I’m so tired of seeing articles like this that deepen the moral panic surrounding fatness and the “obesity epidemic.” There is not a single diet in existence that has been shown to lead to long-term, sustainable weight loss in broad population studies. Why contribute to fear-mongering about fatness and health problems when 1) causality between the two remains murky at best and 2) fat people have NO reasonable, proven mechanism for losing weight?
1
There are lots of things to do between meals: read, walk, drink water, work, sleep, and play are among them. But the meals need to be comprised of real food that needs real chewing and imparts lasting energy. So much junk food is soft and empty of real nutrients (sprayed-on vitamins are not metabolized the same as the nutrients in foods) it's no wonder people keep reaching for more all day. Their bodies are craving real food.
Watch what you eat and quantities, it's really not rocket science
Simple recipe to not be obese:
1. Eat the amount of calories needed for your activity level - write down what you eat if you have trouble keeping track.
2. Reduce or don't eat animal protein - great for the environment and animals! - beans legumes nuts veggies are great sources of protein...
3. Minimal sugar and alcohol consumption
4. Plenty of fiber whole grains and quality calories
4. Exercise!!! / lift weights!!!
5. Have fun!
3
"" Evaluations are currently underway to assess the impact of healthier school meals.""........I love this line. Like this is gonna be a mystery.
7
" In Brazil, for instance, nutrition labels often don’t include sugar."
I have, during the pandemic, taken to tracking every single item I eat. The results have been eye-opening. Without any modification, I end up exceeding limits on added sugar (15g/day) more than half (55%) of the days. Excess sodium (1500mg/day) 96% of days, and excess calories (for my BMI) on 92% of days, even while averaging 200 minutes of exercising (mostly walking) every day.
Thanks to careful record-keeping, I now understand fully how weight gain happens. It is not about a special body, it is about calories, where they come from, and how much excess is taken in. So for Brazil, if I am understanding this correctly, is set up, without these accurate labels, to:
1. Addict the population (Hide the addictive, harmful factors while packaging EVERYTHING as innocuous).
2. Drive their bodies to derangement (they eat to live, yet are being drugged, essentially).
3. Coddle the affected adults with ageantry and useless pablum about self-esteem.
4. While covering for the system, pretty much line up kids, single file, and subject them to all of it.
There is no way the unmitigated disaster of obesity is going to be prevented from damaging the bodies and brains of young people by turning these vital issues into a parade of lies by pretending something else is happening, or that we can just sweep the reality under the rug, or re-frame the whole thing as inevitable, and purely a personal problem. This is systemic.
3
Use of the term "food environment" is really good. In this country, we have to swim upstream to maintain healthy weight. I don't have regular TV, just a couple of streamers, so I don't see food commercials. I shop and cook for myself. I don't go down most of the aisles in the supermarket. I buy most food in its natural state, no need to see if sugar is on the label. Produce has no labels! I don't bring any cookies or chips home. My snacks are things like hummus and vegetables, apples and almond butter, etc. If I want a treat, I go out and get a single serving, and this is rare. When I dine out, I look a the menu first and plan what I'll enjoy. I doubt I would be able to maintain a healthy weight without having created this "environment" for myself. I love walking so I walk a two to three miles a day. And with all this I am not thin, I'm medium sized! I have hypothyroidism, which motivates me to it up. It's too easy for me to gain weight.
2
My wife and I just returned from an all inclusive resort in Riviera Maya. We had three meals a day and the food was absolutely delicious and expertly prepared. We are not big eaters and found the portions fitted our appetite, about 5 ounces of rib eye or sea bass. Eating in a local Mexican restaurant two days ago, a number of meat portions were described as 16 ounces. I would order that only if I planned to take 10 ounces of it home.
1
America's fixation on eating out contributes to the problem. I was baffled by the horrified reaction to restaurants closing during the Pandemic. With some exceptions, restaurant food is less healthy than food you prepare yourself, since many of the things that make restaurant food appealing - e.g., salt and fat - also make it less healthy. Eat healthy, limit your food intake to mealtimes, limit your drinking, and get some exercise, and you may well find over time that you carry less weight. Regardless, you'll be healthier, and probably happier.
8
I don't think it is the meat. I know many very obese vegetarians. I do not use the word "obese" lightly. I don't even like the word and I think it is hurtful and insulting. But these folks fit the definition as they are a size 20. I feel that our main problem in America is sugar, high fructose syrup in particular, and chemicals and preservatives. Possibly alcohol and those artificial sweeteners which affect liver function are also a big part of the issue.
I work to maintain more normal contours-age 70 and a size 12. So, I'm not thin. The size 0-6 ladies would no doubt label me fat. But now that I've started in with the elderly episodic falling it is evidently good that I have preserved bone density which is less easy to do for the lifelong dieters.
I teach high school and despair for the very overweight young people. If you are 5'2'' and 200 + pounds at age 16 you are going to have a hard time getting it off. This is an age when the normal human is growing and moving actively through the week. Our kids don't all move actively these days. I take my little grandson swimming often and also see a lot of 5 to 8 year olds with significant belly fat. This is not normal in human growth and development.
Portion sizes need to come down. Activity needs to go up. If you can't fit in the seat, can't run, have trouble climbing stairs, you need to take control. But the glittering banquet is out there all day everywhere. The calorie pushers have powerful lobbies. Fight back.
12
@Consuelo Agreed. It's a fallacy that plant-based equals thin, or even healthy. I know many obese vegans who eat fake meat (often high in sodium, preservatives, GMO, etc) high-carb high-sugar snacks, trendy items like acai bowls that can have up to 34 grams of sugar, and shakes made with coconut ice cream. Americans always want a simple reductive solution. "No this, all that." It's not that simple.
As a type 1 diabetic I am always struck by how hard it is to find out how much sugar there is in food and how few low sugar versions there are. As for artificial sweeteners, logically there can't be similar effects from the various sweeteners. Chemically, and hence biologically they are completely different compounds and for them all to produce the same effect on appetite and weight gain would be statistically implausible
1
@ianstuart The less packaged food the better. Don't have to find out how much sugar is in a vegetable, fruit, or piece of fish.
3
I avoid all colas, diet or sugared, and all fruit juices. I drink water, tea or coffee. I usually eat home cooked meals. I walk twice a day, and used to weight lift twice a week at the Y before Covid 19. I avoid pastry and chocolates most of the time. I don''t get seconds of anything. Still I am overweight and have a BMI of 28.
I joke that I am skinny for an American...
12
You want to loose weight? Go to your window. Open it. Pick up your TV and throw it out the window (ground floor). Aside from the exercise, you will avoid mindless eating while watching tv (or other media). That will make a big difference.
9
Look at the size labels on your shirts. Did you notice that the US size uses one x less than the European one? What does this tell us?
5
@Andreas It tells us that when my husband and I lived in Paris for a month in 2018, when we saw a truly obese person it was almost always an American (if not, it was a Brit).
3
Successive governments never seem to correlate healthy individuals with lower health bills and as your article states, the income derived from tax on sugary foods is never going to cover the cost of treating obese patients.
When I first went to NYC a few decades ago I was mesmerised at the portions. I accidentally asked for a medium coke and could barely hold the paper cup. Room service at the hotel delivered a sandwich for two and a silver platter arrived that looked like it could feed ten people.
Although I'm not French having lived here for ten years I can see why they are naturally thin. They eat good wholesome unprocessed food. The take time to eat - two hours is not uncommon for lunch, which is invariably their main meal. They eat little in the way of carbs. If they have dessert it is a morsel. They love the outdoors and they're very active.
However they too are looking down the barrel of a shotgun because outside of the US the French are now the biggest consumers of McDonalds and with that will bring an epidemic of obesity.
Spain is also heading that way too.
I always find it ironic to see McDonalds sponsoring units in hospitals. Obviously no-one can add 1+1.
Middle Eastern countries currently have the highest obesity in the world and they're the greatest consumers of fast food. Cause and effect ? I think it's fairly obvious.
9
I agree that America is definitely in a trend where people are becoming obese, but I think that over half of Americans becoming obese by 2030 is a bit of an exaggeration. I think the problem is that a majority of unhealthy food is cheap, and healthy food is expensive. Another reason I think that Americans are becoming obese is because of our cheap fast food chains like: McDonalds, Wendys, Taco Bell, Arby’s, Dairy Queen, and Burger King. According to one article by USA Today these fast food companies “serve over 1 in 3 Americans everyday”. This is a staggering amount of unhealthy, cheap, and high calorie food being consumed everyday. In my opinion, it is astounding that fast food is having such a big impact on the overall health of a population. I think that if America is becoming obese, big fast food chains need to address this problem by upping their own standards for the food they serve. In my opinion if McDonalds simply served healthy food, and had more appropriate portion sizes, I think America would be in better shape. I do think that the population of America is becoming more obese, But I think that 50% of Americans becoming obese by 2030, is an exaggeration.
2
@Madison
You do know that the current obesity rate is 42.4%? {https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html} It's not a hard stretch to get to 50%, especially as the population ages and metabolisms slow with age.
20
@Madison Sorry, but the trends are facts, not opinions you can choose to agree or disagree with. Likewise, a trend charted over a period of time produces a graph that shows how it will most likely continue. That is science, not exaggeration.
It is not "simple" for fast food chains to serve healthy food. Their business model is based on making people want cheap food that seems to taste good, and to keep them coming back. McDonalds executives are not interested in health statistics.
Jane Brody writes: Given the role obesity plays in fostering many chronic, disabling and often fatal diseases, these are dire predictions indeed.
But is this true? It’s repeated so often, it has the feeling of “fact,” and, in fact, Brody feels comfortable stating this without attribution. However, many of these studies show a correlation between weight and these health concerns but not a CAUSATION. While, at the same time, some important studies have found that the stigma of being in a larger body creates more health problems than the weight itself. There also is ample evidence that dieting does not work in the long term and, sadly, is a predictor of weight GAIN.
I would love to see Brody write about the many proven benefits of The Health at Every Size philosophy. I will not hold my breath, however, because this and her past reporting reveals moralistic and unwavering judgments about the “dangers” of obesity. This should be unacceptable for The New York Times.
4
This is the same as the weight forecast in the movie Wall-E. So probably on the money.
7
America is infested with cartoonishly lit and designed big and small buildings reachable in minutes selling every imaginable cheap designer low nutritional high calorie “food” open 24/7, delivery is now available for those too big to leave their homes.
4
I am 73 and haven’t never been overweight or underweight, for that matter, although some of my heavier friends thought I was, in truth, underweight. How did it happen so fortuitously that my weight was OK. Well I think first and foremost I was blessed with a great metabolism. Second, I had a mother who loved to cook and had the time and, after she started to work, made the time. Third at one point my father, a salesman was overweight verging on chubby, verging on fat. My mother put us all on a diet and since I was about 12, it easily became a habit. Fourth I did learn about healthy eating in Home Ec and Girl Scouts. Fifth I loved to walk and was restless. I always went for a walk after school because I was antsy, because we lived in an area where I could walk long distances safely, and because there was no one close to play with. Or, I rode my bike. Not everyone has those blessings.
18
So long as the food industry SELLS MORE of the sweeter and processed things when they add sugars or processed carb fillers (you don't see this, but they can measure it DIRECTLY, cause and effect to the date! ACCOUNTANTS measure it in accounting spreadsheets), no single commercial food producer will ever unilaterally disarm with the obesity-causing things.
The food-industrial complex created this, along with the food marketing media campaigns that point the finger at helpless and hapless individuals manipulated in a media sea of ante-upping poker games of marketing. This isn't about food. It's about corporations, accountants, and a capitalist arms race (I'll see you that whipped cream and add a cherry. Well, I'll see you that cherry and add coconut flakes! I'll see the whipped cream, cherry, coconut flakes, and add a dancing cockroach cluster!)
If you don't believe me, just watch those bizarro "food network" programs that feed the ante-upping arms race, gastronomically chortling and gagging on every mouth-dripping excess, because marketing doesn't have the slightest interest in DISARMING, when you can add another layer on that diner sandwich, that mixed message dessert, that inedible excess.
Dig in, folks! How does it taste to be literally EATING marketing?!
You know what the filming most resembles? Not real eating. Like porn movies filmed for the camera's eye, and not actual pleasure. They film food porn the same way, for the camera, not actual taste.
9
This column made me go back to the NYT magazine I've been keeping as almost a talisman since 2011, the "Sweet and Vicious" sugar issue. We eat refined sugar (as a society), over 90 lbs a year. That's almost 2lbs a week, per person (and those figures are from 2011). The safest substances can be toxic when taken in large quantities. You can die if you drink too much water!
So not only are we are all getting fatter, with all this comes metabolic problems, ancillary diseases and increases in different cancers (maybe related to the insulin resistance). We are all poisoning ourselves with the added sugar in everything we eat. It's not a mystery. Until we accept that dietary choices aren't made in a vacuum, and we all agree that this is a problem that we as a society need to resolve, as opposed to a "personal choices" issue, we are only going to get worse health outcomes as a nation.
18
Reading this article makes me miss Michelle Obama. We had an amazing First Lady for 8 years who understood the importance of a healthy diet and tried to really make a difference.
61
If the overall contribution to national obesity levels is ever going to become a widely accepted state interest, it will probably trigger a heated national debate on which edible products are the highest in calorie, and the least necessary for cooking or nutrition.
My personal nomination would be to consider the value of cooking oils. One teaspoon of cooking oil contains three times the calories of a teaspoon of sugar. It is directly linked to cardiovascular disease, and contributes nothing to our ability to cook or to human nutrition.
Oils were falsely described as a healthful alternative to lard and tallow when introduced around 1910, the year that marks the beginning of an epidemic of coronary disease. Many of them are falsely marketed as health foods today, for no more persuasive a reason than they don't kill everyone, and are present in healthy diets whose benefits do not derive from those oils.
When dropped from one's diet, the exclusion of these unnecessary calories produces immediate weight loss.
3
Americans don’t know how to fend, er eat for themselves and always reach for cheap ready-made processed food and drink. I’ve got news for you, Pop-Tarts are not food. Teach your kids early, before they can talk. Best
19
@MadMex
Yet, somebody buys them or they would not be manufacturing them in bigger and bigger boxes and in snack size too. Ridiculous. Pure sugar and the Sugar lobby has an outsized say in the fact that Sugar grams are not listed on the product nutrition labels and there is no RDA. The sugar lobby pays handsomely for this and Congress members are receptive. It does help to know that 4 or 5 grams of sugar equal 1 teaspoon so when the grams are listed, you have some idea how much sugar you are eating or drinking.
3
@MadMex I think it is Michael Pollan who, in his writing, refers to the "food-like substances" we eat.
1
@2020 The grams thing is so shady.
In lower income areas, making fresh produce more accessible and less expensive through farmer's markets or just by reducing the prices for organic vegetables and fruits available in local grocery stores, could go a long way in reversing this trend. Making whole plant-foods as easy and as cheap as fast food, is a good start to combat this issue.
20
I live in a lower income area and there is plenty of access to fresh vegetables and fruits - within a 1-2 miles of easy paved walking or a bus ride — if you don’t have a car.
A walk around the neighborhood — within a block of a middle school and an elementary school — reveals that it doesn’t matter. At least 1/2 the kids are visibly overweight and the adults are even worse.
And even if you do get fresh produce, if you cook it to death in butter or oil and serve it with a big slab of meat, it’s not good for you.
11
@Lulu It's nice that there is access to fresh produce in your neighborhood, but many other low-income neighborhoods across the country really struggle with this issue (look up: "food deserts").
Also remember that to cook a healthy meal takes preparation time and planning. Because wages and benefits are so poor in our country, many poor people are working multiple jobs and have extremely limited time and energy when they come home, especially if they're also raising kids.
Pair that with the way food marketing has badly distorted our perception of what portions and meals should look like, and what is acceptable to eat everyday, it makes it really difficult for many people to stick to a healthy diet.
Being American by default means ACTIVELY re-training your brain to understand that what you see on TV, in ads, and in movies, and what is most available to you, ISN'T what you should be eating.
6
@Ashton
Blessed to have a BBQ for the past 20 years. Each week I make a lasagna sized pan or two of mixed veggies, prepared simply and browned crusty and tasty. Cauliflower and onions, Brussel Sprouts, Carrots, Blessed to have great Cauliflower heads all year round. We also make a low salt veggie soup all winter with light veggies like green beans, onions, carrots, celery, cauliflower and a few green peas. We are healthier for eating simply. We make simple grilled fish and salads and our own pizza. We have not bought Americas food in a pizza place for many years. It is worth the simple efforts we put forth to control the salt and sugar we eat and drink. IT is not hard to stock up on good eats. Do not go hungry to the market by having a yogurt or some other protein about a half hour before you shop and keep to a list. You do have to learnt to ignore the end cap displays and walk past the bakery division which stinks of sugar and if you have a list and are not hungry when you shop, you are more successful at controlling what you eat and an occasional small treat consumed outside the home tastes even better like an ice cream cone.
2
It's shocking how normalized obesity has become and how cavalier Americans are about the severe health consequences it has.
Stricter regulation of the processed and fast food industries could do so much good for so many people, but since the general public is in denial about how susceptible we all are to the various tactics that they employ it is ignored.
Another topic I see a lot of people float is the disappearance of Home Ec from schools and how this may have contributed to people eating out more. It would be nice if this subject could come back with a focus on how to deal with managing healthy meals in a modern way with discussion of things like meal prepping ahead of the work week and using left overs, rather than working off the out of date assumption that women stay at home and have time to cook a meal for the family every single night.
27
@Display Name Did you actually take a Home Ec class? Mine in high school was so poorly taught that the pathetic teacher told us the wrong number of ounces in a cup. She wasn't any better on the non basics either.
I learned how to cook and plan meals in 4H.
4
Maybe you’re younger. Home Economics was once a kind of science. In Texas where and when I to school, Home Ec was training we females to be ranch and farm wives. While we learned the domestic arts, the boys were learning to dehorn cattle and managing crops. I loved it. I didn’t become such a wife but I learned a lot in a lot of areas and remember much of it with great fondness.
Deskilling children- cursive writing for example- is part of what seems to me a plan to make humans helpless. No... fat, sick and helpless. Don’t buy in to it. We must all keep our common sense while being good to ourselves.
14
This article immediately brought to mind Neil Postman's prescient saying, that we are "amusing ourselves to death". People are more sedentary, which leads to weight gain. I also think that a decent level of overall happiness can help prevent an individual's weight gain: I know that I have gained weight while working at a stressful job, even when my basic diet hadn't changed. When I lived in NYC, I had to walk all over the place. I once took a 5th-floor walk-up apartment on the upper East Side. I am not suggesting this for anyone, I'm simply saying that I was very strong and slender at that time in my life. I walked everywhere and it was a happy time for me, even though I had hardly any disposable income. I watch and listen to people who take good care of their bodies. They seem pretty happy and make their personal health a priority, often deriving increased joy and mindfulness in the process. Just some thoughts as I ponder ways in which I can improve myself...
22
When I left home for college I was suddenly free to eat all the ice cream I wanted and I did. After gaining 10 pounds I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I stopped the ice cream, lost the 10 pounds quickly and have kept control of my weight ever since....60 years. It’s not that difficult!!!! There’s a point when a person starts gaining that they can stop it. How can you possibly be comfortable 50 pounds over?
16
@Yaker
Not that difficult?! So hundreds of thousands people undergo bariatric surgery every year just for the fun of it?
16
@Curious Person Once you put on a certain amount of weight, it can be very difficult - and feel impossible - to get rid of it. And Yaker's post doesn't take into account the number of Americans who enter adolescence and adulthood already overweight, which makes it much harder for them to lose weight as adults. Even if they didn't live in a sick culture which, yes, makes bariatric surgery seem like the only way out for a lot of people. :(
2
I really don't think that providing people with more education and healthy food options will do much to help the situation, because, at the end of the day, it will come down to personal choice and determination (for those who don't have a major health issue causing weight gain).
Even faced with healthy options and a road to run, I'd bet a lot of people would still opt out of the run and each for the tastier food option. ALL of us have finite willpower. It takes a lot of discipline to make healthy choices all day every day. There has to be a large degree of determination and sacrifice to eat well and exercise every day.
A lot of people simply don't want to put the time and effort into cooking or getting the amount of exercise that's necessary.
How do you fix that?
15
@Harry You would be surprised at the number of people who do not know how to cook. They don't know how to wash lettuce or cut an onion or a pepper.
You would be shocked at how bad the average person is at guessing how many calories or how much sugar is in a food item. You would be surprised at the number of people who couldn't tell you what a calorie or carbohydrate is or what it does to your body nutritionally. Many people don't have any grasp on anything the Nutrition Facts label says. They learn what they do know from TV ads, day-time talk shows, and random Facebook posts.
You would be surprised at the number of people who don't know how to exercise or start an exercising regimen and don't even know anyone that could help them get started.
I think education and coaching on this issue is a lot more important than you think.
6
Restaurants should be required to put to-go boxes in prominent locations. I have been on a diet my entire life and am appreciative when I can allocate half my meal as leftovers before I start picking away until it is gone.
9
But why don’t restaurants simply offer smaller portions? If a take-out box is needed regularly then portions are too big for people to eat in one sitting. Isn’t the point of eating out to have one meal per person not two? I write as a European with a healthy appetite who is routinely unable to eat US-sized restaurant portions.
28
@Adeline Trude, Yes it's a puzzle to a certain extent. I once asked to see a manager when told I, who was much younger than a senior citizen, at the time, could not order the senior breakfast with one egg, but had to either order the large two egg meal with toast and sausage or order one egg a la carte and everything else a la carte as well. He said rather idiotically, Are you 65? I said no, but you make it so I either have to pay much more to order one egg a la carte or order the two egg meal and then waste food by eating only one of the eggs. I've never understood the portion issue with many U.S. restaurants. Lots of folks are a lot taller and bigger boned than I who am petite, and thus naturally eat a lot more without overeating, but I can see from the comments here that many folks cannot eat all that is served. It's so ingrained in our culture though, this getting a take out box that it would be hard to change. Folks go home and have something to eat for lunch the next day, or whenever. It's gotten so people like that and expect that, I think. Or, they just eat it all and gain weight.
8
So... we allow corporations and the food industry to pack grocery stores with foods made mostly of HFCS, fats, and chemicals and we tell consumers that they are to blame for their obesity....
we allow real estate developers and city planners to put fast food chains and strip centers on every block of residential city streets, but we won’t let people have community gardens to grow their own produce or chickens for eggs...
Ok, I see what you did there, sociopathic billionaires. I almost forgot about the corporate industry pushing addictive e-cigarettes and pharma pain killers on unsuspecting citizens.... Some world we live in.
22
Americans are obese because food is abundant and cheap and our lifestyle is very comfortable. End.
If you make food easily available to a lab rat, the lab rat will quickly become obese. Simple as that.
Go to the poorest places on the planet (and I don't mean "poor" Americans, which are actually very rich by world standards), and people will be thin.
It will take increasing amounts of self-control to maintain a healthy weight as societies get richer and more convenient.
Certain inconveniences, such as having to walk up flights of stairs, walk to/from public transit, high-food prices, such as you see in European cities, tend to moderate weight gain. Barring that, wealth = heavy.
10
@Baron95 i agree with most of your analysis, but on a personal, not societal, level, wealth more often than not = health, and not just due to easier access to medical care. Our healthiest state is probably Colorado, with prosperous areas like college towns leading the way. The most common/popular leisure time activities in Colorado involve physical fitness: hiking, biking, skiing, running, climbing... all inexpensive save for skiing.
In our country, people lower on the socioeconomic scale smoke more, eat more (and more poorly), and use seat belts less. All of those involve personal choice to some degree (smoking and seat belts 100%).
10
@Baron95 It's not just a "food is cheap and readily available" thing. It's the culture. Parisians aren't thin just b/c they walk a lot (it helps) but because they aren't eating cheetos or potato chips all day long, and don't eat massive quantities of food when they sit down to eat. (And the food they eat is far superior to ours....)
1
If I was health czar, I’d make people with over a certain BMI (body mass index) ineligible to purchase certain “foods”. People under 21 can’t buy alcohol or tobacco products; the federal government outlaws marijuana - can anyone claim, with a straight face, that pot is a bigger problem here than obesity? I’m 73 y.o. and I still have to show my driver’s license if I want to buy a six pack of beer at the grocery store. How about everyone having a personalize health card with the chip containing the carrier’s health data: allergies, chronic illnesses, BMI, etc. BMI chip readers at checkout would reveal if you can buy those Hostess cupcakes, or should be directed to the day’s specials on fruits, vegetables, fish and lean meats...
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Leaving it up to the individual has gotten us where we are today.
6
@Frank That seems to be a little draconian, doesn't it? What's next, euthanizing anyone over 400 pounds? Have a little compassion, Frank. There are many people with an illness where their obsession with "taking the edge off" of life combines with an allergy to food (and the dictionary definition of allergy is "an unusual reaction to a substance", my unusual reaction was that once I ate sugar, I couldn't stop) which makes it almost impossible to stop, which might explain the recidivism of obesity. One needs to admit their illness and seek help, which is not always easy to find. A little kindness, compassion and empathy might be more effective than your Germanic approach to this issue.
12
@Jeff M Of course it seems draconian - and I don’t expect to be named health czar - but after 19 years working, compassionately, in emergency medicine, I think I can recognize an emergency when I see one.
Fact: the health of someone suffering from morbid obesity would be improved, not worsened, by reduced access to empty calories.
Fact: there is no benign 5’3”/350+ lbs.; that morbid excess weight has to come off, one way or another.
11
@Frank
That would just result in the mob trafficking Twinkies.
8
People used to think that nothing is healthy except in moderation. Now I think that nothing is healthy except in minimalism. Our moderation is gluttony for most humans throughout history. We have the luxury of eating small amounts of purely nutritious food. We should take advantage of that.
15
People MUST learn to control there caloric intake.
I get tired of people deriding the idea of controlling your intake (which they call "restricting", just to make it sound like a bad thing).
Controlling your weight is easy.
Physics fact:
If you intake fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. Intake more than you burn, and you will gain.
Your intake has to match your metabolic rate.
I know what I'm talking about. I'm 62.5, 5ft 9in, 170lbs, and muscular. I can gain weight if I don't CONTROL and monitor my intake.
My maintenance diet? Eat any food you want, as long as it's a balanced diet, and just don't eat so much (keep track of what you eat).
Most restaurants serve portions that are more than I eat in a day.
Fat and lazy really do go together. You need discipline and honesty to control weight.
16
Sleep, Walk, Vegetables.
Sleep, Walk, Vegetables.
Sleep, Walk, Vegetables.
Sleep, Walk, Vegetables.
Sleep, Walk, Vegetables.
Sleep, Walk, Vegetables.
Sleep, Walk, Vegetables.
Sleep, Walk, Vegetables.
Sleep, Walk, Vegetables.
Sleep, Walk, Vegetables.
............. (nah, i'd rather make a drama out of it.)
17
@Tim If only I could sleep! Menopause and hypothyroidism are a B! I'm good on the other two, that saves me!
If your food is wrapped in plastic it's probably very bad for you.
7
@Will. :. That's what they thought in China. Look what happened.
2
I have been on one cruise in my life. The 8 years old had pot bellies. It was as if they were in training for Type II diabetes. The problem is indeed cultural. We are a nation of consumers. We even consume fun.
22
Was it Carnival? They have a certain reputation.
5
@Jack
Does there not come a point when people feel too full to continue to eat? Has nobody ever heard the expression that tomorrow is another day. Or that the food is not going anywhere. We are not deprived of access in this Country. We make our choices and we have to resist the aisles and aisles of crackers and cookies and sugar beyond measure cereals. Has anyone noticed how bad the cereal aisles smell of sugar. Just think of rats and mice gnawing the boxes and turn yourself off in your mind. The packaging is done to resist pest intruders. Personally, among the fight for shelf space in Supermarkets, I believe the worst is the over packed out bread aisle and the huge displays of Oreo cookies everywhere which are really disgusting in their levels of sugar. I have a friend who has fatty liver and his two young daughters have it too. They are only 5 and 8 and he proudly displays the gross meals he makes and they all eat which have caused this problem for the entire family. Way too rich and saucy for kids but he feeds them this stuff anyway. Funny they are both underweight but their livers have suffered.
sugar is also a mood enhancing drug. it's no wonder that it is over consumed!
9
Co-mobility of weight and children without vaccination and antibiotic microbial resistance are combining a witches brew of unmanageable proportions in this new decade. Medicine is becoming the uncontrollable paradigm of life expectancy as overweight people confound medical technology as everything from Rx metabolize differently and surgery risk go sky-high with obese care.
5
When I moved to the South Bronx almost four years ago, it was a revelation. After continually being told that poor people were denied access to fresh fruits and vegetables, imagine my surprise to find, here in the poorest congressional district in the country, produce vendors on every corner, produce markets on every commercial street -- and all very busy. I find that my neighbors love "healthy" food. They also like "unhealthy food." This kind of article reflects studies, which are often too general, and experts, who often bring confirmation bias to their research.
17
You’re right, in big cities. The rural poor have it different. I lived in the Indische Beurt in Amsterdam. That means “Indonesian Neighborhood” in Dutch, because all of the streets are named after Indonesian islands. At that time (I’m not sure now) it was considered a “bad” neighborhood. An immigrant neighborhood. Some Surinamese (formerly Dutch Guyana) but mostly Muslims from North Africa, Turkey, and the Near East. We had Halal markets with amazing produce, though. Great prices, too. But I have also lived in rural areas in the Carolinas. What did we have? Waffle House, Taco Bell, and Wal-Mart. They might be cheap, but the produce was very poor quality. People were much more willing to get tasty cheap food that was unhealthy than buy the produce at Wal-Mart.
18
It occurs to me that people might think that the American rural poor might be in a position to enjoy great farm-fresh food at a low cost. That isn’t the way it works though. Farms which grow huge amounts of produce sell their products to large companies to be distributed nationwide. Small farms, of which there aren’t enough left, charge high amounts because they can and because it is the only way they can survive, providing fresh great produce to those who can afford it. So the poor people who live near farms are often the least likely to benefit from them.
14
@Ben
Small farms here in NJ and in upstate NY often have a retail store or just a kiosk to sell directly to people. Other times, I guess when the produce was overripe, they'd let you come in and pick your own. When I was doing long bike rides in these places I would see this.
5
Bring Home Economics back into the classroom - not as an elective but as a required subject for graduation in both middle school and high school. Modules on growing your own vegetables, nutrition, food preservation, how to shop wisely, how to create recipes and menus, place setting aesthetics - it’s all very trendy and pure Instagram- and every now and then, to really heighten things, students could produce their own versions of The Great British Bake-Off, Iron Chef etc. Could become a new sport! Interdisciplinary education! Graduates who could be a new generation of non-obese adults!
Just a thought:-)
23
@Mrs Plornish i love your idea and often thought that all students should also be involved in raising an animal for meat- even if it's a chicken! for those who think meat comes nicely wrapped in plastic and ready to cook, the experience of a living being may change eating habits!
5
Thank you so much for your kind comment...love your animal-raising idea. Perhaps the dear old 4-H Club could become very cool :-)
4
@Mrs Plornis, I was required to take Home Ec in high school because I was a girl. It was a total waste of time. In fact, the teacher was so incompetent that she taught incorrect basic information.
I know that what she taught was incorrect because I was active in 4H where correct information was taught by better educated volunteers. I learned how to cook, plan meals, and general nutrition in 4H.
3
Read the labels on the packages of the food you buy. If you can’t pronounce the words, or don’t know what they mean, don’t eat it. Portion control, staying active, avoiding fast food and limiting meals at restaurants will help in the battle.
11
@Frances P
“If you can’t pronounce the words, or don’t know what they mean, don’t eat it.” Better to take out your phone and look the words up. Not knowing how to pronounce a word or what it means has nothing to do with the nutritional value of what it refers to. Everything we eat consists of chemicals.
3
@TheBabylonians - Not all food has added chemicals and artificial ingredients. That’s what people need to look at when shopping.
3
That is both a comment on literacy and a comment on the ignorance of science. Plenty of things we think we can’t read are actually normal things.
3
What is not bering considered here is the addictive quality of the foods discussed in the article. The food industry may indeed be as culpable as the tobacco industry in "pushing" addictive products. The problem is we have been conditioned to see overweight people as weak willed, lazy or slothful as opposed to people ravaged by addiction. Let's be more honest about what is happening in our country-cheap, addictive food which any nutritionist or scientist will tell you is unhealthful is being peddled for profit by companies large and small, and the companies are well aware of the health issues their products help to cause. Until the government is forced to confront this issue, obesity will continue to rise. I don't say this as a spectator, I say this as a man who has lost over 100 pounds by admitting my addition and finding help. There are several 12 step based food addiction programs in this country, the largest of which is called Overeaters Anonymous, which are free of charge and want to help people with this affliction...but until we see obesity as an addiction and look for a solution, we will get nowhere.
27
@Jeff M But if it’s addiction, it’s the addicts who have to make the choice to get well; as long as the big, bad food industry/government/Big Pharma/the medical profession are responsible for all our problems, that too conveniently lets us off the hook. You made the changes necessary, are you superhuman or just a guy who found the willpower to get well?
3
@Frank We all have to make decisions as to what we put in our bodies. Some choose to get support.
Public health? Republicans believe in health, but regard it as a private matter. Any form of collectivism is socialism. In the Hobbesean worldview of the (former) Republican Party, public health data, particularly its collection, is unwise and risky. it's far more efficient for private corporations, such as the food industry, to tell us what we need to know. After all, they know the efficiencies.
Any questions?
8
Health isn’t a private matter. We subsidize people with bad health through our insurance and the rising costs of hospital bills.
10
@Ben No pun intended, but our hospitals are going to be crushed by the exploding demands on our health care system just around the corner: the baby boom population bulge arriving for inevitable age-related care; a much, much greater number of labor-intensive bariatric patients at a time of fewer resources available to hospitals, most importantly including staff; families unable or unwilling to assume care responsibilities for family members.
5
Whatever happened to the public service announcements that I remember of a kid growing up in the 60's and 70's? If you want to reach large numbers of Americans, put educational material on the TV.
8
Network TV really mattered then. We only had three channels. Now we have unlimited cable but even more importantly streaming content on the internet.
5
I can't see the study directly (hidden behind a pay wall) but the methodology seems flawed. Any statistician worth their salt will be extremely leery of extrapolation, doubly and trebly so for a linear one when the variable of interest is a percentage figure. If they've done even a well-controlled model, if it's a linear one (as the vast majority of medical studies are), then the next figure the study will tell you is, given that current US obesity is 40%, that by 2090 110% of US adults will be obese. This is just bad modeling giving you shocking sounding results.
7
@MC Starting in our country several decades ago, with every generation there are proportionately more overweight-obese individuals. It’s a crisis now and if we keep on the current track it will be a disaster in the future. Not arguing with your point, but that’s the only statistic that counts .
3
Food is cheap because the people doing the growing, picking, packaging, processing and shipping are paid lousy wages. The same is true of restaurant workers. If they were ALL paid a livable wage (and everyone else) then the food would be more expensive but we could afford it and just buy less.
If we cant ban junk food advertising on TV like we did cigarettes then we need equal time public advertising about healthy foods and how to prepare them. I DVR all TV programs and zap thru the commercials so I dont get tempted by junk food.
We need to teach high school students, both boys and girls, how to prepare nutritious meals and dont serve them junk food in the cafeteria at all. I am sure almost all overweight people dont have a clue what calories are, how to read packages, how many calories per day they should be consuming and from which food groups. Anyone watching My 600 lb life on TV knows that the surgeon recommends they lose weight on a high protein/almost no carb diet and after weight loss surgery it doesnt change, they eat small portions and that is the key.
16
While this article accurately describes the projected prevalence of obesity, it fails to mention the most likely cause of the obesity epidemic more precisely: the change in the molecular nature of the food supply. The obesity epidemic coincides with the abandonment of the centuries-old cultivars of major food staples, and the switch to new ones - dwarf wheat and cultivars of corn, soy, and nearly everything grown - that are sweeter, whiter, less bitter, and containing a genome with uninvestigated consequences. Combine these wholesale changes in nearly everything we eat that appear to hijack our metabolism and cause weight gain, unexamined seriously by regulators, with the widespread use of obesogenic antibiotics in farmed animals, industry food science testing of brain chemistry response to flavors, and yes, increased consumption of carbohydrates, and we have created a perfect storm of obesity. When the final chapter on obesity is written, people will wonder why it took decades to closely examine the biology of the food supply while so many people were dying of obesity. Debating a small tax on sugared beverages instead of a Manhattan Project - style investigation into the molecular nature and consequences of the altered food supply is a bit like debating a tax on Go-cart fuel as a solution for climate change.
Kent Sasse, M.D., MPH, FASMBS
Adjunct Associate Professor, Cell and Molecular Biology
33
@Kent Sasse, M.D., MPH
“[The article] fails to mention the most likely cause of the obesity epidemic more precisely: the change in the molecular nature of the food supply. The obesity epidemic coincides with the abandonment of the centuries-old cultivars of major food staples, and the switch to new ones...” But correlation doesn’t equal causation; evidence is necessary to support your claim. Citations would be appreciated.
7
@Kent Sasse, M.D., MPH thank you!
1
People have no idea as to how destructive process food is to the body, not just the excess weight that is gained, but also the non-commutable diseases that were nearly non existent 50 years ago. In Chile, which also has an obesity problem, they now have black warning labels on unhealthy foods and beverages high in sugar and unhealthy fats and it's working? Corporate America who controls our lives in many more ways than you think, would never allowed that.
18
I’m fat... and, no, another tax is not going to help. What what would help is to have EASILY ACCESSIBLE healthy food. Like many people, I don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I’d like to get something that’s already prepared and reasonably priced... and flavorful.
Sure you can get a salad at fast food places, but it’s usually the junky lettuce that’s been sitting in a plastic bag (I always can tell), garnished with one cherry tomato and ho-hum dressing, but priced at $8.99 (for just lettuce???).
When I shop for fruits and vegetables, I often notice they are about the same price as meat ($1.79 per pound for chicken AND for broccoli). This should not be as meat requires so much more to grow it; nevertheless, it is what it is. Fat or not, I look for bargains like most people. Sadly, the least expensive stuff tends to be the most fattening.
18
@Mark M I acknowledge that it can be difficult - and I shop for value, as you - but it's entirely possible. Cheap cuts of chicken (as you note), beans, and the like are inexpensive. Fruits and vegetables that are marked down near their sell-by dates are still healthy and entirely useable. Frozen vegetables are cheap, keep forever, and are easy to prepare.
It's a challenge, but don't give up. You can do it!
15
You could just eat less food in general. You might be hungry at first, but after a while your body will adjust to a smaller diet. That’s a better solution.
9
@Mark M Try frozen vegetables. They are quick to prepare, very tasty, cost much less and as nutritious as most of the "fresh" produce in any grocery store. Also, beans and rice can be bought at reasonable prices. They also provide a decent meal and if you use the low sodium canned beans it is a fast way to get a meal.
5
We need good information about what percentage of overweight persons versus healthy weight persons are dying from the Coronavirus.
3
Exactly the reasone to oppose universal healthcare. I don't want to be in an insurance pool with smokers and other junkies and land whales who have not exercised since high school gym class.
9
or perhaps it would give more people access to programs and drugs and help people quit smoking and diet assessment and support by a registered dietician?
13
@Reader In Wash, DC What will you do if you or someone you love has a major illness? Thin people get life-threatening diseases as well. Will you tell the hospital you can't pay and then let the rest of us tax payers foot the bill? Because that's what happens when people can't afford hospital bills. Your private insurance has no transparency in terms of billing. None of them do.
2
@Reader In Wash, DC I'm a vegan who smokes cigarettes. I also work out at a gym 4 times a week. If you are a carnivore and don't seriously exercise, I consider myself healthier than you, and I don't want to be in an insurance pool with lazy meat junkies.
It's not as simple or simplistic as finger-pointers would like it to be.
6
Our economy is based on growth. The industry must grow. The food industry must grow and our bodies must grow accordingly.
5
I assume you’re being sarcastic about the situation in Germany. Germans, like Americans, have become quite large. Time to discard the notion that everything must grow.
2
Everything in America is in the name of profit. As long as there is no new tax it doesn’t matter if you die early or get bankrupt paying your health premiums or deductibles.
Sin taxes have been shown to alter behavior. It will save money in the long term. People will live happier healthier lives and will have more money in their pockets. But republicans don’t want to bankrupt business conglomerates. If this is socialism sign me up.
10
There's a simple solution.
Educate Americans on how to count calories of food intake and calories burned -- the sum of calories used by "just living" (resting metabolic rate or RMR) and calories used in exercise.
This doesn't have to be a deeply scientific exercise. While athletes carefully measure their RMR and their exercise calorie burns, there are excellent estimates online for the average person.
And there are also readily available sources for calorie counts of all kinds of food.
In my case (a mid-60s male weighing 180 pounds), my "just living" calorie burn is 2100 calories a day. Low-intensity exercise -- today, two hours of snowshoeing at a 30 minute per mile pace -- burns 700 calories per hour.
That means if I want to hold my weight constant today, I can eat 3500 calories.
I counted the calories in everything I ate, added them up and stayed below 3500.
Anybody can do this.
If we need government intervention, let's focus it on making more information more easily available about RMRs, exercise calorie burns and calorie counts in food.
8
@Stuck on a mountain This works for few unfortunately. The number of calories isnt the core problem either. Its the type of calories. You can eat 6000 calories of fat a day and lose weight. And eat 2000 calories a day in carbs and gain weight.
9
@Gabriel : not to mention people need protein to rebuild their muscles and immune system and fats to rebuild their cell membranes including the brain. Carbs are for energy, only in plants do carbs build cell walls for structure. The older we get the fewer carbs we need as our metabolism slows down.
6
@Stuck on a mountain
It's a good idea but really only needs to be done once, assuming one eats pretty much the same things and does a similar workout. Calorie information is readily available on packages, at restaurants, and on websites. Thing is, many people don't seem to care.
Exercise burn tallies are hard to customize. Reason for that is as one becomes more proficient at something they will burn less calories. Tally charts also assume a steady pace with no breaks and most people take a lot of breaks. Finally, most charts will not give a net burn. So, one's BMR rate for the time has to be deducted. This will have a major impact on the final burn tally.
1
Well, I lost the comment asking "why nothing but corn grows thru out the midwest, even tho humans eat little corn; & why MW farmers don't grow fruits & vegetables." As someone who for decades has gardened for fun & health (& whose 19th century ancestors tried to grow produce in MO), I know why. Growing produce (for profit) is next to impossible in the midwest, even if there were subsidies. Why?
1. Weather - it's unpredictable. Two summers ago the midwest had significant drought -> withered greens, bitter radishes, tiny potatoes, and stressed low fruit-set tomatoes resulted A late frost killed fruit blossoms. Last summer it was insanely wet. Greens & strawberries rotted, radishes cracked, potatoes rotted in the ground, unripe tomatoes split open on warm days. Hail knocked tiny apples off trees. 2. Pests. Without turning it into poison, produce that is directly consumed cannot be treated with enough pesticides to keep army worms, Japanese & blister beetles, squash bugs & stem borers, grasshoppers, aphids, thrips, etc. from devouring the crop. 3. Animals destroy crops. Birds, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, possums, deer.
Solution?
1. Grow in the SW desert; control when the plants get water. Also, the surrounding desert is a physical barrier to pests. 2. Grow in field surrounded by corn and soybeans -pesticides used to treat these crops provides a sterile boundary for produce cropping. 3. Grow indoors in hoop houses. Too expensive for large scale produce growing.
3
@Meredith - I grew up just north of you and you forgot one other very important item that we never see here in the PNW. Thunder storms with hail! I can remember many a year of looking at grandpa's corn field after a brutal storm and seeing a lot of beaten down, broken corn stalks. I have lived here in Seattle since the Reagan era and have only seen one storm that would qualify as a modest midwest thunderstorm. But no hail. The locals here don't even use an umbrella because we just pull our hood up and that is good to go. The rain here reminds one of the opening to the film Bambi - din din din little April showers - more like a heavy San Francisco fog or light mist rather than what everyone back east thinks of as rainfall. But good luck trying to grow a decent tomato or peppers. Not hot enough and overcast.
3
@Meredith It is tough to survive without huge scale farming. I remember all the truck farms around cities like Cleveland and Chicago that took advantage of rich soil and nearby markets. I think it was a tough life for those small scale farmers and now that's all paved over with suburbs. So much for local, fresh produce.
2
@Meredith actually, midwesterners do grow fruit and vegetables and we in the Midwest make a special effort to buy locally grown products.
2
Hi Jane, I love your informative articles. I just read it sitting here while having a small bowl of fresh cooked Beans and Lima Beans in a Balsamic vinagrete. I will be taking a 1.75 mile 32 minute walk in just a moment. Thank you again.
7
@PATRICK
avoid the salad dressing.
3
@Anti-Marx
Actually, I'm convinced that having some acidic elements in our diet and exercise is a longevity factor. Consider it.
2
If his vinaigrette is made with a good, virgin olive oil, it's healthy.
2
Oh my! How will we poor peeps ever pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps if we can't bend over far enough to reach 'em??
14
We are being brainwashed by advertising to commit suicide by ingesting unhealthy material. Plain and simple.
10
Go into any major chain supermarket and look at the pure garbage being fobbed off as 'food' these fine days.
This prediction makes perfect sense.
19
I've known that smoking is bad for your health since about 1965. I never smoked because of this.
I've also seen many young people start smoking, in spite of the enormous public health campaigns against it.
My conclusion is that people are idiots.
Pass all the taxes you want, conduct surveys, and start public health information campaigns; people are still going to smoke, eat until they die, shoot themselves, overdose on drugs, and generally make messes of their lives.
And that is on a good day.
23
Americans respond to financial penalties and incentives. So why don't we double the sales tax on junk food for example, lower the cost of health insurance for people within healthy weight ranges while increasingly the cost of health insurance for those who aren't, same for smokers and non-smokers---this is already done in the life insurance arena...only fair to everyone and a positive incentive to get one's life in order.
11
@PJT,
I can agree with taxing junk food. I would, however, be concerned about increasing health insurance costs for those who aren’t within a healthy range, especially if it meant raising premiums on the poor, who may lack nutrition and healthy lifestyle education and live in food deserts. There must be a way to reward those who make exemplary efforts without being punitive toward those who lack resources, yes?
7
@Babs
It's easier and cheap for the poor to eat healthy.
Rice and beans.
Food deserst: Academic nonsense absovling irresponsible people for making bad choices.
7
@PJT - I used to take an epilepsy medication (Depakote) that is known for causing extreme weight gain for some women. I am sure there are countless things in life like this where a person is doing the best they can but are going to plump up.
Seattle recently passed a "soda tax" raising the price of anything with sugar added like orange juice, etc. Its just an excuse for the city council to tax more people. Too bad they haven't figured out how to build free public gyms the way we do a library. Working out is more important than a library of physical books when I can read most anything they have on the shelves in a digital version on a tablet while riding the bus...and no trees killed in the process to make the paper! (cue in all of the paperbook lovers in defense:)
Portions. It’s rare to get free refills and 32fl oz drinks outside of the United States. Here in Brazil I know of one place that offers both..not surprisingly it’s Burger King.
