Society and Obesity

I'm not too sure if this is the right place to put this... Sorry if it's not

I'm doing a report in school about how the modern world affects peoples' weight and more specifically obesity. How things like cars, fast food, and stress can have a large effect on one's weight. I was just wondering if I could get some input and opinions from some of you guys.

Thanks :)

Ever met a labrador dog?...  They're a breed that need to be out working all the time and on a good diet or they gain weight like nothing on earth.  Same goes with people.  We're designed to be out there hunting and foraging for food, we're omnivorous and we have built in mechanisms to store extra energy for when times are hard.

Modern (Western affluent) society means we don't have to be active in the slightest... we can roll out of bed onto the sofa or into the car .... switch on the TV or the PC.... no movement required.   We don't have to forage for food, it's available 24/7 on every street corner and most houses have cupboards full of the stuff.  And our omnivorous nature means that we will, literally, eat anything and everything put in front of us without being too fussy about it..... including the increasing selection of edible packaged goods that are a long, long way from 'food'.

But some people manage to negotiate all the above & stay healthy so it would be incorrect to make the enviroment the sole reason for what are ultimately poor personal choices.    A responsible labrador owner doesn't overfeed it and takes it for a good long walk every day.  Responsible people make sure they do the same.

Hi! What a great topic to pick for a paper. As a reference, I'm reading a book Called "Food Matters" by Mark Bittman. He covers some of those topics and it might be useful to you. One thing about our world today is that for most of us, we have more food than we could possibly ever eat, which has led to a culture of over-consumption. And because we rely on the media to tell us what we need to be doing, how we need to act, and what our priorities should be, we are extremely vulnerable to advertising. A fave of mine are the pork commercials, that claim that pork is the "other white meat". Because we were told that poultry and fish are "white meats" and that they are "healthy", then when someone tells us that pork is a white meat (which it isn't, just when it's cooked it turns white, but it's red to start with, duh) all of a sudden pork sales go through the roof and we begin to think that pork is just another form of poultry or fish. Sorry, I just went off on a tangent. For me, or in my opinion, it all comes down to education, or the lack thereof. Sure, people are stressed out and time is money, right? But there are people out there (read: big industry) that are smarter than us and lot more savvy. They can spend billion of dollars just to get the average person to up their average beef consumption by even .5oz. That .5oz per person translates into even more billions of dollars in revenue for them.

So, I guess I sound like I'm a conspiracy theorist, which I suppose I could be. But all the pieces start coming together when you take a closer look at advertising and when you consider how much time the average american spends in front of a computer or TV. I live in Germany (I'm a soldier) and Germans are always out eating and they have some incredibly fatty foods and plenty of it, but they are really a pretty slim bunch. I don't know if that's because they tax you for owning a TV or if it's because they're good at moderation or if it's because they have 5 weeks of vacation every year, but you sure don't see fat people like we have in the States. Go into a French supermarket (like I did this last weekend) and everything is fresh, made with real butter, real milk, real sugar, no hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup, and very little is available already prepared. But Germans and French have kids, and jobs, and stress. They manage somehow. Now, that's not to say that I'm losing weight like I want to. There are plenty of ways to pack it on here and the beer is just the beginning. But I blame it on the way Americans eat. We don't take enough time to enjoy our food because it's really not very good, and we always have someplace we HAVE to be. I can scarf down a pizza in, like, 4 minutes. OK, almost. But seriously... Europeans take FOREVER to eat, it seems, and I find myself becoming irritated when the waitress doesn't being my check soon enough. I'm trying to correct that, but it's tough overcoming a cultural norm.

For those of you who read this, please don't think that I'm anti-American.  I love my country and all the opportunities it gives. But for all our greatness, we have a tremendous amount of greed and the idea that "more is better" is firmly ingrained in our psyche. Next time you go to a grocery store, briefly imagine what would happen if you stayed out of the isles, and just stuck to the fringe of the market. What's on the outside? Produce, raw meat, cheese, milk, booze :-) Take a briefy foray into the isles to get some spices or indulge your baking wants and needs (like I do) and then hit the checkout. Is it impossible to imagine?

