How Fat Went Global

The end of that article really strikes a chord with me. I have made great efforts to be healthy my whole life, and yet I have to pay hundreds of dollars per month to have basic health insurance because the system is burdened by people who treat their bodies like garbage dumps. If people are going to make stupid choices for themselves, then clearly there needs to be high taxation on snack foods, and incentives to be healthy. Employees that pay for gym memberships and have higher premiums for people who can't pass a basic physical might be a good place to start.

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It has done wonders for me.

I'm 17 years old. I know thats too young to be complaining about weight, but if I dont worrie now, what will happen when I'm 27? 30? 56? Everyone worries about how fat or skinny they are everywhere around the globe, yet, as the person states below me, diets dont work for everyone. soultions are needed. And everyone doesn't have parents like Italian American lady had. Not everyone can be raised on salads and get used to the idea on a wim. How people are raised are how they view things. Her idea of "yuck" can be anothers way of life. and also, it's a biological matter as well. not everyone is a sports person, or not everyone is a couch potato. People are different but others shouldn't view them in a bad way or lable them. Their body structure was not hand picked by them.

There was one man and one woman that had to start the human race, both of the same body structure. Do you know if they were overweight? skinny as a stick? The perfect body? No one does. So as you see all these magazins that have the "ideal body" plastered on the front, it just makes me wonder who came up with the redicolus idea that THAT was the ideal body? Everyone, fat or skinny, has their own way and are their own person. No one should take that away from them just because some famous pop star is a size 0!........but if your weight becomes a medical issue, welll.....then you should do something about it.

I have been overweight my entire life. I've lost - and regained - hundreds of pounds. Diets do not work but for about 3% of people. We would not suggest a medical solution that had that low of a success rate for anything else. Every fat person understand the concept of fewer calories, more movement. It's not a lack of knowledge or desire or motivation. It is something beyond that. For more than 25 years I have been asking therapists to "fix my brain." No one knows how and no one seems interested in going beyond the "diet and exercise" solution, which has no long term success. I think you would find most overweight people to be very interested in a real solution. We don't understand the compulsion to eat and we don't know how to turn it off. It's not that we're not interested. We just don't know how.

What I find disconcerting is the overall acceptance of being overweight. I'm female, 5'2, and wear about a size 2 or 4 or extra small to small (if the clothing is sized correctly), but where I live (the south) women consistently tell me I need to put some meat on my bones. Really? Why? To make them feel better? I have also heard women refer to the overflowing fat from their pants in a "loving" way to one another (for lack of a better adjective), "oh honey, that's just your muffin top." Yuck! I have been told BY ADULTS my children are "weird" because they pick salad for lunch (yes, our school has that option, but it is a private school) and that they are too skinny. Sorry - my kids play outside, run, jump, don't drink soda and we don't stuff our faces at all you can eat restaurants. My parents were first generation Italian Americans who believed in three full meals a day, and that's what I serve, so we eat heartily but we eat well. When did people stop learning how to eat, when to eat, and how to cook? When did children become so big? Is this really acceptable to others, because it shocks my husband and me.

Has anyone read the Omnivours Dilemma by Michael Pollan. This was a great eye opener about how our world is run by corn

re Brien: Um, so if it's spending too much time on internet don't you think a little activity is in order? Kind of like our ancient ancestors who didn't have cars, grocery stores, sit-down jobs or computers and had to walk alot?

As far as medications go, sure, some might make peopple gain weight. Most people, however, are fat because they eat more than they burn. A 'pill' will not fix this. Only a change in eating habits and lifestyle will.

The whole world is becoming obese? Don't see no obese folks in Darfur.

Come on...it defies logic to think that after thousands of years, suddenly people all over the world are NOW getting fat...because they're eating more and moving less? That's it? Gee I guess "manufactured" food with it's dozens of chemical additives and the load of high-fructose corn syrup in just about EVERYTHING these days doesn't contribute, right? It seems to me we're messing up our metabolisms - our bodies cannot deal effectively with these "ingredients". Just TRY to buy products that aren't processed - it's not easy.

As a rather corpulent animal loving vegetarian I need to weigh in. Foods are not exclusively responsible for obesity in the United States. Many people who are on medications gain weiight. as a side effect Too many people like me spend too much time on the internet. I don't think specific foods are the exclusive cause of the problem Hopefully, a patent for a safe weight loss pill will actualize.

Can you say "high frutose corn syrup?"

My kid was just diagnosed as having malabsorbancy. But according to his pediatric gastro doc we are all "allergic" to corn syrup. I asked my nephew, who is in med school, about it. He told me that our bodies by-pass converting frutose into energy and it goes straight to fat in our bodies.

Frutose is the problem. We didn't get fat until the food industry put that into all our food.

