Why are Americans so fat? Do we have agribusiness to blame?

Answer 1

no but we have our lack of self-control to blame

Answer 2

Being over to Europe myself there are not many fat people there. It is definetly to do with culture. We have fast food chains and fast food carts everywhere that are just loaded with saturated fats and trans fats not to mention most of the meals are almost a whole days worth of calorie intake. Yes there are american fast food chains in europe (alot of tourist frequent them).

In Europe alot of the faster food that is not american is more healthy. They are still selling sandwhiches on the streets that dont have to be loaded with ranch sauce or mayo.

I think alot of American parents are at fault for not teaching their kids good healthy life skills, but it is hard when they have not been taught themselves.

Also in Europe it is so congested that it is almost inconvient to own a car, many people walk and take the metro.

Anyone that thinks america being fat is a sterotype is ignorant. World Statistics are proof.

You can have fast food without it being bad food. Make yourself a sandwhich at home. Low butter popcorn is a great snack.

Another downfall is the diet. There is no such thing as a wiegh loss diet, after you come off one you gain the wieght back.

People need to start changing their lifesstyles for the better. A lifestyle change is far more benificial than a diet.

Answer 3

Many facets of American life contribute to obesity. We tend to blame one business group because they supply the food, however, you can eat a lot of food and remain thin, as long as you expend enough energy to burn it off. I think a combination of the entertainment industry, providing sedentary amusements, the fast food industry, providing nutritionally bereft foods, the Agribusiness industries that advertise for foods that are of questionable nutritional value, and of course, the top culprit, us fat people for not exercising, not planning healthy meals and not taking care to keep our weight down. Notice I haven't included a lot of other factors, 2 parents working, less time for meals, affluence etc. I also don't think that any one factor is to blame. None of this happens in a vacuum, and different people have different susceptibilities, so to say it is entirely the individual is a stretch. children are trained from early childhood by their parents and by the environment around them, so take care what your child watches, not so much the programming, but the commercials, they do much more damage.

Answer 4

We are fat because we can be. We have more money and less free time, so instead of cooking healthy meals, we stop at McDonald's on our way home and eat burgers and other junk food.

There is no big conspiracy trying to make us fat. You don't have to eat at McDonald's, KFC, or Burger King. You CHOOSE that. These idiots in NY passing laws about what kind of fat can be used in recipes should scare the crap out of everyone. First and foremost, it goes against our basic principles of freedom. Second, the government is often wrong about what is healthy and what is not.

First butter was good and margarine was dangerous. Then margarine was healthy, and butter would kill you. Now they've flip flopped again. They did the same thing with eggs. Do you really want these wishy-washy people making decisions about your health?

What if, back in the 80's they had decided that saccharine was mandatory in order to cut back on overweight kids and forced all soda manufacturers to use it instead of sugar?

Think about it. We need to keep the government out of our lives! They rarely know what is best for us.

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Answer 5

They (agribusiness) provide the food, you eat it. Lack of exercise and self-control are the main reasons we are so fat. In some cases genetics are the culprit.

Answer 6

Lack of self control, only my feelings matter society, over medicating our kids to "cure" normal child hood hyperness, the freaking ridiculous amount of entertainment for children today that they can sit in a chair and participate in is ridiculous.
Kids who grow up with bad habits turn into adults with bad habits, so from there you have, adults who work long hours and are to tired to cook from scratch healthy meals when they get home. Processed food that is bad for you is cheaper.
Oh and I suppose you could blame yahoo answers for being to addicting if you wanted.
Basically though lack of self control.

Answer 7

Is there something wrong with blaming the fat people????
Why does it always have to be someone or thing other then that particular person that is causing the problem???
What ever happen to personnel responsibility for your own actions and conditions of your life.???
I'm sick of this, "it isn't my fault" crap......"I was this or that when I was a child"...... you're still the one making the choice, just not the right choice I'd say.

U.P.

Answer 8

i believe that the government and the agribusiness are the responsible parties. why are healthy foods so expensive? all processed and refined foods are cheaper and easier accessible then whole foods. that's one good reason why lower income people are fatter than higher income people. the price of milk, whole wheat bread, fruits and vegetables keeps rising, meat is expensive, too. i think that if healthy foods are lower priced than processed foods everyone would be healthier and skinnier. in my opinion, it takes more money to produce refined foods than whole foods, but it would be bad for the economy to lower the production of these foods. it would mean loss of revenue for the government. that is why the government does so little to prevent people from eating badly. i think they still have to realize that offering healthy foods for less money will actually save money in health care and disability cost. but hey, that would be bad for the health insurance industry, right?

Answer 9

Its because FAT Americans are weak and can't push away from the table. If you want to blame someone else you are a true American. Why don't you sue someone and prove you're an American.

Answer 10

People in affluent countries eat for reasons other than hunger. It's a warping of a primal instinct when a nation has too much leisure time and disposable income. That's America's fat problem, in a nutshell.

Answer 11

That's a no brainer.
How many kids do you see walking to school or riding a bike these days or for the past 20 to 30 years?
No one getting exercise other then stopping at the chock and puke palaces and feeding their mouths.
How many people do you see parking as far back from a door opening in a store?
How many people do you see walking to the store in the first place?
No exercise........................... other then feeding their mouth