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And yet, obesity rates are lower in vegans and vegetarians than the meat-eating general population.
From what I've seen, most people who adopt a vegetarian diet are already in good shape to begin with, and they tend to be somewhat affluent. Americans who choose this lifestyle are probably also more likely to be physically active, but if you know anything about macronutrients and how they work, you'll understand that it's quite easy to gain fat without eating animal products.
In my visits to USA I was always surprised by 2 things .-
1)The number of obese morbid that is seen in the USA as there is in no other country.
2)The number of people who frequent gyms and jog in the streets .-
I was told , that the reason was the industrial precooked food and by your constant use of the car , and walk very little the people-
Perhaps many fleeing from morbid obesity they become vegetarians and frequent the gym a lot .-
In the USA there is a magnificent food but it eats only by a minority .Most people due to the urbanism of the american cities spend a lot of time driving of their work home and prefer eat fast food which is also less expensive .-
In Mediterranean countries, the persons eat products fresh local and there is a secular gastronomy and is almost daily the visited by the market and would inconceivable to eat with sugary drinks instead of wine the great majority of the population.-
Also there is venerated the gastronomic pleasure and eaten with olive oil and even in Spain of the most of the businesses close at noon to enjoy a delicious meal in family of 2 at 4 hours.-
In Spain even there are regions full of gastronomic clubs where after work instead of going to the gym men they go cooking to exquisite food in gastronomic competitions.
USA and mediterranean countries are cultures and customs radically different in the way of seeing the food,.
And -
When visiting the US, it can be confusing; one may observe phenomena without having the cultural background information for understanding the causes. What part of the US did you visit?
In the regions where I've lived, morbid obesity is rare. However, it tends to be a mark of poverty, or a combination of poverty and lack of education regarding nutrition. In some cases, it can be due to illness. Driving the car to work isn't much of a factor, when you compare to other countries, where people take public transit to work. The issue in modern life is that many people spend 8 hours at work, sitting at their desk, and spend another shorter period of time travelling to work by means other than walking or biking. This sets people up for a sedentary life. So, in order to compensate for the lack of physical activity at office jobs, people go to the gym, and walk or jog as a healthy hobby after work.
I don't know about "industrial pre-cooked food". Are you talking about fast food, or packaged frozen dinners? The only people I've ever known personally to eat fast food are young people, meaning students. All the adults I know cook their own food from fresh ingredients, like most Europeans. And I've never seen a morbidly obese person in real life. This is why I asked what part of the US you visited, that you saw so many of them.
Vegetarianism has nothing to do with weight concerns, generally. People choose vegetarianism for a variety of reasons:
1. religion They're Buddhists, and are motivated to avoid killing animals, even indirectly through creating a demand for meat = butchering; (you'd be surprised how many Buddhists there are in the US), or
2. a desire to not harm animals, and an awareness that industrial meat production tends to be inhumane; or
3. due to environmental concerns over the effects of industrial meat production on the environment, and/or
4. due to a belief that using the planet's limited natural resources for meat production is inefficient, and that more people could be fed if grazing land were given over to farming. So for some vegetarians, it's a question of values.
5. Many vegetarians also believe that a plant-based diet is more healthy than a meat-based one. There is some science to support that, but this is a complex subject.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 04-29-2017 at 10:09 AM..
From what I've seen, most people who adopt a vegetarian diet are already in good shape to begin with, and they tend to be somewhat affluent. Americans who choose this lifestyle are probably also more likely to be physically active, but if you know anything about macronutrients and how they work, you'll understand that it's quite easy to gain fat without eating animal products.
Absolutely. One could adopt a vegan junk food diet of French fries, non-dairy pizza, meat analogs, and go overboard on starchy refined grains; such a diet as obesity-promoting as a poor omni diet. It's not the absence of meat itself that causes veg'ns as a group tend to be slimmer, but rather the higher intake of foods that promote healthier weight (veggies, fruit, whole grains, beans and legumes). Take those foods out of the equation and a veg'n is no better off than if s/he were on a steady diet of meat and starchy fillers.
USA is an inmense country and the fresh produce does they move quickly as in the Countries of Europe Mediterranean.
Also very good foods for nutrition like fish are not usually eaten inside the USA
So in practice there is not such the variety of foods in USA except the industrialized foods ones that are precisely the bad ones for health .-
This depends in part on the region. Fish is eaten frequently in the Pacific Northwest, where salmon is popular, and has a high cultural value with some people. Seafood in general is popular in the coastal regions. Also, the medical establishment in the US has been recommending for decades that people eat at least one serving of seafood weekly.
1)Because they flee from the typical american junk food which produces so many people with fat morbid there.
2)Because they have not enjoyed, the vast majority of american people the delicious mediterrean cuisine that it is also very healthy and your tradition is not enjoy with food already that USA have origin historical in UK
that does not have historically good gastronomy.-
3)Or for other reasons .-
I think it's because we have so many options available. So some people do it to try to improve their health, and some do it because it's a cause, and probably some do it because it's trendy.
This depends in part on the region. Fish is eaten frequently in the Pacific Northwest, where salmon is popular, and has a high cultural value with some people. Seafood in general is popular in the coastal regions. Also, the medical establishment in the US has been recommending for decades that people eat at least one serving of seafood weekly.
very true but I think we, as Americans love our fish, it is more the lack of availability to good and less expensive fish is some parts of the country. You are very lucky to have access. All we have, locally is cat fish, not everyone's favorite for sure.
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very true but I think we, as Americans love our fish, it is more the lack of availability to good and less expensive fish is some parts of the country. You are very lucky to have access. All we have, locally is cat fish, not everyone's favorite for sure.
Yes, thanks for chiming in. Awhile ago, I did a bit of a study online re: availability of fish in inland Europe, and discovered that the supply is limited to whatever is available in the local lakes. Fish isn't trucked in from a distance, nor is it farmed in local lakes. So the supply is sparse. That was eye-opening, but it conforms to the conditions where you live in the US, too. People who live around the Mediterranean, like the author, should realize how fortunate they are. It would be a mistake to assume that all Europeans eat fish regularly.
Absolutely. One could adopt a vegan junk food diet of French fries, non-dairy pizza, meat analogs, and go overboard on starchy refined grains; such a diet as obesity-promoting as a poor omni diet. It's not the absence of meat itself that causes veg'ns as a group tend to be slimmer, but rather the higher intake of foods that promote healthier weight (veggies, fruit, whole grains, beans and legumes). Take those foods out of the equation and a veg'n is no better off than if s/he were on a steady diet of meat and starchy fillers.
And it is quite possible to take in plenty of veggies while also enjoying meat, which is exactly what our bodies were designed to do. Too many people seem to think it has to be one extreme or the other
very true but I think we, as Americans love our fish, it is more the lack of availability to good and less expensive fish is some parts of the country. You are very lucky to have access. All we have, locally is cat fish, not everyone's favorite for sure.
Yes, I live on the east coast, and of course with the ocean right here seafood places are very popular. It's that way up and down, from Maine to Florida.
I am sure some people in the interior fish and eat what they catch, but do they have the commercial fishing aspect of it? I mean, are there professional fishermen who go out and catch, say, a net full of trout or bass in a lake and sell it at the market and to the restaurants in the area?
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