Obesity progress in the United States

This infographic is very telling. Here.

It is startling to think (and discover in little ways) that people who are NOT obese will be viewed as an exception.

The little ways? Here are some.

1. Buying brand name jeans (e.g. Levis) that now have a slightly elasticated front in the lower abdomen/groin area to cope with the stress they are placed under.

2. Being looked at oddly when your doggy bag represents >50% of the meal you have been served.

3. Sitting between two fat people and feeling slightly on edge.


When will people get real? The lame 'excuses' being presented for being fat just do not hold together when you see the type, quantity, and quality of the food that people shove down their necks. They get surprised when they pile on the kilos and make vague 'diet' attempts rather than change their lifestyle and eating habits. People blame genetics, hormone imbalance, and so on for what is basically poor lifestyle and self-indulgence with little thought of the consequences. Part of the reason is the (and the second word is key) 'food manufacturers' who have looked to science and food engineering to enhance their profit; bulking out foods with hydrogenation of fat, adding other fats and sugars in a variety of forms to disguise the real levels they contain, increasing salt levels, colorants and flavor enhancers. Top this off with a soda that contains huge quantities of sugar

When people eat at our house they often ask, "This tastes delicious. What have you added?", when in reality we have simply used the 'original' ingredients to (for example) make a red pepper sauce using red peppers (surprise), some olive oil, and a few herbs. The most galling faux pas that people perform is to ask for salt, applying it to the dish before they have even tasted the food, when the dish neither needs or deserves it.

All of this aside, for the greatest percentage of people who are overweight, fat, or obese, the real problem is you. Eating too much of the wrong things with a sedentary lifestyle. Do not try to kid yourself or others that it is anything else.