Obesity and the Overweight

Oooh boy, I feel like I'm about to light up a powder keg with this topic, just knowing how this sort of thing goes down most of the time, but I feel like it's worth a shot. I will save my full opinion until this thread gains some momentum, to avoid polarizing it too early or shifting the argument unfairly towards one side or the other simply because that's how the tone of the thread started out and not because one side might have a more valid point than the other.

It's no secret that in America, along with most of the Western world, is experiencing a trend towards an increasingly overweight population. People all over the world are getting fatter and fatter, and while the trend does seem to be slowing down, it shows no signs of reversing itself in the near future. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, this is a huge problem. It means higher health care costs, more waste, and an increasingly unhealthy population in general.

Now, recently, more and more people have begun to form or join 'fat acceptance' groups, arguing that people should be happy about their body image and should be accepted even if they are overweight, and the movement is growing larger and larger. Recently, especially in the last 5 years, a form of this has spread to Hollywood and the Media in general, which is why shows like this. Are begining to become more and more prevalent.

What is your take on this whole issue? It is fine if you have strong feelings on one side or the other, but please refrain from being too insulting and avoid flaming and other personal attacks.

This show is gross..but normal for the mainstream crowd, but I would be lying if I said the sheer amount of up front "people will still love you despite being fate" message is just low...even for the political correct/ tolerance crowds. You'll notice this with all-most, better not generalize or I'll get flamed-issues in society which should most likely be shamed-within moderation of course. I am not advocating shouting at fat people as they walk down the street or anything in that nature-Example, the rising numbers of single women-plus the rising number of fat girls in countries produce shows like this, sex and the city-young girls who wasted all their attractive years and still managed to get 10: AKA really hot, model like guys-oh and look..fat chicks, very fat chicks with waaaay more confidence in themselves than they should have getting...model/high value guys. Who saw that coming!?...I mean I didn't..ok, I'll stop being sarcastic now. Anyway, it all a pattern. When the media plays to crowd it means there are starting to become some of the main consumer, sex and the city-old chicks spending money to look young and hot, of course it dosenot work(normally)-fat chicks
-not only do they buy food, lots and lots of food but they buy make up, dresses too if they believe this shows message, which is you can still be able to attract great guys despite being fat-The worst part is girls, the young, stupid but attractive ones will get brain washed by this bull and ether waste their years or thinks it "normal" and..."accepted" to be 90 kilos as a female.The world is vain..'nuff said.


I used to be fat, not as fat as that girl but I can safely say that I was way below standard health for my age, I am skinny now just so you know. Fat people normally become fat in the forced fed knowledge that their personality matters and/or there is someone out there for them despite their rolls of fleshly pillows, now this wouldn't be enough on it's to make someone fat, of course it wouldn't but now with women and men both now "equal" everyone battling for the jobs, if everyone at work, who's feeding the kids that healthy home cooked brew and stew? No one that's who. Behold, I bestow upon ye' the fast food era, a glorious age where the working women and men can forsake putting extra energy in the kitchen and keeping their little spawns of lust happy with a £2.99p happy meal filled with all those potatoes paste, cereal burgers and sugar loaded soda drinks for the growing child.

You must realize that as society has recently changed and still trying to find it's balance, things will only get worse. Especially for America, not just in terms of fat but in everything. Law, crime rates and general happiness among the people. This all related to feminism-I'm not going to go into a rant about feminism as that's not the topic-but it's partially linked due to it was a very big-nay, massive moment in history that appeared only a short time ago. Society is attempting to adapt but before it changed everything we've seem to have not accounted all the things that may transpire from said change.

If you have people who are fat that you personally know and of course arn't mentally unstable, do what we all must do for the sake of well being for those we care about. Walk up to him-her and say simply "You're fat..."then tell that newly announced fat person "Get you're running shoes on, I'm going to jog with you every-insert day here-"

My personal opinion on fat people, me. Personally would be this, depending on gender. Girl "You are fat, I mean...you shouldn't be that fat. We both know you hopefully want to attain a mate and having more waves of grease going down you're blubber won't inspire them to get horny.."

Boy -insert endless hazing jokes about person weight here-

Yes, I am aware that I appear like a jerk, but I am just a extremely honest person, most of the time too honest for my good. I can honestly say, I am a real villian, not all the time but I can be. Just like right now. But in truth, I understand what it is like to be fat/unattractive and such. I've been the lowest priced piece of meat in the market before and to be honest, the best way to remedy this is cold, hard, in you're face truth-sometimes this may involve whole discussions to make them understand-if they want to change they will, if they don't, then you tried.