20
No doubt the industrial food complex creates addictive food products. Quality and quantity of food matters. Exercise matters. But there is no mention of endocrine disrupters in this article. Environmental exposure to plastics etc affects some people’s genes. I stick to a low starch low sugar diet without packaged foods and walk 3 miles a day. This keeps me at the same weight. I don’t consider it a diet. Thankfully I love vegetables. Now at middle age, I’m 10 pounds more than I was in my youth. I accept it, and keep walking.
5
@LJIS PS I have Hashimotos which is a metabolic autoimmune disease. It can cause weight gain. This can be from overexposure to estrogens. I don't use any plastic containers, and no more chicken that has been sitting in plastic under heat!
1
@LJIS absolutely exercise matters. I have no regime except low on carbs,meat and park as far from my destination as possible and hoof it. Going on 60 and there's no issue
Sorry, Jane. Good info in the article, butthere is NO comparison between obesity and climate change as threats to the planet. Not the causes, the consequences or the prospects for solutions.
1
@Steve Sanderson
doesn't obesity contribute to climate change? it takes more fuel to move heavier people. cars must be bigger to accommodate obese bodies (SUV's instead of Fiats). clothes use more fabric and more resources to manufacture. I would guess that increased body mass has an effect of our use of natural resources.
10
@Anti-Marx - If we go by your ideas (science proved) then we have to quit letting people like me breed. At 6'3", 195, I'm the smallest guy in my family. Even the women are 5'10". My Latino neighbor men stand around 5'3" and require less materials for clothes, leg-room on planes, etc. Oh, and I always have to get the long mattresses!
@tom harrison
6' 3" puts you in the tallest 4% of men in terms of height. Obesity rates seems to be pushing 50% of the population.
Also, despite your length, you can fit into most cars. I'm pretty sure that Chris Hemsworth drives an old Mini in Rush. If you were 250lbs+, it might not be possible.
It's not guaranteed that your offspring will inherit your height. Donald Sutherland is 6' 3", but his son, Jack Bauer, is closer to 5' 8".
1
I read this sentence: "Food is very cheap in the United States, and super easy to access,” and expected the obvious followup: "And *cheap* food is contributing to our metabolic diseases -- it's as much poor quality as it is great quantity." But alas I did not see that sentence; I wonder where it went?
4
I think sometimes people eat for reasons other than actual hunger.
Maybe to fill a hole in their heart.
I think love is the answer.
Love each other for who we are, right now, right here.
Not in the future.
Not with conditions.
Maybe that would help.
13
This Describes my reasons for eating .
4
Just like drugs and alcohol. Also tons of other relatively healthy activities which can also become compulsions. Some of us have compulsive personalities. I used to be a compulsive exerciser. I ran up and down the stadium steps at the Swamp at UF until I couldn’t move. I’ve also been an addict. Food can be a compulsion.
4
I’ve seen no comments on the dangers of processed food. Or the rampant advertising of same.
Folks seem unaware that processed meats (hot dogs, deli and canned, to name a few) basically come from the slaughterhouse floor.
The pivotal research of Dr. Michael Greger details the benefits of a plant based diet. Aside from it’s health benefits, it is less expensive and helps fight global warming.
His website, “NutritionFacts.org” is a paradigm shift of the Western diet. One of my favorite quotes of his is that “there is no lobby for broccoli.”
NPR also provided insight with “The Poison Squad” which details the crusade of one chemist, Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley. His single minded quest for food safety led to the FDA.
Perhaps the work force could implement weight monitoring. If there are cafeterias on site, only healthy options should be provided. Something needs to help folks realize that the gain of five pounds leads to fifty.
School curriculums should include the teaching of healthy eating.
Of course any improvements cannot be lauded by obese bosses or teachers. But, with knowledge, folks will understand why obesity is killing them.
5
I wonder about the prevalence of obesity referenced in this article. I live in one of the "fatter " states. I teach at a multi race high school. Yes, I see some very large people with the splayed out torsos, rolls of fat on their back, overhanging bellies and splayed out feet. They do have to stop to breathe and can hardly climb stairs. One wonders how they can stand it . And I always wonder-when was there a point just before or just as they realized that they needed the double chair, could scarcely wedge themself between the seat and the steering wheel, could not climb stairs without difficulty and just said : " There is nothing I can do ." But I would put it at about 20 %. And where I live it does not seem that more women are fat than men. There are still plenty of thin young people from infancy to their 30's. People do start to change contours after 40. Yes, we eat too much, too often, the wrong stuff. But I also think that those charts are causing hysteria. If you are pretty muscular they are going to put you in the overweight category because muscle is denser and weighs more than fat. Calipers or water displacement or body fat scales are more accurate. If you go by BMI's and then extrapolate you get this kind of hysterical article. Because walk out in any city even if it is in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi or any of the other " fat " states and 1/3 to 1/2 op people are not fat. Unless you think that anyone bigger than a size 8 is fat.
1
Subsidize broccoli and spinach instead of sugar, meat and dairy.
30
@Dave Yup. In my opinion, this is the core problem: we subsidize foods that make us fat. It’s that simple.
8
I doubt people will ever crave a pint size scoop of Häagen Dasz „Steamed broccoli without everything“ no matter how much it is subsidized.
2
I recently bought several bottles of diet seven-up because my stomach was upset. Because of this, my food stamps won't last
to the end of the month.
People on food stamps could not possibly buy soda and have a good diet. They should not be able to do this to their kids, Food stamps should not cover sugary beverages. They are not food.
3
@dr. c.c. "several bottles of diet seven-up because my stomach was upset. Because of this, my food stamps won't last to the end of the month". Why drink Diet Seven-Up for a stomach upset (or indeed for anything)? And then you say that food stamps should not cover sugary beverages - but it seems you yourself used them for the next-worst thing, diet versions of sugary beverages
5
@dr. c.c. - If they are not food, they should not be on the shelves for anyone, rich or poor.
If you are on food stamps (and I am) its next to impossible to afford a quality diet. Two days ago, I grabbed a beautiful purple organic cabbage and put it in the cart. My jaw dropped at the checkout - $6.
I decided to switch from milk to almond milk for a variety of reasons. I went from $2 a gallon for milk to $3.50 for half a gallon of almond milk (on sale). And yes, one can make their own almond milk but I priced it and it would cost me more to make it then to buy it.
Quality meat or eggs? Good luck. Fortunately for me, Ethiopian friends taught me how to roast coffee at home on the stove and I can now buy high quality raw coffee beans for half the price of the cheapest roasted brand on the shelf.
Juice without sugar? No way can I afford that.
But the biggest issue I see is that few people around me of any means know how to cook. I make anything and everything from scratch and even grow my own lettuce, beans, basil, peppers, and even one crop of snap peas in my front closet under lights. But most people have no gardening skills, no cooking skills, so they are left with frozen pizzas or Jack-in-the-Box or pricey restaurants.
4
I don’t believe that your story is truly personal, sorry. It seems designed to provoke a certain response. Just so you know, food stamps don’t cover sodas and ice cream and treats. At least, 17 years ago when I was a manager of a supermarket here in Florida, they didn’t.
2
I know the piece isn't about this, but there's a great big hole at the center of how many Americans see life's satisfactions, & approach fulfillment.
If we can only get more, consume more, we'll be happy. Or, at least distracted. Consumption as an anesthetic. A balm.
We make an error in trying to fill that hole with consumption, consumption of all kinds of things. Especially food.
17
@SurlyBird No, actually people throughout history who COULD overeat DID overeat. People like to eat. Food didn't used to be cheap and plentiful for hoi polloi, now it is.
1
Please factor in these findings to the projected cost of "Medicare For All." The IRS has my address, I'll send it an extra 50k per year out of my petty cash drawer.
3
It may be worth taking a look at all of the hormone disrupters in our environment which can cause hypothyroidism, like those awful register receipts with their slick coating known to have an effect on the thyroid. I wash my hands after receiving them, and more often than not, I refuse them altogether. Some chemicals used in agriculture also contribute to hormone disruption. Obesity at those levels—fifty percent—is not only a health crisis, it’s a national security crisis. If fifty percent of our young men and women are obese, how will our armed forces continue to staff up? Russia may be practicing cyber warfare for now, but in just a few short years, a physical invasion could be met with a seriously depleted defensive force.
5
Social media is also contributing to this problem. Log into Instagram and search food hashtags and you will see milkshakes that come with pieces of cake on top of them, burgers as big as a human head, loaded with as many high calorie “garnishes” as can fit onto a plate, gigantic toasts that have a whole avocado as just one ingredient... all things that look pretty in a photo but are probably 4 days worth of calories. Eating for the ‘gram is a real thing and it is adding to the obesity epidemic. Restaurants, bakeries, ice cream shops feel the pressure to create the next big food fad to compete in the high pressure world of the food industry. They gain followers and clients by adding Instagram-worthy dishes to their menu to attract influencers, and the photos go out to millions of people, feeding excess and the desire to participate in a totally out of control food culture.
4
Obesity is part of the reason shopping malls are failing. Too much walking.
8
I truly hope this is the distinctly minority cause of obesity: child abuse. My sister and I were raised in, shall we say, an unfun family. We were tortured, terrorized for years. No, it wasn't everyday, but enough that the fear of their return was nearly constant.
My sister was sexually assaulted and we were both beaten and frequently humiliated.
Around 12 years old, my sister noticed that men were not attracted to overweight women. So she ate. And then food became a comfort. So it was with me, too, except I am male. I was then five or six. We are both obese, she morbidly. And if you are lower class, believe me, it's much easier to gain it than to lose it.
It would be interesting to know how many people are obese because of abuse.
12
@Slipping Glimpser Thank you for sharing your heartbreaking experience. We must look at trauma in early years before we put everyone on the same playing field. What happened to you and your sister is not your fault, I hope you find someone that help you in getting to a place where you are comfortable with your own body weight. Keep at it, you and your sister deserve it!
10
Stop subsidizing unhealthy food and choices. Examples. A big gulp is 75 cents and broccoli tips are 3$. Gasoline is ridiculously cheap and riding a bike is ridiculously dangerous in most of our crowded cities. Cigarettes cost far less than what they cost us in health and social costs. The government has constantly got its finger on the scales and is picking winners and losers thru stuff like taxes and subsidies. This often hasn’t worked out-no pun intended. Maybe it’s time to try nudging us back in healthier directions. This doesn’t mean you can’t make bad choices, that’s a bed rock american right. I’m just saying the rest of us shouldn’t be paying for those choices.
7
Just walk into my Doctors office! His family practice serves lots of old elephant size people. I am one of three men in my arthritis swim class along with 30 women! Lots of people just don't care at some point and it shows!
6
I am glad that this epidemic is being treated so seriously. I have written about it and find that there are several conclusions that are useful.
1) Women are more prone to obesity than men in minority populations. For example, in 2015-6, while white men and women both show 38% obese, Hispanic women are at 50.6% while Hispanic men are at 43.1%. African American women are at 54.8% while African American men are at 36.9%.
2) Minority children are particularly at risk. White children show 38% obesity just as adults are. But Hispanic children are at 43.1% and African American children are at 46.8%. These figures are particularly troubling because obese children often become obese adults signaling that minority adult numbers will be even higher as children grow up.
3) Across the world the numbers are daunting. The United States is the only developed country with such extremely high incidences. Of the to 5 areas of the world with the most obese, the US is the only country that has a moderate climate. The other areas in the top five are from warm climates. The Pacific islands, the middle east (especially Saudi Arabia) and the Caribbean islands are among the other most obese nations in the world. As of 2019, the obesity rate in the US was 36.2%. In France it was 21.6%. While in Japan it was 4.3%.
6
This article validates Bloomberg's tax on sugary beverages, which was cast in a recent Facebook meme as showing his heartlessness toward the poor. Glad to know that the researcher in the article thinks its valid rather than simply regressive.
7
You need to lose weight? Eat less. Quite easy. Drink more coffee.
Take up pottery. If your hands are in mud, you will not be filling your mouth with them. Exercise also helps to suppress appetite -- and not too many sugars-- including pasta, bread, and remember veggies/fruits also metabolize as sugar.
In NYC we are so fortunate to have to, be able to walk a lot. Elsewhere in the USA--in places with super hot summers and cold winters... it's hard, esp. if one has any problems that make walking feel dangerous (vertigo) or difficult (osteoarthritis of the various joints, back.)
I am not sure that more discussion about obesity per se is needed. People need to understand why they are eating too much -- and ps stomach shrinking is a real thing... but more other activities by definition equate with less eating.
11
What is the basis for this "projection"? A straight line on a graph?
Obesity is harmful. Focus on that, and how to prevent or reverse it, not on whether 40% or 50% of the population is fat.
2
Natural selection could very well eliminate the Trump base in a few generations if they don’t get their health priorities straight.
8
The American president is an obese junk food addict. He is also obsessed with undoing every single initiative that the Obama administration introduced. The idea that better dietary policy might be generated from this administration is laughable.
As for individuals accepting advice from experts, our present society is incapable of large scale action of that type. When so many receive their information about the world around them through sources they have selected based on confirmation bias, and when the word "expert" now generates more suspicion than trust, good advice cannot penetrate the walls of ignorance.
The fattening of America will not be deterred.
14
Reducing meat in the American diet would help global warming but would definitely NOT help the waistline of Americans. That is an interesting, unsupported statement to have at the end of an otherwise well written article. Reducing fat protein and consuming more carbs is partly what got us into this obesity epidemic. Maybe this NYTimes reporter is vegetarian and slipped in a value statement?
2
Is it mean of me to say that the “body positivity” movement is contributing to normalize something that is definitely not normal...?
19
Yes, this is macroagressive.
2
@Intermittent Faster -- it is not only mean, but ignorant.
1
An easy cure awaits. Don’t eat. Drink water. Repeat.
6
@Steve Singer Steve you nailed it. Eat less, move more. It’s not rocket science. I might add buy fresh food. Try not to eat anything that comes in a box.
3
High Fructose corn syrup.
That it, right there.
3
It’s not all, but it is definitely a major factor.
3
For those who don’t believe this is of our own doing just look at our pets. So many of my friends have seriously overweight cats and dogs because they feed them like they feed themselves.
I have a friend who feeds her cat throughout the day because she “looks hungry”. They are both obese and the cat, who can hardly move, takes medication for diabetes and other ailments.
We are literally killing ourselves ......and our pets.
14
I wonder about pet food itself, largely consisting of wheat and rice. That’s a lot of refined carbohydrates for animals that are mainly carnivorous.
2
but what about body positivity
3
Considering how long Brody has been telling us the carbs are best, why is she surprised?
2
@Elle Roque Much depends on what's meant by "carbs". Refined, simple carbohydrates /= whole grains, unprocessed fruits and vegetables, etc.
2
Fast, food consumption is part of the problem not mentioned in this article. A dinner party in France could last 2-5 hours. Friends Eating drinking ,and talking Last week attending a dinner, in the U.S. the table was being cleared after 45 minutes, while I was still eating! My 1\4th finished meal went into the trash. Slow down! At 5 10, 150 lbs. .30 in waist, I have accurately been called a human garbage can, but I'm a painfully slow human garbage can.
6
Obesity and addiction are diseases, though they are the result of bad choices that do real bodily harm. But if you shoot yourself in the head, you don't have a brain and skull disease.
We need people to make their own choices in how they live, AND ensure they must take care of their own healthcare, not get bailed out by others who fund their bad choices. Bad choices need bad consequences for there to be any benefit to society. When you coddle, you end up weaker and dumber and more prone to control by those who coddle you with other people's money.
1
Nothing says Patriotism like corn from which corn syrup, that ubiquitous all-American diet staple and US GDP frontrunner, making patriots of all us obese citizens. USA USA!
2
Anyone trying to improve their weight/health might find it worth following "thatbigguy700" on IG. He is inspirational, working diligently to exercise and eat properly.
NYT real reporters: “obesity is a real problem that needs to be addressed”
NYT opinion: “obesity is fine and if you don’t agree you’re racist/classist/give people eating disorders/support Trump?/all the other bad things” (...exaggerating a bit)
TV is only part 2. Papers are increasingly read and links are shared for only part 2. That’s why there are no facts anymore, it’s all feelings, and feelings can be whatever you want them to be, just like Mika Kendall’s piece from the past few days. Wish the opinion section would do cross linked dueling opinions, where for each there’s a direct counterbalance to help readers decide what’s actually true.
1
@Tim Mosk -- Jane Brody is not a "real reporter" and her ideas about what people should eat are stuck somewhere around 1990.
3
Put fitness trackers on everyone. Anything less than 10,000 steps a day will lead to weight gain. Make smart substitutions...like a smaller piece of cake with a generous side of low glycemic fruit like strawberries. Save the big splurges for holidays and special celebrations. Partake in very small servings of bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes. Eat lots of fresh, low glycemic veggies like celery, lettuce, bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini squash. Eat your meat entree first, then your fresh veggies, then a half cup of starch. Save the dessert for then end. Hopefully, you will be too full to eat anything more than a small slice a cake.
2
@Lyn Robins Yup! It's not rocket science for the vast majority! But they're already happy with sugar,fat and salt
Americans are depressing.
18
Depressed people tend to either eat a lot or eat very little. Just saying.
3
Why no mention of the harm the "body positivity" movement has caused and how it contributes to obesity? Women in particular are told to "love your curves" (curves being code for rolls of fat). Advertising has been forced to use large-sized models, which reinforces the idea that being overweight is fine. This movement gives women especially an excuse to keep overeating, because it tells them that that they needn't exercise or diet, but they should accept themselves as they are. Having good self-esteem is fine and a positive attribute. But, telling yourself that being overweight is healthy and acceptable is detrimental.
47
@Ms. Pea - The majority of obese people will never be permanently thin. Yes, they will lose weight, but most will gain it back. So, which is better, have them hate themselves the rest of their lives, or accept reality?
5
@PM -- Why won't they be permanently thin? I don't follow your logic. Anyone can be normal weight. Just start walking, a little at a time, and start adopting good eating habits. There's no mystery to it. Everyone knows what they should not be eating and what they should. If they keep eating bags of potato chips, pizza and cookies, then you're right. But, anyone can give that stuff up.
8
@Ms. Pea - If starting to walk, a little at a time, and forgoing bags of chips, pizza and cookies was really all it took, no one would be fat. Read some studies about how dieting affects the metabolism.
8
I agree with the Doctor, pull meat out of the diet and put more potatoes in and we will all be skinny.
7
Simple. I lost 50 pounds in 1 year. I replaced all rice with frozen mixed veggies instead. My carbs and nutrients come from beans and lentils; no starches at all. I eat greek yogurt with fruit in the morning, 2 eggs a day, and meat. I eat a little bread if its gourmet bread. I avoid food that i dont cook, dont eat out. Restaurants dont cook with olive oil. On the other end of the candle is exercise. I was too fat to run so I biked around central park every day. Biking is easy and so is swimming. Running can hurt the overweight. Eventually I went to the gym. None of this is very difficult. Get a bike and go to central park, eat at the fruit vendors, go home and cook a nice meal.
12
I recently joined Weight Watchers in an effort to drop a few pounds and lower my cholesterol. It has been an incredibly eye opening experience: I am still able to eat until I'm sated, but I'm paying closer attention and realizing that the portions I was eating before were way off base. I'm also realizing that I hadn't been thinking about the way that I snack, and that snacks really do make all the difference. Now if I'm hungry I grab a banana or an apple - such an easy shift from a coffee shop pastry - and I feel much better. I've dropped 11 pounds in three weeks, and honestly I'm shaking my head in wonderment that it has been so easy.
I think that most of us have drifted far away from what we ought to be eating, but if we put a little more focus into it we'd all feel a lot better. I'm eating as many fruits and veggies as I want, but I don't think my grocery bill has gone up because I'm eating less overall.
It's so easy to fall into American eating habits. Both of my parents are obese, and I don't want to follow in their footsteps. Articles like this one remind me of just how much is at stake, and that it's worth it to put some effort into my health. (It's a lot easier than dealing with a heart attack, anyway!)
I'm trying to make lifelong habit shifts. I think it's doable. I hope it is - my life depends on it! 11 down, 19 to go.
8
I recently joined Weight Watchers in an effort to drop a few pounds and lower my cholesterol. It has been an incredibly eye opening experience: I am still able to eat until I'm sated, but I'm paying closer attention and realizing that the portions I was eating before were way off base. I'm also realizing that I hadn't been thinking about the way that I snack, and that snacks really do make all the difference. Now if I'm hungry I grab a banana or an apple - such an easy shift from a coffee shop pastry - and I feel much better. I've dropped 11 pounds in three weeks, and honestly I'm shaking my head in wonderment that it has been so easy.
I think that most of us have drifted far away from what we ought to be eating, but if we put a little more focus into it we'd all feel a lot better. I'm eating as many fruits and veggies as I want, but I don't think my grocery bill has gone up because I'm eating less overall.
It's so easy to fall into American eating habits. Both of my parents are obese, and I don't want to follow in their footsteps. Articles like this one remind me of just how much is at stake, and that it's worth it to put some effort into my health. (It's a lot easier than dealing with a heart attack, anyway!)
I'm trying to make lifelong habit shifts. I think it's doable. I hope it is - my life depends on it! 11 down, 19 to go.
3
I recently joined Weight Watchers in an effort to drop a few pounds and lower my cholesterol. It has been an incredibly eye opening experience: I am still able to eat until I'm sated, but I'm paying closer attention and realizing that the portions I was eating before were way off base. I'm also realizing that I hadn't been thinking about the way that I snack, and that snacks really do make all the difference. Now if I'm hungry I grab a banana or an apple - such an easy shift from a coffee shop pastry - and I feel much better. I've dropped 11 pounds in three weeks, and honestly I'm shaking my head in wonderment that it has been so easy.
I think that most of us have drifted far away from what we ought to be eating, but if we put a little more focus into it we'd all feel a lot better. I'm eating as many fruits and veggies as I want, but I don't think my grocery bill has gone up because I'm eating less overall.
It's so easy to fall into American eating habits. Both of my parents are obese, and I don't want to follow in their footsteps. Articles like this one remind me of just how much is at stake, and that it's worth it to put some effort into my health. (It's a lot easier than dealing with a heart attack, anyway!)
I'm trying to make lifelong habit shifts. I think it's doable. I hope it is - my life depends on it! 11 down, 19 to go.
I started intermittent fasting for health reasons. my osteoarthritis is gone! I also, without even trying, lost fat around my belly.
IF is easy and should be a lifestyle for people who want to live healthier lives. It is literally a miracle. No medicines needed!
10
Several years ago, I had gotten up to 295 lbs. I did no exercise. I was nearly bedridden.
I got seriously ill, my doctors are not exactly sure why. I developed some sort of nonspecific autoimmune disease. It looks an *awful* lot like this Leaky Gut (which some doctors are not sure is "real" but if the shoe fits, I gotta wear it!)
I was having anaphylaxis to dairy. I stopped eating it. I lost 30 lbs.
Then it was wheat that gave me hives, rashes, GI distress, etc. Another 20 lbs.
Then eggs: another 20.
I stopped soda: another 20 lbs.
Then my mother suggested coconut oil for my skin and I had a colossal reaction: I lost another 25 lbs.
Total 115 lbs lost.
The problem was, I couldn't eat ANYTHING. I was anemic. I was malnourished. I was having problems with vitamin deficiency. I was depressed and sluggish. I was weak.
My doctor sent me to physical therapy to help me get stronger, since I had lost so much muscle mass along with all the fat.
Working out 3 days a week in the pool at the physical therapist elevated my appetite. I started being not just hungry out OUTRAGEOUSLY HUNGRY. It was impossible NOT TO EAT. I had to. I was, quite literally, *starving.*
Also, I had discovered the ideas behind Leaky Gut and had done away with Nexium and Celebrex. The autoimmune problems tamped down a bit. I wasn't as sick from food.
Adding a *single* small meal in the morning, as well as a TON of exercise each week:
I gained 60 lbs in one year.
You cannot win. I weigh 245.
2
@Dejah It's a difficult struggle, and I hope that things improve. Something to keep in mind is the saying, "you can't outrun a fork." Exercise is great for your body, but don't count on it to burn enough calories to lose weight on a consistent basis.
There are many different methods of weight loss, all of which boil down to fewer calories in than expended. The key is to find the one that works for you, which often takes continued experimentation. Good luck!
1
I run a fair amount, mostly around the small town I live in. The problem isn't just food. I'm talking parents driving their kids to the bus stop 2 blocks away. Or driving their kids 2 blocks to school when they should be walking. Or how about stopping at your mailbox and getting your mail before you drive the 20 yards into your garage? I almost never see kids playing outside, not in their yards or in parks. In the three years I have lived in my current residence I have only seen the parents in one of the houses outside on three occasions. All three instances were when they were shoveling snow. We've got snowblowers and leaf blowers and riding lawn mowers and rhoomba's and we sit, and sit, and sit, and sit. Anyone ever seen the movie Wall-e? It's frightening how spot on that movie is.
20
I wasn't sure why the quote about cutting down on meat was at the end of the article. We don't have good evidence that cutting down on meat consumption, in and of itself, will lead to less obesity. Yes, it may mean we substitute more healthful things to eat. Or it it may mean we simply substitute more carbs and processed food. I say this as a vegan who has not eaten meat for over 30 years. I just like what I read to be upfront about the science.
6
@JenD
Average weight loss from switching to 'plant based' is about 10% with other factors staying the same. Well documented.
3
@derek
Any "plant based" diet that claims to prevent or reverse any disease always involves the removal of _sugar_, refined carbohydrates, and other highly processed foods.
Yet you attribute the benefits to the veganism while ignoring the sugary elephant in the middle of the room.
And no, other factors did not stay the same.
I was a vegan for one year. I was a vegetarian for nearly 20 years. I lost weight when I was a vegan and gained weight when I started eating dairy again. Anecdotal evidence, sure, but I have a hard time believing that a true vegan diet doesn’t contribute to a healthy weight.
1
Obesity is an environmental disease, a disease of human habit and human culture. Refined sugar is a great poison.
7
@Steve Singer If obesity were a disease, you'd be able to catch it without trying. No, obesity if a self-inflicted wound, like addiction. If you think it's a disease, than humanity is culprit because they make themselves this way.
4
@David
Your tolerance sounds nice but you overlook the mental and physical bad consequences of obesity. I doubt the latter is a choice but rather is a symptom of cultural deficiencies. When living in our residence in Italy I am always shocked at the size of American tourists rolling down the street, often eating a big ice-cream cone.
6
@david—Kids born with diseases like cystic fibrosis tried to catch those diseases? No way. Disease does not equal contagious. Disease does not equal self-inflicted.
2
I think we should start by emulating the multi-pronged food labeling and taxes and advertising that Chile began five years ago. We can see how much adequate food labeling and advertising restrictions change consumer purchasing patterns. Knowledge is powerful, but probably not enough. We can then extend and increase taxes on highly processed, sugar-added, high sodium, high fat ready meals to further nudge consumers into healthier eating.
We should also restructure agricultural subsidies to reward farmers for growing fruits, vegetables, nuts, and things other than corn, wheat, and sugar beets. Currently the US does not grow enough vegetables to meet the five a day per person recommendation, because right now there is not sufficient demand. Farmers will need help switching to more nutritionally sound crop balance.
Lastly, we need to fund public transit fully and build sidewalks, protected bike lanes, and more walkable cities and suburbs. These non-rural settings should include schools, sports facilities, and retail tucked into otherwise all-residential neighborhoods. It does not make sense that one needs to get in an automobile to get to school or home from practice, or just to grab some a single bag of groceries. It might make sense, too, to subsidize individuals’ purchases of electric, pedal-assist bicycles to help people shift from doing every errand via car.
6
@voltairesmistress Yes, the solution is always more government spending on others, per central planners, who know little about the actual needs of resilient citizens over meek and dependent ones.
But, labeling food is fine to tell us what it contains, but as soon as you say the cookie is 'unhealthy' because of sugar and fat and salt, you have put your meager opinion on another delightful treat. Soda isn't meant to replace water, nor cookies to replace nutritious foods.
People need to make wise choices for themselves or they suffer; without this basic reality allowed to run its course, society will get worse, not better. It's why we don't feed pigeons or feral cats.
@David You seem to expect a solution, but when one is presented, you say, "no, not that solution."
2
If you look at Asian and Latinx immigrant communities in California, you'll notice less obesity despite similar income levels to poor white and black communities. You'll also notice many active produce stands and meat and fish markets. Poverty alone doesn't drive poor eating, it is also education and culture. A glass or water bottle full of tap water is virtually free, yet in some communities you'll see folks consuming sugary beverages at every meal. Again, a choice made in a cultural context of bad eating habits. I think education and exposure to a different way of eating have to be part of the solution.
15
OK, I'm off to the gym. I'm 66, and a little heavier than I would like to be. But I do burn about 500 calories every day working out, so after only 10 weeks I weigh about 10 pounds less than I otherwise would.
Here at Oronoque, the gym is free and open to all, but less than 10% of the residents ever show up. Of course, a lot of them do walk two or three miles every day.
3
Living abroad but returning to the US to visit relatives increases awareness of how much heavy US adults are than those who live abroad in reasonably well to do countries, which also have easy access to various foods. There is something about,the American attitude toward health that appears peculiar to the culture.
14
@Seth So why hate on the American culture. Let others be thin, others fat. Life doesn't have to be some ideal others impose on the rest of us.
It’s interesting. I see it changing a lot. At my workplace, the young people are really concerned about healthful eating and are not overweight. It’s mostly is over 40s that are eating and ordering the cookies and cakes. It’s a promising sign. I think the message is getting through to young people that maintaining a healthy weight is a good thing.
8
@Agarre The message might be getting out, but I'm unsure if everyone is listening. Still feels like there is a rising number of obese people, even in the younger age groups.
2
@Agarre
Around 40 your metabolism is not as high as when you were twenty and you are more sedentary.(Ok, doesn't hold for everybody but for most). That is when people start keeping the weight on even though you might have been eating the same things when you were twenty and did not gain weight.
4
Yea, there are dietary factors, but in all the obesity hysteria, no one seems to mention the handfuls of medications many of us, including young people, take daily that have weight gain as a side effect? These medications that treat a myriad of conditions, also make it extremely difficult to lose weight. I have been on an old school treatment for asthma--corticosteroid inhaler and Singular--which has given me a "buffalo hump" fat pad on my back, nasal polyps, and an extra 25 lbs. I can watch my diet, exercise and lose 5 to 10 of those pounds, only to gain them back. Antidepressants are also weight gaining drugs, as are many for ADD-ADHD and just about every other mental health condition. until we start to seriously look at the weight gain side effects of modern meds, and do something to help change them, we will still have significant obesity in our population.
13
@TS I agree. For the first time in many years, I am now able to diet successfully. What changed? I stopped taking Prozac a year ago. I'm still dieting, but now, instead of giving up after loosing 10-15 pounds and staying there, I've been able to loose 30 pounds and still loosing, perhaps on an even less strict diet.
3
@TS You can decide how much meds you need and how much food you need and how much exercise you need. Nobody has a right to an easy life, one in which they get all that they want without suffering any affects others may disapprove of. All choices have consequences. Free people do better than subservient ones who depend on others.
A few years ago, my son and I traveled by car from NY to LA. For four of the six days, we saw nothing but corn. Corn as far as far as the eye could see. No peas, no lettuce, no broccoli, just corn. Not even wheat. Thousands of miles of corn.
So, in the middle of America we stopped to eat at a diner. I scoured the menu. "Do you have corn?" I asked. I was having a craving for sweet corn, the kind you get in New Jersey. The young waitress looked at me like I was crazy. "Corn? Nobody eats corn."
Of course not, it goes into long trains of tanker cars as high-fructose corn syrup, and cattle feed and gasohol. That's the cash crop of America, the raw material of obesity and diabetes.
29
@ShenBowen
What you see growing when you travel the highways is feed corn which goes in to many, many things but no, in general, people don't eat feed corn. No one plants huge fields of sweet corn where anyone can come by and take whatever they want. And the season for sweet corn is short...maybe a month if you want it fresh. So some is sold by smaller growers at roadside stands (which you aren't going to see on an interstate). The rest goes to canning or freezing plants so it shows up in your grocery store.
And BTW, You shouldn't look at eating corn as actual corn as any kind of act of nutritional virtue or being better than simply consuming corn syrup. Corn isn't even considered an actual vegetable by most dietitians. It's considered a starch and has few redeeming qualities other than calories. Especially when slathered with butter and salt.
I'd say nutritional ignorance is an equal cash crop of America and it certainly fuels obesity and obesity related medical conditions.
6
3600 calories equals 1 pound of weight. 10 modest chocolate chip cookies,1 a day for 10 days, all else being constant will get you a pound of weight.
1 mile of running is 120 calories at 6 mph( modest speed), making it 30 miles of running to lose a pound.
1 mile of walking is 50 calories, and you'll need to walk forever...
14000 turns of jump rope will get you there.
All of this sounds insurmountable, unless you see that running 2 miles a day gets you to lose a pound in two weeks.
You can do redt of the math based on how much you care too lose.
Consistent exercise ( continuous elevation of heart rate above 120 beats for 20 mins) will get you there.
7
@Mehul Desai And don't forget to eat less. Unless you are a rigorous athlete, you don't need more than one real meal a day, with 1 or 2 healthy smaller meals, and snacking needs to be mostly eliminated. Our lives just don't need the calories we'd prefer to eat for pleasure.
6
Stress can also be significant factor. In 2016 I was 20lbs overweight and on multiple prescription medications for various health issues. I wasn’t sleeping well and miserable. I had anxiety and was desperate for help. I took what felt like a gigantic risk and quit my well paying corporate job with excellent benefits to take a year off. I was in my mid 40s. Most of my coworkers envied me. Most of my friends and family thought I was insane to give up money and security. The result? I lost all the weight in the first 2 months without trying very hard. I simply had more time which helped me make better choices. I slept like a baby. I cooked all the time and enjoyed eating more healthy foods. I stopped taking all medication because i no longer needed it. During the last half of 2017 I didn’t event need or take over the counter medication. I spent a year focusing on things unrelated to my career and reassessing what I prioritized. I’m not rich so I had to rejoin the workforce but I approach it much differently. I’m 2 years back at work and will absolutely do another gap year. American work/life balance it totally out of alignment with the pursuit of happiness. I believe stress is a major factor impacting obesity rates and other health issues. I suspect the increase is productivity is costing us a fortune in health related expenses.
29
@Jason L Greed and envy play big roles in anxiety and depression, where people think they are owed more (greedy) because others have stuff we want (envy).
There's nothing wrong with being fat; just that some will claim you are ugly, or unhealthy, or for lovers of central planning and authoritarianism, you are costing us more for healthcare because we pay for your choices.
Liberty is the solution. Live and let live. Let results and tastes be the determinant for good or bad.
@David. My anxiety was based on the constant pressure to excel. It was not based on greed. From a material perspective. I had/have everything I could possibly want. Also, yes there is something wrong with being fat. It is unhealthy. Even at just 20lbs overweight I physically felt the impact. After losing weight it feels great to look better but nothing companies to how it feels to be physically healthier. Re central planning, Why does every other developed country with a centralized healthcare system spend far less on healthcare, as a percentage of GDP, than the US? Why can’t we figure it out? I’m a capitalist yet realize it’s the worst system out there (except for all others). I.E. it’s not perfect and the US is a shining example of its inadequacies.
1
I agree our lifestyle and food choices in America has gradually deteriorated since I grew up in the 1950’s. And our activity levels as both children and adults. And I DEFINITELY feel the government can play a guidance role in changing that.
If we want CHANGE, then we should vote for a candidate who has noticed this problem we’ll before it was popular and even acted upon it.
Vote for MIKE BLOOMBERG! He is a data guy and has paid attention to what makes society unhealthy and what costs society unnecessarily. This is an important topic to him as it was to Michelle Obama, he can take on this challenge which she had started to address so well.
7
He’s exactly who I thought of while reading this. But I also remember how people cried “Nanny” when he tried to get rid of the huge drinks.
“While there’s no one thing to throw at the problem,” Dr. Bleich said, “if I could wave a magic wand, I’d make a tax on beverages a federal mandate because they’re the largest source of added sugar in the diet and are strongly linked to weight gain and health problems. When people drink their calories, they don’t feel as full as when they consume solid food, so they end up eating more.”
The problem is simple: like everything else in this country food is a commodity which is promoted, advertised, and marketed in such a way as to make people want to eat more and as such increase chances of obesity. The truth is that most people eat far more than is necessary to sustain a healthy lifestyle. Even the concept of three meals a day is a modern day myth. Somehow I doubt that our ancestors are three square meals a day (square comes from the fact that meals on Royal Navy ships were served on a square wooden tray). Missing a meal here and there is not going to kill you. In fact it’s probably going to help you live longer.
13
@Mike L True, but that assumes most would choose more old person years over more consumption while younger.
Most people only need one meal a day, with perhaps a few healthy snacks to make life a bit more pleasant.
A body's "optimal" health is just not a life choice many make for themselves. Whether you think that wise should remain irrelevant to our lives outside of your free speech right to share that opinion.
I’m surprised that the author chose to completely omit the roll of endocrine disrupting chemicals found in food packaging. These also contribute to obesity. And because they are not labeled (essentially invisible to consumers), they contribute in a way that is forced upon us. Focusing just on calories makes obesity seem like a disease of personal choice; I think there is more research to suggest that this is not necessarily the case.
7
It is disheartening and immoral to see that the Goodwill stores in the Rochester, NY region have installed refrigerators filled with sugary beverages and racks of high-fat chips and snacks next to the cash registers.
This is an organization whose goal is to help those suffering from diseases of the eye.
Diabetes causes blindness.
These products lead to diabetes.
Many of the shoppers are poor people.
Why would an organization make a decision like this one?
Answers: Fast, guarenteed cash.
If the US wants to change this obesity diagnosis we MUST break the sugar, soft drink, fake fruit juice and snack food lobbies.
17
@Eve Elzenga All those evil people giving customers what they want that is contrary to your tastes. You be you, and let others be themselves.
Cheap fossil fuels and excess carbon are actually behind many of the really intransigent and difficult issues facing us, from climate change to rain forest destruction to obesity to the plastic choking our oceans. I disagree with the comments that imply that all of this is about self control. A hundred years ago, people still dealt with self esteem issues, depression, substance abuse etc. But very few were fat. What has changed is the environment, made possible by the abundance of cheap fossil fuels. This has impacted what and how much we eat, where we live, how we move. If you wanted to create a society that promotes calorie excess malnutrition and disease, well, welcome to America. And the corporations making the money will be paying zero toward our ballooning health care costs (or costs of climate change for that matter.)
5
I stopped drinking diet soda for a year, and my blood sugar was unchanged. There is no evidence that diet drinks are bad.
There is lots of evidence that limiting your eating period to 8 hours per day is helpful. Also, no sugar.
6
@Bill They contain artificial sweeteners. It may not necessarily change your blood sugar, but blood sugar isn't the only measurement of health.
4
I disagree with the statement that children aren’t born obese. The highly-processed, sugar and fat loaded diet that a patient consumes during pregnancy sets the stage for obesity and diabetes in that baby’s future. The excess processed sugars in the pregnant patient’s diet affects the developing fetal pancreas in adverse ways. I’m pessimistically concerned about how we will change this insane nutritional environment we have found ourselves in.
I struggle everyday to choose healthy foods myself so I get how hard it is. I’d rather eat processed sugar and fat all day long, but I’m very judgy when my pregnant patients do this.
9
@Southern Reaches
"I struggle everyday to choose healthy foods myself so I get how hard it is."
Struggle? Decide right now that soda, chips, sweets, and processed junk are never going into your shopping cart, and never go to a fast food place again! If you really love to eat and want sweet or heavy foods, get really fit and exercise hard regularly and you can eat whatever you want. Done.
1
@Southern Reaches Liberty can be hard. Those who can tame liberty to their desires are the happiest and most successful people in the world, and are a great example to others.
1
We were OK with shaming and taxing smokers and it eventually worked. Instead we'll spend hundreds of billions of dollars "treating" people for a condition that is self-inflicted and can be "cured" at no cost.
34
@Teal We spent billions of dollars treating smoking. The reason we made gains in the battle agains smoking was (1) it was a simpler problem and (2) suing tobacco companies brought millions of dollars to state health departments.
9
@climate refugee For tyrants, it's not any harder to tax sugar and added fats that would reduce consumption and increase the power of the state over your life. Liberty works better, along with actual equal protection rather than pretending you or I are the ideal and others who deviate are deviant.
@Teal
Problem is you don't need to smoke to stay alive and can stop it without having to go near it but you have to eat so it is a lot harder to control and you can't stop cold turkey. You need to eat so it is harder to stop taking that one extra bit or whatever.
4
No one will take on the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, also referred to as food stamps. While the benefit is meager, the limitations on what can be purchased include alcohol and toiletries. Unlike WIC, the Women, Infant, and Child food program which limits food purchases to specific items, with SNAP someone could purchase just pop, chips, and cookies. I'm very liberal, but do not think it is prudent for taxpayers to pay for low income families to get junk food, then, health care under Medicaid because they have diabetes from the junk food they eat. Marion Nestle is the only person who has raised this issue, and it’s valid. If we do not encourage people to eat real food, and not a lot of it, we will not be able to afford the necessary medical care that results.
28
@Nm
Another idea: work on eradicating poverty.
2
@Nm who said people on SNAP are buying junk food. When I got it I typically bought beans and rice to make the meager allotment stretch. Junk food is expensive!
@Nm You have no right to exercise control over what other people eat, particularly poor people. Have you ever looked at food prices and tried to figure out how you could live on $300 a month for food, at most? Shame on you and everyone else who thinks that way. And giving people dirty looks when they pay with a SNAP card is vile.
5
The first rule of troubleshooting a problem is to ask what has changed -- what was different before the problem started occurring? In this case, we can clearly see that most Americans were not obese or overweight in the 70s. What's different now?
1. The internet: people now have the world at their fingertips and have to move less to work, shop, recreate, research, and socialize. 2. Food culture: we now have entire TV channels dedicated to food, eating out is the default in-person way to socialize, and strip malls and grocery stores are full of enticing international flavors that most Americans had never heard of 40 years ago. Food is the safe topic you can talk about across political divides, and enjoying restaurants has become an acceptable hobby rather than an occasional treat. We need to acknowledge and address these two issues first.
16
@Colleen You are so wrong. Virtually all middle-aged adults in the 1970s and earlier were "obese" or on that road. And it was considered normal, people gained weight with age. It is not normal to remain athletic after age 35. The drive changes. The energy level changes. I am watching a younger friend slowly grow a pot belly because he stopped running and doing other vigorous exercise. What has changed is the hostility to this normality. The AMA declared "war" on obesity at a time when Congress was scrutinizing the high costs of medical care and what doctors were earning. This was their strategy to deflect attention, and the media followed suit. Jane Brody and people like her are being used by the medical establishment to transfer blame for the cost of medical care to the patients. If you can blame the patients for their illnesses, then the establishment can keep their high salaries. That's the politics of medicine, and it's been going on since the 1970s. Doctors also seem incapable of understanding that few other people are so cerebrally driven that every minute of their lives can be lived under total control. What happens when they finally break loose? It certainly is not good for mental health to live that way.
1
Many adults easily eschew sugar, but OMG if you try to get them to eat less meat. It’s the adult pacifier with its embedded culture - and food and diet industries pushing it. The howling about it keeps most people from considering what it does to our environment.
It’s easy to make changes we don’t care one way or the other about.
7
From decades of experience and knowledge of the same of dieting or otherwise-health-conscious friends (this includes very nearly all women I’d say) of drinking Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi or other diet drinks, I have long since albeit-warily rejected the notion that because these drinks simulate sugar they somehow cause the same amount of weight gain. I switched to Diet Coke in college because I gained weight and it helped a lot. No one I know has experienced weight gain from diet drinks. Who knows what the chemicals do to you, but they seem from an obesity perspective good alternatives to sugary drinks and shouldn’t be taxed. (I have a stake in this of course.)
9
@Juliet A. You may be right, but if you switch to water, you'll switch off some of the mind's preference toward sweets. The brain wants you to reward yourself, so it takes discipline to avoid excessive self-rewarding, and part of reducing the reward/pleasure centers of the brain requires reducing its focus on them, whether real or a calorie free substitute.
1
diet sodas cause weight gain because they trigger the desire to eat. you are consuming a sweet beverage, your body prepares for calories and when it doesn't get any, the hunger response kicks in and people eat more
2
Aureomycin (tetracycline) was first developed to help emaciated people put on weight, by the 1960's it was being used a feed supplement to get cattle and other meat animals to put on weight faster. Aureomycin cause animals to be lethargic and continuously hungry, it also keeps animals alive as they are fed poisonous high calorie diets that would kill them if not for the antibiotic effects of the drug.
The industry claims that Aureomycin and other antibiotics fed to animals doesn't get passed on to humans that later eat the antibiotic laced meat, but it seems very likely that it does, maybe not in large amounts, but its there in trace amounts in virtually every bite beef one eats.
Recent attempts to reduce the use of antibiotics in food animals have come to naught as farmers and the feedlot operators are still allowed to use it with a veterinarians approval to keep the animals from dying from their poisonous diets. Industry spokespersons have gone so far as to say that the present laws restricting antibiotic use will have no effect on its use as a cattle feed supplement.
I visited an area a decade ago that had a lot of cattle feedlots. I saw several young teens whose weight was likely 50% over the obese line, they pretty much looked like beef cattle that had taken human form. I can't help but believe that the wells their families got water from were contaminated with antibiotics from the feedlots.
We own it to our kids to solve this problem and need to do it now.
15
I agree - I know that people have to take personal responsibility for their health - but I feel like the elephant in the room is that our food has changed. If you look at pictures from the 70s and 80s everyone was so much skinnier - what changed? Lifestyles didn’t change that much - people were working in offices and watching tv etc. at that time. Yes - there’s the internet - but people are just bigger - not just fatter - but bigger. I really think processed foods, hormones and antibiotics (i.e. Big Farming”) play the biggest role. This is might be the next big wave of class action lawsuits - we shall see! (
9
@Washwalker When I was a teenager in the mid 1970's, I was placed on long-term tetracycline for treatment of acne. Around the same time, I began to put on weight. I spent my teen years quite heavy, probably 70-80 lbs over my ideal weight. I stopped the drug sometime in high school, but stayed overweight. (Unusual at the time, and very stressful to be an overweight teen). When I was in my early 20's, I lost all the extra weight, due to a combination of a bout with mononucleosis, a physically demanding job, and a healthy diet high in vegetables. It was years before I ever made the possible connection between the drug and the weight issues.
By the way, now I'm late 50's, normal BMI, very fit, take no meds, follow a flexitarian diet. Most of my (small amount by U.S standards)meat consumption is home-raised poultry. Never any fast food! I'm the only person I know of who weighs less than they did in high school.
