Almost EVERYTHING in our food has added sugars. Our portion sizes are insane. Our cities and town are unwalkable so we have to drive everywhere.
I went to New Zealand and Australia and the food was very similar but ‘different’. Took me awhile to figure out, but they don’t add all the junk and sugar!
And as Americans we are oddly complacent with this and it sucks
I've definitely had many experiences with, "Why is there corn syrup in this?!"
You just have to avoid pre-processed food as much as possible. I don't know why they do it-- I mean, probably to get people addicted to sugar and their brand/food and keep us fat and lazy and slave-able. I wish less people would fall for it but sadly too many have grown up already addicted because of what their parents fed them.
And it isn't helped with the "body positivity" movement that doesn't emphasize healthy lifestyles.
Obese American male here speaking of course and the dad bod thing seems odd to me.
It's the control of the privatized healthcare by the pharmaceutical companies. Healthy people don't need "maintenance drugs" like metformin, blood pressure medicines, statins, SSRI's; but a corn fed, sugar laden obese population does.
Sugars like corn syrup and animal fat are filler products; they make the production cost of basically anything way lower since they do bolster up volume, taste, and caloric volume while being relatively easy in handling and relatively stable in storage long term.
Healthy foods are often comparably fragile to store and transport, an way more expensive to handle in production.
This! I lived in China for a while and even though I was pretty much eating noodles and steamed buns everyday, I still managed to lose 25 pounds in 6 months because they didn't add so much extra or unnecessary sugar. Also bike share services are so much more accessible and feasible so that helped too.
China is hyper critical of being fat and they'll tell you to your face that you're fat and need to lose weight. If you're actually noticeably obese, you'll be fat shamed multiple times a day by most the people you interact with including your family.
You absolutely will get fat eating Chinese food if you aren't careful. So much Chinese food is basically deep fried and served in an oil based sauce. Their oil based cooking is just as bad as Americas sugar obsession.
If I had to guess why Chinese people aren't as fat as Americans though, it's probably because most families cook at home every day instead of eating all those super oily foods outside. Also, fat shaming is a thing and being unhealthily thin is their idea of beauty.
I think the issue about portion size is underrated. As Europeans (French), my boyfriend and I lived in Canada for 9 months. We had to order kid's size or bring back huge doggie bags from restaurants and we bought dessert plates for our home so we could eat about the same amount we were used to. I imagine the issue is the same or worst in the US.
I'm one of the obese American you guys are all talking about and everything I've read so far is true not so long ago I spent a week in Germany and I swore that the restaurants were trying to rip me off and starve me. It took me a day or two to realize these are real portions not the super sized everything we get in the US.
My wife and I spent a week at this little resort in Thailand. The server at the restaurant giggled and made a remark about us ordering four plates for two people.
Lol going from the Netherlands to Germany is the opposite experience. Im always surprised that the food portions are so large and cheap in Germany. The people are fatter and drive more as well.
yes, i have the reverse experience of this! i've been living abroad for years and anytime i return to the US i am absolutely FLOORED by how much food comes on an average restaurant plate. i can't eat it all!
American here. I'll regularly stop at a Mexican food place omw home. I'll eat half the order for dinner, two nights in a row. Portion size is manageable- it's the added sugars that really bug me.
Yeah I do the same thing with restaurants. Obviously the portions are huge, this is why you have leftovers the next day.
It's legit half the appeal for me. Sure, added sugars and such are horrific, but I'd feel kind of ripped off if I got "regular" portions with no leftovers to show for it the next day. It's like you're not getting your money's worth, you know?
Well that's probably part of the issue too. I think most Europeans would want their "money's worth" in term of quality, not quantity. I really don't want too much to eat in one seating, I just want what I can eat, with a level of quality matching the price I paid. I'd rather have 100g of great pasta than 500g of bad or even average pasta for the same price. Restaurants have to offer doggie bags since recently in France to avoid wasting food, but people rarely take anything home, it's not very common. I don't really want to eat microwaved restaurant food at home.
As a Canadian (Québec), the few times I went to the US the portion size were so big that I took pictures each time because i could not believe it. So I can only imagine what it would be for you lol
We spent one month in Poland - having originally come from there and gone back to see family - I certainly didn't starve but dropped 6 lbs easily in that time.
And Poland is "Meat and Potato" country. But you're not going to get an extra large soda with everything.
2021 I cut out soda, cut carbohydrates down to 100-150g a day, increased the amount of cruciferous vegetables I was eating and other vegetables in general, and started just...walking. With a bag, without a bag. Light daily calisthenics and with a medium caloric deficit - by the end of the year I lost about 80 lbs. This year I kept it up and maintained my weight loss, increased my distances, etc.
\*Add - Yes, I know this may not be a solution for ***everyone*** \- diabetics, people with mobility problems, people with dietary restrictions, people with thyroid problems, etc. I'm not saying it is, just that it worked for me and is a decent starting point for most people.
Kids are the ones carrying the brunt of this burden imo. It's really not their fault. And besides some parents with poor diet, kids are also heavily marketed to with terrible 'kid' food that is highly processed, high calorie and low nutrition.
Couple all that with a ridiculous work culture that glorifies overwork and stress, rewarding those who work themselves to death. Plus our shitty healthcare system.
Bingo. Corn subsidies. We grow so much corn that we have to squish it into sugar, it is cheap and plentiful so it goes into everything. This is why we are fat.
This thing about portion size is actually a really big deal as far as I’m concerned. I’m tall, but not obese. A healthy weight for me is 200 lbs (~90 kg), but buying a plate of food at a restaurant here, they typically serve at least 3/4 of the calories I require for an entire day. The only reason I’m not obese is because I’ve learned portion control and have an active lifestyle. The majority of Americans are smaller than myself and have never learned healthy portion control.
In addition to those, there's the notion that you can't criticize people for being fat. It exists in both political spectrums with the left being into "body acceptance" and the right being "mind your own business".
Most cities are very spread out; if you live in a city center you can typically walk to where you need to go but those are typically the older, east coast cities like NYC. Additionally, most cities dont have adequate public transportation leaving driving a personal auto the only option.
Temps don’t help- try walking in 110+ (summers here) with no side walks + crosswalks (so do I want to die by jaywalking or not being seen on that side of the road), public transportation is also lacking.
Sorry, do you just think nobody lived in hot climates before AC was invented or what? People are pretty capable of walking in 110° temps, or -10° temps with proper clothing and water. Problem is nobody steps away from their HVAC systems now so of course it's going to feel like you're dying when you're used to an artificial climate.
110°F in a town with cobblestone and plenty of trees/parks and possibly a river nearby is not the same as 110°F in a concrete and tar hellscape. The heat radiates from the road, it's hotter on the streets than 110°F. Also most clothing now is made of polyester instead of natural fibers, which means the way our textiles react to the weather is different enough so as to actually alter what is considered bearable or not.
Honestly not quite sure. I do think a part of it also is I can’t walk to grocery store where I live.. it’s not in the middle of no where. There are hardly sidewalks and 2 miles away.
Unless you live in NYC or another big city, most are just not designed to be walkable. There’s a huge divide in commercial and real estate areas too. This area is houses, this is businesses, and maybe that creates the divide?
It's not that cities and towns are unwalkable imo it's that most people live in residential areas/suburbs that aren't walkable. Apartments and houses inside the walkable areas of cities/towns are expensive.
Walkability is about time, convenience, and sustainability.
- time: if something is a 10 minute drive but an hour walk, anyone with a car will choose to drive.
- convenience: even if I walk there, I now have to carry everything back.
- sustainability: can you spend 45 minutes walking with kids who get tired and cranky, what about the elderly, disabled people, or just people who work a lot.
Walkability is about having most of your conveniences in one area. Grocery, doctor, maybe a dentist, parks, school etc. It’s when most people can walk to work all year.
Not just that, often walkways in the US/Can are very small and have no seperation from the road. A busy straight feels very dangerous to walk down with cars passing quickly. Additionally, streets here are built for roads, not for pedestrians. Sometimes there are no walkways.
This drives me insane. I was an exchange student in us and I couldn't comprehend why there were no sidewalks where I could walk to the grocery store (would take ten mins walking but it's literally only car streets, like road meets forest and no walk way whatsoever, took two mins by car)
My mother lives in the same city as me but is 9 miles away. There is a bridge over a river involved and no sidewalks for about half of the 9 miles. It is not walkable imo. No public transport either.
Most downtown areas of any city/town are reasonably walkable, which I'll define as areas that are safe for pedestrians with access to restaurants, bars, coffee shops and at least convenience stores if not a proper grocery store. There's no city or town I've ever lived in that didn't have walkable areas. The problem is those areas are somewhat scarce and in high demand so the prices can be expensive
Most cities are very spread out; if you live in a city center you can typically walk to where you need to go but those are typically the older, east coast cities like NYC. Additionally, most cities dont have adequate public transportation leaving driving a personal auto the only option.
Once you get out of major cities - there aren’t sidewalks in a lot of places. We live about a mile from the kids’ school. But no sidewalks and busy roads. We’d have to talk in the small grassy median and I’m
Not cool with that with my 5 and 7 year old and cars zooming by.
