Why are there so many fat people in America?

Question

I've noticed this since I came back from Europe after going there for two weeks and also while I have been working in an amusement park, the fat ratio in Europe is like one fat person to every 300 average or slim person, that's how low it is, where in America its one fat person to every 5 or 10 people, its ridiculous, how does this happen. Also at the area I'm working at it gets very annoying to try to force a fat person into the seat or when they ask, why aren't the seats bigger, and I think "because people aren't supposed to weigh over 200lbs at 5ft 8inch". Anyways detailed answers please.

kholland65 · Accepted Answer

I've noticed the same thing after just being in italy for 2 weeks.

It mostly comes down to diet. As someone who is really into fitness and has talked with many trainers, athletes, doctors, about fitness, the biggest factor in a person's health is their diet, not exercise. Not that exercise isn't important, its just that your diet plays a bigger roll.

The government likes to talk about how kids don't exercise enough, and how that's the reason for so much obesity. They don't, but really the even bigger problem is their diets.

In Europe, unhealthy foods like burgers, fries, chips, candy, etc. isn't as readily available. Restaurants just don't serve that stuff. Have fun finding a mcdonald's anywhere. Breakfast? yeah people don't eat sugary pop tarts and sugary cereal like lucky charms. It's all healthier stuff.

Not only are they more available here in the us than in Europe, we simply feel forced to eat them more often. People take more time for lunch in Europe. They don't have these 30min lunches were you barely have time to snarf down fast food. They take the full hour, sometimes more to sit down and have a good meal. They also are less busy so parents don't feel as much of the need to constantly pick up some McDonald's on the way home from work. Also with more women returning to work, it only perpetuates that issue. Mom's are not staying home and focusing on cooking good meals for the family, they are on the go, trying to juggle work and other things which causes them to lose time to cook.

Finally I think its just generally cultural. People there put a heavier weighting on their looks and fashion. In America we tell everyone they are beautiful no matter what, in Europe, they will tell you you are overweight if you weight to large a size and can't fit into the clothes in the store. Being fat just isn't as acceptable there as it is here.

Frankly this is one of the biggest problems in our country at the moment. The perception that obesity is being caused by lack of exercise when the real problem is diet.

OpenClose · Accepted Answer

Where I am, a statistic was recently revealed that said it was as much as 60% overweight and 30% obese.

It's funny, too, because some girls here claim to have "natural curves" and say that men's standards are too strict. People got fat, and instead of realizing that, they blamed it on men having "unrealistic expectations." Some girls who are considered 4-5 elsewhere are basically 10s here.

But anyway. The problem is, well, everything.

1. We drive everywhere. Remember, this nation is HUGE and very sparse. Walking and biking like in Europe just isn't feasible.

2. We think working out at a gym burns more calories than it actually does. All it does is raise your metabolism for the short period. The only true productive way to lose weight is to KEEP IT UP most of the day. If you work out for one hour then watch TV the rest of the evening without even cooking for yourself, the only thing you accomplish is a bigger appetite.

3. Chemicals are easier to produce and manage than natural crop materials. We're run by business. Whatever can drive prices down and profits up is game. Ever eat a twinkie? They use petroleum products for some of that. This is the cheap food. The healthy food is expensive.

In fact, in some poorer areas of the nation, there are quite a few obese people who are malnourished. Weird, huh. Being fat and dying of starvation? Lack of nutrients.

4. Stressed out of our minds. We're supposedly the most stressed-out western nation. Extremely short vacation times, short leave, respect and status determined by income, ect. Stress=Fat, especially when that stress occurs in a cubicle.

5. Many suburbs have become rather boring. There's little to do outside. my dad grew up with a lake and forest in his back yard. Stuff to climb, places to go, crazy stuff to do. The outdoors was an adventure. These days, there's only so much adventure in a postage stamp. The most adventure you can have in that area is called either WoW or Skyrim.

Izzy2102 · Accepted Answer

I have honestly no idea. I noticed that too when I came back from Europe. Over there, there are a lot of slim people and some chubby people but I don't think I ever saw some really fat people (I was there for a semester in high school, so that may make a difference). Here I see really fat people everywhere.

Sure as others have said, we have all those xxl portions and we're probably lazy, but that doesn't answer the question why we are like that. It's not like other countries don't have xxl restaurants they just don't used them as much as we do.

My best guess is that our culture just doesn't have any relationship too food. If you ask what people (outdside the U.S.) our national dish it likley be Burger, Hot dogs, cola or other food that you buy and barley make yourself. That's different for other countries. If we think about Pasta and Pizza in Italy, Schnitzel and Sauerkraut in Germany, Quiche and coq au vin in France ... tose are all national dishes that are not only more healthy but you also usually don't buy them, but prepare them at home. So families are a lot more likley to teach their children how to cook.

Another point is education. My friends in Europe said they talked about healthy nutriton in grade 5 and in grade 9. I don't recall doing any of this during my high school time. So if the parents don't teach kids how to eat healthy and schools don't do it, who will?

