[scolls]

Originally Posted by Michigansnowflake

Lets discuss the odors coming from the men shall we?

I already know what scolls smells like!

I am so sick of you bashing Northern MI, you dont even live here, but turned tail like a little baby for crappy Se MI.....you couldnt handle it,people up here didnt like you (for good reason as I see it) and you are pissy about it. You are full of sour grapes and no one here puts any stock whatsoever into your whiney little posts!

The men were just as bad as the women. I left northern Michigan because one my wife lived down here and got a job that pays more than anything she could get at Otsego Memorial, I took a job offer that was nearly double what I was making in Gaylord, third I had this thing called a house I owned down here. Fourth with a kid on the way, I want to said him/her to a better school than Gaylurd.

[Tricia819]

Originally Posted by Luzette

Well, my two cents if one is going to talk about overweight "people" then lets do so both male and female. I'm sure there are some obese folks on Long Island too. If someone is so horrible to look at to you then don't look. Geez, maybe I should put a bag over my head the next time I run to the Quick Mart so as not to take a chance on offending someone. This is a sad thread.

Sad indeed. Apparently tolerance is expected for everyone but the overweight.

I think the ONLY valid point that's been made is the ability to use a bridge card to buy junk food, and healthy looking people do it too! Anyone that thinks thin = healthy is deluding themselves! I find it ironic that with all the hoopla surrounding this country's obesity epidemic (and it IS a problem that affects the entire country, NOT just Michigan) the powers that be are allowing welfare recipients to use their bridge cards to buy Kentucky Fried Chicken and Little Caesars. If they can prevent recipients from buying alcohol and cigarettes with their benefits than they ought to be able to prevent this abuse too!

[canudigit]

What about the loser guys who impregnate these women and then move on to the next bimbo, leaving them to fend for themselves and their children alone? Don't they deserve mention here too, or are they excused for being absentee/deadbeat dads because the woman was fat?

Just FYI, I have been to 29 of the contiguous 48 states, and I have seen these kind of people in every one of them. Maybe it's because we travel on a budget and stop into places like grocery stores and Walmarts, but whatever...this is certainly not a problem that is limited to northern Michigan. Compare anyone anywhere to the rich, pretentious, materialistic, humanistic folks on Long Island, and most of us wouldn't stack up in terms of appearance...and who really cares if we don't? Comparing women in the Walmarts of northern Michigan to the women in Long Island is comparable to comparing the women in some small, off the beaten path town in California to the women in Beverly Hills.

Oh, and I know of at least one obese person who lives in Long Island and happens to be rolling in money: Ina Garten, anyone? Would she pass your litmus test, or would you find her repulsive too?

[danielj72]

This thread has reminded me why I dont particularly like northeasterners. Everytime I have had contact with them I found them to be in general snobby, rude and pushy. I was told by one of them in Massachusetts once "your accent sounds like your from the midwest, we dont really like people from the midwest" The OPs statement reminds me of that attitude. If you have moved to Michigan from another part of the country and do not like the local values, culture or attitudes then I strongly suggest moving back to the east or where ever you came from. Having seen the crowded eastern states, Ill never understand why they think they are better than the rest of the country any way.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Browneyes29

And how does this affect you?

It affects us all through our taxes that pay for Medicare/Medicaid as well as our health insurance premiums.

Newsflash: America has, by far, the world's highest health care costs per capita. Obesity is a major cause of such high costs.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Tricia819

However, when I visited Chicago, and saw how the women there looked, I'd never fit in there even if I tried. I could never bring myself to pay $1500 for a pair of shoes, or put on make up on a day when I don't have to work, especially when it was so hot out that I would just sweat it off in a matter of minutes anyway.

Somehow, I seriously doubt it's the norm for women in Chicago to pay $1500 for shoes

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by AlohaHuey

Genetics plays a major role in body size and development, so you propose insurance pricing based on genetic makeup?

