That is odd then, I've been to Texas (not Wisconsin or Idaho) but generally the south has a bad reputation for level of obesity comparatively so I would've expected you to say somewhere in the SE. I saw a mix in Texas of athletic people and overweight/obese people but don't remember any extremely heavy people.
Well I was referring to 400+ lb people. I'm not sure I've seen any in the DC area in the 8 years I've lived here? We also have a mix of athletic because a lot of people bike, hike, kayak, walk, etc. I've definitely seen some people nearly 300 lbs or a bit over.
You see 400 pound people on the metro from time to time. They take up two seats. I get two seats anyway because no one wants to sit next to a fat person.
XD I never said all of the ppl are 400+ but seeing a person that was that morbidly obese in the course of a day or even a few was not unusual while I was there.
I don't see 400+ people here except at Chinese buffets. Makes sense - most of the "public" is not friendly or accessible to people who are that big - can't fit in booths, on rides, in tightly packed bars, clothing stores...
Quinn - that's TX/Midwest/South for you. On the coasts many people are carrying around extra lbs but not like in the middle/bottom of the USA.
There seems to have a major arguing on what is overweight/obese/BMI thing going on.
What bothered me the most actually is the point where the ''epidemic'' thing was said overstated.
I honestly think that in a society where many family eat fast food on a usual basis and not just as a special treat from times to times, where child obesity rates keep on rising and rising, when more people every year have to deal with weight related health problem (diabetes and other), when people FIGHT to maintain their right to buy 16 oz and more soft drinks, yes, I think the word epidemic applies to the situation.
I just wish they would stop using scales to determine risk factors. There is a difference between 10 pounds overweight and inactive and 10 pounds overweight and active/fit.
But do I believe 2/3s of the population is overweight/obese. Yep. I sure do.
There seems to have a major arguing on what is overweight/obese/BMI thing going on.
What bothered me the most actually is the point where the ''epidemic'' thing was said overstated.
I honestly think that in a society where many family eat fast food on a usual basis and not just as a special treat from times to times, where child obesity rates keep on rising and rising, when more people every year have to deal with weight related health problem (diabetes and other), when people FIGHT to maintain their right to buy 16 oz and more soft drinks, yes, I think the word epidemic applies to the situation.
Just my opinion, though.
Okay, let's get the arguments straight - most folks 'fighting' to maintain their ability to buy the sodas aren't doing it for the drink's sake, but because of the very real issue with the government dictating public health and individual freedom of purchase based on arbitrary guidelines. It's a liberty issue, not a health issue, and I say this as someone who hasn't had a soda of that size in such a long time I can't even put a year on it!
That particular issue has nothing to do with public fatness and everything to do with drawing a line most sane people don't want their local government crossing over and regulating. The two are pretty unrelated, in terms of root cause, even if Nanny Bloomberg conflates them .
2/3 is a very fair assessment. Some parts of the US higher than others but like someone else said this is all over the world not just America..it's just fun for people to pick on us for some reason.
Okay, let's get the arguments straight - most folks 'fighting' to maintain their ability to buy the sodas aren't doing it for the drink's sake, but because of the very real issue with the government dictating public health and individual freedom of purchase based on arbitrary guidelines. It's a liberty issue, not a health issue, and I say this as someone who hasn't had a soda of that size in such a long time I can't even put a year on it!
That particular issue has nothing to do with public fatness and everything to do with drawing a line most sane people don't want their local government crossing over and regulating. The two are pretty unrelated, in terms of root cause, even if Nanny Bloomberg conflates them .
Folks must have fought about that for the legal rights sake in this Soft Drink situation, I know that. I'm not sure exactly where stands the Health Insurance policy in the State, but in Qc, government covers the health expenses of the population and it is a fact that weight related problem are increasing, needed therefore to be covered by Health Insurance (at least here). I understand that overregulation is a dangerous path to take for autorities, but in my opinion, at some point, individual bad health habits do become a matter of society.
I actually stand by what I say in this situation, but I do recognize that my opinion on that matter is quite drastic. But thanx for your interesting input
Sorry for this little ''not on the subject'' post, it was not my intention to hijack the thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by CherryQuinn
XD Canada is just as bad as America in some areas like in my own province for example its pretty much the exact same as the states obesity wise.
^THIS.
Because we all know how poutine is great for the tummy. LOL
Last edited by TurboMammoth; 03-28-2013 at 03:11 PM.
Folks must have fought about that for the legal rights sake in this Soft Drink situation, I know that. I'm not sure exactly where stands the Health Insurance policy in the State, but in Qc, government covers the health expenses of the population and it is a fact that weight related problem are increasing, needed therefore to be covered by Health Insurance (at least here). I understand that overregulation is a dangerous path to take for autorities, but in my opinion, at some point, individual bad health habits do become a matter of society.
I actually stand by what I say in this situation, but I do recognize that my opinion on that matter is quite drastic. But thanx for your interesting input
Sorry for this little ''not on the subject'' post, it was not my intention to hijack the thread!
^THIS.
Because we all know how poutine is great for the tummy. LOL
More on that - it's not just soda. It's all sugary drinks. Sweetened teas. Juices, smoothies. (most smoothies are NOT health foods).
So, why just the soda industry picked on? They would just spin on it anyway and make another addictive drink and people would continue to buy it.
My mother in law drinks about half of her calories for the day (if not more). She drinks it in milk, sweetened kefir and orange juice. For her, she sees it as "healthy" because it at least has some nutritional value, but it's still too much sugar for most people, drinking like that, even the healthier stuff would lead to obesity.
More on that - it's not just soda. It's all sugary drinks. Sweetened teas. Juices, smoothies. (most smoothies are NOT health foods).
So, why just the soda industry picked on? They would just spin on it anyway and make another addictive drink and people would continue to buy it.
My mother in law drinks about half of her calories for the day (if not more). She drinks it in milk, sweetened kefir and orange juice. For her, she sees it as "healthy" because it at least has some nutritional value, but it's still too much sugar for most people, drinking like that, even the healthier stuff would lead to obesity.
I do agree with you on this. Juices can be as bad. I guess they thought ''gotta start somewhere''. People in general will agree that soda are unhealthy (even they will still drink it). Picking on things like juices (that people usually think they are healthy) would probably just had messed up things even more... I don't know. That are major hazardous fields to go into.
This country needs more Federal regulation so people can make informed choices.
It makes a world of difference to me if I can visit a restaurant with basic nutritional information on the menu rather than having to go online to find it.
People might think twice about ordering a supersized Coke if 410 calories were written next to it.
My personal favorite used to be the 32oz shake. Just googled it now and it was 1160 calories. Hmm. That would have stopped me.
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