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 :)

Original Post by trhawley:

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.

So, as long as my work air conditions so heavily that I need to wear a sweater all summer or shiver all day, I should still be good?  :-)

Original Post by susiecue:

Original Post by trhawley:

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.

So, as long as my work air conditions so heavily that I need to wear a sweater all summer or shiver all day, I should still be good?  :-)

 It depends.  I lose weight in the summer and gain weight in the winter so if I were forced to be in a frigid climate all summer I'd probably continue to gain instead of losing my winter weight, but that's just me.

Original Post by nlb235:

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???

In NY city, all restaurants with more than 15 franchise locations were required to post calorie amounts on their menus last year.  From what I have read it has made a lot of people more aware of how many calories are in what they thought were healthy food.  I believe some chains have had to go back and change recipes because people were no longer buying things that were found to be really high in caloires. 

I myself find it hard to go out because I often don't know how many calories are in what I am eating.  Some restaurants have nutritional info online, but that doesn't help much if you are already out and decide to dine out.  Although I went to Kelseys a little while ago and they had a nutritional info sheet available in the restaurant.  I just had to ask for it.

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. 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.

 

Oh, that is actually really interesting!! I am going to look up more information on that!! Cool.

This might be a little late for your paper, but wanted to chime in with a few things.

Cars and suburbia are a major influence. Americans (gross generalization here) just don't walk places anymore. You will find that people who live in cities and can walk everywhere, including the grocery store, jobs/school, restaurants, stay thinner. I dropped about 5 lbs the first month of my freshman year of college just from the extra walking to classes and dancing the night away. I had always walked to school, but college involved a lot more walking. I also made a deliberate choice not to keep snack foods in my dorm room. If I didn't buy it, I couldn't eat it. Saved money that way, too. :-)

Another connection that has been mentioned in various newspapers and magazines (sorry for the lack of specific sources) is the movement of the family into the kitchen. Most newer homes have a family room connected to the kitchen. When you are always looking at food, you think you are hungrier. I definitely found myself snacking more when I worked from home at the kitchen counter than in another room. Pre 1980 or so, there just weren't many kitchens that were big enough to hang out in.

The abundance of food in this country coupled with our desire for the best deal, has warped our sense of a serving size. Just in my lifetime the serving size for McDonald's french fries has increased dramatically. For just 25 cents more I can double the size of my fries and drink? Wow, that's a great deal! Not so great for the waistline or heart, but great "value".

There are theories about the influence of the corn producers that are pretty good reading. The gist is that they managed to lobby the gov't into subsidizing corn prices, making high fructose corn syrup ridiculously cheap, thus making it more popular in sodas, baked goods, and just about every packaged food you might eat. High Fructose Corn Syrup has a really high glycemic index, which means that you get a faster sugar high and bigger crash, leading to cravings and overeating.

Our perception of violence and the risk to kids has had a detrimental impact on children's health. It used to be that kids would play outside between school and dinner. Now it is a rare child who is allowed to play outside without adult supervision, thus they sit in front of a television, computer or game system for hours on end, snacking on packaged junk.

We have forgotten how to drink water. Most athletes do not need sports drinks. Kids' athletic events seem to center on Gatorade and snacks, plus fast food and ice cream after the game.

You should also be able to find some information about the lack of full-sized grocery stores in inner cities. There are many poor neighborhoods that have only convenience stores, fast food and vending trucks for their food sources. Pretty hard to make good, nutritious food choices from those options. Whether that is from red-lining, discrimination, or other causes is probably the topice of a different paper.

There is also evidence that the stress hormone cortisol changes how the body stores excess calories, increases appetite, etc.

I have also noticed that most social situations after a certain age center around food and drink. I'm not sure why though. It is challenging to come up with low cost activities to share with friends that do not involve food and drink, but allow conversation and are not weather dependent. I find that when we gather with friends, there is bound to be lots of food.

I think it affects it greatly.  I went to Scotland for 3 weeks.  We walked everywhere. AND shopping was HUGE over there. We walked to the grocery store, to the malls, to eat or bar hopping.

I love that it was set up FOR people to walk everywhere.  Walking was the thing to do.  Besides hiking and backpacking it up the mountain.

In 3 weeks I lost WITHOUT trying, 10 pounds.  I ate plenty, and the food was richer BUT more wholesome.  So my eating really stayed the same.  IT was all the extra activities.

And I was active before. I would walk to and from classes all the time and I still worked out.  I am an artist so I was always on my feet printing photos, doing lithographs and other Printmaking images. 

