America just keeps getting fatter

anyone think the food channel and all the other food shows are to blame for this ?


<America continues to get fatter, according to a comprehensive new report on the nation's weight crisis. Statistics for 2008-2010 show that 16 states are experiencing steep increases in adult obesity, and none has seen a notable downturn in the last four years.

Meanwhile, cases of Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure that health experts have long warned would result from the nation's broadening girth and sedentary ways are becoming increasingly widespread, according to the report, titled "F as in Fat," released Thursday.

Even Coloradans, long the nation's slimmest citizens, are gaining excess pounds. With an obese population of 19.8% — it is the only state with an adult obesity rate below 20% — Colorado remains the caboose on the nation's huffing, puffing train to fat land.

Getting out of it will not be simple, Levi said. The report emphasized the need for a range of measures, including boosting physical activity in schools, encouraging adults to get out and exercise, broadening access to affordable healthy foods and using "pricing strategies" to encourage Americans to make better food choices.>

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-obesity-report-20110708,0,3732059.story

when apple sauce is cheaper than fresh apples we have a problem.

Of course price strategies will not help unless we deal with food deserts too

And I expect folks of the more libertarian bent to scream about this.

Wealth is slimming.

People have become convinced that exercise is a commodity that must be obtained in a gym.
If they can no longer afford their gym membership, no more exercise. :(

I can afford the time to exercise, as I don't need 2 jobs, nor do I have to rush home to take care of children after 10 or 12 hours of laboring in a U.S. job.

Even tho I'm one of the lucky ones, finding time to exercise at work is impossible, and while commuting is impossible (unless I curl my toes while driving), and once I'm home it's late and I'm simply EXHAUSTED. I swear to God I can't even imagine how mothers with kids get even 5 minutes of exercise.

When I finally get home and I use a CD to exercise (because I was able to afford a CD and something to play that CD on), I barely am able to get through the routine.

Sometimes I go to the gym (which I can afford, unlike so many people), and let me tell you, I drag myself from equipment to equipment.

Because I exercise so late, I get home and then I'm wired from the workout and can't sleep well, and it SUCKS because I then have to eat late which keeps me awake later.

I've tried to get up earlier to work out and it feels like a life of hell. Americans already get up too damned early, and getting up even earlier feels like taking away even further from a quality of life here in the U.S. that is low compared to other advanced nations.

Now, when I lived in Spain (and even in Israel) it was different. While the U.S. is one gigantic suburbia, requiring wheeled transportation to go anywhere, other countries are dense in population and are quite walkable. In fact, other countries are more easily walkable than drivable, so everyone walks. It's relaxing, and you're getting your exercise as a matter of course in your day, and not because you're having to: 1) set time out to do it, 2) pay something to do it, 3) get up early or stay up late to do it.

It's easier said than done to stay in shape in the U.S. When I live abroad, I don't have to 'diet' or 'exercise' and I'm in great shape. When I live here, I automatically put on 20 plus pounds, and have to suffer a diet and struggle to exercise.

And I'm one of the lucky ones! Heaven help those who are not.

Many of these are auto-immune diseases such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis (the most common cause of low thyroid) and diabetes. And with all the strange chemicals in the environment, weakened immune systems are more common.

There are more people in the U.S. with thyroid problems than there are with diabetes, but there is no foundation informing the public or doing research for thyroid dysfunction. You never see any show like Dr. Oz or The Doctors ever devoting much time to thyroid problems. They think it's only middle-aged women. It's not. Men can have a dead thyroid, and my thyroid died when I was ten years old. So I have to take thyroid extract for the rest of my life. Not that big of a deal, but I could have died from not taking thyroid extract. After several years, you can go into a coma and die.

:banghead:

those lazy people eating junk food who are just not listening to the work out god/goddesses who seem to forget that there are a myriad of reasons people can't exercise. Here's one: COPD. Now, you want to tell me how one is supposed to exercise when one gets out of breath walking to the bathroom? I'll be waiting your answer oh self-righteous one.