P.S: I want to travel the world, my freinds agreed to come but I've always been a bit shifty about america with the rise of political pampering and correctist attitude in the rise in countries around the anglosphere. Are you from it? Mind telling me if I am just being over protective of me/my friends or not. From you're uknown friend, Statement.

In reply to your 'p.s.' yeah America has some political problems right now, but if you're a tourist it's not as though we're going to seek out and destroy you...

Obesity is a rising problem and ladled with sickness and the whatnot's, but also being underweight is a problem as it causes osteoporosis, you can't go to the bathroom correctly which causes hemorrhages, if you are a girl you will not have your period and can possibly become anemic. You have to find a balance that is healthy for your body.
You cannot say ohh look I am skinny and so lovable because of it, or please look past my obesity and love me.
What people have to understand is that a balance of a healthy mind and a healthy body is best. If you do not have a healthy body you cannot possibly have a healthy mind. I am not saying you are crazy or delusional or on the brink of suicide, but that your self esteem is lower than it should be.

This really should not be about what other people say or think or tell you. You should change because you want to, not because you have someone like the previous poster saying that hey you are fat lets go running.
Yes help from another person helps, but ti should come out of you.
And please whoever says that personality doesn't matter is just silly.
I rather have a fat boyfriend than a mean/jerk/ass. A fat person cna change an ass was born and will die like that.
Well that is my opinion...

Katharos wrote:This really should not be about what other people say or think or tell you. You should change because you want to, not because you have someone like the previous poster saying that hey you are fat lets go running.
Yes help from another person helps, but ti should come out of you.
And please whoever says that personality doesn't matter is just silly.
I rather have a fat boyfriend than a mean/jerk/ass. A fat person can change an ass was born and will die like that.
Well that is my opinion...

I said it's a vain world, not that personality doesn't matter. but you get my point, you can have a great personality but you'll still get knocked off by the handsome crowd.Note: Like I said, is not mentally unstable, most mentally stable people want to be healthy to some degree. of course, I could of been going on a leg and mistaking quirky-typical flaws as "unhealthy" behavior-I typed it all up in the moment so it would be true and not filtered.

Katharos wrote:
You cannot say ohh look I am skinny and so lovable because of it, or please look past my obesity and love me.
What people have to understand is that a balance of a healthy mind and a healthy body is best. If you do not have a healthy body you cannot possibly have a healthy mind. I am not saying you are crazy or delusional or on the brink of suicide, but that your self esteem is lower than it should be.
[/qoute]

Exactly my point! How can someone else come to love you if you can't even take the time out to love yourself? One person can only give out the love of one person, not two. He/she isn't suddenly going to love you as themselve and for your self. Its not possible.

Some fat people don't understand the damage they are doing, especially if their young, it's not about force it's about getting someone you love out of the realm of gluttony.That "change because you want to" preach is a fairytale. You have to have something to change for...when is it not for someone else, even if it not at the time their going to realize "Hey, boys/girls/mum/ectr will like me more skinner" and get even more motivated. Everyone affected by words...everyone, no exceptions. How they affect you is up to you.

Honesty is needed, whether they take the chance to change is up to them you can't evoke change, change is constant and natural.if they don't change then they chose this themselves, you're safe from "I thought you where my friend, why didn't you help me!?" screams some people try to pull. fat people do tend to have self esteem issues and the fact is, their always going to face flak from society, I don't mean TV or magazines I mean the people, actual beings they interact with who grow close enough to will un-doubtly haze them. I don't know about girls...me and my friends don't hang out with fat girls-that sure sounds shallow-but seriously, I mean...I've never seen a fat guy who hasn't got style or money get a good girl. It different with boys, all the ones I know are young and desperate but of course the smart and/or handsome ones will not go near them without crap self esteem themselves-personal experience..infact I've seen this happen about three times and yes, I'm close friends with them all so I know what self esteem they have and their issues-

To be honest in England I've noticed a mass amount of fat kinsmen wandering about when on my daily strolls, it seems to be more women that are getting fat here but boy have the men that do get fat gotten big. It's most likely my area...as always...anyway..fast era. Bestowed, enjoy it my children...however you like to enjoy it that is, by partaking in it,laughing at it or solving it.

