An unhealthy culture: What do we do?

Only here in USA , When i was in Italy a few YRs back i did not see any obese folks at all and the one that was the heaviest was from Wisconsin ....

I hate articles like these...they perpetuate a false science driven by the corporate takeover of the university, and FDA by food and pharma companies. Put differently the BMI is a bullshit way to make causal conclusions about an individual's health - insurance companies since the 1980s have been giving up on it (see: Campos, 2003). Secondly, by making obesity a problem of the individual person to overcome it makes it all too easy to shield us from the real issues driving the obesity marketplace. More specifically, fatness or thinness is not a reliable marker for us to use when it comes to health outcomes, but the very things that do make us less healthy (namely the shitty nutrition in our overprocessed, steroid injected, pink-sludge, food) is much more closely linked to poor health (see: Gard, 2011; Gard & Wright, 2005). That shit makes us less healthy if we are fat or thin. However, with a marketing plan and billions of dollars to donate to the University where academics are supposed to become entrepreneurs by taking on corporate grant funding to make up for the fact that tax dollars aren't paying them anymore it's much easier to make false claims about obesity or overstate how bad it is (cf. Campos, 2003; Oliver, 2004).

What we should be doing instead of worrying about how fat or thin everyone is and sending them on some sort of workout regime is to look closely at the food and drinks that we are consuming. Often these companies like Pepsi, Coke, Pfizer, and others are grant sources for academics. Is it any wonder then that researchers say that pepsi and coke can be consumed in moderation with no ill-effect despite the fact that soda is strongly linked to cancer? Is it any wonder that the best way to combat "obesity" is by consuming some miracle pill that will lose you weight produced by Pfizer? Obesity is a fucking hoax, and it's sad that the President's wife fell for it - along with many others. Importantly, and following Gard (2008) whose anti-obesity research has been taken up by corporations and libertarian organizations who say "if obesity isn't bad then we can sell and eat whatever on the free market" that's not the case either. We should be concerned with the nutrition or lack thereof in the food system, but we shouldn't necessarily be concerned with how fat people are other than it is an indication of how capitalism has ruined nutrition.

We rely on people to stop letting themselves get so fat.

RW81233 wrote:

but in a capitalist system whereby profit is the chief concern isn't that untenable with a public consuming less? unless they are consuming overprocessed "diet" foods? put differently if profit is the only way to gauge success in the food industry how is producing nutritious food developed slowly but less cost-effectively, and selling it to a public that needs to "eat less" ever going to work?

larger folks will eat smaller folks

RW81233 wrote:

I hate articles like these...they perpetuate a false science driven by the corporate takeover of the university, and FDA by food and pharma companies. Put differently the BMI is a bullshit way to make causal conclusions about an individual's health - insurance companies since the 1980s have been giving up on it (see: Campos, 2003). Secondly, by making obesity a problem of the individual person to overcome it makes it all too easy to shield us from the real issues driving the obesity marketplace. More specifically, fatness or thinness is not a reliable marker for us to use when it comes to health outcomes, but the very things that do make us less healthy (namely the shitty nutrition in our overprocessed, steroid injected, pink-sludge, food) is much more closely linked to poor health (see: Gard, 2011; Gard & Wright, 2005). That shit makes us less healthy if we are fat or thin. However, with a marketing plan and billions of dollars to donate to the University where academics are supposed to become entrepreneurs by taking on corporate grant funding to make up for the fact that tax dollars aren't paying them anymore it's much easier to make false claims about obesity or overstate how bad it is (cf. Campos, 2003; Oliver, 2004).