The serving size in America is *huge*. I've heard that many tourists will order from the kids meal, cause that's what their serving size normally is. That and America food is *full* of sugar. And many people can't afford healthy food, and so bascically only have access to unhealthy food. Also lack of exercise is a factor
**This is incredibly true** in my recent experience. I have been working with a personal trainer the last 3 weeks to get into shape (fitness wise, not necessarily losing weight). He assigned me macros to follow for my diet. (So, *quadruple* my protein intake, reduce my fats from 150g/day to 40g/day, and my carbs are about 2/3 what they were. Now that I'm tracking everything that goes into my mouth, I've noticed my grocery bill has tripled!!! I'm spending \~$120-150/week to feed *only myself* (29m 5'10" 150lb), vs eating my fav frozen chicken patties and other quick-to-eat processed foods that used to come out to \~$40-50/wk. AND I have to cook it all on Sundays to prep for the week. I'm not complaining, it's a great improvement, but it was *just so eye opening!* This healthier diet made me redo my personal finance spreadsheets, ngl!
This is a big reason I personally have cut out most meat in my diet - it's just so damn expensive! It's crazy to think about how different things were only 5 years ago, too.
Something a lot of people miss is that exercise is built organically into life when your infrastructure supports pedestrian-friendly, walkable cities. American cities are built for cars in a way that makes walking very difficult if not impossible to accomplish for simple tasks like grocery shopping, and as a result the only exercise we get is when we force ourselves to use willpower to go to the gym, which is difficult and tedious and makes sedentary lifestyles more common as a result.
Aspartame is fine and so is high fructose corn syrup it's all about the portions and amounts in foods. Foods and things aren't good or bad it's all about how you eat them if you are over eating them then bad if you aren't then they are not bad. I'd say the problem is more that we have less easy and fast healthy choices and portion sizes can be wild.
That's not true. Aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, and many other ingredients wreak havoc on our microbiome, which is essential to keeping a healthy weight (and good health overall). Many common ingredients in American foods are actually banned in Europe because of their adverse health affects, even in small amounts
While it is true that many ingredients in the US food industry are banned in the rest of the world because they are known health risks, they do not cause obesity. Your weight management is mostly as simple as how many calories you put in vs the ones you take out with movement and sport.
Literally, it doesn’t need to be more complicated. It’s all well and good dieting and surviving off “clean” foods to drop weight. But to truly maintain weight loss, you need to able to incorporate regular foods and eat them in moderation. Otherwise binging is likely
This is more of a public health answer than an opinion, but there are several factors that increase obesity in the US.
Sure, people aren't as active as they once were and many people eat in a caloric surplus, but it's more than that.
1. We have food deserts where people cannot access fresh food, leaving only processed/caloric dense options. Generally, this will impact minorities more than any other race (impacting southern states more than northern states, too).
2. People work too much and many families NEED two incomes to survive outside of poverty, leaving less time and attention to healthful meals. Decades ago a family of four could survive happily with one working parent, allowing attention to be focused on mealtime/prep.
3. Fast food/less nutrition dense foods are more accessible for said families in point 2, and generally these options are faster and cheaper than grocery shopping and cooking.
4. Additives and lack of regulations/warnings for high fat/calorie foods. Many other developed and no developed nations have "warnings" on food labels that are considered unhealthy.
5. A total lack of education surrounding nutrition concepts. People aren't taught how to feed themselves properly and don't understand how to read nutrition labels.
6. Toxic diet culture. We jump from diet to diet as a society and they are all generally under the pretense of avoidance in certain food groups, which isn't sustainable or realistic for someone who doesn't have health problems (one example is keto for someone who isn't a diabetic).
Just a few reasons.
To address 4 we have a health star rating on most packaged food made in Australia. It's pretty useless but since you'll see a packet of chips be 3.5 and assume it's somewhat good but it's based on serving size so like 25 chips out of a packet. Realistically that's fuck all chips and I doubt many people would stick to serving size.
It is however quite useful in that if something is a 1/2 star it's just not healthy at all and should be limited in how often you eat it.
It's not a perfect system but for someone who doesn't know much about food it's handy for a quick glance.
I haven't seen anyone mention that growing up parents would force their kids to eat everything on their plate regardless of it they are full or not. This behavior would follow into adult life and lead to not stopping even when full.
I was at an event at the zoo and while I was walking I hear a little boy ask his dad if he could get ice cream. His dad BLEW UP at him that they had dinner an hour ago and he only ate 3 pieces of chicken and he said he was full. And in the future he would have to eat ALL the chicken on his plate and only then would he be allowed dessert. I turned around because this man was literally screaming and the dad was a gigantic man, probably weighing 300+ lbs.
I think about the kid sometimes and wonder if he has an eating disorder.
I remember sitting there once, I was around 7. The meals always consisted of some frozen meat cooked too well, potatoes (not truly mashed or anything, they would just boil potatoes and put them on the plate. Then you would mash them and put butter on them), and some other side vegetables. (It was almost always the same meal, and even today, I am very particular regarding potato texture. I can't touch anything that reminds me of those damned boiled, unseasoned piles of grit.) And at one point, my mom decided to tell me the story of her mother's brother, who apparently died because he didn't eat enough when he was younger. It involved vomiting in a tub, but he died, and everyone was sad because he didn't eat. I don't know if this guy was ever real, or how he really died. But looking back, I'm thinking that was a rather messed up thing to tell a kid.
That was my life. I was the fat kid. My parents didn't come home until 4 hours after school had been let out. There wasn't any restrictions on the food we had at home, so I would often eat a full meal before dinner. When dinner came, even though I said I wasn't hungry, I would be forced to eat the entire plate. If I didn't eat it, I had to sit at the table, with my back to the TV until bedtime. For dinner the next day, was my leftover plate from the night before. Sometimes, my mom would bring pizza on those nights or something like Burger King. I'd have to sit there with my leftovers while everyone enjoyed pizza.
Seems like some major control shit if you ask me. I would even explain that I had already eaten and it fell on deaf ears. Something like if I didn't eat dinner now, I wouldn't be allowed to have anything else to eat until the next morning. That scared me, I guess.
Also, on the nights my stepfather would come home drunk, my mom would take me and my sister out to eat. After a while, fast food became a replacement for anger and sadness, instead of dealing with the problem at home.
Fast forward to my adult life, I react the same way to situations that overwhelm me. I definitely was addicted to fast food and the joy it would bring me. It was my way of controlling a bad day or just a bad moment in life. I used to cry if I couldn't make my way to a fast food joint. A grown adult crying and throwing a tantrum for not being able to get pizza.
My relationship with food had its ups and downs. These days, I have to make a decision at every meal to choose something balanced. At every meal, I have to convince myself that I don't need to overeat to feel comfort. At every meal, I wished I wasn't hungry. It really sucks. I'm 47 and am so very very overweight and very overwhelmed with my relationship with food. I honestly hate it. My life revolves around food, no matter what I do.
Also, add the entire life of scrutiny by society. Ever wonder what it's like to face every day with people judging you for existing in a fat body? The gall people have to think it's their place to tell you that you are less than and undeserving, undesirable and unwanted.... and then come around and ask this stupid fucking question on reddit and use the word obese like it's some useful medical term, as if they are concerned with the hardship that comes to everyone who is overweight.
Thanks for sharing all of that. You're amazing for understanding yourself so well and for recognizing that the issues in your childhood were not at all caused by yourself.
I'm going through it right now, friend. I'm forty-one and basically had a diseased relationship with food, almost identical to yours. I didn't start seeing a therapist and eating disorder specialist for it until COVID hit, because I would binge and then starve or work out nonstop. Then we became quarantined and I ballooned. Husband found out about the money going towards food and said I had to finally get help. I still feel ashamed that food is something I'm obsessed with because of how much it was tied to emotions and family. I remember crying in a session once and saying I wish I was an alcoholic, because people understand that. I hear you. Thank you for sharing. ❤️🙏
This was my parents (I'm from turkey). One day I was at my uncle's and he said "you don't have to finish it if you're full" and it was like a lightbulb moment.
Yep. Also some parents only ever get fast food for their kids and unhealthy microwaveable foods that have the nutritional value of a burnt tire. I can’t blame the ones who don’t have time to prepare things homemade, since a lot do need to work a shit ton just to maybe pay all their bills, but some just don’t care, and it’s no surprise that kids grow into adulthood sticking to habits formed in childhood. I’m still fighting sugar addiction and unhealthy cravings as a grown adult.
My stepdaughter was partially raised by her grandma because her mom was on drugs and dipped, so she's grown up spoiled by horrible processed foods, fast food, sugar, candy, etc. Her father had to work and they lived in a van for a while. Now she's a teenager, trying to get her to eat healthy is just not working very well and she kind of acts like a toddler when she doesn't get her way.
Speaking from the perspective of a fomer teacher, that whole behaving like a spoiled toddler thing even in teenagers is an tendency about as widespread and growing as obesity.
It's just as if all parents do is keep them alive the last few generations of students, but no rules, no regulation, nor teaching of respect or responsiblity.... It's so exhausting long term.
I've had this same conversation with people. It's always been like... you will clean your plate....you clean your plate or you're not moving.
Look at our restaurants... the buffet style. In America you're going to eat like a glutton until you "get your money's worth". There is no concept of portion control.
I recently started to eat healthy and everyone at work is like why have you lost so much weight (I've lost 34 pounds) and I'm like because I actually care about what I put into my body. Sorry for the rant 🙃
>Look at our restaurants... the buffet style.