Katharos wrote:I rather have a fat boyfriend than a mean/jerk/ass. A fat person can change an ass was born and will die like that.
Well that is my opinion.

Congratulations you are the few percentage of women in my life that isn't just looking to "have fun" in their younger years, however where I come from, my area, my people, my class and such their hypergamous-meaning half the lads are desperate and almost all the girls apart from the tiny select few are interested in pure-stringless sex and therego, we're looking..well, they are looking for arousal-I'm scared of the rampant STD's in the group-and believe it or not, the fat guy get's walked past, the nice guy gets trampled on the way to the dysfunctional-rude and..the ass's. I hope you never..ever come here and have to witness any of it.Vain, it's all vain. The free add the young normally lack the wisdom to avoid such pleasures when there is no punishment from it by other beings.The only girls who are near my age who had nice personalities where fat..not minor fat, they where normally bigger than the girls in that show. Lovely people to be around though, of course..rolls of flesh don't inspire romance.


Anyway, it's all just from personal experience anyway. Can't change that. I still love people-including fat people-but like I said, I'm honest. Most likely too honest.

I had this long post and pressed send only to find I was no longer logged in and lost the whole thing. I don't even know what to say now, I had so much in that post and it is daunting to have to try and type it again.
Personally I think honesty is important but only with people you are really close to and you love. You should know their circumstances and struggles cause everyone's case is different and just looking at someone and saying "oooh their fat they should quit eating junk food or work out." is too generalizing. Some people have a medical condition that keeps them from losing weight. My sister doesn't really have a condition but she has had to battle with her body her whole life. Every little bit of fat showed like it was ten pounds more than what she actually weighed plus she has big bones so even at her smallest size she didn't look skinny. She works out constantly and is pretty healthy now but when young had problems with anorexia and bulemia because she felt ugly. Some people in her situation with less determination might give up to the depression and constant battle just losing energy to continue the fight.

Other people just don't know how to get in shape. Either they were raised in a house where their parents were overweight and ate a lot and so they don't know any better and even knowing it is hard to change habits learned over years and years.
For me I was the opposite. All my life I didn't worry. I was skinny and it was easy. Then I got married and had kids. Both of wich affected my weight drastically. I want to change and try to work out but just can't keep up with it. I don't have the determination or motivation, especially having two kids to care for and no one to do it with me. It isn't easy. They sell all these work out tapes but I don't remember or have time to use them or the fit game I bought. I have swum once or twice but it is hard to find somone to look after my baby and I don't push myself as far as I know I should.

Many of us can't afford gyms or personal trainers. I really wish there were programs in the schools to help the kids learn good habits but many schools took them out or never had them, even gym classes are becoming a thing of the past.

I don't know how to solve the problem, I just know that for me about the only way I will be able to keep up is to have a regular work out partner and someone to keep an eye on the kids.

Alright, just a quick review here...

Unhealthy fast food chains around the world, check.
Over processed foods at supermarkets that get sold as “organic”, check.
High fructose corn syrup being substituted for sugar even in what seems to be healthy juices (and applesauce!), check.
"Diet" anything containing even higher amounts of unhealthy additives than the regular stuff, check.
Video games and movies on demand that keep the kids from playing outside, check.
New companies that are forced to base their business on convenience of the customers, check.
More and more jobs being created that require sitting in front of a computer all day, check.
Deteriorating parenting, check.
Deteriorating schooling, check.
Medicines that have more side effects than their worth, check.
Medicines that are not old enough to tell the doctors what effects they may have three generations from now, check.
Constant bombardment of “lose weight” campaigns that put people in the “fat” mindset (as I like to call it), check.
Human inability to walk two blocks to a store instead of driving, check.
Human inability to just walk up a flight of stairs rather than taking an elevator, check.
More stress in anyone's daily life to send them to an early grave, check.
Less time and finances to be able to get out and go for hikes/climbs/work-outs, check.

Why are we surprised that more and more of the population is growing up overweight? I can guarantee that this isn't even near being a full list of what attributes to gained weight. That's just what I could think of off the top of my head. Now there are people out there who are preaching that obesity is not a large issue and that everyone should be happy with their own body no matter what... Look, it's good to be happy with yourself, but obesity causes a lot of health issues and therefore provides an even bigger problem for the health care system. Our bodies do not function well when they aren't taken care of properly, simple as that. It would be a job and half to try and change how society functions at the moment but that doesn't mean that we can't all take responsibility for our own health, make healthier choices for ourselves, and lead a healthy lifestyle.