Then maybe we just need more regulations. I know many European countries have banned xxl portions in ordinary restaurants. From what I know scandinavian countries pay higher taxes on fast food. I know people get really mad if someone did that here, but hey, it's working.

Freetobe007 · Accepted Answer

LOL! Well as someone who's been an American for 19 years, I really don't know why. I mean...burgers; that's what we Americans are good for. There are a lot of burger joints and just a lot of restaurants with really unhealthy food that you can't stay away from. I mean, we have a crazy variety of restaurants ... how can you just not go there!? And then they invented all you can eat buffets! Psssht! It's a wrap! Not only that, but fast food is really common here and really great when you're on a lunch break and don't have a lot of time or if you're a parent and you want to bring the kids something warm to eat but you're too tired to cook. So yeah, I think there are a ton of fat Americans because in America, we are fortunate enough to have an overabundance of food and we take full advantage of that.

Also, traditional food that gets past down from family to family can be extremely unhealthy, but staying away from it is like trying to push to magnets apart (I sound so American right there lolol). Because you've grown up with it.

talina · Answer

i ve lived in new york for only two months and I gain 6 kilos (I lost them now thxs god ) if you live in America you will very fast understand that Americans in general lead a faster paced life style which really supports the fast food industry. Fast food restaurants have become a normal part of life in the American's daily routine.Americans eat large portions of high-calorie foods, drink large amounts of sugary sodas, and don't physically move around very much. McDonald's, bell, American chinese food, pizza hut, wendys, burger king, taco popeyes, churches, American deli, quiznos, subway, applebees, longhorn, Fridays, benihana, taco mac, waffle house dunkin donuts, baskin robbinsdominos pizza, papa johns that's why they' re fatter than europians.these are all cheap foods that are deep-fried in oil, filled with sugar, or smothered with butter or condimentsplus plus the portion sizes are huge, which psychologically gives the feeling that it is a fair purchase because you get "a lot" for little money. food in America is a very cheap and readily available temptation and believe its very hard to resist ..

EPhantom · Answer

American "travel"... basically if someone wants to go somewhere, even if it's a few blocks away, usually they will drive =/

Foods: Generally people in the united states don't make their own food from scratch. That being said most of the diet consists of processed foods. The processed foods here are NOT made with nutrition in mind, but SALES. People love to eat tasty things. So the processed foods are made with either tons of fat, or tons of sugar.

Low exercise + fatty and sugar filled diets = an obesity epidemic

Alexeiv · Answer

Corporations in America can buy politicians and can buy all the marketing they want.

Thus fast food corporations, and beer and over the counter medicine can make the population believe being fat is okay, or somehow excusable.

People in America also get overtly sensitive. If I ever try to help a stranger, sometimes they take my tone as being mocking, etc. You should watch Idiocracy for reference. America has a very poor education system so that feeds into as well.

Or I should say, the rich get the best schools, best food, etc. Poor people are left with crap. There is no equality.

thisislifebaby · Answer

Fast food, the attitude towards food/ exercise, the fact that things are far away so people drive most places. Where as in Europe people bike and walk waaay more, eating healthy and exercise are important, fast food isn't as popular and there is a sense of shame to do with being fat and unhealthy so they either stay inside or actually do something about it. Unlike in the US where they flub around suing the fast food giants for making them fat. Even if you compare the UK to the for example France and Germany there are far more fat people in the UK. I used to live near Germany and then I went to the US (on holidays) and I was actually amazed and disgusted by the amount of overweight people. I now live in Australia and people are just getting fatter, I much prefer Europe.

BluePineapple · Answer

Because in Europe (im European) eating out is really expensive and we don't have drive-throughs that are open all the time. Food that you buy at a restaurant has more salt and oil and all that stuff on it. Compared to when you cook by yourself you decide how much oil you wanna put on your food. There's is just a lot of fatening food in America (dont get me wrong I like American food). And you are more tempted to eat because you can get food anywhere at any time you want to. In Europe that's just not the case.

may04 · Answer

I think a lot of it is our portion sizes. I went to a McDonald's In Tokyo, ordered the same thing that I get every time in the states and it was WAY less food (which was fine cause I never eat all my food anyway) However, a lot of people do. We as Americans like convenience, and will spend lots of money on fast food, and pre-cooked frozen meals. That isn't as common overseas. It's very normal to go to the market everyday for fresh foods, and most families I met didn't bulk up on stuff either.

Exercise is another one. In the city is super inconvenient to drive, so most people walk or bike on a regular basis. I'm not sure if that's the same in big American cities (I've only lived in suburbs) but the street traffic from pedestrians was phenomenal from what I was used to seeing in the states.