But going to the UK was the best thing ever, opened my eyes to how the US works.  I would love to like in the UK.  I love there philosophy of life, culture and work ethics.  THEY know how to live a well rounded life.

Just my two cents.

Lots of good responses, but something that hasn't been mentioned yet is how our acceptance of obesity in society has lowered our own perceptions of what is healthy.  A recent study showed (wish I could cite a reference here, but I'm pulling a blank) that women with overweight friends tend to be overweight themselves, although the true cause of this is unknown.  Maybe friends who dine poorly together gain weight together, or perhaps it has to do with just "letting your guard down" nutritionally if your friends are overweight, or simple peer pressure.  I live in Germany, and although it's not uncommon to see the occasional overweight person, truly obese people are rare.  When I travel to the U.S., it is shocking how many obese people are out and about.  I think, if you see it all the time, it becomes the norm to you, and super-sizing your own meal is O.K., because you're not that fat...yet. 

And another comment...food, especially fruits and vegetables, are less expensive (about half the price) here than in the U.S.  I'm always shocked at how much a bag of groceries costs in the U.S. compared to here in Germany.  For Americans trying to survive on a reduced budget in these tough economic times, I don't know how they can afford to eat healthy foods.

Original Post by mesize8:

Lots of good responses, but something that hasn't been mentioned yet is how our acceptance of obesity in society has lowered our own perceptions of what is healthy. 

 I agree with this.  Have you ever noticed how you can be at a healthy BMI but people still insist that you are too thin?  This gets attributed to jealousy a lot (which can definitely be a factor), but I also think that being slightly/moderately overweight has become the "norm" here in the US, and a person who is genuinely in shape and healthy looks too thin in comparison- kind of the same way that portion sizes have gone out of control.  The actual amount of food you need looks like too little food because it's become so commonplace to eat 3x as much as you truly need. 

Just my two bits.

Original Post by brtaylor:

Original Post by mesize8:

Lots of good responses, but something that hasn't been mentioned yet is how our acceptance of obesity in society has lowered our own perceptions of what is healthy. 

 I agree with this.  Have you ever noticed how you can be at a healthy BMI but people still insist that you are too thin?  This gets attributed to jealousy a lot (which can definitely be a factor), but I also think that being slightly/moderately overweight has become the "norm" here in the US, and a person who is genuinely in shape and healthy looks too thin in comparison- kind of the same way that portion sizes have gone out of control.  The actual amount of food you need looks like too little food because it's become so commonplace to eat 3x as much as you truly need. 

Just my two bits.

 You know, I've noticed this too - I had a bit of a rice bowl for lunch, and one of my co-workers looks over and goes "I could never eat that little."  I played it off saying well, I'll have more small meals like this than a few big ones, but really, it was a pretty normal meal.  She had a huge plate of leftovers from a chinese restaurant for herself that day, and it looked like 2 or 3 meals to me.

It was just a matter of perception - once I got used to eating less, that's what I ate.  I almost never finish my meals at a restaurant anymore, because I get full (double-win, of getting 2 meals for the price of one now).

It just struck me in an odd way that day, because this particular co-worker is actually quite thin.  So sure, it's fine for her to have a huge meal, her activity level/metabolism differes quite strongly from mine.  But I didn't really feel like I was eating a tiny meal at all...

Original Post by brtaylor:

I agree with this. Have you ever noticed how you can be at a healthy BMI but people still insist that you are too thin? This gets attributed to jealousy a lot (which can definitely be a factor), but I also think that being slightly/moderately overweight has become the "norm" here in the US, and a person who is genuinely in shape and healthy looks too thin in comparison- kind of the same way that portion sizes have gone out of control. The actual amount of food you need looks like too little food because it's become so commonplace to eat 3x as much as you truly need.

Just my two bits.

I have to agree, I am getting comments all the time that I am to thin. but I am 25 pounds from my HIGH end of my BMI and I kind of get irritated.  I know BMI's are relative, you could have more muscle mass and bla bla bla... but BMI's are great guideline to go by.  And I definitely want to be IN the healthy range.

Original Post by hobo_bob:

Original Post by brtaylor:

Original Post by mesize8:

Lots of good responses, but something that hasn't been mentioned yet is how our acceptance of obesity in society has lowered our own perceptions of what is healthy. 