I pretty much can't stand that so many people are fat nowadays. I don't understand the inability to walk to the store a few blocks away, or to use stairs, or to just not eat junk. I'm not a skinny mini, but I am a healthy weight and don't have any weight-related problems and don't understand why it can't be the same for most. There was a girl at my school that was like 450 pounds at around 5'4" and she used to tell people it was her 'thyroid', and proceed to eat about three trays of food at school lunch. I was like 'Yeah, if your thyroid is food.' People find numerous things to blame weight gain on and none of them excuse it. In ancient times, people didn't have problems with being hideously obese like this, which tells me it's a modern problem caused by modern environment---as kindly listed above---and not most peoples' 'thyroids'. For most people that's a scapegoat, and it makes people look down on those that actually DO have a thyroid issue. It's just utter bullcrap.

Actually not to burst anyone's bubble about ancient times and the what nots, women were bigger than what society calls healthy these days. It was because of their need to bear more children and the hard labors (not child labor..the other kind)

women did not become as skinny as you see on magazines until the nineties.
The fact is that everybody is different. You cannot possibly expect a Hispanic woman to have the same body type than an Asian.Not everyone can walk two blocks to the store and be fit. It needs time and patience and help and of course your own will to do it. Some people are tired from work, from children, from everyday stress that the last thing they have in their mind is getting up and going for walk when they need to pay their bills the next day.
Please do not say that its utter bull crap because other people have other problems. Maybe at home they are abused or they have stress that you probably cannot even imagine. Did you even get to know the girl personally or did you just assume it was pure bullcrap and judged her simply because of what and how she ate it.
There are many psychological mindsets that were probably put into her sine she was very little.
"You are fat, you are ugly and you will never achieve to be anything better than that"
There are many reasons and the fact that you cant stand the fact that there are many fat people nowadays..unless they are eating you food and stealing your snacks I do not really see how it should bother you.

They are not you and do not have your problems. They have their own and people have to understand that and instead of standing around judging and giggling and poking jokes and feeling self righteous because they happen to be skinny, they should try to help.
"hey ma'am Ill babysit while you go out for a walk"
Also a heads up for anyone out there who thinks they are oki dokey because they happen to be slim..Umm you might want to get yourself checked...sometimes you can be diabetic and high cholesterol..even if you are skinny.

Katharos wrote:Actually not to burst anyone's bubble about ancient times and the what nots, women were bigger than what society calls healthy these days. It was because of their need to bear more children and the hard labors (not child labor..the other kind)

They were bigger because they were better fed and had more muscle mass on them. I actually started watching Xena again a few weeks ago. Back when the show was being filmed, her body would have been considered very healthy and fit. Now it would be considered a bit on the chunky side. So yes, our perception of a healthy weight has been tampered with. That doesn't really excuse people who go to a McDonalds, take up two seats all by themselves, and announce that they've been coming there for fifteen years now (I have seen this happen once...)

women did not become as skinny as you see on magazines until the nineties.

Women never became as skinny as you see on the magazines. It's called photoshop. While there are models and young girls who do have real underweight issues, you'll be happy to know that runways and the modeling world in general is now banning models if they are dangerously underweight and malnourished. A move that personally I am glad for. This hasn't stopped the magazine editors from dropping models down two or more sizes in photoshop constantly, though...

The fact is that everybody is different. You cannot possibly expect a Hispanic woman to have the same body type than an Asian.

No, but I can expect them not to weight 500 pounds.

Not everyone can walk two blocks to the store and be fit.

No one can walk two blocks to a store and bit fit. Doesn't mean that it doesn't help and those miles eventually do add up. One of the reasons that people who live in Europe tend to stay slimmer is because a great deal of them don't just jump into a car every time they have to go buy groceries. They take walks. It's called leading a healthier life style. It's a choice between sitting on the couch all day eating pizza or going for a stroll down through the city park.

Some people are tired from work, from children, from everyday stress that the last thing they have in their mind is getting up and going for walk when they need to pay their bills the next day.
Please do not say that its utter bull crap because other people have other problems. Maybe at home they are abused or they have stress that you probably cannot even imagine.

I have no doubts that this is sadly true. You'll notice that most of the things I pointed out in my first post had nothing to do with the person themselves. They have to do with society and the world that we live in now. I'm a firm believer, though, that each person can take control of their life if they want to. A lot of people give up and resign to a miserable existence because they can't or won't find a way out of it. That doesn't mean it's right.