In Texas that's from mid-May to mid-October. You are endangering your life and health going outside in the heat and humidity.

A lot of times its 90 degrees at 10 pm outside.

how did we not become extinct?

Perhaps a site like this can help you and you physician find a plan that is right for you.

http://www.copd-international.com/exercise/

to run some of them lovely adds about it being just like sugar SOON.

I will add... food deserts.

"sugar is sugar" simply put by the actress in the tv commercial.

Well, it isn't, when it's highly concentrated.

I am not a huge soda drinker, but IMO there is a huge difference in flavor between HFCS-sweetened drinks and those sweetened with real sugar. Products with HFCS are overpoweringly sweet in a gluey, well, syrupy way. Sodas with real sugar taste much cleaner and sharper - the sweetness is one part of the flavor, not the whole thing.

told, by my doctor, not to eat or drink anything with HFCS. Do you know how hard it is to find food that doesn't contain that crap when you are on a budget? It's in everything.

:-) I am told it is quite tasty... I am allergic to the stuff.

cooking/baking skills. I'm not allergic, I just have some adrenal system issues. I'm having to give up caffeine, processed sugar, and HFCS. It's a pretty big lifestyle change for me, but it could be a lot worse.

1.5 cups of water... I usually use 1.25 and add as needed.

1\2 teaspoon of yeast and salt

3 and 1\3 cups of AP flour, or better bread flour, more gluten

Let rise for four hours

Bake at 425 for half an hour... I usually make them into small rolls, and use those for my hubby's sandwich for work.

and while your oven preheats, roll them and roll them on the flour. That will create a layer, and will make the outer layer crunchy. Oh and we learned they do not last that long, no preservatives, so I bake them every two days... the bread mix will be good for up to a week in the fridge.

Thanks, again. It looks easy and sounds tasty!

this is the book

http://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Bread-Five-Minutes-Revolutionizes/dp/0312362919/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310104585&sr=8-1

Recipe is in there

And just take out a bit as needed?

and it lasts in the refrigerator just dandy... just make sure to let it rise the first time outside, or the yeast will go to sleep.

Of course, that didn't need to rise as much as a loaf would have to.

:) I'm going to try this on the weekend.

Just dump the ingredients in and turn it on. Bread appears in a few hours.

There are even bread machines that can do sourdough bread.

And actually it takes me five minutes to mix ingredients.

:-)

rate and even that is almost 20%... that is very sad.

Just getting around is more exercise when everything is steep.
Colorado also tends to attract active people who come there
to do sports in the mountains.

I mean, I just don't see people exercise for any reason. Anything that would enable "entertainment" seems to be very, very sedentary.

Who would think to move to an area where you can hike in the local forrest, use an exercise station, ride a bike, or just walk to a function. Nobody seems to see that as fun. The lack of stimulation and blood flow to the brain just gets worse, as a result.

Food choices... agreed. You can eat plenty and be satisfied, but you gotta want to follow a recipe and chop up veggies while enjoying the fruit, not the fruit roll up in your lunch pale.

Walk into a fast food restaurant and see their prices. It's far cheaper than buying fresh vegetables and cooking at home.

kind of hard when I got a gluten allergy from hell and diabetes.

We, well pale face, I... cook fresh at home, That includes cookies from time to time. For some odd reason we both lost weight and are that much healthier, Yep I still exercise but.

The trick is not to even bother with that, but buy your own and basically eat low to the food chain. If you have the means to GET to a store that can provide that, which I realize some people can't.

And, that's a damn shame.

Good, fresh produce is expensive in the stores, and sometimes it isn't all that fresh either.
Some farmers markets are better (some aren't).
Many places would benefit from a food co-op.

Growing your own is the best, of course.

Maybe in your nice, middle class, suburban neighborhood there are plenty of grocery stores that sell fresh vegetables. Not so in many working class and poor neighborhoods.