 I agree with this.  Have you ever noticed how you can be at a healthy BMI but people still insist that you are too thin?  This gets attributed to jealousy a lot (which can definitely be a factor), but I also think that being slightly/moderately overweight has become the "norm" here in the US, and a person who is genuinely in shape and healthy looks too thin in comparison- kind of the same way that portion sizes have gone out of control.  The actual amount of food you need looks like too little food because it's become so commonplace to eat 3x as much as you truly need. 

Just my two bits.

 You know, I've noticed this too - I had a bit of a rice bowl for lunch, and one of my co-workers looks over and goes "I could never eat that little."  I played it off saying well, I'll have more small meals like this than a few big ones, but really, it was a pretty normal meal.  She had a huge plate of leftovers from a chinese restaurant for herself that day, and it looked like 2 or 3 meals to me.

It was just a matter of perception - once I got used to eating less, that's what I ate.  I almost never finish my meals at a restaurant anymore, because I get full (double-win, of getting 2 meals for the price of one now).

It just struck me in an odd way that day, because this particular co-worker is actually quite thin.  So sure, it's fine for her to have a huge meal, her activity level/metabolism differes quite strongly from mine.  But I didn't really feel like I was eating a tiny meal at all...

 Wow! You are lucky to be able to feel satisfied with a small portion of food. I mean, I am not over weight, but sometimes it worries me because, I look on the cereal box which says that one serving is equal to one cup of cereal. That would never do for me. I actually eat 3 cups of cereal for breakfast!!

Before about two years ago, not once did it occur to me that I was eating too much food or that eating too much food was bad for me.  I knew I was carrying a little extra weight, but somehow it didn't bother me.  I carried it fairly well and was relatively satisfied with how I looked with clothes on.  I did not like how I looked with clothes off.

I'm also about getting my money's worth.  I'm not sure if this is the same everywhere, but at the movie theaters in Canada, you can get a free refill of your popcorn and soda when you buy the largest size.  I figured the best way to get my money's worth was to ensure I finished off that first bag of large popcorn to get my 'free' refill. 

So here is me, doing a sedentary job, getting no exercise and often eating two large bags of popcorn and two large sodas when going out to the theater.  Often, I couldn't finish that second bag, but I would sure try.  I had no problem finishing the two drinks though.  That's over 3000 calories!

When I thought about food I only thought about cost/value.  I think that might be a big problem for a lot of people in North America.  I've known many people that would rather go out to a place that had bigger portions (but mediocre food) then get better tasting food that came in smaller portions.  How about All-You-Can-Eat buffets!  Is there even a place for such a thing in today's society?  Everything has to be bigger for less.  Come on, upsize your popcorn/drink combo for only 25 cents and get a free refill, you can't beat that!

Original Post by maddogkt321:

Original Post by brtaylor:

I agree with this. Have you ever noticed how you can be at a healthy BMI but people still insist that you are too thin? This gets attributed to jealousy a lot (which can definitely be a factor), but I also think that being slightly/moderately overweight has become the "norm" here in the US, and a person who is genuinely in shape and healthy looks too thin in comparison- kind of the same way that portion sizes have gone out of control. The actual amount of food you need looks like too little food because it's become so commonplace to eat 3x as much as you truly need.

Just my two bits.

I have to agree, I am getting comments all the time that I am to thin. but I am 25 pounds from my HIGH end of my BMI and I kind of get irritated.  I know BMI's are relative, you could have more muscle mass and bla bla bla... but BMI's are great guideline to go by.  And I definitely want to be IN the healthy range.

 I don't believe in BMI charts. I think they are way to generalized and don't take into enough individual factors. I think they are based on what is "normal" in society which tends to be much larger than neccecary. I think people should not use BMI to determine health but how they feel overall. If you are eating enough healthy foods to keep you satisfied, not too little not too much, and doing moderate excercise, than unless there are other medical complications involved, what you are is your healthy weight, not what some random chart based on OTHER peopl says.

There are a lot of good points made although my ADD didn't allow me to read every word of those well thought-out posts.  For me it comes down to personal responsibility and our instant-gratification lifestyle.  There are a lot of choice out there, both good and bad, but it's certainly not McDonald's fault I gained all the weight, although McDonald's food was involved.  As children, we basically have to eat what's put in front of us, but when we reach adulthood, the onus is on us to make good or bad food choices.  Instant gratification comes into play as well since there is so much out there, it's easy for us to learn to expect to get what we want when we want it, which makes it that much easier to make poor choices when it comes to food, and things like On Demand makes it easier to not get out and exercise.