So I wandered off again, but I hope this gives you at least a spark of an idea for your paper. Good luck!

beautifully put sanguinepenguin! and some great points made as well!

ditto to you gijane - i never would have thought to compare the human breed to a labrador - but that makes complete sense as well.

two very good alternative ways of looking at these issues americans/humans in general deal with nutrition/eating/health..

Great analogy, GI-Jane.  I am trying to be as responsible an "owner" of my own body as I am of my cats!  After all, I don't get another body when I wear this one out.

Another interesting resource that shows a little history of how we got to where we are is Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, or its predecessor An Omnivore's Dilemma.

Something that hit me a few years ago is the fact that we practically don't need to leave our cars at all anymore -- one can buy food, coffee,  or pharmaceuticals, mail letters or bank all from the comfort of one's own auto.  Maybe the next big thing for Detroit is to have an automatic toilet in the driver's seat so that the driver does not even need to park to relieve himself.

Great points above!

First, I'd like to add something I picked up from my anthropology courses: it's not just "modern" society that suffers from our technology and lifestyle. Basically, as soon as people stopped foraging and started staying in one place to grow crops, they began to have more health problems. Not just weight, but repetitive stress injuries from the type of activity required for agriculture, and even dental problems. More sickness occurred as well, and the larger our cities got the more opportunity sickness and disease had to just constantly move around our communities instead of running their course and disappearing. Even our nutrition was not as good. Hunter/gatherers eat a wide variety of different things, which provide them with different vitamins and minerals. When we limit ourselves to a few types of plants that we grow, we get less variety in the nutrients we gain from our food.

Granted, in modern western life here we have a wide variety of fruits and vegetables available at the grocery store and do not have to rely solely on a few plants that we grow. Still, if you look at ingredients in our packaged foods and fast foods you will see that there are a few that turn up all the time, in large quantities! We use corn in a massive amount of our food (often in the form of corn syrup as a sweetener), and wheat flour is also found everywhere. Besides, compared to these pre-packaged nightmares, produce can be awfully expensive! Try comparing the price of soda to the price of fruit juice, and you'll get the idea. It's cheaper to live on refined sugars and artificial flavorings than on real food.

Also, the aesthetics of our culture can be bad for our health. We like white sugar and bleached flour and the fluffy white baked goods we can make from them, even though we would be much better served eating whole grains and less refined products. It's not just western culture that has this problem, though. The same thing happens in asian cultures with rice. White rice, all scrubbed clean with its nutritious hull removed, is usually seen as more appealing than brown rice.

To make matters worse, the more of these over-sweetened not-quite-food items we eat, the more we want. If we drink a lot of soda, we crave that sugary taste. If we decide we can't have soda anymore because the sugar is wrecking our health, we often turn to diet sodas made with artificial sweeteners. Maybe these don't pack in all the calories, but they are still nutritionally void for the most part and still keep us craving more too-sweet "'foods". It can be hard for us to retrain ourselves to stop eating candy and start eating fruit or to stop eating chips and start eating fresh veggies when we've been conditioned to want those unnaturally strong flavors.

Stress is certainly a big part of it, too, and especially our fast-paced, work-all-the-time lifestyle. A lot of people simply cannot find the time to prepare their own meals, so they grab whatever is convenient on the way somewhere, which is often fast food. Fast food is usually made more flavorful by packing more sugars and fats into it because that is much easier and cheaper than using fresh ingredients, like ripe fruits and vegetables, to make things taste good. Also, a slab of fried meat between slices of bread is convenient to hold in one hand and munch on while doing something else, while a salad is a bit more engaging, what with the need for eating utensils. I try not to fall victim to this (like a lot of my coworkers and fellow students who almost never cook, and some of whom insist they can't), but it can be challenging. I might prefer to spend an hour or so slowly savoring a meal of varied ingredients that took me a while to prepare, but when all I have is a half-hour lunch break at work and so very little time to pack my lunch between when classes end and I have to leave for work, I often find myself either skipping meals (a big no-no as far as keeping your metabolism up) or wolfing down something convenient but packed with empty calories.

Then, of course, our society can also affect people's weight in the other direction and inspire some to anorexia, but it sounds like that's not what you need for this particular project! Anyway, I hope this helps.

