Getting fatter (in charts)

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

America is bursting at the seams. No major development there. In fact, the U.S. makes up only 5% of the global population but tallies 13% of the world’s obese, the largest percentage for any nation, according to a study from the Lancet medical journal.

The amount of calories Americans eat has jumped since the 1970s, and waistlines have grown accordingly, this research shows.

Here's how the problem looks in charts:

Comments

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

One'd think the obesity rate is due to increased prosperity, and yet the stats shows that the poorer regions of the US have higher obesity rates. There's some ratio between general economic development and regional living standard that is in play here. There are also a multitude of cultural elements involved, because if we look at the world obesity map, turns out some of the most advanced societies do not suffer from this problem nearly as much as the US (examples: Sweden, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, etc).

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

Obesity is rising, especially among minorities (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obesity-still-rising-among-us-adults-women-overtake-men_us_5644aca1e4b060377347e0b3).

[stewstewstewdio.livejournal.com]

The corporate free market in the U.S. uses predatory marketing and high fat and high carbohydrate fast foods as a solution to feed the poor. Healthy markets such as fish, fresh fruits and vegetables tend to be out of reach because prices and preparation time (cooking) tend to be out of reach for struggling parents. Ain't a lot of sushi going on in the ghetto.

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

We could add GMO foods to the mix as well.

[stewstewstewdio.livejournal.com]

We could add GMO foods to the mix as well

What does GMO have to do with it besides improving outputs to increase the available food supply?

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you believe (http://naturalsociety.com/monsantos-gmo-corn-contributing-to-weight-gain-disrupts-organs/) they've got nothing to do with it (http://sciencenordic.com/growing-fatter-gm-diet).

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

What is missing from these charts is the decline in activity, exercise and general physical movement. We have become increasingly sedentary without adjusting our diets to reflect this.

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

Good point.

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

I'm curious about your opinion as to the reason for becoming more sedentary - and that, in a society that can afford more spare time and a bigger array of activities to fill it with.

[garote]

Global warming! Too hot outside to play!

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

But, but... don't you see that snowball!?

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

Progress. Increased automation. Think about how much hard, physical labor that used to be required just to live. I remember my parents rolling up carpets and lugging them outside every so often in order to beat them with sticks. We were profoundly middle class and this was considered completely ordinary. Then dad bought mom a vacuum cleaner. A true act of love, in my opinion. But that vacuum weighed like, 30 lbs. You had to drag it around, lift it up stairs. The vacuum Mom uses today probably isn't 10 lbs and works twice as well. The same with household laundry.

The same with almost everything. My grass cutting career began with a push reel lawn mower. Quaint, right? It was a beast of a job. Then my life got better with our upgrade to a gas powered push mower. It still weighed a ton, but it cut my work load in half. As I got older, mowers kept getting lighter and the job got easier and easier. Then, something extraordinary happened. The price of basic lawn service dropped relative to our income to a point where it no longer made sense for us to reserve a half a day of our weekend for lawn care. We outsource that job and a company comes with a couple riding mowers and some edgers and in 15 minutes they do a much better job than I ever did for a reasonable price.

We aren't as rurally minded as we used to be. We don't have to walk. Indeed, we discourage it. At 8 years old I, and many of my contemporaries, walked the proverbial "one mile to school." Today, the idea of my daughter riding her bike or walking to our local school (about a mile away) is unthinkable. She rides the bus. In fact, if I insisted, I have a not unreasonable fear that someone would report my wife and I for child abuse or neglect. Crazy.

It is a rich tapestry. There is a lot more, but there is a small taste.