What a bunch of BS!!! In countries where they don't eat processed food or tons of beef & other red meat, obesity is rare.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by AlohaHuey

Yet, no outcry against the medical and insurance industry itself for their excessive charges. Fascinating. It's the fat people's fault.

Actually, more fault lies with our so-called food industry and people who don't want to change their bad habits. Good health care starts with eating REAL food.

This short, easy to read book is a good primer on what real food is:

Amazon.com: Food Rules: An Eater's Manual (9780143116387): Michael Pollan: Gateway

I like how the author says if your grandmother or great grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, then don't eat it.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by dori36

I've also learned from my volunteer activities in many food banks, that people in poverty are unable to afford what many would consider healthy food. Fresh fruits and veggies, good beef, just wholesome stuff. To buy enough of it to satisfy appetites and fill up they don't have enough $, have never been taught how to budget what $ they 'do' have, so buy packages and packages of pre-prepared cookies, cakes, ice cream, etc. You can get waaay more junky food with a smaller amount of $. It's a much bigger problem than can be solved here but thought I'd put a little different spin on it.

I think it's more an education/habit/cultural thing than a money thing. Processed foods like cookies can actually be kinda expensive. And our brains are more wired to like sugar, salt and fat more than fiber reich fruits & veggies, so that's what we go for.

It's just that there is an abundance of junk food everywhere, and it's socially acceptable to eat junk food all the time....kind of like smoking used to be. Just as Americans began abandoning the smoking habit in the late 1960s, they started picking up a new bad habit--eating more and more processed foods. We've essentially replaced one bad health habit with another.

But healthy food doesn't need to cost more. Carrots are cheap. Bananas are cheap. Lentils and other beans are cheap. It's just that processed crap is easier and takes no prep time.

I will concede, though, that a lot of poor neighborhoods have more fast food outlets than fresh fruits & veggies. That vicious downward spiral needs to stop.

[Wingsy]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

What a bunch of BS!!! In countries where they don't eat processed food or tons of beef & other red meat, obesity is rare.

You do realize that most of the population of those countries share a similar genetic makeup, right?

Most other countries don't have the kind of widespread immigration we do. In other words, they don't have the diverse genetic makeup that we do.

I'm adopted, as are my adopted siblings. We were raised in a wealthy family where appearance was everything. As such, everything we ate was healthy. My parents were psychotic freaks about our appearances, much like everything else. You can bet we didn't sneak so much as a donut - we'd get our *** beaten if we tried.

Yet two of us out of five were overweight as children.

Me, well, I'm built like a man. I have an 8" wrist and a 3 1/2" elbow breadth. Still the same as it was when I enlisted in the Navy nearly 22 years ago and, as a female, had to get a body fat waiver since I was off the weight charts. My body fat was under 10%. I will never be "skinny." That doesn't mean I have to be obese, either - but I've been called fat many times. You want to tell me how a 5'10" woman with less than 10% body fat is "fat"? Anyone? Anyone?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Do I think America has a major obesity issue? Absolutely. Do I think people need to put down the Big Macs and pick up a salad? Yes, without question. We live in a culture which glorifies consumption, and we're reflecting that with our waistlines. But there's a reason why one girl can eat a dozen Big Macs and not gain a pound, and another can eat a single Big Mac and put on 5lbs. Our genetic makeup dictates what our metabolism will be like "in general," and ones ability to process out that Big Mac is going to differ based on the way their own, unique body works.

There is no one cause of the obesity epidemic, and no one solution. We're not all made the same... and we need to learn to eat based on our own bodies, not based on some single standard. This is why programs like Weight Watchers are, overall, so successful for so many - because they teach you how to feed YOUR body.

As to the OP - please feel free to return to LI any time you're ready. We really don't need another snooty east coaster invading our heartland and telling us how much they dislike us or our neighbors. I'll take the fat lady at Meijer's as company for the evening over you any day of the week. At least with her, I won't need to be watching my back for the knife.