Fruit is three times the size it was 30 years ago. A single chicken breast can feed two people. Second theory is that clothes are cheap. If you outgrow your pants, you can replace them. Chances are, you won't even change sizes - Gap, J Crew, etc all use vanity sizing. A 34 is like a 36, but Fatty McFatterson doesn't get it. Jeans have a bit of stretch in them now, so you can usually gain 10-15 lbs without feeling like your jeans are too tight. Third theory is that it is socially acceptable. As long as most people are fatter than you are, you are ok. I spent my 30s fat. Lost it in my early 40s.

• Yes, yes (R109) but the research is faulty. And most of the "experts" from the CDC are from the diet industry. I don't believe that there is some obesity epidemic going on. I believe that a minority people are obese the same way that a minority people have always been obese. Most everyone else is average with maybe a few pounds extra gained in middle age. Sure if you eat fast food and don't ever exercise, you are going to gain weight. But this is not what I see most people doing. Most people I know understand that portion size is too large in certain restaurants and they don't eat the whole thing. This includes fat people I know. Americans are from all kinds of genetic backgrounds and, as a result, there are a wide variety of body types here. So yeah, you might see some more large Americans than you would in countries where people are all of a certain genetic make, such as France or Japan. And because some people in the States do have a fast food diet, you might see more extreme obesity. But it still doesn't mean it's an epidemic or that the majority of people are obese. I wish everyone would calm down, do their best to stay fit and quit judging everyone else. Remember it is the diet industry's business to make you feel ashamed. And the diet industry is the industry that influences the CDC. If you don't like or believe that website, then check out The Obesity Myth written by Paul Campos.

  http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CADA2.htm

• God made farmers.

  http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/5a52180b80/forehead-tittaes-w-marion-cotillard%3Frel%3Dplayer%26playlist%3D307161

• R122 Paul Campos is not a doctor. He's a lawyer. He wrote a book telling fat people what they want to hear. His argument is dangerous. Here is an actual doctor responding to a recent article in the NYTimes about the same theory... that being obese is just as healthy as being of normal weight: "Morgan Spurlock didn't gain too much weight during "Supersize Me." However, his blood work and vitals were grotesquely awful by the end of his experiment. As a healthcare provider, unlike Mr. Campos, it is generally agreed that the lifestyle changes that result in weight loss in most people also greatly affect cholesterol, diabetes risk, blood pressure and cardiovascular risk. Changes in cholesterol and especially blood pressure are the real targets. No healthcare provider tells someone they need to lose 20 lbs if they have a BMI of 26 if their cholesterol and blood pressure are okay. And if someone has a normal BMI, but high blood pressure, we will advise lifestyle changes. Most people, being told it doesn't matter what their weight is, don't reach for the broccoli. They'll reach for the Big Mac. That's the central problem. Until we glamorize local food and vegetables, it'll get worse. And lastly, there is a limit to all this. There is a weight for all people at which it becomes dangerous and hazardous to their health. And more people than ever before are in that category." Another good response: "With modern medicine (and at enormous cost) we can keep unhealthy people alive, but their quality of life is another thing altogether. If I look at my mother-in-law and mother, both have lived long lives (they are 86 and 88). One is thin and active, one is overweight and sedentary. The thin one (and older one) still drives, travels, entertains guests, and lives in her own home, and almost never goes to the doctor. The overweight one lives (by necessity) in assisted living, moves extremely slowly, hasn't traveled since the 1990s, and has had more than 10 major medical procedures over the past 15 years and takes about $500/month of medication. It is a striking contrast. Probably activity level is as important as weight, but the two factors are correlated."

• [quote]I don't believe that there is some obesity epidemic going on. I believe that a minority people are obese the same way that a minority people have always been obese. Either you're blind or you never interact with the public.