My current job is in a local homeless shelter/sober living facility. We have several young residents (20's and 30's) who are severely obese and prefer to live on frozen pizza and a case of Cokes per day, even when provided the opportunity to eat healthy food. I'm an RN and have no idea (well, actually I have lots of ideas but getting our society to implement them is another story) how to fix this.
2
The obesity epidemic has a correlation to fast food, increased portion sizes, and high sugar and carbohydrate content for sure. But the psychological component must also be addressed. The level of fear and anxiety in our culture, as evidenced by increasing suicide rates, the opioid crisis, school shootings, and the rage and anger expressed in our politics, in my opinion, creates an environment in which food, especially junk food, becomes a source of comfort. In times of stress we reach for chips, pizza, shakes, mac 'n cheese, nachos and myriad forms of sugary drinks and candy. Our bodies are also a microcosm of the earth that we are desecrating, and reflect the harm that we are doing to the environment and to ourselves.
34
Like fast food, Americans want fast answers. It took 30 years to get here, it will take just as long to make a dent IF there is public policy leadership.
Eliminating meat is not “the” answer-but the commenter who stated focusing on a decent wage, decent hours, supportive health education/childcare and encouraging outside play vs inside sitting may help.
And yes, financial incentives DO work-lose weight and get healthier? Reduce insurance premiums, or free mos at a gym, or gift certificates for a healthy take out-the reliable carrot/stick.
And forget the doctor-until we get rid of rating docs on being accommodating to client wants vs needs (let’s not forget why we are in an antibiotic resistance age) and improve PREVENTION education at medical schools, the onus falls on parents and the Brodys of the world.
6
Isn't obesity just another product of a society run by corporations? It also demonstrates the dangers that capitalism itself presents to societal well-being. Monsanto and the other Big Ag companies buy political influence that creates policies that support cheap corn, which makes for lots of HFC (high fructose corn syrup) in processed foods, and cheap soy beans, which makes for cheap hamburger. Meanwhile, the processed food industry streamlines operations, and floods citizens with advertising encouraging more consumption of "empty calories". Remember, companies advertise because it works. And it's working. Corporations are not your friend. They provide goods and services, at a price. Capitalism is not an inherent good. It's a useful system for organizing economic activity to achieve certain goals. Both corporations and capitalism need to be constrained by a skeptical citizenry. That happens through government, through the press, and through informal citizen associations.
25
Food corporations do not help, but it is wrong minded to blame this on corporate America. There are food corporations across most westernized countries and the level of the problem is much less. Moreover, America did not just become corporate. Throughout the fifties and later food corporations were a dominant force in advertising. What changed is not corporations but the American consumer’s attitude toward food possibly accentuated by changes in individual wealth.
1
@James
Yes. If we all become socialists under Bernie and ultimately have to ration food we will all become slim.
According to statistics, the following observations can be made:
1) Women are more likely to become obese than men in minority cultures. In 2015-6, African American men were obese at a rate of 36.9% while African American women were at 54.8%. A similar phenomenon was present in the Latin population, while white men and women were both at 38%.
2) Minority children are also more likely to be obese, with African American children at 46.8% and Hispanic children at 47%.
3) The problem in the US is more serious than in other parts of the developed world. In the US obesity rates in 2019 ran around 36.2% while in France the rate was 21.6% and Japan 4.3%.
4) In the US, the states in the South have higher obesity rates than in the rest of the country. As of 2014, Mississippi was at 35.2% while California was at 23.9%.
5
As a 76 year old adult I have observed these things:
In my youth I remember seeing only one obese adult (my uncle). As a teacher of exercise for those older for the past 20+ years, I have had only one obese student. She used an extra wide wheelchair. It was the first time I recall seeing one. Now seating in doctors waiting rooms includes a number of wide chairs for those larger.
In other words, this is a new problem our society is experiencing within the past 3 decades.
Whenever I see someone obese I empathize with how difficult it is for them to move. Their feet in particular suffer greatly and their legs bones become deformed after years of carrying the extra weight with the knees buckling inward and the feet splaying outward. This is a deformity that is permanent even after the weight is lost.
The only effective solution seems to be surgery, an expensive procedure. And if the surgery is successful and extreme weight is lost then a second series of procedures is necessary to remove all the heavy excess skin. If it were completely removed, immense incisions all over the body are necessary. These secondary procedures would not be covered by health insurance.
This is a huge catastrophe made even worse by the fact that universal recommendations to lose weight are common yet ineffective. The exercise craze of the 1990s had little to no effect in spite of the incredible popularity of aerobic exercise.
Life is far more constrained for a huge portion of the population.
17
So this begs an interesting question...since we know that adult type 2 onset diabetes is 100% caused by the foods we eat and lack of physical exercise, should there be a two-tiered medical insurance system in our country...one for people with a healthy lifestyle and another (with much higher premiums) for those who consume an ultra high sugar and fat diet? Should my health insurance premiums go up just to handle the healthcare burden put on the system by those who sit around their televisions and consume pringles all day and night?
31
No, everyone should pay the same high rates. Those who do go the preferred way and exercise and eat responsibly should receive rebates. Document exercise (we live in a surveillance world) to receive a rebate calculated by actuaries for the reduction in risk. Document healthy food purchases and receive another rebate calculated the same way. In addition, tax purchases of unhealthy foods and beverages and earmark the money for healthcare for those over a certain BMI. That way, obesity is a lifestyle with a price tag, paid for with increased costs for food and beverage choices, lost rebates if you don’t exercise, and lost years of life from the tolls of chronic disease.
5
Ignorance. If everyone had the same access and ability to consume healthy food, then your point would be taken. However, a significant portion of the country lives in food deserts where the only access to food is a dollar store or the gas station. Capitalism at its finest. Also, for those who can access this food, such as those who live in cities, they have to be able to afford that food and have the time to prepare it.
The answer is to reduce inequality. Also, the food system needs to be changed. Stop subsidizing corn and soy, start subsidizing farmers who produce vegetables and fruits. Simple.
20
@Karl
Agreed wholeheartedly! This "punish the poor for their own good" approach is pure contempt from capitalists. Less poverty, less obesity. It's that simple.
2
I am reading this thoughtful article and hundreds of thoughtful Comments. Our nation is suffering through an obesity epidemic, no doubt. Maybe another article could bring journalistic perspective by examining what our current President adds or detracts from this medical crisis and compare his leadership in this regard versus the previous administration. Leadership matters.
17
Thank you for describing America’s most urgent public health crisis. And we actually know the cause! A profusion of high sugar, high calorie food that permeates every strip mall and grocery isle, school lunch and TV ad. Think tobacco on steroids. Other countries are taking this on. Chile just began a tax on high sugar drinks and quickly saw a steep decline in sugary drink consumption. We must consider certain foods as damaging as tobacco and begin education and policy initiatives to reduce their consumption.
28
Overeating is an addiction, like alcoholism, and longtime recommendations about dieting are partly to blame.
I am both a recovering alcoholic and a recovering overeater. I am a professional who does not eat out frequently and does not eat fast food.
When my doctor told me I was prediabetic with high cholesterol and high triglycerides at 220 lbs, I decided to try a very low carbohydrate diet.
A year later, I have lost 70 lbs without feeling hungry and miserable as I have on most traditional diets. I strongly believe that my addiction to carbohydrates, like my addiction to alcohol, was partly to blame for my chronic overeating. I am still working on the psychology of eating mindfully.
My triglycerides, cholesterol, and blood sugar have normalized and I am beginning to feel like my "true self" after living with obesity for many years
46
Keep up the good work. Glad to hear you are taking charge of your health. Mindfulness is an empowerment for life.
17
I decided to eat half as much so my arthritic knees would have less weight upon them. I also drink half as much wine. And stop eating as soon as I am full. Guess what--it works! And as time goes by, that empty feeling in my stomach between meals becomes more and more pleasing--it's like a lap band for the mind, since eating sensibly is in the mind. I am going towards losing twenty pounds in seven months.
34
For many, long commutes, erratic work schedules and family responsibilities make it very hard to prepare home cooked meals and exercise. We have to make the US more family friendly (and I mean families of all kinds even families of one) with good hours, a living wage, a chance to prepare meals at home and exercise, even if it's a walk around the block. Our society has its priorities wrong.
43
The situation is already out of control in some areas. I was in the South last spring, walking around a tourist town - or trying to. I counted at one point because the situation was all too obvious - more than half the people on the street were so large they took up the entire sidewalk and couldn't go more than a few steps before they had to stop to breathe. I counted, found about 17% of people who looked to be of a healthy weight and were capable of walking around fine; 52% who were so grossly overweight they could scarcely move more than a few feet at a time and actually physically blocked the sidewalk; and the rest somewhat overweight but able to walk around if slowly and small enough that I could get by them (I weigh 110 lbs). It scared the living daylights out of me, because this was someplace I had gone to a lot over the past 50 years and it was NEVER this bad before. It was Gatlinburg TN, at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains where walking trails are everywhere and I used to see a lot more people taking advantage of them. It broke my heart to see the change. I won't go back.
28
@Brookhawk
They sell lots of taffy and fudge in Gatlinburg so that folks can walk slowly, snack and make it to the next meal. The trails in the park are not wide enough to accommodate these people. Once we were a super power. Now, we're just super big.
4
@Brookhawk , wow, a dystopian nightmare!!! I live in Boulder, Colorado where everyone hikes, bikes, skis and works out. Overweight people are a rare sight. What a sad reality America faces which will increase health care costs for everyone and a significant decrease in quality of life.
“If we pull more meat out of the American diet, it would help both the environment and weight loss.”
If we stop putting hormones in our meat, it would help the environment and weight loss, too.
19
@JC If we quit looking for some magic ingredient or additive that we could just eliminate and everyone would lose weight - instead of eating less and getting some exercise - we'd lose more weight and help the environment, too, There is no smoking gun. People just have to eat less and move more. I eat the same things everyone else eats - I eat take-out six days a week - but I eat less of it and I exercise and in my late 60s now I weigh 110. We keep looking for some magic thing to take out of food to fix everything so we don't have to control our quantity and get up and move, but it isn't there. People just like to eat and don't like to exercise and self-indulgence is the word for this day and age.
18
@Brookhawk Other people's weight is always the easiest to address. If it all were as simple as you say, there would not be an issue.
7
@Emily Pickrell It IS that simple but the hard part is breaking the old habit and starting the new one, and that doesn't involve finding some magic bullet. It just involves will, and here's the kicker - once you do start eating less and moving more, you LIKE IT! It's just a question of getting started. Check with your doctor, get a sensible approach for your situation (diabetes and heart disease complicate things), and just get the will to do it. I was sick and had to start with walking one-tenth of a mile per day but gradually I added on and added on and I LIKED IT! That's the incredible payoff! You lose weight, you feel better, and you LIKE doing what you're doing! Just SEE YOUR DOCTOR, get the right plan, and follow it.
7
I learned my lesson eating at fast food places when busy. Last Thanksgiving became very, very ill with Norovirus (stomach flu) from eating a veggie burrito at Taco Bell. Thought I would have to leave my five cats and go to ER the vomiting was so continuous. Stopped eating out pretty much permanently! Easier on the pocketbook and on the health! Normally eat one evening meal and one snack per day with black coffee in the morning and sometimes toast (if I ran the day before). Do not understand how individuals spend so much time eating throughout the day. How do they get anything DONE? Drink when truly thirsty and eat when truly hungry. Americans overfeed pets and themselves. If they ate less, they could afford better quality food. And all this water hydration is bunk too. Everything we eat and drink is over 80% water, so by eating and drinking coffee, tea, martinis, beer, soda, etc we are hydrating! It's not necessary to carry a plastic water bottle around everywhere one goes.
11
@Earth Citizen They don't get anything done. If your job requires heavy keyboard use, you simply can't eat constantly and be productive. In our customer service department, the software tracks the number of orders entered. The normal-weight people enter 3-4 times more orders than the obese snackers.
@Earth Citizen not sure about the martinis being truly a good source of hydration
1
@Earth Citizen , coffee and alcohol do not hydrate your body, in fact, they have the opposite effect. Best to do some real research rather than posit false information.
1
It's not obesity per se, it's widespread metabolic dysfunction and dis-regulation of appetite. Obesity is a symptom.
The same flawed studies, the same arguments, the same failed interventions, and still the problem keeps getting worse. The story of stomach ulcers and discovery of H. pylori is a useful lesson. Let's consider that there could be one or more undiscovered "X factors" causing the metabolic dysfunction.
Let's also consider hysteresis: What causes metabolic dysfunction and how to treat already existing metabolic dysfunction are two different questions which will likely have different answers.
12
@The Pooch Let's also consider that many, many people eat too much and get little exercise, and this snowballs because as weight goes up, the ability to exercise goes down. If you are trying to say that its some kind of metabolic dysfunction that causes people to eat too much and not exercise, I can't say it's not a factor, but from what I've seen the bigger factor is that people LIKE to eat and DON'T LIKE to exercise, and that's the main problem.
19
@Brookhawk I agree. I recently got into an Internet discussion about this subject. Metabolism does differ from person to person and it does make some more susceptible to obesity. HOWEVER, the main problem comes from eating too much, period.
9
@Brookhawk
"Eating too much" is a description but not an explanation for _why_ people are eating too much, or why this changed on a population-level after 1980.
Another way to say this is "why don't people feel full and stop eating?"
Personally I think it's the nutritional quality of the food, combined with terrible dietary advice.
2
"Dr. Bleich, a professor of public health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. We eat out more, consuming more foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt, and our portion sizes are bigger."
No wonder the situation's dire, it's the same old, WRONG HEADED thinking!
INDUSTRIALIZED (inflammatory) seed & vegetable fats, sugar (in all its forms,) and high carb/grain diet is what's killing Americans. It's not quantity it's quality. You eat as much as you do BECAUSE a high carb diet demands it, due to the high/low glucose swings it creates.) No wonder we're fatter & sicker and feel constantly hungry, we're not getting the right fuel! Animals are quickly fattened for slaughter on carbs. So are we! The big food makers pile on artificial 'natural' flavoring to entice and addict. In Heinz catchup (foe example) there's one teaspoon of sugar per every tablespoon of catsup! Coke has salt in it to make you thirstier and drink more. The only way to lose weight is to educate yourself, read ingredients, shop the outer aisles of your market and make your own meals from scratch. Don't rely on corporations for your food decisions. They're about the bottom line, NOT your health. Your purse strings are your voice. Use them!
12
@anonymous I'm sorry but it's quantity. I eat the same things - I eat take-out six days a week. I just don't eat a lot of it and I get regular exercise and I weight 110. It's not my genes keeping my weight low - both my parents were overweight. The only way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise. Reading ingredients won't help you much if you keep eating the double order of fries and don't get up and move.
7
@Brookhawk
Quantity and quality are interdependent. Nutrition quality drives satiation, which limits subsequent calorie intake. Junk food drives more appetite, which increases subsequent calorie intake.
"Eat less exercise more" as weight loss advice has been proven ineffective by a century of obesity research. Recommend a read of Gary Taubes.
1
You’ve posted what is essentially the same comment multiple times. What you don’t seem to realize is that your experience is not monolithic. What you do works for you because you are who you are. I’m a long-time member of Weight Watchers and have kept 30 pounds off for three years so I know how to eat and how to exercise but can tell you that it was never a matter of “just do X and the weight will come off.” What worked one week didn’t always work the next. Sometimes, after doing everything “right” all week I’d experience a gain. My point: it’s not an easy fix for everyone and you do people a disservice by saying, again and again, that it is. Some people have complicated relationships with food; some people have destroyed their metabolism after years of dieting; some people are exhausted from hating their bodies and don’t want to fight the weight-loss battle anymore. You’re not them and they’re not you and you can’t know what has ir hasn’t worked for anyone but yourself.
2
Meat doesn’t cause obesity, fat doesn’t cause obesity—yes, what they told us for years was dead.wrong.—sugar and refined carbs do. In fact most metabolic disease is a direct result of sugar and too many refined carbs.
30
@Comp Eating too much of anything and not getting exercise causes obesity. Sugar and refined carbs are only going to hurt you if you eat too much of them, and ditto on the meat and fat.
1
Meat and fat increase the risk of heart attack stroke and dementia. That said I had a prime rib for Christmas it was very yummy. But it was a celebration not something we have more than once a year.
1
Obesity is the only medical condition I can think of for which it's socially acceptable to place all the blame on the sufferer. Personal will power alone is usually not sufficient to "cure" obesity. We have empathy for people with all kinds of other illnesses and conditions--even those resulting from the choice to engage in risky behaviors like extreme sports or the use of drugs like opioids, cocaine, or alcohol.
Fat shaming is both cruel and ineffective. Overweight people know they're overweight and are already dealing with the associated stigma. The idea offered by one commenter that overweight actors and other performing artists normalize obesity and are poor role models is similarly misguided. Excluding fat people from such visible roles doesn't just perpetuate discrimination. It also deprives the culture of the gifts they have to offer.
Also, certain medications, psych meds in particular, promote weight gain. They make it much harder for people struggling with mental health issues or other conditions to lose weight and keep it off.
And an ignorant question: I wonder how the guidelines for obesity were established, how often they're reviewed, and how much they're influenced by social norms for beauty. It's medically established that the risks associated with obesity increase as weight increases. But would the prevalence of obesity or the rate of complications look different if the guidelines differed--for example, if the BMI for obesity were 31 instead of 30?
15
Stop subsidizing sugar, corn and soy. Subsidize small farmers instead who grow fruits and veggies. Make carrots cheaper then fast food.
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@Lydia
Carrots are cheaper than fast food. Unfortunately, in many places it is hard to find carrots but easy to find fast food.
8
In my 20’s I was a victim of violent sexual assault. My assailant was apprehended and sent to prison. I ate without knowing why. Some years later I was in a dark parking lot feeling vulnerable when a thought popped into my head. I’m fat now, nobody will hurt me. Years of therapy and weight loss attempts failed so I finally had gastric bypass and am finally losing weight. So how about some compassion. You don’t know why people overeat and how difficult it is too lose and maintain that loss. Just review Biggest Loser contestants whose metabolisms are destroyed.
25
@Denise A friend once told me, show me a fat woman and I will show you a woman who has been abused. I know that it is not true in every case, but certainly there are many like you who have suffered greatly. You are very brave. I agree that a little compassion is in order.
Exercise: push away from the table.
5
Farm families were the majority of Americans into the 1940s. People ate what they grew or raised. The standard breakfast was bacon, eggs fried in bacon grease, bread or heavy biscuits, and coffee (likely with sugar). Farm laborers required as much as 4000 calories a day -- but people doing the heavy work didn't get fat. Farmers didn't need to think about "getting exercise." But they did need to worry about their families having enough food to supply the energy to get through a normal day.
10
@Kay Tee
People were more active, sure, but 4000 calories/day is like doing a Tour de France stage every day.
This begs the question, though -- if people today are less active, why are we still hungry for more calories? If people in the past were more active, how/why were they satisfied with smaller portions?
3
@The Pooch Farm families did not eat small portions! Getting enough food was the most important thing in their daily life.
1
@Kay Tee
What you're saying is that in a healthy metabolism, appetite is regulated to match energy expenditure. I agree.
So this still begs the question of why sedentary office workers are still hungry for all those calories, if they have less activity and less energy expenditure.
Look at old family photos from the 1880s. The children weren't fat, most of the men weren't fat--they did a lot of manual labor--but many of the middle-aged and older women were hefty. The older women were often cooking for everyone else (and they had to taste it, of course) and not doing the same heavy labor as the men and younger women did.
In the 1960s, children walked to school, and they spent about an hour playing outside during the school day (remember "recess"?). Now they're chained to their desks.
Weight gain is often insidiously slow. A pound a year doesn't seem like anything until twenty years have gone by.
14
@Kay Tee
The 1880s? Look at photos of kids in the 1970s. The differences in body shapes is striking. The kids were thin as rails. And you if you want a more public example of normalization of obesity--- watch the baseball World Series (won by the Orioles, incidentally). All players were lean and fit perfectly in snug polyester uniforms. I watched last year's, and overweight athletes were the norm.
7
@Borat Smith My point was that in farm families in the 1890s, a lot of the middle-aged and older women were hefty. Agreed that most children were still slim in the 1970s.
5
@Borat Smith so what’s changed? Computers/sitting?
It is the added sugar, refined carbs and packaged highly processed foods that are making us sick and fat - the added sugars in particular disrupt our ability to control our appetite and thus our weight. It is that simple. Portion control becomes easy when you are not always hungry. The challenge is that most people don’t want to change either their environment or their behavior to eat properly and healthy. I made the change nine years ago and lost the weight without dieting and recovered my metabolic health. But that meant giving up soda, fruit juices, sweets, cookies, ice cream, hot chocolate, most breads, most packaged foods and so much more. It was worth it.
18
@Bruce I can no longer eat in most restaurants because there is too much food (like 4 days for me), too much fat, too much salt. Even breakfast.
Even upscale restaurants are a waste of money.
5
@Ivy Not if you either don't clean your plate, or take half or two thirds of it home for later. I do that all the time. Even on vacation it works these days because rooms have refrigerators and microwaves. Then, after you get the take home food home in the fridge, take a walk. It doesn't have to be a power walk - just half an hour or an hour moving around.
2
Americans eat throughout the time they stay awake, and they stay awake 16-18 hours nowadays. Easy access to food, often the wrong kind of food, on demand everywhere exacerbates the situation further. Overeating almost always goes with under-activity, which means calories-in exceed calories-out. Watch people circling at parking lots to wait for the closest parking space to the entrance of a supermarket or shopping mall. All these behaviors make a perfect recipe for obesity and its associated health problems.
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@Dodurgali Glad you mentioned where people park. I try to park far away from the door - it adds to my exercise painlessly. If people don't want to do that, they can take the long way around once in the store.
3
@Brookhawk it is the easiest and the most mindless approach to "exercise " and it certainly doesn't hurt
Efforts to teach children proper eating habits may be the right way to go, but I’m doubtful this will work. I raised my kids with healthy eating habits and lots of physical exercise and once they moved out they did whatever they wanted...as thirty something year olds, they are each about 30-40 pounds overweight. I’m still slim. So the moral here? I have no idea. But don’t blame the parents.
16
I googled a couple of obvious stats: the poverty rate in America and the current obesity rate. Poverty, as of 2018, was 11.8% and dropping and obesity, as of 2016, was 39.6% and rising. So, to those people that keep talking about food deserts and low education among the poor as a major cause of obesity, the stats don't bear that out. Even if every single poor person in America were obese, it still leaves 28% of all adults who are obese and NOT poor. (And, this doesn't even account for an additional 32% who are overweight and headed toward obesity.)
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@Ron A
Absolutely. And in fact even among low-income families, psycho-social factors are a much bigger driver of obesity than are food deserts and ignorance about proper nutrition, explaining resistance to healthful messaging as well as susceptibility to food "swamps".
2
@Ron A The ‘poverty rate’ as defined by the government bears no resemblance to poverty ‘on the ground’.
5
The article is thoughtful but like many others, ignores the major role that reduced life-long physical activity plays in the obesity epidemic. Sixty to seventy percent of daily calorie expenditure derives from resting energy metabolism which declines with age in close proportion to the decline in lean body mass. Muscle atrophy due to physical inactivity plays a key role in the fall in age-related fall in lean body mass and resting energy expenditure. Age-related muscle atrophy can be slowed by regular resistance exercise. A calorie imbalance of only 10 kcal per day can account for the 30 lb weight gain that takes place in most people from age 25 to 55. A very small increase in resting energy expenditure resulting from resistance exercise can easily counteract this.
5
It won't be enough to try to steer people's food consumption by adding taxes or waiting for the food industry to stop selling us junk.
We should ask ourselves: Why do we over-eat? This is pretty unique behavior that we don't observe in nature, though we see it in humans and our pets.
I daresay many of us are lonely. Frustrated. Bored. Overwhelmed by society's never-ending demands of being perfect. Many of us live in broken communities.
Obesity is like a mousetrap - easy to get in, hard, very hard to get out of. I believe that apart from socioeconomic factors, epigenetics play a role as well as changes to our microbiome. It's not just about calories (look up calories and how they are measured on Wikipedia if you are curious, you'll be surprised).
More science is needed, of that I am sure.
22
@Julia I wouldn't overestimate the effect of loneliness and frustration. Many of us overeat simply because we LIKE it and we don't like to get up and move around. I knew someone who said he was an emotional eater - he eats when he's happy, he eats when he's sad, he eats when he's frustrated, he eats when he's busy, he eats when he's bored.....
2
I have been fat all my life except for the three times I lost it--for six weeks each time. My dad called me names--Baby Elephant. I have heard it all--Can't get thru the bathroom door, etc...such a pretty face..what a shame...just eat more veggies--or yelled from a car--EAT A SALAD. I have been on every diet imaginable--and drugs, too--dex at age 8. I cannot eat salad without a trip to the ER...IBS or something painful. I don't eat fast food often...I try to control portions, though I never feel "done" until the food is gone. So at 75, I have crunchy knees but normal chol, no diabetes, just fat. I am sick of the whole subject...and a tax on soda will not help me.
23
There is a lot of assumption that the only reason people are heavier is because of a few "easy" things - they eat too much, they are lazy, they are too stupid to understand how to eat, companies prey on the public with cheap, fattening food, etc. etc.
What if there is something else going on with our environment that is contributing to this? Pollution and plastics are known endocrine disrupters. Why aren't there more studies around this?
Why is no one talking honestly, without moralistic judgement, about the fact, yes fact, that close 95% of people that lose weight gain it back and often gain back more? And that yoyo dieting ruins metabolism and causes weight gain? It's also time we look a the multi billion dollar diet industry and ask why that isn't working. I mean, it's working for the companies that are raking in the profits. We want a simple solution to this, and there isn't one, folks. A little more compassion and kindness for those of us that are fat, who have very successfully lost weight and yep, gained it back - again and again - who have hated their bodies most of their adult life and are now, at the age of 57 trying to be at peace with themselves and the body they've lived with for years, don't need ridiculous advice (all you have to do is avoid carbs... eat vegetarian... move more... and so on). We know ALL the tricks and advice and it hasn't worked. So then what?
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@Lisa M Yes! But it’s so much easier to blame everything BUT the chemical soup our environment has become. Powerful corporate interests want to keep phthalates in our plastics and parabens in our cosmetics. It’s not an accident that P & G is so high-profile on the ‘breast cancer’ issue.
3
@Lisa M When I say that many people eat too much and don't get enough exercise, I'm sorry if you hear it as a moralistic judgment. I think it's an unwise choice, but I'm not interested in curtailing your civil rights or shaming you into a three mile hike every day. It's not a moral failing to eat too much and not exercise - it's just an unwise choice for your body. And it breaks my heart when I see severely overweight people struggling just to breathe and get out of the car successfully. I could have gone that way very easily and had to work against it since I was a teen (my parents were very overweight), and I feel so much better physically that I didn't. I can breathe. I can move. I am in my late 60s and my knees are just fine and so are the rest of my joints. I wish everyone could feel this good but there is no magic, no pill you can take or substance in the food that you can remove. You just have to eat less and move more, and that's hard, until you actually start and keep doing it. Get with your doctor, get a plan, follow it. There's nothing moral involved, just sensible.
3
After a childhood of being “chubby”, I progressed to obese and weighed 240 on my 40th birthday. Looking back, I got there by using food as a way to deal with my desperate unhappiness. However, facing middle age, I knew if I was ever to lose the weight I had to do it then. With the help of my primary care physician, who never yelled at me to lose weight or fat-shamed me, I chose Weight Watchers. I had previously joined a gym and had established an exercise habit. Now, I learned what a “portion” size really was, and how to plan for the occasional splurge so I could enjoy food without sabotaging my diet. I lost 90 pounds in 18 months and have kept most of it off for 14 years (I put 10 back on during my menopausal journey). I now believe that the overweight/obese must keep trying every method for losing weight they can until they find what works for them. We are all different, with different metabolisms, different brain chemistry, different living situations. Trying to find a global panacea will be a fool’s errand.
If I were king of the world, though, I’d go back to the pre-1980s idea that snacks and sodas are not meant to be consumed every day. Treats are just that—treats to be saved for a special occasion, not consumed every day. Don’t try to tell the American people that they can’t eat their chips and Coke..you’re guaranteeing behavior you don’t want. Show them how to integrate chocolate into a healthy way of life.
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I dropped 30 pounds last fall by just giving up carbohydrates. Then gained them all back eating carbohydrates. They are addictive and easy to grab. Living without them is difficult, but easy carbs are a ticket to obesity.
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@PatitaC It’s not that simple. I love carbs, especially pasta, so they’ve made up the highest percentage of my diet for my entire life. I don’t eat meat and don’t like fruit (too sweet for my taste buds) so I eat mainly pasta, bread (mostly whole grain or fresh baguettes from a good bakery), dairy, eggs and vegetables (which count as carbs). I’ve never watched nor limited my consumption of salt, sugars or fat. I probably reach my daily calcium requirement by just the huge amount of cream I add to my coffee. By your reasoning I should be overweight. But at 68 I weigh the same as I did at 18. Throughout my life it has fluctuated between 105 (my doctor said I should gain weight) and 120 (my healthy weight).
I’d attribute this mostly to genetics, but being active (not athletic, just taking stairs and walking everywhere) and not overeating or snacking probably helps. I have my mother to thank for a nutritious diet while growing up. She wouldn’t let us drink soda pop so we never got into that habit. When eating out, I’ve noticed that the portion I’m able to consume without getting an upset stomach is about one half to one quarter the amount my friends are eating. I also have overweight friends who consume very little which leads me to believe that it’s a combination of genetics, lifestyle and eating habits that causes obesity. Any good weigh loss program needs to address them all.
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@Brenda That is about my unhealthy and healthy weight too, and I get hassled for it a lot.
@Ivy Whoa! You get hassled for being between 105 and 120? That's a sensible weight! Who's hassling you - people of normal weight who think you are too heavy, or heavy people who think you are too thin? Don't listen to them.
I lost 25 pounds on WW. It has nothing to do with moral superiority. Or willpower.
The ability to lose weight has to do with patience and an ability to tolerate boredom.
Those aren't my strong suits. But seriously, those are the things that make it work.
17
@Talbot Funny, but for me losing some extra weight and keeping it off hasn't been boring at all. I eat what I want to eat, just less of it. I get take out six days a week and split the meals between lunch and dinner, and I talk to people I see when I'm out. I walk 3-4 miles a day and see my friends who are also out there and pet their dogs - there's nothing like a dog that's happy to see you. I'm not bored in the slightest.
I don't eat that well. Too much sweets. On the other hand, I ride a bike for all commuting activities and occasionally for fun. I have been doing this all my adult life. Every bike ride is a 15-30 minute opportunity to raise my metabolism, not just during the ride, but for a while (hours) after. Weightlifting has an even longer metabolic boost of about 24 hours.
I live next to a school. Many of the kids are driven to school by their parents. The recreation and physical education times are spent on pavement. The entire school yard is paved, and partially filled with the staff and teachers cars.
I bought my house, in this ridiculously expensive city, because I wanted to be able to ride my bike to work. The more you drive the more likely to be obese you are.
At work, I see lots of people who are obese, have diabetes and are disabled. In the brief time I see them, I can't discern what came first, but joint and balance problems combined with obesity destroys peoples lives. They become house bound, imprisoned by their bodies and rarely will you see them.
It can take 8 people to get some of the 450 pounders into an ambulance. San Francisco now has 2 bariatric ambulances with very strong gurneys, special stair-chairs and powered lifts. The standard gurneys and chairs used to move the patient downstairs don't work with a 400 pounder. Injuries to the ambulance workers often happens carrying heavy people down stairs.
Exercise more, drive less, eat less, live more fully.
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Eating releases endorphins. And it's a fast, easy way to achieve that. If like looks crummy on a lot of levels, it's not hard to understand why some would reach for a donut.
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@Talbot When I am stressed I stop eating. Normal weight for 1970s, more likely to go too low.
1
This is what I observed living in a small city in Sweden for eight months several years ago: Most people lived in apartments and having a car was not practical. People rode bikes to get around- and not fancy bikes either- but whatever, it didn’t matter. The bicycle paths were well marked and went to all the neighboring communities. At night they were well light and in the winter they were plowed. Public transportation was well organized. I saw no overweight children- outdoor playtime was mandatory for schoolchildren no matter what the weather. I would walk by preschools in the winter and see toddlers outside in their snowsuits playing. One day in the rain, I saw teachers playing a ball game with children. I spent some time visiting with a school nurse who showed me class photos and when I commented that none of the children were overweight- she said, that is not a problem for us. There were two large outdoor skate rinks in the winter- again well light at night. Public spaces and parks were well maintained and beautifully landscaped with flowers in the warmer months. There were lots of cafés with beautiful pastries of modest size that people enjoyed. There is a lot we can learn from other societies. I personally think that obesity is going to contribute to the downfall of our country.
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@Retired RN My siblings and I spent all day outside playing sports, organized on our own, exploring creek and pastures, taking horse lessons, swimming (walking to pool),bike riding and climbing trees, playing in woods and crawling thru the sewer pipes to other neighborhoods.
None of us or our friends we played with were remotely overweight.
We pretty much knew where one of our parents where in case of emergency but they had no idea where we were.
In summer we took a packed lunch or went home to someone's house.
Our parents in 60s-70s would literally kick us out of house and tell us to go play.
The hyper scheduled, hyper supervision has been killing gens of children.
And the parents get little relief too.
13
@Retired RN If you allow your kids to play outside now, someone will call CPS on you. And kids have hours of homework that we never had as kids -all to ensure that they pass a standardized test . Kids and adults both are under incredible time constraints. Fast easy food and grazing is how they keep going. :(
3
@Retired RN You don't see a lot of overweight people in Manhattan, either, because there is a lot of walking. When I'm there, I rack up 5+ miles a day just getting where I want to go.
1
The best advice I can give to anyone looking to lose weight is to get involved in martial arts. Tai Chi is a martial art, so it doesn’t have to be something which is combat oriented. It is invaluable, not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well.
6
It is said that martial arts masters are “forged by fire.”
1
The anti-obesity movement is fighting an uphill battle, politically speaking.
I just watched High Maintenance on HBO. First episode of Season 4. It involves an overweight couple and the other story in involves a very overweight man who sings for pay. In other words, the characters in this episode were overweight, but that was entirely normalized. It wasn't any sort of issue/topic in the show. It was just normal. I have to believe that the producers and writers of the show were trying to be politically correct and/or progressive by featuring plus size people in an attempt to normalize being overweight. From the standpoint of kindness and compassion, that's the right thing to do. Show plus size people on TV to reduce any stigma about being obese that might inspire prejudice. Bu, from the standpoint of national health, it's a bad thing.
Think about Lizzo. As long as people say "you go, girl" to her, we can't have any useful discussion about obesity.
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@Anti-Marx Hands off Lizzo!
7
@Anti-Marx
True. The whole "body positivity" thing feeds into that. While on one hand it sounds like a good thing, on the other, it's really not.
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@Terry You can encourage individual people to love themselves and be healthy for their size (even if they are bigger) while still understanding that there is a cultural epidemic. Shaming individual people- even famous ones like Lizzo- does not solve the problem.
24
I've read an awful lot of comments that blame overweight people for all their health problems, but I haven't read a single theory of the problem and its solution that explains why 20% of overweight people never develop diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or fatty liver disease, while a significant percentage of normal weight people will develop these disorders. If you can't explain that, then the "calories in, calories out" theory is useless. Overweight in and of itself is not the health crisis. Metabolic disorders are the health crisis that will bankrupt us.
36
I sometimes wonder what people eat on a day to day basis and why no alarm bells are going off as they balloon up in size.
30
@Third.Coast I wonder the same thing. You don't become obese overnight. Where I live in Vermont, this is a significant problem and is not measured well. Young women especially, many are obese, and after having children, become even fatter.
12
@Marilyn Jess
Oofah! There is a subset of women whose physiques I do not recognize. Everything is supersized. There’s no waist to be found, knees are buckled inward, fat where the triceps should be hangs down like a speed bag, the neck is a collar of fat and the largest pants they can find are holding on for dear life.
I think lower income women across racial lines are bearing the brunt of it and that obesity has become culturally accepted in some quarters.
It’s quite sad.
22
@Third.Coast - You seem to have taken a very close look at those unrecognizable physiques. Why would that be?
9
Climate change will solve the obesity epidemic. It's difficult to be fat when there is not enough food to go around. There will also be fewer obese people because there will be fewer people due to massive increases in the death rate. Problem solved!
11
Plastic waste that is discarded and plastic packaging for drinks are leaching into the liquids we consume. From water to Softdrinks to juices. All these chemicals from plastics has been shown to affect the human bodies metabolism.
I believe, along with diet, this is an additional major cause of the obesity epidemic. This is from an NIH paper about plastics leaching into our food supply that cause “Estrogen Activty” (EA).. “In mammals, chemicals having EA can produce many health-related problems, such as early puberty in females, reduced sperm counts, altered functions of reproductive organs, obesity, altered sex-specific behaviors, and increased rates of some breast, ovarian, testicular, and prostate cancers.”
If one correlates the introduction of plastics for food and beverage packaging and the emergence of obesity as a factor some years later, then the affect on our body chemistry surely contributes towards obesity and other ailments.
Perhaps The NY Times can investigate this link as part of its health and science coverage.
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An issue I see lacking in the comments I've read is income. Soda is cheaper than milk. White bread is cheaper than whole grain. A family treat of donuts or MacDonalds is cheaper than a trip to the movies. High carb pastas, sugary cereals, and processed meats are cheaper than their healthier counterparts, and in the "food deserts" where many working poor live quality produce may be virtually unavailable. Periodic low food intake, a strategy of many poor mothers sacrificing for there kids at the end of the month, is also a trigger for obesity. After standing all day in a chicken processing plant there is little energy left for that long, brisk walk.
Before those of us with access to high quality foods and gym memberships get all high and mighty, we might try thinking about how the others have to live.
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@Jane : This should be a top comment. I agree 1000% with everything you’ve written.
14
@Jane I totally agree. Here's an "exercise" for all the "personal responsibility" scolds-- drive around the poorest neighborhoods in your city (too unpleasant to walk) and try to find a single supermarket with fresh food let alone one with fair prices. Give yourself the whole afternoon. It won't be enough time.
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@Jane I agree except with your inclusion of high carb pasta as unhealthy. I live on the stuff and am neither low income nor obese. One serving of egg noodles has around 10 grams of protein, slightly more than whole grain toast at breakfast. Add some frozen vegetables (way better tasting than the so-called fresh ones because they’re frozen shortly after they’re picked), a bit of butter and some Parmesan cheese and you’re getting most of your calcium and some vitamins as well. Preparation time is less than ten minutes so even those of us who hate cooking can do it.
6
When we think of the many factors leading to obesity, we should remember that many people finish what is on their plate even if they are not hungry. Despite the ever-increasing number of overweight people, there are still parents who encourage--or force--their children to eat all their food. By doing so, they are inflicting a curse on their children that may follow them for the rest of their lives.
Parents typically don't know that eating food you neither need nor want is wasting it.
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@George Jochnowitz
I can attest to the truth of this! Walking my English Bulldog is the best upper body workout I can get:)! And seriously, having the company on walks makes them more enjoyable!
5
@barbara I love my dog’s company on walks, but all that stopping and sniffing actually slows me down. I average 5.5 km/hour without the dog and 3 km/hour with him. He does run faster though, so HIIT with a dog is great.
Comparison with Europe is no longer relevant. Since the arrival of foreign fast food chains, European countries have not only embraced them but created chains of their own. Contrary to Mr. Ward's statement, they do eat on the bus. And in the street, at the movies and, generally, at any place or time of the day. And what about Asian snacks? Tasty for sure - healthy, not so much.
16
I'm living in Thailand and my guesstimate is that 90% of Thais are slim. But the other 10% are not morbidly obese but they're fat nonetheless. My Thai friends are all slim and none remember fat Thai people just 10 years ago.
The American and European tourists stick out like sore thumbs because they're so much fatter than Thais and even many of the Chinese tourists are fat.
Pizza Hut, McDonalds, KFC and most of the other American fast food joints are everywhere and young Thai people flock to them.
Obesity is America's biggest export.
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@Ken Solin
It saddens me that America exports obesity all over the world. : (
7
To all those who are concerned about normalizing obesity with inclusion and the body-acceptance movement, I guarantee you, people will still feel uncomfortable with their weight and size of they are obese. To add a little kindness to our social fabric will not encourage anyone to strive for obesity. Regarding the obesity epidemic, I think it's interesting how frightened we've become of normal hunger. If we can re-frame our thinking about hunger from avoidance to welcoming it as a natural signal to eat, weight loss will follow. It's OK to experience hunger. It should be normal. Food is available in abundance. Rejoice and enjoy, when you're physically hungry. That said, it's obviously a complex problem.
55
"People who choose to blame genetics are fooling no one but themselves, Mr. Ward said. Our genetics haven’t changed in the last 30 years. Rather, what has changed is the environment in which our genes now function." Here, lead author Mr Ward first raises the straw man of changes in genetics as a possible explanation. Of course it isn't, any health researchers knows this. Mr Ward then proceeds on the typical public health rant about the poor food environment etc etc. Yeah we know this, but where are your practicable solutions public health? As a field tacking obesity public health has been a dismal failure for several decades.
In his statement Mr Ward effectively and naively dismisses genetics (and epigenetics) and genomics as a tool to understand why some people develop severe obesity whereas others don't in the current environment. It is more likely that a solution lies in this area, for example good drugs to quell appetite. Genomics could reveal that diet is, in fact, not a fundamental cause. For example, could pollutants / particulates be playing a role in weight gain and, once gained, the extreme difficulty for weight loss?
14
Minumum wage job, so you have to work long hours to make ends meet. Thus no time to cook, so you get cheap fast food. No time to take kids out for activities so sit them in front of TV or iPad to watch adverts for McDonald's and Hershey . Repeat ad nauseam. Obesity.
Obesity is a result of wage suppression and the resultant long hours and lack of time to cook, exercise and grocery shop, if you don't live in a food desert.
Raise wages, tax sugar, ban junk food and soda advertising during hours kids watch TV. Or do nothing and end up in this article's future.
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@boris, re: "Obesity is a result of wage suppression and the resultant long hours and lack of time to cook, exercise and grocery shop, if you don't live in a food desert."
SOMETIMES. I live in a prosperous community of well-to-do people who have ample leisure time. LOTS of them are obese.
8
@boris
Fascinating. Everyone recalls those black & white pictures of long lines of out-of work obese people in 1930s depression/dust bowl America where wages were suppressed to nearly zero.
3
@New York, you seem to have forgotten that stores will not sell you any food for $0.
1
People are stressed out. That's the biggest factor. What are the basic things most people do for pleasure now?
These days a lot of it is sedentary, looking at screens.
But, if you think about it, you could break it down to three basic things: spend money, have sex, eat.
Most people don't have enough money. They don't have really satisfying sex lives, or maybe no sex lives at all. Those are two things hard to get if you don't already have them.
Eating is the easiest thing people do for pleasure. It doesn't take much money and it's instant gratification. We're turning into the people from WALL-E.
7
@Joe
Stress does a number on the body.
Look into what impact stress hormones have on the body’s digestive processes, energy use vs storage, hormones that trigger hunger or desire to eat.
For many people, chronic stress sets up a cycle that easily leads to weight gain and confound efforts to lose weight.
And also don't forget the normalization of obesity, which this paper helps enforce. Articles about Lizzo and how she's attractive and feminine. I'm sorry, she's not attractive. And today I saw that Sports Illustrated's 2020 Swimsuit Issue has a "plus-sized" model. Barf. I'm sorry, but we need to stop coming up with ways to make people feel better about being enormous. They aren't plus-sized or big-boned or curvy or passengers of size. They are overweight, obese, and unhealthy. Stop trying to normalize this horrendous, disease-inducing state.
9
I don’t find your tone attractive, either, yet here we are you being able to do what you want with yourself even if this hostility on your part isn’t good for your health.
7
Don’t forget to count trump
4
A big ol' serving of smug clocks in at zero calories. Must be the secret to success for may of these commenters...
13
@sarah—I think it’s another case of certain articles attracting certain commenters. Just like every article about black civil rights seems to draw out people who are borderline racists, every article about weight loss seems to bring out people, invariably men, who angrily denounce fat people and blame the culture for making people think it’s okay to be fat.
9
Looking around, I see there are more women than I originally thought making similar comments. Not “invariably men.” Both.
4
@Ben you're right. I just wish people would realize how unhelpful the "well this works for me so everyone should live this way" comments are, at least on a platform like this. Once people can stop having to survive from hour to hour and paycheck to paycheck, maybe the health of the nation will improve.
7
Our so called president is obese and his followers insist he’s the model of perfect fitness, so this is no shocker.
14
I am very careful with what I eat and my exercise to keep my BMI at 23% which decreases my chances of getting breast cancer and also allows me to do ballet, bike, walk, etc...without injury. I've been vegetarian for decades, mainly in protest of factory farming. I just returned from a cruise. I was embarrassed or ashamed or something because I felt like I was fat-shaming, but for God's sake....people were so morbidly obese and shoving super unhealthy drinks and high-calorie food into their bodies like gluttonous warriors. I was just sick. Being a retired nurse, I was concerned about their futures. It can't be good. UGH.
8
@barb - Did you treat the obese people on the cruise with the same respect you would treat others? Then you were not fat shaming. You can think anything you like, but keep it to yourself.
And may I remind you of the old adage - "eat right, exercise, die anyway".
11
Score one for immigration because if the obesity rate is that high, the birth rate will plummet.
Unfortunately to be slim in the US, you must be a healthy deviant. I am 70, high school weight of 110 lbs, but I have a nutrition fitness background. Cooking is my passion and I am very knowledgeable about food and diets: gluten or not, carb values, intermittent fasting. I weigh every day, and if I see an increase at all, I immediately go to one meal a day with broth. And I am NOT anorexic and I do not have an eating disorder: I just want to stay healthy for my kids.
I can't imagine anyone but Gwenneth Paltrow going to that kind of trouble. It takes extreme conscientiousness, knowledge, and time. Too bad we don't all live in the blue zones.
3
Let’s push for innovative food & financial curricula, starting in kindergarten.
(Like sex education classes, only less stodgy/pedantic, more hands-on/fun).
3
All of this means the cost of health care is going to become impossible to afford. Trump will be long gone and we still will not have a government single payer healthcare program. Eventually, only a few corporations and the wealthy will be able to afford healthcare. Obesity is a killer. This is serious folks!
Tying obesity to climate change may be a good idea. I would imagine the more obese you are, the amount of food you eat will have a larger impact on the environment. If you eat more, one could also logically assume would excrete more waste.
4
I’ve worked producing editorial content for magazines for the last 25 years. We used to run a plus size story once ...maybe twice a year. Now we run a few plus size options in almost every clothing story.
3
@Anonymous Stylist What's the mag--I will subscribe. Project Runway also has all kinds of models now--incl non-binary.
I find that overweight people tend to want to hang out with other overweight people. Then they can eat til they're content without shame.
