Is US culture responsible for obesity?

[picasso25]

O.K. here is a weird theory I was thinking of, tell me what you guys think, I was thinking that maybe the Isolated american culture makes alot of people run to food for comfort, in doing so this gives american ,especially women who are more emotional, prone to becoming obese, as a result there is alot of women who are over weight, leaving a small percentage of women who are slim and attractive in a powerful position to date to be picky about who they date as a result of having a surplus of attractive males to a deficit of thin or porpotionately shape, attractive women, and with men needins sex more than women, this leads to men catering to every need of a women, thus proning men to allow women to treat them like doormats, unless the male is highly attractive or has status or something that gets him lots of women, where he would not have a overly women pleasing attitude, what do you guys think?

[momopi]

It's the size of the servings.

In Asia a bowl of noodles is about 1/2 to 2/3rds of the size of the bowl in the US.

Same beef noodles, but because you're in America, you're expected to eat twice as much.

My cooking instructor said to us, that good food takes time to prepare and should be savored slowly in your mouth (chew not swallow). If you swallow your food, then all the prepration and spices go to waste.

Eat good quality food in smaller servings and enjoy life.

[Winston]

The emptiness and depression in America certainly contribute to over eating. But there's more to it. As someone here said, there's toxic chemicals in the food that makes one feel tense and angry, messing up their emotions and mind. Could be a conspiracy. American food also tends to have processed white flour, which is fattening and unhealthy. Portions are another factor, but large meals and buffets are served in Asia too. It's Europe that tends to have the smaller portions. Plus Americans eat too much junk food. And there's not much to do outside except go to the mall or walk in the park alone, not very fun to most people so they don't get out that much except to drive to work.

[Grunt]

Obesity is caused by pesticides, high fructose (which is about to be banned in some nations), MSG, and synthetic cooking oil components. Statistically, pound for pound, Americans do not eat any more than they did in the 1950's, its just that what we eat now is destroying our metabolic processes.

[momopi]

In CNBC's "Inside the McDonald's Empire" documentary, it's mentioned that the size of the "largest" McDonalds burger served had increased 400% from the original burger (50 years ago) to the double quarter pounder, and french fries had increased 250% in size from original servings to the "large fries" today. This is after the "super size" had been removed from the menu.

"But I don't order the double quarter pounder!"

OK, a Big Mac combo meal has:

1,420 calories
59 grams of fat
1,390 mg of sodium


Good books:





If you want to lose weight, another method is to actually read the labels and avoid buying anything that has sugar added. This means, honey is probably OK, but not the typical peanut butter with hydrogenated veggie or palm oil, salt, and sugar/sweetners added.

Peanut oil is worth $$, so many peanut butter makers remove the peanut oil and add all kinds of crap in it. Real organic "all natural" peanut butter in a jar has "oil separation" where you see a layer of liquid/peanut oil on top like this:
http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/j ... ir-250.jpg

When you start controlling the amount of sugar you put into your food, then you become more aware of how much you're consuming.

Imagine if all US restaurant menus are required to list calories next to the food item.

[firethrower1000]

The emptiness and depression in America certainly contribute to over eating. But there's more to it. As someone here said, there's toxic chemicals in the food that makes one feel tense and angry, messing up their emotions and mind. Could be a conspiracy. American food also tends to have processed white flour, which is fattening and unhealthy. Portions are another factor, but large meals and buffets are served in Asia too. It's Europe that tends to have the smaller portions. Plus Americans eat too much junk food. And there's not much to do outside except go to the mall or walk in the park alone, not very fun to most people so they don't get out that much except to drive to work.

American culture also try to advertise Cindy Crawford naked on a donut just to sell the frikkin processed flour. But in reality fantasy quickly fades especially for emotional women and it only leads to results such as this:



Yet even with obesity beoming the norm and epidemic they continue to advertise seductive images such as this woman about to eat 6 Donuts with 1 hand:



And the food i eat here in europe would cost me a fortune in america and yet the quality would still never be as good as what i can get here

Thats what i hate about the US for some reason the poor people have to buy fast foods, junk foods and processed foods and the rich get to go ORGANIC which is still nasty compared to the food you get Abroad...NO OFFENSE TO ANY AMERICANS ON THIS FORUM by the way

[momopi]

Loris, could you please provide us with some sample pricing on food items in Belgium for comparison?

I used to have a friend in Hasselt, but lost touch over the years. He was probably one of the "grass is greener on other side" types and preferred to go shop and dine in France instead of his native Belgium.

[globetrotter]

Obesity is caused by pesticides, high fructose (which is about to be banned in some nations), MSG, and synthetic cooking oil components. Statistically, pound for pound, Americans do not eat any more than they did in the 1950's, its just that what we eat now is destroying our metabolic processes.

There are stress hormones in the air from everyone trying to compete all the time and living on debt.

The air, water, food and drug supply is corrupted with genetically modified poison, food starch, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, pesticides, preservatives, stabilisers, corn derivatives, hydrogenated and processed fats and oils, drug waste water runoff and artificial sweeteners.