When I grew up I used a metal grater to grate cheese...now people buy it pre-shredded or at most put in a food processor. when I was young we only had a few channels and we walked to the TV to change the channel. Now there arehundreds of channels and remotes. When I was younger we hung our clothes out to dry on a clothesline.Now people use dryers. When I was young we walked our dog. I can't tell you how many "doggie day care" businesses I have seen pop up over the past few years. When I was a kid we rolled our window in the car down by rotating the handle. Now, I push a button for a quick second and the window lowers by itself.

We use to burn more calories just by living whether we exercised or not.

Taco Bell has a successful marketing campaign that touts a "4th meal". Every fast food chain has some version of "super" or "biggie" size. Trans fat is in everything! I have checked labels and found it in bread crumbs, spices, Fiber One muffins, Smart Ones frozen entrees, Reduced fat cheez-its...you name it and they throw some trans fat in it.

Americans teach their children to finish their plates...this concept has always baffled me as I think you should teach children to stop eating when they are full. Almost every mother I have ever known feeds their children from the age of toddler on fast food, chicken nuggets, sprite, juice, french fries etc. Then, they complain "my child is a picky eater"...no s*it Sherlock...feed a 2 year old a cookie when they are hungry and create a cookie monster...feed a kid a piece of fruit and create a healthy craving for life. Give sugary soda and juices and create an adult that hates water. Give water and create an adult that likes water.

When I was a kid we drank water. We did no snack unless we had been swimming or engaged in some other activity that made us especially hungry. When we did get a snack 9 times out of 10 it was fruit or raw veggies. We ate a veggie, starch and protein for dinner. If there was dessert it was usually fruit and cheese. We were made to try a lot of foods but never forced to continue eating foods we did not like. Do you eat foods that you do not like? I don't! I ate a lot of green beans and spinach growing up b/c those were the only green veggies I liked. Not as good as a more varied veggie experience for me but way better than no green veggies at all! Now, I love most every veggie. I was never deprived of occasional fast food, candy or junk; however, it was in moderation and not the normal every day.

My 2 cents for thought.

Wow, I didn't expect to get such long, detailed responses! Thank you guys so much. There are a bunch of good points here. Does anybody mind if I do some quotes from here?

It's easy to be overweight!  Lifestyles are now making it so easy to gain pounds without noticing!  We drive everywhere.  We eat in our cars we drove to get food in!  We rush around and work longer hours.  I am one of those people.

Now, I schedule time to take care of myself and feel better about it, (though I do feel guilty at times), because I deserve to be fit!  We all do!

I agree with most all of the previous comments.  I also have red The Omnivore's Dilemma and found it to be very eye-opening. Society cultivates the obese American with all the convenience foods yet shuns them in the media.  No wonder we have such an unhealthy relationship with food and our bodies!Americans have gone far astray of a natural diet.  Our food is about convenience rather than nutrition -- thus the creation of "fast food", TV Dinners, etc.    Eating out is a real peril for anyone on a diet as a healthy meal in a restaurant is generally the exception and not the norm.  There should be more restaurants like Darden's "Seasons 52" that are designed around healthy eating.  Concepts like "Clean Eating" are not new, but somehow created a huge market for those touting the benefits.

You also asked how cars affect obesity.  Well, first we have to look at how cars allowed the spread of Suburbia.  Before automobiles became more affordable and commonplace, people had to live close enough to their jobs and market to walk, bike, ride a horse, etc.  Now people like me can live 25 miles from work and enjoy the pleasure of sitting in traffic for over 2 hrs a day to get there.  Cars just give us another occasion to sit on our behinds as they spread wider.  Now car manufacturers even design wider seats in wider vehicles to accomodate our wide loads.  Cupholders in modern vehicles are built to hold that "Big Gulp" of soda.  Seats are made wider in cars, theaters, etc, than they were years ago. 

The airline industry seems to be the only one to not change too much based on obese passengers.  So far I don't see any wider seats.  They might offer a seatbelt extension, but that is about it.  I hear some airlines are even going to start charging obese passengers for an extra seat if they "spill over".  I actually think this is a good idea.  The normal sized person sitting in the middle should not be uncomfortable because his or her seatmate has a weight problem. 

