What should or could be done about this epidemic ?
Sure it is very easy to say it is the individual's fault and job to overcome, that is obvious and easy to say, but I for one struggle with over eating, the spare tire, beer gut - you name it.
As most know, but the younger ones will soon find out, shedding that 10 or 20 lbs gets WAY more difficult as you get older.
Simply saying something like - eat less and exercise more - doesn't seem to be working.
Honestly, what can be done? Should there be some large effort beyond what is going on now?
If we are being honest, finding a restaurant that serves good food and the quantities are LARGE is still a very desirable thing.
There are multitudes of campaigns out there about eating fresh, farm to table, on and on - but when McDonald's advertises 2 for $5 or whatever (and not singling them out, all fast food joints are a marketing blitzkrieg) can it be blamed on an economic reason? Laziness?
http://time.com/4359637/obesity-americans-women-men/?xid=gonewsedit&google_editors_picks=true
HEALTH OBESITY
40% of U.S. Women Are Now Obese
New numbers show obesity in the United States are high, especially among women
The number of Americans who are overweight or obese continues to reach shocking highs, with some estimates that more than two-thirds of American adults are now overweight or obese. Now, a new study reveals that while obesity rates in men have plateaued, rates have continued to rise among women.
The study, published Tuesday in the journal JAMA, reveals that for the years 2013-2014, the obesity prevalence was 35% for men and 40% for women. When looking at trends over time, the researchers found that from the year 2005 to 2014 there were significant and steady increases in the number of American women who were very obese.
Another study also published Tuesday in JAMA by many of the same researchers revealed that over the last 25 years, there has been a slight increase in obesity among young people ages 12 to 19. The prevalence of obesity among kids ages 2 to 5 has gone down, and it has leveled off in kids ages 6 to 11.
“The obesity epidemic in the United States is now three decades old, and huge investments have been made in research, clinical care, and development of various programs to counteract obesity. However, few data suggest the epidemic is diminishing,” Dr. Jody W. Zylke, the deputy editor of JAMA and Dr. Howard Bauchner, the Editor in Chief of JAMA, wrote in a corresponding editorial.
To reach the findings, study authors from the National Center for Health Statistics at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at 2013-2014 data for 2,638 adult men and 2,817 adult women. They also looked at national survey data from 21,013 people who were interviewed from 2005 through 2012.
The number of adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher, which is considered high-risk obesity, was 7.7%. For men specifically it was 5.5% and for women it was 9.9%. BMI is not a perfect measure of health and is based on a person’s weight and height ratio rather than their actual amount of body fat. Still, the numbers are in line with what other studies have reported regarding the state of the obesity epidemic in the United States.
In the editorial, Zylke and Bauchner argue that progress over the last 30 years has been far too slow, and that new methods may need to be adopted: “Perhaps it is time for an entirely different approach, one that emphasizes collaboration with the food and restaurant industries that are in part responsible for putting food on dinner tables,” they write.
In 2011 I weighed 230 and my BF% was 27. I hurt all over all the time for no reason.....I decided I'd had enough. I also had gone to the doctors and they wanted to put me on BP meds....I asked what else could be done and she said diet and exercise
A little history...as a teen I loved to play sports and lift weights. at 20 I slipped a disk in my back squatting and my doctor told me to never lift again....WORST piece of advise I ever took....I also used that as an excuse to not do any exercise....I gained my weight slowly over the years and became more and more de-conditioned.
Now I weigh 185 I'm 15% BF...all I did was change my diet and started lifting again. I stopped drinking because alchohol is empty calories....after a few months I didn't miss it so I don't drink at all anymore and I really don't even think about it
I drink a lot more water...I eat a lot more veggies....and I get about 175 gram of lean protein everyday...we eat a lot of fish and I use olive oil for all fats...
Losing weight is hard but if you track your calories and you dedicate yourself and not make excuses why you need to eat chips and ice cream everyday then you'll lose weight.
In reality your target should be 2lb a week an no more....losing weight is simply a numbers game....if you eat less calories than you burn you will lose weight...
You can do that eating what ever you want if you keep your calorie intake below your output but to eat the most nutritious food you will find they are low in calories
High nutrient rich food are low in calories....junk food is high in calories and low in nutrient value...
80/20 if you eat 80% good each week that 20% if you don't go crazy won't stop you from losing weight
Exercise or activities...pick one or think of exercise as an activity...for me lifting weights isn't boring so I can do that....but you won't find me on the dreadmill for an hour....so find an activity you'll do regularly to aid in burning more calories and giving your body some exercise...
If you lose weight and not exercise you'll just be skinny fat....flabby and loose...
It all depends on how serious you are about the change and also realize it takes time to make that change
also don't try to change too many things at once...take one thing at a time and your changes will stick better.