I eat store noodles here sometimes. They do NOT have sat fat crap in them with that shiny texture like in the USA. Still instant noodles, not toxic to you.

I have lost 25 pounds here in 3 months and it is because I eat real food. I have no cravings for sweets, soda pop, Nutrisweet or any other garbage.

In the USA people eat expensive organic food from Whole Foods. In the rest of the world this is called simply "food" as all food is natural here.

I can see only one solution, and that is to move out of the USA.

Combined with the off the charts stress levels, high unemployment, massive debt loads and anti-depressants, the food supply makes Americans obese, unhealthy and unhappy. They eat as the only refuge from an empty life.

Television and sports, too.

[Winston]

Momopi,
When I eat less and start losing weight, like I'm doing now, I suddenly get strong hunger pains for snacks. It's hard to not think about food at that point and eating more.

What can I do about that? Any suggestions?

I've been trying to lose my belly since 1991!

[firethrower1000]

Momopi,
When I eat less and start losing weight, like I'm doing now, I suddenly get strong hunger pains for snacks. It's hard to not think about food at that point and eating more.

What can I do about that? Any suggestions?

I've been trying to lose my belly since 1991!

basically here is how i eat and don't worry i am sure that most of what i eat in belgium can be gotten at a sheap price in the philipines

I actually eat smaller meal portions but i only have two meals and three snacks:

at 9 AM i have some fruits and a green tea
at 12:00 I have a small portion meal with green tea
at 3PM i have some fruits again (SNACKS)
at 6PM I have another small portion meal with green tea
at 9PM: i have a snack and some skimmed milk

note: whenever you feel like overeating or want to eat more just eat one banana because it makes you less hungry and after every meal always have green tea as a beverage because it is an appetite suppresant,ok....You'll tell me if it works for you GOOD LUCK

[momopi]

Momopi,
When I eat less and start losing weight, like I'm doing now, I suddenly get strong hunger pains for snacks. It's hard to not think about food at that point and eating more.

What can I do about that? Any suggestions?

I've been trying to lose my belly since 1991!

If you're still living in the same part of town, I'd suggest moving to a less polluted area and walk/exercise more. The bottom line is that if the air is not "fresh" you have less incentive to go out and walk around.

For hunger pangs you can try munching on fresh fruits and cut veggies. I eat cheese, fruits, and sliced meats with a small serving of wine. I don't drink soda and wine is about 25 calories per fluid oz.

[Winston]

It's the size of the servings.

In Asia a bowl of noodles is about 1/2 to 2/3rds of the size of the bowl in the US.

Same beef noodles, but because you're in America, you're expected to eat twice as much.

My cooking instructor said to us, that good food takes time to prepare and should be savored slowly in your mouth (chew not swallow). If you swallow your food, then all the prepration and spices go to waste.

Eat good quality food in smaller servings and enjoy life.

It's not just that. The food in America is designed to be addictive too, which is manipulative. There are many other reason as well. This lady on Psyche Truth gives a lot of logical reasons why Americans are so fat and obese today as opposed to your grandparents' generation.



Though she doesn't mention it, I'm sure GMO foods is a big part of the reason too, since when they were implemented, obesity rates soared in America.

Also, I've heard that foreign women who come to America begin having fat/muscular legs. Have you noticed that? I heard that the reason is because the growth hormones that they inject into cows to make them plump, make women's legs plump too. Is that true?

[MrPeabody]

I went on a diet a few months ago. I ate less than 700 calories a day and lost 60 pounds in less then 3 months. Now I am my correct weight. I made a spread sheet and recorded all the calories I ate every day. Simple calorie counting works because it follows the laws of physics, i.e. if you take in less energy than you expend over a long term you will lose weight. Now I am trying to find a diet that works for the long term. I do think there is something to the claim that carbohydrates are more of a problem then fat, because in the gut they are all turned into sugar. The carbs, like sugar, tend to make you more hungry whereas fat satisfies hunger. I am going to try to follow a high protein diet to see if it works for the long term.

[Winston]

I went on a diet a few months ago. I ate less than 700 calories a day and lost 60 pounds in less then 3 months. Now I am my correct weight. I made a spread sheet and recorded all the calories I ate every day. Simple calorie counting works because it follows the laws of physics, i.e. if you take in less energy than you expend over a long term you will lose weight. Now I am trying to find a diet that works for the long term. I do think there is something to the claim that carbohydrates are more of a problem then fat, because in the gut they are all turned into sugar. The carbs, like sugar, tend to make you more hungry whereas fat satisfies hunger. I am going to try to follow a high protein diet to see if it works for the long term.

Actually, calorie counting itself doesn't really work. This smart woman explains why and makes a lot of sense.

Truth about Calories, Hunger and Food Cravings

[germanguy]

I went on a diet a few months ago. I ate less than 700 calories a day and lost 60 pounds in less then 3 months. Now I am my correct weight. I made a spread sheet and recorded all the calories I ate every day. Simple calorie counting works because it follows the laws of physics, i.e. if you take in less energy than you expend over a long term you will lose weight.

Exactly this. If you want to lose weight count your calories and make sure you don´t eat more calories then you burn. And that´s it...