Why do people let themselves get so fat in this country?

Question

I'm not trying to be a jerk. I know some people have thyroid problems, but that's hardly the majority. I just don't understand why some people don't see the road their headed down and try to keep themselves at least somewhat healthy until they're too fat to even be able to stand comfortagly.

annabanana: Considering she has made the choice to be better about diet and exercise, you might suggest she go to a nutritionist. Everyone's metabolism is different, so she might need to eat and exercise in a way that matches her body, blood, etc, type better. She might need more cardio and less weight training or she might need to eat more vegetables and less carbs (or whatever, since I don't know her current diet and exercise regime). Good luck with that. For me, I shop at natural foods stores. I don't think I have eaten anything with corn syrup in it for probably months now. If it has sugar, it's either a natural fruit sugar or evaporated cane juice.

Answer 1

Please America eats everything!! If Terrorist could find a way to fry Anthrax we would all be eating it. I really dont understand it either they most just like it or are very lazy.

Answer 2

People in this country are creatures of habit...
Most don't have self control..so, "know when to say when" shouldn't just be about alcohol...That slogan should be posted at fast food chains too!!
"Eat to live, don't live to eat" Eating healthy doesn't cost more money..just more reasearch...and let's face it..we aren't to good at school work. So, get someone else to do the math has always been our slogan..we'll I should say "their" slogan.
I had a girlfriend from a foreign country and she asked me the same thing and all I could do was laugh!! Europeans eat alot too..but they balance that with activity. For the record, you don't have to be an Olympian to be in shape. Just be hoest with yourself...the again. if you're asking if the jeans make you a$$ look fat..then the answer is probably YES!! But you know that already!! Which is quite ironic, because with all the shopping people do..you'd think they'd be smaller from all the walking. But, most just try to park near the front...so they don't have to walk as far. Or, shop online so I'll just have to go to the front door...That I can't fir out of. ( I was trying to be a jerk!!) Do yourself a favor..park in the back..you'll walk an extra 40- 50yds. and you won't buy crap you don't need..'cause you won't want to carry it that far!! hahaha
You think I got these abs from ordering online..?

Answer 3

People get fat in this country because everything is really easy they eat a lot ,most of them work in offices, they ride cars, they do not walk not even at the stores. people barely do exercises, all they do is seat in the couch watch tv for hours eat macdonalds,pizza and some other fat foods almost everyday. if this country wasn't that easy to live in .I think people wouldn't be so fat, if they only walk for at lease 2 days a week and do excersises every day they wouldn't be so fat either, I do not say I do excersises because I don't and thats why I'm answering this because I was 114 pounds ,I when up to 160 because all of this things thats why I say life is to easy in U.S, but I also have lose weigth since my last 160 ,now I'M 142 POUNDS so good luck to all of the people out there and an advise do excersices and walk eat healthy and don't seat in the couch eating for hours ,you have not job find one, you can't find any job ,walk around, don't be lazy, health life healthy sex.

Answer 4

I wouldn't say they "Let" themselves get so fat... I would say it boils down to one specific ingrediant: CORN SYRUP..; which is added to so many things easily and readily available at the grocery store and, certainly, at fast-food restaurants. Even when these F.F. places cut WAY down on fat, they do NOT consider cutting out the corn syryp, which is a sugar and, of course, breaks down as fat in the human body. I have a daughter who is overweight and it hurts me.. it mean, she's not HUGE, just could really use to lose about 40-50 pounds. She did finally cut out cokes, totally, and that seems to have helped some... still, not enough. And, she does get a LOT of exercise. I wish I could help her more without appearing to nag all of the time. I do know, from the way she dresses, that she's not thrilled with her wieght, either. Being a post-anorexic mom with a daughter nearly twice my size is difficult as I do love her and HATE to hurt her feelings. If anyone has a great idea for me tohelp,let meknow what you know! BTW: She does not live with me as she's 22.. she does have a boyfriend but he says mean things to her about her weight... and, that cuts me to the core.....

Answer 5

People go fat because they...
-like to eat
-depressed
-don't care
or, they are in a road to self destruction, maybe there is no money to eat healthy so they eat to quench their hunger. Probably their culture doesn't highlight in healthy but in delicious.
Anyway people don't see the road their headed down because they don,t want to! And they're too fat to even be able to stand comfortably because they can sit or lay comfortably.
Sadly it is a matter of choice! You can,t or won,t understand because it is not your reality. You do try to understand and are willing to ask. So if someday someone close falls into bad eating habits, you,ll be there.

