Holy mackeral.......thats a lot of reading. Whew!
Here is my 2 cents...I dont have much to worry about in this department, as i am vegan and its actually hard to put on weight. So I cant speak from an overweight standpoint. I can however say that it makes me SICK to see parents trotting their children into the likes of McDonalds. That food, meat or no is TERRIBLE for you. Eating it once a month probably wouldnt hurt too much but 1-2 times a week is not healthy. Anyone ever see SuperSize Me? If not check it out....guy eats nothing but Mcdonalds for 30 days....its repulsive. Anyway we as a society need to teach children better eating habits, not to grab whats handy and quick but to actually think about what we are eating, more than just "it tastes good".
Jel hit this RIGHT on the head.
THIS is why we have so many fat people in America. It is a fact that people of lower economic classes will eat foods like McDonalds, Taco Bell, BK, whatever is cheap enough to feed their family. I have been in this situation, years ago when money got very tight for me the dollar menu at McD's fed us a lot easier than a trip to the grocery store. I am not proud of it nor would I ever want to be back in that rut again, but it is what it is.
Same goes for the supermarket, snack foods and processed foods and packaged fatty meats are much cheaper than fresh organic veggies and fruits and lean meats. And since this is the way these types have learned to eat even if they do aquire more economic solvency they are likely still going to eat foods that are not as healthy because it is already ingrained.
Not very many wealthy fat people, if ya happen to notice.
Nothing is ever going to change until we are able to provide these foods at a reasonable price for all of our citizens, and that is doubtful as it costs much more to grow organics and such, and it is so much easier to toss in shitty additives and preservatives (for shelf life) than to bake fresh things and ship daily. Gas costs for shipping don't help either. That is why trying to buy fresh and local is SUCH a benefit, if only more people could do it.
Not trying to be a preacher here, believe me I eat more than my share of total crap food and am not as healthy as I should be, but seeing all this arguing really made me think. Everyone of us Americans is trying to defend something that really is not defendable. Think just a gut reaction of national pride though, which is understandable. At the same time, we could be a lot worse off, a lot of the reason we ARE so fat is because we HAVE so much to consume, and while that isn't always healthy, at least we DO have it.
PS- I did not even go into the exercise thing. We have a real aversion to it in the US, lol. But again that is because we have so many options that let us be inside playing that kind of prevent outdoor exercise. TV, PC, Video Games, etc. We also are a nation of car owners, and not many choose to walk or bike anywhere.
Yes, other countries also have these things, but I think they do not let them take over their lives as much as we do here in America.
PPS- Btw, Highly doubt that BMI thing will ever be implimented, ACLU will be all over that like flies on shit.