The person who say I'm gonna a quit smoking go on a diet and start exercising, running yoga...is setting them selves up to fail....too many changes to make...take one at a time master the change take the next one....
Eat a lot of veggies....drink a lot of water and move....most of all be patient....if you have more than 50lbs to lose it's gonna take at least a year to do it right....
Most of the causes are sociological and cultural, IMO.
It is accepted more as OK.
All forms of not exerting physical energy are promoted by society. Many fight for the close parking space, and spend years only walking to and from their car.
For men, it is hyped as "big" is a level of status. So I see at gym many 190ish guys with big arms and also big guts. They all wear loose shirts. And strut like they are something. what they aren't seeing is they are natural 160-170 guys. But that isn't "cool". But a 165 lifter, big arms and cut, will look bigger and better than a 190 pound same size arms blocky oversize guy. None of the 20 pound too much lifters ever get cut. So even gym culture is full of actually obese.
Here is what I tell people: 30 pound overweight isn't looked at as huge, really. There are far worse overweights. But imagine the difference in life if you were made to carry a 30 pound dumbbell everywhere you went, even peeing at night 
And then you got to ditch it. Wow!
My joints hurt with aging, so I dropped that over 35 lb. I can tell you that joints really like optimum weight. To age at least half arse well you have to play every card right. This doesn't even get into training and heart, vascular health, and blood sugar stuff that lifestyle correction can give.
Along with overweight, USA is woefully out of shape. Most by age 30 have lost much of their range of motion and flexibility that they were born with due to a rigid inactive lifestyle.
Range of motion and balance "re"training ones body is are important as weight loss and resistance training.
jeez I can rant on this topic.
It's a great topic and one I too could talk about a lot. I think we used to have an exercise thread here. I was always in awe of the guys who swam so much!
Anyway, I agree with my 2 friends who've already posted. So much of it can be distilled down to diet and exercise, but clearly there's a lot more to it to do it right.
Portion control is huge. As Tony points out, our society has gotten to the "bigger is better" phase about everything. If you want to break the weight cycle, you have to eat a lot less than we've been conditioned to eat. Nutritional composition is huge as well.
As for exercise, cardio is great and a must, but weight training is essential, for men and women alike. It burns calories like nobodies business. For me, variety is key too. If you get bored, you'll stop. Change it up. Make sure it's something you like. Try a sport you played when you were young. Try something goofy like kickball (if you get others to play). And like anything that you're really serious about, do research. Read. And like our favorite common topic of music, practice practice practice.
There are deeper societal aspects that the OP touched upon. There are economic reasons. There are societal reasons. Everybody has personal reasons (can be read as excuses! 😛 ). Very big topic. Unfortunately I have to finish some work here and then go to the gym later! 
Look forward to hearing from others on this.
Good suggestions by all.
For me it's all about portion control. I'm retired and am addicted to exercise and a lot of different kinds. But I constantly have to cut back on how much I eat. I eat healthy but too much. I have very good health but would like to drop 20 lbs and maintain it. I'm 6'3 and weigh 230. My better half says 230 is my natural weight because I complain about being lightheaded when I get much under that. The love handles and too round of face tell me I'm overweight.
I could give up a lot of things in life but exercise would be one of the worst. I have 30,000 songs on my I-Pod and 459 Playlists. Exercise and music are my two biggest hobbies and they go together.
Weighed 240 when I graduated from high school and 230 after college and football ended. But not much body fat at all.
[Edited on 6/8/2016 by DeadMallard]
Good suggestions by all.
For me it's all about portion control. I'm retired and am addicted to exercise and a lot of different kinds. But I constantly have to cut back on how much I eat. I eat healthy but too much. I have very good health but would like to drop 20 lbs and maintain it. I'm 6'3 and weigh 230. My better half says 230 is my natural weight because I complain about being lightheaded when I get much under that. The love handles and too round of face tell me I'm overweight.
I could give up a lot of things in life but exercise would be one of the worst. I have 30,000 songs on my I-Pod and 459 Playlists. Exercise and music are my two biggest hobbies and they go together.
Weighed 240 when I graduated from high school and 230 after college and football ended. But not much body fat at all.
[Edited on 6/8/2016 by DeadMallard]
Have you tried using myfitnesspal to track your calories....it's eye opening to use that app because once you see what happens when you eat out it will blow you mind on sodium and calories you took in. Also just how many calories are in the foods and portion sizes you currently eat.
If you targeted 2300 calories a day I would bet over the course of several months you'd see a difference plus it's enough food to not feel hungry all day.
for every 3500 calories in deficit you'll lose a LB....if you're daily intake is a 300 calorie deficit in about 12 days you'll drop a LB. If you keep that cycle going every 12 days you'll lose a LB.
