Why Are So Many People in America Fat? page 7

[Damiana]

Oh god yes I ate the fat acceptance movement so much. While I agree completely with the idea that one can be fit and fat, most obese Americans are not the type to exercise, eat healthfully, and still maintain those stubborn pounds, most fat people are fat because of a terribly unhealthy lifestyle and I do not advocate that. Fat and healthy, yes, because I've seen people who just cannot lose weight despite their efforts at eating healthfully and exercising. Fat because it's all good to embrace your gluttony, hell to the no.

[Forgotmylastusername]

How many people do Mcdonalds, Burger King, chinese restraunts, KFC, Wendys, diner restaurants, Cafes and other fast food restaurants serve per day in the US? If you were to see that number then it wouldn't come as a surprise that obesity is a huge problem.

[magnolia1973]

IIRC,fat acceptance grew out of people constantly failing at dieting. People who "ate healthy" but couldn't lose and were tired of the cycle. IMO, that's the big problem. We have two routes that are generally accepted- Low Fat and Calorie Restriction. Both failed me and I gave it a great try while exercising. I don't think the premise of fat acceptance is "I'm a lazy couch potato eating chips and soda", so much as "hey, I'm trying to be healthy, please don't discriminate against me".

I cry when I see pics of my old self and realize all the opportunities unrelated to health that the fat body kept me from.

[magnolia1973]

And you post pics of shit food and talk about KFC, but there are MANY obese people who don't touch that shit. That's probably what makes the issue so challenging to fix because the CW alternative to eating Fast Food and other crap keeps you just as fat.

[Owly]

Do people seriously think most fat people don't know they're fat and don't feel shamed for it already?

Because most of the fat people I know (even those with just a few extra pounds) sure as hell know it and already feel a lot of hate for their own bodies without people piling more on to that.

[magnolia1973]

I'm conflicted on the Fat Acceptance thing. On the one hand, excess fat past a certain point will hurt your health, sooner or later. On the other hand, we assign a lot of moral judgements about people who are fat. Quite certain people looked at me 10 years ago and assumed I was a fat, lazy person with no self control, not realizing that I kept a fairly strict diet and worked out.

It's hard- I know I missed employment opportunities due to my size/unattractiveness. That doesn't seem fair. Obesity is one of the few health issues where the results are really obvious. I think that obesity doesn't make you a bad or immoral person, just a person with health issues. And then you factor in the attractive quotient which makes it more complex (for women, I guess).

[Shalimar]

Walking is such a problem in most American communities. In my home town, if I took the route now that I used to walk alone as a first grader, I would get run over, and the driver would not even wonder what that bump was.

Last time, years ago, I had a four day trip to NYCity, and I lost five pounds despite all the eating out. I walked blocks and blocks, and stood in the subway then walked more. I was fatter than most in the city at only 30 pounds overweight. They didn't even carry size 12 in the boutique I stopped in. The fattest people I saw were the British tourists in Macy's!

That brings me to the cultural differences. NYCity is one of, if not the, skinniest places in the U.S. The fashion industry there creates a real incentive, there's big health and fitness movements there, people are more aware, and there are lots of skinny recent immigrants and visitors from skinny countries. The town I live in Maine is, to watch people on the street, fatter than the richer, snobbier town to the south. Places I go to work, you can see differences. Don't get me started about the country fairs!

Fat acceptance is a real problem, I think. Tolerance for being overweight seems part of the self-esteem boosting we have in the schools and parenting. And who can blame them, it's so hard to lose on calories in calories out! All those young girls showing off their muffin tops in low cut pants, and the boys hiding their pasty guts in loose oversized clothing. Once they are overweight in their youth, it is so hard to take the pounds off and keep from sliding down the slippery slope to obesity. CW has no solution for these young people, as so many of us know. It takes so much effort and reading and exploring to even discover primal or paleo.

[Gorbag]

Why are so many people in America fat? They are fat because they eat too much - obviously - but WHY do they eat too much then, that's the question...

Many reasons can be listed of course, but the addictiveness of processed food and especially carbs play an important role. Less processed food, especially cheap carbs, and people in general will be less tempted to overeat. But also; the American society and its aggressive consumerism - "consume or perish" - ideology, is adding fuel to the obesity epidemic…

[Bushrat]

Explained in one pic:
http://freetheanimal.com/images/2012/10/k0pv0b.jpg

[texas.grok]

I spent some time in Amsterdam and I was struck by a couple of things:

1) Most of the people I saw were fit looking
2) Almost everyone was walking, biking or taking mass transit
3) I saw a parking garage next to an office building but it was for bikes
4) Fast food places were rare and seemed to be mainly being used by Americans (you can always tell an American tourist)
5) Food sold at sidewalk walk-ups (non fastfood) while maybe not PB appeared to be high quality food

Also speaking as a Texan, a lot of our cities are so spread out walking or biking to, say work, is not practical. Poor mass transit and work that is 10 miles away pretty much means you have to drive. An believe me, damn near everyone in Texas has a car.