i am 5' 11" and weigh about 175lbs.... i run 3,4,5 miles maybe 2-3 times per week and bike 2-3 times per month...lift 2-3 times per week.

not sure what is so damned hard for people to make alittle time to get off their lazy asses......mmmm...food....

I know some people may actually have a metabolism problem, but if they would get out and start walking and watch what they eat....

my wifes blimpy cousin buys candy bars by the handfull.... i have not purchased a candy bar since i was a kid......

 

not just the midwest, but the south as well...

i work in monroe, louisiana during the week and ppl in the deep south are FAT. not all, but most are. definitely not exercising is one reason. the other i would say is their eating habits and the food available down there. EVERYTHING is fried or covered with butter or lard i try to run but it's really hard in the hotel with crappy treadmills that hurt my knees. i do take the stairs at every opportunity, which means walking up 6 flights of stairs at the client's office in the morning and when we get back from lunch everyday.

 

I can explain everything.
Here's the real story: When the settlers moved westward, there of course were families, girlfriends, wives, and other women. The women who were REALLY gnarly didn't make it past Pennsylvania, but in general the fat ones made it to the midwest. From there, as rations got low and survival matters surfaced, only the skinnier and better looking women were brought along westward. These women tended to be healthier, too.
Although fat keeps one warm, The pudgier ones weren't tough enough for the cold, so some headed south. The tougher ones made it to say, Idaho, Colorado, etc. These women aren't always great looking but are typically not bad and at least resourceful. Many women in Idaho can arc-weld.
But from there only the choicest women were brought out to California, which is why LA has all the good looking women.

 

reference the threads discussing fat-ass drivers hating on people who get out and ride bikes. The attitude that someone moving their ass under their own power are somehow inferior has a lot to do with people getting fat. For many, life is all about making it so they don't have to lift a finger - that is their definition of "success." Anytime a media outlet, such as a television show or magazine, highlight people that live healthy lives, there are a ton of people getting all vocal about how "unrealistic" the images are, as if the natural state of a woman is ~200lbs. and sucking down a pint of Haagen-Dazs :/

As far as I am concerned, this whole "low-carb" fad is kinda good, but a far better "fad" would be people hoofing it to the store to get their things, rather than cruising the 50-acre Walmart lot in an effort to minimize their energy expenditure. You can eat pretty much all you want as long as you burn it off, but that isn't going to happen in today's society when people are pushed to buy drugs that "take pounds off while you sleep!!11!" If you really wish to lose pounds in your sleep, work out regularly - the more lean muscle you have, the more energy you burn at rest.

Since the 50's, housing develoments have made it difficult to find a grocery store within walking distance of where most people live. As distasteful as some people think it is, this country has got to get back to building neighborhoods with shops and restaurants within walking distance of where people live, in lieu of segregating residences from shopping, as we do with malls and shopping centers. Gas isn't free, and the hassle of finding parking just blocks from home would result in an increase in people walking and riding bikes to their local store.

Part of the problem is basic human drive - minimize the effort required to support life, and life will flourish. The catch is, people are like horses - we eat as long as there is food in front of us, and will overeat given the chance (a good strategy when you don't know when you will eat again, but a bad plan when you have a cupboard full of pasta). The very things responsible for the success of the human race is the mechanism of our unhappiness.

 

^ very true.

my coworker who is from mississippi came to NYC last week and said to me "i noticed that people here are more fit" and i told him that was because we walk everywhere in the city. and some people live in walk-up apartments so they have to walk up the stairs everyday. and that there's a new york sports club (a local gym) on practically every other block.

there is also a lady who i work with who constantly try different diet fads. one week was the atkins (modified to her liking, by the way) the next week was the south beach (again, modified) and the following week, she bought these diet pills. none of them worked.

whatever happened to eating in moderation and exercising?

 

Most of the Wal-Mart shoppers I've seen should beep when they back up.

Another problem fairly unique to the US is portion size. Every time we get first-time visitors from Ireland, we take them to a diner. They order something simple, like a burger, or a club sandwich, and then you see their jaws drop as the 'platter' arrives, loaded with fries, coleslaw, pickles, and a burger the size of Shaq's hubcap.