I could ramble on about this for hours as it is a good topic with many points for discussion and debate. 

I think everything in modern society makes a difference.  The amount of unnatural products that are put into the food we eat.  How portion sizes have grown in recent decades.  The need for Americans to want everything bigger and better.  Lets face it eating healthier costs more money, takes more time, is an inconvience and not everyone is willing to accept these ways.

I feel the real issues needs to start with children.  They are not nearly as active as they use to be.  They also seem to have more issues as adults.  I am 28 and I work at a college, I see children growing up way to fast and their attitudes are horrible.  I cannot help but wonder if they would have been playing baseball instead of watching tv that was way to old for them, would this have made a difference.

Society should place more emphasis on being healthy instead of skinny.  Too many people (including myself) go on yo-yo diets to try and be the "perfect" size and end up bigger than before.  I am sure many of you can relate because you are on this website.

Well I am going to stop my random nonsense of a ramble.  I just had to put in mu 2 cents.

I am a registered nurse, and am in a bachelor's degree program. Recently a classmate told us of the "Fat Giraffe study. Essentially they caged a giraffe and gave it as much food as it could possibly eat. Result? The giraffe only ate what it needed to sustain itself. The study also involved carnivores: Lions and dogs. They, on the other hand ate everything available to them. The theory is people, like the lions and dogs are feast or famine animals. If food is available, we'll eat it. Giraffes, being herbivores, don't behave like that. Food is everywhere, and in our society many people do not have to exercise. We ride the subway, drive a car, sit at a desk, and the list goes on. Imagine, for a moment if giraffes did behave like feast or famine creatures. They wouldn't be able to escape the other feast or famine animals. They'd break their legs beneath the weight, and they wouldn't be able to reach leaves at the top of the trees, because their necks would be too heavy. Good luck with your report. More people need to think about this issue. Childhood obesity, and diabetes are at the epicenter of a national health epidemic, fueled by inactivity, and poor diet.

Even parental relationships can trigger obesity. If your parent doesn't know the difference, they can fill up your cup with punch-sugar-juice and think they're doing the right thing. But deeper than that? When you're little, and you do something good, mummy gives you a cookie to say that you've done a good job. When you're little and you've lost a sports game, coach takes you out for ice cream or pizza to make you feel better! From a young age, eating unhealthy things is associated with a good feeling. Most people don't tell their children to work out, because kids are naturally active. But some don't stay that way.

I think that there are two sides to this. #1 being that yes, the conveniences and stresses of society do play a significant role in prompting us toward weight gain. However on the other hand, we also have the newer knowledge and technology which also provides us with easier means of losing weight, such as fat free foods that "back in the days" would never have been thought to have less fat, like cheese, ice cream, etc. If you think about it, back then, there WERE less obese people, BUT there were definately less really thin people too. they were mainly all "plump" or at least the women were. So I think what it really comes down to is working hard in this world of conveniences to be as active as posible and to make the best food choices out there.

The rise in Obesity rates has nothing at all to do with food.  It is being caused by air conditioning.  The only difference between the western world today and 30 years ago when obesity was just half of today's rate is the prevalence of central air conditioning in our homes, work places, automobiles, and indoor malls.  Even our gyms are air conditioned.

A lot has to do with a lack of food energy education.

I think we all have a good general understanding of what is healthy and what is unhealthy.  Most people would agree that 250 ml of juice is 'healthier' than 250 ml of Pepsi.  Whole grains are better than refined flour.  A half cup of raisins is 'healthier' than a chocolate bar and so on.  They are all more nutritious, but they are all about equal in food energy.  I'm guessing that you would be pretty upset if you replaced all your pop, white bread and chocolate bars with juice, whole grain bread and raisins, only to not loose weight but possibly even gain weight.

In school we are taught what a calorie is and we are taught that our bodies run on food energy (measured in kcals). 

We are not taught how much food energy our bodies need to run properly.  We are not taught that healthy foods often have the same amount of food energy (or more) as the unhealthy equivalent.  At least not when I was in school and I'm guessing anyone 30 and above would have been lacking the same information.

