Obesity in America

[aliki]

Most believe the growth of portion sizes to be a contributing factor to the rise in obesity in the US. Test your knowledge of food portion below. You may be surprised.

http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/portion/

Though many in America are vehemently opposed to cigarettes and applaud moves by numerous cities to ban smoking in all restaurants and bars, few are as outraged at growing food portions and obesity in this country. Yet soon, obesity, not tobacco, will kill more of us.

Obesity is rapidly gaining on tobacco as the number one killer in the U.S. Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese (30 pounds or more over a healthy weight). Perhaps the most frightening development is a rise in obesity in children. Fifteen percent of children age 6 to 19 are overweight. The number is ten percent higher than a decade ago, and this weight gain is reflected in rising rates of type 2 diabetes and heart ailments, once associated with grandparents, not grandchildren.

Comments

[falls2climb.livejournal.com]

Maybe I shouldn't be talking, but it's sad that so many people write it off as "you're just being prejudiced toward fat people!" No, actually, some people care about your health and how it is affected by your weight. I also hate hearing "he's just big-boned" or "it runs in the family" as an excuse for why you take your kids to McDonalds five times a week. I know that my own weight path has led me to different awful results, and I'd imagine that people who continue to become more obese are heading toward their own set of difficulties.

[aliki.livejournal.com]

I do think it is sad. I understand the Body-mass index is fucked up for certain groups of people-- athletes, bulkier people, etc. and that each indivdual should be evaluated by a nutritionist to be determined if they truly have an unhealthy lifestyle; but I don't think it's something to be dismissed.

I certainly don't harbor any ill feelings to people who are overweight-- I know some people are very snippy about it (who say stuff like "if they really wanted to be thin, they could".. uh, it's not that simple!!), but I think recognizing the problem is the first step in the right direction.

[falls2climb.livejournal.com]

I hate hearing "if they really wanted to be thin, they could" - people who say that obviously have never dealt with a weight problem before.

I take after my dad physically, and my sister is very much reflective of my mom. Both Mom and my sister have struggled with overweightness for as long as I can remember. Ever since going to college in 2001, my sister's gotten a lot more exercise and lost something like 30 pounds. She looks fantastic, but the BMI and most people would still call her overweight. So I know that a lot of people could do something about their weight, but at the same time, I accept that a lot of them can't.

[janehex.livejournal.com]

Right on Aliki. It's all about small portions.

Also, the other half of blame lies squarely on sedentary lifestyles.

I usually eat dinner from a small plate, actually. No need for the big one. Maybe in my wedding registry I will ask for single pieces, and get all small salad plates. heh.

[aliki.livejournal.com]

That is true too, as we move towards spending more time in front of the TV, video games, computers, and the likes. Kids don't play outdoors or sports anymore. Parents feed toddlers McDonald's fries for a meal. 30% of American households don't make home-made meals. 70% order in at least once a week. A good chunk does it at least every day.

[manipul8.livejournal.com]

There are two very different issues here and comparison really shouldn't be made. As an adult you can choose not to eat the entire portion of your meal, you can choose more healthy meals and you can educate yourself as to how often, how much and what type of food you should be eating. Unfortunately the same adult can't always control their exposure to passive smoking, especially when their only employment options are in bars, clubs, restaurants and other smoke filled establishments.

Obesity is an issue and noone could deny that portion sizes certainly are part of the problem (Sedentary lifestyles and bad food choices/education could be easily argued to play a bigger role), but I truly don't believe it deserves the same level of outrage and campaigning that passive smoking warrants.

[aliki.livejournal.com]

Maybe not passive smoking per se, but what about smoking as is? Taxes on cigarettes is as high as 50% in some states (New York, for example, it's US$8.00 a pack!) Considering that medical problems arising from obesity will soon overtake incidences related to smoking, shouldn't we start taxing Super Sized meals more?