Why are Americans so over weight?

Question

I observed so many over weight people at a restaurant eating like it was their last day on earth. Some so heavy they had a hard time walking. Why do they allow themselves to get so over weight?

Answer 1

i notice that when i watch American television. everyone is looking so obese and the ones that are not, look like they are part of the plastic nation. i cannot see the advantage of carrying around all this extra weight. i prefer to be small and thin myself. obesity is leading to a great deal of deaths in America, you would think something would be done about this immediately. we have an abundance of food here, but one has to draw the line between eating and enjoying food and being a pig and a glutton.

Answer 2

In Spain when you go to a restaurant you are usually there for about 2 hours. Talking and just eating relaxed. In USA the waitress hands you the check while you are eating or right after you finish. Usually in 30-45 minutes you are out of the restaurant. Also, American food is high if meat and fried foods and low in fish and vegetables. Also in the USA the fill up your plate as if it was for two people. People in USA eat twice as much. Also....no walking. People park as close as they can to the restaurant door. That is why drive-throughs are so popular in the USA. Bottom line, fried foods, lots of meat, and no walking or excersise=Fat humans.

Unfortunately American food is spreading world wide. In Spain there are plenty of Mc Donalds and Pizza huts and other American type restaurants, they are gross.

Answer 3

Well, not all Americans are overweight.

I live in the MidWest, where the economy is not so good and people have a lot less culture - it is depressing to see so many heftys bringing up the health care costs for the rest of us. People just think they can eat anything, and I think a lot of them eat because it's something to do - and when you get into bad eating habits, no exercise, without any real reason to stop, you just get fatter.
Believe me the rest of us don't like the stereotype but it's hard to argue with the facts.

Answer 4

although not all Americans are over weight (i myself am an athlete and have more muscle than fat)

i think most of the reason is because they
1 dont know what they are eating
2 dont know how much exercise they actually need everyday
3 Binge Eating Disorder ..... EDs are extremely difficult to get over and with the way America has become *shakes head* well you get the point. the weird thing is we are still the most prosperous nation in the world

Answer 5

apparently it is wordwide now-japenese/ british, etc all are experiencing this epidemic Charlie Rose is interviewing experts about this on the telly right now The food is we est like junk food is addicting It is cheaper than good food Educated people know more about nutrition but they also suffer as it is so addicting once on ets the offending food Activity is no longer needed to get ones work done or to get from place to place Walking is usually more dangerous than driving on the roads today Kids have fewer safe outdoor options. So many reasons..read and learn..i.e. Fast Food Nation....

Answer 6

you beat me to this question...i was in the store with my mom and we saw maybe 98% fat and the rest thin...she was talking how it was normal to be normal size or small & now it's hard to find cause everyone wants to be fat...then those are the first talkin i need to loose some weight,but eat some more. one woman fat couldnt wait until she was out the store until she was eating some potato chips. i see em wear the tightest clothes and look right on slim and shapped people and the same outfit is horrible cause it's not made for fat. flip flops and skinny jeans looks nasty.
I have to look hard to find a girl that doesnt want to look like a cow. I told my mom i may have to find a woman from a 3rd world country who doesnt want to be fat just eat to live not live to eat
my mom thinks something is in the food that's addictive, but i eat the same & i'm not looking to be a house or weigh down my tires on my car.
unless you're sick pregnant or an nfl lineman you shouldnt be big...ladies child bearing hips mean to have a baby not a 6 year old...sir mix alot's song baby got back was big butts and shapped not fat. Men you dont have to look like your got a lifeperserver under your shirt or going to confront a sumo wrestler.

It's mental that's why they can sit and eat & be lazy

Answer 7

Effluence.

Eat only when hungry and not more than thrice a day. Nothing other than water in between. Include plenty of uncooked vegetables and fruits in each meal, preferably 50%. Chew each morsel at least 32 times to activate ur body to generate signals of hunger/fullness. Obey these signals.

Take light exercises and brisk walks regularly preferably twice a day.