• Yes, yes (R124) but I had seven fat great aunts and a grandmother who lived into their 90's and remained active and relatively healthy, considering their advanced ages. They never ate junk either, but did eat a pretty damn rich Eastern European cuisine. Campos never argues that being very obese is healthy, nor was he writing the book to tell people what they want to hear. He was trying to point out that much shoddy and biased science is being done to support the idea that obesity in itself is some killer epidemic in our nation. There is no solid scientific evidence to support that claim. Campos as a lawyer, well practiced in logical thinking and examining statistics was able to analyze the current data and point out the flaws and biases. Morgan Spurlock didn't gain too much weight during his experiment but he did suffer bad effects from the poor nutrition. So this means horrible nutrition has terrible affects. However, you can't turn around and claim everyone who is overweight/obese is eating badly. If that were the case, wouldn't Spurlock have gained a ton of weight? And if the conclusion then is that bad nutrition is so damaging, then why this mad focus on BMI and weight from the medical community? Why not recommend fitness and good nutrition at any size instead of scaring and shaming people solely because of weight? Most good doctors won't do this on an individual level but good god, look at the health media which is supported by doctors. I'm going on about this so much because I'm so sick of the way a few badly done studies mixed with deep fear and prejudice of fatness have led everyone to accept poor science and bad logic. And nobody is better off from this. Truly obese people feel castigated and everyone else is neurotic. It serves us nothing to keep looking through this anorexic/eating disordered lens. And no (R125) I don't see some obesity epidemic when I look around. Maybe it's because I'm looking in NYC but I don't see it.

• I'm overweight and an occasional smoker and I am the happiest I've ever been. Have the hunkiest, nicest boyfriend for the last 5 years. Gasp! Not all fatties are basement dwellers, a lot of us are out there enjoying life.

• Here's another actual doctor, David Katz (MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, founding director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center) writing about Paul Campos' theories. The article appeared in the HuffPost, it is entitled "Unscience":

  http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2013/01/07/unscience/%23more-56400

• R122 we read his cherry picked facts. However anyone who has ever been in an airport a mall or the midwest knows it is not a myth in the least.

• R127 We are glad you are happy, however the fact is you are fat and you stink. If being fat and carrying around the fetid odor of cigarettes makes you happy then by all means enjoy your happiness.

• Here's my own diet tip, R127: just eat your own excrement. I do it everyday and I'm slim and trim. And BTW, I'm a douchebag. Toodles, y'all.

  R130

• I had a meeting recently with a morbidly obese woman, curly red hair, cane, a mess really. She works for the Government. When she walked in I was like, oh brother, figures. Total misjudge. She was smart as a whip and totally in control and self confident in her intelligence and command of topic. I couldn't help but wonder, how does someone so good in her professional life, let it all go physically? What happens?

• I might be able to answer that, r132. If she was active when she was younger, an injury might have caused her to suddenly no longer be able to do things. She might have still been eating like an active person but the injury sidelined her. She wasn't able to exercise and put on weight. The excess weight aggravated the injury (this happens a lot - look at old football players) which made it even more difficult to move around. It gets into a quick downward spiral and depression sets in. I think it's especially hard on someone who used to be very active vs someone who has always been sedentary.

• I have a good friend who is about 75-100 lbs overweight. I think with him, it's a shield. Even in his 40s, he won't come out to his very conservative religious family. He goes to church with them still and I think being fat is his way of having no one question why he isn't in a relationship. I think it's ridiculous since there are plenty of overweight straight people who are married! Pisses me off more at his family who MUST know he is gay and won't ever let him off the hook and just tell him they know and don't care. He has never had a real relationship and has lots of skeevy sex on the downlow. I feel bad for him.