They are not you and do not have your problems. They have their own and people have to understand that and instead of standing around judging and giggling and poking jokes and feeling self righteous because they happen to be skinny, they should try to help.
"hey ma'am Ill babysit while you go out for a walk"

Why not just take the baby out for a walk? Why does it need to be babysat at all? Fresh air is good for kids and adults. As for helping, yes, we should help out one another. I've done it in the past and would be more than happy to offer assistance in the future. I'm not here to "judge" or "giggle" or "poke jokes" at anyone. Sometimes reality is just harsh.

Also a heads up for anyone out there who thinks they are oki dokey because they happen to be slim..Umm you might want to get yourself checked...sometimes you can be diabetic and high cholesterol..even if you are skinny.

Yes, you can. You can actually be slim and still have an unhealthy percentage of fat on you, as odd as it may seem. The problem is that overweight people are at higher risk for all of these health issues. So again, the topic turns to leading a healthy life style...

Well, of course everyone should be accepted and no one should be made fun of for being fat.

However, people need to recognize that just because people are accepting of how you look doesn't make it okay to be that way. Obesity is still a serious health issue, and just because you can dress nicely, look good at your weight, and not be made fun of because of it, doesn't mean that you should just "let yourself go". If a person is overweight, he/she should be working to lose the extra weight. That doesn't mean go on a one of those ridiculous diets where all you eat is meat, and that doesn't mean starve yourself. It means put down that Twinkie and pick up a carrot. It means skip the movies and go take a walk. Eventually, simply leading a healthier lifestyle will lead to weight loss.

We shouldn't be exploiting fat people to make a TV show, and we of course should be kind to everyone, but if you are overweight, understand that you are in danger and that you should NOT simply accept it.

Being obese is like being a smoker. You KNOWINGLY do harm to yourself, put your health at risk, and ultimately end up making the rest of us pay for your medical issues. Now, I'm not saying that we should go up to fat people and say, "HEY, LOSE SOME WEIGHT YA IDIOT!", just as I think it's wrong to yell at people for smoking. However, we need to take the same approach and look down on obesity as much as we do smoking. I'm treading a thin line here, but let me try to explain what I'm saying- we should be accepting, but not at the same time.

Confusing, yes. What I mean is, if you're actually with a fat person, you shouldn't be communicating with them negatively. I think it's okay to express your concern about their weight and explain to them the health risks they are placing upon themselves in a way that shows you are caring and truly concerned for their well-being. We shouldn't be making fun of anyone. That's what I mean by we should be accepting.

On the other hand, we should make it well-known and advertised the many, many dangers of obesity. I'm thinking anti-obesity ads the way they do anti-smoking ads. That's what I mean by not simply accepting it and telling people that it's okay to be the weight they are. It's NOT okay. We should be kind, but make sure they know that it's NOT okay.

That's my view, I hope I explained it in a way you can understand DX

I totally agree and you have worded it in a good way, accepting and loving but concerned. Perfect and if I knew how to better word things I would have said some of the same things. My major problem is motivation. That I think is where friends and family come in. Of course MIne are too busy to help me much except by sayint "You look like you are gaining weight" or "We have a dock now why don't you swim" forgetting about how I might be able to go about either. I hate working out alone but no one other than the kids are home and I often get lonely and depressed and it is so hard to think of fun ways to work out sometimes when you feel that way. I love swimming but it is impractical and not easy where I live. We have a pond and yes, it has fish and algae and isn't the cleanest place to swim. Then you have the problem of how to get in and out. We just built two docks one in the middle and one on the edge but only the one in the middle has a ladder so you have three choices one, crawl out of the extremely gross slimey bottom onto the shore, two stand in the slime and try to hoist yourself onto the dock (this is not easy when you are not in shape), and three somone else has to bring a boat to the other dock and take you back that way. The next hurdle for swimming is kids. My daughter can sort of go with me but since she can't swim I put her in a life jacket and on a floaty but I have to constantly keep an eye on her so she stays safe and it severly hampers my abiliry to actually do laps. Next is my four month old who needs someone to look after him. So I can't just jump in and go. Walking is out to unless I either walk up and down my lane or walk along the highway which is dangerous and unpractical with two kids by myself when it takes almost an hour of walking to get anywhere. It is just so hard to know what and when to do anything and to get the energy to do anything by myself.

