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I am sure the flames will start but I would love to see a study related to weight gain and its correlation to quitting smoking in the last 5-10 years. I agree that online games, internet etc has helped as well, however these really only replaced daytime soaps and tv for many people and a huge part of the population <gasp> still do not have home pc's and internet access ( and they are also over weight). Add to this the decrease in family quality time and home cooked meals which have been replaced by our "schedules" , the decrease in school's funding for physical education .. (gym 1 day a week for my children baffles me.. when we were children we went 5 days a week) not to mention special menus in the cafeteria (shushies for lunch.. we got break tooth chocolate chip cookies and jello when i was a kid and we survived just fine) .. The high rates of unemployment these last few years has also dramatically changed activity loads has had an impact as well, forcing previously high energy workers into sedentary lifestyles. .. The point is in my opinion we the people are in fact a product of our society, and the more we attempt to control "society" the more out of control it becomes.
Who's going to flame you? There's a lot of truth in what you said. The OP made a few people mad b/c he was singling out women, like there's not a lot of male potbellies walking around out there. Did he get burned by some soap opera watching fattie so he's taking it out on the rest of us?
As for what someone said about accountability--yes, that is so true, and not making excuses here, but we are working against our evolution--we are not really programmed to stop eating and when food is available any time of the day or night, it's a constant battle to always be saying no, or to say, "No thanks, I'd rather go cook something healthy" when something unhealthy is sitting right in front of you and ready to eat. The constant battle gets to me sometimes, which is why my weight fluctuates, but I'll tell you this--I have never, not once in my life, ever watched a soap all the way thru.
Oh, and yes, I think smoking does help to keep it off, because it's one more choice that you can make that is not food, but the real fact is that we are all unhealthy, and I'm not just talking about physically either. Our heads are so twisted around by the consumerist philosophy that we don't even realize how brainwashed we really are. Have you ever stopped to think that this crap that we all consume doesn't even really taste good? It's like cardboard with sugar on it, and we think it's cheap but it's not. In reality, a $4 box of cereal has about 10 cents worth of wheat in it and 5 cents worth of sugar. Great deal huh? You're paying for their advertising. So you eat oatmeal for your health. How many of you are eating the instant variety with loads of sugar? Well you get my drift.
Oh crap, I'm off on a rant and swear it's not directed at you dear MoheJohe, but here's another thought. Recently I was watching Romeo and Juliet with my English class and it was the one that was made in 1969. The actors were so thin they looked anorexic to me. Now, back in 1969, which I remember BTW, we had just as much access to food--we had junk food, we had fast food, though not quite to the extent we have it today, we had TV dinners, and veggies generally came in a can. Women watched more soaps b/c they were bored staying home with the kids. And people were, for the most part, thin. Then things changed. Women went to work and quit cooking, sodas became a staple drink rather than a treat, divorces got quite common, and fast food places sprang up all over the land. When we were traveling people would say, "Oh America! Fast food!" and high five us like that was cool. Oh yeah, and microwaves. And aspartame. And let us not forget the "feeding trough" restaurants--all you can eat and you want to eat your money's worth. And as you mentioned above, our kids lost their PE so they could spend more time studying to the test. It's a downhill cycle and it happened fast. I keep hoping the economic downturn will knock some sense into us. After all, those previously employed workers now have time to garden, right?
Why Are So Many American Women Fat?
Very unscientifically I'll guess it's due to poor eating habits, too much fast food, prepared food, and sweet stuff. Does anyone still cook at home these days? Especially when the drive thru is much more convenient.
Another reason is that American women are not very active. Daytime TV provides one must-see show after another; the soaps, talk shows, Judge Judy, etc. Who would want to miss those? So they sit on the sofa and snack while watching TV.
Maybe another reason is frustration about many things. Unfullfilled love life, debt, boredom, etc. So they eat sweets to make themselves feel good.
Good Grief what rock have you been under the past 40 years?
Most American women work, raise kids, take kids everywhere, clean the house, do the bookeeping, do it ALL........and often fall trap to fast food, frozen food etc, just to collapse into bed and wake up early the next morning to repeat the cycle........
Who's going to flame you? There's a lot of truth in what you said. The OP made a few people mad b/c he was singling out women, like there's not a lot of male potbellies walking around out there. Did he get burned by some soap opera watching fattie so he's taking it out on the rest of us?
As for what someone said about accountability--yes, that is so true, and not making excuses here, but we are working against our evolution--we are not really programmed to stop eating and when food is available any time of the day or night, it's a constant battle to always be saying no, or to say, "No thanks, I'd rather go cook something healthy" when something unhealthy is sitting right in front of you and ready to eat. The constant battle gets to me sometimes, which is why my weight fluctuates, but I'll tell you this--I have never, not once in my life, ever watched a soap all the way thru.
Oh, and yes, I think smoking does help to keep it off, because it's one more choice that you can make that is not food, but the real fact is that we are all unhealthy, and I'm not just talking about physically either. Our heads are so twisted around by the consumerist philosophy that we don't even realize how brainwashed we really are. Have you ever stopped to think that this crap that we all consume doesn't even really taste good? It's like cardboard with sugar on it, and we think it's cheap but it's not. In reality, a $4 box of cereal has about 10 cents worth of wheat in it and 5 cents worth of sugar. Great deal huh? You're paying for their advertising. So you eat oatmeal for your health. How many of you are eating the instant variety with loads of sugar? Well you get my drift.
Oh crap, I'm off on a rant and swear it's not directed at you dear MoheJohe, but here's another thought. Recently I was watching Romeo and Juliet with my English class and it was the one that was made in 1969. The actors were so thin they looked anorexic to me. Now, back in 1969, which I remember BTW, we had just as much access to food--we had junk food, we had fast food, though not quite to the extent we have it today, we had TV dinners, and veggies generally came in a can. Women watched more soaps b/c they were bored staying home with the kids. And people were, for the most part, thin. Then things changed. Women went to work and quit cooking, sodas became a staple drink rather than a treat, divorces got quite common, and fast food places sprang up all over the land. When we were traveling people would say, "Oh America! Fast food!" and high five us like that was cool. Oh yeah, and microwaves. And aspartame. And let us not forget the "feeding trough" restaurants--all you can eat and you want to eat your money's worth. And as you mentioned above, our kids lost their PE so they could spend more time studying to the test. It's a downhill cycle and it happened fast. I keep hoping the economic downturn will knock some sense into us. After all, those previously employed workers now have time to garden, right?
I had so much fun growing up in the 50's, I would go all day without eating - because eating would mean interrupting the fun. The fun was physical, biking, sports of all kinds, or hands-on, like cards, monopoly, etc.
Today, kids are pinching their thumbs and fingers to little tiny buttons, to the point of carpal tunnel pathology, which then doesn't even lend to quality masturbation.
Must be painful grabbing for Doritos in THAT condition.
Good Grief what rock have you been under the past 40 years?
Most American women work, raise kids, take kids everywhere, clean the house, do the bookeeping, do it ALL........and often fall trap to fast food, frozen food etc, just to collapse into bed and wake up early the next morning to repeat the cycle........
There has been an initiative to list the number of calories alongside every menu item in restaurants across the US. It's going to be made mandatory, I heard and the big food corps are fighting it.
If it ever comes into place, people will be forced to come to terms with the numbers, while ordering it.
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Because those Americans don't want to be pushed around.