In school, we are taught the food groups and told how many of each we should eat, but it is pretty vague.  What food group does sugar belong too?  How much of that food group should we eat?  What about not eating enough food?  How many people (even on this site) cut down to 1000 cals/day and work out like crazy only to stay at the same wieght?  I guess it is assumed that if you make healthy choices the amount of food energy you consume will naturally work itself out.  Is a healthy choice eating a whole grain raisin bran muffin or that double double chocolate muffin.  They are often equal in calories (usually 500+ cals for a standard large muffin).

An example I saw the other day was in the movie Miss Congeniality.  Sandra Bullock's character is being transformed into a beauty pagent contestent over a few days.  At one point, she goes to eat a donut and instead a piece of celery is shoved into her mouth.  Eating just a stick of celery is no better than skipping a meal entirely (negative calories).  Is she supposed to loose weight with that food choice?  She would need to eat ~18 donuts to gain 1 extra pound assuming she had already eaten her daily coloric needs, which is not likely given the situation she was in.  Is 1 pound going to make her look any different (although she wouldn't feel very good I'm sure)?  Yet, many viewers will think yes, that is a good food choice.  Celery is healthier than donuts.

We need to go beyond nutritional information in school.  Everyone should know how many calories their body needs and how many we burn when doing or not doing activity.  We should be taught about the effects eating too few and too many calories.  There is a stigma that if you count calories or are even vaguely concerned about the calorie content of food that you must be on a 'diet'.  Knowing how much food energy your body needs should be a way of modern life.  Before modern society this was not necessary as our bodies have evolved to adapt and survive on what ever food we give it.  Our bodies store and burn energy as it sees fit.  In modern society, the rules have changed.  Our bodies still work to store as much energy as you give it so that it is available when winter comes, you need to run for your life or food becomes scarce, but that never happens.

I believe I am a fairly well educated person, but when I started to read and learn about calories and caloric needs, it was like a veil was lifted from my eyes and I went AH HA, it all makes sense.  Why didn't I know this?  Most every diet is a fancy way of manipulating the calories in/calories out equation.  How exactly is counting points in some cryptic system easier then knowing how many calories you need and burn in a day?  Why doesn't everyone know this?

The other day we went to Subway and my son wanted a 12" Meatball sub.  I told him he could either get a 6" Meatball sub or 12" Ham sub (560 cals vs 580 cals).  He went for the 6" Meatball.  Afterwards he asked why he couldn't get a 12" Meatball sub.  I started telling him about calories, caloric needs and nutrition density.  The 6" Meatball provides the same amount of food energy as a 12" Ham, but the 12" Ham fills you up more.  I could see his eyes light up as if a light went off in his head and he understood.  Now he may not have understood and he might very well forget what I told him, but I realized that if this was taught in school, life would be a whole lot easier.  How many teenage girls would starve themselves if they understood their caloric needs and how the body can naturally reduce body fat by simply eating the correct amount of food?

"Now car manufacturers even design wider seats in wider vehicles to accomodate our wide loads."

Very good point cobourg.  Funny sentence.  Made me laugh. 

I pretty much agree with everything said.  I'm beginning to think processed foods may pretty much be the devil.  I've started reading "The Maker's Diet", and he also makes the observation about the processed foods.  I think as a whole, society just looks for fast, easy ways.  These fast easy, ways leads to are increasing problem with obesity.

I know I'm too young to have experienced the "old" days, but somehow I wish I could.  Curious as to how that lifestyle would have changed my body style!  :)