Someone said give an overweight person everything they say they eat daily and keep them in a room. In week, they will lose weight because the are eating way more than they admit, or maybe they even realize. And if you only hang out with other overweight people . . .
2
@Terry - But I would imagine that many thin people also lie about what they eat. The way drinkers lie about their alcohol intake and smokers about their cigarette consumption.
1
Many other readers have remarked that Europeans are much slimmer than Americans, especially the children. In Europe, the “children’s” menu is the same at the “adult” menu. Let’s try it, America! Let’s stop pretending chicken nuggets and corn dogs are food.
7
Protect yourself and the environment, go vegan.
4
whole food, plant-based diet. I have weighed within 10 pounds for 40 years. Eat real food - it satisfies, fills you up and doesn't make you fat. It's probably the main reason why my health issues have not killed me.
4
And Trump, himself obese, plans to reverse healthy food offerings in school cafeterias, introduced under Obama, in favor of French fries, pizza, and other unhealthy alternatives.
9
Fast food culture. Sporting events with 'garbage' food offerings. Living the couch potato life, staring at a glowing boob tube for hours while gorging on 'snacks'.
Americans addicted to their private vehicles, all under the guise of 'the American lifestyle.... freedom...independence'....only too quick to reach for their precious car keys, whether it's to pick up a few random items at the market just a few blocks away, or to treat themselves to a Jumbo Frappuccino from the Dunkin Donuts (also within walking/cycling distance from their home...)
If you have the misfortune to ever visit a Walmart down South (as I've done when visiting my family members' second homes down there), you will be utterly shocked at how slovenly and UNhealthy most people look. Clearly it's driven by a poor diet and lifestyle. So many grossly fat people...people just in their late 40s...50s.. and up...all driving around in mobility-aid devices...all while shopping for cheap 'stuff', GMO food, sodium-laden frozen dinners, and then picking up a stack of lottery tickets before heading out to the parking lot, which is full of privately-owned mini army tanks (jumbo SUVs, Jeeps, 4x4s, etc.). It is positively disgusting. America is rotting from the inside out.
16
@Lisa
That's such a perfect description!
1
Are the busses actually running again in France?
2
Why is it the responsibility of government to keep people from getting fat and obese? Aside from the small number who are fat do to medical complications, obesity is a self-induced health epidemic.
In the past, most people seemed to inherently understand that being fat or obese was not a great idea. So they didn't stuff their faces. It boggles the mind that so many people now do stuff their faces until they can barely waddle around.
Why have will power when you are protected by PC nonsense that praises diversity of body types and normalizes big fat people? Anyone with half a brain should know obesity is a huge health risk with huge health costs.
So when the clamor sounds for universal healthcare, all the rest of us will have to pay for the huge medical costs of the obese. God forbid, someone should be told, hey, you're fat. Get your act together.
5
@Bruce
When a big percentage of a country’s population has a potential health issue, and that percentage is projected to increase substantially... maybe just maybe something is going on in a larger sense and it IS the government’s role to figure out what’s going on for the good of society as a whole.
You could say people should have personal responsibility and not drive in a way that gets them into car crashes... that doesn’t mean that the government shouldn’t ALSO work to understand how and why crashes happen, what can be done to prevent them including government actions like treating icy roads, mandating road/highway design AND research into ways to reduce death and injury when crashes happen and setting product safety standards that ALL vehicle makers have to meet.
2
Is it any wonder? Our food has become so toxic as to be unrecognizable. GMO corn, zucchini, squash, and God knows what else. Big agra, which has lobbied successfully to raise the white blood cell infection levels for cows with udder infections (you're drinking that milk), not to mention the absolute hogwash about the necessity of drinking milk at all. Frankenfoods are everywhere you look in grocery stores in America, and I don't just mean anything packaged. We are allergic to pretty much everything because nothing is really whole and unprocessed. And with Trump and the GOP dismantling every environmental law in this country, unregulated chicken from China, hormone-and-God-only-knows-what-else loaded beef and pork, wheat that has no nutritive value whatsoever and has become a major toxin, along with soy. Pesticides on and in everything, including so-called organic foods, it's no wonder we're all so fat. Yes, Fat. Overweight. Obese. The fast food industry spends billions to flavor their frankenfoods so that one becomes addicted. And then there's sugar - it's in EVERYTHING, and it is the worst thing you can put into your body - disrupts the endocrine system, ruins your teeth. People think the tobacco industry perpetrated a fraud on this country. Big tobacco is a walk in the park compared with the food industry.
5
I wonder what would happen if an overweight American was forced to live one year overseas in a country without modern conveniences.
2
@Terri Cheng
Likely would become an ex-pat! Slow down, walk, forget about your under performing IRA and productivity metric corporate boss. It seems many of us have become what disturbs us, in what was once a proud country. Obesity, opioids, poverty, guns, sexploitation, lobbyists/intimidators and non truth tellers running the country (into the ground). We seem to have lost our way and/or our collective will to self correct.
Isn't it ironic that if a person starves themselves to an unhealthy degree, the medical establishment rushes to treat them, and society recognizes that they are ill, that just telling them to "eat a cheeseburger" isn't going to help; yet if a person overeats to an unhealthy degree, the medical establishment offers nothing but "exercise more, eat less" and off you go, and society just yells "put the fork down, fatso." There is no recognition that overeating is an eating disorder just as much as anorexia is, or that it is just as likely to kill its victims (albeit more slowly). No health insurance will pay for inpatient treatment for sugar addiction. It might pay for bariatric surgery that leaves the underlying mental issues in place.
The obesity epidemic ties right in with the other unacknowledged epidemic in this country -- mental illness. Compulsive overeating is an addiction, and like other addictions, it is driven by trauma and despair. Whether the drug of choice is an opioid, nicotine, alcohol, or sugar, the underlying mechanism is the same. A brain desperate to feel good finds a substance that makes it feel better, at least for a little while, and that urge is more powerful than the knowledge of the harm the substance is doing. Until we figure out how to address trauma and mental illness, obesity rates will continue to rise along with opioid and other substance use disorders and their sequelae.
15
@Nikki - The difference is that society kind of admires anorexics. Refusing to eat is seen as a superior sort of will power.
(Yes I know that anorexia kills, and people have sympathy for that. But as you said, the public also believes that obesity kills, but no one cares.)
8
@Nikki I agree. And fat shaming articles like this one do not help. We have all heard this advice thousands of time! If we cannot be what some consider normal weight, it is not because of articles that don’t advise it. So what’s the matter then? Or what is not the matter? People who write op-eds should start thinking of reconfiguring discussions on so-callef obesity epidemics
5
@Nikki
Aside from a very small minority the advice given is adequate.
Eat less, walk more.
What you see before you is the result of unfettered capitalism, a complete lack of a free market. This is the american processed food industry taking advantage of deregulation.
I have found that by eating whole meats and non starchy vegetables, few fruits, no processed food and avoiding sugar, processed seed and “vegetable oils” eating natural healthy fats like butter, and olive oil has made my appetite more manageable and I have lost twenty pounds and maintained it for three years.I don’t go out of my way to exercise except for walking twenty minutes a day.
I do think it it interesting that when you look at photos of people fifty years ago most people were thin,and few were fat. I think our processed foods have contributed to the obesity problem. I also think there are serious consequences to our society if this does not turn around.
9
@Leslie Todder - When I was a kid growing up in the 60's, there was plenty of processed food. I can remember living on Swanson's t.v. dinners and canned spinach (yuch!). But folks hadn't started adding hormones to all of the dairy and birds. And our lives were not wrapped in plastic like they are today. As a kid, I still remember seeing the milkman deliver jugs to the doorstep in glass bottles.
14
I have also lost weight eating the way you described. I feel full longer and have maintained the weight loss. I personally think it is the best way of eating for me. (And probably a lot of other people.)
1
@tom harrison And I remember how, on a freezing
winter morning, a chunk of icey slush would form in the neck of the bottle, pushing the cardboard cap up. That was in Baldwin, NY, circa 1930.
4
We're grown adults and should take responsibility for our own lifestyle. We know why we get fat - too much of the wrong food and drink and not enough exercise. Unfortunately we just don't want to take the responsibility and yet will blast health services because there aren't enough doctors to treat strokes, Type 2 diabetes and heart issues caused by our self neglect. (If I wasn't so unfit I'd say more....)
4
@Gary
Maybe spend a few minutes watching Dr Peter Attia’s TED talk about what if we’re wrong about obesity/diabetes. He did everything right, didn’t practice self neglect, and yet...
Mental health is a huge part of this in a few different ways.
I think obesity needs to be treated as an eating disorder just as bulimia and anorexia are, with mental health care and treatment, in addition to nutritional counseling. There is often a reason why people are desperately trying to feel better with food.
Other side of the coin, it's known that common antidepressant medication, SSRI's tend to make people put on weight. There has been a huge increase in SSRI usage in the US and wonder if it correlates.
14
@Celeste, Great - every other bad decision that one makes, you're going to chalk it up to mental health issues, and that absolves one's responsibility? If a full *half* of us are projected to go into obesity, are you telling me those half of the population all have mental issues?
I'm so sick and tired of arguments that assume no agency in people that impacts on their personal decisions in diet, lifestyle, and beyond. And then when these irresponsible get sick, society has to pick up the tab to treat them for life. Unbelievable.
3
@tiddle—@celeste is right. I wrote in another comment that I used to be extremely fit. (I used to run up and down the stadium stairs at The Swamp in Gainesville for fun. I used to run miles in the Florida summer.) I had a major depressive episode in my early 20s and was put on Zoloft, an SSRI. I gained 50 pounds of fat in the first four months. And I found that the weight was really hard to lose. Which made me more depressed and apathetic and sedentary. Only by embracing fanatical exercise once again, after I was stable emotionally, did I lose the weight. And still not all of it. I have no shame about either physical or mental ill illness, personally, and hope this comment helps anyone who can use it.
9
IN case anyone wonders if I caused my depressive episode which led to medication which led to wait gain. I watched my grandfather die. We were extremely close. I saw him take his last breath. I had a lot of other external problems around that time. There was a test that I had to take which rated the most stressful events in a person’s life. My score was off the charts. I am not making excuses for myself. I am making excuses for all of the other people who you blame for their problems and their illnesses.
5
I have lived all over the world - Mexico, US, Germany, and China. The main differences I have witnessed (aside from the structural systemic ones) are the choices individuals make. I see the way people eat here in the US and I'm always just dumbfounded. The amount, and the type of food most people I see out at restaurants (which I rarely frequent) is just insane! I wish I had the eloquence to describe what I have witnessed. I'm a thin person (admittedly don't need to work too hard, I just watch what I eat, I avoid soda, I walk to work (which I know is a privilege), and I run three miles a day). Living in the US is fascinating, people call me skinny all the time. Go to Germany or China and I'm "normal". What has become socially acceptable in the US is just horrible. I know people don't want to blame individuals, because we know there are systemic issues, but individuals can and should make smart decisions. You don't have to drink soda at every meal, that doesn't require a lot of money. You could cook beans and rice, which is cheaper and healthier than fast food. Anyway, I'm just always appalled at how I see people eat. I actually avoid going out as much as possible because it really grosses me out.
22
@Diana - I love looking at the groceries the person in front of me tosses onto the conveyor belt at the store and I try to imagine what they are going to make.
If I go to one of my markets, its mostly fat people with lots of frozen foods like hot pockets, pizza, t.v. dinners, etc. When I go to the Asian market its skinny people with lots of fresh vegetables, rice, some fish or small chunk of beef but nothing microwavable or zappable. Everything must be cooked up to order.
The Asian market has an almost non-existant dairy aisle and a serious lack of cheese and no bakery (other than the new Mexican bakery indoors). The Asians don't reach for the potatoes, pasta, cream/butter, bread, or chocolate cakes.
1
I don’t know what Asian markets you frequent in Seattle but all the major ones do sell bakery items and there are many stand alone Asian bakeries in the region. Uwajimaya for example sells items from the very popular Kiki bakery, including very fluffy white bread that’s popular all over east Asia.
6
@tom harrison I eat mainly pasta, cream/butter, cheese and bread and am not overweight so the problem must be something else.
2
No discussion of obesity is complete without a discussion that goes beyond diet and exercise. Mental health is a huge component of over-eating, and it is the one thing that seems to be deteriorating as obesity soars. The average family is scrambling to make ends meet and that produces stress- which encourages over-eating. With two working parents and increasingly long hours, there is little time for home cooking and daily exercise routines. Limited vacations and more and more gig jobs that require long and irregular hours don't help either. And though it's a great option/benefit, I've found being a FT telecommuter- which is becoming increasingly common- also leads to bigger meals and snacking during the day.
10
@Pat B. Yes, and No.
First off, no one wants to talk about the fact that a good number of people overspend. They have misplaced priorities. It's all about keeping up with the Joneses.
How is it that so many 'poor' folk have a new iPhone every year? How is it that so many families have multiple cars among them, purporting that they 'each need a car', vs. considering carpooling, someone dropping off/picking up the other person, taking public transit, etc?
What about the more well-off parents, and where the second parent simply 'wants' to work outside the home, but doesn't necessarily 'need to'. There are many more well-off parents who 'prefer' to both work outside the home, and then essentially one of their paychecks is used to pay for childcare, housecleaner, nanny, etc. Their choice I guess...
As for 'no time for cooking', again, a copout, especially as it relates to the amount of money spent on food. Many poor families say they 'can't afford' healthy food, yet somehow they have money to spend each week on frozen dinners, soda, lottery tickets, ice cream, etc. Staples such as rice & beans, root vegetables, peanut butter, canned tuna, pasta, etc. can be stretched to create multiple meals, and for a fraction of the cost of frozen dinners and fast food meals.
6
@Lisa You are full of assumptions and judgements. Sure, there are always people who make poor choices abut the people I'm talking about are largely middle class families, not the working poor- who don't usually have to worry about two cars because they don't even have one.
Long commutes, jobs with long hours, kids' activities and other things make for at least one meal a day out, and the other rushed in order to make time for kids' baths, homework, school activities, etc. etc. Stress and time constraints are issues regardless of socioeconomic status. And, in metro areas I've lived, a family can't get by on one income unless that income was a doctor's or lawyer's. n any case, women (and men) shouldn't have to choose between working/raising their children and making time for a normal life.
7
@Pat B. Gimme a break about "mental health" in over-eating. I simply refuse to accept that a fully half of the population that are projected to fall into obesity all have mental issues related to over-eating. You're simply giving a free pass to so many of those who simply wouldn't take more personal responsibility in their lifestyle and diet.
As to eating healthy (that it's too expensive or too time-consuming), I'll tell you these. It's really not THAT bad, nor THAT expensive. I know of families who cook a whole pot of curry, then put it in fridge for lunch (packed lunch too) and dinner. Steaming veggies is a no-brainer. You can throw meat and veggies in oven, and just walk away and come back 45 mins later with yummy dishes. No grocery store nearby? There are tons of meals on subscription these days that would come down to much cheaper than even fast food. All that these take, is our mindfulness in what we want to eat. When there's a will, there's a way.
3
I always hear that "it's the genes" that are responsible for people's obesity, rather than individual nutritional choices on the type and amount of food we consume. Unless we had a wholesale change of genes taking place when coming to this country, it is difficult to explain, why France for example, doesn't have this problem, even though presumably a fair amount of Frenchman came to these shores and are now likely as obese here as their countrymen in France are slim. And while Asians used to be almost uniformly slim the advent of processed foods is changing that as well. Only, processed food is not mandated by law, it is a choice. Admittedly I am most familiar with Thailand, where Thais who keep preparing meals from fresh ingredients - the poorer part of the population - are largely unencumbered by this obesity epidemic. The key point is that the choice of foods is a personal choice, not a law of nature or a government mandate. And from all I have seen it doesn't take a lot of time to make a great meal from non-processed foods. So, yes, it is a health crisis, but one caused by individual choice and, different from tobacco, it cannot be laid onto the doorsteps of addiction.
8
@bluesky -- for the billionty-billionth time:
Genes haven't changed in a generation. The environment those genes live in has. Calories are cheaper. We are required to do less moving to get through our daily lives.
People weighed less on average in the past because they worked physically demanding jobs and couldn't afford enough food to be fat.
When I look at pictures of my grandparents and great-grandparents and their siblings, I see two kinds of people -- people who were thin, and who smoked and drank, and people who didn't smoke or drink and were fat.
If genetics wasn't part of the explanation for increasing weights, you wouldn't see the cycle repeating itself -- calories become more affordable, jobs become more sedentary, people gain weight. Happens all over the world.
And if you travel outside Paris, you'll find plenty of fat French people.
6
@JM There also used to be acceptance of the idea of three body types...mesomorph, ectomorph, and endomorph and whichever you were you could not switch to another one easily or even at all. Farmers who worked outside at physical labor could be stringy or stocky, depending... People now are apple shaped or pear-shaped...etc.
3
Its easy to say that heredity is not an issue, but just an excuse. That's not so. My husband and I eat a very healthy diet. We have for years and continue because it's delicious despite being vegan, except for seafood on occasion, unprocessed and gluten-free because I have food allergies. We eat a little chocolate here and there. I used to have no trouble keeping the weight off, but after being diagnosed with SIBO several years ago, its a constant struggle, despite frequent vigorous exercise. I'm on the slimmer side by most standards, but my husband is technically obese. He snacks some, but not a lot, and he's less likely to exercise than I. His whole family has the same shape, except one lucky brother who eats more than the others. Go figure. I read other posts about the weight falling off after a few small changes, and wish that were me.
9
Here in the SF Bay Area, we've reduced the amount we eat out because the restaurant prices are so expensive. As a result, we probably eat healthier at home. I could be wrong, but I think dining prices jumped significantly when the $15 minimum wage was introduced. You'd need to analyze economics and health outcomes but it seems that starting with minimum wage would be win-win for everyone but restaurateurs.
5
@David You're correct. Also, California has no "tip credit," so servers in SF receive the minimum wage of $15.59 per hour, which drives up costs.
Add to that the 4% "Healthy SF" surcharge, the new 1% climate surcharge and your 20-25% tip and there's your reason why a cheeseburger, fries and beer at a good SF restaurant like Zuni comes in at around $50.
1
Maintaining a healthy weight involves not only eating proper portions but eating foods that are not high in fat and sugar and moving more. We have become a society that doesn't move. My examples are the plethora of disabled hangtags in automobiles because these allow parking closer to building entrances; sitting and staring at cell phones rather than walking and interacting with other humans along with using food as a means of self-medication for all sorts of mental upsets. Overeating is a new addiction and people "can't" help that they are addicted. I see many overweight and morbidly obese people (I am a surgeon) who are tired, depressed and angry that they are overweight or morbidly obese yet they are reluctant to (even angry) if I move to discuss changing their diets or moving more. "It's too hard" or "I can't" has become the excuses. Just because foods are cheap and in front of one does not mean that one has to eat everything that is out there. Adult humans can make choices and can choose to blame the food industry, television advertising and other outside influences but in the end, what goes in one's mouth is by choice. All choices have consequences.
14
What's unfortunate is that as this is happening there's a huge movement to normalize obesity. Like, "fat shaming" is something people complain about. And the thing is, if people want to be overweight and are willing to accept the health outcomes that we associate with obesity, fine, but why are we celebrating it?
9
There is a huge gray area between shaming and celebrating. Why does it have to be one or the other? Why not just encourage people to think about making healthier choices in general?
14
Well research has shown that fat shaming hinders weight loss so if your intent is for people to be healthier then don’t do it. If you just want to feel superior and need to kick someone down for that then of course go ahead with the fat shaming.
6
@Ben How do you go about this "encouraging"? Do you go out to eat with a larger person and say, "Look--they have salads!" "We don't need dessert, any of us, do we?" "Hope you starved all day because the food here is great." I sure hope you don't get a VERY concerned look and say, "I didn't want to say this, but have you gained since you were here last?" Fat people know they are fat. We have mirrors. We have heard hurtful stuff all our lives. My own mother once said, "Now that's you're over 50, you may be more acceptable."
2
Sitting is the new smoking and regrettably we and our kids are at computers or playing games in front of screens for vast amounts of time.
I live in a beautiful neighborhood with big yards. There is only one house within hearing distance where the kids play outdoors. At dusk, it is a joy to hear them yelling, running and playing, calling their dogs. The rest of the neighbor kids are indoors, quiet, no where to be seen.
I remember back in the late 50's, we played outside til my mom called us inside to eat dinner. We grumbled all the way in.
I raised my daughter to play outside and she takes her little ones to a park to play everyday, weather permitting. We also read a great deal to her starting at birth and she is passing that on, as well. Good habits are generational.
16
I think obesity should be viewed in most instances as a result of an addiction and should be treated as such.
People know what causes obesity and want to change their eating habits but are addicted—to the pleasure, the flavor etc of unhealthy food. Trying to change ones eating habits and giving up what feels like pleasure from junk and other unhealthy foods is a lot like trying to stop drink8ng when it’s causing you problems.
We talk in this about “deaths of despair” from drug use, suicide etc. I believe obesity also stems from despair and coupled with a true addiction to a certain kind of eating, leads to the despair of obesity and, often, death eventually.
5
@L. Hoberman -- except that, unlike drinking, smoking and using drugs inappropriately, we have to eat to live. So it can't be treated as an addiction.
Some people have food addictions, and should be able to access treatment for that condition. Most people who are fat don't, and aren't mentally ill. That stereotype is harmful and simply encourages unfair discrimination.
1
1. no corporate foods/ eat mostly plants
2. move 30-60 mins a day
3. fast 13 hours between dinner and breakfast
doing this I lost 30 lbs painlessly
12
Another thought: planning is very important. If you want to have power over what you eat and what you buy you MUST plan. Look at your week: which days will you be busiest? what do you have going on?
Plan accordingly and plan meals that are manageable for the amount of time you have, and plan for obstacles. Thursday nights, for whatever reason, but probably the culmination of the work week, I don't feel like cooking and want to order pizza, so I have to plan well knowing that so I have something easy and satisfying (and healthier) planned for that night.
Create a meal plan on Saturday or Sunday morning, while you're having coffee, or think about it while you're working, or doing whatever you do.
When you shop, only buy what you need for your meal plan.
Plan breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.
Every now and then, if you have some time on a Sunday afternoon, prep things to freeze. When things are on sale, buy them and freeze them for the future.
Shop seasonally. It's cheaper. You may have to get used to root veggies in the winter, but it'll be exciting come spring and summer when you get in abundance all the good that comes with the new season.
We are so used to being able to have whatever we want ALL THE TIME, but that's not the way it's meant to be.
It'll be better for ourselves and the world (maybe not big business) if we live seasonally and PLAN so that we are in charge of our lives and not slaves to the world around us and the stresses of life.
12
elizabeth. all well and good. but people have to care enough to make the efforts. snd many people simply do not. they have grown comfortable with their excess weight. they don't care enough to make small changes. and claim to be attacked when others say something. the core issue that was effective in the anti smoking push, was when it became about other people's health. thats when it took off and succeeded. we need to point out how peoples obesity in turn effects others. namely in the costs incurred by others to subsidize their higher health care costs. like higher insurance premiums, and more out of pocket costs. or people with normal weight, and normal health, get deep discounts on their costs. something has to give. and it shouldn't be those who take responsibility for their health.
6
@Boregard Very good point. Any thoughts on how, then, to address the health concerns/cost concerns in a moment of body positivity? It seems it's dangerous ground and easy to be cast off as a bad person for bringing up the negative consequences of obesity.
1
@Elizabeth Not a bad person--maybe tactless and getting into things that are not your business...And don't say you will have to pay for a fat person's health--we all pay for each others'--that is how ins works.
3
I find it hard to believe that it's just because people don't know what causes it. I believe most do, but overeat and/or under exercise anyway.
Once you accept that people don't want to get it under control, it most likely is a mental health issue underlying it. It's more of a depression / comfort / addiction type problem at its root.
14
One issue this article fails to address is that losing weight and keeping it off is nearly impossible for most people. The recidivism rate of diets is rumored to be 98% and that's because once you're fat it is very, very difficult to lose and maintain weight loss. No wonder the diet industry is worth 72 billion dollars annually....diets don't seem to work. But then what? How does the nation address this serious problem? Not everyone can afford surgery.
9
@Giligan Simply not true for people who are well guided by an educated doctor like Sarah Hallberg. A doctor treating diabetes/obese patients and reversing the disease daily. Check her video on youtube. I stopped eating sugar and carbs for a severe medical issue and my cousin joined me. Over a year and a half she has lost 50 pounds, without hunger. Is off statins and anti-acid medication. Will be discharged from the monitoring program for MCI this summer and is feeling younger, more in tune and happier - especially her knees! All this at 76 years of age after 50 years of unsuccessful calorie counting. And the food is wonderful! Healthy, delicious, organic and colorful! Nothing processed, cooked fresh in about 30 mins on average and enjoyed. No sugar/insulin induced weariness. Worth every minute for the well being and health - as opposed to injecting insulin, taking many expensive drugs, worrying about heart disease, blindness or chronic metabolic conditions. If you doubt it, spend a day in a diabetic clinic, see the misery of the patients or smell the ulcers!
11
@Claire McFadden I am so glad that you and your cousin have successfully dealt with your health problems through weight loss. I suspect you are among the 2% who have lost the weight and apparently kept it off. It also sounds like you both have access to excellent health care and the financial means to buy organic foods. Many Americans have neither. They are holding down multiple jobs, managing families and at the end of the day have neither the will, money time to cook and shop for organic meals. Let alone exercise. Plus a great deal of research indicates that the body rebels against weight loss diets, making the dieter much hungrier and therefore thwarting her/his efforts. I speak as an educated, financially stable and retired person who is at average weight but has dealt with weight issues my whole adult life.
7
@Giligan fyi, you don't need to eat organic foods to lose weight.
3
There are so many aspects of contemporary American life that contribute to obesity:
- a built environment that makes it harder to get routine exercise as part of daily life.
- cheap, highly processed food is usually the easiest food to find.
- high poverty.
- decreased variety of gut bacteria due to our agricultural and food production systems.
- food is much cheaper than therapy for people who are dealing with trauma.
I've seen studies that show that the same number of calories ingested today raise weight more than in the past due to our different gut flora. It may be nearly impossible for many to diet and exercise their way out of this.
11
@EB
Diet changes the gut bacteria composition though. And as the composition changes those bugs stop sending chemical messages to our brains commanding us to over eat.
I agree that a multi-pronged approach that addresses our mental and physical suffering is necessary to get at the root of the problem though. For too many people food is the only source of comfort or entertainment in their lives.
2
Nutritional labels base things off a 2000 calorie per day diet. I am moderately active (run or walk 40 miles per week) moderately short, moderately old, and I have spent the past 2 years calibrating my Fitbit to see how many calories really make sense for me to eat in a day and not gain weight. The answer: about 1400.
Garbage in, garbage out—be it data, food, or information.
16
There are many genetic, environmental, and social factors that contribute to one's access to nutrition and healthy options.
Having said that, the first sentence of this piece raises the issue of climate change and it could've gone a step further. Walking or riding a bike to work, working toward a more plant-based diet... There are plenty of behaviors that have co-benefits in terms of both health and a livable planet.
5
@S Walker "walking or riding a bike to work" - How many people are lucky enough to have this as an option? I live in the suburbs of Denver and like a lot of other cities, many of the jobs are in office parks on the outskirts of town. That means that public transportation options either don't exist or they require piecing together too many different routes. Most people here commute very long distances by car.
9
@Sarah Is there any way that you could commute that very long distance minus 1-2 miles in your car, find a nice free spot to park - such as a park (lots of them in Colorado, right?) - and then ride your bicycle the rest of the way to work? Perhaps your workplace is in a dense urban setting next to an interstate. But for many people, I imaging that "dual commuting" by car/bicycle could a great way to get in shape. Check out google maps for your area. I know in my area I have dozens of such dual commuting options and I work in the central core of a medium-sized city.
2
It seems to me that high calorie food is an addictive substance. People that are addicted to this food behave like someone who is addicted to any other drug. It is illustrative to watch the show 600 lb life as well as Intervention to get a good idea of the situation.
7
@Matt I believe that is true. Which is why shaming/mocking/"eat less move more" doesn't work. HFCS is an addictive substance, and for many people, it's what's available and affordable.
6
These projections are likely based on bmi, which may not be the best measure for some of us. I weight lift 3 or 4 times a week which means my bmi is close to obese. Hip to height ratio may be a better measure but I suspect the projections won't change much.
4
@sr
Of course, but those of us who squat and bench are so rare that we barely figure into the statistics. To us, lifting is a common as riding the subway, but only a small percentage of the population lifts. At my gym, almost everybody lifts (no duh), but in my apartment building, I'd guess that only 1 in 15 people under 65 lift weights at all. Maybe 1 in 4 seem to be runners. The numbers are lower outside of NYC.
4
Same here. Body fat percentage is probably a more accurate measure.
2
On a visit to Paris, seeing an obese person was rare. I got a $4 delicious gelato. The serving was the size of golf ball.
The vast majority of my patients are dangerously obese. When I talk to them about what constitutes a healthy diet, they return a blank stare. We need a public health campaign to teach Americans what real food is.
21
@A Doctor At the checkout line, there are plenty of magazines to browse through with healthy recipes (even if some have dessert on the cover.) Oprah had how many shows about healthy eating and exercise? My point is, there is plenty of information out there for the last 25 years at least that's been put in front of shoppers and tv watchers.
But go into any grocery store and the shelves are lined with processed foods with added sugar.
It does take going through withdrawal symptoms and then a commitment to make the larger part of daily meals be healthier choices.
3
@A Doctor You can start by trying to educate your patients. I find that most doctors do not talk to their patients about weight.
2
@A Doctor You may have also noticed that people aren't constantly eating in Europe, and a "large" soda is about the same size as a U.S. "small."
I agree that more education is needed. All I see when I glance at the TV monitors at my gym are ads for fast food, pharmaceuticals and diet programs. Americans are in sad shape, in every respect.
3
There is no single cause for the obesity epidemic, it's easy to point the finger and talk about personal responsibility-but that's only part of the solution.
I grew up in the late 1970's. We drank whole milk, put real butter on the potatoes, had dessert with both lunch and dinner, nobody "exercised" and very few people were obese. Sure, we played outside a bit more as kids, but I don't recall breaking a sweat all that often. Being outside could just as easily have been reading a book under a tree.
Of course, people worked 40 hour weeks then and could still afford houses, cars, good food and medical care and even vacations-often on one full time income. I don't think you can simply dismiss the changes in what it takes for many people to simply make ends meet these days so casually.
29
I always lose weight when living in Europe, and gain it when back in the US. The main life style differences for me are portion sizes and overall meal costs in restaurants coupled with the availability of public transit and safe bicycling routes. Combined over a year, I generally lose about a pound a month while living in Europe. The differences in eating and energy expended are barely perceptible to me on a daily level. That experience convinces me that we Americans need to make systemic changes to both our food and built environments. Daily workouts and conscious eating/diets are no match for cheap take-out and going most places by car.
13
Eat less and move more - the only formula that’s ever worked for me.
14
I'm not shocked by this, but that's because I travel to red states.
My siblings eat high-calorie restaurant junk food nearly every day. They complain about their weight and pre-diabetes, then go to IHOP or Chick-Fil-A. They've never bought a bottle of olive oil and on the occasions they do cook, it's processed trash or heavy red meat. I rarely visit them because they're sedentary and their hobby is going out to eat.
One of them is raising a toddler, whose recent "lunch" consisted of Goldfish crackers, brownie bites, fries and soda. It makes me angry that they're setting this kid up for a life of poor food choices.
34
@Randy When I got a medical diagnosis of metabolic syndrome 3 years ago at age 60, I switched to a whole food plant based diet. My blood sugar and cholesterol quickly returned to normal and I lost 20 pounds with out going hungry. I've seen this work for many people. I wish more people would give it a try.
5
@Randy I agree completely! As a mom, i get so sad and angry when i see obese toddlers. I think feeding a child lunch like that (if done on a consistent basis) should be considered a form of child abuse.
2
@Randy This is tremendously classist and snobby. Do you honestly think poor diet is relegated to "red states" as your comment suggests? Give me a break. I live in a liberal bubble in New England - literally on an organic farm - and Ihops and Burger Kings exist here too. If only you were so angry about the availability of unhealthy food,tax subsidies for big ag creating all the unhealthy food, and income inequality that makes it often necessary to buy unhealthy food.
3
I am lucky to weigh the same as I did in high school.
On many occasions I am told that I have 'good genes' to be able to stay so slim. My retort is always the same: it takes a lot of conscious choices and hard work to stay in shape. At least 50% of the time before my workouts, whether biking, running, weights, or whatever, exercising is the last thing I want to do. But I do it. I eat what I want, when I want, but try to reach for the fruits and greens first, and then whatever afterwards (yes, including pizza, pasta, chips, beer, wine, etc.). I never feel deprived.
To those who claim I'm 'lucky', I once spent two weeks on a business trip to Europe getting no exercise and eating/drinking to excess. I put on an extra 12-15 pounds. I hated how I felt and looked. Getting back to my 'normal' routine afterwards I quickly got rid of the extra weight. But what if I hadn't? I would probably now be 50-80 pounds overweight. Despite the nonsense to the contrary, it IS a choice.
Americans have gotten lazy. Cars jammed into parking lots looking for the space that is 50 feet closer to the store entrance. People whose physical health has peaked at 15 and is beyond control at 25.
Sheer, utter, madness.
42
@dmckj You're not lucky though- you admitted that you have worked incredibly hard and are constantly making choices to stay at your high school weight. These choices in eating, exercising, and going on diets after you return from trips to Europe require time, money, and planning. Americans, especially ones who are poor, sick, work two jobs, or have to care for others- do not have the luxury to take the time to do the workouts you do or the money to buy the food you eat. It is only a 'choice' to the limits of your means.
2
add the costs on the backend. increase health care insurace premiums for those who put themselves at risk. if you smoke, your premiums go up, why not overeating? health insurance for most people is provided at work, why am I, the one eating properly, exercising nearly everyday, etc...subsidizing those I work with who refuse to take responsibility for their weight? Im thinking of several cases, coworkers who are constantly eating, and who are always sick using more health care services, while Im not. but Imstuck in the pool, keeping their costs down. what arethey doing for me, besides being there?
3
A colleague had a gastric bypass surgery many years ago. One day we were discussing her first marriage. She said the main reason she divorced her husband was that she was raped by an acquaintance of his (the rapist waited until her husband left for work one day and then broke in) and she blamed him for bringing his "friend" around the house. She said she gained 100 lbs afterwards. I asked her if she ever made the connection that she didn't want male attention so she subconsciously gained the weight? She said she had no idea that she had done that. She looked stunned when I mentioned it.
My point is that obesity is complex.
12
@Riley Are you a shrink? I was gang-raped in 1981 and gained even more weight...that time I started going to Overeaters Anonymous--for a year...no loss...By the way, male attention is not as related to weight as you may assume. This stuff IS complex.
3
@StarLawrence
Victims of childhood sexual assault and other sexual assault survivors ARE more likely to be obese than people who haven’t experienced it, so there is some correlation.
Put a progressive tax on portions.
4
@Luke
I eat a lot because I am fit. Don't expect me to pay for other people's laziness.
2
Last time I checked you didn’t need to be industrious to eat less. It’s got nothing to do with lazy
2
The two biggest culprits are sugar addictions and crash dieting. Crash diets - keto, paleo, Atkins, NASA's potato-only diet, etc. -- trigger a famine response in your neuroendocrine system that turns every cell in your metabolism into a fat-making machine. Which is why people lose loads of weight in the first couple months, and are fatter than ever a year later (and they always blame themselves). You cannot stay on these diets forever because, since they rely on eliminating entire food groups from your diet (usually either fats or carbs, but in the case of the potato-only diet, fats and proteins) these diets tend to cause extreme food cravings. If you do manage to say no to your cravings and stick to these ridiculous diets, they will make you very sick in the ensuing years.
This is pure science, look it up.
6
@BlackJack As someone who has been on a well formulated ketogenic diet for two and a half years, eating healthy, enjoyable food without hunger, let me put your inaccurate assertion right. Look up the latest gold standard research data from Dr. Sara Hallberg's study. The American Diabetic recently altered their guidelines to include the use of a ketogenic diet as a valid way to tackle type 2 diabetes. And it works? After a few weeks, patients ofter can greatly decrease or cease injecting with insulin. Check out Dr. Jason Fung or Dr. Malhortra, practising physcians who are making people well, without drugs! Ending the misery of obesity and diabetes and heart problems with good, healthy food!
2
Exercise and eating healthy, no way around it.
9
Maybe warning labels should go on certain unhealthy foods.
This is from the next day's NYTimes:
Four years after Chile embraced the world’s most sweeping measures to combat mounting obesity, a partial verdict on their effectiveness is in: Chileans are drinking a lot fewer sugar-laden beverages, according to study published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine.
Consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks dropped nearly 25 percent in the 18 months after Chile adopted a raft of regulations that included advertising restrictions on unhealthy foods, bold front-of-package warning labels and a ban on junk food in schools. During the same period, researchers recorded a five percent increase in purchases of bottled water, diet soft drinks and fruit juices without added sugar.
6
It's an ideological crisis - a crisis of free market capitalism. Because Americans identify with capitalism, they are powerless to combat it.
Free market capitalism works when agents are rational and have access to all relevant information. It fails (=it ceases to improve a society's productivity and well-being) when people are no longer rational, or when they don't have the time to find and process the relevant information for the choices they make. The food industry, of course, exploits this.
Sugar is extremely addictive, meaning people who crave sugar act irrationally - against their best interests. And nobody has time to read the ingredient list to find whether a product contains one of the 40 or so different types of sugar. So the food giants sneak as much sugar as they can get away with into everything. They turn children into addicts before they can know better. They hide how unhealthy their food is with disinformation campaigns. They finance junk science to shield their junk food from criticism. Etc.
The solutions are simple. Tax sugar. Ban advertisement for unhealthy food. Enforce product packaging with graphic warnings - people will think twice before buying a 4 liters coca cola bottle if it costs a dollar more and if it shows pictures from the autopsy of a victim of obesity, as opposed to a pretty cartoon illustrating coca cola's sponsorship for... the Olympics.
9
Funny how nobody discusses — or even mentions — this in the context of political efforts to make healthcare more affordable, more comprehensive, and accessible to all. The looming obesity epidemic is (pardon the pun) the elephant in the living room of American healthcare reform.
6
@RR The UK has the highest obesity rate in Europe (though much less than in the USA), despite universally accessible healthcare free at the point of service. And income inequality there is second only to the USA worldwide.
With data broken down by state, there is now a well documented inverse correlation between obesity and income in the USA. There will be no change without dramatic federal initiatives, which are completely unlikely with the fatty-in-chief who occupies the White House.
4
America’s obesity epidemic is certainly due in part to the foods we eat, but I believe it’s also due to a perverse emotional relationship with food. For example: Reading/scanning Travel articles published in the NY Times, note how many pictures of FOOD there are, and how few pictures of MAPS. Need I say more?
6
Not me.
No tv.
No processed garbage in my body.
No easy dinners. I cook.
I run.
I bike to work.
I stay out of my car.
I read.
I’m not obese.
I’m not American I guess.
16
Look at photographs and films of street scenes, family scenes, and the like from a half century ago. How many overweight people do you see in these historical visual records? What happened?
9
A little over a hundred years ago, a “moderately obese” man by today’s standards was the star of an international traveling freak show where he was called the fattest man in earth. No joke. I’ve seen pictures of him. He is unremarkable now. You can see people twice his size riding rascals at any Walmart.
1
@Smotri
You know in Miracle on 34th Street how Alfred is a fat kid, carries his own padding to play Santa Claus? He looks absolutely normal to today’s eyes—not fat at all.
1
@Smotri I simply remember when I and every child I knew spent much most of our time outside when we weren't having family meals at the table or doing homework inside. Go through a typical neighborhood in America now. They are like dead zones. No sounds at all, except for lawn mowers or bored dogs barking.
No wonder, when everyone's miserable, and sugar is a fast addictive high.
And "comfort good"? We shovel it in, when there's no hope elsewhere.
1
Great news for the Lane Bryant brand.
2
Trump's attack on the school lunch program will do nothing but exacerbate the problem. Check out the NYT's article from Jan 17, 2020 by Lola Fadulu - "Trump Targets Michelle Obama’s School Nutrition Guidelines on Her Birthday". Sad, very sad.
13
Drowning in garbage and sugar and corporations run amok. Nature wiped out. Want to see how it looks in the future, just watch the movie Wall-E. Dystopian fantasy? Hardly.
4
Obesity = Out of Control Weight + Out of Control Attitude,
If the Individual would not care, No other Individual is Going to Care
2
Don't worry! "Medicare for ALL" will treat their chronic diabetes, heart disease. high blood pressure, bad knees and sleep disorders for FREE!!!!
Eat Up America! Whatever happens, it won't cost you a dime!
3
@Aaron Actually, if you transfer the profits from Big Food and Big Pharma, whose business model actively promotes obesity, you could have an accessible, affordable HEALTHcare system, that will ensure we won't go bankrupt as a country in the near future.
As Dr. Sara Hallberg says, 'Never underestimate the money to be made in keeping you sick.'
1
@Aaron Ummm....taxes?
What taxes? The taxes poor people pay? Poor people don't pay taxes because they don't have any money.. Poor people also constitute the largest demographic of the clinically obese.
I believe this. This country is filled with overweight, out of shape, lazy people.
5
Someday agribusiness will come in for the same kind of scrutiny and liability that the tobacco industry has seen. Advertising, lobbying, and availability all work together to make obesity a near-inevitability for half the population of this country. Perhaps the next administration will have a slightly less crippling phobia around regulation, and we can get down to the business of making sure nobody profits from sabotaging our health.
6
1. Big portions are killing us
2. We work so hard we don't sleep enough, then we eat to boost energy when we are over tired from our lack of sleep.
3. We are encouraged to eat while working, while walking, and in the car.
4. Too much sugar and over-processed flour
Remedy: Split portions with others, get 8 hours of sleep per night, sit down to eat an savor your meal and avoid or limit sweets.
I followed those rules for six months, did not eat foods differently from before and lost 20 lbs and now have a BMI of 22
5
The truth is, most people (americans in particular, inundated with big portions, faux "healthy" snacks and limited knowledge of nutrition) 1. have no idea how many calories they need to consume to maintain their current weight or lose weight vs. gain. this is an absolute, though it takes into consideration everyone's unique factors such as age, disorders etc. and 2. have no idea whatsoever how many calories they actually eat in a day. Or how many they burn with exercise or "steps." Even many who are trying are doing so in vain because of this. Associating science and math with eating stresses us out!
2
I work in a large hospital emergency department. I've seen this increasing trend in obesity with all of it's complications among our patients for forty years. People need to take responsibility in maintaining their health! Unfortunately, the only answer is, those who don't and become morbidly obese, become drug addicts or long term alcoholics with complications, are going to have to foot their health care bills themselves.
5
@BD Sounds like a good idea, but in reality, if they can't pay for treatment, they will get treated anyway and we will all pay.
1
We're already paying for their care via higher insurance rates.
We as humans were never programmed to consume processed sugar or flour products. We were however programmed to store calories because at one point in our development as humans we didn't know when our next meal would come.
We're slowly killing ourselves and until we all realize what and how we should eat, we're doomed.
3
Whenever I return home to the States for a visit I invariably gain weight. In Oslo I walk constantly without really trying logging 12-20K steps a day. In the U.S. I'm stuck in cars for every little thing. Portion sizes are out of control as well. I distinctly remember when I noticed the default size of soft drinks had become huge. And 80% of supermarkets are filled with junk - entire aisles dedicated to unhealthy cereals for example. I have often thought that if I return to live in the U.S. I would have to become vegetarian just to be more conscientious about what I eat.
17
When you live in Oslo you walk 20 k steps a day? I didn’t even manage that on vacation in Japan. You know, as a tourist out all day.
1
@AK The point was significant walking is done in the course of everyday stuff so I should have factored out the steps from the dog walking. We have an Irish Setter who loves to be out in the forest and that's a good chunk of those steps. Take away the dog, and I'm still at 6-12K steps a day by doing the normal routine things. The public transportation system is very good and our car sits idle most of the time to the point where we hardly noticed it when we didn't have a car for a couple of months. But I remember it took some getting used to those first few months in Norway. In contrast, as family with kids and activities visiting my hometown Seattle last year, we actually rented two cars... Speaking of Japan, I first experienced an alternative to the car lifestyle when I spent a couple of years in Hiroshima after college many years ago. Walking, trains, trams, buses, bicycles and the occasional taxi. No car needed.
@Kevin
Try visiting NYC. You won't need a car. Most places you can walk to. Subway and buses, if need be, cars a distant third.
Boils down to personal choices. Socio-economic status plays a major role and I am not dismissing it. Our local bodegas / grocery stores are a great example. Many of the chinese who come in to shop (lower middle class / lower class) will often buy fruits / vegetables and lean meats. the prices are reasonable. The Chiness are relatively thin. When I look at other groups who shop (similar SES) the choice in foods is drastically stark. You can choose to not drink soda. You can choose to not buy that extra large bag of potato chips. You can choose to buy produce for similar costs and prepare a simple, fast, and nutritious meal.
As Americans we need to escape the mentality that it's someone else's fault.
14
I hit 212 lbs. Then I started eating less and exercising. I now weigh 185. It was NOT difficult; discipline is the key. Everyone tells me I look too thin, something I doubt they would have said 30 years ago. What makes me mad is looking at my high health insurance premiums, knowing that I'm paying extra for people who won't control their eating.
14
@Thanks "Who won't control their eating." This is such an oversimplified and judgemental analysis of a complex and widespread problem.
14
@Rebecca Calorie input-calorie burn= calories retained. It literally couldn't be more simple. A-B=C. Reduce A and increase B.
1
@Rebecca
Sorry Rebecca, but it a succinct and accurate analysis.
1
The obesity epidemic began when expert nutritional guidelines began suggesting diets lower in natural animal protein and fats and higher in grains, diluting protein and filling the void with sugar, flour, and industrial seed oils. Meat is not the problem -- it's everything else eaten with it: the bun and the processed cheese food product and fries and chips and soda and beer and desserts. Well-raised local steak and eggs if eaten with some veggies will fend off obesity better than anything else. But instead of recommending anything like this, meat is demonized in favor lately of super-processed plant-based meat alternatives. It's insane. Eat real food, mostly animal protein, in one or two daily meals. Real animal protein increases satiety and makes it easier NOT to eat for hours at a time. The article should encourage people to eat more meat and eat less of everything else, especially if it comes in a box and is marketed as "healthy."
14
While I agree that the environment we live in plays a role, this is also a class and privilege issue.
Wealthier people have more money to spend on fresh produce, organic food, and even personal chefs/meal delivery services. Wealthy people can afford gym memberships, SoulCycle classes, Pelotons, and view working out as a leisure or 'lifestyle' activity, a hobby and a break from the 9-5 desk job. People in higher income brackets tend to have only one job, or may not work at all (SAHMs who grab coffee after yoga on weekdays.)