Its amazing how people can still put the blame on America when the article says that it is not just the influence of American diet that is the problem. Actually Americans are not as fat as Australians or Greeks,.so it is not that simple to blame Americans. Once a country reaches lower middle income, wealth of a country has little to do with obesity levels. Some countries there a lot of overweight people Australia, Greece, Mexico, Arab Countries while others there are fewer -- China, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, etc.

Also one must factor in, the fact the world is getting older. The median age in many developing countries are going up. Older people tend to be heavier.

Secondly, women are having a lot less children particularly in South America, East Asia and South East Asia. Less kids mean more food for kids and more likely they will be over weight.

Money is the bottom line here. High fructose corn syrup, enriched flours, all of that...It's cheap, and corporations in the 50's wanted big $$$, and they knew how to get it. Maybe they had no clue they'd be killing us all in the long run, but now we're addicts and organic foods are too costly for those who are addicted the most. I agree that an apple is the better option, but the pesticides coating the thing kind of turn me off. My husband's family owns a huge potato farm that grows potatoes for McDonald's fries and Ore-Ida products, and he won't eat the skin of a potato b/c he knows exactly what chemicals that potato has been bathed in to make it cheaper and easier to grow.

Regarding gastric bypass:
My mother had thisprocedure done when it was first introduced,and several years later she became pregnant andgave birth to my sister who was born with spaina bifida. Can't see the connection? It's obvious to me (though I would NEVER let my momknow I feel this way). My mom also suffers from major IBS and very seriuos vitamin defieincies that I believe are a result of this surgery. I do believe the morbidly obese need options, I also believe I should teach my three-year-old to make good choices and that poor food choices will hurt her physically (and emotionally) should she choose them in excess.

Regarding Obesity:
One solution beneficial in many cases of morbid obesity is what is known as gastric bypass surgery. This is a type of bariatric surgery that essentially reduces the volume of the human stomach in order to correct and treat morbid obesity by surgical re-construction of the stomach and small intestine. Morbid obesity is defined as one who has a body mass index of 30 kg/m or greater, and this surgery, along with the three other types of surgery for morbid obesity, should be considered a last resort after all other methods to reduce the patient???s weight have chronically failed. There are three surgical variations of gastric bypass surgery, and one is chosen by the surgeon based on their experience and success from the variation they will utilize. Over 200,000 gastric bypass surgeries are performed each year, and this surgery being performed continues to progress as a suitable option for the morbidly obese. There is evidence that this surgery is particularly beneficial for those obese patients that have non-insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus as well.
Morbid obesity greatly affects the health of the patient in a very negative way. It has about 10 co-morbidities that can develop if the situation is not corrected. Some if not most of these co-morbidities are life-threatening. So the surgery to correct morbid obesity greatly reduces the co-morbidities associated with this type of obesity problem. Two percent of those who undergo this surgery die as a result from about a half a dozen complications that could occur. However, the surgery reduces the mortality of the patient by 40 percent or so, yet this percentage is debatable due to conflicting clinical studies.
Age of the patient should be taken into consideration, as to whether or not the risks of this surgery outweigh any potential benefits for the patient who may have existing co-morbidities that have already caused physiological damage to the patient. Also what should be determined by the surgeon is the amount of safety, effectiveness, and rationale for a particular patient regarding those patients who are elderly, for example.
If a person or a doctor is considering this type of surgery, there is a website dedicated to bariatric surgery, which is: www.asmbs.org,

Dan Abshear

Hello... you are forgetting the export by America to all corners of the globe the fast food industry. In third world countries it is considered 'affluence' to be able to flock to KFC, McDonalds or Burgerking because the family can afford it. Thus in countries like Jamaica, home cooking is very rare on Fridays and month ends with these fast food stores packed to the brim. Thirty years ago when you travel out of Jamaica to the USA for instance, you almost invariably feel extremely slim compared to Americans until you return home and reality sets in - you too have gained a few pounds during your America vacation. Alas, today the situation is such that everybody asks you if you are on a diet. I stopped eating KFC and other fast foods, in fact I stopped eating out period some 6 years ago - cooking my meals at home, removing all fats from meat and poultry before cooking; eating everything and enjoying myself and shedding the weight. I am down to 120 pounds from 160 Ib and I almost forgot, I gave up sodas and sweet drinks altogether - just water or red wine for me.
My 15 year old son eats like a horse and round the clock, and he engages in occasional KFC or BurgerKing meal, but he is slim and trim because he too drinks a lot of water in place of soda and also engages in personal workout and bicycling to stay fit.

The world doesn't have to be obese especially with the advent of global food, financial and economic crisis. We just need to be more sensible in what we put in our bodies. By the way, it is fallacy to think that it is virtually impossible to develop Type II diabetes if you have an active lifestyle. If you are genetically disposed to this active lifestyle might delay it or help you manage it better, but if your grand parents had it and one of your parents had it, chances are, you get yourself prepared to deal with it. It is the dealing with it that gives you the quality of life that you probably wouldn't have if you haven't been pre-disposed to having type II diabetes.