Fast food doesn't help either. I read somewhere (forget where) that the average McDonald's customer has a household income of $20,000 or less. I know that's not true for some areas, it's just the average. But the food is cheap, and for someone on a limited income, it seems like a good deal. You can go fill up for a few bucks, and after a few years you start to look like the burger donor rather than the burger eater. Say, I often wondered where all those burgers come from. Maybe they recycle the customers that get so fat they get stuck in the restroom stalls...

 

americans are getting lazier.
fat people wouldn't want to go to the gym, cause they are too fat. so only fit people go.

 

If you want to see fat people, you should try coming to Philadelphia. . . this place has more fat, unattractive people than any other part of the county I've been. In fact, I'm working in Detroit during the week, and I see far less fatties there than I do at home. Of course, I also see a lot more mullets and pimp suits in Detroit, so I guess it's a bit of give and take.

 

I live in a city with rampant obesity. One of the worst among cities the CDC takes the time to rank. I think San Antonio and Houston are the only cities to top us with any regularity. My view on the causes?

1) Dining out. Portions are huge! Order a 12 Oz steak, get a salad, some rolls, maybe some veggies and rice on the side. Throw in 3 or 4 refills of Coke, and you've just consumed 2500 calories - the daily intake for a normal healthy person. It's hard to say "no" to food in front of you when you're paying for it and are hungry.
2) Unhealthy diets. (I'm guilty of this) Lots of soda, candy/junk food binges, deep fried foods, etc. Lots of empty calories that rapidly turn to fat and settle in your butt/gut.
3) Sedentary lifestyles. Get up, drive to work, sit on your butt for 8-10 hours at work (with fast food in the middle for lunch), drive home, have dinner (see #2), watch tv for 4 hours, go to bed. Repeat. Hardly any caloric consumption!
4) General laziness. My company pays up to $200/yr for a health club membership (things are pretty inexpensive here, so you SoCal/NYers can imagine this is $400/yr) and fewer than 25% of the employees take advantage; figure even fewer actually go. Even working out twice a week is a good start. Most people "can't find the time" or some excuse, but have abundant time to watch, rewatch, and discuss "The Bachelor". Also, winter has a big part in this - in the midwest and northeast, 4-6 months of the year offer little in the way of incentive to go outside and be active.
5) Acceptance of obesity. I go to the YMCA 4-6 days a week, and one of the things that bugs me is how many fat kids there are - I'm talking 6-12 year olds, being 50+ lbs overweight. In all the time I went to school, I can only recall 3 or 4 people who were truly overweight (representing maybe 2% tops) - and I know for a fact one of those had a geneticly low metabolism. Today, it seems like 20-30% of kids are already obese, and the parents don't care. These kids will grow up thinking that being obese is ok, has no ramifications, etc. People that promote healthy lifestyles are "nuts" or "fruitcases".

So why is the midwest and deep south so bad? Because they have all 5 of these going against them. California and Florida don't have #5 (us Midwesterns like to call you "superficial" ), and the better climates outside the midwest and northeast limit the impact of #4. From my time on the west coast, it seems like the nicer restaurants have smaller portions (proper size, IMO) and deep fried food isn't as popular. #3 seems to affect the entire country.

 

An aside to #5, primarily pertaining to young girls:

I've noticed a backlash against the "perfectionism" of actresses, singers, models, etc. There seems to be a thought that promoting these "models of perfection" creates low self-esteem and whatnot. I've been hearing it for as long as I can remember. The backlash seems to be telling girls that "it's ok to be fat, lazy, and generally unattractive" - none of which are true. Guys are superficial by nature, and while we don't expect you to be "perfect" like Jennifer Garner or JLo or Beyonce or whoever, everyone should strive to be their best. A girl who's a "6" but is at the gym trying to improve herself is much more attractive than a "6" who's sitting at home every night inhaling cheetoes while watching the Bachelor.

Am I completely out on the limb on this?