To be perfectly honest, being obese should not be something that is accepted as widely as it is. I'm not proposing to send all overweight people to BCT or to go through lipo or anything like that. I just believe being tolerant of severe obesity is not how we should handle the problem as a society.

I was overweight for most of my childhood and it wasn't until I was 14 years old and went to football conditioning that I weighed under 200 pounds. I'm now 17, I'm 160 pounds and workout twice a day. I can run 5 miles without stopping and I'm much happier now than when I was fat. The easiest way I know (from personal experience) to lose weight is:
1. To cut back on sodas and snacks: No you don't have to give them up, you just can't be eating so much they may as well count as a meal. It would be best to quit eating them altogether, but even I get a sweet-tooth from time to time, so I understand.
2. Get off the couch: Seriously, even if you're just standing around for no reason, it's a helluva a lot better for you than sitting down on a couch all day.
3. Move: Walk, run, bike, jump, skip, do something!
4. Get involved with sports or start working out: It's the best way to get into better shape. If you want to be fit, fit into an old pair of jeans, and/or have a nice, trim body, the best thing to do is couple a good diet with exercise.
5. Most importantly, Eat right: Even I struggle with this, but try your best to avoid preservatives and other artificial ingredients in foods (i.e. high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, etc). Eat plenty of fruits and veggies and you will never have to give up a carnivorous diet (you put several plates of fish, steak, ribs, tri-tip, and pork in front of me, and all you're gonna find are bones and little bits of cartilage left). Eating right also regulates your body's pH level (your body is happy at about 7.4, 7.5), lower cholesterol, accelerate your metabolism, give you more energy in the morning, and just feel better about yourself.

It's easy to lose a lot of weight, but I don't like society stepping in and giving people the go ahead to eat excessively and gain hundreds of pounds and say it's perfectly acceptable. I just can't stand that. I have many friends who are fat and out of shape, and I don't think any less of them as a person, I just can't abide by a society that's fine with a large portion of our population being overweight.

people are too worried about being "politically correct" and all that. Ugh I hate politics becuase it is so fake now. No matter what a person promises they almost never come through with any of it, sorry that is another topic. As to the comment "It is easy to lose a lot of weight" That is not true for everyone. It has been proven in tests that it is easier for men to lose weight than women. Plus I actually know people that have tried everything short of surgery and can't lose the weight. I mean I may not be humongous but I am a little overweight and I took a class were we had trainers and everything and I tried my hardest for the duration of the class and never lost any weight. I don't eat that much in general and I almost never drink pop. I mostly stick to water or milk and I can't eat anything really rich so fudge is definately out. I do like some chocolate and probably eat more sweats than I should but it is pretty frustrating that even when I was really pushing myself I couldn't even lose more than two pounds.

gaiadarkstar wrote:people are too worried about being "politically correct" and all that. Ugh I hate politics becuase it is so fake now. No matter what a person promises they almost never come through with any of it, sorry that is another topic. As to the comment "It is easy to lose a lot of weight" That is not true for everyone. It has been proven in tests that it is easier for men to lose weight than women. Plus I actually know people that have tried everything short of surgery and can't lose the weight. I mean I may not be humongous but I am a little overweight and I took a class were we had trainers and everything and I tried my hardest for the duration of the class and never lost any weight. I don't eat that much in general and I almost never drink pop. I mostly stick to water or milk and I can't eat anything really rich so fudge is definately out. I do like some chocolate and probably eat more sweats than I should but it is pretty frustrating that even when I was really pushing myself I couldn't even lose more than two pounds.

I understand it's disheartening when you don't see immediate results after so much work, but you just have to stick with it and push yourself and keep going. How long did that class last?

Hmm... Weight is such an issue in the USA... So bad that, while looking through my friend's 'Like' list on Facebook, one of them was, "I'm an American, LOL, J/K, I'm Skinny!". It's really a joke to people who've been to our country and saw all our... obese(sp?) cititzens... I mean, it's embarrassing in a way, but, I shouldn't really be talking...(Currently, 9 lbs overweight...I know it isn't too bad, but it counts with what I'm saying...) I really think we Americans should do something about this, because, sometimes, it's not the person's fault(please don't jump me by saying it is, because in some cases, yes.) I mean, Mickey D's has been proven to have sumbliminal messages in their commericals, and Burger King, and, well, pretty much every other gay-ass fast food resturant. So, maybe that comes into play... I'm not saying that's the cause for everyone, no, so don't think I'm saying that. I just wanted to point it out... Those sumbliminal messages are freaky, man... (Yes, call me a crazy hippie if you want...)