What we should be doing instead of worrying about how fat or thin everyone is and sending them on some sort of workout regime is to look closely at the food and drinks that we are consuming. Often these companies like Pepsi, Coke, Pfizer, and others are grant sources for academics. Is it any wonder then that researchers say that pepsi and coke can be consumed in moderation with no ill-effect despite the fact that soda is strongly linked to cancer? Is it any wonder that the best way to combat "obesity" is by consuming some miracle pill that will lose you weight produced by Pfizer? Obesity is a fucking hoax, and it's sad that the President's wife fell for it - along with many others. Importantly, and following Gard (2008) whose anti-obesity research has been taken up by corporations and libertarian organizations who say "if obesity isn't bad then we can sell and eat whatever on the free market" that's not the case either. We should be concerned with the nutrition or lack thereof in the food system, but we shouldn't necessarily be concerned with how fat people are other than it is an indication of how capitalism has ruined nutrition.

I'm a little confused here. I agree that poor nutrition is a systemic issue. But you seem to also be saying obesity is not a problem. (And, further, insulting the people who say it is.) Is that what you're saying?

RW81233 wrote:

but in a capitalist system whereby profit is the chief concern isn't that untenable with a public consuming less? unless they are consuming overprocessed "diet" foods? put differently if profit is the only way to gauge success in the food industry how is producing nutritious food developed slowly but less cost-effectively, and selling it to a public that needs to "eat less" ever going to work?

I don't think food was any more healthy in the 70's and 80's. I was able to eat a Tombstone pizza in one setting and follow up with a whole sleeve of saltines and not gain a pound all the way though high school. I noticed my first weight gain w/ the freshman 15, which was directly associated with a severe drop in physical activity. There are several issues that I see.

* Major food companies will use cheaper ingredients over the more expensive / healthy options. That's business 101. Or you can make it more expensive / healthy and steer the product towards a niche "whole foods" market. Either way, your trying to turn a profit.

* Serving sizes are outrageous

* It is easier to spend $5 on a frozen, preservative laden, calorie busting meal that can be nuked in 4 minutes versus buying vegetable that require prep time and will spoil with ten days

* Entertainment choices are so absurd today, I don't blame kids for not running around and climbing trees anymore.

* Unhealthy food has major advantages over healthy food: It's cheaper; lasts longer; easier to prep; widely available, tastes good.

If there is an uber-conspiracy taking place between big pharma and big food, then it will be up to the individual to fight back.

(and aren't we all supposed to be standing in bread lines due to the 1% right now anyway? isn't close to 20% of the population claiming they don't have enough money for groceries? how did we get so fat?)

RW81233 wrote:

is neoliberal capitalism the one link between all of the things you just pointed out?

I don't know what that means.

It is an interesting problem to have. Your society is set up where people have to get on exercise equipment because there are too many calories available in a given day. That must be a hard concept for someone in a non-capitalist country like Somalia to fathom.

catefrances wrote:

Jason P wrote:

...We need to start making fun of overweight people again, perhaps??? :geek:

lets all stand in a circle and point and yell fat fat fatty boom bah why are you so fat. and then slap whatever food theyre eating out of their hands. or maybe we can put signs on their backs that say, kick me im fat. :roll:

I was thinking more along the lines of Yo Mama's so fat ....

anywho, i jest, i jest ....

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

"do i look fat in this dress, or is it because of this glazed donut???"

it is a vicious cycle. to keep weight off you need to restrict calories and exercise. but when you are heavy it hurts to be active. that leads to depression, and then people eat more carbs and comfort food, thus making them heavier.

it is really sad.

I can't stop eating. I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat. It's a vicious cycle. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's someone I'd like to get in touch with and forgive... myself.

Jason P wrote:

RW81233 wrote:

is neoliberal capitalism the one link between all of the things you just pointed out?

I don't know what that means.

It is an interesting problem to have. Your society is set up where people have to get on exercise equipment because there are too many calories available in a given day. That must be a hard concept for someone in a non-capitalist country like Somalia to fathom.

or like scandanavia...or some crazy capitalist country that supposedly has an obesity crisis but has enough of a food disparity that many are going hungry like, like oh shit America. Which brings us to the real indicator of health in the U.S. wealth. If you are rich it doesn't matter if you are fat or thin you live longer, and if you are poor it doesn't matter if you are fat or thin you die faster.