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Thread: Disconnect about food and health

  1. #1
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    Disconnect about food and health

    I just read that our nation's obesity problem has gotten worse rather than better. I also note (since moving here) that shoppers are buying more sugar, flour and oil, i.e. processed food as ever. Chips, cookies, snacks, baskets full of garbage food. It seems like there has been more than enough "news" about what constitutes a healthier diet but that so many either ignore it or just don't care. All of this contributes to even more disease and illness which contributes to even higher health costs for all of us. I know food judging isn't a good thing but I just have never seen so many really heavy people as I have here and it makes me wonder why.

  2. #2
    Yppej
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    Where is the "here" and what are you comparing it to?

    My workplace culture is unhealthy. I was one of the few people to not participate in dessert day last week, and one woman insisted on leaving a piece of the coffee cake she brought in on my desk.

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    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Portions are huge in general these days and that seems to be the priority.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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    Quote Originally Posted by razz View Post
    Portions are huge in general these days and that seems to be the priority.
    I heard a story a few years back - someone comparing Paris and some city in the US starting with a "P" (Philadelphia?). The difference in regular portion sizes was shocking - even in the cookbooks.

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    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    I accomplished much of my weight-loss program 5 years ago by simply eating 1/2 my normal serving size. Which didn't leave me at all hungry, if I ate it mindfully. When I looked into the calories I was consuming this way, it was still > 2000 calories. I also increased my physical activity level massively, so I was probably running at a > 1000 calorie a day deficit.

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    Senior Member Rogar's Avatar
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    When I go into traditional large chain supermarkets I am amazed at how cheap chips, cookies and easy to eat junk food like frozen pizzas are. It's easy to see how low income people can fall into the processed food habit.

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    Quote Originally Posted by razz View Post
    Portions are huge in general these days and that seems to be the priority.
    My husband and I went out for dinner last night. I ate 1/3 of my dinner at the restaurant, took the rest home and ate 1/3 for lunch today and the last 1/3 for dinner tonight. I can't imagine eating the whole serving in one meal but I looked around and others were. Would have made me sick to eat so much at one time.

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    Where we live now is more of a blue-collar, lower income city than where we moved from, i.e. less educated. I read somewhere that junk food is comfort food to many who have never eaten differently. I think there must also be a greater acceptance of "over-weightedness" here since it is so prevalent. If the data is correct, being overweight is the new normal just about everywhere regardless of what health experts tell us.

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    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
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    It's not just what we would consider processed junk food. i know someone who is a nutritionist and works at an inner-city hospital. She said that both African-Americans and Hispanics have foods traditional to their culture that are very high in fat.

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    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tradd View Post
    It's not just what we would consider processed junk food. i know someone who is a nutritionist and works at an inner-city hospital. She said that both African-Americans and Hispanics have foods traditional to their culture that are very high in fat.
    Well, along with those traditional foods come some nice nutrients, I assume.

    No one is working hard enough any more to burn off those calories. My father's generation ate a fair amount of fats each day--butter, cream, lard, bacon and worked off calories on the farm.

    Now this thread reminds me of those Ladies Detetive Club books that are set in Botswana amd the main character is a "traditionally built" woman. That description always made me smile.

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