• (R129) What cherry picked facts are those? I don't think you've even read one bit of that book. Here are quotes from actual medical journals: "The data linking overweight and death, as well as the data showing the beneficial effects of weight loss, are limited, fragmentary, and often ambiguous. Most of the evidence is either indirect or derived from observational epidemiologic studies, many of which have serious methodologic flaws … In this age of political correctness, it seems that obese people can be criticized with impunity, because the critics are merely trying to help them. Some doctors take part in this blurring of prejudice and altruism by overstating the dangers of obesity and the redemptive powers of weight loss." —Editorial published in The New England Journal of Medicine, 1998 "Studies concluding that obesity is harmful are embraced, despite potential flaws. Studies concluding that obesity is [not harmful] are rejected or simply ignored, regardless of merit." —Journal of Obesity and Weight Regulation, 1987 "Someone needs to say the emperor has no clothes … [the conventional wisdom on obesity] is cultural bias, not science." —Dr. C. Wayne Callaway, Professor of Medicine, George Washington University, 1998 "These studies suggest that health problems frequently blamed on excess body weight are more likely caused by an unhealthy lifestyle rather than obesity itself." —Letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 1998 "Evidence that it is more dangerous to be thin than fat is either ignored or minimized in analyses that shape public policy toward weight loss … What evidence exists for an association between obesity and mortality or morbidity, is usually found not to apply to those with mild to moderate obesity." —Clinical Psychology Review, 1991 "Of all our convictions about health, the belief that obesity itself is a killer has no rival when it comes to the gap between conventional wisdom and scientific evidence … [T]he health risks of moderate obesity have been greatly overstated." —Dr. Glenn Gaesser, Professor of Exercise Physiology, University of Virginia, 1997 "The idea has been greatly oversold that the risk of dying prematurely or of having a heart attack is directly related to relative body weight." —University of Minnesota Professor Emeritus Ancel Keys, W.O. Atwater Memorial Lecture, 1980 "The establishment clings to the belief that weight causes disease and death just as people once insisted that the world was flat." —Dr. Susan Wooley, Professor Emerita, University of Cincinnati, 1998 "The major studies of obesity and mortality fail to show that overall obesity leads to greater risk." —Dr. Reubin Andres, National Institutes of Health, 1980 "[M]ost epidemiological studies reveal that aside from the extremes, BMI is not that strong a predictor of death rates." —QUEST, the official journal of the National Association for Kinesiology and Physical Education in Higher Education, 2004 "Many longitudinal cohort studies reported no direct relationship between body weight and mortality; in others a negative relationship was observed." —International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, 1996 "Increased body mass index was marginally associated with reduced risk of mortality … In many studies overall obesity—often expressed as an elevated body mass index—has not been significantly related to myocardial infarction." —British Medical Journal, 1993 "Studies on the relation between body weight and mortality have shown inconsistent results … [W]e did not find an increased mortality at the upper end of the BMI distribution." —Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 1997 "A report from the WHO-MONICA study that examined the correlation between changes in risk factors and coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence rates from 38 separate international populations found that increasing BMI trends were actually associated with declining CHD rates among men; among women, there was no association between changes in BMI and CHD." —JAMA, 2005

• I really think most of us are predestined to be a certain weight and that's it. You can control it somewhat with diet and exercise, but it's all about portion control and exercise after a certain age.

• a nation that considers shoving a plastic tray into the microwave "cooking" and drives the car to the mail box and back is full of obese people. color me schocked.

• It's not "allowing themselves to get fat." In some cases it's medical problems. In other cases it's bad diet eating the poisonous, fat-laden, sugary salt-laden food the supermarkets and fast food joints are readily pumping out. Plus, as we get older we naturally get fatter. There's entirely too much discrimination going on by angry, anti-social fucktards who compensate for their self-hate by attacking others' looks. If it ain't discriminating against someone for being gay, it's going after blacks, hispanics, and other races. It's a constant annoying predilection for cruelty to others by people who have sick minds. See the "fatty" for the person they are not the superficial surface so many shallow people do.

