The Suburbs Made Us Fat

[Dale]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

Dale is now doing everything he can to avoid meeting the challenge.

If Bond will make up his mind - and specify which challenge I am expected to meet - I will post documentation.

[ukw]

There is definitely some truth to the claim that people who don't eat enough are fat. Those who skip breakfast are indeed quite fat and can't lose weight. Metabolism depends on having enough food at regular intervals.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by ukw

There is definitely some truth to the claim that people who don't eat enough are fat. Those who skip breakfast are indeed quite fat and can't lose weight. Metabolism depends on having enough food at regular intervals.

Hehe, I almost never eat breakfast and am 6-0 155. But I don't think there is any doubt that people who are chronic dieters are going to wind up heavier than need be.

[James Bond Agent 007]

You are expected to defend this statement. Go at it.

Originally Posted by Dale

While there may be health implications for too little activity, it is a myth that people gain weight by eating too much. Beyond stuffing yourself at a given meal, there is really no such thing as eating too much as the homeostatic hunger complex is pegged to caloric intake and not perceptions of satiety.

The reason people become heavier is because they starve themselves (AKA: diet). Weight gain is a natural adaptation to the perception of starvation.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

You are expected to defend this statement. Go at it.

http://www.no-obesity-epidemic.org/foods-obesity.html

Just for starters. But you may be onto something. If it's not just a wives' tale, that certain foods make you fat, all we need to do is feed those emaciated African's a small order of McDonald's fries and they'll be chubby like us. Problem solved.

[James Bond Agent 007]

As requested, in the Skybar, please. A discussion about diets and obesity can go on for a long while and is off-topic in this thread.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

As requested, in the Skybar, please. A discussion about diets and obesity can go on for a long while and is off-topic in this thread.

Very well, then I'll create a thread there and trust you'll join me.

[Jasonhouse]

Enough already.

[Leo the Dog]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

Dale obviously knows basically nothing about human metabolism. According to his logic, all the starving people in India and Africa are overweight, fat slobs.

But anyway this is off-topic.

Dale is actually correct.

Humans used to endure periods of feasts and famines. After going through a period of famine (today's extreme dieting) the body's fat storage gene is triggered. Once the body starts to receive nutrients (feasts) it will store everything as fat in order to survive the next period of famine.

[novawolverine]

Originally Posted by Leo the Dog

Dale is actually correct.

Humans used to endure periods of feasts and famines. After going through a period of famine (today's extreme dieting) the body's fat storage gene is triggered. Once the body starts to receive nutrients (feasts) it will store everything as fat in order to survive the next period of famine.

What about people who aren't dieting but are relatively sedentary and are gaining more and more weight as time goes on?

The stomach tells the brain when it feels full, but when you eat more and more, the stomach stretches and the definition of what's full changes. If you do a crash diet and then binge eat than all bets are off. But this is part of the logic behind some of these bariatric surgeries that really obese people get.

[Dale]

At Bond's behest I created a link in Skybar ...

[Doady]

Originally Posted by Leo the Dog

Dale is actually correct.

Humans used to endure periods of feasts and famines. After going through a period of famine (today's extreme dieting) the body's fat storage gene is triggered. Once the body starts to receive nutrients (feasts) it will store everything as fat in order to survive the next period of famine.

Yes, those are our hunter-gatherer instincts. Everyone has them.

Not sure what that has to do with this thread though.

[dc_denizen]

Anyhow I better go to bed, got to get plenty of rest lest I contract a wasting disease...

[DistrictDirt]

There are a lot of strange comments here insisting its either diet or our car-centric suburbs. Its actually both, and these factors play their part as well:

- Careers that encourage too much stress and not enough sleep (both are known to contribute to overeating)
- Lack of time for sufficient exercise
- Lots of sedentary time at home (web browsing video games, etc)
- A culture that encourages extremes (think over-indulging in foods and then crash dieting) rather than maintaining a balance

All in all, the American lifestyle and environment is not conducive to maintaining a healthy weight. You have to make an extra effort to not, rather than it just happening naturally.

Other countries are catching up and picking up our bad habits though. I know the UK is nipping at our heals in terms of % of the population that is overweight.

[memememe76]

I have lost weight, regained it, lost it again, regained it again, and lost it. Four years of maintenance. Yay, me! Through my weightloss journey, I found that diet is really important to lose weight (I mean, really important), but exercise is extremely important to maintain. I honestly cannot fathom the idea of me maintaining without a consistent exercise regime.

I live in a suburb, but my neighbourhood has a 90+ walkscore. I live in a condo with a gym. A gym is pretty much an automatic amenity in condo building these days. And while a lot of folks will proclaim no resident ever uses it, my condo building would beg to differ. I end up going to my actual gym because I'm much less likely to wait for the equipment.

