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Michael Pollan "Maybe what we should be talking about is an American paradox: that is, a notably unhealthy people obsessed by the idea of eating healthily"
Where are Americans most obsessed about eating healthily? Where do they not care so much about eating healthily?
you know the answer to those questions?
i think people just dont see the real consequences. we need to make everyone pay for their own health insurance (detach that benefit from companies) and they should be charged based on their health. if obese people paid a lot more for their insurance, they may see an incentive to lose the weight. i heard some guy on the radio the other day suggest this and he said heart disease and other obesity related illness accounts for something like 60-70% of health expenses (i didnt verify this data).
I meant where literally - geographically - what states and counties. Not "in what areas of their life" or anything like that.
I think in fact the areas where people are most obsessed about eating healthily are in fact the areas where obesity is less common.
I am not interested in discussing insurance, but whether certain of Pollan's statements in regard to "food vs nutrition" are accurate. I think his indictment of the "american" approach to food is central - and I think it falls appart when you break "american" down into geographic and demographic sub groups.
I live in one of the skinniest states and I wouldn't say people here are obsessed about eating healthy. Some people are, some aren't, but that's probably the case in every state. I am not sure why the south has emerged as what is now being called the "Diabetes Belt." Sure, fried and fatty foods are part of the historic food culture but notice there are a few southern states not on the "most obese" list (Georgia, Alabama, NC).
There are theories abound that people in rural areas with less access to recreation facilities and other services tend to be more obese. I think that is BS because everyone has the ability to walk for exercise. It's even budget friendly. All you need are a decent pair of shoes.
Basically, I have no answers but it is an interesting topic.
I think in fact the areas where people are most obsessed about eating healthily are in fact the areas where obesity is less common.
I am not interested in discussing insurance, but whether certain of Pollan's statements in regard to "food vs nutrition" are accurate. I think his indictment of the "american" approach to food is central - and I think it falls appart when you break "american" down into geographic and demographic sub groups.
i really dont have enough knowledge of which states can be generalized as having more people obsessed with healthy eating to make such a determination. i also cant really make any judgments with much confidence based on that map. im surprised you feel comfortable doing so.
im just offering up a solution that i thought was interesting and can have a real impact across a large number of people in every state. you may not be interested in discussing solutions, but i may be able to bait someone else into it.
There are theories abound that people in rural areas with less access to recreation facilities and other services tend to be more obese. I think that is BS because everyone has the ability to walk for exercise. It's even budget friendly. All you need are a decent pair of shoes.
Basically, I have no answers but it is an interesting topic.
It's cultural. I lived in southern MO for awhile and would sometimes take a walk on my country road and people would always stop and ask me if I wanted a ride. I told them that I was walking for exercise and they looked at me like I was crazy--one man asked me why I would walk when I could ride. The closest thing to exercise that anyone got around there was going 4-wheeling or hunting. And yes, weight problems are a huge problem down there, what with the high carb and fatty food, and the lack of any real exercise. Diabetes is an epidemic and no one takes it seriously--they eat whatever they want--they go to church suppers and load up on 5 desserts. It was like spitting in the wind to get anyone to acknowledge that not taking care of your health is surely a sin. (this being the Bible belt.)
of all the things people do that are techincally wrong according to the rules of their religion, i doubt many people are too concerned about eating too much food from a religious viewpoint.
i really dont have enough knowledge of which states can be generalized as having more people obsessed with healthy eating to make such a determination. i also cant really make any judgments with much confidence based on that map. im surprised you feel comfortable doing so.
im just offering up a solution that i thought was interesting and can have a real impact across a large number of people in every state. you may not be interested in discussing solutions, but i may be able to bait someone else into it.
There is one fairly controversial solution put forth by Pollan, saying that we should stop obessing about healthy eating and instead adopt a "foodist" approach to eating (I will not rehash what those are, its widely available on the net) I am attempting to discern if the empirical evidence supports his viewpoint. While it would be nice if we had to hand survey results on health obsessiveness, say, i think we can perhaps attempt to crowdsource a rough answer.
A discussion of changes to insurance has LOTS of ramifications, mostly not relevant to what I wanted to discuss in this thread. feel free to start a thread on it though.
I live in one of the skinniest states and I wouldn't say people here are obsessed about eating healthy. Some people are, some aren't, but that's probably the case in every state. I am not sure why the south has emerged as what is now being called the "Diabetes Belt." Sure, fried and fatty foods are part of the historic food culture but notice there are a few southern states not on the "most obese" list (Georgia, Alabama, NC).
There are theories abound that people in rural areas with less access to recreation facilities and other services tend to be more obese. I think that is BS because everyone has the ability to walk for exercise. It's even budget friendly. All you need are a decent pair of shoes.
Basically, I have no answers but it is an interesting topic.
To quibble, I used to live in Jacksonville Fl in the 1980s - apart from the beach (a 25 minute or so drive from where I lived) there really was no good place to walk before the Riverwalk opened.
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