Lower income folks may live in food deserts where produce isn't available. Fast food is not only what they can afford, but what's available in their city or town. Little to no access to gyms, and definitely no boutique fitness classes. It's hard to find time to work out if you have more than one job, or have to take the bus.
I have seen this first hand having lived in DC, and now in Central Florida. Environment matters, but so does income inequality. Those espousing 'simple solutions' or praising their own 'willpower' need to understand this. What might be a 'simple' fix for you- like eating more salads or adding another SoulCycle class to your week- may be virtually impossible for someone less privileged than you.
19
@Rebecca OK but how do you explain the increase in obesity? In general, the poverty rate has not increased.
5
@Rebecca What happened to walking/jogging outside? People were slim long before anyone invented 'boutique' gyms.
3
@Rebecca Literally all of your excuses are just that: excuses.
Food deserts are far rarer than people claim, produce is ridiculously cheap compared to processed/fast food, and nobody needs a gym (or a SoulCycle class!) to exercise. As far as not having time? I *started* working out when I was working full-time and going to grad-school full time. It's the only thing that kept me sane. I also grew up on welfare and was dirt poor at the time, so poverty is yet another excuse.
The simple fact is that we live in a time when living a gluttonous, sedentary lifestyle is easy, and so people embrace it.
It's not the government's fault. It's not the big, bad snack companies' fault. It's not society's fault.
It's the fault of every individual who's chosen a gluttonous, sedentary lifestyle over health.
10
Our youngsters are fed oddly fancy meals at school. Often they have hot entrees and lots of choices. It’s much easier to eat less when meals are plain and repetitive. I suggest keeping school lunches to a sandwich, apple and cookie - keep it bland. School breakfasts could be a banana and small whole grain bread. Again, keep it simple, repetitive and bland. Let’s train kids to expect fancy only for special times.
4
@Mary Ann If offering bland food is a solution, why do places like, say, France — that offer much "fancier," adult-like meals for student lunches — not facing the same massive growth in their obesity rate?
14
@Mary Ann
Variety is not the problem; the choices within the variety are.
Any American bread recipe has too much sugar/sweetener (honey, whatever). This impacts the flavour of the bread, and also sets off the chain reaction of too much sugar in everything (if the bread is overly sweet - and I'm even talking basic brown bread - then everything else has to be sweeter so that the foods taste 'normal').
Cereal: same cereal in (for example) the UK, will be significantly sweeter here.
Bread: see above.
Cookies: no question.
The list goes on....
Merely making meals boring will not solve the problem.
However, removing the bread (it's not even healthy with all that sugar) will help.
And definitely STOP serving COOKIES with everything. Only in the US does dessert have to be served at every meal and for snacks...
Because the sugar high that the 'healthy' food keeps you on has to be maintained...
9
@Mary Ann Great idea about school lunches but probably no chance of it actually happening.
1
"Given the role obesity plays in fostering many chronic, disabling and often fatal diseases, these are dire predictions indeed."
We have to stop talking about obesity as something that causes disease, and start thinking of it as one of the many diseases CAUSED BY poor nutrition and lack of movement. Interventions that focus on improved nutrition and movement (such as the guidelines supported by Intuitive Eating research), and not on weight change specifically, have better health outcomes and longer-term benefits than dieting, which is entirely weight focused, and which has an incredibly high failure rate.
If the concern here is health, you have to re-frame how you view the issue. We need to focus on ensuring that nutritious, high-quality food is affordable and accessible to everyone. We also need to stop treating obesity as a moral failing and start treating it like a disease that's very much exacerbated by a system that sets up most people for failure and poor health outcomes.
14
@Christina Good points. As a former New York City resident I was initially surprised and always encouraged by the number of healthy looking fit people over 60 that I would see out on the street on a daily basis. It's a different lifestyle than many Americans are used to, one that, by its nature, puts people on their feet and moving on a daily basis.
7
Simple solution: eat less, work out more.
This is self created, self imposed. Absolutely no one to blame except the individual. No excuses. Period.
21
Except you left out the hormonal and psychological components.
5
@John Mackellar And the HFCS lobby, and income inequality, and food deserts, and...
1
@John Mackellar
Stop the excuse making.
3
Some of the blame has to be placed at the feet of nutritional scientists themselves. Consider the decades of telling us eggs were bad and "fat-free" was good and it's easy to understand why nobody's listening to the new nutritional orthodoxy.
18
Obesity is tied to increased rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, etc. etc. etc. Yet most health insurance companies will not cover the cost of treatment for weight loss or obesity. They will pay for your diabetes medicine but not a visit to an RD or nutritionist. They will pay for statins, but not for a membership to a gym to work with a trainer to help you lose the weight.
This is a health care crisis. I have lost more than 150 pounds since 2015. It isn't easy. Part of doing it was paying out of pocket for a Resting Metabolic Assessment and an Acitve Metabolic Assessment - both of which were valuable in helping me figure out how many calories I could consume . Turns out, for me, my Resting Metabolic Rate is at 967 calories - which means if I do nothing but lay in bed all day, that's the number of calories I need to stay alive. The recommended diet for an average adult is 2k calories. Eating the recommended amount, I gain weight. Why are we not providing people with the information they need? Because health insurers don't want to pay for it.
15
I have read many comments to this article. My own journey is a bit different and likely won’t work for some ppl. I fully understand how very complex are most of our lives. This said, here are some possibilities to consider for those who MAY have options in their lives.
Twenty years ago my family gave up watching TV. We haven’t owned a TV for this same time period. Thus my family has not been exposed to the lure of ads. We do watch programs on our laptops, but perhaps one time per week. We read.
We dug up a large portion of our yard and have an organic veg garden, bee habitats, etc. We each have physical hobbies including a ton of time spent working with rescue animals. We are vegetarians.
Our holidays do not focus around a big meal, but rather an outside activity that we all share & enjoy.
We spend considerable time volunteering in our community.
We work & use cars to get to work as public transportation isn’t available. We try to car pool whenever possible and park far enough away from our offices that we get in a good walk. We use stairs vs elevators, etc.
We are not wealthy, do not have a peleton or gym memberships. We eat out once or twice a year, that’s it. Instead we have picnics in our yard or at parks combined with special activities.
Its NOT easy to simplify one’s life in our current hectic, competitive, biased culture. The above offers a few options one may wish to consider.
18
@Kay
I applaud you and your family.
4
The situation is indeed quite alarming. When in public places like airports where I remain seated for an hour or so while hundreds of people cross my path, I sometimes bide my time in "sociological" observations of those hundreds of passers-by. Using a loose judgment of "fit" vs. "overweight/obese," at least 50% are in the latter category. And I'm being generous with my judgments, as using the more strict Body Mass Index would probably add another 10% to 20% to the slightly overweight category, including myself.
4
Given the statistics in this article, a large portion of those negatively commenting about how people lack will power, should exercise more, etc are themselves, most likely obese.
The threshold to be considered obese is lower than most think. Nearly all in middle age who have experienced "the spread" will have crossed that threshold, sized up to elastic waist pants, and failed to internalize the actual change in weight and appearance.
9
I only make $21,000 / year, and I spend $3.99/lb + on most fruits and vegetables, $10+ on meat, $10 on a bag of coffee, but my eating is a priority. After bills there's not much money, but I choose to buy only good quality food and to skip all that's unnecessary: cereals, chips, snacks, anything other than fruit, meat, and produce. I keep my cupboards stocked with bulk staples: lentils, rice, beans. We are constantly bombarded with the pressure to buy things we don't need: new clothes, entertainment, THINGS. The more you minimize and prioritize what you truly need, the more you end up having: money, time, and the less you WANT.
I am very busy like anyone else, but I don't watch TV, I try to avoid too much time on my phone after work (it causes stress; avoid it as much as possible), and instead I go into nature and run for an hour, eat my simple meal, read a book, and go to bed.
The more we cut out what is excess and put our time into simple priorities: shelter, good meals, exercise, sleep, the more we will all benefit and the more prosperous we will all be.
In this world we live in, living simply and saying no to all that is trying to be sold to us is the best form of rebellion.
Learn to live with hunger. I spend a lot of the day and night hungry, but I don't act on the hunger. I eat a lot, but only the meals I plan for my day and nothing outside that plan, regardless of the temptation. A little hunger won't kill you, and the more you'll enjoy your meal when it comes.
75
@Elizabeth, re: "The more we cut out what is excess and put our time into simple priorities: shelter, good meals, exercise, sleep, the more we will all benefit and the more prosperous we will all be."
I think you're far too smart to be making only $21K/year.
39
@Elizabeth I think that you hit the nail on the head with the idea that we don’t need to act on hunger. Hunger is simply the feeling you get from a spike in the blood level of the hormone ghrelin. It shoots up and after a little while goes back down at your typical mealtime. Importantly, ghrelin (and thus hunger) levels drop *whether you eat or not!* Meaning that if you can get past a short period of discomfort when you feel hungry - say, by tolerating it, or getting busy with something, or drinking tea or even perhaps plain broth - the feeling just passes. For most of us in America with a few (or more) extra pounds on our frame, the feeling of hunger does not mean you *need* food, but simply that your body expects it.
When I grew up in the 70s and 80s I recall being really hungry before dinner. And sometimes really hungry at other times because we didn’t carry around snacks “just in case.” We tolerated the feeling and were healthier for it. Intermittent fasting (for example eating only during an 8 hour stretch every day) feels good in part because you master your body rather than being a slave to the ghrelin in your blood.
10
@Peter Meroney Funny you say that. I'm currently listening to "The Big Fat Surprise." I do have a high-fat diet, including whole milk, cream, butter, full-fat yogurt, alongside eating brussels sprouts and onions, cabbage and beets, etc. I am happy to spend money on the food I do, even though
I don't make a ton of money. I am certainly well fed, but what I mean by living with hunger is that if I eat all the food I have packed for lunch and I am starving come afternoon, I would rather be hungry and wait for dinner than eat something that is a quick-fix. Before bed, even if I am hungry, I will just wait until breakfast, because I know I don't NEED anything. I also don't buy snacks or things that are convenient, so everything takes time to make, which is fine with me.
I am very fit and have maintained the same weight since I was a teenager. I have great cholesterol, low triglycerides, so I think I'm doing well.
I do enjoy occasional indulgences, but I like to keep them novel so they are supremely enjoyed when had: a home-baked good, a whiskey.
4
We can't have an honest debate about this issue in America for a variety of reasons. The government seems happy to subsidize the least healthy foods (sugar, corn, processed junk) and intent on letting "individuals decide" what they prefer to eat (why doesn't the federal government provide subsidies so that fresh produce is available in all neighborhoods and economic levels?). Education is fine for those of middle and upper classes, but woefully lacking for lower income groups (and those lower income groups generally have little access to really healthy food). Obesity has also become another "lifestyle choice" with defenders of fat people constantly insisting that society shouldn't "shame" them while peddling the same genetics excuses (along with the specious claim that being obese isn't unhealthy) that the article dismisses right off the bat. There is a growing group of obese Americans who seem to revel in their obesity and resent any attempt to suggest that being thinner is a plus. As a society we've denigrated eating to either an inconvenience best solved by fast, processed food, or a luxury dished out in fine restaurants or delivered to one's door ready to prepare in an instant (if you can follow directions and afford the service). There is no value placed on knowing how to cook, knowing how to go to a farmers market and supply oneself for a week with fresh produce. Our national obsession with meat eating doesn't help either.
28
@Mark Hawkins -- the fact that you scathingly discount everything that doesn't agree with your perspective is just as clear an explanation of why we can't have a "honest debate about the issue in America" as all of the points you make.
2
One aspect this article doesn't address is the role that economic insecurity, overwork, and stress play. I know from personal experience that when I'm stressed out, strapped for cash and having to work a lot I'm more likely to just want to get fast food over putting in the effort to cook a healthy meal at home.
25
@Laura Of course the New York Times would not address that aspect of the issue. "There is such a thing as economic insecurity? Let them take a break"
2
I think we need a "NEW DEAL" type of multi pronged attack and approach to this problem in America.
Our government needs to put its people and their health before corporations.
This includes things like education and public health initiatives, stop subsidizing some types of farming (corn) and begin subsidizing others (small family farms) etc., providing for low cost places to exercise etc. Truly have healthy lunches in all cafeterias instead of letting corporations interests control them. This is controversial but I firmly believe "food stamps" or snap benefits should only cover healthy foods. If people want to buy chips and soda, they need to do that on their own dime. The benefits should go to real NUTRITION. And a free cookbook given on how to make low cost meals.
I don't have any hopes that this will happen anytime soon, if ever, but I can dream.
10
That's because we have food guidelines designed by those whose interest is in selling that which they can produce inexpensively. The shelves at every store are full of products with so much sugar that it's a wonder any of us still has feet.
The general consensus that we should eat our meals based on what's most convenient for 19th century factory and mine workers does not help much either.
6
Recently I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Runs in my family too! I really feel much better watching what I eat, reading nutritional labels staying away from processed foods! Drinking plenty of water (no sodas of course). Going to the gym on a consistent basis. When I see my primary doctor June she will say I have reversed the diagnosis!! And of course, lose weight!
9
Refined carbs and sugar are the main culprits. Cut way back on sugar, maybe cut out eating wheat altogether, no sweet drinks, including juices, and I guarantee you will lose weight. Remember, most of weight loss is through diet, not exercise.
16
No one questions the logic of higher auto insurance premiums for drivers with multiple moving violations and accidents; so why not higher health insurance premiums for obesity? Those who make the effort to exercise & eat sensibly should not have to subsidize those who choose not to.
21
@Mike and should people with medical problems from their exercise (injuries, knee replacements etc) pay more too?
4
@Mike -- Gaslighting
@Mike This is blaming the victim. A third of the people in this country are overweight. This article is predicting half of people will be soon enough. When you have that large a portion of people doing something, you have to stop looking at moral blame. It's inaccurate, unkind, and, most of all, completely counterproductive.
Increased health-insurance premiums won't help anything -- except I guess that you can pat yourself on the back for not being subject to the many variables that make a person more likely to be overweight.
We need to come up with solutions that don't demonize people for acting in accordance with our natures. Abstinence-only sex ed doesn't work; nor does shaming people help them ignore an essential evolutionary drive in the face of constant behavioral cues to eat.
6
I was an overweight teen and ashamed of it. Sheer self-esteem and a regard for aesthetics made me put uup with occasional hunger. I almost never eat till I am full, never till stuffed. I hate the sight of fat people, epecially when I'm eating with them and observe how differently we eat. We socially accept overeating as normal. We could change habits. Anyway, those first few bites taste the best; after that, it's chewing. Aesthetics and self-control.
28
@Margaret Leave fat people alone. You say that "we socially accept overeating" and then turn around and talk about how fat people disgust you. It's completely logically inconsistent. Your comment is an indication that actually, it's not socially acceptable at all. In fact, it's so socially unacceptable that you were ashamed and had low self-esteem from being fat. It's so socially unacceptable that you feel completely empowered to be cruel in a public forum and say that a person -disgusts- you. I was an overweight teen, too, and I lost the weight -- but instead of becoming disdainful of those who didn't, I have _empathy_ for how hard it is to do so.
7
@Margaret So glad you admit that you "hate the sight of fat people." Does that mean you would discriminate against them in a hiring process? I have struggled with my weight for 70 of my 71 years. Ten years ago, I lost 55 pounds and have kept it off. However, in your eyes, I would earn your disdain because I'm still not "thin." I was an overweight teen as well; my parents were poor. My mother viewed Rice-a-Roni as a godsend because she was a working mother and it was a convenience food for her. She was a terrible cook. I learned to cook from books. I am physically active and always have been. Losing weight is not always as difficult as keeping it off. I've done so for a decade. I am working on losing more. I play tennis competitively, walk constantly, and am involved in many activities. Don't have major health problems and am in better shape than most of my thin peers. Glad to hear that the sight of me would disgust you.
7
Get off the computer, put down the phone, turn off the TV and take a walk. Adopt a shelter dog. That'll force you to walk several times a way. And you get to meet people in your neighborhood. Plus, you save a life. You don't need diet pills to lose weight. Eat a sensible diet and exercise. Save your own life before you end up with a stroke, heart attack or morbidly obese.
15
@Wonderweenie
those are all good things for your health and I agree with your post. However, if you are over-weight, then you can only lose weight by eating less calories than your body consumes at a stable level (depends on height, gender and age but generally around 2,000 calories a day). You, for all practical purposes, can't lose weight by walking or even running (theoretically, you need to walk about 45 miles to lose one pound but, practically, you need to walk even more because your body compensates for exercise by consuming less calories). So, do everything in Wonderweenie's post but eat less calories if you're overweight until you get to the weight you want to be at.
I just read in a great book (The Body, A Guide for Occupants) that the average weight for men in 1960 was 166 lbs. Now it's 196 lbs.
4
@Billy Harris That's just not true. You can lose weight by speeding up your metabolism. I eat as much as I did when I was hypothyroid, but have lost weight by getting on the right replacement dose.
Some people eat huge amounts and it goes right through them, while others need very little.
Every body is different.
1
These comments really shine a light on the sociopathy of many Americans. Let's bully and guilt people into submission because god knows that works to solve problems!
Obesity (like climate change) is the result of years of bad governmental policies and less about poor personal choices. Worsening public education. Overworked and underpaid. Cutting access to food stamps and affordable healthcare. Corporate greed over common good. Conveniences like quick meals and processed foods have introduced chemicals and GMOs into our diets as mainstays. Processed foods are cheap but that comes with a cost.
Let's not forget that for many it also takes great effort and time to maintain health, something that corporate America shows little interest in aiding. Don't agree? Explain how we're the only country in the developed world with no maternal leave policy. THEY. DO. NOT. CARE. Health is about more than just the number on a scale - mental health and quality of life are just as important. Really though, in the end the only people who have any right to an opinion on your weight are YOU and YOUR DOCTOR.
And to be clear, the self-love at any size movement is not equivalent to being pro-obesity. People of all shapes, sizes, and colors deserve dignity and respect. PERIOD. Fat shaming is the last acceptable form of public bullying, and it's a grotesque example of the current state of our overall culture of vapid materialism and narcissism. More than lose weight, we all need to gain some empathy.
58
@SB My eyes glazed over as I read your diatribe which failed to mention any semblance of personal responsibility. All of the things you say may be true, but until people look closely at themselves and their choices and realize they are food addicts and use food to deal with stress and anxiety et al...nothing will change. Food addiction is an insidious and difficult condition to deal with. I can speak directly to this as I have struggled with it all of my life. Blaming others, feeling like a victim because your skinny friends can eat burgers so why can’t you is counterproductive. While me may not have time to exercise with our busy schedules, we can eat an apple instead of McDonald’s fries and make better food choices.
25
@SB: Thank you SB. The latest metabolic science confirms food addictions are real. Obese people who have been fed toxic sugar-loaded foods endlessly hawked on children's television deserve at least as much sympathy as opioid addicts, one would think.
2
@Tracy Except my whole point is that it's none of your business. Sure food addiction is is a horrible condition to deal with, but why is it your business? Which is besides for the fact that telling someone with an addiction to just "make another choice" is a grossly uninformed way of how to actually treat an addiction. If you think for one minute that the foods you eat and the clothes you wear are your personal choice alone, and not the influence of the corporate overlords who influence our daily lives, you have far bigger fish to fry than food addiction.
Until we give less credence to corporate greed and a government that cares more about the almighty dollar than the wellbeing of its citizens, issues like obesity will never disappear. Science has proven that we know what cures obesity, a well-balanced diet, yet we peddle fads like keto and low carb when it is PROVEN that these do not work in the long run. Calories in vs calories out, that's all it is. But to get there when you have a true food addiction, like you claim, takes time and money, which our gov seems to have little interest in aiding. And people acting atrociously to those struggling doesn't help much either.
So glaze over and don't read what I have to say, but if one person truly struggling with their weight reads this and realizes that someone out there thinks they have worth REGARDLESS OF THEIR SIZE, that they don't have to hide in shame or hate themselves because of how they look, then I'll call that a win.
4
Certainly the lack of physical activity contributes to the obesity epidemic. This starts in childhood. When I was a child, decades ago, we had a Gym class almost everyday. Many if not most kids walked to school and or played outside. Nowadays lots of children are driven to school and spend way too much time indoors on Smart phones or IPads.
Also many people i this country don’t live in near walkable neighborhoods or near public transportations, forcing them to drive everywhere. The increase in online shopping also hasn’t helped. People at least had to go to go to neighborhood stores or shopping malls and at least walk around a bit to look for what they wanted. Now they can buy almost everything online.
Certainly all these things are contributing to the obesity epidemic. Of course, what people eat and the amount of food that people consume contribute to the problem, but to ignore other environmental and societal factors is not at all helpful and weakens the argument that Brody is trying to make.
8
Exercise is certainly a small slice of the obesity pie but diet is by far the bigger contributor. You would need to walk for hours to burn off a single coke and run for many miles to burn off a big Mac and fries. Easy calories, especially in sugar sweetened drinks, are almost impossible to burn off. The soft drink and fast food lobbyists have pushed the exercise narrative so successfully that nobody questions the mantra.
13
Human civilization, there can indeed be too much of a good thing.
5
1, get rid of all the HFCS that suppresses our feelings of fullness and makes us eat more.
2. Eat more whole grains like real organic wheat made and home ground.
3. Stay away from all chemicals.
4. Eat real food.
5. Stay away from GMO corn.
In other words avoid poisons.
6
@Allan "Stay away from all chemicals"-- I'm sorry, what? This sort of false garbage causes as much harm as obesity.
ALL MATTER IS MADE FROM CHEMICALS. This includes the air we breathe, water we drink, and food we eat-- even the purest air, cleanest water, and most organically grown food.
6
Yes. Water is a chemical. So are proteins. Try living without those things.
4
The rise in obesity, which is not limited to the US, is not just the increase in availability of junk food, although a factor for some. For example, why do American Asians have such a low obesity rate (see below)? Are they more self disciplined when it comes to eating?
It has been reported that educated folks live longer and have a lower obesity rate in comparison to not so well educated individuals (see below). Thus, another reason to push for an improved system of education, which may do more to lower our obesity rate than a soda tax, etc.
Some obesity statistics for the U.S. and other countries:
The most recent statistics (2016) show obesity rates for U.S. Caucasian adults was 37.9%.
...for Black adults rate was 46.8%.
...for American Indian adults rate was 42.9%.
...Latino adults had the highest overall obesity rate at 47.0%
...Asian adults had a low obesity rate of 12.7%.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States
More than one in two adults and nearly one in six children are overweight or obese in OECD countries.
Obesity rates are projected to increase further by 2030, and Korea and Switzerland are the countries where obesity rates are projected to increase at a faster pace.
Social inequalities in overweight and obesity are strong, especially among women....less educated women are two to three times more likely to be overweight than those with a higher level of education.
https://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Obesity-Update-2017.pdf
8
I am fortunate to live in a walkable community - work, shopping, medical/dental can be reasonably reached on foot. Our household of four drivers gets by with three cars. I "borrow" a car from spouse or kids when I need it (they have daily schedules which take them outside of a reasonable walking range).
I know some people have mobility issues, or live in unwalkable places, or have financial hardship which forces them to do without a much needed car.
But I suspect that some people who assume a car is necessary for every trip might find that walking is, in fact, a viable option and a good tool to keep achieve/maintain a healthy weight.
How cool would it be if there was a successful campaign to encourage people to at least give walking a try? Added bonus: increased public support for better walking infrastructure if more people were committed to walking places...
Others who are evaluating relocation to a new home might find this tool helpful - provides a score of a neighborhood's "walkability," by zip code:
https://www.walkscore.com
12
@Riley Spoken like a TRUE AMERICAN!!
1
@KG
Thanks for that link. It's really cool! My old neighborhood in NYC, where I grew up, scored a 95 out of 100. This is true. I definitely did walk everywhere.
Where I live now in NJ got only 65. We do have sidewalks on every block and it's a safe place but it's also way spread out. Sometimes, when the weather's nice, I make an errand my run. Like going to the library to pick up a book that came in would be 6 miles round trip.
@KG Huh, What are you talking about! 'Walkable community' yet you have 3 cars for 4 drivers. How cool it would be if you had no car. At all.
There is NOTHING in this article about physical activity or even personal responsibility. Literally the only thing people need to do is walk (no running, no Peloton, no gym membership). And this is coming from someone was has run over 60k miles. Interesting that obesity has increased exponentially with rise of the smart-phone, ubiquitous technology and social media. Technology is becoming a cancer, isolating people and a big time waster. I am a fitness advocate and it really saddens me see to our nation become like this. It's ironic that organized youth sports and professional sports have never been so popular yet most people in this country couldn't run a mile if their life depended on it.
26
@Chris
Totally agree. Below is a quote from a piece on Sara Bleich, one of the authors of the study, that perfectly illustrates the problem with these sorts of researchers. Government is not the solution. It's worth making common sense efforts at the govt level, but ultimately it's the individual who is responsible.
“Obesity exists. It’s getting worse,” Bleich says. “The solution to obesity does not lie with you or me. It does not lie with individuals. Yes, there are people who will get it together and will actually be able to lose weight and keep it off. But the fact that we have a $66 billion diet industry demonstrates that we’re forever falling off the wagon.
“There aren’t obvious solutions. There’s no pill that can fix it. Public health has limited reach and resources. I think the goal is finding sweet spots where the food and beverage industries maximize shareholder dollars but also maximize the population’s health.”
Source:
https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/news/radcliffe-magazine/order-public-health-hold-fat-shaming
3
@Chris - The obesity epidemic started way before smart phones were a thing.
And walking is NOT literally the only thing people need to do to lose weight. What a ridiculous thing to say.
14
I strongly disagree with this, and speak as someone who walks 45 miles/week. I have a job with predictable hours, live in a safe area with access to easy waking trails, an income that allows me to buy fresh produce, etc etc etc. Before exhorting that one should "just walk" I'd recommend walking a mile in someone else's shoes.
21
Thre are many messages to promote weight loss the problem is that evolution wants us to be obese. Humans were hunters and gatherers so we are program to like high-calorie foods to survive. Now that food is so easy to get we are getting heavier as time goes on. Like cancer, we need a war on obesity through research on a cure, treatments that work and developing lower-calorie foods people would like instead of Cheetos, Doritos, and Suger.
4
@Mitchel Volk, Meterlogist Evolution certainly doesn't want us to be obese. Agreed that our bodies are programmed through evolution/survival to eat food when it is available (in the context of a hunter/gatherer environment) but I don't think being obese is compatible with being a hunter or gatherer. And as we now see with the health issues brought on by obesity, our bodies are not evolved to function well when obese.
1
Several of the things I liked most about my late-career freelancing experience (before retiring) was not having to remain planted at a desk all day (where regularly getting up and moving around was frowned on) and not being in a captive environment where coworkers constantly brought in sugar-laden treats to share. Refusing to taste their homemade whatever was considered rude. I often took a bite and surreptitiously dumped the rest in my waste paper receptacle. Birthday and other celebrations were pretty much mandatory - along with the paper plate of cake or brownies.
Now when I sit for extended periods of time I really feel it - cramped legs, stiff back, overall sluggish sense. I can easily avoid sugary treats because I don't have any in the house. I used to enjoy eating lunch out. For one, it was an accepted reason for leaving the office, and also provided a sense of being good to myself. Now, I almost never eat lunch out, even though I have much more time and means for doing so.
My takeaway from this is that workplaces could do a lot more to enable healthy behavior, especially by those who are motivated to do so. But it would mean making workplaces less rigid and authoritarian.
21
I just returned from two months in Nice, France. Despite being outside at least six hours a day, I NEVER saw a fat French person! I also ate to my hearts content, all the pastries and gelato I wanted, including a four o clock treat. Despite this, and eating out twice a day, I came home at a lower weight than I had when I started. Some thoughts as to why this phenomenon happened:
First, like many Niçoise, I walked everywhere. Next, since the food was so good, smaller portions(and they were small, compared to American restaurants) were completely satisfying.
Walking was built into the culture intentionally by the government. Streets were closed off to vehicular traffic to make walking fun, safe, and practical. Recently appearing ads on TV for McDonalds and their ilk always had disclaimers on the screen about how dangerous these foods are and how they should be limited.
With a little will power, we could reverse the obesity epidemic here and save a large chunk of change from our healthcare costs, not to mention lives of our citizens.
60
@Concerned citizen as I look outside my window at more snow falling during this frigid time of year for most Americans, maybe I should remind you...this is definitely not Nice! Walking outside after 15 inches of snow in 10 days is not fun, safe, nor practical. Yes, America is built around automobiles to an extreme degree, but even so, for 6-8 months of the year for many parts of this country, walking/cycling is simply not a viable option, unfortunately. If only we could all live in coastal mediterranean paradises :)
1
You can put on a coat and walk in the snow. Where I live it’s too hot to go outside
6 months of the year, and exertion can be deadly. Kids collapse from heatstroke at football and marching band practice—before school. My kids are swimmers; it’s the only safe exercise.
2
I’ve been all over France and I can assure you that there are plenty of obese French people. They just don’t live on the Riviera. They mostly live in rural areas, same as here.
3
A) Bloomberg was right to try to control soda sizes, as one of the few concrete steps a government can take. A price penalty for taking more than a "regular" size dose of sugar is a control mechanism. There is no harm to the consumer .
B) We have an administration and its supporters which attacked Michelle Obama's initiative to improve school lunches, which was a major way to improve children's eating habits. Big money from the corporate individuals who sell the addictive and fattening stuff won out over concern about health. Gee, who woulda thunk it? SO kids in "government" schools get imprinted on eating corporate processed foods that increase their likelihood for all kinds of diseases. And the country gives up one of the few ways to directly influence children to build better health.
C) There is such a psychological/physical drive to eat sugary, fatty stuff that simply telling people that this is bad will never work. And in areas where people have low income, food is one of the small pleasures that can be had. Actually, food is a reinforcer at all income levels, but the more discretionary income you have, the more choices you have.
18
One thing the article doesn't mention which I feel adds to the problem is the current advertising and marketing of overweight people. The notion that you should feel good about yourself if you are heavy is frequently suggested in advertising clothing for overweight people. We frequently hear you should be proud of what you look like, even if you are obese. The problem with these messages is that it makes it acceptable to people to be overweight. And although I understand we should feel comfortable "in our own skin" the problem, as the article points out, are the many health problems that come from obesity. Glamorizing being overweight will only contribute to the problem of obesity.
34
This article focuses on just diet. My doctor always focuses on diet. But I have a fairly restricted diet and can loose a little weight but it never sticks. My body fights back. A minor transgression and I can gain back the weight I lost in the last week or so.
The only way I have been to really lose weight and keep it off is regular aerobic exercise for 45 to 60 minutes a day for 4 to 5 days a week. Some articles say that exercise does not work but you have to prove it by me. It all but the strictest diet works for me which is difficult to maintain.
23
It's not only "calories in" that matter, but "calories absorbed." The gut biome is major in that regard; it has changed markedly (esp. in the developed world) due to bottle vs breast feeding, caesarian deliveries, antibiotics, plastics, processed foods; and no doubt many other factors
( incl. pollution in air, water and soil). Of course, as also mentioned in the article, there are other contributors to obesity than gut biome: being sedentary, stressed, sleep-deprived; lonely, and more.
16
@Grant
And too, all of our food stuffs (processed or not) don't contain the same nutrients that they used to...genetic engineering of grains, animals, etc.
Compare ancient grains or corn (nutrient-wise) to what they were just 75 years ago. More sugar, less fiber (and flavor).
4
It is human nature to take nourishment when it is available, and to rest when possible. We are also hardwired to crave sugar, salt, and fat. Those traits have ensured survival of the species for hundreds of thousands of years, and, post industrial revolution, media fueled hyper-capitalism has ensured a majority of the population look like parade balloons. Most are incapable of mindful and discrete diet choices. It seems mankind is truly circling the drain.
8
You blame humans for being incapable of defying what to you is human nature? That doesn’t make sense. You are right about evolution and its role in our behavior. But here is the thing about evolution. So many people have an “end of history” logical fallacy about evolution where they assume it was all in the past and we are now done with it. The truth is, evolution never stops. We are right now, this exact moment, evolving as a species and so is every other species on the planet. Perhaps the changes will be enough to enable our survival, and perhaps they will not. That has yet to be seen. But don’t give up hope!
6
Don't eat donuts for breakfast. Eat rolled oats porridge or plain yogurt flavoured with real fruit like black currants or blue berries. Do your own housework, washing, lawn mowing etc; have an outdoor physical hobby you enjoy; eat wholemeal grain brown bread as it is more filling than white bread, use olivani spread or avocados instead of instead of butter on your brown whole grain bread like Vogels spelt and flaxseed tpast cut bread. Don't get too paranoid about what you eat and let yourself eat rubbish once a week only. Drink cups of tea without sugar from a flask, instead of buying other sweet processed drinks. Don't buy processed foods in packets. Buy as close to natural state food as possible. Fast food once a week only. Grill food to get the fat out of it instead of frying food. Start in small steps by walking out to the letter box to get mail, then walk a bit further every day. Take the stairs instead of the lift. Instead of sitting down at a fast food outlet go for a walk in the park or on the beach. Lots of free stuff you can do instead of stuffing your face.
43
We only have two fuel sources, sugar (also called carbs) and fat.
The caloric hypothesis (balancing calories in and out) is a fallacy. What matters in living creatures is the hormonal response to food.
Sugar drives insulin up which promotes hunger and craving, creates insulin resistance over time and is the main source of obesity, inflamation and as a consequence of all metabolic diseases (diabetes 1,2 and 3, cardiovascular problems, auto-immune conditions etc..).
Only a low carb diet (which means a diet high in fat and leafy greens, moderate/high in proteins) can save us and the planet from apocalypse. It should be noted that the so called "healthy plant based diet" is not healthy at all as it leads to a 60% carbs-sugar intake. The only healthy plants are non starchy, no grains plants.
19
@Carbosugar Sat fats are problematic for lots of reasons. "Overeating foods rich in saturated—but not polyunsaturated—fat boosts liver fat, which can lead to liver damage and may raise the risk of type 2 diabetes." Nutrition Action dot com 1.7.20
High fat diets generally include lots of meat which is a major contributor to the climate crisis.
2
@Deb With respect, this is outdated science ( I was also avoiding saturated fats like the plague before digging the question). But saturated fats are beneficial in fact. The irony is that industrial fats (trans fat, margarin, grains oil) made to replace saturated fats to accommodate the belief are the dangerous ones (when the omega3/omega6 ratio is wrong). This space is too short for the references but please look at the Ancel Keys (the father of the unjustified demonization of saturated fat) controversy.
That meat is a special contributor to the climate crisis is an unproven claim. Human extremely diverse activity in general is contributing to the climate crisis including growing starchy and grains plants with pesticides and heavy machinery. There are too many confounders to meaningfully cherry pick one item among millions.
But when meat is a concern for religious or political reason you can have a low carb/high fat diet 100% vegan (many videos on this). So high fat diet do not require meat at all. Coconut oil is 90% saturated fat for instance.
1
@Carbosugar
"Human extremely diverse activity in general is contributing to the climate crisis including growing starchy and grains plants with pesticides and heavy machinery."
Nope, that doesn't let meat off the hook environmentally. Much of the "starchy and grains plants" are going to animal feed. For example, in the US, 67% of our crops go to animal feed.
https://www.vox.com/2014/8/21/6053187/cropland-map-food-fuel-animal-feed
3
I’m an American who has been living in Northern Europe for the last 8 years. The difference in size of the average person is one of the first things I notice when I land in Atlanta airport on trips back home.
Europe has this problem too, but to a much lesser degree. There are so many reasons why. Life is set up for a lot more walking or biking here and less focused on the car. Work days are shorter so you arrive home less exhausted and actually have energy for activity in the evenings. Outdoor recreation spaces are easily accessible and they are safe and used by all sections of society. Food labeling is clear and uniform. Portion sizes in groceries and restaurants are smaller. Restaurants are more expensive (staff all paid living wages) and therefore people eat at home more often. Unhealthy and processed food is taxed more making healthy food the cheapest option. Fast food from convenience stores is much healthier generally. Everyone has access to healthcare which means people with disabilities or diseases get the support they need to live as healthfully as possible and more people get preventative care which helps stop many from sliding into disability/disease in the first place.
The whole system in the States is set up to make becoming obese the easiest, cheapest, most convenient path for people. Obese is the default now. It’s awful. All to protect the profits of certain industries.
319
@PB Oh, but those TAXES!! Those TAXES!! Good grief, how does anyone get by in Norway after paying all of those taxes? Telling Americans how much better Norwegians have it is a total waste of time. None of these ideas have the slightest chance of ever being implemented in the US. Just beating on a dead horse.
9
@Corinne
The countries that pay higher taxes also get huge benefits, such as in healthcare, daycare, college, maternity leave and so on.
Our taxes, mainly squeezed from the middle class, are given away to Big Businesses and the top 10%.
A bit trickles down to the very poor,
kind of like warm pea dripping on their heads.
23
@tamula Sawyer Yes, I agree with you 100%. However, Americans will fight tooth and nail against taxing to support the things in your first paragraph. All of the panic at Bernie Sanders' win in NH is evidence of this. I am resigned to accept that I am an exile in my own country.
8
Guys, come on. You are obsessed with food in the US and just eat way too much. It is everywhere. You can’t have a meeting without a plate of snacks somewhere because god forbid, someone might be hungry. Anywhere else in the world, in an office environment you have to make an effort to get something to eat besides lunch. Start with making food less available, and cut down on the soda machines.
93
One more thing, if they ever let me speak about my second home country in relation to the USA: FEBO. You speak of vending machines with soda. But we do not have storefronts full of vending machine food which are part of the culture. That’s what FEBO is.
1
@Ben Febo is pretty much disappearing. But yes that seemed a weird concept to me when I first lived here. At the time, machines vending kroket (a savory calorie bomb) were ubiquitous and yet the Dutch were and still are much slimmer than Americans. I think this has to do with cycling. It is still the easiest way to get around town. Most households will not have more than one car, so people walk, cycle or ride the bus to work and school. The Dutch have however been getting heavier, just not at the same rate as North Americans. The data is easy to find on internet.
1
@MML—Cycling is a huge part of it. Also, in many cities, climbing up several flights of extremely steep stairs many times a day helps. I lived in Amsterdam Zentrum for many years. On the weekends, groups of young people from surrounding villages and rural areas used to come into the city to shop and hang out. They were often far more obese than their urban counterparts. They reminded me more of typical American kids.
1
Cook from scratch. Eat plants. Avoid processed food.
41
@Shyamela Easier where I live because most restaurants serve poor quality food. We're cooking at home almost every meal. This is southwestern Vermont--the public assumes we live so healthy up here--there is a LOT of poverty and obesity here.
4
It seems to me, that whenever I visit your wonderful country, people always eat, food is always available, day and night and any given hour. It seems to be very important for people to always have snacks and drinks around or even with them. Could that thing with „I need a snack“ be part of the problem, I ask myself? Food has such a importance, there are restaurants and food courts and vending machines all over, and sometimes in the oddest places. It is not easy to resist and I imagine, if you grow up always snacking, you loose your real appetite and food becomes more important than it actually should be?
38
Whenever I visit European countries, there are always snacks available too. It is common hospitality, not a national custom. In general, anyway.
5
Stop demonizing dietary fat and salt! Without sugar & starch, fat is harmless and some fats are healthful. The problem is sugar & starch. Processed foods are bad not because they have fat & salt, but sugar and starch--in forms such as HFCS that makes them addictive.
I grew up skinny, in the 1950s-60s when there were fewer processed options and the low-fat craze hadn't taken over. Had I not begun dieting at 20--when my BMI was still optimal--I'd never have started the vicious yo-yo cycle that led to overweight and then "Stage I" (verging on II) obesity. Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and "lo-cal," "lite," low-fat and chemically-sweetened stuff all contributed.
I noticed that whenever I ate mostly produce and animal protein, I lost weight--but when I began limiting fats & salt I got bored, fell off the wagon and got fat again. Then I got breast cancer, and a drug that produces an encore of menopause and lowers metabolism.
But my oncologist put her foot down and ordered me to see the hospital's bariatric clinic. They put me on an almost-keto diet with proteins, lots of veggies, occasional "healthy carbs" (e.g., berries, whole milk, low-carb bread); and as for fats? Common sense yet unregimented portion control.
9 mos. and 50 lbs. later, I am now mildly overweight, en route to optimal. I may never reach a BMI of 24, but if I remain my current size M/8-10--down from 2X/18-20--at my age (69) I will be a very happy camper. And so will my doctors (and husband).
19
A note on salt: naturally occurring salt is fine. Adding pinches of salt to your food is fine. But the super high amounts of sodium in processed food is not good.
20
I lost 25 pounds on Keto and moved back to Europe where people are large but not as large as americans. When you start to pay attention to what you eat you realize you basically can't eat any processed foods at all. Even foods that don't need it, like sausage, are made with sugar. As for salad dressings forget those. Why do food makers have to put sugar in everything? And why does yogurt in America have to have chemical flavor? Do what we do and eat natural yogurt and put berries on top.
As for being sedentary the problem in America is you can't walk anywhere. Here in Greek Cyprus I take the bus and walk to work and leave my fancy mercedes parked at home. It's much easier to walk when you are going somewhere than having to set aside time for walking.
25
I lived and worked in Amsterdam for several years and never used my car unless I was going to another country. Otherwise I took the train, or in local cases the buses and subway. I used to walk around the city center all the time. It is the number one thing I miss here in the US. Unless you live in Manhattan or Brooklyn, most of us don’t have that luxury.
19
I’m fat and a goddess.
Being obese isn’t a problem.
We all die of something.
4
@PG
Sure, but a person can die sooner or later. I pick later.
30
@PG you might be fine with it, your choice and I respect that. But when health troubles start and you want support from your health insurance which is collectively paid, forgive me if I object to pay for your wilful damage to your body.
21
Well, how fat are you?
Fat enough to squeeze out onto the person sitting next to you and essentially take up two seats on a plane, having paid for only one? Ditto the bus and the train were you to visit New York City?
(Not that some young men here do not sprawl out and do likewise.)
Fat enough to have a hard time in a restaurant when the hostess is showing you to your table, and your dress brushes against people's dinner plates?
Fat enough to be unable to wash properly while showering?
There's fat and there's fat.
8
Has anyone seen the current crop of fast food ads? Triple layered cheese burgers? Endless pancakes with your eggs and bacon? All you can eat pasta at the Italian food chain? Thick crusted pizzas with extra cheese?
At this rate people will be massively overweight by next Christmas. Maybe we need to encourage those fast food folks to hold the triple meat, cheese, and pasta/bread and add some sides of veg or salad.
37
@Joan In California As a former Registered Dietitian (now retired) none of these ads surprise me. Marketing is a powerful engine. Knowing what is in these foods helps me avoid them, all of them.
5
@Marilyn Jess Knowing what is in these foods, and the listed calorie counts keep me out of restaurants. Even the so called 'healthy choices' have too much of just about everything. I have a problem with portion control, so there is no eating only half and bringing the rest home. I only eat out once or twice a year if I can help it.
Reading this article is exasperating because the professed solutions contribute to the problem. Specially, focusing on fat and calories, instead of just sugar and other high carb foods, is not helpful because much research these days about metabolic syndrome indicates fat is not the bad guy. Isn’t it about time so-called experts stop regurgitating that myth and also stop talking about calories at the expense of not talking about carbs?
21
@Dan -
Don’t expect respect from Jane Brody on your viewpoint. Her big book is subtitled “Living the High-Carbohydrate Way.” She and her stubborn, wrongheaded “experts” are largely responsible for the obesity crisis.
2
Thank you for once again fat-shaming and bullying the people over false statistics, perceptions and standards. So-called "obesity" is actually the norm after a certain age in a country where there is enough to eat. People slow down, have accidents, illness, and as a result gain weight. But they are better off when sick than people who are too thin. The enemy you should be fighting is the onslaught of technology and the sedentary work it causes.
Spare me the lecturing, the failure to appreciate the differences between people, between body types, genetics and metabolism. People who are naturally lean are the worst bullies of all, followed by those who have temporary success with dieting. Back off media. The AMA declared war on obesity as an easy target to deflect criticism over the high cost of medical care. That is how they behave. Whenever they are under scrutiny, they declare "war" on an easy target. Why don't they declare war on incurable diseases like fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome instead of ignoring them and maltreating patients?
11
@Plank There is no fat shaming in this article. The author is pointing out that with the current trend continuing, by 2030 half of the US population will be obese. As the term obese has a quantified definition ( BMI>30), the author is simply stating a quantified projection and is not fat-shaming any particular person. Yes there are different body types but that does not explain why the obesity rate of the nation as a whole is increasing. The AMA is not deflecting, it is warning people that being obese can lead to health issues from an earlier age. This is a fact not a lecture. What you do with the information is your business .
Just because some insensitive people go about fat-shaming individuals does not make it improper for the AMA to warn people of the dangers of obesity.
8
And the local Walgreen Pharmacy chain throughout at least southern Wisconsin sports a prominent liquor display offering TWELVE different marks of vodka, and the channel leading to the checkout counter offers a 16-foot display of candies all at a child's eye level of under 30 inches. Imagine how diabolical must be the management of a health-products empire to thus flaunt their offers of such disease-inducing agents at every turn. (Their cigarettes and chewing tobaccos are graciously displayed only behind glass.)
13
I care so much about this issue that I went to work at a gym. I want 50% of Americans to be active and healthy 25 years from now. Gyms are, in fact, America's most viable preventive health care option. So join one and go regularly. Surround yourself with healthy, happy people there. Take it one step at a time, work at it, and keep going. If you can, find a sport you like and take it seriously. Train for it at the gym. Get as much personal training as you can afford, so you learn how to work out and know how for the rest of your life. Go to group classes. Dance classes. Cycle classes. Lifting classes. Have fun. For most people, eating right will follow; you'll do it because you want to, because fitness makes you care, and fitness makes you happy enough to succeed.
41
But in addition to exercise, you need to eat right. I read somewhere it takes an hour of working out to burn off a donut. Better to just skip that donut.
24
I worked at a high-stress desk job for 10 years — at a company that had zero concern for the welfare of its employees. I was expected to be on call at all hours. During that 10 year period I gained 40 lbs and had several serious medical incidents. I needed the job to support my family, so I soldiered on. After I retired a few years ago, I lost 30 lbs (still working on the last 10) and my health has improved. People were not meant to sit at desks for nine or more hours a day, and then come home to more work. Abuse (and it is abuse) of workers leads to obesity and poor health
77
Get a dog. Most dog owners look non-obese. Not true of cat owners. Trying to walk an English Bulldog is a work out in itself. Trying to tire out a terrier at a park is a work-out too.
22
So true. And they’re a mental health booster as well.
8
As the owner of a Jack Russell terrier in Florida, I can attest to the truthfulness of your statement. He is very old now, but when he was younger it was impossible to tire him out. I used to overheat in the summer just from throwing his ball outside before he would get tired.
8
@Ben
I used to take my Frenchies to the park and throw a tennis ball for them maybe 45 yards (with the after bounce) about twenty times (4 sets of 5 throws with a short break between sets). It started to seem like abuse, because they'd come back staggering and collapse with exhaustion. But I kept them well-hydrated. They always slept for the rest of the day. They got park-overload, once or twice a week.