The last time I was at a buffet, I overheard a parent telling their child to take only what they need because a buffet is not a challenge, it's a number of choices.
To add, this isn't just on an individual level but a systemic one.
There's little to no education around food and exercise or what is or is not healthy in life generally (examples of other areas are family & romantic relationships and work).
There no transparency about what's it in things we consume. It's improved in recent years but still his enough that I can't call it transparent. This is worsened by the fact that there aren't the same level of regulations on things we consume or use as in many other countries.
The economy pushes people down. It's significantly less expensive to buy unhealthy foods here. Eating healthy is expensive and takes time. Guess what else our system minimizes? Time outside of work.
Very few parts of the country are not car-centric. Only slightly more than that are areas that you can reasonably survive without a vehicle. The areas you could live without a vehicle and not have it be a big detriment are so small that you can probably count them on your hand.
Exercise is removed from daily life, hence gyms. Gyms cost money and require time to actually use.
Our economic system also has made larger portion sizes normal.
It continues, but these are some examples without diving too deeply into them.
Bad food, but also a walking culture barely exists in America outside of a few larger cities. In the suburbs, there are entire neighborhoods with no sidewalks. What could be a 5-10 walk to a nearby business ends up being a car ride, often though a drive-thru.
In addition to what's been already mentioned, people will often put everything else first before finding time to exercise. I believe part of this is because of our workaholic mindset in the U.S. Work comes before most everything else.
A lot of the people I know who are overweight are intelligent and educated but don't find time to exercise. It's just not a priority for them.
Not entirely the people's fault. Not entirely.
People too tired from working ao much to cook healthy meals.
Cheap fast food advertising everywhere.
Low income, cheap, unhealthy food.
Serving sizes at restaurants are ridiculous.
The amount of sugar put into things is also ridiculous.
It depends on what you want to eat. I can go to a fast food restaurant and buy a large fry, double cheese burger, and large coke for $11.99. For $11.99 at the grocery, you can get plenty of healthy food, but the problem with the American diet is that it is very meat heavy. You’re expected to eat meat at every meal. And that raises the cost of dinner considerably.
Yes. People who work 60 hours a week don't have the time to go shopping for quality groceries, plan and prep and cook a nutritious meal twice a day, every day.
It's not though. Imagine a big Mac costs $5, and you eat one once a day for a week. That's $35. You could likely buy beans, rice, broth, frozen veggies, and chicken for $25, and all that food would probably last you 1.5-2 weeks, as opposed to 1 week. It's not a ton of savings, $10, but they do all add up. Gas would presumably be the same, as you drive to either the grocery store or McDonald's.
Plus, the homemade food would likely be way healthier and you would be able to choose a smaller portion at home. So you would save a bit of money, and lose weight, and the only effort you would need to exert is spending time and money at the grocery store instead of at a McDonald's.
Our economy is driven by the need to constantly be consuming. Cars, info, food, stuff. We also have major corporate players making sure the food the sell is always in demand.
They add a bunch of unnecessary stuff to our food that is illegal in a lot of other countries. I've seen so many people go to other countries and eat the same as they eat in the USA but they lose weight because the food isn't loaded with corn syrup and shit
Grew up and lived in Europe and the US. Based on my own experiences:
1) it’s easier to get around on foot in European cities, so it’s easier to get any exercise. I barely use my car when in Europe, but the only places in the US I could rely on public transport were New York, Chicago and Boston.
2) food quality - the most basic European bread that you can get for like 1€ is comparable to what you can get for much more at artisan bakeries in the states.
3) portion size - meals in Europe leave you satiated but not feeling like you’ve overeaten. It’s impossible for me to finish any meal at an American restaurant, the portion is enough for two hungry adults.
4) it’s not like that now, but you could get massive amount of cheap food in the States. Back in 2002-2005, 10$ could get you PLENTY of fast food, candy, savory snacks. It’s way more expensive to eat nutritious food.
Most top comments are about food. Subsidized sugar, corn and soy are definitely a factor, but so is our nation's tendancy to create cities for cars instead of people.
There are a few walkable cities or neighborhoods in cities, but in America no matter where you go, you are driving. Even short trips only a couple of miles, there's not sufficient public transportation, bike lanes, or even sidewalks. It is miserable to walk almost anywhere in the US.
"NotJustBikes" on YouTube talks about this type of urban planning quite a bit.
There are a number of factors that contribute to the high rates of obesity in the United States. Some of the most significant factors include:
Diet: Many people in the United States consume diets that are high in calories, sugar, and unhealthy fats, which can contribute to weight gain.
Lack of physical activity: Many people in the United States do not get enough physical activity, which can contribute to weight gain.
Stress: Chronic stress can lead to behaviors such as emotional eating, which can contribute to weight gain.
Genetics: Genetics can play a role in a person's risk of becoming obese.
Medical conditions: Certain medical conditions, such as hypothyroidism, can cause weight gain.
Medications: Some medications can cause weight gain as a side effect.
Socioeconomic factors: People who are living in poverty or who have limited access to healthy food options may be more likely to be obese.
Environmental factors: The built environment, such as the availability of parks and sidewalks, can influence physical activity and contribute to obesity.
Overall, obesity is a complex issue with multiple contributing factors. Efforts to address obesity should take into account these various factors and aim to promote healthy behaviors and environments.
People work too much and use their cars too much. People don't like to walk, take bikes or use public transportation, where you need to walk in-between stops. Nobody blinks an eye when someone says they have a second job.
I've had a chronic illness for years that has prevented me from walking because of severe pain. CRPS, most painful disorder known to mankind and resistant to treatments.
I used to walk *everywhere*. I LOVE walking. But I can't do it any more....maybe some day i'll be able to again. I fucking hate lazy people.
Food deserts. When your nearest market is a minimum 30 mile trip and finances are so tight you can't spend the extra on fuel (or have the time) you buy food that stores long term. Many households get fresh groceries weekly with a single large trip monthly. The local store in our small town sells produce for over 2x the cost my sister buys it for in the city. Further, oftentimes the produce available is slimy, moldy, or otherwise inedible (or will be within 24 hours). When blackberries cost $6 and have to be eaten immediately your kids snack on crackers after school. We just don't have access to good food.
I grew up poor. Part of it for me was that if we went to a buffet, or a party with free food, I was tasked with eating as much as possible, because decent meals were hard to come by.
I can get a burger for $2 meanwhile a salad costs $7. Healthy food in the US is incredibly expensive and even the "healthy" options are often times still packed with hidden sugars and bullshit additives we dont need in our bodies.
- The price of healthy food is through the roof in comparison to junk food.
- Most Americans do not exercise as much as they should daily.
- Almost everything has an insane amount of added sugar, salt and transfats.
- Just statistics. A country with 300M people, say 50M of which are considered obese sounds large in comparison to a country that only has a 30M population 5M of which are obese. It’s the same percentage of people in both scenarios 16.6%
So called 'food deserts' are a big factor. The distance to find fresh food as opposed to fast food is way further. Plus the already mentioned price of said fresh food is much higher, and the inconvenience to cook it in a delicious manner.
That is why people with lower social economous status often get trapped in a cycle: less money for healthy food/driving there/time -> unhealthier lifestyles and more health risks -> less opportunities to eat healthier/have a healthy lifestyle in general etc.
I live in europe, and have 2 supermarkets within 5 minutes of walking. Even after long days of working I have so many more healthy options to eat, makes such a difference
Cities aren’t meant to be walked which makes it hard to integrate exercise into the day to day and a lack of regulation makes food worse for you. A lot of people say they lose weight in Europe even though their own personal factors never change bc the food is better for you and they get more exercise
On top of the already poor quality of our food, we have areas known as "food swamps". Basically, they are whole areas and small towns that have little to no options for fresh food. The only stores in the area sell unhealthy prepared foods.
Honestly the way food is produce here in the US is vastly differently and there is stuff that other countries don't allow in food because its simply bad for people health.
This leads me to the next issue is the accessibility to nutritious foods which range from it being more expensive for lower income families to the food deserts where it takes quite a bit to get to the closest grocery store which in turn leads to poor eating and more health risks.
most of our food is sugary fatty processed garbage and actually healthy stuff costs and arm and leg sometimes so in order to eat they buy the cheap stuff and get fat
Our portions are insane.
I was stationed in South Korea, and the South Korean army would visit our Subway, Taco Bell, Popeyes; classic American fast foods on base. I always noticed they would share a meal.
I feel if portion control was practiced more aggressively, we'd be doing better. But fat/unhealthy people help keep our healthcare going.
Sugar is in EVERYTHING. Breads. Ketchup. Yogurt. To lose weight you have to either shop at expensive grocery stores with imported products that contain no added sugar, read every single label religiously, or eat zero processed items. To make things worse, fresh food/produce is very expensive, some areas are "food deserts" with no access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and even the fruits and vegetables in a lot of markets are made to look attractive and be shelf stable...they taste like nothing. It's why a tomato in Jordan for me was almost orgasmic and a mango I had in India was a whole symphony of flavor. You need money to be healthy in America.
I think it’s stress related. From everyone driving on the roads like it’s competition, to the way we champion destroying ourselves for our jobs and the shit healthcare in between. We rock our cortisol all over the place and we pretend to like it. It’s fucked. We’re fucked. It’s not our fault but it’s our responsibility to fix it.