At that rate you will be losing fat and not lean body mass AKA LBM AKA Muscle. The problem with most people is they don't want to lose it at a slow rate....so the go on diets with too little calories...they're always hungry and their body drops both good and bad weight....at 1lb every 12 days you'll keep LBM but lose fat...and you won't be hungry all the time...
myfitnesspal is a great online app to track both workouts and food intake
[Edited on 6/8/2016 by goldtop]
Portion control is huge. As Tony points out, our society has gotten to the "bigger is better" phase about everything. If you want to break the weight cycle, you have to eat a lot less than we've been conditioned to eat.
Then there's the matter of the food itself.
Good suggestions by all.
For me it's all about portion control. I'm retired and am addicted to exercise and a lot of different kinds. But I constantly have to cut back on how much I eat. I eat healthy but too much. I have very good health but would like to drop 20 lbs and maintain it. I'm 6'3 and weigh 230. My better half says 230 is my natural weight because I complain about being lightheaded when I get much under that. The love handles and too round of face tell me I'm overweight.
I could give up a lot of things in life but exercise would be one of the worst. I have 30,000 songs on my I-Pod and 459 Playlists. Exercise and music are my two biggest hobbies and they go together.
Weighed 240 when I graduated from high school and 230 after college and football ended. But not much body fat at all.
[Edited on 6/8/2016 by DeadMallard]
Have you tried using myfitnesspal to track your calories....it's eye opening to use that app because once you see what happens when you eat out it will blow you mind on sodium and calories you took in. Also just how many calories are in the foods and portion sizes you currently eat.
If you targeted 2300 calories a day I would bet over the course of several months you'd see a difference plus it's enough food to not feel hungry all day.
for every 3500 calories in deficit you'll lose a LB....if you're daily intake is a 300 calorie deficit in about 12 days you'll drop a LB. If you keep that cycle going every 12 days you'll lose a LB.
At that rate you will be losing fat and not lean body mass AKA LBM AKA Muscle. The problem with most people is they don't want to lose it at a slow rate....so the go on diets with too little calories...they're always hungry and their body drops both good and bad weight....at 1lb every 12 days you'll keep LBM but lose fat...and you won't be hungry all the time...
myfitnesspal is a great online app to track both workouts and food intake
[Edited on 6/8/2016 by goldtop]
No I've never heard of this site and will look at tonight. I know and/or understand the rest of your post. I eat pretty healthy but it's the old calories out vs calories in. Maybe the intense exercise I do actually makes it more difficult to manage portions. I'm always hungry. Going to double down on lean protein.
Thanks for your suggestions and link to site.
I will second the myfitnesspal suggestion. I used it religiously and it helped me tremendously. I lost 20 pounds using it. (and have kept it off) The key is being super honest with yourself and logging everything religiously. You'll see where you're going wrong and can make adjustments accordingly. It also "talks" to fitness monitors like Fitbit and Misfit to help monitor your calories out, if you use something like that.
Then there's the matter of the food itself.
Word up. Clean eating is key, but that's where some of the tougher societal issues come into to play.
Broadly speaking, sugar and salt are crushing people. Sugar especially.
The state food of Indiana..... 😉 😛
Hoosier Pork-Tenderloin Sandwich
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
A old friend of mine lives on Long Island New York. Went to see him last week.. I couldn't help but notice how many people are overweight and obese on Long Island. More so then where I live further upstate NY.
A old friend of mine lives on Long Island New York. Went to see him last week.. I couldn't help but notice how many people are overweight and obese on Long Island. More so then where I live further upstate NY.
I heard it's worse in the south. People need to try to eat healthy, but what is healthy for some may not be for others. Some people need diets high in carbs, others need diets high in protein. To simplify things I think if God did not make it, we probably don't need it. Soda is bad, drink water and 100% juice instead. Bake, and broil rather than fry. You cannot eliminate ALL junk food because your body wants some, so just cut down to the one or two things that you really like and have some of that, but do not sit down with a bag or box of snacks. (unless you have not eaten a normal meal in a couple of days due to logistics - like travelling)
You have three days from the time you eat something till it gets converted to fat, so if you overdo it, you have to work it off.
Try to limit sugar intake.
Stress creates extra cortisol, which helps to make people overweight. The traffic up here is horrible and stressful that is one of the problems.
Exercise is important, try to do some.
There are diet recipes people can find that has substitutes for fattening things and the food still tastes good. Look into it.
Just be mindful and try to do right by yourself.
american obesity is also leading to type 2 diabetes. it's coming to a tipping point where it can actually affect our entire economy as health costs soar to treat it.
teach your children well!