John83 · Answer

Portion sizes that are much too large combined with poor will power. People don't seem to understand that just because a restaurant serves them 3000 calories of food, they don't have to eat all of it. As a society we also keep getting worse at holding ourselves and others accountable for their own actions. Rather than poor will power, we blame "food addiction" and non-existent genetic disorders for weight problems. I travel a lot and get really annoyed every time half of my seat is taken up by the person sitting next to me. They should really be forced to pay for two seats if they can't fit in their own.

I don't know if the statistics prove this out yet, but I've heard the average life expectancy in the US is expected to drop in the near future because of the rise in obesity.

paxtonfun · Answer

We eat unhealthier food - we are way more lazy in doing lots of errands by car - we seem to eat a lot in front of the TV - have no family dinner - we drink way more sugary drinks.

The Europeans eat way healthier, they match their cuisine from all over Europe and take the best stuff because our e.g. New York pizza has nothing to do with original pizza or Fettucine Alfredo isn´t really italian - do we really have a real American food tradition of healthy foods?

Those are just some things that came to my mind.

Anonymous · Answer

It depends on which state you are talking about. I live in California which is one of the thinnest states in the US. There's not a day that passes when I don't see tons of people at the gym or outside running. However, the East coast and the south (Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina) is home to lots of fatty foods and in result fat people.  You really can't judge America as a whole, just like there are many fat Europeans, there are many fat Americans. Trust me, I've traveled to 17 different European countries and seen it with my own eyes.

Anonymous · Answer

It's the lifestyle. Portions are massive, as Americans associate bigger is better with everything. They are also a very sedentary people.

In addition, poor peoples food tends to be heavily processed and filled with chemicals which can lead to obesity. (High sugar, fructose, aspertame, salt, etc...)

Natural fresh healthy foods tend to be more expensive.

Finally, for all their obsession with diets, almost none of them know anything about nutrition. Spend a little time on the Health section of this website, and your worst fears about their ignorance will be confirmed.

ManaX · Answer

90/300 Americans are obese. while 60/300 brits are obese (In your terms)

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However America is know to have the highest percentage of obese people in the world (which is true). You said you went there I've been there too. Did you not notice the portion sizes?

kereru · Answer

Europeans move more, it's quite normal to not own a car and get everywhere by public transport, or commute on a bicycle...in places like America they don't even design urban spaces with the pedestrian in mind,

Americans don't really understand the concept of restraint, and measure value by quantity. in every aspect of the way they live, more is always more, bigger is always better...

Gawesome · Answer

I think the majority gave great answers so I'll say this. I loved going to Texas for a vacation but I would rather not live there considering you had to drive everywhere. Steakhouses, chain restaurants, and fast food joints are everywhere. And the portions are HUGE. Seems to me that one in 5 texans are HUGE and funny enough, the stat increases to one in 3 as you eat in a steakhouse or bbq joint! But the food was DELICIOUS but yea...I felt unhealthy and fat after 2 weeks.

Brando · Answer

Americans, among other issues, are less active than Europeans. If you noticed in Europe, there are much more bikes, much more walkers, and much more people walking to train stations to get to places they can't walk/bike to. Americans hop in their car to go one block over, partly because a lot are lazy and partly for legitimate reasons that our cities aren't built like European cities are (packed tighter and more pedestrian-friendly).

Frostie · Answer

Lol everything is loaded with calories or sugar. lots of greasy/oily foods. Fried chicken for instance.The human body doesn't recognize how much calories its taken in, but relies on how much food has been consumed. So they can eat twice as much. technically speaking. Its apart of the system so to speak. drugs come after their double by-pass burgers lol.

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kmhco · Answer

I think that one of the biggest differences in Europe and the US is the fact that Americans drive everywhere. Europe is less conducive to this and many people walk or take public transportation many places. Also, in the US we have a belief that bigger is better, so portion sizes are out of control.

normalice · Answer

high fructose corn syrup - a much cheaper way to make sugar (and far less healthy).

sugar, fat, and salt are hard for any human to resist, so, in true free-market style, that's what every food distributor puts into their food. consequences be damned - except the consequence of money.

martyfellow · Answer

The diet is unhealthy, and people are very unhappy, take out their frustrations on fatty food and alcohol. Not to mention, a big franction of the population someow identifies with being fat, as if was some accomplishment.

Also, there's Oprah, she's to blame for some of it.

Anonymous · Answer

fast food, fast food and more dang fast food!  Also these people feel the need to over eat, they smuch, gulp and squeeze 5000 calories down there throats daily.  "Would you like fries with that".  Its sad that is why I support Jamie Oliver's food revolution here in America.  Its embarrassing as a nation.

Anonymous · Answer

Corporations like McDonalds market their products towards children and indoctrinate the idea that unhealthy foods are a symbol of happiness and enjoyment (ala Happy Meals).

As a free market advocate, this is where I admit that there ought to be regulations when it comes to marketing and influencing underaged people, specifically those under 10 years old. They don't know any better, and it's clear that environment influence heavily sways the route one takes on later in life.

Why are there so many fat people in America?

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