8
I no longer have the book: "The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma" by Bessel van der Kolk, but he made a compelling argument that morbidly obese people most probably have a history of being sexually abused.
To me that was the take home message of his book. If true, that's quite alarming.
6
I think it is easy to frame this as a behavior problem by the obese (too much soda!) but I suspect there are important, unknown biological components, e.g. the effects of antibiotics and processed food ingredients on the microbiome. I think we need less judgment and blame, and more science to help us understand what is going on.
23
@SC :
Class and wealth are big determinants of your weight and fitness. Can you afford the money and time to go to a gym, take a dance class, or go swimming? Can you afford the time and money to buy and cook fresh vegetables and fresh fish for dinner? If not, then how are you supposed to be in good health? It's not impossible, but it's almost impossible.
6
And some live in neighborhoods where even taking a walk is difficult or dangerous. Should we all work to do better? Yes. But is it very hard and discouraging? Often, yes. We don’t just have an obesity problem or a food problem, but we also have an infrastructure problem.
2
Funny, no one in my family ever had gym memberships, but we did walk to the library and grocery store and kept busy around the house -- vacuuming, dusting, washing windows, doing laundry. When we had a dog, we walked him. Dad played golf once a week. Mom like painting the wrought-iron fence.
What's a gym membership?
For those who don't do housework or yard work and need to expend some energy.
2
“Just say no” as Nancy Regan quipped re: drugs. Same goes for junk food. In my experience, there’s no other way around it. Just refuse to eat junk - any junk - and all will be well.
16
@GBR :
I wish it were that simple. You need time and money to join a gym or a pool or take classes. You need time and money to buy and cook fresh vegetables and good quality protein. So many people are struggling with multiple jobs, child care, elder care, long commutes...makes it a lot harder.
5
Gym membership is definitely expensive; I just do jogging, brisk walking, and/or some yoga in my own home..... There are lots of inexpensive, healthy options out there re: food - nut and raisin mix ( rather than candy bar), seltzer water ( rather than soda, carrot sticks ( rather than chips), unsweetened yoghurt ( rather than pudding or ice cream) Even Walmart sells these items nowadays!
3
Birdseye frozen vegetables, sold everywhere, are just as healthy as fresh. And no one who moves a little needs a gym.
You get a workout just by cleaning the kitchen and bathroom every other day, doing laundry on another day, going marketing the next, and walking to a farther-away train station every few days.
Just get out and move -- fast. Who can afford a gym? Who needs to?
2
One area we may wish to stare in the eyes is childhood abuse, including sexual abuse. People who've grown up in abusive homes are more likely to seek solace from food.
According to The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, an American psychiatrist, 20% of the American population has experienced serious child abuse, and 67% mild forms.
I know. I seek solace in food, I am obese, I am in that 20%.
Too many people are savages.
14
What’s this constant love affair with France? I’ve lived in France and they’re not all that thin and they smoke.
17
The French are kind of like Russians. When they are young, they are thin and beautiful, but over the years the drinking and cynicism and food drag them down. The Germans and the Brits are closer to Americans. Too much good food and good cheer. The Welsh are the heaviest population I’ve witnessed in Europe. That would tend to agree with people who say that obesity as an epidemic seems related in part to relative poverty. The Welsh are the poorest Brits.
8
@JQGALT I recently lost 50 lbs by ditching sugar & starch. On the way "down" from size 2X, I bought a pair of jeans in size L. But the label read "US, CA, UK, AU, EU--L; FR--XL." Speaks volumes, doesn't it? (No pun intended).
The French are by and large still thinner--and they look down on anyone who isn't. Their stores have precious few "Grandes Tailles" (plus size) sections (at least an improvement over the pejorative "Les Rondes"). Their idea of "plus size" starts at our size 12, even 10.
But nowadays, at least in the cities, there's been a crackdown in indoor smoking, especially in restaurants. Some sidewalk cafes even have "no smoking" sections (look for the ashtray-less tables). Parisian restaurants--even cheap ones--are now more smoke-free than the average diner/roadside joint in MO or most of the South.
Of course, they have much higher rates of liver disease (cancer, cirrhosis, etc) but it's not from smoking--the average French adult consumes 1/2 bottle (375ml) of wine a day. A far cry from here in the US, where a 5-oz. glass of wine a day is considered "moderate" for women (some doctors recommend < 3 glasses per week), and 2 glasses/day is considered "heavy."
I love my wine, but I also love my liver. (And my new "smaller footprint").
5
@Sandy : European shoe sizes are different too.
Do you imagine their FEET are different, smaller or superior to American feet?
French women stay thinner by smoking all the time. This is a fact.
7
This problem will go away when climate change destroys our ability to feed ourselves. We will starve.
7
I did not know that I could not make my own choices. Now I understand that I am just a victim of evil corporations that control my behavior.
11
Went to a new place for breakfast and ordered ham and eggs w/potatoes and an English muffin. When it came the plate was virtually overflowing with enough potatoes to feed a crowd and two giant slabs of ham. It was at least twice as much as I could possibly eat and I left most of it
on the plate. Plus it was tasteless. Yuck. What are they possibly thinking serving that much?
5
@Bodyman Ask for a takeout box to be brought along with your plate, and pack half your portion before you even dig in. No dishonor in eating leftovers for your at-home meals. My husband & I can get 4-5 portions out of a single steakhouse bone-in ribeye--and we order only veggies as the sides.
And next time, ditch or don't order the spuds & English muffin or other toast. If you can't get full on just ham & eggs, you need to retrain your stomach. I have yet to find a breakfast place that won't let you order one egg, one or two slices of bacon, and one piece of toast (whole wheat) a la carte. So maybe you have to pay a little more for the privilege of not getting the Metabolic Syndrome Combo on a Plate, but so what?
6
We are JOINTLY responsible for our obesity epidemic. Even as a very thin person, I really believe this. If you always suggest meals as the occasion for your get togethers; if you bring cake to the office on birthdays; if you give chocolates as Christmas presents; if you ever tease someone or make them feel self-conscious when they order a salad for a meal; if you ever urge people to eat or to eat more than they're inclined to--then you are part of the problem.
34
One thing this analysis omits entirely is the effect that antibiotics in the food supply have on gut bacteria and the microbiome. Antibiotics are ubiquitous, used even in the manure that fertilizes organic produce. The variety of bacteria in our guts have been reduced proportionately, so even those of us who avoid sugar and carbohydrates struggle to maintain normal weight. This problem is far more complex than Brody's analysis suggests.
31
Since I'm 80, I probably won't be around to see this debacle...but as I'm still kicking, I can share that snacking didn't used to be the norm. Processed foods didn't used to be the norm. I may be the only American alive who has never been to a McDonald's. Or any other junk food joint. What I find amazing is that 'processed' or junk foods simply taste awful. I realize folks with lower incomes have to be frugal, but honestly, a banana doesn't cost that much, nor do eggs. peanut butter or oatmeal. A healthy meal doesn't have to be expensive.
74
@Judy Brown
I'm not so sure of that. I'm 50. I used to eat brownies and cookies all the time. As a kid, I ate tons of pizza, candy, and soda.
But i was always biking, playing basketball, walking, playing soccer, running up apartment stairs, and playing stickball. We hopped fences and chased each other with sticks and plastic gunz.
13
People who are stressed are overweight. Those who are poor, disenfranchised, and not hopeful about the future are overweight. Like so many other social ills, reducing income inequality will reduce obesity.
37
Many school districts now serve breakfast in the classroom, rather than in the cafeteria. Students who've already eaten breakfast at home also eat the school food, because it's delivered right to them in their seats. Despite nutrition requirements, the students get orange juice, sweetened yogurt, coffee cake, and some students will eat more than one serving, if there are leftovers from students who are absent or choose not to eat the food. The fresh fruit and unsweetened milk usually go back to the cafeteria, and then get tossed in the trash.
Go back to serving breakfast before school, in the cafeteria. Students who are truly hungry will get to school on time to eat, those who've eaten at home can have more time to at least sit outside, if not also play and run around.
I'm at an alternative high school now, that thankfully doesn't do breakfast in the classroom. That was one of the most miserable, demeaning (to students and staff) aspects of my time at traditional schools.
19
Having recently left the USA after the best part of two decades there I’d say a lot of factors contribute to the problem. In no particular order..
Driving everywhere
Portion sizes
Added sugar
Lack of cooking skills (even in New York the kitchens were clearly for decoration not for use)
A sedentary lifestyle
Lack of preventative medicine due to cost (basically there no budget for teaching people how to eat well)
The food lobby
Now the problems in the US are not unique, Mexico I believe has a worse problem and Australia is not far behind. But everywhere there is a problem the factors I list are the main contributors. It isn’t nebulous ‘stress’ or Capitalism.
36
Actually there are worse countries than the US when it comes to obesity rates, but most if not all of them are Pacific island nations.
2
I just looked up the top 10 most obese nations. Nine out of ten were Pacific island nations. The exception, which very much surprised me, was Andorra. It is a mountainous country. High altitude, steep walks. The food would presumably be similar to French and Spanish peasant food. Why Andorra? An interesting question. To me, at least.
3
I’m not trying to imply anything about Pacific Islanders—this is not a weird racist screed against a small minority group. It’s just a fact according to all reputable studies. If I had to guess it probably has something to do with a particular metabolism developed by evolution over hundreds of years of isolation combined with a sudden influx of terrible and cheap processed foods from Western countries. But I would assume there are scientists out there who are working on more accurate theories.
2
I stopped at the neighborhood hardware store on my way home from work tonight and bought a $4.00 faucet aerator. This should have been a mundane purchase of a practical item but I was shocked on my way to the cashier when I realized that I had to go past a gauntlet of food, probably 95% of it junk. Why all that food in a hardware store? No wonder we're so fat. It's not easy to constantly resist the assault on our weaknesses. Friends and I have often said that the problem with food is that you have to eat it to survive. You don't have to smoke, drink alcohol or do drugs but you do have to eat. Living in a country that constantly reminds you of that is most definitely not easy on the waistline.
43
@ambrose84 I had to laugh, because the same thing happened to me! I went to the hardware store in my neighborhood and there was a whole aisle of candy!
WTF?
3
I suspect when people stop turning to food as a source of emotional comfort, rather than as a source of sustenance, obesity rates will improve. Yet the "comfort food" syndrome may be one of the toughest nuts to crack.
36
@Abraham Then the question is why do they do it? What is so lacking in their life that they supposedly turn to food? Real friendship, for one thing. But it was also a trend in the 1970s and 80s, as fancier treats became available, like premium ice creams, and remember the Silver Palate cookbook? Desserts became overdone, because they were catering to the nouveau riche, and there is a trickle-down effect when it comes to food. But then, look at the Gilded Age, when meals were banquets that took all evening long. And, again, why do we have to live longer? Why healthier? Why not enjoy everything we can? It's all about the cost of medical care, and the patients are being punished so no one in medical care has to work for less money. And I don't mean medical personnel, but the suppliers of drugs, equipment, supplies, tests, every ancillary parasite in Medicine.
2
Everyone - irrespective of their weight - sometimes “eats emotionally.” The notion that fat people are mentally ill is a dangerous stereotype used to rationalize unfair discrimination. It also
Is used as a reason to deny medical treatment that could help.
Not all people who are fat are that way because of psychological issues. Those who are should have access to the help they need (as should all people with psych issues). But it’s not the cause or solution to obesity.
1
Several erroneous narratives continue to circulate. Neither insulin nor blood sugar cause weight gain. Nor do foods cause weight gain because of the type of molecules they are made of.
Sugar consumption has been declining for twenty years. Unfortunately, obesity hasn't followed the same trajectory, which just goes to show (another obvious point) that foods don't need sugar to be incredibly enticing.
The amount of calories in food determines energy balance, regardless of whether the calories come from cupcakes or broccoli. That is not to say it's as easy to overeat broccoli calories as dessert calories. .....Back in the old days - the prehistoric era of the "evil dietary guidelines" - this attraction to stuffing ourselves with junk food was something that people were willing to admit to themselves. Now we seem intent creating as much psychological distance as possible by turning the objects of our desires into actors.
Which can explain the ready embrace of vast multi-system food conspiracies. And could also explain why there is a ready embrace of the idea that added sugars and carbs are obesogenic, and a total disregard of the role that added fats at nine calories per gram, might play in excess energy intake. Because the word "fat" sounds a lot like the word......"fat."
5
@childofsol
Sorry, but I've lost 50 lbs (and still counting) by ditching sugar and starch, eating low-starch/low-sugar veggies and some low-sugar fruits (e.g. berries), common sense portions of animal proteins (including whole dairy) and fats. I suspect my daily calorie count is higher than when I actually counted calories rather than carbs. BTW, this diet was prescribed by my hospital's non-surgical bariatric clinic, run by their cardiology dept.
7
@childofsol -
Energy density has nothing to do with it. You don’t eat energy density. It is irrelevant.
That, in English, we happen to semantically use the same word for lipid chemicals as we do for adipose tissue has contributed to a tragic misconception, i.e. the misconception that “fat causes fat.” But it doesn’t. Carbohydrates, sugars and starches, largely cause fat.
Soda taxes would go a long way to reduce obesity.
But politicians don’t have the backbones to stand up to the nefarious corporate interests.
3
Just look at the fast food ads on TV--everything is supersized and then we have the new meds for Type 2 Diabetes advertisements following hand in hand.
As a physician in practice for the past 42 years, the data presented in the article is frighteningly clear--we all must speak loudly about this epidemic, especially in young people who are developing early coronary artery disease, diabetes and its complications and fatty liver disease which can lead to cirrhosis (liver scarring) and liver cancer.
16
Whilst on a recent trip to the US I had real difficulty finding restaurants that served what I would call acceptable meals.
What sounded reasonable on the menu would often be inedible due to the excess of fat and salt that was added
The portions were often way too large for one person where quantity ‘compensated’ for the lack of quality. Quality and fresh ingredients and being able to actually taste them is much more enjoyable rather than frying or as I often encountered covering an entree in cheap cheddar cheese or other heavy sauces.
I can understand the difficulty Americans have in healthy eating out at reasonable cost and that isn’t likely to change, maybe eat from home more often. However, that is a big ask for some people so perhaps best to focus on children who need to be educated and encouraged to prepare simple meals for themselves as an alternative lifestyle. This is leaving it down to the schools once again but who else is there.
20
this is something that most people can do something about. eat healthy and move! (you don't need a gym membership, you can walk) also try cooking dry beans, lentils, etc. - these are available even in food deserts.
There are seriously now places that consider obesity a disability, no it is not, only in rare circumstances. When it comes to obesity most of us can control your destiny. Simply say "no" to the fried food, the soda, the 2nd and 3rd slice of cake.
15
@xyz : yes that's it.
The third slice of cake.
Glad you have solved a huge world-wide problem that affects HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE so easily and quickly! and without even a medical degree!
4
@xyz :
I'm so so tired of that old bromide about cooking dry beans. They can be delicious, *if* you add olive oil or bacon fat plus some fresh vegetables and fresh herbs, but then bingo, you are back to spending on the high end.
I would love for every person who recommends that other people eat plain beans actually try it himself or herself. No adding anything expensive, just plain beans.
6
Many of us live in neighborhoods where walking is difficult or dangerous due to crime and crummy sidewalks. Better infrastructure for bikes and pedestrians would be community-changing.
1
We decided never again to eat fast food about ten years ago. We divorced ourselves from that industry and went to home cooking high quality food with low calories. We also cut back on beer and alcoholic beverages. The results were amazing. Within a year I was off my HBP medications. Fast food is a huge enemy of the people and a source of many obese Americans of all races.
45
Almost all animals when given access to limitless food will overeat and become obese -- horses, dogs, rats in Skinner boxes. Mammals are wired for scarcity -- packing on a few pounds of fat while there is a short-term abundance gives you a hedge against the inevitable lean times ahead.
So humans are no different. Except, of course, the "lean times" never come -- the waking hours basically become one endless meal. But we have the advantage as humans of being able to understand the problem, and being able to restructure our environment to become less "obesogenic" -- if we choose to.
We can't control the portion sizes in restaurants, but we can control the quantity and quality of food we choose to bring home from the store, for example. So eat at home more, and make your home a less obesogenic environment. It's hard to eat what hasn't already come in through the door!
19
15 years ago, I moved to India after almost 20 years in the US. I am 54 years old now, and weigh less than what I did in America. Why?
(1) I walk more and drive less. The weather outside allows comfortable walking throughout the year. In the US, I had to wake up at 4 AM, fix breakfast, and to make it to the Rec Center's indoor track - at least 4-5 months in the winter months. When you walk more during the day than drive, things tend to take care of themselves.
(2) I don't drink any sugared soda at all. While Coke and Pepsi are available everywhere, it is simply not part of the culture to drink it instead of plain water.
(3) Almost 100% of my meals are cooked fresh. There are many reasons for this: (a) groceries are purchased in bazaars, vendors stop by before my home, etc. Fruits and veggies are much tastier (they are not GM), and the variety is large. (b) You don't have to cook yourself day in and day out. There exists an informal industry of cooks who do it for you (they work in several households per day). This makes it easy to avoid the temptation to eat out after a long day at work. (c) Your meals are also always fresh: you don't eat out of a freezer.
Yes, there are other problems: much worse air pollution for one. But I realized that there are also other big lifestyle benefits compared to life in the US.
26
During most of my teen years, I weighed 120-25 or so, on a 5’ 6”, not small-boned frame, with lots of physical activity in my schedule. In college, after some weight gain, and after a remark from my mother, I basically became obsessed with not eating for a couple of months and, at 119, age 20, photos show me looking ill. Later on, in my thirties, after two babies, all it took was one person’s disparagement of my weight, and I became obsessed with weighing every bite of food that went into my mouth. I starved myself back to 140, and had people asking me, worriedly, if I was ill.
My point is, particularly for women, it may not be realistic to try to maintain the weight we had in our younger years at different stages of our lives. At this point, in my late 60s, I would be happy to weigh that 140 again, but people would probably think I was dying.
23
@MaestraZ That's what the 'smart' BMI is. It adjusts for age and gender so that a 60 year old woman isn't compared to an 18 year old boy.
how does fruit juice affect insulin levels? kids seem to consume a lot of juice boxes. I assume real fruit is digested differently than juice. is an apple better than apple juice? I'm still not 100% sure what the term "denatured" means, but nutritionists seems to say that juice is denatured. does that just mean that all the fiber is lost?
the adage is "an apple a day keep the doctor away." I think that's about colon health. my impression is that a healthy colon means a healthy body, and that our main goal should be to have as healthy a colon as possible.
1
@Anti-Marx Unless it has been poisoned by a wicked queen, an apple is always better than apple juice because the fibre in the apple slows down the body's absorption of the sugar in the fruit.
There's no need to fixate on the colon. Sure, fiber is good for colon health, but the "apple a day" adage also is based on the fact that fruits contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
"Denatured" usually refers to a process that changes the shape of an enzyme or other protein. Changing its shape changes its ability to do its biological job. Acids or heat can denature proteins.
7
@Candace Kalish
So, this part is important:
the fibre in the apple slows down the body's absorption of the sugar in the fruit.
The rate at which the body absorbs sugar has an impact on the metabolization of that sugar. That seems to be what you're implying. So, if children sipped juice slowly, it'd be better than slurping it fast. Is it a question of amount or of speed of uptake? Perhaps Americans are not consuming more sugar, but are just consuming it faster or in more concentrated doses. Perhaps it is less about what we eat and the pace at which we eat it?
Are apples that rich in vitamins and minerals. I adore apples. I love many types, but i always assume that kiwis, grapefruits, and blueberries have more vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants. For vitamins and minerals, I look to beets, beet greens, kale, and collard greens.
I guess pasturizing is a heat-based process.
@Candace Kalish : that is a lovely thought, but that is not remotely how fiber works.
By its very definition, FIBER IS INDIGESTIBLE. That's why it passes from your stomach through your intestines and "out" -- it acts to clean the colon and make the transit of other waste more comfortable.
That's it. That is what it does.
It does not prevent your body from absorbing calories or glucose. It has no such miracle powers.
Apples are good for you because they do have fiber, as well as vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants. They also have sugar, because THEY ARE FRUITS.
The problem is demonizing sugar so much that you cannot enjoy an apple!
8
City and county planning commissions and state resource boards are already trying to encourage walking and reduce car-dependence by reducing the parking requirements needed to obtain building permits. It is time to go further. The health benefits of horseback riding are well known. Stables, hitching posts and water troughs should be required on all new business and residential construction.
6
@Robert M And I suppose that in cities, the energy expended on cleaning up after horses (and sometimes the result of the nausea it induces) can burn even more calories--or provide more jobs for street cleaners.
But in those halcyon pre-car days, city streets STANK. Fly-borne diseases were rampant. There was a reason most homes had boot-scrapers outside the front door, even before one reached the doormat: and it wasn't to remove just mud.
I realize you're being tongue-in-cheek, but bike racks (especially those that accommodate the trikes we klutzy oldsters increasingly use) and some adult trikes added to bike-sharing services will help--as well as improved public transit.
When my husband & I were kids in NYC's outer boroughs, stores--even the strip malls--had parking lots in back, with main entrances on the street side, so much more of its business came from foot traffic. There were freestanding greengrocers, butchers, fishmongers, "appetizing" stores, bakeries, hardware, luncheonette/diners, delis, five-and-dimes, dry goods, and even "schlock stores" (precursor to today's dollar stores). Even the supermarkets (especially the A&P) were smaller and most folks walked there.
We had to walk more, and stores got lots of walk-in customers. Win-win all around (and even with all that food available, your consumption was limited to the capacity of your schlep-cart).
5
I think a large part of the problem is the fact that we are literally surrounded by food. It's everywhere!!!! I still have a distinct memory of the first time I went into the brand new "McDonalds" they built in my home town in the early seventies. Before the fast food restaurants came along, a meal was kinda hard to come by. If you got hungry, you usually just toughed it out til you got home or maybe you packed a sandwich for the day. It seems like every week now, there is news of yet another fast-casual restaurant that will be opening to anchor the new strip mall that they will be building on such and such road. There are quite a few people I know who have made eating out they're hobby and it shows. I love to eat as much as anyone and would love to join them, but I know what would happen if I did.
21
@Regitta
you can say "no"! people are not force-fed!
5
@Regitta I grew up in Brooklyn, and left the day after my wedding in 1971. Until 1970, we had neither McDonald's, Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts, nor KFC. How ever did we manage to eat?
(Yes, I do recall Chock Full O' Nuts--with its built-in "portion control," White Castle and "don't cook tonight, call Chicken Delight," but most of the time we either cooked or ate at delis, from-scratch by-the-slice pizzerias, luncheonettes, and actual restaurants).
2
Everyone here is talking about what and how much a person is eating or not eating. What about other factors like stress, lack of sleep, and chemicals in our food and environment? All three of these things affect hormones, which in turn affect weight and health. I think there is more to this picture than food.
49
@Laura Stress and lack of sleep cause most people to eat more, if only for comfort.
5
I think it is all of the above. I grew up on home cooked meals. With a family of 4 kids, then finally 5th we rarely went out to eat. We lived in Southern Calif so lots of outdoor time, did not even get a TV until I was 7. No sodas allowed. I still don’t drink sodas.
The farming and food industry has changed drastically since 50s and 60s Stores are overwhelming in their variety. Busy stressful lives means more “fast” food, not eating together (as we did) and not taking the time to eat with care - mindfully. My younger days I was mostly under weight. If you eat fast food and then try it after a long time it tastes awful.
Many of the letters skip over the fact that being over weight has risen dramatically. As a kid I don’t recall many if any over weight kids in my neighborhood or school, or overweight adults. Why the change?
This is a complex problem that is cultural, systematic and socio-economic. There also also seems to addiction aspects to this.
The administration is currently in process of rolling back school nutrition standards, which sums up attitude of government policy makers.
I don’t think it is a co-incidence that problems become worse when farms and orchards in California were lost to homes, freeways and other trappings of civilization.
4
Why are so many people blaming the food industry?
What happened to self discipline? A few people with thyroid issues don't give a green light to a whole nation to become obese and then blame it on advertising and food suppliers.
Tiffany sells diamonds with slick ads but nobody has a diamond problem.
Just because food is comparatively inexpensive that isn't an excuse to cram it down your throat. Why not cram broccoli or liver and onions down your throat instead? Everything's a choice. Don't blame your poor choices on anything other than you.
26
@Elizabeth Carlisle What a great idea! I'm sure this will the key insight in fighting the obesity epidemic. In fact, the same idea should be applied to the opioid problem as well. We'll save a lot of tax dollars.
21
@mattp
opioids are not the same as food. Food is not addictive - you can simply practice self discipline!
5
@Elizabeth Carlisle So half of the country has spontaneously lost the self-discipline that earlier generations had, for no reason?
21
We're obsessed with food. Everything is food. It's somebody's birthday? Food. Go to a ballgame? Stuff your face. Sit and watch TV? More food, and mostly junky food.
Every walk through Disney World? Ever see such a collection of fatties in one place? And that is a cross-section of America.
Food is nutritional, not recreational. Keep a proper perspective.
23
I am obese. I weigh about 220 lbs and I'm 5 ft tall.
I don't have diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
Years ago I gave up soda, chips, pretzels, juice, pork and candy. I allow myself red meat once a week. I stopped eating processed meats like lunch meat and sausage. I mostly eat chicken and turkey.
I'm sure I still eat too much. My dessert is one cup of yogurt a day. I have a sweet tooth but the yogurt is better than candy. My snack is nuts. I eat fruit every day. I was feeling good about eating grapes and bananas but after reading that they're too high in sugar I switched to other fruits; strawberries blueberries and apples
I love Carbs. If I cut those I'd probably lose weight. But there's always a new study on what's "bad"
I'm 70 years old, I walk outside an hour every morning. I'm not using a walker or cane, I climb ladders, do my own home repairs and move furniture. I'm ok with what I weigh and who I am at this stage of life and going to enjoy eating some of the things I want. Many of my thinner, presumably healthier peers are gone and I'm still here. Fat shaming. So Lizzo should put her career on hold until she loses weight because she's presenting a bad image to young women? Really? Guys don't seem to have this problem.
Weight isn't everything and yes, genetics do play a part. Otherwise the thin people would live forever and the heavier people would be dead.
Not that simple.
75
@Ann, do you have a medical doctor who talks to you about your weight? A provider would be remiss for not addressing the subject. A BMI of 44 must make your life extremely challenging, even if you can do your own home repairs. At one point in my life, I gained a great deal of weight and refused to go to the doctor. I was so afraid of “the weight talk.” When I finally did get that physical, I had a (malignant) tumor so large that my doctor could feel it with her hand. Please take some advice and call for an appointment as soon as you read my comment (if it is posted). I did finally lose 53 pounds, and I no longer have to fear discussing my weight with the doctor.
14
@Ann You won the genetic lottery, but just as with any other lottery, the losers vastly outnumber the winners. Most people who weigh 220 lbs. at 5 feet tall never make to 70 without a host of horrible, painful, debilitating cardiovascular problems, joint problems, metabolic problems, and cognitive problems. That's if they make it to 70 at all.
19
@Ann Wow, you sound very healthy. It's astonishing to me that you're that heavy. In your case, yes, it does sound as if it must be genetic (I assume you've been tested for e.g. thyroid problems). It definitely happens! But again, obesity rates have climbed astronomically over the last 30 years, whereas genes haven't changed much.
So yes, not all obese people, but a lot of them!
4
Easily solved. When Uber Eats comes, have the customer chase the car on foot for 26.22 miles (a marathon) before getting the food.
11
@James Ketcham
What? No option for the bicyclist crowd?
1
I eat half of what's put in front of me. Sometimes I'm still hungry but after about 20 minutes go by I'm not hungry at all.
Just do that. Eat half of what you'd normally eat and walk away.
21
@MIKEinNYC Pack half your food in a to-go box before you even dig in. Not only don't you overeat, you have another meal to eat at home the next day. (No matter how tiny a NYC kitchen can be, there's always room for a small microwave or toaster-oven).
3
@Sandy
Great idea. Thanks.
2
@MIKEinNYC -
Or eat just until you are no longer hungry.
Not until you are full, but just until you are no longer hungry.
It is a big difference.
1
'“If we pull more meat out of the American diet, it would help both the environment and weight loss,...”'
Is there actual empirical evidence of this? If we reduced the fat and protein content of the American diet, perhaps by means of a government policy that made meat unaffordable for all but the 1%, would people not simply consume more calories in the form of known obesogenic starchy foods like bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, cookies, Twinkies and Ring Dings?
16
@Robert M
I thought the exact same thing: pull the meat out and push in the carbs, which is what started much of this problem to begin with. I was normal weight with excellent health until I started to follow the advice of just about everyone - including Jane Brody - and lowered my fat and protein intake and increased my carbs. That was in the 1990s. Long story short, I gained 30 lbs, which I have never managed to completely lose. I now eat a reasonably low carb diet and feel much better.
17
@Robert M Yes, they would. That's already been proven by short term dietary studies and by at least one longterm natural experiment. When the low fat, high carb craze swept the United States in the 1990's, Americans gained weight in droves.
9
@Robert M
I also agree that meat is not always or mainly the culprit.
But when you go to order a hamburger they seem delighted to put fake cheese and globs of mayonnaise on it and they are hard to stop. Ditto when you say no French fries. Some restaurants want to pour velveeta on your broccoli and there is always the sour cream in the tomato and potato soup. Ranch dressing on everything-children and teens think a meal is incomplete without ranch dressing. All of those add ons are highly caloric and deceptive. Also breads and cereals tend to have fructose in them.
But I do think that inactivity is a big part of the problem. I am shocked by overweight 2 year olds with cardiovascular risks showing up. That is not normal. We mostly need to move more, stop snacking, eliminate sweet drinks, stop eating late at night, control portions, eat slowly and wait for satiety, read labels. I don't count calories as a daily sum but I do read labels and put back the 180 calories per cup yogurt. Although I do regularly drink the 180 calorie craft beer alas...
Lean meat, fish, chicken = some fat for the brain and nerve sheaths . Do those small things. Park further away. Take stairs not elevators. Walk the dog 30 minutes vs. 10. Put half of your restaurant meal away for tomorrow and promise not to instead eat it at midnight. And remind yourself that restaurant meals taste so good because they are heavy on the butter and salt. Set a weight in your mind which is the danger zone and hold the line.
2
How about making our communities more walkable and bike friendly? In many parts of the country it is impossible to do any daily task without a car.
48
@John S In theory, sure, but the infrastructure changes would be enormous. Beyond enormous. Nothing is walkabout where I live - SoCal. It's simply impractical.
One good move might be workplaces including time for a walk in each work day.
7
I slowly lost over 100 pounds. I was never a successful dieter, so I just focused on eating less. Amazing how that helps! Now I am weaning myself off soft drinks slowly. Slow seems to work best for me. That and being conscious every day about how I am starting the day, weight-wise. And, thankfully, I have a large garden and I put food by, and have for a decade eaten very little meat. I did not recognize myself when I saw a photo of myself when I had lost 70 pounds.
55
Tell people about how Alzheimer's is sometimes referred to as Type 3 diabetes and explain the role of insulin sensitivity in dementia, and then you might have a more visceral willingness on people's parts to change their food consumption.
I've never been overweight but learning about this made it very easy for me to give up refined sugar apart from rare special occasions.
18
It just seems weird that we want to put a tax on sugar, while we give subsidies to farmers that grow so much corn that they need to turn it into a cheap 'food additive' like high-fructose corn-syrup, or even worse, mandate that we turn this into ethanol to mix with gasoline...
36
Why tax sugar? Why not exercise a little self-control and use less of it in your coffee?
I like sugar in my coffee. But I don't drink soda (except on particularly hot July days) and rarely eat potato chips.
What ever happened to "everything in moderation"?
7
@B. Look around you, Mr "I'm So Much Better Than Everyone Else." That is what happened to "everything in moderation." Precisely that.
16
@Philip Rock No one will touch the Corn growers because many are in Iowa and the Iowa Caucuses have outside power in the Presidential elections. Another reason to rotate the first states to vote.
6
And the more we try to lose the more we gain. I had occasion to watch "Requiem for a Dream" the other night (dieting is one thread of the movie) and the black humor of this poor woman trying to lose weight, going from a diet to fantasizing about foods to trying diet pills and then getting addicted to them--it's humor that cuts close to the bone. I walk every day but usually hit only 2 or 3 miles instead of the recommended 5. It is disappointing.
8
@margaret_h That is because your walk is determined and utterly useless, except as exercise. Walking, moving have to be useful, or else they are not worth the effort.
2
@athena I don’t understand what you are saying. Do you mean any activity done just for exercise is “useless?”so people who go to the gym, jump rope, take a spin class are wasting their time? That doesn’t make sense.
11
I'm older than you, and here's what I've found to be successful at maintaining, often losing, weight:
1) Eat a big salad BEFORE your main meal. It will fill you up and you won't have to carb/meat out.
2) Don't fall for the "'Cause I deserve it" excuse. Find something other than food for your "rewards" like reading a book, watching a rom/com, calling your mother. Food rewards are weight punishments to your future self. BTW, the food-is-my-reward habit is worse than the calories.
3) Go away from every meal a little hungry. Do not eat to satiation.
4) Use small(er) plates and bowls. Use salad forks and teaspoons. Eat slowly, concentrate on the taste of the food, and always be the among the last at your table to finish.
5) If you count dessert as a major food group, fine. Halve your brownie or, better, third it. What you "need" is the taste of your precious pie, cake, doughnut, not the whole hog.
6) Don't say that you wish you had known these tips but nobody ever told you. And when exactly are you going to start parenting yourself?
There. I feel much better now. I'm going to have a little snack.
27
@MEH I forgot a couple more (I said I was older):
7) Earn your food. We homo saps use to hunt and gather, so be a little retro and walk to the store. Wear a backpack if needs be or, gasp, make two trips. Or if you have to drive, park at the farthest corner of the lot. You'll be getting your steps in.
8) And, of course, get a step counter to wear, keep it charged, wear it, and consult it at the end of the day.
6
@MEH - Ah, yes, get a step counter and always where it so at least half a dozen corporations can tag along with you and keep tabs on you at all times. And the step counters don't work. I tried several and would count the steps as I walked and they were never even close.
9
@tom Harrison
Geesh. Just get an old-fashioned digital (i.e. off-line) step-counter. I tracked my steps with one for several weeks about a year ago. It was an interesting experiment just to see how far I had to walk to get "x" number of steps. I got into a routine of walking long distances every day, and eventually ditched the step-counter because I found I was walking for pure enjoyment and no longer cared to count the steps. Did wonders for my health, and I have kept with this routine.
12
Nowhere in the article or these comments is there ANY mention of how the lack of functioning teeth affect one's diet. Dentistry, a tremendously expensive necessity for health, is rarely mentioned or addressed in public talk about obesity (or health insurance). If you can't chomp and crunch, you're left with soft food choices, which are predominately carbs. How about dentistry for all?
41
@Eric Blair
1. Vegetables/fruit
2. Blender
3. Combine, blend, drink.
or
1. Vegetables
2. Microwave
3. Water
4. Steam for a couple of minutes and eat
5
@Eric Blair wow that’s a great point. Hadn’t thought of that. And of course mouth health = body health.
@Terrils
Soup and smoothies. You got it. Unfortunately, the human GI tract doesn't do well with just mush.
6
Much of the responsibility lies with the "food" industry, including their obnoxious advertisements. When a giant bag of chips or cookies costs a tiny fraction of the cost of a cauliflower, for example, what do we expect?
Moreover, in addition to its heath benefits, my vegan, raw, organic diet looks at fast food completely differently. What could be faster and easier than an apple?
17
I sometimes see really delicious-looking garbage -- cupcakes! cream-filled whatsis! frozen pies! -- but pass them by. Wrappers will entice.
Advertisers will advertise.
They advertise medications I would never ask my doctor about, either.
9
@Christopher Ross Maybe the fact that you eat vegan means you never go to the chip aisle and therefore don't know how ridiculously expensive chips and other junk snacks are. Giant bags of chips cost WAY more than cauliflower or any other basic vegetable. Nobody forces fat people to buy them, especially since chips are expensive, not cheap.
1
I was obese and I still carry 10 extra pounds. I lost weight not by dieting, but by changing my lifestyle. I am now vegan and feel great. I exercise moderately every day via walking in my neighborhood. I am a 73 year-old retiree living in Florida.
32
Eat less ... exercise more. I once made all sorts of excuses for the extra weight I carried. Then I realized it was me, sitting in front of the television, eating fast food, etc. So I changed my habits, and the weight fell off, from 290 - 195 pounds in a year, three years ago. Yes, the environment is toxic, but you need to take responsibility,
37
Most places in America it's downright dangerous to walk. We've created a culture where we're trapped in our homes and cars, rarely able to get any exercise (unless we're extremely dedicated), and then advertised a ton of quick, easy high calorie food. Of COURSE we're going to be getting obese, but it's not just sugary beverages it's EVERYTHING.
YES, there are exceptions to everything, but they whole system is designed to make people miserable lonely and unhealthy, so we shouldn't be surprised that this is the result.
And there is no one dietary solution that is going to fix this.
63
I have read them all and I think this is the most insightful comment here. So many of us are lonely and isolated. Public space can be dangerous and even when it is not we are subjected to language in the media that makes it seem to be.
Do we eat as a substitute for social charms of a walk in the park every day?...
18
@Kiki
There are plenty of obese and overweight people who live in very safe environments. Some places are dangerous, I agree, but not "most" places. We're not Syria. Why would so many people want to come here if "most" places were dangerous? You can spend the same or similar amount of money on healthy food choices as poor ones. Plan ahead, prepare meals in advance and freeze individual portions to take out when needed. One can exercise in one's home and you don't necessarily need equipment. Take excuses out of the equation.
4
@Elizabeth Carlisle this is the problem, we’re blaming each individual person for being overweight but there is so much stacked against us. We’re doing more blaming the individuals and not thinking about how we could create a society where people could easily get more exercise by walking, and/or being outside of the house. I’m not overweight but since I moved from nyc to a more car based culture it’s struck me how hard staying in shape is for most people. I’m not overweight, this isn’t about myself generally, but I’ve had to lose weight a couple times and it’s really hard. I feel for those who do.
6
It would help everyone quite a bit to stop counting calories and start counting carbs with as close to 0g/day as the goal.
8
@Sean Topping So no vegetables and fruit? They are made of complex carbohydrates, you know, as well as simple carbohydrates.
13
@Terrils
I'm pretty sure that by "carbs" Sean means added and refined carbs--sugars & starches. And not all complex carbs are harmless: potatoes, pasta, rice, higher-sugar fruits (especially those bred for optimal sweetness and long shelf life even when ripe), even artisanal whole-grain breads.
Hi @Terrils - Yes, I'm aware fruits & veggies are carbs and I'm saying they're not needed. All essential nutrition can be derived from animal products.
Ensure that most cities and towns have car-free areas. Allow public transportation to function in those areas, but not private cars (there are reasons why obesity is more prevalent in car country than in denser urban areas). Make streets more pleasant to walk in. Move parking to the periphery to encourage people to walk and use public transportation. This would be healthy not just for people who would walk more, but also for the environment.
13
@Bloomington Cook I walk the Barnegat NJ bike
trail which is "community," a place to exercise, enjoy
the wooded surroundings, exchange greetings and enjoy
brief conversations with other regulars.
6
BMI is not a good tool to measure a person's health.
Society should focus on nutritious foods and increased activity, not weight.
It's easy to scapegoat heavier people as unhealthy because of outward appearance, even though smaller people engage in the same behaviors and suffer from the same diseases the obese are crucified for.
9
You are kidding yourself. Body composition (proportion of fat to lean tissue) is an excellent predictor of health outcomes. They don't call the last stage of obesity "morbid obesity" for nothing.
8
@Abraham Yes, but Sarah said BMI, not body composition. Not the same thing. Body composition is a good predictor of health outcomes. BMI, not so much.
6
@Ben Actually, for the majority of the population, BMI correlates very strongly with BF% (research returns typical r values 0.75 for males and 0.8+ for females). So unless you're actually an athlete in training, if you have BMI above 25, chances are you really are carrying more than ideal range of BF for your health. If you want to know for sure, an inexpensive DEXA scan will give you _very_ precise body composition measurements. Between the two in accuracy are old-school skin fold measurements. But the idea is BMI is not a useful indicator of body composition for most people is just wishful thinking, for the most part.
3
many of the comments below are the exact reason there is an obesity epidemic: "...the economy...sugar industry...suburbanization...healthy food is expensive...the oppressive American work week...etc, etc etc." Simply put: YOU are fat because YOU eat too much! enough externalizing, and internalize that you internalize too many cookies!
23
Dr. Bleich blames calories rather than the sugar and processed carbohydrates... instead consider how the food is spiking our insulin.
7
@RJM You still won't lose weight unless you take in fewer calories than you expend.
4
@Terrils Calories are a based upon a model of physics. The human body accesses energy via physiology-there is a difference. Calories/energy are stored and accessed metabolically. Until we recognize this difference we will not address lasting change.
1
I used to drive almost an hour each way to a desk job in the burbs. My standard day involved about 500 steps total between car and desk and bathroom. I spent about 11 hours a day sitting. The job was stressful and the commute was full of road-raging drivers. Needless to say, when I quit that job I drove less, sat less, ate out less, and had less stress.
I’m lucky that I got to quit. Five years like that and I would have easily gained 50 lbs on my small female frame.
28
@Former Desk Jockey : I had a job like that, about 18 years ago -- getting laid off was a pain, but probably the best thing for my health! had to go in while it was pitch dark in the AM (7:30 AM!) and home at 5PM (pitch dark again).
The building had NO WINDOWS -- none -- and awful "buzzy" fluorescent lighting. So workers were totaly cut off from a normal light/dark cycle!
It was always chilly, too. And dry! I was always gulping hot tea or water to try to stay hydrated!
And it made me ravenously hungry, I know I was snacking and eating more, in a desperate attempt to A. stay alert and B. keep my energy levels up enough to do good work.
I've often wondered if this is a big reason why people overeat -- they can't just take a nap at work! they can't be sluggish and put in a low quality work day (or they face lay offs and firings!). So they eat to desperately try and stay focused & alert -- guzzle coffee or tea -- nibble on high energy snacks.
But in fact, of course….I was sitting down 90% of the time, at a desk in front of a computer. HOW MANY JOBS in the last 30 years are basically this format? and no way to get to that job except to drive long miles on a freeway commute! (and it's that, or homelessness).
I gained 10 lbs there, but when I was laid off….the weight disappeared over about 6-8 weeks, no real dieting required. Just sunshine and a healthier life.
2
@Concerned Citizen - You described my job exactly - right down to the buzzing lights and drinking hot water to stay warm. Trying to counteract the unhealthy working environment is nearly impossible too. It was a constant battle of tying to stay alert without coffee, trying to sit without horrible posture, taking quick screen breaks to refocus tired eyes, remembering to walk around the office periodically to get blood moving, etc.
1
Yes, the food supply is tainted. Salty-sweety-fatty concoctions are addictive to both rich and poor folk.
But the obesity industry (or health industry if you use their name) is just as culpable. Most of the solutions advocated by doctors and others CAUSE obesity.
Withholding, counting calories, portion control - all of these solutions, which may work if you are only like 20 pounds over, cause craving and binging cycles in the morbidly obese.
The way together fatter is to go on a diet - withhold from what you want to eat in lieu of a Keto/South Beach/Atkins,[insert any one here] Diet or health spa. At some point you're gonna want your chocolate, bacon or whatever and will go on a jail break. You'll escape from your own self-created psychic diet prison and will go on a bender.
You may or may not go back to diet prison, but regardless, like real prison, you will have learned the life long skills to be fat for life.
Instead of withholding what you want, just like skinny people do, eat whatever you want, whenever you want, in whatever quantities you want.
Get out of diet prison permanently and for the rest of your life.
instead slowly and deliberately, start changing what you want. Develop awareness of your body's needs.
How? By making small changes in food, movement and lifestyle.
I wrote a clickbaity titled medium article of my journey in losing 100 pounds and getting rid of diabetes and high BP in the process: "I just lost 100 pou ds. Here's why nobody else will!"
9
@Noel This is the smartest thing anyone has said about weight loss. Yes, developing body awareness will help you start changing what you want. But I add a caveat-as long as the goal is health and not skinny fat free bodies.
6
There is an exceptionally effective, grassroots, community-based program that is COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE, called Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) that addresses the problem of food addiction which is at the heart of many people's struggle with food and obesity in this country. They have wonderful resources available at http://www.foodaddicts.org. I heartily recommend this 501(c)(3) organization, which has over 10K members worldwide. This program actually helps resolve the problem and empowers people, rather than exploiting and manipulating them, the way so many diets and other approaches do today. http://www.foodaddicts.org
4
@Susan Thanks Susan! Recovery programs save lives and encourage healthy living. So important to see the social and emotional aspects of food addiction.
1
Poor diet and lack of exercise are culprits, yes of course. But explain to me then why pets and even wild animals have become fatter in recent years?
We've done something to the environment. Diet and exercise will help, but I don't think we'll ever return to "1950s normal."
8
Pets are fatter because people are buying endless treats, chews, and treat dispensing toys for their pets as if snacking was a need. Observe at any dog park or vets: The overweight pets belong to overweight people.
18
@Ginger .... nearly all pet food has carbs in it: wheat, corn derivatives etc .... cheap ... pads it out ...
It is the way to fatten any animal: feed it carbs: that is what the cattle feeding lots are all about: no grass, and lots of corn (full of sugar);
I don't get to see too many wild animals: can't believe they are fat ..
Our cats get uncooked meat; they also importantly get the organ meat: kidneys, liver and our big cat catches rabbits: he eats everything
@Jenn Birch and @Fred Jones: I'm not making this up. It's in the research. Not just pets, but wild animals have become fatter in recent years.
I did my M.S. Biomedical Nutrition specializing in obesity: this has been a lifelong area of interest for me.
7
I have been fighting obesity my entire adult life. I'm athletic and agile. I still have a lot of muscle but I've lost 70 lbs over the past 9 years and find that I just keep going, ever so slowly, but I'm still working on it. I figure I have about 40 or 50 left to shed but I'm convinced I'm going to make it. The one thing that's worked for me is "intuitive eating." I still eat anything I like, I just pay more attention. The quality of my food is better than ever. I now crave most healthy things, although my sweet tooth is still an issue, so I've decided to go with it. I drink soda at times and will eat brownies. I just typically don't keep them in the house. The National Weight Loss Registry has a lot of useful information on their website. Not sure if it's still active in terms of accepting new members, but the information helped me.
9
@Another one ... try ditching the carbs: you will be shocked how the weight will drop off;
look at the Diet Doctor website: lots of good recipes to help you best wishes
4
@Fred Jones Ditch carbohydrates? So no fruits or vegetables?
2
This article cites a bunch of conventional wisdom as fact, when the reality is that scientific evidence behind it is sorely lacking.
