Obesity and overweight epidemic

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otseng
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Obesity and overweight epidemic

Post #1

Post by otseng »

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, two-third of all Americans over 20 are considered overweight. And one-third are considered obese. (Source: Prevalence and Trends in Obesity Among US Adults, 1999-2008)

And kids are not that healthy either. One-third are either overweight, obese or morbidly obese. Michelle Obama wants to cut child obesity from 20% to 5%.

And the problem also exists worldwide. The World Health Organization states:
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults overweight - at least 300 million of them clinically obese - and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability.
So, how can the overweight/obesity problem be addressed practically?

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Lux
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Post #21

Post by Lux »

McCulloch wrote:And people should take time to prepare and eat food. Fast food is killing us.
I think that is the key issue: time. Preparing good, healthy meals takes time, and people don't have time. Every year I go to the USA and I'm amazed at how many workaholics there are there. People use their lunch hour to work. They come home from work and they continue to work with their laptops or Blackberries. On weekends, they take hours-long calls from their bosses. Where does preparing a healthy piece of meat and a good serving of vegetables fit into all this? It's so much easier (and cheaper) to just stop by the local Taco Bell and get 6 burritos plus a large coke to go.

The issue of overweight in the States is very deeply rooted. Reality is, it's easier to be fat than to be healthy there. In order to get people to take the time to eat well and exercise, you'll have to change their work mentality, on top of building side walks and informing about nutrition.
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Post #22

Post by Lux »

WinePusher wrote:I realize that I'm a little bit late to this thread, but the way I see it is that obesity and overwightness are really that big of an issue. I mean, would you rather live a long life eating only miserable carrot sticks and lettuces of cabbage, or would you rather live a shorter, more enjoyable life eating Steaks, Ribs, McDonalds, Pie, Cake and Burgers?
Those are not the only two options available, and by the way, eating only carrots and cabbage is extremely unhealthy. You'd end up with severe anemia if you did that.

No one is saying people should never have a hamburger or a can of Coke or whatever, but there are acres of middle ground between eating only lettuce and eating at Mc Donalds every single day. It's not about being skinny, it's about being healthy, and you can be healthy and eat delicious things.
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LiamOS
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Post #23

Post by LiamOS »

Being a student, I somewhat understand the eating bad food thing.

A normal dinner for me would be some rice or pasta, and on the weekend I might splash out and have a chicken curry or a pizza, but it's quite rare when I eat any red meat or pork, simply due to the hassle of making it.

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Post #24

Post by Lux »

AkiThePirate wrote:Being a student, I somewhat understand the eating bad food thing.

A normal dinner for me would be some rice or pasta, and on the weekend I might splash out and have a chicken curry or a pizza, but it's quite rare when I eat any red meat or pork, simply due to the hassle of making it.
Which is not actually too bad in terms of amount of fat. However, a person eating like this who doesn't have the metabolism of a 19 year old would probably be a bit overweight.

The average american among the ones I have met eats way more fat than what you're describing. I would dare say that about 1/3 of the grown up people I've met in Texas eat fast food for lunch 4 times a week.
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Post #25

Post by LiamOS »

That actually makes me feel sick... I rarely eat fast food, and when I do I'm drunk/high and very hungry.

I mean, I've seen footage from McD's in Texas, and it was horrifying, but knowing that it's actually like that is still strange.

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