When I had kids, my wife and I would finally get to rest after they were in bed, about 9pm and eat on the couch. She has to the metabolism to deal with that, while I got fat. After we split, I realized I should do something about it, so I did:
I started riding my bike up hills. I had a mountain bike with 24 gears and was using 4 of them. I started out doing 30 minutes a day, then an hour, then 1.5 hours, then 2 hours. Now I bike about 40-50 miles on weekends, when I have time.
I stopped eating anything after 7 pm.
I switched from beer to liquor (whiskey, specifically) and, occasionally, red wine.
I stopped eating bagels for breakfast and changed to granola and yogurt.
I always ate healthy, mostly organic and all vegetarian, except for seafood. I refused to stop eating good bread. I went from 240 to 180. I now am an avid cyclist, pedal 25 miles a day to and from work and keep off the weight. I burned more calories than I took in. It took about a year or more, but it was interesting and satisfying. I started it at 49 years of age because people told me after 50, it was harder to lose the weight. I always wait til the last minute...:-)
When I had kids, my wife and I would finally get to rest after they were in bed, about 9pm and eat on the couch. She has to the metabolism to deal with that, while I got fat. After we split, I realized I should do something about it, so I did:
I started riding my bike up hills. I had a mountain bike with 24 gears and was using 4 of them. I started out doing 30 minutes a day, then an hour, then 1.5 hours, then 2 hours. Now I bike about 40-50 miles on weekends, when I have time.
I stopped eating anything after 7 pm.
I switched from beer to liquor (whiskey, specifically) and, occasionally, red wine.
I stopped eating bagels for breakfast and changed to granola and yogurt.I always ate healthy, mostly organic and all vegetarian, except for seafood. I refused to stop eating good bread. I went from 240 to 180. I now am an avid cyclist, pedal 25 miles a day to and from work and keep off the weight. I burned more calories than I took in. It took about a year or more, but it was interesting and satisfying. I started it at 49 years of age because people told me after 50, it was harder to lose the weight. I always wait til the last minute...:)
Awesome! I don't do any real cycling, but one of my favorite methods of cardio is hardcore spinning. There are a few studio chains in NYC that have killer classes. You can burn between 650-900 cals in 45 minutes. Fat melts off.
I won't give up good bread or wine either. Just try to keep them as special treats. I allow myself one bagel a week. 😉
What should or could be done about this epidemic ?
Give up the Heineken, Heineken!!!
[Edited on 6/10/2016 by mattx]
Maybe things aren't so bad in America when obesity is an issue. Think about all the food that goes to waste too.
I miss the old Fitness threads. They motivated me to exercise and eat well for awhile.
You can burn between 650-900 cals in 45 minutes.
Brendan, I'll assume you are referring to the calorie count that is on many machines in the gym? These machines use some sort of generic formula for calculating this number, I assume. It is just a guideline or a nice something to think about while you are doing your minutes on the machine, again, I assume.
Not trying to knock the count, but it can't be real specific to a particular user.
Due to various ailments, surgeries and other excuses, I limit myself these days to an elliptical machine. I am currently doing two sets of 25 minutes each, about 4 or 5 days a week. The distance count says that with 25 mins, that is a little over 2 miles. And if I remember right, the calorie count is between 200 and 300, for 25 mins.
It makes me feel good but I sure wish the results were faster 😉
Brendan, I'll assume you are referring to the calorie count that is on many machines in the gym?
Depends on the studio. Some do have the generic count. The ones I go to use a calculation based on : resistance, RPMS, speed, distance, height, weight and age. I also use 2 fitness trackers that take into consideration: height, weight, age, pulse and BMI. Even still, I don't use that number as gospel. That said... those classes are huge burns. I don't know if you can quite appreciate it unless you've tried it. They're super intense.
I miss the old Fitness threads. They motivated me to exercise and eat well for awhile.
Let's keep it going then! Check out the link below. Great site with daily tips on healthy eating and exercise. Lot's of the workouts require no equipment and very little time. You can do them at home or on your lunch break.
So I have been correcting all the things needed health wise. Lost 35lbs. No alcohol. Veggies. Lower fat intake. Finally quit the last item few days ago: sugar. No sugar foods unless small bits incidental. I was in a bad habit that got out of control. My reward for hard workouts 3X week and walking a lot, and good living was every night a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Got to where I had to have it. Got larger. Got pretty big, like 3 big scoops.
It was messing with my system balance and blood sugar. Ups and downs. It was an addiction. It was a craving. I have went thru crazy withdrawl since quit, finally tapering off. But I am not Up and Downing, I am even keel finally. The swings are evening on energy, blood sugar, etc. I was getting spacey feeling at weak low times. Not now.
Quit sugar and sugar foods. It is a nasty thing put on us as good. Or a personal entitlement aka reward. Ditch it, killer. Read Dr Merkola take on it. It affects so much, and my hope is my joints will feel better also. The high energy / low up / down energy cycle of sugar is BAD!
