I recently asked a table full of New York city residents what they most noticed was different about people who lived elsewhere in the US. One person immediately said others are “fatter.” No one else disagreed, or offered any other descriptor.
If you follow a calorie restrictive diet you will lose weight. The problem is that people can't do that for very long because of the hunger issue. Low fat (and I suppose vegan) diets will allow you to eat as much as you want and still lose weight, because they suppress the appetite compared to the modern US diet. These are not the diets that doctors suggest to their patients though. Exercise is good for you and will help a little bit, but diet is much more important for weight loss.
Yes, it's ridiculous to maintain that genetic defficiencies that cause obesity have suddenly become much more prevalent than they used to and mostly in areas where people happen to eat a lot and not exercise. That's simply a strawman to avoid taking responsibility.
I don't think people make a conscious choice to be fat, such as setting a goal to become overweight and then actively working towards that goal.
I do think that people (Americans in general, and per this article perhaps Midwesterner's more than NY'ers) do not consider whether their lifestyle or food choices will make them fat, or even knowing give other factors more weight (so to speak) and allow themselves to become fat while wishing to be thin.
It's as simple as this: weight can be controlled by diet. Don't mistake "simple" for "easy." I know it's not easy, and I know there are exceptions, but it's hard to make the case that the majority of overweight adults in the midwest are all exceptions.
Its also true. NYC is one of the leanest cities in the US. I found an interesting article that said that this had to do with how horribly difficult it was to drive there, which meant that people walked a lot more.
It's not asking for an insult in the sense that a kid might ask for an ice-cream cone, it's asking for an insult in the sense that flashing your Rolex in the slums is "asking to be robbed".
@lemmy caution, what evidence do you have for the claim that people prefer following a regimen of caloric restriction and exercise to being obese? The advocates of unrestricted eating such as Governor Palin have enormous support, and her supporters are enormous themselves.
Baseline (non-exercise) activity is the important difference. NYC residents walk EVERYWHERE. If sub/ex-urbanites had to carry all their groceries home, then they would be significantly thinner. A significant fraction of NYCers also have to walk up several flights of stairs to their apartment (no elevator).
I wonder if you're remembering Maledicta (published from 1977-2005) - "The International Journal of Verbal Aggression". My parents had a few of them, and unlike yours didn't seem to mind me reading it. It was fascinating stuff for a 12-year-old.
Well, walking at 4.0 mph burns a 70 kg person about 350 kcal per hour (http://caloriecount.about.c... that's more than I thought, but I still think that non-New Yorkers' eating more plays a larger role than their walking less.
It doesn't seem like a good idea to view the obesity problem through the lens of "personal choice". This really fails to deal with how the problem has become much worse over time. It also fails to deal with the abysmal failure rates of calorie restrictive diets and the near uselessness of exercise as a way to lose weight. The standard advice doctors give people to lose weight does not work.
If you follow a calorie restrictive diet you will lose weight. The problem is that people can't do that for very long because of the hunger issue. Low fat (and I suppose vegan) diets will allow you to eat as much as you want and still lose weight, because they suppress the appetite compared to the modern US diet. These are not the diets that doctors suggest to their patients though. Exercise is good for you and will help a little bit, but diet is much more important for weight loss.
I grew up in Tennessee and visited New York City once. My first (first!) thought when I walked out on the street was "where are all the fat people?"
Yes, it's ridiculous to maintain that genetic defficiencies that cause obesity have suddenly become much more prevalent than they used to and mostly in areas where people happen to eat a lot and not exercise. That's simply a strawman to avoid taking responsibility.
healthyengineer -
I don't think people make a conscious choice to be fat, such as setting a goal to become overweight and then actively working towards that goal.
I do think that people (Americans in general, and per this article perhaps Midwesterner's more than NY'ers) do not consider whether their lifestyle or food choices will make them fat, or even knowing give other factors more weight (so to speak) and allow themselves to become fat while wishing to be thin.
It's as simple as this: weight can be controlled by diet. Don't mistake "simple" for "easy." I know it's not easy, and I know there are exceptions, but it's hard to make the case that the majority of overweight adults in the midwest are all exceptions.
Metafilter insult jazz.
Its also true. NYC is one of the leanest cities in the US. I found an interesting article that said that this had to do with how horribly difficult it was to drive there, which meant that people walked a lot more.
STFU n00b! you hipster!
There are some enjoyable insults to be found here, although they are not especially current. :)
It's not asking for an insult in the sense that a kid might ask for an ice-cream cone, it's asking for an insult in the sense that flashing your Rolex in the slums is "asking to be robbed".
@lemmy caution, what evidence do you have for the claim that people prefer following a regimen of caloric restriction and exercise to being obese? The advocates of unrestricted eating such as Governor Palin have enormous support, and her supporters are enormous themselves.
Baseline (non-exercise) activity is the important difference. NYC residents walk EVERYWHERE. If sub/ex-urbanites had to carry all their groceries home, then they would be significantly thinner. A significant fraction of NYCers also have to walk up several flights of stairs to their apartment (no elevator).
I wonder if you're remembering Maledicta (published from 1977-2005) - "The International Journal of Verbal Aggression". My parents had a few of them, and unlike yours didn't seem to mind me reading it. It was fascinating stuff for a 12-year-old.
Well, walking at 4.0 mph burns a 70 kg person about 350 kcal per hour (http://caloriecount.about.c... that's more than I thought, but I still think that non-New Yorkers' eating more plays a larger role than their walking less.
I think that denialist is the worst insult I can think of off the top of my head. It is worse than stupid, and stupid is worse than ignorant.
Also food is more expensive in NYC.
It doesn't seem like a good idea to view the obesity problem through the lens of "personal choice". This really fails to deal with how the problem has become much worse over time. It also fails to deal with the abysmal failure rates of calorie restrictive diets and the near uselessness of exercise as a way to lose weight. The standard advice doctors give people to lose weight does not work.