The reality is simple, the government, the media, and certain non-profits (AHA) told Americans to shift their caloric intake away from fats and to carbohydrates. American's unfortunately followed that advice and are now fatter and less healthy for it.
People at the bottom end of the economic spectrum have less resources (both time and money) to counteract the uniquely fattening effects of this diet and have been hit the hardest. But lets be clear, Americans off all socioeconomic statuses have gotten fatter.
15
@Julian
All the things I wanted to say, but so much more eloquent than I could have said them.
My only addition would be the impact of food deserts in lower-income neighborhoods preventing families from making better diet choices.
5
@Julian I completely agree. After years of regular exercise and watching what I ate, and still being on the higher end of a healthy weight range, I (pretty much, not exclusively) cut out fruit, rice and pasta from my diet and 15 pounds melted off easily. I'm 50, at my ideal weight and unconcerned about gaining back the weight. The government's food pyramid, which emphasizes carbohydrates and makes fruit (full of sugar) appear healthy, is doing more damage than good.
8
Huh? Not one mention in this article of the sacred cow of American culture, the automobile. No mention of lifestyle choices, the lack of walkable communities, and an increasingly inactive populace? The people I know who have active jobs and lifestyles do not suffer from this affliction.
12
It would help if people like Chrissy Metz wasn't a major celebrity in a popular TV show and who sang at the Oscar as if it's fine to be obese the way she is. Good Housekeeping published her photo with an article saying she looked like a goddess.
My God, folks. When obesity is celebrated like this, what are children - and adults - learning. And no, Ms. Metz does not have a medical or glandular issue. She just likes food.
14
@Mimi What should she do? Hide because you're offended?
18
@Long Islander Get with her doctor and a nutritionist to see her options.
4
I understand that we do not want to shame and stigmatize people who are overweight. It isn't nice or fair or kind.
But glorifying fat is counterproductive. Diabetes and hypertension are raging in our cities especially, and mostly they're due to poor diets and carrying excess fat.
9
This is all about a lack of discipline and an uneducated, ill- informed public.
And it makes me furious that when Mike Bloomberg proposes restrictions on sugary drinks he gets told he is overstepping his authority. Not so! It is in the public's interest to remain heathy.
I also think Lizzo needs to lose weight and represents a bad example for young people. So there.
13
@TSV : there is no evidence that sugary drinks are a primary cause of diabetes.
It's more likely that an increasingly consumption of CHEESE is at fault -- plus things like obesogenic chemicals in the environment (BHA in plastic, for example or medications that provably cause weight gain like steroid drugs).
Why not start with THOSE THINGS? chemicals, drugs, child sexual abuse, low quality school lunches -- BEFORE taxing soda?
Places that tax soda see decreased sales -- but not decreased WEIGHT. It is clear that people faced with a punitive tax, simply change to sports drinks, or sugary iced tea, or those 700 calorie Starbucks frapuccinos.
Taxing food does not "make people healthy". People who LOVE soda will just spend more on it -- meaning less money to buy healthy fruits, veggies, milk etc.
And so what if YOU think Lizzo should lose weight? are you her doctor? her mother? are you suggesting she be banned from performing? put in jail? put on a forced diet in jail? be specific.
1
@Concerned Citizen
Puhleeze. Start educating yourself. Today's NY Times would be a good idea. Oh, and Lizzo can do what she wants, just as I can have my own opinion.
Consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks dropped nearly 25 percent in the 18 months after Chile adopted a raft of regulations that included advertising restrictions on unhealthy foods, bold front-of-package warning labels and a ban on junk food in schools. During the same period, researchers recorded a five percent increase in purchases of bottled water, diet soft drinks and fruit juices without added sugar.
“An effect this big at the national level in the first year is unheard-of,” said Lindsey Smith Taillie, a nutrition epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the study’s lead author. “It is a very promising sign for a set of policies that mutually reinforce one another. This is the way we need the world to go to begin to really combat preventable diseases like obesity, hypertension and diabetes.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/health/chile-soda-warning-label.html?algo=identity&fellback=false&imp_id=68477032&imp_id=972056563&action=click&module=Science%20%20Technology&pgtype=Homepage
1
“…and severe obesity will become the most common weight category among women, non-Hispanic black adults and low-income adults nationally.”
Uh huh, being a middle-class white male certainly has its privileges, no?
Not falling into that category, with all its "beenies," can be extremely stressful and maybe lead one to be more likely to seek out overly processed/densely caloric comfort foods?
3
The sugar/corn industry is subsidized leading to cheap pop and processed food that is now subject to taxation. Better to cut subsidies for the processed food industry. Humans are the only animal smart enough to make their own food and stupid enough to eat it! Ninety percent of supermarket shelves are processed foods and junk. And it’s getting worse
13
Notice that middle -class white makes are not expected to fall within the severely obese category.
Power, respect, and the ability to live without the fear of being trampled/abused by the powerful seem to go a long way in inoculating one from severe obesity in this society.
6
Soda tax is a distraction. Look at the sedentary lifestyle of the average teenager, American. The easy entertainment fix through media, non-activity based. The rampant consumerism where people find self worth through having stuff, from super sized meals to the latest fashion. Then add in misplaced political correctness regarding healthy living and people that think overweight people are good role models for society. Bad habits and unhealthy rationalizing is driving this all, not the bad sugar merchants. Canada is certainly traveling along this road, but you don’t receive mega calorie meals at every opportunity in my country. My wife and I share meals when we are in the US. How can you even be asked about dessert when 2000 calories are consumed before then?
People need to wake up about what society has to offer, both nutritionally, culturally, socially, etc... Stop blaming others for your type 2 diabetes, heart disease and overweight seven year olds. Look in the mirror and own it.
13
@Richard - you make good points, but that doesn't mean that we still shouldn't heavily tax sugar and other nutritionally empty foods and subsidize the healthy ones.
9
Personally, western society needs to redefine what success looks like for the average person, what being a healthy human being looks like. Not sure if a tax will get us there. It can’t hurt, but issue runs a lot deeper.
5
@Richard
You are wrong.
I have researched and studied extensibly the sugar industry and the beverage industry as part of my graduate studies.
The sugar industry and beverage industry function more like a big criminal enterprise. They bribe, harass and threaten people and governments into doing whatever it is that benefits their bottom line. They target children on purpose because they know they "get a client for life" a phrase used by some of them in their corporate meetings. This is why they target and lobby poor communities into accepting their products.
Socioeconomic status and the environment the person grows up in are pretty proven determining factors in predicting obesity. The only solution IS to tax the sugar industry and sugar beverages as much as possible. It will also help to criminalize these industries behavior that targets adds to children and poor communities.
16
I'll see your BMI-based panic and raise you this from the University of Leicester in the UK, released in May 2019:
The research, "using data from the UK Biobank of 474,919 people recruited within the UK, found those with a habitually fast walking pace have a long life expectancy across all levels of weight status - from underweight to morbidly obese. Underweight individuals with a slow walking pace had the lowest life expectancy (an average of 64.8 years for men, 72.4 years for women). The same pattern of results was found for waist circumference measurements.
"This is the first time research has associated fast walking pace with a longer life expectancy regardless of a person's body weight or obesity status."
My BMI has hovered between 28 and 32 for 30 years. I run two miles every morning. My resting heart rate is 60. Movement is medicine and this Harvard study is fear-mongering. You're way behind the curve, Jane.
13
Yes and no on weight and activity level. I walk 3-5 miles daily with my (very active) German Shepherd Dog at an average pace of 3.3 mph. I still struggle with keeping my weight stable. It's diet too.
7
@Clarity The point of the Leicester study was that weight did not correspond to longevity. I can understand that one might want to weigh no more than X for aesthetic reasons or for musculoskeletal reasons. But telling a healthy person who is very active whose BMI may be 30 or 31 that because they are "obese" they are part of a public health crisis is fear-mongering and bad science, given what we know about fitness and overall health.
8
I read through this article and there was not one mention about how our food is now grown. The more I learn, the more I suspect that the chemicals, additives, hormones, etc. put in our food likely impacts obesity rates in the US. It occurred to me one day that the additives we give so chickens can develop larger breasts (for diners' tastes) or grow up within weeks instead of months might translate to also fattening humans. It's especially worrisome when Europe bans all types of fertilizers, antibiotics, hormones, etc. we give to our crops and chickens, pigs, and cattle with impunity.
I am certain Ms. Brody is aware of the work on endocrine disrupters and the earlier maturity of children here in the US. A colleague does research on this. Perhaps report on the research between obesity and such additives. You can bet the industry actively suppresses such research.
Although people's individual habits may play a role, I'm not so sure that is the only or even main factor.
35
@ms ...... I am sure you are right about additives but do check out Gary Taubes' book called "Good Calories, Bad Calories".
It explores obesity; and how folks telling us to eat carbs .... lots of them ..... has been rather a problem.
1
A Whole Food Plant Based diet would cure almost all of this. But few people want to hear about it. Most of us want to keep stuffing ourselves with more meat, more fish, more dairy, and more oil. We have bought into all the advertisements and bogus research about how healthy it all is. In reality, the opposite is true. The science is there and has been there for decades. It's sort of like facing the truth about smoking. That took decades also. Humans are slow learners. They usually only change when they have little choice.
11
@Cheryl "A Whole Food Plant Based diet would cure almost all of this." This is a good start, but it also brings issues of it's own: for example, salt. Lots of plant based ready to eat food and ingredients are loaded up with sodium. As someone with hyper tension, this is concerning. As are some flavor enhancers used. I never eat at quick serve type restaurants, but was hungry and decided to try the "impossible beef" burger at Bare Burger recently. I was so thirsty the entire rest of the night. Not good.
5
@ASC impossible burger is neither plant nor food.
18
@Cheryl
This view relies on some idyllic view American diet prior to obesity. It was never "plant based" and food used to be sold with far more dangerous adulterants than now.
The change that tracks the weight gain is the distribution of calories Americans eat from fat to carbohydrates. Contrary to what the AHA claims, the science was never there for this change.
7
The Trump administration intends to take legal action to prohibit California from mandating insurers to provide abortion coverage, as is presently the case. If insurers can opt out of abortion coverage, they should be allowed to opt out of obesity coverage. And should some form of government guaranteed Medicare For All become law, what will be the effect will all this obesity?
5
there is a mindset/comfort-level susceptible to the probability that eating three large heavily carbohydrate meals a day [ and in between ] will avoid any possible hunger discomfort - this comports with the similar drive-everywhere life-style that seeks to eliminate unpleasant physical effort from our lives
3
Excellent. That only means more food for we of normal weight once the inevitable global food shortage kicks in and we accept Swift's modest proposal. Soylent green, anyone?
1
This is one reason I want choice in health insurance. I don't really want to be in one "Medicare for All" pull with the obese half of America.
4
@NH Some of them may outlive you. What if you (God forbid) have a terrible illness and others must pay for you? Not all health problems are caused by diet. Some are completely unpredictable and being thin won't protect you.
19
@NH I was at my slimmest and healthiest when I got a very aggressive cancer.
Don't count your chickens or be too smug.
13
@NH you are already paying for the obese half. When people show up needing urgent care in the ER, uninsured, that cost raises the premiums for everyone else who is insured.
6
You just had Trump give a phony "Medal of Freedom" to a toxic guy who has lied to his listeners forever about tobacco use. He told a listener second hand smoke was zero harm and even it you *could* be harmed by smoking that it would "take 50 years".
The Ag secretary just pushed policy that is undoing Michelle Obama's educating kids to eat better. Farmers are growing corn that is used for high fructose sugar that is used in processed food to make cardboard taste good.
The cynicism in the Trump circle is grotesque.
40
@Kay Johnson - fully agreed on all points, but c'mon, the obesity epidemic is one issue for which you cannot blame Trump (except to the extent that he himself adds to the ranks of the obese!).
2
A family may get a visit from child protective services if their kid walks alone for a few blocks, but raising obese children and putting them at a high risk of debilitating conditions is apparently ok.
27
Whew this article sure brought the classists out... A lot of y’all who commented should be ashamed of yourselves because your mothers clearly dropped the ball.
9
The food industry is not about nutrition and our politicians are not about maintaining democracy. We are baking in ignorance and predatory practices. This is not about "will-power" or lazy people.
13
@Kay Johnson Yes, it is.
This study is not scientifically sound. It used BMI to designate who was considered "obese." Study after study has shown that BMI is not an accurate measurement of body fat. For example, an athlete may show a higher number on the scale, thus a higher number BMI-wise and be considered obese when they are incredibly fit and muscular. I'm shocked they used BMI in this study as it's been cast by the wayside by pretty much all nutritionists and doctors. And the NYT failing to mention how obesity was calculated in this study is shoddy reporting. More misinformation does not help the American public become healthier.
15
@B - I'm sorry but this has got to be the single dumbest excuse for the obesity epidemic -- "oh but BMI is unfair, waaah!"
You are technically correct but it does not matter, because let me clue you in on something: 80% of America is not fat or obese because we're all power lifters. Yes, if you are an NFL running back and weigh 220 at 5'8", you are not fat. Pretty sure those athletes know that. Everyone else is just pretending and rationalizing.
23
@B just look around you. We don’t need a BMI to see that most Americans are fat and many obese.
12
@anita: Depends on where you’re at. I’ve been all over the country, and the size of people in general in Colorado is a lot different than people in Wisconsin, for example.
3
If sea level continues to rise, fat people will float better than lean people. Basic science.
18
@Warren Best comment of all.
1
"Perhaps just as terrifying" as Climate Change???? LOL. This article has a 'dire' case of fat phobia, and it's clouding any interesting health study being discussed.
4
@Eve - "fat phobia"? I'm not afraid of the obese and I don't know anyone else who is, we are just resentful that the obese and their enablers are costing society hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
6
@UncertaintyPrincipal - Actually, they are making society hundreds of billions of dollars annually in food sales. Somebody has to eat those delivery pizzas.
1
Let's get fundamental.
"The most fundamental phenomenon in the universe is relationship." Jonas Salk
The baseline fundamental for organisms & civilizations is survival.
What is the essence of survival?
It is processing complex relationship information with sufficient Reach Speed Accuracy Power & Creativity — whether it's your immune system processing novel pathogen relationship information; or your country's war department processing the complex relationship information re how to create an atomic bomb before your enemy does.
As the dominant, short term drivers of evolution, we've been generating vast global relationship structures in-&-across Geo Eco Bio Cultural & Tech networks for centuries — essentially doing selection — with world culture's dominant information processing mechanism or app.
That app is humans deploying a thousands-of-years old cultural coding structure: monetary code.
Our species unprecedented numbers, powers & concomitant reach have crushed the app's efficacy
The app lacks sufficient information processing Reach Speed Accuracy Power & Creativity.
The information processing efficacy of both our biological and cultural coding structures are being overrun by our era's dominant phenomenon: exponentially accelerating complexity.
Obesity; diabetes; Sky & Ocean being armed with weapons of mass extinction, etc., are not going to be solved with policy thumbs in the collapsing dikes.
Sadly, our problems are more complex & fundamental than policy can address.
2
Um. Taxpayers subsidize sugar and corn production which increase supply, and then you want to regulate it because we subsidize it? Curiouser and curiouser.
13
Since obesity correlates somewhat with low income, perhaps a major line of attack to help people raise the quality and lower the quantity of their food intake should be on education/jobs/health care/neighborhoods. In other words let's tackle what may be at the root of why women/African-Americans and the low-income population in general engage in lifestyle practices that lead to obesity. I'm not denying a role for individual choices in limiting food intake and getting out to exercise...but apparently the stresses of low-income and minority status contribute significantly to one's chances of becoming obese. Hard to get away from politics on this and many issues!
20
Nonsense. Every third person at Disney World is obese. Disney World is not for poor people. Also, canned beans are cheap. Stop it.
3
@agr: I live down the street from Disney World. Maybe 5 miles from Disney property. I see Disney tourists from all over the world every day. Now, I hate to call out a specific group and place for obesity, but it is absolutely true in my experience. The Midwest. People from the Midwest tend to be far more obese than people from any other American region or other country. I don’t want to shame them. My family is originally all from Michigan and Minnesota. The winters there are there are terrible. You don’t want to go outside and you just want to eat rich food and drink nice alcoholic drinks. I get it. But it doesn’t seem healthy.
4
@Ben I live in Minnesota. Winter has never stopped me from getting outdoors. I have yet to miss my daily 5-6 mile walk. What I can't stand is 90 degree heat and 70 degree dew point. Those conditions are what makes me the most miserable.
1
Too much junk food readily.
Resist commercials and advertising for these products.
They consist mostly of sub-standard ingredients and many that are not even considered as digestible food items,ie one of the the ingredients that Subway had been called-out for using in its
sandwich bread is used as a component for yoga mats and such.
I have never eaten any of their products since this was revealed.
11
I think a huge contributor to the problem is the elimination of physical activity/recess/playtime in schools. Addressing this activity problem for children would be a lot more fruitful than waiting until they’re adults. And moreover, school PE is extremely biased toward ball sports and many kids are much more suited toward activities like dance, yoga, swimming, gymnastics, or running that are not so dependent on hand eye coordination.
38
Portion sizes in restaurants are usually much larger than necessary, more food than is good for you, often rich food. My wife and I usually each order an appetizer and share a main course. As with many bad habits, the forces that cause them are hard to resist, but resist we must.
13
I’ve adopted two rules after doing some YouTube research for health improvement.
1. Sugar and HFC is a killer, plain and simple so I do not eat it and avoid any food where it is a major ingredient.
2. Eat in a six hour window—only water/tea/coffee after that. The human body was not built for continuous eating and it repairs itself while we fast.
After 9 months into this regimen I’m convinced those basic rules will eliminate most CAD and cancer and keep weight in a reasonable range with good energy and sharp mind.
19
@Mike Voelk - I agree, I think the research is there, people just have to want to learn, and have to cut through all the marketing clutter.
1
@Mike Voelk - If you pick up any bakery item and read the ingredients and then read the same recipe on say, Martha Stewart's website, you notice a lot of extras tossed in that are not needed. A home baked cookie is still sugar and butter but does not contain emulsifiers or other wonderful unnecessary items.
Speaking of Martha, she has eaten more pastries than Oprah could dream of and yet she has never ballooned up. But all of her food is pretty much fresh from the garden or the butcher and she has not spent a lifetime stuffing herself full of additives. Its hard to imagine Martha with a box of Hot Pockets in her freezer.
3
Sleep plays an important role, as well. The later you stay up, the more tempting it is to snack. The better quality sleep you get, the more regulated your body will be. The less sleep you get/if you are only getting poor quality sleep, your body will be out of balance.
Exercise is something that must be made a priority. Don't have time? How can you squeeze it, regardless of the form? Run up your stairs, sprint to the mailbox and back, run to the store or even you're going to, do push ups on your bedroom floor. You don't need a gym and endless time. In an hour you might otherwise spend in front of the TV or on your phone, you could go run 5 or 7 miles.
The more you exercise, the more time you spend outside, the more motivated you'll feel to eat healthy. If you don't have time for that, prep. Choose a block of time on the weekend to prep food for the busy week ahead. Plan. Foresee what night you might be busiest/more tempted to order pizza, and put a plan in place to avoid doing that.
Low on money? Think of food as fuel. There are cheap ways to eat nutrient-dense meals, but they might not look pretty, or feel fun, but if you change your mindset and how you think about food, you'll learn to love fueling your body with what it needs.
These things aren't easy at first, but we have to work for that which is good, and eventually it becomes second-nature.
Shortcuts are more expensive in the end. The long way will pay off.
17
The problem with obesity is that it demotivates doctors to inquire about and test for underlying issues.
Doctors prescribe weight loss rather than looking deeper. As a result of this incurious, medical, fat-shaming approach, people with obesity receive worse medical care, and they may be less likely to seek medical care in the future.
Fat shaming occurs on every level. American culture is designed to shame you if you don’t look like a Barbie doll. Advertising that bombards us on our screens feeds us lies about what we need and how we should not be happy with what we have.
The wellness community (or diet community in disguise) also feeds us lie after lie, and adds another layer of shame and more reasons to hate yourself.
Yes, of course there is an urgent need for more programs and accountable parenting aimed getting kids out from behind their screens and into the real world of movement and face-to-face interaction.
Just don’t ignore the horrible influence of the medical field and wellness culture in exacerbating the shame that obese people face.
40
Yup. This is certainly what I've experienced over the years.
3
@Dr. Greg Kushnick, Manhattan Psychologist Ahh, yes, find excuses and blame, so that people can feel good about their obesity.
Or they could eat less and exercise.
8
@Ernest Montague You missed the point of the original post. Obese patients are treated badly by medical professionals, and that doesn't bode well for their health.
This study shows that treating obese people with dignity (not berating them and demanding they lose weight to be healthy) improves physical and mental factors:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3041737/
11
Michelle Obama’s healthier inspired school menu program was a start to educating our youth about eat healthy. Then came an obese person and had it removed.
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@CGR It was done with the best of intentions, but it wouldn't have worked by itself. In the long run, kids eat what they see their parents eating. If they see their parents picking up a banana for a snack (instead of a cookie) they are going to do the same. If they see their parents making a hot breakfast every morning, they will develop a taste for the same (as an outsider, it is criminal how Americans are taught to eat sugary cereal with milk first thing in the morning). Unless parents change their food habits, enforcing healthy food at school will just give kids the license to eat junk food outside school.
4
I really hope that getting Greta Thunberg to start yelling at fat people is the worst idea in the NYT today.
4
@JFB Visually that is a wonderful idea.
5
Obesity doesn't happen to you; you make yourself obese.
18
@David
That is an easy statement to make, but it is only true to a point. I am going to assume, that luckily for you, you weren't raised in a household that had very little nutritious food available, while having a plethora of high calorie junk food available. The habits that we form as young people can set us on a path that can have lifelong effects, both good and bad.
We are all much more of a product of our environment than we like to believe.
13
@David
Partly true.
After the 70s the agriculture industry began adding many many calories and salt to processed food. A kid from the 70s and a kid now, eating the same kid stuff, will not look the same. High fructose corn syrup packs in the fat that cannot be exercised away- it is stored around your middle and your organs.
"The Bitter Truth About Sugar" I believe is the name of the video about how crazy our "nutrition" industry is. Predatory in fact.
9
Not always.
2
Death by stupidity and ignorance...the vast majority of American healthcare expense and disease come from Americans opening their mouths and stuffing them with garbage while making no efforts whatsoever to get their bodies engaged with life, ie, no exercise.
19
@Joe I call it the "Food Wars". There are winners and losers.....
2
Opioid addiction makes news. Food addiction does not. Why - with opioids it’s easy to point a finger. With food, mirrors point back!
13
*cough* farm bill subsidies *cough*
12
This article is absolutely correct: our diet is causing an obesity crisis. As well as a health crisis, as denoted by “lifestyle” diseases and conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, T2 diabetes, high
BP and cholesterol, kidney disease, and more. Mostly caused by what we eat.
We should all be eating more whole plant foods. Whole, as in unprocessed. And plant as in not animal products.
Avoid CRAP —Calorie Rich And Processed — edible products (are they even food?). And avoid animal products. Eat more veggies and fruit, legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils, split peas) and whole (not processed) grains, and in moderation nuts and seeds.
And that does require more cooking at home, and the availability of healthy whole plant foods nearby to purchase. We need to educate folks in nutrition, and how to cook and how to shop. And we need a lot more grocery stores in urban neighborhoods, selling affordable food. So subsidize growing whole plant foods, and stop the subsidies to animal products and crops grown to feed animals and to be manufactured into CRAP.
13
@Dr. J - Healthy people don't need doctors. Where is the money in that?
2
Free health insurance anyone, no copays, no deductibles! The ultimate reward for a lifetime lack of personal responsibility. The only problem will be the absence of doctors willing and able to treat us, overweight or not. If young people could only see the ravages wrought over time through excessive weight, they’d realize they have a decision: eat whatever and whenever I want and begin to fall apart in my mid 50’s or forgo or reduce the crap food and live as healthy life as long as I am able.
9
The aliens are fattening us up for the kill.
30
Yes, food quality and amount of exercise are factors. But so are our gut biomes and our ubiquitous exposure to exogenous hormones and chemicals with egregious effects on our metabolisms. People who have taken a lot of antibiotics over time and especially in childhood alter their gut biomes and set a course for obesity. Rat and human FMT studies show implanting gut bacteria from a skinny rat will make a fat rat thin, and vice versa. Also eating trans fats and glyphosate-drenched wheat products like Cheerios and drinking sugary drinks, and packaged Frankenfoods with an ingredient list 10 lines long force the body to sequester these poisons in the body’s fat. All of those “foods” also lead to low grade depression, brain fog, and low energy, so kids and adults don’t feel like getting up and going outside to play or walk or run or bike. They isolate and cocoon indoors with their sedentary screen activity of choice and numb themselves with sugar and fat to alleviate any gnawing feelings that there might be any other way to live. Most people don’t have the time, the money, the energy, the willpower, the knowledge, or the social or food culture to lift themselves out of our cheap, fast food trance. And the constant bombardment of ads for cheap, crappy food in the center aisles of our grocery stores and in the fast food restaurants on every corner aren’t making things any easier.
16
Cheerios are made from oats, not wheat. The plain ones are actually not bad for you. But the Honey Nut version is awful. So much sugar.
5
@Person - nailed it.
@Bena - you are missing the point. Compared to, say, a McGriddle, yes Cheerios would be relatively healthy. But there is still glyphosate and many other toxins present, and you're probably going to put cow's milk on that processed bowl of carbs, aren't you? Fasting until noon, or eating just a piece of (organic) fruit would be much better.
3
When I was a kid in the 60's and 70's, a snack at home often consisted of a small bag of Frito's and a 7-ounce Coke. Maybe after that I would go out and play with friends.
Today, kids plop on the couch and play video games, with a large bag of Doritos (east as much as you want), and a 64-ounce Coke (drink as much as you want) on the coffee table.
Believe me, the pounds add up. T2 diabetes in kids and teens was unheard of 30 years ago. Now it is popping up everywhere.
17
@Erik - I agree with you, the adults largely have themselves to blame, but seeing the obesity epidemic striking kids 12 and under is just heart-breaking because you just know they are not being taught any better.
7
Such understatement! 99% of us face obesity as the definition of it falls to lower and lower BMI and other inaccurate measures that neither take into account body structure nor the results of evolution.
3
@sterileneutrino - LOL good one, yeah that's it, we're not a nation of the obese, we're just a nation of miscategorized elite, muscle-dense athletes. Please.
12
How about establishing a ceiling BMI for receiving disability payments?
2
Tell that to any paraplegic or quadruplegic or person with muscular dystrophy etc. How insensitive of you. If you have a debilitating stroke or get hit by a car and you can’t exercise and your BMI goes up, remember these words you’ve uttered.
13
I agree, Will. If the obese had to pay for all the consequences of their choice to become and remain obese, I suspect we'd have a LOT fewer of them. As it stands, however, everyone else has to pay for their self-inflicted diseases.
@Mike - how does one's BMI just go up on its own? If an organism expends less energy, then it needs to consume less energy.
No one has to become or remain obese, no one.
Subsidizing corn and sugar over fruits and vegetables seems like the wrong choice in retrospect
37
@Ted B
Corn is my favorite vegetable and it's a natural whole grain. Animals love it, too.
2
@Ron—Only animals love corn according to Europeans. A friend of mine from Tuscany said, “Americans love corn. But in Italy corn is what we feed pigs.” They do like polenta in some places there, though.
3
I find this hard to believe because I feel one sees less severely obese people these days. I have noticed that people in the big coastal metropolitan areas are less obese than let’s say people in TX or Ohio. I have been visiting TX for the past 20 years fairly regularly. In the nineties I was shocked to see so many morbidly obese people there compared to NYC. Now, this number seems to be down somewhat. People seem to be more aware of the consequences of eating junk food and drinking sodas.
4
@Karen B. you may be in the bubble. I agree with your observation where I live - maybe the high cost of living is a correlated factor. People have more money to eat well and value high quality foods more in SF and NY. I went to San Diego recently and was totally shocked to see so many morbidly obese people around. I would have thought people in SoCal take more care over their appearance but instead you see candy stores and sweets on every corner... add to that the car culture and a sedentary lifestyle.
3
@Karen B. you may be in the bubble. I agree with your observation where I live - maybe the high cost of living is a correlated factor. People have more money to eat well and value high quality foods more in SF and NY. I went to San Diego recently and was totally shocked to see so many morbidly obese people around. I would have thought people in SoCal take more care over their appearance but instead you see candy stores and sweets on every corner... add to that the car culture and a sedentary lifestyle. By the way, San Diego is often used as a test market for product testing since it approximates the US market overall.
3
@Karen B.
Right, I live in lower Manhattan, and most people here are thin. But many of the cashiers at Whole Foods are overweight. Wherever renting requires a high income, you'll find a higher percentage of thin people. My building in lower Manhattan is almost entirely non-obese, but most people here have a very high income and have a very high level of education.
5
Have you ever seen an obese person wolf down a supersize meal from a fast food restaurant for lunch, for the 5th time that week, then rail about how “other” people don’t take personal responsibility for their actions, without a single shred of self-awareness? Because I have.
It’s amazing how disconnected from reality the individuals that comprise America are. Watching the “United States” in 2020 is like watching a sports team where each player on a team is equally hostile against their own team mates as they are against their opponents.
The obesity epidemic in this country is not primarily a medical problem. It becomes a medical problem only after the effects of obesity take their toll on people’s bodies. But the primary cause of obesity is a society that is based on egotism and consumption. There’s probably a lot of shame in there too, but... we don’t talk about that because of egotism.
12
@Austin Ouellette Obesity is an economic issue. Food manufacturers include more and more (subsidized) sugar into their products. Food manufacturers have successfully fought every effort to either restrict or tax sugars in foods. Sugar is also one of the most highly subsidized farm crops ($4,000,000,000 /year in Federal subsidies). Meanwhile, how to you expect someone working two minimum wage jobs to afford fresh produce from Whole Foods much less have the time to cook healthy meals?
13
@Al
The only places where healthy food costs more than junk food are in grocery deserts. But, again, people put themselves in a bad spot. If a person working two minimum wage jobs bought some tofu ($1.50 per pound at my grocery store), some chicken broth ($.99), some Siracha ($2.00 for a small bottle) a pack of soba noodles ($1.50), a bag of stir fry veggies ($3.00), a bottle of soy sauce ($2.00) and some eggs ($4.00 per 18 egg carton) they’d be able to eat a healthy, delicious, protein packed dinner every night of the week for $3 per 5 day weeknight.
You know how I know that? I’ve eaten healthy while being broke.
You ever been so broke that you have forgotten where you last saw your bank card was because it was that long ago your bank account had money in it was? That’s how broke I’ve been. Being broke is not an excuse to eat junk food.
5
@Austin Ouellette Do you often watch what other people eat and for days at a time? Please find another way to spend your lunch time. I find it unsettling that you are cataloging what others are eating, counting the number of days they eat their fast food, and then, whether silently or verbally, making a judgment on their choices. You may decide to indulge your vices (we all have at least one) in other ways ... and rightfully so. Please allow these people to indulge their vices as they see fit.
5
It is hard to believe that the US can remain a superpower much longer when two- thirds have what is essentially an incurable chronic disease.
17
@FilmMD Being a superpower is way over rated. We throw money everywhere.......and the countries receiving our money still do whatever they want. If China or Russia wants in on that game, let them have it!
3
@FilmMD - well, we won't be a superpower that much longer anyway because we are in the process of bankrupting ourselves, just like the Roman Empire. It IS funny, though to think what would happen if we were invaded; let alone fight back, half our population couldn't climb two flights of stairs to save their lives.
6
Yes, the subsidies that prop up the sugar industry that is polluting the Gulf. A foreign owned company getting subsidies and foreign sugar being taxed. Of course they heavily donate to the republicans in Florida.
12
I no longer eat out. I don't know half of the junk they put in their food. Too many calories, fat, salt etc. I cook for myself at home. At least I know what and how much I'm eating.
19
@george - The only times I have ever eaten out were to go to an ethnic restaurant like a Thai or dim sum restaurant. It always costs about the same as going to a Jack-in-the-Box but was an actual meal cooked from scratch rather than some processed meat patty and bread made of who knows what. But even that is pretty rare since I can make anything I want at home.
1
And the end game for the obese isn't pretty. For the past 20 years, my aunt has been a) obese, and b) a chain-smoker. About 8 years ago, I was going over to her house to help in the mornings: getting her out of bed and preparing her breakfast. She'd sit all day in an extra sturdy chair, watch television, and eat candy. Smoking like a chimney, eating candy, watching television.
In vain I would try to convince her to walk, even to the end of the driveway.
Then she fell. There was a hospital stay costing hundreds of thousands. Then back to the house. Then another fall. Hundreds of thousands of dollars more. Then the hospital dropped her, breaking both her ankles.
Today she lives in a permanent care facility. Cost for private pay: FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH. The facility was chosen so she can smoke.
Now she lies in bed, all day long, eating candy and watching television. Neither leg works, and now she's decided she doesn't want to use her left arm, so it doesn't work either.
Meanwhile, she whines and moans about the people "down the hall" who are on Medicaid: it's not right she should pay for their care. She whines and moans about little poor kids getting free breakfasts in school: why should she pay for their breakfasts?
What a typical Republican.
Meanwhile, I see her as a role model. A negative role model. I watch what I eat and do Megaformer Pilates 5-6 days a week. I'll be darned if I'll end up like her.
It isn't pretty, but this is a bed of her own making.
43
@lizinsarasota - I wish every person in the U.S. who excuses and rationalizes obesity would read your post.
3
@lizinsarasota
They let her smoke in a care facility ? I'm amazed as even staff is not generally allowed to smoke even in the parking lot of a health care facility-though one does observe this at times. How does a woman with only on working limb of 4 and very obese get heaved into her wheelchair and rolled out to smoke ? Because surely she is not allowed to smoke in bed ?
Although I do believe that her hospital stays have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars . That is absurd as well. Only in America ...
3
The powers that be are doing something about climate change. They are removing all kinds of regulations that help protect us from poisons and thus they are increasing human death rates. Opioids, fatty fried food, pollutants, wars, poverty, and just general hatred of the serfs they brainwashed. It all means fewer people in the long run and that will help with climate change.
3
We've Watched and Watched and Watched This Become the New Normal Over 25 years!
AND, NOW, a National Security Risk!
3
A Doctor recently told me, "You're skinny. For an American."
18
"If we pull more meat out of the American diet, it would help both the environment and weight loss,” she said."
Jane Brody has been promoting the same old same old high-carbohydrate fallacy for 40 years, that has resulted in the current obesity crisis.
The fact is, most meat in the US is consumed with a giant bun, sauce and/or ketchup, french fries with more ketchup, and a large Coke. The meat contains about 300 calories. The rest contains 800 calories or more. So what does she do? Blame the meat.
There is zero evidence that eating steak (without the other junk) causes obesity. None.
36
So true.
5
@Erik - I would argue that eating more than a minimal amount of red meat is not the "ideal" diet health-wise, but otherwise I completely agree with you, lean organic meat is 100x better than processed food-like substances.
3
Heavily-subsidized sugar, corn syrup, white flour making empty-carbo-holics of an entire nation. Maybe vaping industry is promoted and targeted toward the early demise of this obese demographic which must otherwise become but an enduring burden (pun intended) upon all available resources and health services.
"Eat [real] foods. Not too much. Mostly plants." - M Pollan
11
This should be viewed, don’t laugh, as a National Security issue for this country.
8
A lot of nonsense comments about how fat shaming is good and by not doing it we encourage people to be obese. These comments might make the healthier people feel self-righteous, but they are in no way scientific. Studies show that making obese people feel bad about their weight tends to make them even more depressed and stressed, in turn making it even harder to lose weight. Positive encouragement to eat better and exercise more works a lot better than negative reinforcement. Do you really think that obese people need you to tell them they are fat? They know, and they don’t like it. Just because there a couple of fat-positive celebrities doesn’t change the fact that most people who are obese already feel shame about their weight. They don’t need your condescension and contempt.
30
@Ben you're more likely to trigger a binge than anything else. People know they when they are fat. The world constantly reminds them.
6
@Ben - I don't know about "shaming," and of course I'm not advocating being rude or mean to individual obese people, but I do think we need a strong, consistent, factual message that obesity is (1) a personal choice and (2) a very very bad one, that costs society hundreds of billions of dollars and kills tens of thousands every year, and thus will be condemned and punished by society. We "shame" other voluntary bad choices, like smoking and drunk driving and drug dealers, why on earth would we not shame obesity, which causes more harm than all of the above combined?
Second, while many fat people do recognize that they are fat and that it's not a good thing, a remarkable and growing number do not; they say they are "big-boned" or "it's genetics" or think they're "just a few pounds heavy" when they're actually morbidly obese and it is 100% based on their diet and lifestyle. This latter problem is only going to get worse, as obese becomes more and more normalized, and a certain segment of society takes actual pride in ignorance.
2
@UncertaintyPrincipal - I read a study once that concluded that obese people with unrealistic body images can actually be more emotionally healthy than those with more realistic self images.. People who are heavy but see themselves as lighter are more apt to get out and engage with the world. People who know how heavy they are, and how society is apt to view them because of it, are more likely to essentially withdraw and hide at home. Something to think about.
4
If only the evil food corporations would stop forcing me to eat wildly unhealthy doses of things that have been known to be bad for you in excess for the last two decades we wouldn't be doomed to this horrid fate!
4
Might listening to professional dieticians and doctors work better than listening to your neighbor's personal anecdote?
1
@Jim Greenberg - most Western medicine doctors know virtually nothing about nutrition, they are trained to prescribe meds and surgeries (because there's no money to be made if everyone eats a plant-based diet and cancers drop to 10% of the current rate).
3
American's you mean.
STOP SNACKING
9
“Wall-ee”
6
Americans eat too much but love to blame others for their obesity.
8
If we ate an ideal diet, like the Mediterranean diet (much more vegetables, fruit and whole grains, much less meat and sugar and processed) and exercised several hours a day (as our hunter gatherer ancestors did), we would be healthier and live longer.
But eating less meat, sugar, flour and dairy would shrink agricultural industries. For example, most of the corn and soy grown in Iowa is for the unhealthy animals we eat. So if we all chose a healthy diet, Iowa would return to prairie. A smaller meat industry would lead to cleaner water (no more high density feed-lots), more forest, more grassland and cleaner rivers and bays.
Similarly, the health care industry would would contract because chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes would virtually disappear. Health care premiums would decrease. Pre-existing conditions would decrease. Waiting lines for health care would get shorter.
Fast food stores would disappear.
If we want a healthy population and a healthy environment we have to let go of several large for-profit industries. So we would trade our wealth (as measured by our investments in those industries) for our health.
12
@Walter Holemans There is no such thing as a Mediterranean Diet. There are something like 20 countries and hundreds of regions that are on the Mediterranean. The Spanish and others eat a ton of meat. This notion that there are several hundred million fish and vegetable eaters is completely made up.
11
@Walter Holemans People who own stock in those huge food industries would never stand for it - all they want is money, money, money. They simply don't care about the health of us "peasants". And our representatives in turn don't care either. They need all that industry money to stay in power. These giant food companies have also convinced people that it's our "right" to have a 32 oz cola with a 1000 calorie hamburger lunch. Just like it's our "right" to own a machine gun. If people were smart, we wouldn't need so much government regulation, but we're not.
9
Junkfood advertising is regulated in many countries and banned in some. We don't need taxes, simple ban them from advertising, on tv, at movies, in magazines, on social media.
3
Actually, calories are cheap and easy to get. High nutrition food, not so much. A lot of "real food" is now sold for it's eye appeal, not nutritional content and loads of perfectly good food gets composted lest the premium cost of produce drops or it shows up in less affluent markets.
We live far away from where we work and driving or other forms of motorized transport replaces walking. Long days with lots of snack options but little real food in and around the workplace. Tight schedules that make a quick packaged meal more accessible than a well cooked meal.
Stress and tension complete the package we live in. All those stress chemicals that add to the problem and we have today's unhealthy society.
Obesity is a symptom of a nation with serious problems that go way beyond the call for more self-control when it comes to calorie intake.
This is not a simple problem and simplistic answers will never resolve the real issues.
11
I was going through some things of my mother's the other day and came across a newspaper clipping of her and a dozen or so other women from the mid-sixties. Not an overweight, much less obese, woman in the bunch. I don't know about the lifestyle of those other ladies, but for my mother it was cook and eat at home, almost every single day. She cooked, cleaned, sewed, gardened, etc., moving constantly throughout the day. The only time she made dessert was for someone's birthday. Chips and crackers and sodas were reserved for a stop at the gas station on a road trip. And we ate many a meatless meal.
It's different now. You cannot eat the typical American diet and live the typical American sedentary lifestyle and maintain a healthy weight, as evidenced by the growing prevalence of obesity.
27
@Citizen-of-the-World - Ah, yes, the sixties women. They were also prescribed speed by their doctors for their weight loss:)) That's how they got all of that house work done:))
6
Alarming. And unlike ‘Still Waiting’, I DO believe these predictions (I live in Iowa, after all). I imagine that many people who are already obese believe they are only overweight. It would be helpful if the author offered a formula by which individuals could measure obesity and severe obesity.
The benefits of maintaining proper weight are realized daily—not only in longevity of life. It’s not so hard to maintain a healthy body weight once one is aware of the deception—intentional or not—of the food industry. Overcoming the ethos of eating badly requires determination and sometimes ingenuity. Perhaps this article will serve as impetus.
6
There are other environmental factors that this article should have at least mentioned: stress, overwork and lack of sleep all make people eat more; lack of exercise; hormones or hormone-like pollutants in the environment may also be a factor.
16
@engaged observer I was wondering about the environmental pollutants bit, and also the difference between processed food, and food-you-make-from-scratch-yourself. Professor Tim Spector (King's College London) is fascinating on the microbiome, and how twins can be one fat, one thin on an identical diet. His book the Diet Myth is worth a read - it's left me thinking that the obesity crisis is (clearly) about lifestyle, but is a lot more complicated than just "calories in" - it may also be our whole ecosystem.
9
I finished my 30 year career as a nurse as a diabetes specialty nurse... both type 1&2 diabetes are devastating if left uncontrolled. It’s epidemic proportions and there are not enough providers to care for the patients.
I worked with patients who drank 2 liters of regular soda a day and many were extremely sedentary.
Another epidemic that is related to this but largely under reported is fatty liver disease.
What we put into our body how much and how much physical energy we extend are largely related to health.
People have a responsibility to do what they can for their health ....boxed, processed, junk and fast foods are really not cheaper. I also think it’s not unreasonable that a person couldn’t carve out 30 minutes a day to be active.
There are many things that people can choose to do to maintain good health especially if you live with a chronic disease.
23
I don't know that I believe these predictions. I don't think the growth in obese and severely obese people will track the same way. I believe the growth is surely to plateau for a number of reason. One, some people just won't get fat regardless of their diets. I wager nearly all of use know at least one or two people like that. Two I don't think you will see a decline in how many people enjoy active lifestyles. Lifestyles which largely preclude being obese and severely obese. Thirdly, I think the number of people are making conscience choices about what they putting into their bodies is growing, not shirking. Lastly, being fit is even more of status symbol that is has been previously. Because of that the same way people want the latest gizmo, nice car, nice house, or what have you you will have people chasing the goal of being in good physical shape for no other reason than to be in good physical shape. That all being said I do think it is also likely within some populations people being very overweight is likely to increase both in the number of people and in the average amount they are overweight. I mean, yes there certainly are obese people in Utah. But such a huge percentage of people move here or don't move away because of the outdoor active lifestyle possible here I just don't see that as something we have to worry about in our neck of the woods. And for both good and bad people tend to emulate their peers.
3
That’s a lot of weak reasoning just to argue against a soda tax.
3
@Steve Tax soda all you want. I rarely drink the stuff. I also think it would be great if vegetables and fruits were subsidized instead of corn syrup and other unhealthy ingredients. Ideally healthy food would cost less than unhealthy food. Our government wastes so much money on the military and subsidizing profitable industries, we could make it happen if we had the will.
4
@Still Waiting... it's different in different parts of the country. I live in the Midwest and am surrounded by fat people every day; not all of them are 300 lbs morbidly obese, but almost all are overweight. When I travel out to Colorado, however, I am amazed at the relative lack of the obese. If you took a trip to the South or the Midwest I bet you would be shocked.
2
i jokingly captioned a picture of my 10 yo daughter's soccer team "the obesity epidemic rages on" because the players ranged from skinny to skinnier. is it safe to say that active middle-class suburban kids are not the at-risk population we're talking about here? more to the point, isn't poverty the real pathogen?
20
@orionoir - poverty is one excuse often offered up, but there are loads of fat rich people too (maybe not as many morbidly obese, but still plenty of plain old fat.
1
I always focused on my cardio pulmonary system, as I have weak lungs. I figured if my body can do a hard cardio workout, the weight and eating will follow. Has not worked out perfectly, as I have type 2 diabetes at 70, but I control weight by exercise. I am puzzled how little exercise is mentioned in these types of articles. I would choose good cardio workouts over good eating as a means of health/weight control.
5
It is hard to outrun your fork - a snickers bar worth of calories takes 1 hour of moderate cardio to make up for. The input side of the equation is the biggest challenge.
9
@Arne Gerhard -It doesn't work exactly that way. It isn't a matter of working off x calories and losing y amount of weight. I lost 10% of my weight in 4 months by walking around the very hilly neighborhood for one hour per day. According to the numbers, I should not have lost that amount of weight, but I did. I did not change what I ate. As strange as it seems, even fidgeting burns off calories.
5
@gratis - moving one's body is obviously an important part of the equation, not just for weight but overall fitness, mental health, etc. However, my understanding is that, as Arne references, it is harder to out-exercise a bad diet than it is to out-eat a sedentary lifestyle. In other words, do both, but if it comes right down to it it's better to get the clean diet part right.
4
The commenters who state that your gain weight with age are half right. You gain weight if you continue to eat the same amount. I'm an 89 year old 5' 11" white male. I played tennis, squash, handball and badminton singles until 19 years ago when physical problems intervened. I go to the gym every day for light aerobics and weights. My waist has been 36 for 40 years, but my weight has gone from 180 to 165. The weight loss has been muscle, which is reflected in the reduced weights I lift. Fortunately, the calories discarded to maintain a svelte body are accounted for by alcohol that doesn't taste as good as it once did.
7
@OldTrojan - great comment! That is one of my pet peeves too, people who think that gaining weight is just a natural part of aging and who use that as their excuse to do nothing.
Well, Donny isn't helping by turning back the clock on school lunches. Also, epigenetic has been shown to change gene expression in food/weight related genes, so the idea that genetics can't be involved is bunk.
12
@Jennie Epigenetics is not genetic change. It is change in gene activation and expression due to environment. The genes are the same. What has changed is the environment that has change what genes are activated and how they function. It isn't that we have suddenly developed a new fat gene en masse. It is that we have changed what and how we eat, stopped moving and gotten fat which has changed how our genes are expressed. Unfortunately much of this is set in-utero, so the kids are, to put it politely, basically been set up for a life of early onset chronic illness. To paraphrase James Carville, its the environment, stupid.