• Obesity in America is the result of a perfect storm: A vast American army of depressed, overworked people who feel bad about themselves and worried about their future. Lack of exercise and insanely long drive-time commutes. Food industry that relentlessly pushes addictive garbage. Lack of food boundaries. Food everywhere, eaten at any place or time. Lack of parental controls over food -- kids get hooked on bad habits and get fat young. Conflicting and shifting studies on food and exercise. Unrealistic body images as an alternative to obesity. Very sad, really. Oh, and Michelle Obama looks very good for an American 50-year-old woman. This "Michelle is fat" bullshit is coming from Rush Limbaugh dittoheads.

• R135 Please provide links to those quotes. Again: it's cherry picking, pulling quotes out of context... or perhaps making things up. Let's see the quotes as they appeared in the articles. Thanks in advance. (Re: importance of context: read the article linked at R128.)

• One primary justification for the public health recommendation that fat people should lose weight is the conventional belief that obesity “kills.” When former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop launched his Shape Up America! campaign in 1994, he asserted that obesity is responsible for approximately 300,000 deaths every year in the United States. Since then, this statistic has gone virtually unchallenged. A Lexis database search performed in September 2003 revealed mention of this statistic in nearly 2,400 news stories since 1998, and in more than 1,600 stories in the past two years alone. The major problem with this “obesity kills” statistic is the lack of compelling evidence to substantiate it. In fact, the two sources cited in its support have been misinterpreted. 16,17 One, published in 1993, does not even mention obesity as a contributing cause of death.16 The authors of this study attempted to rectify the continued misuse of their data in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine in 1999: “The figure you cite applies broadly to the combined effects of various ‘dietary factors and activity patterns that are too sedentary,’ not to the narrower effect of obesity alone. Indeed, given the contribution of multiple diet-related factors to problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and cancer, we noted explicitly the difficulty of sorting out the independent contribution of any one factor.”18 In the second source, published more recently in 1999, none of the studies used by the authors to generate estimates of annual deaths attributable to obesity adequately considered possible confounding factors, such as fitness levels, diet and dieting history, weight fluctuation, use of weight loss drugs, and less than adequate access to health care, to mention a few.17 The authors assumed that, after controlling for age, sex, and smoking, “all excess mortality in obese people is due to their adiposity.” The authors neglected to discuss the possibility that other factors, such as those mentioned above, could have explained some, or all, of the excess mortality in obese persons

  From%20The%20Harvard%20Health%20Policy%20Review.

• To date, no published report on the alleged annual death toll attributable to obesity has satisfactorily eliminated the possibility that the higher death rate observed in obese men and women is, instead, due to one or more possible contributing factors, such as those mentioned above, that are prevalent in this population. This is not to say that obesity is entirely benign, or that body weight is unimportant to health. Certainly, at the extremes – both very high and very low – body weight may adversely impact health. However, for the majority of Americans closer to the middle of the height-and-weight bell-curve, body weight itself may not be as important to health as commonly believed.13,32,33

  Dr%20Glenn%20Gaessner%20Harvard%20Health%20Policy%20Review%20Fall%202003

• So a ten year old article finishes with: "Certainly, at the extremes – both very high and very low – body weight may adversely impact health. " Duh. And: "However, for the majority of Americans closer to the middle of the height-and-weight bell-curve...." Of course in the intervening 10 years, average weight has risen. So really what does any of this mean in 2013? None of this by the way, even touches on childhood obesity... a cruel epidemic in itself:

  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57423896/type-2-diabetes-epidemic-among-u.s-kids-worsens/

• [quote]I really think most of us are predestined to be a certain weight and that's it It is easy for some people to be a normal weight. Some people it is a struggle because they naturally want to eat more and it is harder for them to resist unhealthy foods. However no one is predestined to be any weight. Put them on an island with limited food and everyone will be thin, just basic biology. But yes, it is obviously harder for some people for genetic reasons and behavioral reasons.

• I work in a building of about 200 people, and so many of them are obese (yes, they are state office workers). And I wonder, why would you want to live this life? They even installed a trail around the property to encourage people to walk at lunch, but they just have Donato's deliver and sit at their desks.

