"How the US Got So Fat"

On AOL yesterday, one of the daily features on the welcome screen were links to ABC News reports and TIME magazine articles under the headline, "How America Got So Fat." Of course there's nothing more fun than talking about fat during the summer, so here are four of the main links to the articles. There are more, but once you get to the end any of the articles, more links to other articles are provided.

I haven't checked some of the studies mentioned--general news shows and magazines are notorious for misquoting and misrepresenting research--but I thought many of the ideas presented made a lot of sense and in general found most of the articles very interesting.

So grab a pint of ice cream and enjoy the reading.
Rgirl

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/US/Obesity_summit.html
Full Coverage on Obesity

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/WNT/Living/obesity_cities040531-1.html
Gridlock Lifestyle: Suburban Life May Be Hazardous to Your Waistline

http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/covers/1101040607/article/how_we_grew_so_big_diet01a.html
How We Grew So Big: Diet and lack of exercise are immediate causes—but our problem began in the Paleolithic era

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/WNT/Living/obesity_psychological_impact_040603-1.html
‘It’s Hard to Be Fat’: The Psychological Impact of Being Overweight

Thanks, RGirl. This is a very interesting topic. I also think it is interesting how we've exported this problem to other countries in the world. But, this is the first period in history where we actually have had such a surplus of food. I read an interesting fact the other day: only 2% of Americans are farmers. It is so incredible to think that technology has allowed so few to produce so much. So, I guess we'll never go hungry...but we'll just get bigger and bigger, lol! Has anyone seen that movie "Supersize Me" (title?)? I'm fairly certain it deals with this topic also.

[I think we should have to post a full-length body photo of ourselves in leotards in order to post a reply on this thread. Whatta scarey thought!]

I blame the microwave!! Before the microwave we had to really give thought, time and effort to what we ingested. Now we can mindlessly punch in a few numbers, wait for a beep and and eat really bad food quickly. We don't even have to scrub pots and pans to get this bad food quickly. It's a seductive, hard habit to break when you're on the go....boooo, microwaves.

What's that you say? You can actually cook healthy veggies quickly in the microwave too?? Oh. I never thought of that.....

cianni

Answer! EATING too much all the time. Its a National passtime.

And able-bodied people drive everywhere instead of walking, when sidewalks and crosswalks are available.

I've seen people drive 1 minute to go to a house down the street. Sad.