5
@Jackson - And mom needs to watch her kid to make sure he isn't swapping it for junk at the cafeteria table.
1
@David
I agree, epigenetics is a part of gene regulation that is more permanent than most and can be passed on in your genes. It's genetic in that sense.
the author points to sugary beverage industry, but this leaves out the great and righteous american farmer, agri business and food manufacturing industries. All taxpayers subsidize these groups to produce low quality commodity crops to be converted to fructose and other simple syrups and sugars OR to feed cattle to keep pushing beef to market. . . .
In short, our government officials are bought by industry and those industries want to ensure healthful food is not mass produced or brought to market to compete with their food 'products'.
Americans vote for these representatives and policies (especially at the state levels). Yet we remain surprised by all the factors that benefit companies and not citizens. . .
22
I had a serious weight problem most of my life. I was severely obese. There are lots of reasons why people over eat, and I've spent years getting to the bottom of mine. Now, at 60, I'm in very good health, almost at my high school weight. In the late 90's, I lost over 150 pounds: kept it off for almost 20 years. I did a low carb diet ( which I would not do again). I also started exercising, and I spent a lot of time learning about things like target heart rate. I do high intensity interval training , lots of walking, and weights. A few years ago, I gained back about 50 pounds due to inactivity from injuries ( accident, unrelated to exercise) and feeling sorry for myself over it. So about a year ago, I started an app based diet that pairs with activity monitors on a smart phone or wearable. It has helped so much. No more counting carbs, or cutting out sweets. I can eat anything I want: just not more than I can burn. I log all my food ( not hard). I actually now KNOW how many calories I am consuming and how many I am burning. If you eat more calories than you burn you will gain weight. Most of the time, a restaurant dinner will have enough food in it for me for 2-3 meals. Calories in vs. calories out. The math is solid. Learn to cook. Simple healthy meals are easy, and quick, to prepare.
29
@Michelle
Or eat half of that restaurant dinner and take the other half home. Or if a person you are sharing the meal with wants the same entree split one portion. I do that all the time. For the second option you do be mindful of tipping generously.
14
I find it ironic to witness the craze in cooking shows and reality TV cooking competitions at the same time that people eat out so much and rely on microwave meals. There is a story there about wanting to do the right thing and eat healthy vs. the time constraints imposed on us by our over scheduled lives in the U.S.
Who "lingers" over a meal in this country except maybe at Thanksgiving?
6
@Robert kennedy - "no time" is just another standard fat person excuse. The average person in America spends what, 40 hours a week or more, in front of a TV or other screens? I think they could all squeeze in 30 mins a day to take a walk and/or cook a nutritious meal.
1
@Robert kennedy - I'm the wrong guy to ask. I grew up watching Julia Child and can make anything I want for dinner and usually spend only 20 minutes start to finish. I put on a pot of rice and ask myself, do I want broccoli-beef in an oyster-garlic sauce or bi-bim-bop? Or maybe I want something even quicker so I skip the rice and make a Thai curry-chicken soup over Somen noodles.
Martha Stewart has nothing on me. I make my own sweet pickled ginger to go with homemade sushi rolls, bake my own bread, and even roast my own coffee at home.
Thanksgiving? Halibut steaks broiled in homemade chili-pepper oil from 5 different types of peppers I grow. Plus sweet-potato walnut pie.
Julia Child served me well. I even got hired to work in a college chemistry lab once because I did my test for the lab director as if I were Julia herself doing a cooking show. She hired me on the spot:) "Next, we light the bunsen burner"
2
@UncertaintyPrincipal There is no such thing as an 'average person'. It's a statistic.
What do you know about the 'they' you think can do this or that?
This is bad news for air travelers. The seats are getting smaller while the passengers are getting bigger. Last week I was on a flight on a smaller plane. One woman took up at least a seat and a quarter, not counting her arms taking up even more space. Luckily, there was an empty seat where her seatmate could move. The woman sitting ahead of me was also large but had no seatmate. It is not PC to fat shame, but those of us who are thinner, don't want to share the space we paid for with a person who is extra large. BTW- I am equally irked by those who recline their seats into my space. The airlines could fix that problem easily by not allowing seats to recline. Charging bigger customers for the two seats they use seems to be a bigger problem and results in bad press for fat-shaming. Why should the rest of us have to suffer?
22
I wonder why there have not been a flurry of lawsuits over this very thing. The seats are horrible... even for thin people.
4
@S.L. - what I do not understand is why airlines don't start charging by the pound. I mean if it's $75 extra to check an extra bag, that probably weighs only 50 lbs or less, why are they charging the 300 pounders the same fare as the fit 150 lbs people??
5
"Powers that be are doing very little"?! How about self-control? Exercising? Eating a health diet? I realize these are novel concepts in this day and age (and, in this society) where everything bad that happens is someone else's fault! (Trump?)
Last time I checked, in France, you can eat whatever you want, and, as much as you want, without "the powers that be" telling you, or, deciding what, and, how much of it you can have.
15
@Alex Erdeljan Some of the biggest "fat shamers" I have ever encountered were French people living here in the US. I'm pretty sure the societal prohibitions against those who are overweight or who are seen to be overeating are pretty widespread and serious in French society.
6
@Alex Erdeljan Comparing us to France is laughable. Kids here eat a ton of processed foods and snacks, as do their parents. "Convenience" foods eaten on the run in a car are just not the norm in France, as far as I could tell on my last visit. When I travelled there I didn't see one "kids" menu with chicken nuggets. People learn to eat from family and friends. It's hard to make good choices when you don't even know what they are or when you see your parents and teachers eating poorly. Unregulated fast food restaurants pushing giant portions don't help.
17
@Alex Erdeljan: smoking rates are more in France relative to the USA (27% France versus 15.1% in the USA). Smoking decreases hunger for most people.
14
The myth of the jolly fat person has long ago been debunked (and by me, personally, as well) -- but. I work in an "organic" "health food" food "cooperative" market, and I can testify to the fact that the food fanatics have no sense of humor at all. That's why I always loudly order my food with extra gluten, please.
13
How many obese people take proton pump inhibitors for heart burn? Among my old friends those who do not take heart burn medicine are thinner than those who do.
6
Yeah. I’m 63 and lost 20 pounds to get to a normal BMI three years ago. I was taking 6 meds a day, among them a PPI for a bad case of GIRD. I was so miserable that I thought my life was over. Everything was out of control.
After the weight loss I’m down to 2 meds per day (blood pressure and cholesterol at lowest dose.) I no longer have GIRD or take a PPI. My kidney function which had been problematic went to normal. I blame the GIRD on my weight and the kidney issues on the PPI. I feel great.
On talking to my doctor he said that going to a normal BMI was better than all the meds I could ever take and that if all his patients did that he’d be out of a job.
Weight loss is hard and our society makes it even harder. But the only medical advice I give to friends (when asked) is to go to a normal weight. But I agree entirely with the points raised here: our pursuit of profit is killing us. All this must get rational again, but it’s in the interest of too many companies making too much money for it to stop.
8
Doctors are changing standards for what counts as overweight so that soon, everyone except skinny people will "have a problem".
6
According to The NY Times, the FAA assigns "average weight" to men as 200 lbs., 179 lbs. to women, and 76 lbs. to children under 13. So far, no airline has yet thought of doubling those figures to account for today's obese multitudes.
4
@Rea Tarr would be interesting to know what the obese percentages are among air travelers, though. I bet it's lower than general pop. I flight fairly frequently (4-5x per year) and I rarely see a super obese person (someone who needs more than 1 seat) on a plane.
2
That’s because this is a class issue.
2
At 6 ft tall, I’m 20 pounds heavier than I’d like to be, but I’m muscled for 60 and by no means obese. I work out 5 days a week, and I eat pretty healthily. My sweet tooth and the availability of snacks is the cause of my excessive weight. It has taken a lot of work and a lot of discipline not to get fat. Sometimes I get so tired!
I see people who do less for their health making more money than I do. I wonder if it’s worth it to waste all that time in the gym and on my bicycle. I go to the supermarket and compare the small piles of fresh foods I buy to the heaps of prepared and packed stuff other people buy, and it dismays me that I pay twice as much for half the volume.
If it’s this hard for me, how much harder must it be for those who don’t have the income to buy pears at $2.59 per pound, expensive hard cheeses, and fresh vegetables? Fresh chicken breasts? Frozen fried strips are cheaper, easier to cook, last longer in the freezer, and are loaded with fat, preservatives, and chemicals.
The author says food is cheap. It’s not. It’s the wrong food that’s cheap. Potato chips never go bad, so they are always there, waiting and tempting. Resistance is futile. Sometimes I want to surrender.
87
@Stevie
You are so right! Thanks for taking the time for writing that. I’d forgotten how hard it was to choose healthy. It is interesting that choosing to live healthy is hard.
14
@Stevie It's difficult to eat both healthy and cheap, but possible. Frozen veggies are as nutritious as fresh, last nearly forever, and are inexpensive. I'm also eagle-eyed for whatever produce is on sale. This week, it was apples for $1.29 per pound and strawberries for $1.50 a pint.
Unfortunately, it does make shopping more of a chore and take more time to plan, time which not everyone has.
2
@Stevie,
You have the answer tailored to your size, i.e., 'My sweet tooth and the availability of snacks is the cause of my excessive weight.'
This is an important breakthrough, and you're presently a member of an increasing number of victims in battling The Tooth Fairy.
'Tricking your brain' into believing that dried apple slices are more delightful than a box of assorted candy is an ongoing, but worthy challenge. If you start consuming more of the apples, the day may come when your favorite former treats are too sweet for your taste.
Keep your bicycle and give its tires a rest. Check out the ingredients for an Irish Stew, and the making of this stressful novelty may ensure some lost calories, while giving you a feeling of edible achievement.
Stay within your budget, and don't fret about other shoppers' food carts, while keeping in mind that while temptation is irresistible, you are made of stronger and stouter mettle.
1
Healthy eating should be taught in all elementary schools. The fact that lots of American children cannot recognize and name common fruits and vegetables tells you they are doomed to be obese.
9
The self-checkout section of the local market has walls that are very literally covered — wallpapered, if you will — with candy bars. If you sneeze one will fall into your shopping bag.
That’s 300 calories or more — an 8th of an adult male’s entire daily needs — in one brightly colored little wrapper and there are sooooo many, right there.
Nuf sed?
13
We need a "New Deal" multi-pronged type approach to attack this problem. There are plenty of solutions, but the government has to put its people first, not its businesses. And people need to accept a bit of a benevolent dictatorship approach to the problem. (Remember the "Soda Ban"! How DARE you restrict my right to drink copious amounts of sugar!! and the huge corporations, How dare you restrict my ability to push this addictive sugar substance and make more $ while sickening the population! Guess who won?)
We are killing ourselves with our culture and our "rights" and the government's subservience to corporations and not people.
9
Great time for the Trump administration to tear apart school lunches and make them toxic with loaded salts, sugars, and less fruits, veggies and fiber.
15
You can blame the food industry, but you also have to look at culture. Obesity is not evenly distributed throughout the country, but is more prevalent in the South. People in Colorado and Oregon are less obese but have the same food choices as people in Alabama or Mississippi.
It's easy to point to one factor or another, but I suspect the causes of obesity reflect a wide range of factors, including culture.
For example, at our kids' softball games, parents bring the worst junk as a snack, such as graham crackers and juice boxes. And this just before dinner.
I think parents--including myself--are one of the big culprits in allowing our kids to get hooked on garbage.
8
@Scott Cole I wonder if there is also a correlation with relative levels of education among the states you have named?
“limiting access to huge portions of sugar-sweetened soda.” How about none? It’s all about “moderation”, right? Can’t have a “nanny state” can we? The USDA Dietary guidelines are written by the salt, sugar, egg, beef industry lobbyists. Nothing is going to change. They have a disinformation machine working 24/7.
7
I've never owned a car. Ever. EH-vher. I'm convinced it's the reason my weight is healthy.
3
@Ellen I have owned a car since age 23. I am 61, and weigh within 5 lbs of my high school weight (5'10" 132 lbs in 1976, 136 lbs this morning).
So that is my ancedote.
13
@Ellen
Being car free definitely ‘forces’ you to be more active, especially for people who don’t like to be active.
1
I do my own gardening and house cleaning along with daily walks. I have the time now that I am retired at 67. When I was working I was 15 lbs heavier. There were triggers that caused me to over eat but I found what they were and try to remind myself to not over eat in response to them. A counselor told me about emotional eating which I was doing because of severe anxiety. Keeping a food diary and taking long weekly hikes with the Sierra Club also helps. It was a few small changes that made a difference in losing my excess weight. IMHO If people are time stressed it is difficult to keep from gaining weight.
16
Incidentally we are already, all of us, paying for them (this problem) with our health insurance premiums, life insurance premiums, etc.
33
When my psychologist state license was active, I was consulted to help screen patients for bariatric surgery (a number of insurances required it). I had done a research review and study in preparation and learned a number of things about morbid obesity, primarily including it have as many as 30 co-morbidities. No-one should be abused or insulted because of a medical disorder--which morbid obesity has become, in epidemic amount. Thereby, I would support the movement against "fat shaming." Unfortunately, that movement is typically associated with a kind of correction through the veritable celebration of people who are obese. I would regard that association as negating the whole intent of promoting proper behavior and healthy living.
12
This article fails to adequately recognize two factors that lead to obesity in America. Cultural factors and income. People are now encouraged to celebrate their bodies. Any criticism of overweight is condemned as fat shaming, a social taboo. Health concerns are secondary if not outright ignored. Then there are low income people whose food budget is limited and know that processed food is often more economical, significantly cheaper than organic produce and meat. There’s the corporate food industry who encourages the sale of their processed products by offering discount coupons. Obesity is not just about how much you eat. It’s also about the quality of the food you eat.
26
@Rose Gazeeb How does fat people celebrating their bodies cause others to become obese? I don't see the logic here.
4
One critical change folks should make is why we choose what we eat. Advertising influences us make food choices based on what gives us pleasure. The result is that food choices for many people are based on immediate satisfaction; what taste good or gives us a quick sugar boost. Our food choices should be based on what is best for our health. Instead of looking at a food and deciding what to eat based on instant gratification, we should be choosing based on nutrition. Nature designed food as fuel for our body. If we make food choice based on nutrition, then it is better for our health. A baked potato (plain) instead of mashed potatoes or french fries. Fresh fruit instead of a slice of fruit pie. Our taste buds will adapt and change, ice water taste great and is refreshing when you continually drink it. You will lose your desire for soda. Most important, eating based on nutrition and your health will help you feel good all day and every day instead just in the moments you were eating empty calories.
13
To choose just one factor in obesity: The prevalence of food (and the willingness of Americans to ingest it)
has gotten to the point where I now avoid most types of entertainment venues, because food seems more important than the particular entertainment; at Disney you can spend hours waiting in line... and eating. The actual entertainment lasts for a fraction of that time.
At any ‘fair’ , sports event, or concert, we are surrounded by food stalls, little of it any good at major venues where only big chains of burgers and pizzas can be found. I now find fairs to be primarily about food, even if other merchandise and activities may be found.
This comes from someone who worries about going hungry and appreciates that food is available, but it shouldn’t be so dominant.
6
"Our genetics haven’t changed in the last 30 years."
Wrong ...Our genetics haven't changed appreciably in the last 30000 years at least as far as our metabolism is concerned, hence the obesity problem.
19
@mlane
The point of the quote is that we can't blame genetics for the soaring rate of obesity over the past 30 years.
24
@mlane
Um, that was her point.
3
Remember the movie Wall E where the humans sat in recliners and only drank liquid food. We are almost there. A bit scary.
There are so many things to blame: from fats and sugars, plentiful food, convenience of eating out, machines that do the physical labor, easy transportation, the sedentary recreation of screen time. We will never turn back the clock on any of these. Separate from “exercise” there is a marked trend to reduce any physical movement. Information flows now without any motion from us, vacuum cleaners are robots, cars are becoming self drive, even or shopping is done remotely. As in most things, individuals and personal decisions are the only things to put the brakes on the obesity epidemic. Maybe emphasis in school cirriculum would be more beneficial than some of the subjects currently required.
18
@Annie Farrar
I just wanted to point out that driving a car is not a physical activity. It is somewhat disturbing and goes to the crux of the problem that maybe many people think driving is a physical activity.
1
Just like our addiction to hydrocarbons we subsidize bad food. From high fructose corn syrup to all the other monoculture crops the government pays to poison us with. It’s why a “big gulp” cost 75 cents in a one use plastic bottle and broccoli cost 3$/lb. until Americans demand that we stop paying extra for our bad health this will continue. Given the long lines at fast food places, I’m thinking this is going to change.
12
@AL People are not forced buy big gulps. Water is available everywhere, either out of tap, or at the store, or in a restaurant.
The CDC has historical charts showing obesity by state. Go through the maps from the earliest to now. Obesity starts in NJ and Missouri and spreads gradually, like a virus. The research on obesity tends to show that it is social. That is, once a community tips so that many people are fat, it becomes more acceptable to be fat. If you go to the supermarket or the mall or the school meeting and lots of people are obese, then the pressure on you to keep fit is less. Also, what and how often you eat are also social.
26
The cause of obesity in adults that is largely unaddressed by public policy is overconsumption. At a minimum, daily total calories recommended need to be adjusted downward as we age consistent with metabolism to avoid gaining weight and to lose weight. There are no recommendations or information disseminated to clearly communicate appropriate calorie and nutrient consumption consistent with healthy weight and muscle mass/percentage body fat.
5
I think there’s evidence that our genetics HAVE changed, through epigenetics. And that the culprit might be environmental exposure to chemicals. Furthermore, some researchers believe that the decrease in smoking, the push for low-fat diets and even dieting itself have some role to play in our ever-increasing size. So, while poor diet and lack of exercise are obviously major causes of the epidemic, it seems like there’s more to the story that we haven’t figured out yet.
16
Yes! It’s irresponsible for the NYT to print “genetics haven’t changed in 30 years”. Epigenetics may be an important factor. What your mother are when she was pregnant, her stress level and what you ate as a baby and toddler all likely play a part in obesity, and can affect your genes.
3
Obesity is caused by more calories in versus out, consistently, over time. It is maintained by a complex interplay of diet, physical activity, psychology, and biological changes resulting from the former three. We overeat easily available high calorie/sugar foods, we have sedentary jobs, we do not unplug from news/media that makes us anxious, depressed, stressed, or simply not present, we don't get enough sleep, we don't take days off, and the cycle repeats (for Americans disenfranchised by society for some aspect of their identity/culture, add additional daily stressors). This is a hard cycle to break without prioritizing meal prep, exercise, and sleep over funner, easier, cheaper things and setting strong boundaries around unplugging (which many jobs do not permit employees to do anyway). Then the onset of physical de-conditioning, depression/disempowerment/shame, and chronic diseases/pain creeps in, making it even harder to initiate and maintain the changes that would make us healthier.
We've been trying to make policies based on what causes obesity, not what maintains it. Understandably, when we speak about addressing obesity, conversation centers around food. But a lasting obesity intervention means a lifestyle/cultural overhaul that allows all Americans to prioritizes wellness over work, and frees up psychological bandwidth to choose the harder option of eating healthier or working out. I don't see that happening in the near future.
13
@Marie
The strictly interpreted "calories in/calories out" explanation of weight maintenance has been debunked.
The consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates, particularly in the massive volumes common in the US, has a disproportionately damaging and cumulative effect on metabolism and weight. Even when adding exercise to the equation, counting calories is not enough. The nutritional quality of those calories -- along with their effect on insulin resistance -- is crucial.
13
@JR Someone who needs 1,500 daily calories and eats 3,000 calories of tofu or 3,000 calories of marshmallows will gain weight over time. The maintaining of weight gain happens from the metabolic changes you reference in response to a high sugar diet, along with the other factors I described. My point is focus on food/nutrition is not a silver bullet. Self-monitoring and exercise seems to be the only thing that works long-term (check out the National Weight Control Registry research) but we need to create conditions where this is more possible for more people.
2
@Marie
Thank you for this reminder. I've gained weight since I tore my meniscus and had a long wait for surgery. Generally I spend the summer gardening and swimming and some walking but could do none from May 4-September. Then I had physical therapy through December to recover strength and range of motion. I still fit in all of my clothes but do not like the way that I look.
I've never in my life had a weight problem until I became post menopausal and orthopedically interfered with. I now see that I have failed to recalibrate for these things. Thank you for putting it so well.
I've never understood why Americans eat so much. Why are restaurant portions gigantic? Why does soda cost less than bottled water? How can a bag of chips cost less than a head of lettuce?
Somehow, we've completely turned our food system on its head. The things that should be subsidized and cheaply available are expensive and difficult to obtain and the things that should cost more and taxed are cheap, available anywhere, and subsidized by the government.
206
@Mr. Adams People who eat poor quality food that doesn't have the nutrients they need sometimes eat more of the same to try to get those nutrients. Most Americans who eat fast food and other processed foods don't know that what they are eating is cheap and wouldn't even be considered food in countries where the people are healthy and eat well.
If the ingredients list is two inches long, it's not food.
3
@Mr. Adams
Restaurant portions are far too large. When I receive my food in a restaurant I automatically request a box to take my leftovers.
When my husband and I split an entree, the servers look at us like we're crazy or cheap (or both.) I always tip a bit extra because I'm not trying to be cheap, just sensible.
5
@Riley,
'The servers look at us like we're crazy or cheap' does not make for good business, and they are fortunate to get a tip, let alone a little extra.
In the last century, patrons might have felt a bit uncomfortable when asking for a 'Doggie Bag', but no more. Now, it's more to the flavor of a 'Wrap-Up', and an offer from the servers with a cordial smile to provide the patrons with this sensible request.
It has been estimated that approximately $145 billion annually is spent due to food wastage.
Obesity, barely heard of in the 60s, appears to begin in childhood in the times we are living, where the toddler looks well-fed, then healthy, going on to robust in adolescence and finally reaches the stage of the beginning of obesity in adulthood.
Our poor eating habits and bill of fare are now expanding into developed and developing countries, while America appears to lag behind in its knowledge of healthy nutrition.
Earlier, received a catalog in the mail of one of our most popular apparel wear for all American collars, and the lovely model on the front-cover was heading toward obesity.
Food shoppers, whether they live in urban or rural areas, are beginning to catch on to the fact that cheap treats come at a price, and there is reason to believe that some of the additives in the above are 'addicting'.
Ever hear of anyone with a life-craving for fresh string-beans 'au natural', without a topping of sugary walnuts, or a sauce of some kind?
Happy Valentine's Day!
If there is one disease you want to avoid, it is diabetes. And if there is one way to avoid diabetes, it is to maintain a healthy weight. Normalizing being fat is dangerous. Body shaming could actually be useful from a health perspective. It could save someone's life.
29
@Herr Andersson : if you can find a single example of a fat person who was attacked, shamed, nagged or pressured to lose weight -- and it resulted in a healthy weight loss of a large amount of weight! -- I'd love to read about it.
In general, it is well established in obesity research that nagging, pressure, SHAMING actually result in weight gain -- not weight loss.
3
@Herr Andersson Shame is not helpful; it distracts from the key issue and gives people a reason to tune you out. In order to make healthy choices, people need to care about themselves. Shaming people makes them feel bad, and when people feel bad, they lose motivation and double down on the self-harm. People need support and resources to make these changes. Scaring people about the consequences of their behavior isn't helpful either; people respond poorly, compared to when they are hopeful and excited to know that they can make themselves well. Support and kindness will always prevail. In changing my diet, I looked for support from my friends, and that helped a lot. It doesn't take very long to begin to feel a whole lot better, and that is some of the best motivation of all.
2
Thank you for very important and timely column. Everyone is complaining about rising health care costs and insurance premiums. It is very expensive to manage the chronic illnesses associated with obesity. Perhaps if we ate less and healthier food and exercised more, our healthcare costs would come down. Democrats - get on board with HEALTHY FOOD FOR ALL initiatives and workplace sponsored exercise opportunities. Example: Why do I have to pay more for products that are "unsweetened" or "no/low salt"? I can afford to do this but a lot of people cannot. I understand that it costs more produce a product in smaller quantities - on the theory that people want sweets and salt, so sells more. Government: Figure out a way to change this around - can't be that hard. If people want salt and sugar in all their foods, they can add it.
7
@MB California There is a restaurant-style cafeteria where I work. Healthier foods, such as salad bar items or turkey burgers, cost less than beef cheeseburgers, as the healthier options are slightly subsidized by the company. Yes, you can still choose to eat the beef cheeseburger and french fries or multiple pizza slices if that is what you want. But you will save a little cash by choosing the healthier options, and maybe even develop some new habits in doing so.
13
@MB California
Agreed. Go to any grocery store, Walmart etc and try to buy something simple like unsalted cashews. They're rarely found and when they are, they tend to be more expensive than the salted ones. Why is this? Why do I have to pay more or buy specialty food products just to get unsalted cashews? Why should the lack of salt require it to be priced higher?
21
@MB California - agreed. The other easy change would be to allow recipients of benefits like SNAP to buy only healthful foods with the funds; it's sickening (literally) to look in poor obese people's shopping carts.
7
I see a lot of comments urging people to walk more and get out of their cars. There are many areas in our cities, and even rural areas, where this is not a safe option, especially for women and seniors. Add “food deserts” and lack of affordable recreational facilities in to the mix and it’s obvious low income people face even bigger obstacles in attaining a healthy lifestyle.
26
@MF
There were undoubtedly more "food deserts" 50 years ago than there are today. And there were as few or fewer recreational facilities then as now. Walking, running, calisthenics, jumping rope -- all these activities and many more are affordable by everyone who is able-bodied. Your arguments hold no water at all.
5
@MF Every county and city has a school with a track. Most cities have indoor malls, perfect for walking. If you want to do it bad enough you can find a way. Excuses are just that - excuses.
7
@MF - obstacles, yes, but easily surmountable ones IF the person isn't ignorant on matters of health and nutrition. Not saying this is you, but *usually* the people offering such excuses are just making excuses; the person has got to care. Maybe if people had to pay for the medical consequences of their poor choices they would make better ones?
1
Another crisis ignored by the Trump gang and GOP gang members. They are probably meeting to figure out how to profit from it. They certainly aren’t going to provide health care access or funding for it.
14
@BB - I would fully support funding health/obesity education, but paying for the medical issues people have themselves created by choosing to become and remain obese is hardly going to help.
3
Of course, blame Trump......
1
It's a shame that an otherwise well-written article ignores the most recent findings: Fat does not make us fat. Sugar and salt are the real culprits, and fat makes us eat more because of taste, so in that way it adds calories.
Sugar especially changes how our bodies metabolize food. It is a direct contributor to obesity, even without changing calories very much.
In the NY Times, articles have run that show a ketogenic diet can actually lower weight, at least in the short term. It does no one any good to promote policies that don't work.
13
The antidotes to obesity are well known: eating fresh foods especially vegetables, avoiding packaged foods and drinks with chemicals on the labels, observing portion size about the palm of your hand, walking 30 minutes a day, sleeping at least seven hours. Limiting alcohol.
Nonetheless, our corporate masters make and promote processed, sugary foods; offer low paying, insecure jobs that create stress which in turn fuels unhealthy addictions and compromises sleep; and then sell our sickened population expensive drugs few can afford.
We can say each person is responsible, but we are all part of a larger society that influences us and defines our choices in big and small ways. America is sick today and getting sicker. We need to change course, individually and collectively.
38
You can thank the fat acceptance movement and their crusade of spreading pro-obesity pseudoscience. It’s no longer about body acceptance, which I was fine with. Now it has turned into a nihilistic movement of anti-fitness.
25
@Jay - I could not agree more. Teaching "acceptance" of people and traits over which we have no control -- skin color, height, national origin, etc. -- is wonderful. Preaching "acceptance" of being overweight, obese, and even downright morbidly obese is insane, because no one is born obese. No one has to become or remain obese -- it is a choice (series of daily choices really)... and a very very bad choice, which collectively costs society hundreds of billions of dollars a year and kills over 10,000 people annually. We "shame" smokers and drunk drivers and drug dealers and sex offenders every day, yet combined they don't do a fraction of the damage that the obese do.
13
@UncertaintyPrincipal Like the whole using "curvy" as a euphemism for obese.
1
by shaming people into giving up nicotine the government has caused this obesity epidemic. there are so many studies that directly relate weight gain to smoking cessation the cause and effect should be obvious. the government has spent millions trying to sue the tobacco companies but we don't see them soothing the soft drink makers or the sugar-coated cereal makers or McDonald's or Burger King. the government really should stop talking about obesity epidemic because they have no one to blame but themselves
6
@alocksley - I fully agree with you that the food-like substances industry is well past due for some massive class action litigation based on deceptive practices -- like how in god's name does the dairy industry get away with pretending that cow's milk is "good for you"?? -- but to blame smoking cessation for the massive increase in obesity rates is, well, to be kindly, just not accurate.
4
@alocksley Correlation does not imply causation.
3
@alocksley
How does your argument hold up in the face of a nation full of obese two-year-old kids who haven't smoked yet?
12
Orwell said that someday, half the world would be able to see the other half starve on television, and that would signify the end of civilization.
He missed that the television viewers would also be binge eating.
20
What was shocking to me is when I hear obese people talking about merely overweight people as being "thin". I've heard it often. It's as if we no longer recognize what is a healthy weight in our country.
94
@Allure Nobell - this shocks and disturbs me too. And it's not "as if" we no longer recognize what a healthy weight range should look like, they've done studies showing that a large percentage of Americans have become so accustomed to being surrounded by the obese every day that they *literally* do not know that they and everyone around them are obese. (This is why psychologists say that obesity is "contagious"; if you live in a family or community where nearly everyone is fat, it is much more likely that you will become fat too.) Most fat people seem to resent the fit folks and make comments like "go eat a cheeseburger" -- just like peer pressure to drink or do drugs.
25
@Allure Nobell ,
Exactly right. I'm 5'1" and 120 lbs. This is a very medium weight for my height. I'm in my 60's. When I was in my teens and 20's - and the same weight I am now, I was never considered slim, just medium-sized. In the past decade, however, I've gotten many comments from overweight people remarking about how slim I am, and the comments are not meant to be complimentary.
As far as size, I was just an average person in the 1960's and 1970's. Now I'm considered slim, when I am carrying more than enough weight for my height. The concept of what is an "average" weight has become dangerously skewed.
33
How many times do you need to be told that dietary salt and fats do not cause obesity? Starches and sugars do.
How about a mea culpa Ms. Brody?
Perhaps “Living the High Carbohydrate Way,” the title of your famous book, isn’t the most slimming strategy?
14
I think the author meant to say "...that by 2030, nearly one in two AMERICAN adults will be obese".
The rest of the planet is not fattening up at quite the rate of the United States of America.
13
@Patrick They are, actually, as they adopt the Standard American Diet (SAD) of sugar-leadened processed foods.
1
Scientists should spend more time studying skinny people. My BMI is about 18, same as it was 50 years ago. Half my family is fat, half extremely thin. So why do some of us get tapeworm jokes and the others nasty stares when eating ice-cream cones in public?
4
@KJ I'm sure if you recorded what the "thin" side ate and compared it to the "fat" side, you'd find your answer.
2
Shop a Dollar Store in a low income neighborhood and see what food it sells.
Food that is not good for you is cheap and there. Food that is good for you, e.g. organically grown fresh spinach , is nowhere - because it would be way too expensive
8
@LArs
Not because the healthy food itself would be way too expensive. Stores like Dollar General and Family Dollar that proliferate in high poverty areas have no system in place to manage fresh, whole food like fruits or vegetables, or even meats. They sell processed, shelf-stable foods they can buy in quantity at low prices and make large profits on. There is no profit in creating a "fresh foods" section and the staffing and quality control that goes along with it, for stores like this.
12
@LArs
The reason for this is simple.
Food that is not good for you has NO expiration date.
I remember that Twinkies will last for over 100 years
5
People who overconsume inflict more harm on the natural world than those of normal weight given that every pound of food produced takes an environmental toll. So if one cannot keep one's weight in check for oneself, how about losing weight for the koala bears and the three-toed sloths and the snow leopards and the wombats and the harlequin ducks?
5
Sadly, obesity has become yet another "identity" issue in the academy. Witness categories such as "body shaming," "body pride," etc. Last spring the university at which my wife teaches held a symposium on Thin Privilege. How about that?
17
@TMS - it's sickening, literally and figuratively.
4
I had a patient come in for a diabetes check-up. He was short, slim, of a race that suffers from raging diabetes. His bio-markers were perfect. He told me he was a chef, and that 3 years ago he had weighed over 300 lbs and that's when he got the diagnosis of diabetes.
He loved to go fishing and he realized soon he'd be too sick to do this. So he started teaching himself to cook in a new way. He started walking--couldn't walk very far at first, as his knees hurt and it tired him. But he kept at it, and at it, and soon he felt better and the weight started falling away. His knees hurt less, he walked further.
He's still fishing, still cooking, never going back again to diabetes or obesity. I bet he'll still be walking to his beloved lake to fish when he's ninety.
This is do-able! Hard, but doable. Every provider likely has at least one patient like this. These are the people who need to be running weight-loss clubs, walking clubs, cooking clubs, appearing at churches or on tv to tell their stories.
They ought to be hired, or subsidized, or somehow given voice to tell their stories often and loudly: If I can do this, you can, too!
104
@PNRN
Wonderful story, and there's a real takeaway here. I sometimes watch cooking shows or read recipes online and am invariably appalled at how much gratuitous fat and sugar are thrown into recipes. My husband and I have a running joke that one day we'll sit down with a calculator and figure out how many collective thousands of pounds of butter are used in the Silver Palate Cookbook. There are cake recipes that have three sticks in the batter, a stick in a gouache, and two more in the icing. For a cake.
Sure...throw three sticks of butter into anything and it tastes good. But it's lazy and bad for us. A great chef makes things taste good in a healthy way. The networks could do all of us a service and start showcasing shows and having awards for the chefs who create the leanest, tastiest dishes.
Home cooks already know you can tinker with anything. I routinely take out more than 1/2 the recommended sugar in muffins/cakes/pies, etc. and it tastes better for not being a sugar bomb My grandmother's apple cake called for a cup of oil and half a cup of OJ; even as a teen I realized I could just swap the ratio and it still tastes delicious. That swap saves, btw, nearly 1,000 calories...just in oil, and that's one simple change.
I wish the food network would challenge its hosts, stars, and guests to start setting a better example. Healthy cooking should not be a niche. It should be the norm.
23
Of course obesity is multifactorial and there are many factors at play. I've always been reasonably thin and part of that seems to be that my appetite adjusts fairly well for what my body needs. That being said, I also avoid ultraprocessed foods and maintain an active lifestyle.
There are outliers in every circumstance and I'm sure some people who are overweight are fighting a legitimate uphill battle.
However, I would encourage anyone to spend a weekend with any of their overweight friends. What I often see is not excessive eating, but not eating enough and eating all the wrong things. Many skip meals and get by until their one significant meal by eating chips and muffins that could survive a nuclear war. In between these semi fasts are consumption of high calorie dense beverages from soda to slurpees. It seems to me that weight loss can be achieved by actually eating more (real food) and cutting out all the empty calories.
17
As a registered nurse, I've seen numerous challenges due to the increasing obesity issue. In increasing numbers of cases, furniture and medical equipment has needed to be changed to adapt. This all adds to health care costs. We all pay for doors that need to widened, exam tables that need to be widened and the injuries health care employees suffer from attempting to manage obese patients. Obesity also adds to fuel usage since it requires more energy to move the greater weight and therefore climate change. If only Americans would embrace truly healthy habits, such as regular exercise and minimizing junk food, we all would be better off. For those that think this an issue that's only one of personal freedom of choice, please consider how we are all impacted.
26
@Marilyn Mitchell
Obesity also adds to fuel usage is ridiculous.
90% or more of the gasoline used in the internal combustion engine is lost as heat.
3
@Marilyn Mitchell Health care costs accrue in other hidden ways, too. My late husband, an extraordinary RN working in orthopedics, was on disability leave for over a year after a 450 pound female patient grabbed onto him and tried to use him to pull herself out of bed. He instantly went to the floor with severe back pain. He was a big strong guy but still ended up with 5 herniated discs. He was eventually able to return to work but spent the rest of his life battling severe back pain.
12
@Marilyn Mitchell Health care costs accrue in other hidden ways, too. My late husband, an extraordinary RN working in orthopedics, was on disability leave for over a year after a 450 pound female patient grabbed onto him and tried to use him to pull herself out of bed. He instantly went to the floor with severe back pain. He was a big strong guy but still ended up with 5 herniated discs. He was eventually able to return to work but spent the rest of his life battling severe back pain.
1
When I was in my twenties, I burned a lot of calories as a college student and a young mother. In my thirties, I got a very sedentary job but continued eating whatever I wanted. Eventually, over the years in my very sedentary profession, the pounds added up. Now that I am retired I have to keep moving and eat less.
16
I agree with the author's points completely but society also sees no harm in being excessively overweight. Indeed, we look down on anyone who is involved in "fat shaming". As long as we accept being overweight as being normal, society as a whole will be less healthy. When I look at my high school yearbook from 47 years ago, the majority of the students were slim and trim: that is not the case currently. When there is no penalty, such as higher insurance rates, taxes on sugary beverages, etc., the problem will continue.
59
@DickH - exactly. For example, airline fuel is very expensive. So expensive that airlines charge us more to bring an "extra" suitcase weighing, what, maybe 50 lbs? Yet the ever-growing number of 300 pounders pay the same fare as the normal-sized 150 lbs people? That's nuts, charge by the pound! The tax on nutritionally empty foods should also escalate as the customer's weight grows.
12
Staying slim is straight forward but not easy: Work out frequently and be hungry most of the time!
That used to be our natural state when we were living in caves.
Until we find the means to medically control our cravings for excess calories we will have to live by these standards or pay the inevitable price of obesity,
13
@TW so true! When people ask me how I stay thin, I tell them the truth: most days, I don't eat very much! No trick, really. Just be hungry.
12
@TW - it's sad, and probably harmful, that you believe that, because it's simply not true. I mean maybe if you want to look like Emily Ratakowski or a VS Angel I'm sure there must be some hunger involved, but to keep within a normal BMI you should neither need to work out frequently nor starve yourself. I would hazard to guess that you are not eating the optimal foods if that's your situation.
3
@TW
I agree with this 100%. If I miss just a few days of workouts the pounds start to creep up and I can see it in the mirror. And, I almost always leave the table still hungry.
I believe because it is so hard to stay "normal" is a main reason people don't. It actually means working at it, especially as we age.
1
No expert here, but I understand that there is a primal psychological element to food and the social experience of eating..It's why we like to eat together when we can...I suspect that much of the snacking and overeating is related to the considerable increase in stress and uncertainty in our lives, in all aspects...social, financial, political. Eating is one of the few things we can still control.
14
@fb
So true that food comforts us in the wake of so much uncertainty and stress, but if we are compulsively overeating, that means we are not even controlling that over which we DO have control. True control requires self-discipline and wise choices. No excuses.
1
Last month, I flew to NC to visit my parents and a friend, and a week later visited some friends in Orange County, CA. I felt thin and fit in NC, and old and fat in OC. The difference in average weight was staggering. It's not just sodas and portion sizes - it's also what's socially acceptable in society.
403
@Caroline Alyson - very very true. In the Midwest, even in an urban environment, I feel like almost everybody is fat, either "just overweight" or downright obese; when I went to Colorado last summer, however, I was shocked to see virtually no fat people. This shows, of course, that it's not about genetics or sedentary jobs or having kids or not having enough time or any of the other countless excuses the obese always proffer, it's simply about making better lifestyle choices.
55
@Caroline Alyson
After moving to Wisconsin from So.Cal, where I always felt 10 pounds too heavy, I happened to hear a co-worker tell one of my hospital patients "Your nurse tonight will be Maggie- the skinny girl in the blue scrubs".
For the record, according to my BMI I'm not overweight but I'm far from "skinny". Compared to most of the people around me, though, I can see why my coworker made that comment.
66
@Caroline Alyson
After moving to Wisconsin from So.Cal, where I always felt 10 pounds too heavy, I happened to hear a co-worker tell one of my hospital patients "Your nurse tonight will be Maggie- the skinny girl in the blue scrubs".
For the record, according to my BMI I'm not overweight but I'm far from "skinny". Compared to most of the people around me, though, I can see why my coworker made that comment.
6
I've come to the conclusion that food is the biggest factor in this, yes, but the typical American lifestyle is also conducive to gaining wait. Long hours working, long commutes, little time for exercise or other recreation. Lots of driving, unless you are in a city with good transit or a small enough town to be walkable. Yes, you have to make time. Yes, we are captain of our own ships. But it's not easy. Add in the allure of screens and other tech, and it's not too hard to see why this is happening.
I do admit that I find it pretty shocking how overweight even young people are (teens), and hope we can stem the tide. But it's going to take a cultural change, not just taxing sodas.
38
@Christine O - agreed, there are many places to put blame for the obesity epidemic, but, on the other hand, neither is it rocket science. Taxing something leads to less of it, and subsidizing something leads to more of it; all it would take is federal tax on food that goes up as the nutritional value of the item at issue goes down. Organic apples, no tax (or an actual subsidy); processed "apple juice" with high fructose corn syrup? 100% added tax.
4
@UncertaintyPrincipal I agree with you wholeheartedly, the incentives in our food system are totally backward. I wish we could also subsidize more time to get out and walk, swim, bike, and dance :-).
4
There is a great episode of This American Life that talks about weight, and being fat. It was wonderfully eye opening, and compassionate. I remember one of the speakers was a woman who has been overweight all of her life. She has been on every diet you can imagine, and wants to just stop. She said that she didn't want to "count every almond" that she ate. My understanding is that she believes "skinny" people don't do this. But we do!! I am a middle aged woman, and I have had to be careful about my eating since I was a teenager. Almost every single woman I know who isn't overweight does this. We have to think about food all the time. And I actually think that's OK. At any other time of being human, we would be thinking about where our next meal is coming from, do we have enough, will it last over the winter, etc. To be an animal is to have to worry about food, one way or the other. it is inescapable.
266
@Molly B. Meanwhile, I know a lot of women who can stay within a healthy weight range without counting calories. I'm one of them; now that I'm in my mid-thirties my metabolism is slowing down a little, but I've never had to "think about food all the time." It may not be all genetics, but some combination of factors - genetics, level of physical activity, the relationship with food that we developed as children - definitely makes it much easier for some women to stay thin than others.
31
I think if you don’t eat any highly processed food and eat a lot of healthy proteins, lean meats, fish and beans you don’t have to feel hungry all the time or count every calorie, but in a lot of the country this is easier said than done because of all the social cues and restaurants that don’t have healthy options. One nice thing, if you live near good grocery stores, is that eliminating highly processed foods saves you a ton of money and reduces your waist and waste. Sorry couldn’t resist. Also, you don’t crave sugar and salt all the time if you don’t eat too much of it.
16
@Katy
Just wait until you’re 50.
42
Maybe, we should ask that our vast amounts of retirement money currently being invested in consumer based companies (Amazon / Apple) and those led by Lex Luthers intent on escaping to Mars (Musk) be put toward improving food quality and lowering its cost to consumers.
6
How is it that, in the prime (or denouement) of Miss Jane Brody, she can't see the imminence of low carb diets as the rational solution?
Has she never come across the word 'keto' in her career? A ketogenic diet will unquestionably give women, in particular, full control of their bodies and health.
4
@Dwight Jones No need to be nasty, Doug.
2
Okay. So the country is becoming more obese.
And I'll make another prediction: As the country becomes more obese, the segment of the population that isn't obese will come up with all sorts of ways---via the socially-acceptable stigmatizing of the obese, or perhaps by legislative fiat----to induce people to be 'acceptably' and socially 'approved' thin.
Actually, I think we're already well on the road to minding other people's business. We already find ways to rationalize how, say, the other guy's smoking or his dietary choices are impacting our pocketbook. Oh, we'll tell ourselves that it's all for the person's own good, but still, we're butting in where our noses don't truly belong.
Could we agree to live and let live? How much is 'freedom' worth to you? If you're the type that only sees the world in terms of how it affects you, that your neighbor's poor health will only come around to bite you in the pocketbook, ask yourself:
Who's the greater burden to society? The guy who drops dead at fifty from a heart attack, or the one who lives to be one-hundred? And another question: If I'm even asking such a question in the first place, what does that say about me?
7
@David Bartlett
That guy who died of a heart attack at 50 might have used up over a million dollars worth of health care in his/her life.
That centenarian probably required much less healthcare during his century on Earth
2
@David Bartlett - respectfully, Mr. Bartlett, what it says about you is just that you don't fully appreciate the enormous impact the obese are having upon our nation. If the obese themselves had to pay for all the consequences of their poor life choices -- and make no mistake, obesity IS a choice (series of daily choices, really) -- then I'd be 100% with you -- let people eat (or smoke or drink) themselves to death, not my business. But that's NOT the case -- the obese cost society over $100 billion a year in increased healthcare costs, increased infrastructure costs, lost productivity, environmental damage, etc., etc. That guy who drops dead at 50, on average, will incur enormous costs before dying. That the rest of us are paying.
3
With respect to the above replies:
I rest my case.
1
This is about personal responsibility, people, - not government regulation of our personal liberty to eat whatever and how much or it that we want.
Possibly access to insurance, or at least increase co-pays, is a market solution for people who refuse to control their eating impulses. After all, the article states, we can't blame our genes.
We really don't need a nanny-state. Has fat-shaming been proven uneffective?
13
@Brad Steele except that food manufacturers spend billions every year on research and advertising to overcome our alleged good sense. I would love to see counteracting advertising of fresh foods, families cooking, eating, and exercising together, but local health departments will never have the resources to compete with government-subsidised corporations.
11
@Brad Steele Actually, yes. According to the National Institute of Health, fat-shaming often leads to an increase in weight. As does dieting.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6565398/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3759019/
6
@Brad Steele - I used to agree with you, none of the government's business. That was before I realized (a) that the rest of us are paying for the poor life decisions of the obese and (b) what SC said. Fully agree about bringing back "fat-shaming," however; choosing to become or remain fat IS a shameful decision and the obese should be called out for their selfish and deadly choices, just like drunk drivers or drug dealers.
Now we know how the Trump administration will be spurring the economy: 50% of Americans will have to go out and buy new clothes and vehicles to support their lavish waistlines.
8
Meat doesn't make you gain weight; it fills you up and is extremely nutritious. The reason for the obesity epidemic is the skyrocketing consumption of nacho chips, pastries, fake cheese, popcorn and the continuing consumption of soda. The first thing the federal government needs to do is ban all junk food from the SNAP program. It's odd this Brody didn't mention this.
34
@Anne - while not agreeing with you 100% about "meat" (it depends in large part upon what kind of meat we're talking about and how is was produced), you are 1000% percent right about food subsidies -- why on god's green earth that is not limited to healthful whole foods is beyond me, but then again government and good common sense have rarely gone hand in hand.
1