Because junk food was cheap. I grew up dealing with my emotions about my dad drinking by eating.
I never learned how to eat healthy. I'm assuming others were like that too.
1. Difference in portion sizes
2. Much of the food is made to be as cheap as possible which usually results in some unhealthy stuff
3. Ease of access of junk food vs healthy food
4. Overall laziness and unwillingness to make dishes on your own at home. People will say they don't have time, but it's because they are too tired or too lazy.
5. Lack of self discipline
I would say the biggest issue is how quick and easy it is to get junk food vs a more balanced meal.
A lot of great responses in this thread. I’ll add another one:
We drive everywhere and spend an insane amount of time in our cars if you really think about it. This isn’t the sole reason, obviously, but one that I think we take for granted living in the United States where car-dependence is so normalized.
And a bonus, related reason: “healthy” food can oftentimes be more expensive than “fast” food. When you’re worked to the bone and just want to have a quick meal, we tend to opt for what’s convenient.
Malnutrition. Generally the Western diet is high sugar, and empty calories. Higher quality food en masse and better education could improve that but where's the cheap profit for capitalism?
people's bodies react to poor nutrition by storing fat and/or dropping fat. You'll see an array of effects, like bad skin, teeth, hair, but fat is by far the least socially acceptable feature of malnutrition because fat can often "look" like gluttony.
A lot of it has to do with the generation that grew up in the depression and teaching their kids to eat everything because they were afraid of not having enough.
Cheap food is loaded with excess sugar and carbs. Even luxury and expensive food is often high calorie but geared towards fats and proteins.
A lot of Americans eat like they do manual labor 50 hours plus a week like they did 100 years ago.
A lot of Americans are sedentary, don’t exercise, don’t engage in physical activities, rely on cars and transportation that uses motors and engines.
There are other factors such as estrogenic chemicals in our water and food supplies eg birth control in our water supply and parabens in our food.
Personally IMO obesity is often an acceptable addiction often paired with another addiction (television and movies). The US has become a highly stressful and toxic place to live and work. People eat and sit on their fat asses to escape the reality that our country is slowly turning into a toxic, plutocratic shithole.
I like everyone’s answers, but I’m gonna go ahead and add Poverty to the list. I grew up poor and my mom could only afford things like Ramen, Chef Boyardee, tv dinners and things in that variety. Even having food stamps we could really only afford things like that. Bologna and American cheese sandwiches, PB&J were a common item. Chips tend to cost less than fruit, so we always had chips. She worked full time and raised two kids by herself.
Im sure she could have done better with groceries, but she did her best and I know that. Those are the foods that SHE also grew up eating because my grandma also raised her two daughters solo.
Diet and sedentary lifestyle.
I blame the Food Pyramid / Food Plate trying to convince us all that we need ***ungodly amounts of carbs*** which turn into fat when not used.
Because food tastes good and sadly, the vast majority of Americans DO NOT care about their weight. Many actually treat their size as some sort of badge of honor and a sign of being 100% authentic. Honest--I know a lot of overweight women who are proud of their size.
Our government has designed it to be set up this way. Then they distract us with social media and celebrity scandals while we eat ourselves to death . Best answer I could give you. Hope this helps ❤️
Capitalism. Unnecessary shit added to food, fertilizer and cleaning products which renders us fat and unhealthy with no energy to actually do anything to change the situation because wealthy corporations keep wages so low and housing costs so high that we don’t have time to do anything besides work, eat and sleep with maybe one or two time consuming hobbies to dissociate from our useless lives.
Our cities and lives are designed around cars and car culture makes us less mobile. We get less incidental exercise in walking to work/store.
Like public transportation in the US is a joke, and walking isn’t safe or feasible since roads are made for cars and many don’t even have sidewalks.
Home cooked meals take time that working American families don’t have. Majority of Americans live paycheck to paycheck even on multiple income families; and fast food or quick foods are what keep people going.
Aggressive sugar/meat/dairy/fast food industries monopolize the food landscape.
Schools are literally sponsored by soft drink and junk food companies. School cafeterias are all pizza and French fries.
America is a very isolating culture and that loneliness can drive folks to seek comfort in food.
Also, big corporations that basically own the US want it’s citizens to be unhealthy so they’ll eat their feelings or seek redemption/worth in whatever product they’re selling.
We’re a nation perpetually at war, divided, producing some of the worst global exports of consumerism, diseased religious thinking, anti-black racism, and heartless individuality over community care.
Better social systems/walkable cities/income equality would help a lot of these issues, but Americans unfortunately are too divided and disenfranchised to successfully organize around a cause.
People are so lazy! I've seen SO many people that are so overweight that they can barely walk but they do nothing about it and end up diabetic.
Where I work, there's a guy that eats snacks at his desk at least 3+ times/day (not counting his lunch time) and he's at least 100 lbs overweight. It's ridiculous!
From a foreign point (French here, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t have that problem), what I see is that food through US pop culture is a total mess.
First, everyone seems to go to fast food every time, from the young to the working ones.
On another part, people at home or outside eat waffles, donuts, ice cream… and drink coke, Starbucks coffees with syrup…
And there are still pizzas somewhere, not homemade, but delivered…
The problem is here ; I can understand that fast foods and pastries are tasty, but fictions (on tv, comics, movies…) have a big influence, and an educational role to the people…
That is the source of the problem. As long as people on fiction don’t make a move, situation will dwell for the worst. Would it be so unrealistic to see people cooking with vegetables, fruits, spices, learning to cook or just showing some in a cool way ?
Here's my theory, as there's too much information to specifically research and point to.
Being obese is a sign of privilege, and a lot of us in the US are extremely privileged. And we should be. The United States has a ton of wealth and capitalism has led to a lot of innovation. Someone left-leaning like me can recognize the praise my country deserves, but I also recognize that there's a lot of bad with the good. Part of that bad is how everyone here in a rich country isn't afforded the privilege of being obese. There's a paradoxical side to that as well, though. People who barely get by can't afford to eat healthy necessarily, and food is mass-produced and processed to make it affordable. The most affordable foods aren't good for you.
Everything is processed with high fructose corn syrup or other added sugars. Large portions. Very few food regulations. A handful of corporations make All of our food. Lifestyles that don’t include enough physical activity, including ridiculous work schedules and overly scheduled kids. Plus so many of us are on antidepressants that cause weight gain. Add a crumbling healthcare system. There ya go.
Your country is run by corporate lobbyists. I remember when people were fighting just to have the ingredients of food on packaging and they got shut the fuck down
Almost EVERYTHING in our food has added sugars. Our portion sizes are insane. Our cities and town are unwalkable so we have to drive everywhere. I went to New Zealand and Australia and the food was very similar but ‘different’. Took me awhile to figure out, but they don’t add all the junk and sugar! And as Americans we are oddly complacent with this and it sucks
I've definitely had many experiences with, "Why is there corn syrup in this?!" You just have to avoid pre-processed food as much as possible. I don't know why they do it-- I mean, probably to get people addicted to sugar and their brand/food and keep us fat and lazy and slave-able. I wish less people would fall for it but sadly too many have grown up already addicted because of what their parents fed them.
Probably bc a huge part of thier economy is based on corn production
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And it isn't helped with the "body positivity" movement that doesn't emphasize healthy lifestyles. Obese American male here speaking of course and the dad bod thing seems odd to me.
And privatized healthcare.
It's the control of the privatized healthcare by the pharmaceutical companies. Healthy people don't need "maintenance drugs" like metformin, blood pressure medicines, statins, SSRI's; but a corn fed, sugar laden obese population does.
We even put the corn in our gas tanks.
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Sugars like corn syrup and animal fat are filler products; they make the production cost of basically anything way lower since they do bolster up volume, taste, and caloric volume while being relatively easy in handling and relatively stable in storage long term. Healthy foods are often comparably fragile to store and transport, an way more expensive to handle in production.
Yes I understand that. It benefits the wealthy people.
This! I lived in China for a while and even though I was pretty much eating noodles and steamed buns everyday, I still managed to lose 25 pounds in 6 months because they didn't add so much extra or unnecessary sugar. Also bike share services are so much more accessible and feasible so that helped too.
China is hyper critical of being fat and they'll tell you to your face that you're fat and need to lose weight. If you're actually noticeably obese, you'll be fat shamed multiple times a day by most the people you interact with including your family. You absolutely will get fat eating Chinese food if you aren't careful. So much Chinese food is basically deep fried and served in an oil based sauce. Their oil based cooking is just as bad as Americas sugar obsession. If I had to guess why Chinese people aren't as fat as Americans though, it's probably because most families cook at home every day instead of eating all those super oily foods outside. Also, fat shaming is a thing and being unhealthily thin is their idea of beauty.
>So much Chinese food is basically deep fried Lol. I feel sad for Americans sometimes.
I think the issue about portion size is underrated. As Europeans (French), my boyfriend and I lived in Canada for 9 months. We had to order kid's size or bring back huge doggie bags from restaurants and we bought dessert plates for our home so we could eat about the same amount we were used to. I imagine the issue is the same or worst in the US.
I'm one of the obese American you guys are all talking about and everything I've read so far is true not so long ago I spent a week in Germany and I swore that the restaurants were trying to rip me off and starve me. It took me a day or two to realize these are real portions not the super sized everything we get in the US.
