Americans being Overweight?

Question

Why are so many Americans so Overweight?
I'm not saying English people aren't, but most Americans are enormous!

Droid.... I don't know where you lot get the impression that we don't brush our teeth! Sort it out mate!

Nimo22... Get a life loser!

Answer 1

droid i think you might be thinking of austin powers hes "made up" like imaginary ok tell you what i will spell it out in a classically american kind of way (leanne twirling a baton and jumping around wildly. kart wheeling and pyramids also on show)
M A D E U P !!! RAR RAR RAR ECT...
any way i think its very much to do with the life style i mean if you worked all day drove to and from work then came home after sitting in loads of traffic would you a:cook a wonderful meal for yourself and then bath and go stright to sleep and get up early and excercise or b: eat a wendys on the way home and dive into bed barely having time to drag your clothes off its happening in england too now fast food bad sleeping patterns lack of excercise ect it all adds up to the same thing (ready droid join in) F A T !! RA RA RA LOL

Answer 2

Because of all of the processed foods we ingest here. If you travel abroad, you will notice that many others eat the same, if not more, than Americans do...yet, they are thin. There are many reasons, but it mainly boils down to processed foods, fast food on every corner, and the fact that we drive, not walk, everywhere (the exception being New York City.) It is sad, but I almost think it is a conspiracy. The more the media advertises all this processed and fast food on television, the more we eat it, and the more people develop diseases that can only be cured by manufactured drugs. It is almost a way to kill off the population, I believe, yet we buy into it. I try to eat healthy and organically, but if you eat everything in moderation and exercise, you should be fine. Also, when pictures are shown of overweight Americans, they are mostly found in the Midwest United States because most of their food is fried and loaded with artery clogging products. On the East and West coasts, obesity is not as prevalent, although it, of course, still exists.

Answer 3

Because they eat all the "fatfree" stuff, "low calorie", "low carbs" and stuff.

This has mainly two consequenses:
first, they think they are hardly taking any nutrition with all the "low" stuff, so they can eat more. Their portions are oversized. And the white flour-products for example do leave you hungry.

Second: you body will adjust pretty fast to these "low this, low that" products. Your metabolism will learn that it has to get EVERYTHING out that food, because the nutrition is so low. So it will work harder than in other people who eat differently.

And don't forget: the processed food is taking overhand here. People go out and eat processed food, or they buy TV dinners and eat processed food at home. You should read the ingredients of what is legal to be sold as "food" here! The EU would never allow that.
But this is "the land of the free", and it is their free will to shovel all that crap into their bodies.

I am less than 3 years here now (coming from Germany), and I am often stunned at what I see and hear.
I will never join them, I am buying ingredients which I then turn into a meal by cooking, frying, baking or whatever. But of course that takes time. Maybe it is very tempting for these people to by fast food or processed food they only need to re-heat, since it seems to save you time?

In the end, of course it doesn't save you time, it will even cost you time: at least 20 years of lifetime (that you will not have, because you die early).

Answer 4

In America it is rare 2 have on the side of a product its calorific value. & it would seem even if they do know how many calories there is in the Junk Food, they still eat more than they need.
I'm trying 2 tell Americans about daily requirements 4 fat, salt & calories
& it's almost I'm talking Double Dutch 2 'em.
Australia is in the statistics 4 an obesity problem but it is spreading world-wide.
Think it comes down
common-sense isn't something that comes easily 2 some & they eat more than they read!

Answer 5

It's easy to blame the fast food chains, or the folks themselves. But there are many factors that aide to obesity amongst Americans. Genetics play a roll, as do lack of excersize, eating habits learned from our parents early on, and so many junk food options are out there if we don't want to take the time to actually cook for ourselves. Sometimes there isn't enough time in the day to go home and cook a nutritious meal, that isn't high in fat, salt and calories. A lot of other countries don't have the overweight problems that we have as Americans. In this country, it is the "norm" for mom's, wives, etc...to work outside the home. This can created a problem, becuase no-one is able (or find it very difficult) to plan family meals. In other countries, there is at least one adult that "stays at home" and is able to plan meals, outings for the kids, etc. The option to play video-games, or play on the computer just isn't as readily available to the kids, and families.

Answer 6

Because it is easier to get unhealthy food then health food.
We have fast food restaurants almost every block. I can name at least 8 with in 3 mins of my house. 2 of which are McDonald's and one is open 24 hours. Its hard to drive down the road and find a health place to get. Also it has shown in studies that fast food can be addictive.
Also unhealthy food is so much cheaper then health food. If you go the market you can buy a box of cakes for .99 where as Bananas will cost you 2.00
Hamburger meat that is fattening can be like 3.50 for a little over a pound...and the less fattening is 6.00 for a little over a pound.

So it is easier and cheaper to eat unhealthy then it is to eat healthy.

Also when I was in school we did some sort of exercise everyday. Now its like once a week. It is so dangerous for kids to walk home, or play outside with out someone watching. So most kids sit inside and play computer games or watch TV.

Answer 7

I don't know about other countries - but I've sure noticed that because of TV. I haven't watched the Price is Right for about 30 years [no kidding] and wow! the women mostly are SO heavy. Also newshours - seems like every story about a women involves an overweight woman. It's probably the type of food they eat - more than eating too much, but who knows. Maybe they just don't know how awful they look - same with anorexics - they look terrible.

Answer 8

So many Americans are overweight because some people love eating. Also, some of there parents are overweight that the parents feed their children more food. Some people are very lazy too and do not exercise after they eat, leting all of that body fat build up. In the United States, obesity is very high!

Answer 9

Because they eat more processed food which contains fats that human bodies can't digest, therefore putting on weight.

Take Italians for example, they eat a lot of fatty foods yet are generally slim when younger. But all the products they use in their cooking (well most) are natural, so their bodies can digest them properly.

Only my opinion.

Answer 10

I'm not enormous, but I was getting there.

Americans live in their cars. Communities are designed for the car culture. To pick up a gallon of milk usually requires getting in your car to go the market. American communities are segregated into categories: housing tracts, shopping centers, and light-industrial areas (auto repair, gas stations, etc.) I can't remember the last time I walked to pick up my laundry, or a loaf of bread. I lived in Germany for 2 years and walked everywhere.