omgness  I will add my two cents worth now. I totally agree with bembrey, not just because I identify with that era, but it was a more sane time for sure.  I like gi-jane's analogy as well! Actually, except for a couple, I agree with most everyone. But I wonder about the connection between cars, fast-food, and stress--things we don't always have total control over, or most of us don't anyhow. But Food...aahh! If I can control something, food is it. Food is comforting and I can stuff it in as fast as I want or don't want. I can stop someplace, whether at a store or fast-food restaurant, and if I have enough money, can get something to eat right away; instant gratification! But if I am active, say, riding my bike or playing sports or just playing catch with a child, my mind will rarely center on food. When it does, it's not a long, drawn-out object of my thoughts. Now here's where inactivity and activity differ. When I am sitting, whether at the computer, in a not-so-exciting class, driving somewhere perhaps, almost any sitting actually, my mind and my stomach are in secret communication. My mind says to my brain, "hey, I'm not having fun, I'm bothered about such-and-such or so-and so and it is making me feel anxious, or stressed. What can we do about this?" The brain, looking for comfort now, turns to the rest of the body and says, "I'm stressed...what do I do?" The first answer comes from Stomach, who says, " Fill me up and do it quickly, and I'll help you feel better." And so, some people give in to that type of inner voice or thought. When we are a newborn, we cry and instantly get fed and we feel good. This association between food and feeling good, or feeling satisfied, is a very early and basic bit of data that now is part of the information in our mind's data bank. It becomes cellular or automatic, by repeated actions and responses. As we grow, some people are naturally raised in the continuation of that, or the reaffirmation that food is comfort, food is even by now, perhaps Love, as it comes from those who love us when we are too young to get it ourselves. Fast cars don't make us obese, but sitting and watching them? Yes, it could, as one gets anxious about what they see. Fast-food? Easily accessible in this country; thus, instant comfort, gratification.  Keep it up, over-indulge, and if one doesn't die from the effects of all the fat in fast-food, they will become obese if they rely on it regularly, or often.  Stress? Some people exercise and release the stress that way, while others might read, others might play video games, or do other things, but if they sit to do it, they will eventually find their thoughts centering on food, as they sub-consciously look to alleviate the stress in the most basic way--being fed. And there you have it. Like some others, I went on and on. Sorry, sort of!

I think trueg has really got the point. People are simply not educated enough in the area of food. When I worked at Tim Hortons, I heard people standing in line and mention that they were going to make a healthier choice and get a muffin instead of a donught... unfortunately, while they are doing their best to eat healthy, they are not aware that most of the donughts are actually healthier, not just lower in calories, but in fat, sugar, etc, than the muffins. It is really sad that it has to be this way. I think that all foods and restaurants and manufacturers should be required to display the nutritional information about their foods. I know some places do, such as Subway and The Pita Pit, but I think that ALL places should have to do this - have it righton the menue under each item. There should be more resources for the public to become more informed.

One question for trhawley... HOW in the world do you figure air conditioning makes people obese???

Original Post by nlb235:

One question for trhawley... HOW in the world do you figure air conditioning makes people obese???

 Because of Brown Fat Cells.   When we live in temperature controlled environments our metabolism is much, much lower than what it is typically estimated to be.  Brown Fat Cells are huge calorie burners when they are needed to maintain our core body temperature through the heating or cooling of our bodies.  As we have moved indoors to heated and air conditioned homes, shops, and work places we have greatly reduced the average number of calories we burn each day making it nearly impossible to satisfy our desire to eat while maintaining an energy balance.  The result is higher rates of obesity.

The cause of the high rates of obesity in USA is the capitalist system.  In capitalism all means of production (Businesses) are profit-based and owned by a tiny minority of oligarchs. 

Because businesses are profit based and not based for human needs, food corporations get more a lot more profits by selling to the consumer public foods that are addicting, good tasting like fig-bars, doritos, tostitos, corn-dogs, pancakes, duncan hines, pillsbury cakes, kraft cheese, Nabisco Ritz cookies, combos, oreos, fig-bars, combos, corn dogs, burritos, tostitos, fajitas, calzonis, Digiorno pizzas, frozen french fries, twinkies, twix, reeses, little debbies,  donuts, pop tarts, struddles, apple jax, pecan pies, ice cream, M and ms, Snickers bars, chocolate chip cookies.

Another factor for high rates of obesity in capitalist societies, is that the concentration of wealth in a few, and economic crisis, and poverty in the many.  Because capitalism creates a society in which only a few live well and the majority are in poverty, this majority will be forced to eat cheap, low cost foods, and as you know cheap low cost foods like pancakes, white-breads, butter, white-flour are a lot cheaper than healthy, low calorie foods like fruits, chicken breasts and vegetables.  Another thing is that in capitalist systems, access to diet pills, good weight-loss health care is only enjoyed by rich people, access to the best gyms, spas, plastic surgeries.  While the majority of opressed can't even think about plastic surgeries, gyms, and weight loss doctors which are real expensive