SoCal American here. Honestly, I don't see that many obese people around here. There are some fatties, but not an overwhelming number of them. To be honest, I could stand to lose a few pounds myself, and I already have lost some of them. America may be massively obese as a country, but Idk, Cali is pretty chill, most of us that have a few extra pounds are just stoners who eat to many munchies, and most of us still work out and excersize to keep it in control. For example, I have a slight gut, but I'm well muscled beneath the layer of fat, and I still run and work out three times a week.

Gabriel_Whist wrote:SoCal American here. Honestly, I don't see that many obese people around here. There are some fatties, but not an overwhelming number of them. To be honest, I could stand to lose a few pounds myself, and I already have lost some of them. America may be massively obese as a country, but Idk, Cali is pretty chill, most of us that have a few extra pounds are just stoners who eat to many munchies, and most of us still work out and excersize to keep it in control. For example, I have a slight gut, but I'm well muscled beneath the layer of fat, and I still run and work out three times a week.

More than 34% of Americans are obese. Not just overwight- obese, as in, your health is in serious danger. It may not be around you, but it's definitely there.

Cali is pretty healthy, though, gotta admit. The lifestyle there... it's different than most places.

I gotta say, I think the problem with weight in America, in some places at least, comes down to available activities, and in what fashions those activities are limited. I mean, there are some people who are fine with riding their bikes down the street to get where they're going, and that's good for them. Same with walking. However, there are some people, most members of my family included, who end up inactive for a good portion of the year, trapped in part by the rising temperature and in part by the lack of anything else to do. (good old Murfreesboro, TN. The recent events you guys might have seen on the news are the most exciting to happen here in a decade.)

I'm not seriously overweight myself--a little stocky, maybe, with a lot of muscle on my legs--but I can feel the strain on my health. I can't imagine what it would be like to be too much bigger than I am right now. The problem, though, is that every three feet, there's a fast food restaurant or something of the sort. For example, my family wants to go out and spend some time as a family this evening, so where do we go? Out to dinner.

From all I can tell, that's a very common behavior in moderately sized towns. There's nothing else to do for some people, so why not go out to eat? And then people end up overeating, and most of them don't work that off. Of course, just because they can't find anything else to interest them doesn't exactly excuse the behavior, but it does give the rest of the world a good illustration of the situation that many overweight individuals fall into.

Another thing I think we ought to take into account is our eating habits. Not only do we, as a culture, overeat, but we generally tend to eat our largest meals in the evening. Does that really make sense? Right before bed, piling calories onto our bodies that we aren't going to be using during the evening?

Anyway, I guess I don't really have much more than information and anecdotes to contribute to the discussion. But anyway, perhaps it was useful to someone.

Fat people are fat, and at a higher risk of several diseases, and heart failures than someone who isn't fat and actually exercises once a week.
If they wanna eat themselves to a kentucky fried doom, then so be it. It won't be me that's having a bypass.

Same goes for anorexics, eat something or die. I don't mean "eat this or I will kill you" I mean "if you don't eat, you will die." That's fact.

To all weigh-challenged people [fat barstools] I say this: "Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'."


EDIT:

Litria Death wrote:Hmm... Weight is such an issue in the USA... So bad that, while looking through my friend's 'Like' list on Facebook, one of them was, "I'm an American, LOL, J/K, I'm Skinny!". It's really a joke to people who've been to our country and saw all our... obese(sp?) cititzens... I mean, it's embarrassing in a way, but, I shouldn't really be talking...(Currently, 9 lbs overweight...I know it isn't too bad, but it counts with what I'm saying...) I really think we Americans should do something about this, because, sometimes, it's not the person's fault(please don't jump me by saying it is, because in some cases, yes.) I mean, Mickey D's has been proven to have sumbliminal messages in their commericals, and Burger King, and, well, pretty much every other gay-ass fast food resturant. So, maybe that comes into play... I'm not saying that's the cause for everyone, no, so don't think I'm saying that. I just wanted to point it out... Those sumbliminal messages are freaky, man... (Yes, call me a crazy hippie if you want...)

If I may interject on this! Subliminal messages rarely work on people, there have been countless tests that have all shown that subliminal advertising just doesn't work. So yes. You are a crazy hippie!! [Hey you said I could call you that.]