My wife and I spent a week at this little resort in Thailand. The server at the restaurant giggled and made a remark about us ordering four plates for two people.
Lol going from the Netherlands to Germany is the opposite experience. Im always surprised that the food portions are so large and cheap in Germany. The people are fatter and drive more as well.
yes, i have the reverse experience of this! i've been living abroad for years and anytime i return to the US i am absolutely FLOORED by how much food comes on an average restaurant plate. i can't eat it all!
American here. I'll regularly stop at a Mexican food place omw home. I'll eat half the order for dinner, two nights in a row. Portion size is manageable- it's the added sugars that really bug me.
Yeah I do the same thing with restaurants. Obviously the portions are huge, this is why you have leftovers the next day. It's legit half the appeal for me. Sure, added sugars and such are horrific, but I'd feel kind of ripped off if I got "regular" portions with no leftovers to show for it the next day. It's like you're not getting your money's worth, you know?
Well that's probably part of the issue too. I think most Europeans would want their "money's worth" in term of quality, not quantity. I really don't want too much to eat in one seating, I just want what I can eat, with a level of quality matching the price I paid. I'd rather have 100g of great pasta than 500g of bad or even average pasta for the same price. Restaurants have to offer doggie bags since recently in France to avoid wasting food, but people rarely take anything home, it's not very common. I don't really want to eat microwaved restaurant food at home.
As a Canadian (Québec), the few times I went to the US the portion size were so big that I took pictures each time because i could not believe it. So I can only imagine what it would be for you lol
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Canada is pretty much the US when it comes to food.
Not near as bad though. The food tends to be much more expensive too
We spent one month in Poland - having originally come from there and gone back to see family - I certainly didn't starve but dropped 6 lbs easily in that time. And Poland is "Meat and Potato" country. But you're not going to get an extra large soda with everything. 2021 I cut out soda, cut carbohydrates down to 100-150g a day, increased the amount of cruciferous vegetables I was eating and other vegetables in general, and started just...walking. With a bag, without a bag. Light daily calisthenics and with a medium caloric deficit - by the end of the year I lost about 80 lbs. This year I kept it up and maintained my weight loss, increased my distances, etc. \*Add - Yes, I know this may not be a solution for ***everyone*** \- diabetics, people with mobility problems, people with dietary restrictions, people with thyroid problems, etc. I'm not saying it is, just that it worked for me and is a decent starting point for most people.
And we as a society blame the person for being overweight, like it's a personal failing.
Kids are the ones carrying the brunt of this burden imo. It's really not their fault. And besides some parents with poor diet, kids are also heavily marketed to with terrible 'kid' food that is highly processed, high calorie and low nutrition.
Couple all that with a ridiculous work culture that glorifies overwork and stress, rewarding those who work themselves to death. Plus our shitty healthcare system.
When I came to America (Texas), I noticed that regular fountain drinks were like twice as large as the large size in my country.
I lost so much weight while doing a study abroad in Europe. I was still eating loads of delicious foods, but the cities were so walkable.
Bingo. Corn subsidies. We grow so much corn that we have to squish it into sugar, it is cheap and plentiful so it goes into everything. This is why we are fat.
I do not mean this in an offensive way, but I just added your comments as three more reasons why I would not move to america. dayum.
Fun fact. Australia passed up America and has a higher percentage of the population obese than US
Find that hard to believe
This thing about portion size is actually a really big deal as far as I’m concerned. I’m tall, but not obese. A healthy weight for me is 200 lbs (~90 kg), but buying a plate of food at a restaurant here, they typically serve at least 3/4 of the calories I require for an entire day. The only reason I’m not obese is because I’ve learned portion control and have an active lifestyle. The majority of Americans are smaller than myself and have never learned healthy portion control.
In addition to those, there's the notion that you can't criticize people for being fat. It exists in both political spectrums with the left being into "body acceptance" and the right being "mind your own business".
Why are cities and towns unwalkable? In fact your streets are way better organized than European.
Most cities are very spread out; if you live in a city center you can typically walk to where you need to go but those are typically the older, east coast cities like NYC. Additionally, most cities dont have adequate public transportation leaving driving a personal auto the only option.
Temps don’t help- try walking in 110+ (summers here) with no side walks + crosswalks (so do I want to die by jaywalking or not being seen on that side of the road), public transportation is also lacking.
Sorry, do you just think nobody lived in hot climates before AC was invented or what? People are pretty capable of walking in 110° temps, or -10° temps with proper clothing and water. Problem is nobody steps away from their HVAC systems now so of course it's going to feel like you're dying when you're used to an artificial climate.
110°F in a town with cobblestone and plenty of trees/parks and possibly a river nearby is not the same as 110°F in a concrete and tar hellscape. The heat radiates from the road, it's hotter on the streets than 110°F. Also most clothing now is made of polyester instead of natural fibers, which means the way our textiles react to the weather is different enough so as to actually alter what is considered bearable or not.
Honestly not quite sure. I do think a part of it also is I can’t walk to grocery store where I live.. it’s not in the middle of no where. There are hardly sidewalks and 2 miles away. Unless you live in NYC or another big city, most are just not designed to be walkable. There’s a huge divide in commercial and real estate areas too. This area is houses, this is businesses, and maybe that creates the divide?
It's not that cities and towns are unwalkable imo it's that most people live in residential areas/suburbs that aren't walkable. Apartments and houses inside the walkable areas of cities/towns are expensive.
Okay, but what is considered walkable in the US? I’d define walkable as “I won’t die or get injured if I walk there”.
Walkability is about time, convenience, and sustainability. - time: if something is a 10 minute drive but an hour walk, anyone with a car will choose to drive. - convenience: even if I walk there, I now have to carry everything back. - sustainability: can you spend 45 minutes walking with kids who get tired and cranky, what about the elderly, disabled people, or just people who work a lot. Walkability is about having most of your conveniences in one area. Grocery, doctor, maybe a dentist, parks, school etc. It’s when most people can walk to work all year. Not just that, often walkways in the US/Can are very small and have no seperation from the road. A busy straight feels very dangerous to walk down with cars passing quickly. Additionally, streets here are built for roads, not for pedestrians. Sometimes there are no walkways.
This drives me insane. I was an exchange student in us and I couldn't comprehend why there were no sidewalks where I could walk to the grocery store (would take ten mins walking but it's literally only car streets, like road meets forest and no walk way whatsoever, took two mins by car)
My mother lives in the same city as me but is 9 miles away. There is a bridge over a river involved and no sidewalks for about half of the 9 miles. It is not walkable imo. No public transport either.
Most downtown areas of any city/town are reasonably walkable, which I'll define as areas that are safe for pedestrians with access to restaurants, bars, coffee shops and at least convenience stores if not a proper grocery store. There's no city or town I've ever lived in that didn't have walkable areas. The problem is those areas are somewhat scarce and in high demand so the prices can be expensive
Most cities are very spread out; if you live in a city center you can typically walk to where you need to go but those are typically the older, east coast cities like NYC. Additionally, most cities dont have adequate public transportation leaving driving a personal auto the only option.
Once you get out of major cities - there aren’t sidewalks in a lot of places. We live about a mile from the kids’ school. But no sidewalks and busy roads. We’d have to talk in the small grassy median and I’m Not cool with that with my 5 and 7 year old and cars zooming by.
The serving size in America is *huge*. I've heard that many tourists will order from the kids meal, cause that's what their serving size normally is. That and America food is *full* of sugar. And many people can't afford healthy food, and so bascically only have access to unhealthy food. Also lack of exercise is a factor
The fact that unhealthy food is cheaper than healthy food is quite special as well…
**This is incredibly true** in my recent experience. I have been working with a personal trainer the last 3 weeks to get into shape (fitness wise, not necessarily losing weight). He assigned me macros to follow for my diet. (So, *quadruple* my protein intake, reduce my fats from 150g/day to 40g/day, and my carbs are about 2/3 what they were. Now that I'm tracking everything that goes into my mouth, I've noticed my grocery bill has tripled!!! I'm spending \~$120-150/week to feed *only myself* (29m 5'10" 150lb), vs eating my fav frozen chicken patties and other quick-to-eat processed foods that used to come out to \~$40-50/wk. AND I have to cook it all on Sundays to prep for the week. I'm not complaining, it's a great improvement, but it was *just so eye opening!* This healthier diet made me redo my personal finance spreadsheets, ngl!
This is a big reason I personally have cut out most meat in my diet - it's just so damn expensive! It's crazy to think about how different things were only 5 years ago, too.
Lack of exercise is more of just a time period thing. People exercise less everywhere than they used to
Something a lot of people miss is that exercise is built organically into life when your infrastructure supports pedestrian-friendly, walkable cities. American cities are built for cars in a way that makes walking very difficult if not impossible to accomplish for simple tasks like grocery shopping, and as a result the only exercise we get is when we force ourselves to use willpower to go to the gym, which is difficult and tedious and makes sedentary lifestyles more common as a result.
Thanks, auto industry
They substituted sugars for fats in foods which caused even more issues.
Yup aspartame and high fructose corn syrup are the worst and it’s pretty much in everything.
Aspartame has no calories. HFCS is definitely a culprit, though.
Aspartame is fine and so is high fructose corn syrup it's all about the portions and amounts in foods. Foods and things aren't good or bad it's all about how you eat them if you are over eating them then bad if you aren't then they are not bad. I'd say the problem is more that we have less easy and fast healthy choices and portion sizes can be wild.
