Obesity in the US

[Tweety]

Obesity is a huge, huge problem in this country, and it's getting worse, not better. I believe it is now the number one killer in America.

Americans definitely consume more than just about any other country. They consume more than they can afford, too, which is another major problem.

The question about why corporations don't get the message across is a bit silly though. Corporations care about profits, not saving people from heart attacks. This is true in other countries too. Last time I was in Paris 2/3 of the people I saw were smoking. How come French cigarette makers aren't getting the message across to French citizens that smoking kills you?

[Tweety]

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I agree that it's generally people's own fault if they are uneducated

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This is pretty crazy. I'm a registered Republican and even I don't believe this.

[SmokeyRidesAgain]

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how can it be that a country that is a self-proclaimed super-power and capable of destroying nations and putting men on the moon is not capable of getting the message across (through media or taxation or whatever...) to simply consume less and exercise more? From where I was looking from America seriously seems to be killing itself.

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Like arito kind of mentioned.. how do you think the country got in that position in the first place? It certainly wasn't by discouraging consumption of anything.

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

arito,

a better strategy would be for the us government to not give free health care to obese people. i dont think the government should give free healthcare to smokers when they get lung cancer either.

[guids]

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wtf. why should it be the governments/corporations job to get the message across. dont you people beleive in personal responsiblity? its not like there is any part of the population that does not realize that 5 big macs a day is not good for them.

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I never said it should be anyone's responsibility but their own (I do believe they have a responsibility as well though). I was merely responding to the question why the message wasn't getting across, and imo that is because corporations and (thus) the government would lose a lot of money if they would actively try to get the message across.

As for personal responsibilities, I agree that it's generally people's own fault if they are fat/unemployed/uneducated (barring certain circumstances obv.) etc. However, sometimes the 'people' need to be protected from themselves (you're going to quote this part, I can feel it!). This is why wearing a safe belt in the car is mandatory, why guns are not legally available to the general population pretty much anywhere but the US, why drugs are forbidden etc.

Fat food should be in the same category. It should not be outlawed, but the government should take action that restricts the over-consumption of fast foods. They could subsidize health food chains, they could raise taxes for fast food chains, they could start a 'live healthy' campaign with ads and whatnot. Whatever, as long as it's aimed at helping the people, which is what a government should do.

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this doesnt make sense, so maybe you can clear it up for me.

you say you "never said it should be anyones resp but thier own", well than why do you want to force myself and other taxpayers to foot the bill for others lack of responsibility? If it shouldnt be anyones but their own responsiblity, than you shouldnt make me pay to make decisions for others.

[samsonite2100]

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They (corporations/government) don't want to get that message across. They want money.

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wtf. why should it be the governments/corporations job to get the message across. dont you people beleive in personal responsiblity? its not like there is any part of the population that does not realize that 5 big macs a day is not good for them.

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Actually, there's a pretty sizeable part of the population that doesn't realize this.

In general, I think American obesity is a confluence of various factors--extremely cheap and abundant fast food, relatively cheap gas which means people drive everywhere instead of biking or walking, extremely long work hours and short breaks which means people sit at desks all day, urban sprawl--which again forces people to drive everywhere rather than walk or bike, etc.

[guids]

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They (corporations/government) don't want to get that message across. They want money.

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wtf. why should it be the governments/corporations job to get the message across. dont you people beleive in personal responsiblity? its not like there is any part of the population that does not realize that 5 big macs a day is not good for them.

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Actually, there's a pretty sizeable part of the population that doesn't realize this.

In general, I think American obesity is a confluence of various factors--extremely cheap and abundant fast food, relatively cheap gas which means people drive everywhere instead of biking or walking, extremely long work hours and short breaks which means people sit at desks all day, urban sprawl--which again forces people to drive everywhere rather than walk or bike, etc.

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really? can you prove that somehow (I assume you saw a poll or something), id be very suprised if this is true, but you never know....

[guids]

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arito,

a better strategy would be for the us government to not give free health care to obese people. i dont think the government should give free healthcare to smokers when they get lung cancer either.

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exactly.

[SmokeyRidesAgain]

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really? can you prove that somehow (I assume you saw a poll or something), id be very suprised if this is true, but you never know....

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Would you say it is down to lack of healthier alternatives rather than sheer ignorance? Or some other factor such as apathy? This whole issue is quite interesting.

[RacersEdge]

What's really amazing to me is how obese black women are - it's insane. I would guess it's at about 70%. It's like a complete 180 - historically, fatness was seen as a kind of testament to a person being part of the wealthy class.