• (R143) For Chrissakes, you're asking me to go back and provide the full articles for quotes taken from medical and science journals and then you're throwing reports from CBS News back at me as a response? CBS, who is likely to be reporting the opposite thing next year, if that's the way the popular tide turns? And what does that article I cited mean in 2013? It means what it meant then, that there isn't a real standard for measuring what can be considered overweight or obese besides BMI numbers and those numbers have been manipulated several times over now. In other words, you can be average today and overweight tomorrow according to the new shifting of the BMI number. So how does that equate to an epidemic? And the reason I quoted a ten year article is because that's when this idea about some epidemic took hold and has never left. This article is a response to that. I don't see we gotten much new information since then that is based on actual epidemiological study and not emotional conjecture based on questionable insurance statistics. The point is that nobody actually knows a whole lot about how "fat" America is when nobody can agree on what "fat" is. And nobody really knows how much weight affects health and at which point at which it actually becomes a causative factor in the development of diseases, if it actually does in itself.(Or is the weight a symptom of other physiological or behavioral factors that are the real problem? Correlation is not causation. And what may seem like just common sense might seem that way because we have been conditioned to view it that way) Also nobody really understands extreme obesity either. The body is a complicated machine. Sure people love to go on about fast food and supersize portions, but there are obese people who don't eat that kind of stuff as well as skinny people who do. So what does that mean? What pisses me off is that we can't get any good answers about any of this as long as everyone is talking in such hysterical, Chicken Little terms and using the idea of the "fat disease" as some metaphor for all their greatest fears about living in a consumer society.

• I get upset when I see one of my eight packs obscured. That is when I go totally no-carb.

• I agree completely with R100. I grew up in the 1970s and going to McDonald's was a big deal. But there weren't many McDonald's (or other fast food places) so that helped. There always was the cookie aisle, but now sugar is in most "regular" food. Trader Joe's has a lot of sugar in many products you wouldn't suspect. I'm not fat, but I read labels; I'm often surprised at the number of "servings" and sugar & HFCS in items I would not think to assume have a lot. R119, I'm shocked. I thought the same as you.

• As someone said it's a perfect storm. Chemical and additive laden food, sugar in EVERYTHING, dependence of cars and parents overworked and busy. They are also terrified to let little Colton and Zoe outside to play. I'm also one who believes that growth hormones given to animals is responsible for much of the current young fatties with tits developing very young. Of course, I was at the store the other day and one father with a kid was stocking up on sugary cereals, chips, that nasty yogurt geared for kids which is probably all sugar and other crap. I'm continually shocked at how fat young people are. Girls in high school look like they are young matrons with three kids already with thunder thighs, fat asses and muffin tops.

• Because food is addictive (studies have found this as well - sugar, salt and fat - along with the comforting effects of carbs) and there's plenty of it available. Humans are programmed to eat plenty in times of rest and when it's available. Not everyone is susceptible to this though. But many are.

• Sometimes people don't notice their weight creeping upward. But if it prevents them from dating OP, they should celebrate it.

• [/quote]Girls in high school look like they are young matrons with three kids already with thunder thighs, fat asses and muffin tops. But the boys are all fit and lean as can be, right?

• No, but there seems to be more fat girls than boys. Don't get me wrong there are some boy fatties too.

• I disagree about there being more fat girls than boys. I actually see more girls than boys who are really lean and fit. Maybe it's because they're under more cultural pressure to be that way, or that the current female physical ideal (as skinny as possible without being scary-looking, fake boobs optional) is easier to maintain than the male ideal, which involves being thin AND having all these elaborately sculpted muscles.

• Why? (going back to OP): Look at the subject of a thread that just now was right next to yours: "McDonald's Despite the fact that it's bad for you, I can't help but like it. I especially like McChicken burgers. Yum." Enjoy, fattie! You will die of heart disease.

• I lost one of my ab slabs/six packs. I am cutting carbs right away!