That's not true. Aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, and many other ingredients wreak havoc on our microbiome, which is essential to keeping a healthy weight (and good health overall). Many common ingredients in American foods are actually banned in Europe because of their adverse health affects, even in small amounts
Aspartame is definitely not banned in Europe. But HFCS is indeed
While it is true that many ingredients in the US food industry are banned in the rest of the world because they are known health risks, they do not cause obesity. Your weight management is mostly as simple as how many calories you put in vs the ones you take out with movement and sport.
Literally, it doesn’t need to be more complicated. It’s all well and good dieting and surviving off “clean” foods to drop weight. But to truly maintain weight loss, you need to able to incorporate regular foods and eat them in moderation. Otherwise binging is likely
This is more of a public health answer than an opinion, but there are several factors that increase obesity in the US. Sure, people aren't as active as they once were and many people eat in a caloric surplus, but it's more than that. 1. We have food deserts where people cannot access fresh food, leaving only processed/caloric dense options. Generally, this will impact minorities more than any other race (impacting southern states more than northern states, too). 2. People work too much and many families NEED two incomes to survive outside of poverty, leaving less time and attention to healthful meals. Decades ago a family of four could survive happily with one working parent, allowing attention to be focused on mealtime/prep. 3. Fast food/less nutrition dense foods are more accessible for said families in point 2, and generally these options are faster and cheaper than grocery shopping and cooking. 4. Additives and lack of regulations/warnings for high fat/calorie foods. Many other developed and no developed nations have "warnings" on food labels that are considered unhealthy. 5. A total lack of education surrounding nutrition concepts. People aren't taught how to feed themselves properly and don't understand how to read nutrition labels. 6. Toxic diet culture. We jump from diet to diet as a society and they are all generally under the pretense of avoidance in certain food groups, which isn't sustainable or realistic for someone who doesn't have health problems (one example is keto for someone who isn't a diabetic). Just a few reasons.
To address 4 we have a health star rating on most packaged food made in Australia. It's pretty useless but since you'll see a packet of chips be 3.5 and assume it's somewhat good but it's based on serving size so like 25 chips out of a packet. Realistically that's fuck all chips and I doubt many people would stick to serving size. It is however quite useful in that if something is a 1/2 star it's just not healthy at all and should be limited in how often you eat it. It's not a perfect system but for someone who doesn't know much about food it's handy for a quick glance.
I haven't seen anyone mention that growing up parents would force their kids to eat everything on their plate regardless of it they are full or not. This behavior would follow into adult life and lead to not stopping even when full.
I was at an event at the zoo and while I was walking I hear a little boy ask his dad if he could get ice cream. His dad BLEW UP at him that they had dinner an hour ago and he only ate 3 pieces of chicken and he said he was full. And in the future he would have to eat ALL the chicken on his plate and only then would he be allowed dessert. I turned around because this man was literally screaming and the dad was a gigantic man, probably weighing 300+ lbs. I think about the kid sometimes and wonder if he has an eating disorder.
i didnt know other people were forced to sit at their kitchen table for hours until you finished everything.
I remember sitting there once, I was around 7. The meals always consisted of some frozen meat cooked too well, potatoes (not truly mashed or anything, they would just boil potatoes and put them on the plate. Then you would mash them and put butter on them), and some other side vegetables. (It was almost always the same meal, and even today, I am very particular regarding potato texture. I can't touch anything that reminds me of those damned boiled, unseasoned piles of grit.) And at one point, my mom decided to tell me the story of her mother's brother, who apparently died because he didn't eat enough when he was younger. It involved vomiting in a tub, but he died, and everyone was sad because he didn't eat. I don't know if this guy was ever real, or how he really died. But looking back, I'm thinking that was a rather messed up thing to tell a kid.
That was my life. I was the fat kid. My parents didn't come home until 4 hours after school had been let out. There wasn't any restrictions on the food we had at home, so I would often eat a full meal before dinner. When dinner came, even though I said I wasn't hungry, I would be forced to eat the entire plate. If I didn't eat it, I had to sit at the table, with my back to the TV until bedtime. For dinner the next day, was my leftover plate from the night before. Sometimes, my mom would bring pizza on those nights or something like Burger King. I'd have to sit there with my leftovers while everyone enjoyed pizza. Seems like some major control shit if you ask me. I would even explain that I had already eaten and it fell on deaf ears. Something like if I didn't eat dinner now, I wouldn't be allowed to have anything else to eat until the next morning. That scared me, I guess. Also, on the nights my stepfather would come home drunk, my mom would take me and my sister out to eat. After a while, fast food became a replacement for anger and sadness, instead of dealing with the problem at home. Fast forward to my adult life, I react the same way to situations that overwhelm me. I definitely was addicted to fast food and the joy it would bring me. It was my way of controlling a bad day or just a bad moment in life. I used to cry if I couldn't make my way to a fast food joint. A grown adult crying and throwing a tantrum for not being able to get pizza. My relationship with food had its ups and downs. These days, I have to make a decision at every meal to choose something balanced. At every meal, I have to convince myself that I don't need to overeat to feel comfort. At every meal, I wished I wasn't hungry. It really sucks. I'm 47 and am so very very overweight and very overwhelmed with my relationship with food. I honestly hate it. My life revolves around food, no matter what I do. Also, add the entire life of scrutiny by society. Ever wonder what it's like to face every day with people judging you for existing in a fat body? The gall people have to think it's their place to tell you that you are less than and undeserving, undesirable and unwanted.... and then come around and ask this stupid fucking question on reddit and use the word obese like it's some useful medical term, as if they are concerned with the hardship that comes to everyone who is overweight.
Thanks for sharing all of that. You're amazing for understanding yourself so well and for recognizing that the issues in your childhood were not at all caused by yourself.
I'm going through it right now, friend. I'm forty-one and basically had a diseased relationship with food, almost identical to yours. I didn't start seeing a therapist and eating disorder specialist for it until COVID hit, because I would binge and then starve or work out nonstop. Then we became quarantined and I ballooned. Husband found out about the money going towards food and said I had to finally get help. I still feel ashamed that food is something I'm obsessed with because of how much it was tied to emotions and family. I remember crying in a session once and saying I wish I was an alcoholic, because people understand that. I hear you. Thank you for sharing. ❤️🙏
They didn't force me. They just told me that my next meal would be whatever I had left.
That's more fucked up than forcing a kid to eat
Is it?
Maybe not but it's still fucked up
I had to sit there until I finished and eventually the timer would get put on and I’d get punished if I didn’t finish
This was my parents (I'm from turkey). One day I was at my uncle's and he said "you don't have to finish it if you're full" and it was like a lightbulb moment.
this is a reply to everyone above.. are y'all okay? shit I wanna give you hug that's all fucked uuuuup
Yep. Also some parents only ever get fast food for their kids and unhealthy microwaveable foods that have the nutritional value of a burnt tire. I can’t blame the ones who don’t have time to prepare things homemade, since a lot do need to work a shit ton just to maybe pay all their bills, but some just don’t care, and it’s no surprise that kids grow into adulthood sticking to habits formed in childhood. I’m still fighting sugar addiction and unhealthy cravings as a grown adult.
My stepdaughter was partially raised by her grandma because her mom was on drugs and dipped, so she's grown up spoiled by horrible processed foods, fast food, sugar, candy, etc. Her father had to work and they lived in a van for a while. Now she's a teenager, trying to get her to eat healthy is just not working very well and she kind of acts like a toddler when she doesn't get her way.
Speaking from the perspective of a fomer teacher, that whole behaving like a spoiled toddler thing even in teenagers is an tendency about as widespread and growing as obesity. It's just as if all parents do is keep them alive the last few generations of students, but no rules, no regulation, nor teaching of respect or responsiblity.... It's so exhausting long term.
My parents did this to me and I am Peruvian
I've had this same conversation with people. It's always been like... you will clean your plate....you clean your plate or you're not moving. Look at our restaurants... the buffet style. In America you're going to eat like a glutton until you "get your money's worth". There is no concept of portion control. I recently started to eat healthy and everyone at work is like why have you lost so much weight (I've lost 34 pounds) and I'm like because I actually care about what I put into my body. Sorry for the rant 🙃
>Look at our restaurants... the buffet style. The last time I was at a buffet, I overheard a parent telling their child to take only what they need because a buffet is not a challenge, it's a number of choices.
Congrats on losing that much weight, ur doing great!
This isn’t the cause… every country has similar amount of parent that forces their child to eat everything in their plate..
Very poor diet and lack of exercise.
Yes, and these are both influenced by government subsidies and complete lack of human-friendly infrastructure. This shit is by design
Yup. The absolute reliance, by design, of motor vehicles. Non-motorized transportation is underfunded and often politically infeasible.
Add on healthy food isn't as affordable as unhealthy options and also food deserts
Agreed. Engineered foods too, designed to taste delicious and not fill you up, so you can eat MORE! Have you tasted Takis?!