Before you judge, walk into a McDonald's and take a gander at their dollar menu. Then look at all of the advertising for extemely low cost fast food restaurants.

i wish it was the other way around so i can eat what i want and just work it off since i am ok with exercise but have a harder time eating healthy and staying away from junk .

It's 70% what you eat and 30% how much you move.

while it is burning off fat at the same time. "Body Mass Index" does not tell the whole story.

I think exercise might win if you are trying to minimize body fat rather than just weight.

food, so it makes sense that people just keep getting fatter the more they are told EAT EAT EAT by advertisements and society in general.

I recently read that Americans actually exercise more than they did in the past, so the obesity rates have nothing to do with exercise. It's calories. Even if a person eats just 200 more calories per day than needed (which isn't hard to do), s/he would gain anywhere from 8-12 lbs a year, depending on body type, etc.

"I recently read that Americans actually exercise more than they did in the past, so the obesity rates have nothing to do with exercise"

More 'anecdotal' (actually, it's not even anecdotal b/c there isn't even a STORY....it's just some "pulled it out of my random poster's ass" 'fact', which isn't a fact....it's not even a story (good or otherwise) ).

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/06/17/127903213/humans-harmed-when-bacteria-battles-get-fierce

Jeez.

Try to use some common sense. It's very very easy to put away a lot of calories in a short amount of time, and very difficult to burn those calories by running, etc. It's not a terribly complicated concept.

short-circuit.

Yeah, good thing most people don't believe/listen to the psycho-babble of the 'experts' anymore....

One of the smarter things a consumer/citizen can do.....don't buy processed food. FACT. Common Sense.

while ignoring the reality of life.

What is the size of the modern dinner plate? What was it 30 years ago? You are onto something to a point.

of an average dining set from 60 or more years ago! We have a table and chairs in storage that belonged to my husband's grandparents (he's 63). We have joked that we now have family members with butts so large the chairs would not only break, they'd disappear if they sat on them!

**I'm not making fun of fat people per se. I'm over weight too, but not 300 to 350.

And I know my mother's dinning room set, just downstairs.

and no money, 100% disability, just admitted yesterday that he's gained back 35 pound he had managed to lose a couple of years ago. I've been helping him with a low carb diet since we both have type 2 diabetes. His point is that he's so poor on SS and Medicaid that he resorts to buying the frozen pizzas that will be on sale for 5 for $10 or even better prices in order to save money.

Now he's a former sous chef with a culinary school degree and plenty of experience so he knows how to cook. But coming up with low carb dishes that are also filling and cheap has been a challenge. Any ideas?? We're already using hulled barley.

Also rice based with whatever meat is on sale and fresh veggies...that helps us and yes is a challenge.

Also ask him, being on SSI might make it hard, due to where he lives, if he can walk...try for the 10k step/day program.

and didn't talk to him about exercise. Even though he's carb counting, you're right, he may have to add a good rice to his diet. As I said he's already using barley.

and tasty as hell, just make it with some chicken stock.

We didn't have this "obesity epidemic" until they shut down the raves in most of the country.
The places that still have them tend to have lower rates of obesity.

Dancing is very good exercise, and we do it for a loooong time.

Sweden has a lot of cooking shows, food-centered shows, and there are not very many obese people here.

2. Little exercise in everyday life. More people own cars. No fourth floor walk-ups anymore. People ride golf carts instead of walking.

3. Many people sit at screens all day long.

4. In bad neighborhoods moms keep their kids inside more.

5. Air conditioning.

6. Calorie dense food is very cheap.

It is a hard problem because it is easier to sit than to walk, and calorie dense food tastes good. I am coming around that HFCS is very bad but I'm not convinced as of yet.

calorie dense mickey d burger bun... which has HCFS in them, and it is also addictive due to the combo of hedonics in it... aka pleasure givers, that be salt, sugar and fat.

you might be getting a lot of dense calories, and still be hungry... it is the QUALITY of those calories that counts.

Junk food, aka a big mac combo... has a lot more calories than a healthy meal... and if you eat mickey ds regularly you will gain weight, and not necessarily not go hungry.