Poll about main causes of obesity

[warpus]

While i like sugar (and chocolate), the only obviously addictive product with either would be coke and similar soda drinks.

Maybe obviously, but I think you need to take a look at this book.

 

[Arwon]

Have to go with lifestyle.

I've been thinking of this, and when I was a kid, most kids were thin, and not fat. Same with adults. Something happened in the last 30 years. And it isn't food, we had the same unhealthy foods in the 80's. Soda was just as abundant in the 80's. So I can't blame it all on the foods. The problem is with us.



I disagree. We had McDonald's and soda back in the 70's and 80's, and people weren't fat back then. Our culture has changed (and why I voted lifestyle).

It must be possible that thirty years of fast food and junk food company R & D may have played a role. Are recipes and ingredient lists and portion sizes all the same as they were?

 

[Ajidica]

Why are we fat now?
We eat too much food, and an increasingly large portion of what we eat isn't particularly great for us. That said, food companies/distributors are partially to blame. When I order a small pop at a movie theater and get a small pool that could easily hold a toddler, we have an issue.

 

[Dralix]

When I order a small pop at a movie theater and get a small pool that could easily hold a toddler, we have an issue.

I would say that you have an issue, not them. Fortunately, the issue is easily solved.

- don't order it
- dump half of it out as soon as you get it
- tell them to fill it up halfway
- don't order it


See? There's lots of ways to solve this issue. Now, if the movie theater forcibly feeds that drink to you, then they have an issue. Otherwise ... sorry, it's on you.

 

[Zack]

The real problem is you calling it "pop".

 

[warpus]

I would say that you have an issue, not them. Fortunately, the issue is easily solved.

- don't order it
- dump half of it out as soon as you get it
- tell them to fill it up halfway
- don't order it


See? There's lots of ways to solve this issue. Now, if the movie theater forcibly feeds that drink to you, then they have an issue. Otherwise ... sorry, it's on you.

Unfortunately portion sizes do affect how much people are going to eat, so it's not only on the individual, it's also on the people who decide how big those portion sizes are going to be in the first place.

 

[Dralix]

Sorry, but I put all the responsibility on the person who actually orders and consumes it. If I eat too much, it's my fault, not Claim Jumper's.

 

[DinoDoc]

Gargling french fries while refusing to get your fat arse off the couch would be my guess.

 

[warpus]

Sorry, but I put all the responsibility on the person who actually orders and consumes it. If I eat too much, it's my fault, not Claim Jumper's.

Then you are ignoring a lot of factors that impact obesity to an extent that I can't take your post really seriously. It's more a "pie in the sky" type of thought more than anything else. Sure, in a universe where basic psychology works much differently than in our universe, what you say might be considered as a good point, I concede that.

 

[Borachio]

I wonder. If I order a meal in a restaurant I do tend to, in fact almost invariably, eat everything on the plate: that's what I've paid for.

But it's me that made the decision to go in the restaurant. And everything that goes into my mouth is my responsibility.

 

[mitsho]

Genetical Predisposition and Psychology are responsible for individual spikes (not every fat person is that way because of his Lifestyle), while the prevalence of unhealthy food raises the general level of fatness of society?

Lifestyle is tricky since it can be positive or negative? Looking on my own life, there's periods where I am travelling a lot, different cities and so on which means I eat more "Street Food". Not that I get fat, but I do notice it. When I've got the opportunity of regular times, I eat much healthier and have the free time for sports (walking through a city to get to meetings =/= sports!). So my question here would be, where do we put modern job habits/increased mobility in the list above? I could imagine that longer commute times f.e. could have an effect?

 

[Dralix]

Then you are ignoring a lot of factors that impact obesity to an extent that I can't take your post really seriously.

Personal. Responsibility.

Seriously.

Sure there are a lot of factors, but it all boils down to the math.

My vote is for consuming more calories than you burn.

Of course there are factors that contribute to how much I consume and how much I burn. But blaming someone who merely allows me to choose how much I order and consume, sorry, but I call that a cop out.

I wonder. If I order a meal in a restaurant I do tend to, in fact almost invariably, eat everything on the plate: that's what I've paid for.

As do I. Sometimes it feeds me for three meals though.

 

[BenitoChavez]

If I order a meal in a restaurant I do tend to, in fact almost invariably, eat everything on the plate: that's what I've paid for.

^ this. I try to eat everything I buy. Throwing food away is basically the same thing as tossing your money in the trash.

The key of course is to eat out less and make your own food more. That way you have more control over ingredients, serving size, and nutrition.

 

[Antilogic]

Not in Canada as far as I know. School has veered way off from life skills and right into standardized memorization-based knowledge territory. I took a cooking class in high school that was attached to a 'family studies' course which was female-centric (woo, sexism!) and it did not teach me the foundations of cooking or any basic meals. It did, however, teach me how to make shaped pancakes and a complicated spicy quinoa casserole that took five hours to make. Yay, cooking!

It was called "home economics" when I had to take it, and it contained disturbingly little economics. We did learn how to coat biscuits with cinnamon-sugar butter and cook them, though. Which, as it turns out, was not particularly healthy.

No argument here. My point it's not because of availability (although I'll admit many companies are sneaking sugar into products it doesn't belong like bread). All this sugar was available to us in the 70's and the 80's. Our lifestyle is why we didn't eat too much of it. It wasn't culturally acceptable to be fat.

It didn't happen overnight, though. It's not like people consumed an average of 2 lbs. extra sugar one year and put on 100 lb. in the same period. The sugar consumption, amongst other things like fat and salt consumption, was a leading indicator.

Not to mention the whole sugar-in-bread thing. It's a really good point--even consumers who were not eating twinkies daily were still getting extra sugar they may not have intended to consume because the market changed.

Then you are ignoring a lot of factors that impact obesity to an extent that I can't take your post really seriously. It's more a "pie in the sky" type of thought more than anything else. Sure, in a universe where basic psychology works much differently than in our universe, what you say might be considered as a good point, I concede that.

This.

 

[Akka]

Personal. Responsibility.

Seriously.

Sure there are a lot of factors, but it all boils down to the math.

I do agree that personal responsibility is the core of the problem, but I'd still not ignore completely the environment, nor completely absolve the food industry for its own part of responsibility.

 

[Antilogic]

It's funny to see people screaming "just use your brain!" when the food industry's advertisers and products are specifically designed to short circuit your brain and otherwise exploit it.

 

[Borachio]

I agree. It's a major reason to ditch the TV.

I saw about 10 minutes of TV on Monday afternoon. I had to leave the room quickly, as I could feel my brain turning all mushy.

 

[Disgustipated]

It's funny to see people screaming "just use your brain!" when the food industry's advertisers and products are specifically designed to short circuit your brain and otherwise exploit it.

I disagree. Advertising almost never works on me. I have yet to buy a product seen in the superbowl commercials.

But I will admit culture plays a role. And my upbringing by my parents. I don't like to waste food. Portion sizes are an issue. I will clean my plate at a restaurant if I can. Or if it's too much I'll doggie bag it (the better solution).

And portion sizes should be discussed. That is a difference I didn't think about earlier. McDonald's didn't have super sizes when I was a kid. Back then, one big mac or a 1/4 pounder with cheese was enough to fill you up. But then they came out with the double 1/4 pounder with cheese, and super sized fries and coke. Luckily I'm smart enough to avoid such things (McDonald's fries are crap anyways). But I will admit to eating a Double Western Cheeseburger at Carls Junior on my birthday. Damn good.

 

[Zack]

I disagree. Advertising almost never works on me. I have yet to buy a product seen in the superbowl commercials.

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