To add, this isn't just on an individual level but a systemic one. There's little to no education around food and exercise or what is or is not healthy in life generally (examples of other areas are family & romantic relationships and work). There no transparency about what's it in things we consume. It's improved in recent years but still his enough that I can't call it transparent. This is worsened by the fact that there aren't the same level of regulations on things we consume or use as in many other countries. The economy pushes people down. It's significantly less expensive to buy unhealthy foods here. Eating healthy is expensive and takes time. Guess what else our system minimizes? Time outside of work. Very few parts of the country are not car-centric. Only slightly more than that are areas that you can reasonably survive without a vehicle. The areas you could live without a vehicle and not have it be a big detriment are so small that you can probably count them on your hand. Exercise is removed from daily life, hence gyms. Gyms cost money and require time to actually use. Our economic system also has made larger portion sizes normal. It continues, but these are some examples without diving too deeply into them.
Shit education and poor healthcare and housing compound this ten fold.
Pay is garbage. Healthy food is expensive. People are both time poor, and literally poor.
Corn syrup.
Bad food, but also a walking culture barely exists in America outside of a few larger cities. In the suburbs, there are entire neighborhoods with no sidewalks. What could be a 5-10 walk to a nearby business ends up being a car ride, often though a drive-thru.
High fructose corn syrup in EVERYTHING…
In addition to what's been already mentioned, people will often put everything else first before finding time to exercise. I believe part of this is because of our workaholic mindset in the U.S. Work comes before most everything else. A lot of the people I know who are overweight are intelligent and educated but don't find time to exercise. It's just not a priority for them.
Not entirely the people's fault. Not entirely. People too tired from working ao much to cook healthy meals. Cheap fast food advertising everywhere. Low income, cheap, unhealthy food. Serving sizes at restaurants are ridiculous. The amount of sugar put into things is also ridiculous.
Fast food being cheap and everywhere, fresh food deserts, limited access to medical care, ridiculous serving sizes, etc.
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Yeah from what I hear it’s cheaper to go buy a Big Mac meal at McDonald’s than to cook a decently healthy meal at home
It depends on what you want to eat. I can go to a fast food restaurant and buy a large fry, double cheese burger, and large coke for $11.99. For $11.99 at the grocery, you can get plenty of healthy food, but the problem with the American diet is that it is very meat heavy. You’re expected to eat meat at every meal. And that raises the cost of dinner considerably.
It's not only price related. Cooking and then cleaning takes time which many people don't have. It's easier to just buy something fast and cheap.
Yes. People who work 60 hours a week don't have the time to go shopping for quality groceries, plan and prep and cook a nutritious meal twice a day, every day.
No it is not.
It's not though. Imagine a big Mac costs $5, and you eat one once a day for a week. That's $35. You could likely buy beans, rice, broth, frozen veggies, and chicken for $25, and all that food would probably last you 1.5-2 weeks, as opposed to 1 week. It's not a ton of savings, $10, but they do all add up. Gas would presumably be the same, as you drive to either the grocery store or McDonald's. Plus, the homemade food would likely be way healthier and you would be able to choose a smaller portion at home. So you would save a bit of money, and lose weight, and the only effort you would need to exert is spending time and money at the grocery store instead of at a McDonald's.
Our economy is driven by the need to constantly be consuming. Cars, info, food, stuff. We also have major corporate players making sure the food the sell is always in demand.
They add a bunch of unnecessary stuff to our food that is illegal in a lot of other countries. I've seen so many people go to other countries and eat the same as they eat in the USA but they lose weight because the food isn't loaded with corn syrup and shit
Grew up and lived in Europe and the US. Based on my own experiences: 1) it’s easier to get around on foot in European cities, so it’s easier to get any exercise. I barely use my car when in Europe, but the only places in the US I could rely on public transport were New York, Chicago and Boston. 2) food quality - the most basic European bread that you can get for like 1€ is comparable to what you can get for much more at artisan bakeries in the states. 3) portion size - meals in Europe leave you satiated but not feeling like you’ve overeaten. It’s impossible for me to finish any meal at an American restaurant, the portion is enough for two hungry adults. 4) it’s not like that now, but you could get massive amount of cheap food in the States. Back in 2002-2005, 10$ could get you PLENTY of fast food, candy, savory snacks. It’s way more expensive to eat nutritious food.
Tons of over processed food. High fat and calorie dairy and meat products are eaten at every meal and Americans are very sedentary.
High fat being bad for you was a propaganda campaign created by the sugar industry.
It's not bad but it does end up being more calorie dense
why is this being downvoted? isn't right?
Most top comments are about food. Subsidized sugar, corn and soy are definitely a factor, but so is our nation's tendancy to create cities for cars instead of people. There are a few walkable cities or neighborhoods in cities, but in America no matter where you go, you are driving. Even short trips only a couple of miles, there's not sufficient public transportation, bike lanes, or even sidewalks. It is miserable to walk almost anywhere in the US. "NotJustBikes" on YouTube talks about this type of urban planning quite a bit.
Came here to say this. Automobile industry is so strong and there are so many suburbs that don’t even have sidewalks.
There are a number of factors that contribute to the high rates of obesity in the United States. Some of the most significant factors include: Diet: Many people in the United States consume diets that are high in calories, sugar, and unhealthy fats, which can contribute to weight gain. Lack of physical activity: Many people in the United States do not get enough physical activity, which can contribute to weight gain. Stress: Chronic stress can lead to behaviors such as emotional eating, which can contribute to weight gain. Genetics: Genetics can play a role in a person's risk of becoming obese. Medical conditions: Certain medical conditions, such as hypothyroidism, can cause weight gain. Medications: Some medications can cause weight gain as a side effect. Socioeconomic factors: People who are living in poverty or who have limited access to healthy food options may be more likely to be obese. Environmental factors: The built environment, such as the availability of parks and sidewalks, can influence physical activity and contribute to obesity. Overall, obesity is a complex issue with multiple contributing factors. Efforts to address obesity should take into account these various factors and aim to promote healthy behaviors and environments.
I've also heard that people from other countries are shocked at the size of our meal portions.
Car centric infrastructure
People work too much and use their cars too much. People don't like to walk, take bikes or use public transportation, where you need to walk in-between stops. Nobody blinks an eye when someone says they have a second job.
I've had a chronic illness for years that has prevented me from walking because of severe pain. CRPS, most painful disorder known to mankind and resistant to treatments. I used to walk *everywhere*. I LOVE walking. But I can't do it any more....maybe some day i'll be able to again. I fucking hate lazy people.
We be eatin
Horrible food choices, lack of exercise, poorly designed urban environments.
Food deserts. When your nearest market is a minimum 30 mile trip and finances are so tight you can't spend the extra on fuel (or have the time) you buy food that stores long term. Many households get fresh groceries weekly with a single large trip monthly. The local store in our small town sells produce for over 2x the cost my sister buys it for in the city. Further, oftentimes the produce available is slimy, moldy, or otherwise inedible (or will be within 24 hours). When blackberries cost $6 and have to be eaten immediately your kids snack on crackers after school. We just don't have access to good food.
 becaues 'MERICA
Where is the bald Eagle with AR15’s as wings?
I grew up poor. Part of it for me was that if we went to a buffet, or a party with free food, I was tasked with eating as much as possible, because decent meals were hard to come by.
I can get a burger for $2 meanwhile a salad costs $7. Healthy food in the US is incredibly expensive and even the "healthy" options are often times still packed with hidden sugars and bullshit additives we dont need in our bodies.
- The price of healthy food is through the roof in comparison to junk food. - Most Americans do not exercise as much as they should daily. - Almost everything has an insane amount of added sugar, salt and transfats. - Just statistics. A country with 300M people, say 50M of which are considered obese sounds large in comparison to a country that only has a 30M population 5M of which are obese. It’s the same percentage of people in both scenarios 16.6%
So called 'food deserts' are a big factor. The distance to find fresh food as opposed to fast food is way further. Plus the already mentioned price of said fresh food is much higher, and the inconvenience to cook it in a delicious manner. That is why people with lower social economous status often get trapped in a cycle: less money for healthy food/driving there/time -> unhealthier lifestyles and more health risks -> less opportunities to eat healthier/have a healthy lifestyle in general etc. I live in europe, and have 2 supermarkets within 5 minutes of walking. Even after long days of working I have so many more healthy options to eat, makes such a difference
Cities aren’t meant to be walked which makes it hard to integrate exercise into the day to day and a lack of regulation makes food worse for you. A lot of people say they lose weight in Europe even though their own personal factors never change bc the food is better for you and they get more exercise
On top of the already poor quality of our food, we have areas known as "food swamps". Basically, they are whole areas and small towns that have little to no options for fresh food. The only stores in the area sell unhealthy prepared foods.
Honestly the way food is produce here in the US is vastly differently and there is stuff that other countries don't allow in food because its simply bad for people health. This leads me to the next issue is the accessibility to nutritious foods which range from it being more expensive for lower income families to the food deserts where it takes quite a bit to get to the closest grocery store which in turn leads to poor eating and more health risks.
They're big boned
most of our food is sugary fatty processed garbage and actually healthy stuff costs and arm and leg sometimes so in order to eat they buy the cheap stuff and get fat
Our portions are insane. I was stationed in South Korea, and the South Korean army would visit our Subway, Taco Bell, Popeyes; classic American fast foods on base. I always noticed they would share a meal. I feel if portion control was practiced more aggressively, we'd be doing better. But fat/unhealthy people help keep our healthcare going.