I work near my actual gym, so I can fit in my workout during my lunchbreak (this is a great perk of where I work, but I don't think it would be as uncommon if I were to work in the City, esp the downtown core). On the weekends, I go to the city to workout--my gym is a local chain and the city tends to have the best class instructors. I also do my long runs in the city--despite my neighbourhood's walkscore, yeah it's close to stuff but it doesn't make for a pleasant running experience.

If I had to lose weight, I don't think moving to a more urban area would suddenly cause inches to be lost.

But I do think the urban environment and easier access to activity limits the weight gained.

[WilliamTheArtist]

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

There are a lot of strange comments here insisting its either diet or our car-centric suburbs. Its actually both, and these factors play their part as well:

- Careers that encourage too much stress and not enough sleep (both are known to contribute to overeating)
- Lack of time for sufficient exercise
- Lots of sedentary time at home (web browsing video games, etc)
- A culture that encourages extremes (think over-indulging in foods and then crash dieting) rather than maintaining a balance

All in all, the American lifestyle and environment is not conducive to maintaining a healthy weight. You have to make an extra effort to not, rather than it just happening naturally.

Other countries are catching up and picking up our bad habits though. I know the UK is nipping at our heals in terms of % of the population that is overweight.

Interesting. I know when I stayed in London for a while I saw in the papers talk of an obesity epidemic, but I sure did not see it in the city at all. I can only surmise that it's either in the suburbs or that fat people don't leave their flats in London?

Also, I know when I am in a more urban area like London or NYC I walk A LOT. And oddly enough, I don't eat as much as I do here. I suppose I start feeling better and healthier because of all the walking and that makes me more conscious of what I eat. Plus being around more people all the time makes me want to more feel good and look better. Versus when I am here in Tulsa either stuck at home or in a car all the time, well you can be bored shatless, you feel more tired and don't want to do as much physically, and eating is, well something to do that feels good. I don't care what people say otherwise, when you compare suburban living to good urban living, suburban style cities can be very isolating and that can have numerous affects on your thoughts and behaviors (even your metabolism) whether you consciously realize it or not.

Getting fat doesn't happen all at ounce for most people. It can be tiny little changes here and there that add up over time.

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheArtist

Interesting. I know when I stayed in London for a while I saw in the papers talk of an obesity epidemic, but I sure did not see it in the city at all. I can only surmise that it's either in the suburbs or that fat people don't leave their flats in London?

Also, I know when I am in a more urban area like London or NYC I walk A LOT. And oddly enough, I don't eat as much as I do here. I suppose I start feeling better and healthier because of all the walking and that makes me more conscious of what I eat. Plus being around more people all the time makes me want to more feel good and look better. Versus when I am here in Tulsa either stuck at home or in a car all the time, well you can be bored shatless, you feel more tired and don't want to do as much physically, and eating is, well something to do that feels good. I don't care what people say otherwise, when you compare suburban living to good urban living, suburban style cities can be very isolating and that can have numerous affects on your thoughts and behaviors (even your metabolism) whether you consciously realize it or not.

Getting fat doesn't happen all at ounce for most people. It can be tiny little changes here and there that add up over time.

I lived in London for a couple years and I didn't see all that many obese people either. But London =/= the UK, and city dwellers are usually skinnier than their suburbanite counterparts because they walk more, which the the whole point of this thread.

Anyway if you're interested, here's the world ranking of obesity rates:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat.../2228rank.html

The U.S. is currently #18 while the U.K. is currently #43. A bit lower than I thought, but still far higher than most other European nations (for reference, France is #108, Germany is #59, and Italy is #97. Interestingly, Saudi Arabia ties the U.S. with a 33% obesity rate.

[chris08876]

China is doing pretty damn well (#152).

But I've never really ever seen a fat Chinese person. Even in the states. And the woman really don't age as badly either.

[10023]

Originally Posted by chris08876

China is doing pretty damn well (#152).

But I've never really ever seen a fat Chinese person. Even in the states. And the woman really don't age as badly either.

The last Beijing photo thread that I saw on this forum was full of fat people. But most of China is still a developing country, so I wouldn't expect they'd be up there with the US and UK.

[Chase Unperson]

Originally Posted by chris08876

The heck are people eating in Alabama and Louisiana?


Credit: http://cdn.static-economist.com/site...001_1190_0.png

I love this graph because it highlights a stat that I heard a few years ago.

People from Colorado like to boast about how fit they are. But as the graph shows Colorado in 2010 is fatter than Mississippi in 1990. This obesity thing is rampant everywhere.

I disagree that it is attributable to a suburban lifestyle. As I would bet that NYC, Philly and Boston (urban cities) all have higher obesity rates than Colorado Springs, Denver and Boulder (suburban cities).