Answer 6

I think people have a warped sense of reality. They might not actually see themselves as fat, when in reality, they really are. I'm actually speaking from experience here. I didn't realize how big I had become until I saw a picture of myself in a bathing suit. Since then, I've lost over 50 pounds. I have the bathing suit taped to the inside of my closet as a reminder that I don't want to go back to looking like that ever again. It's unhealthy and unattractive.

Answer 7

It goes back to education...

How many of you learned about caloric intake and fat consumption in middle and high school?

A Whopper has 800 calories...people are not educated on how that affects a 19 year old vs a 30 year old.

They need to understand how the body metabolises and uses nutrients. Also, how it stores them during a nutrient deficite.

Oh yeah, after the education it comes down to discipline...and let's face it most Americans want instant gratification and it shows up on their wastes!

Answer 8

People these days are over worked, so they don't have the time to go to a gym or exercise. Also with all the fast food places and people eating on the run it is a heart attack world.

Answer 9

I blame society for the fall of health in the Americas.

Portion sizes have progressively gotten bigger. The sizes have actually doubled in ten years... This means that we are training our bodies and minds to believe that we actually need that much food. Look at all you can eat buffets. People don't actually 'need' to eat that much, but they do because they can.

Did you know that there are so many preservatives in food now that it literally takes 90 years for a body to compose after death? A Twinkie has a shelf life of 100 years!

Fast food makes it easy to feed your family on the run, and it is cheaper. Macdonald's puts sugar in everything - fries, burgers, sauces etc. And as we all know sugar is addictive.

One cup of pasta is a serving. In a restaurant you get 2-4 cups. Cans of soup that are made for 4 servings can be eating by one (I am guilty of this one).

We need to start promoting healthy eating at a young age and portion control. If we raise our children to be health conscious, they will be more likely to pass on the lifestyle and make changes in our society and in our minds.

My youngest sister grew up with my mom and my mom got KFC for lunch and dinner more than 5 times a week. When you are 5 years old, you don't have 1. The smarts to know what is bad for you and 2. The ability to feed yourself (make healthy choices and cook/buy them. Now she is battling with a weight that my mother programmed into her.

Fat cells are like a giant tube housed with many smaller hollow tubes. Fat fills the tubes making them expand and the whole tube stretches and holds them together. When you burn that fat off, the tubes do not go back to their original size. The fat cell remembers the amount of fat it can hold and will ultimately fill again. This is why diets do not work; because as soon as you go back to the normal foods, your body remembers being fat.

One thing I learned in nutrition education (I am a personal trainer) is that people eat instead of drink when they are dehydrated. We do not drink enough water. Water helps your body flush of toxins. It keeps your hair and skin healthy. When you are thirsty for a drink of water you are already dehydrated.

Exercise is a huge factor in why America is so obese. We do not encourage exercise. In high school, gym is only mandatory for grade 8 & 9 and then it is elective. Children are not encouraged to join group sports. Then when they get older, they are less likely to take care of their bodies.

I am lucky. I live in BC in Canada. We have the lowest rate of obesity in Canada. We are at a tiny 4%. In the some states the obesity rate is 3 out of 4 people are obese!

Here in BC we have nice mild weather, so we walk / bike to work, we have wonderful mountains to ski on and beautiful beaches to play on. 50,000 people get together for the annual 10k run here in the city and we have charity sports games to raise money for children’s hospitals and other groups like breast cancer research. We also have the most restaurants per capita and being in a health conscious city, most are organic and healthy choices.

I think we are slowly starting to change. Even Macdonald’s is promoting healthy choices like salads. It will take a while, but we will get there. 

Answer 10

The eighties and nineties were all about convincing ourselves 'I'm fat, your fat and that's okay...fat is beautiful', but now that's catching up with us as a nation, as it's just not healthy. It's difficult to narrow it down to just one reason, as there are many that contribute to 'fat America'.
- stress
- depression
- fat pocketed nation with lots of money to buy food (gluttony)
- no self control
- junk food readily available in schools
- more people who own cars/ no one walks anymore
- more people sitting around on computers ;)
- etc.

Answer 11

I don't know...it's like they take their health for granted, then wonder why they have so many medications and doctor visits as they get older.

If it isn't eating bad foods, not exercising or smoking...it's like people just can't see the benefit in taking care of themselves and how this will provide them with a better quality of life as they get older.

Invest in your health!