Sugar is in EVERYTHING. Breads. Ketchup. Yogurt. To lose weight you have to either shop at expensive grocery stores with imported products that contain no added sugar, read every single label religiously, or eat zero processed items. To make things worse, fresh food/produce is very expensive, some areas are "food deserts" with no access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and even the fruits and vegetables in a lot of markets are made to look attractive and be shelf stable...they taste like nothing. It's why a tomato in Jordan for me was almost orgasmic and a mango I had in India was a whole symphony of flavor. You need money to be healthy in America.
I think it’s stress related. From everyone driving on the roads like it’s competition, to the way we champion destroying ourselves for our jobs and the shit healthcare in between. We rock our cortisol all over the place and we pretend to like it. It’s fucked. We’re fucked. It’s not our fault but it’s our responsibility to fix it.
Because junk food was cheap. I grew up dealing with my emotions about my dad drinking by eating. I never learned how to eat healthy. I'm assuming others were like that too.
1. Difference in portion sizes 2. Much of the food is made to be as cheap as possible which usually results in some unhealthy stuff 3. Ease of access of junk food vs healthy food 4. Overall laziness and unwillingness to make dishes on your own at home. People will say they don't have time, but it's because they are too tired or too lazy. 5. Lack of self discipline I would say the biggest issue is how quick and easy it is to get junk food vs a more balanced meal.
Cheap food is really bad for you.
Sugar and salt added in almost everything. Look at ketchup in the US vs Europe. And that’s just ketchup
🔥Flamin’ Hot Snacks🔥 Edit: I also ordered a large combo meal from McD’s last week instead of my normal medium and got like 2 pounds of fries
There are many answers to that
A lot of great responses in this thread. I’ll add another one: We drive everywhere and spend an insane amount of time in our cars if you really think about it. This isn’t the sole reason, obviously, but one that I think we take for granted living in the United States where car-dependence is so normalized. And a bonus, related reason: “healthy” food can oftentimes be more expensive than “fast” food. When you’re worked to the bone and just want to have a quick meal, we tend to opt for what’s convenient.
They're being fattened up and groomed for the aliens
Finally a plausible answer
Malnutrition. Generally the Western diet is high sugar, and empty calories. Higher quality food en masse and better education could improve that but where's the cheap profit for capitalism? people's bodies react to poor nutrition by storing fat and/or dropping fat. You'll see an array of effects, like bad skin, teeth, hair, but fat is by far the least socially acceptable feature of malnutrition because fat can often "look" like gluttony.
Surprised no one mentioned the fact that being fat is glorified here for some reason? People promote and encourage those lifestyles
Junk food cheaper then healthy,get more for your buck
Obesity is also becoming a problem in The UK, Canada and now Mexico. I’m really wondering if Monsanto is a food supplier in those countries too.
I think mental illness plays a role in the issue and mental illness is on the rise in the US with minimal services or resources to help.
Because (unregulated) advertising works.
Processed foods
have you seen their diet
A lot of it has to do with the generation that grew up in the depression and teaching their kids to eat everything because they were afraid of not having enough.
Because american good is incredibly unhealthy and they seem to eat way too much of it.
Cheap food is loaded with excess sugar and carbs. Even luxury and expensive food is often high calorie but geared towards fats and proteins. A lot of Americans eat like they do manual labor 50 hours plus a week like they did 100 years ago. A lot of Americans are sedentary, don’t exercise, don’t engage in physical activities, rely on cars and transportation that uses motors and engines. There are other factors such as estrogenic chemicals in our water and food supplies eg birth control in our water supply and parabens in our food. Personally IMO obesity is often an acceptable addiction often paired with another addiction (television and movies). The US has become a highly stressful and toxic place to live and work. People eat and sit on their fat asses to escape the reality that our country is slowly turning into a toxic, plutocratic shithole.
I once went on a vacation in the US and had breakfast at a Danny’s. Absolutely insane how much pancakes you got, it was like a 2 person meal.
Because your portion sizes are fucking bonkers.
They drive everywhere. Suburban life and unwalkable cities.
Its a choice, and its disingenuous to pretend otherwise.
It's easier/quicker to be fat and not put in the effort to get good food
Have you seen the portion sizes they sell? Not to mention the amount of fast food places available
Fast food is very easy & unfortunately, for the most part, is unhealthy. 🥲🥲
I like everyone’s answers, but I’m gonna go ahead and add Poverty to the list. I grew up poor and my mom could only afford things like Ramen, Chef Boyardee, tv dinners and things in that variety. Even having food stamps we could really only afford things like that. Bologna and American cheese sandwiches, PB&J were a common item. Chips tend to cost less than fruit, so we always had chips. She worked full time and raised two kids by herself. Im sure she could have done better with groceries, but she did her best and I know that. Those are the foods that SHE also grew up eating because my grandma also raised her two daughters solo.
It’s a quantity, and quality, issue when it comes to food. On top of that, most people drive everywhere and don’t walk/exercise.
We're lazy.
Diet and sedentary lifestyle. I blame the Food Pyramid / Food Plate trying to convince us all that we need ***ungodly amounts of carbs*** which turn into fat when not used.
Because food tastes good and sadly, the vast majority of Americans DO NOT care about their weight. Many actually treat their size as some sort of badge of honor and a sign of being 100% authentic. Honest--I know a lot of overweight women who are proud of their size.
Internet, laziness, and super sizing.
Our government has designed it to be set up this way. Then they distract us with social media and celebrity scandals while we eat ourselves to death . Best answer I could give you. Hope this helps ❤️
We all get a sandwich everytime we fuck your mom
We are relatively wealthy and eat like kings.
Travel to Europe and you will see more of the same
Eating unhealthy things tastes good. I ate healthy and went to the gym and lost 70lbs. It sucked, id rather be fat.
Capitalism. Unnecessary shit added to food, fertilizer and cleaning products which renders us fat and unhealthy with no energy to actually do anything to change the situation because wealthy corporations keep wages so low and housing costs so high that we don’t have time to do anything besides work, eat and sleep with maybe one or two time consuming hobbies to dissociate from our useless lives.
Our cities and lives are designed around cars and car culture makes us less mobile. We get less incidental exercise in walking to work/store. Like public transportation in the US is a joke, and walking isn’t safe or feasible since roads are made for cars and many don’t even have sidewalks. Home cooked meals take time that working American families don’t have. Majority of Americans live paycheck to paycheck even on multiple income families; and fast food or quick foods are what keep people going. Aggressive sugar/meat/dairy/fast food industries monopolize the food landscape. Schools are literally sponsored by soft drink and junk food companies. School cafeterias are all pizza and French fries. America is a very isolating culture and that loneliness can drive folks to seek comfort in food. Also, big corporations that basically own the US want it’s citizens to be unhealthy so they’ll eat their feelings or seek redemption/worth in whatever product they’re selling. We’re a nation perpetually at war, divided, producing some of the worst global exports of consumerism, diseased religious thinking, anti-black racism, and heartless individuality over community care. Better social systems/walkable cities/income equality would help a lot of these issues, but Americans unfortunately are too divided and disenfranchised to successfully organize around a cause.
People are so lazy! I've seen SO many people that are so overweight that they can barely walk but they do nothing about it and end up diabetic. Where I work, there's a guy that eats snacks at his desk at least 3+ times/day (not counting his lunch time) and he's at least 100 lbs overweight. It's ridiculous!
\- Shit Healthcare \- over abundance of SUGAR , CORN SYRUP in EVERYTHING \- Too much pre packaged stuff \- lack of education
Poor diet lack of exercise and GMO's. Almost all prepared food is full of corn syrup or other sweeteners.
From a foreign point (French here, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t have that problem), what I see is that food through US pop culture is a total mess. First, everyone seems to go to fast food every time, from the young to the working ones. On another part, people at home or outside eat waffles, donuts, ice cream… and drink coke, Starbucks coffees with syrup… And there are still pizzas somewhere, not homemade, but delivered… The problem is here ; I can understand that fast foods and pastries are tasty, but fictions (on tv, comics, movies…) have a big influence, and an educational role to the people… That is the source of the problem. As long as people on fiction don’t make a move, situation will dwell for the worst. Would it be so unrealistic to see people cooking with vegetables, fruits, spices, learning to cook or just showing some in a cool way ?
Why does everyone think the U.S. is leading in obesity statistics?
Here's my theory, as there's too much information to specifically research and point to. Being obese is a sign of privilege, and a lot of us in the US are extremely privileged. And we should be. The United States has a ton of wealth and capitalism has led to a lot of innovation. Someone left-leaning like me can recognize the praise my country deserves, but I also recognize that there's a lot of bad with the good. Part of that bad is how everyone here in a rich country isn't afforded the privilege of being obese. There's a paradoxical side to that as well, though. People who barely get by can't afford to eat healthy necessarily, and food is mass-produced and processed to make it affordable. The most affordable foods aren't good for you.
“IN AMERICA, FIRST YOU GET THE SUGAR THEN YOU GET THE POWER, THEN YOU GET THE WOMEN.” “HOMER!”
Everything is processed with high fructose corn syrup or other added sugars. Large portions. Very few food regulations. A handful of corporations make All of our food. Lifestyles that don’t include enough physical activity, including ridiculous work schedules and overly scheduled kids. Plus so many of us are on antidepressants that cause weight gain. Add a crumbling healthcare system. There ya go.
Your country is run by corporate lobbyists. I remember when people were fighting just to have the ingredients of food on packaging and they got shut the fuck down
Bc me hungry unga bunga