U will achieve what u have not even dreamt and that too in a reasonable time. Do not be in a hurry.

Answer 8

I'm not sure if processed convience "foods" are cheaper than healthier foods or not. From the price comparisons I do, I find that the healthier foods are of better value. Plus, I think it just comes down to knowing where and how to shop and knowing what to look for when reading the ingredients lists. We got some watermelon and melon for less than processed cookies. And even if I wanted cookies or cake, I would make it at home, it may or may not be cheaper (though I do try and stock up on baking supplies when they go on sale, usually at Thanksgiving and Christmas), but it's healthier. I use whole wheat flour, natural cane sugar, apple sauce in lieu of oil (this makes it fat free), etc. I saw a box of Nabisco Chips Ahoy cookies at the grocerys tore the other night bragging that they were organic, yet, they still used "wheat flour". I guess that's for those who don't know the difference between whole wheat and wheat flour and would think that they are further healthy. Home made chocolate chip cookies are yummier, anyway.

Then there is Trader Joe's which sells natural and or ganic foods for about the same price as other stores' store brands. The one that is by us now is further away than the one we shop at in Columbus, OH, but it's still worth to go once a month or so to stock up for health foods that are cheaper and better than other stores' store brands.

I think people just too easily buy into things and don't really learn from where their food comes. Fast food has been deemed as unhealthy. That I agree with. Yet, I find it funny that as more people seem to be realizing that, fastt "food" places are trying to get healthy. Mass produced fried chicken is still mass produced fried chicken regardless of whether or not it has trans fat or not.

Yes, I think people are becoming more aware which is why food boxes are claiming things like "trans fat free" or "whole grains". I wonder if they really expect people to read the ingredients list. I picked up a box of crackers (Nabisco brand, I think) that said it had x amount of whole grains per serving. I had to read a bit before I found the whole grain ingredients. I know what is in food and isn't, usually by reading the ingredients.

Also, this country is too car dependant. They want to drive their own cars, and not even be bothered with walking to the bus stop. I've been guilty of that as well. Unfortunately, where we live now, I pretty much have to drive to the grocery store. There's a gourmet grocery store that is within walking distance, but given that it's about a mile away, I still couldn't buy much. Where my husband and I will be returing in Columbus, OH, we can easily walk to the grocery store, the drug store and several restaurants that are veg-friendly.

This is a country of gluttony and it's disgusting. I think my in-laws are a good example of that and just seeing them eat and what they eat is enough to make me lose my appetite. (Which being pregnant, I cannot afford to do.)

I also agree with reading "Fast Food Nation". I read last it probably, May and June of last year, a year after I became a vegetarian, and about six months after I became vegan and was still disgusted, even though some of the information was nothing new to me. I was 28 when I read it (assuming I finished it before my June birthday) and I am 30 now. It was the first book I've read since high school that I have felt worthy of reccommending to others.

Anyway, I am an American, before my pregnancy, I was about 170, which is not bad for my six feet of height. With my pregnancy (I'm in my six calendar month), I'm between 185-190, which is still not bad. I'm not worried about weight gain. I eat healthy, but I don't exercise the way I should. For those who knew me a few months before my pregnancy, theyr'e still amazed at how thin I look, but I see the weight gain and my beautiful round belly when I'm naked standing in front of the mirror. If I'm a few pounds overweight after the baby is born, I'm not going t sweat it too much, though I will likely join the gym and go, just to keep healthy.

I digress.

Answer 9

Unhealthy processed food is cheaper and easier to obtain in America than healthy fresh food. The lifestyle of eating quick and easy combined with the mass availbility of cheap food in the US are factors which have contributed to obesity there.

Not all Americans are over weight.

Answer 10

Not all americans are overweight but the ones who are either are too lazy &and cause they have way to much time on their hands so they sit at home

Some people blame fast food joints but thats only like 40% of there fault. Dont blame them because you are fat or your friends fat or your daughter/son is im sick of it lol blame yourself or them for not controlling there self.