APP - America is fat

Mott the Hoople said:
I haven't read Time's article but I'd have to say that if their saying exercise has nothing to do with ones weight, that they don't know what they are talking about. Besides, it's not just about weight. I can weigh 220 lbs and have a BMI >30% cause I"m sedentary or I can weigh 220 lbs and have a BMI <20% because I exercise a lot and have more lean muscle mass. That's one of the traps that I teach people about. Fitness and an active life style aint just about what you weight. If you choose good nutrition and proper levels of exercise your weight will pretty much take care of itself.
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It takes a lot of time to exercise enough to make a difference. It's far easier and a more realistic option for people to just not eat as much.
 
Fish said:
Hurray, someone gets it.

I think excessive and constant advertising plays into the issue a lot as well. We live in a 24 hour ad blitz where avoiding constant demands to consume is nearly impossible.

The market breeds generations of fast food, brand name, useless junk consumers.
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It does and that's the truth but still we are the ones who make the choices that control our lives. The problem as I see it is that it's easy to be passive and succumb to self gratification. Having the information to make good life style choices don't mean much if you don't commit to doing the work. To me it's not so much about taking responsibility as much as making proper life style choices a priority in ones life.
 
Fish said:
Sounds like you're doing what you can to give back a little. I'm wondering if you make it a point to work with lower income children/teenagers? I think that if more Americans could be educated beyond the terrible and vague food pyramid that the trend would start to reduce.

Sounds like you do a lot of biking, I sure wish I had a bike. I run a few nights a week because it's, well, free. I also am planning on doing my first 5K in November.

I agree that diet and exercise are the solutions to lose weight and be healthy, but getting to that point isn't as simple as it sounds, which was the purpose of this thread: to explore the causes of obesity in America.
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I do what I can with my limited time but no, I don't work much with low income kids or teenagers though that is something I would like to do. Mostly I've worked with training women. The problem with being a volunteer fitness trainer is that people love to waste your time and my time is valuable to me and god knows I've had it wasted enough. I have some rules that the people I train must follow and if they don't, their wasting my time and I won't help them.

As for the bike, it's not as expensive as you think to get started. You just take things in stages. Do you live in a rural or urban area? Why wait to do a 5K in November. It only takes a month to properly prepare for a 5K and you won't be killing yourself. I can help you with that if you wish?

The biggest challenge I find in fitness training. Particularly with women and I'm trying not to over generalize but a lot of women have deep seated lack of self esteem allied with a negative image of their own bodies. It's a visceous cycle that's hard to break.
 
911America4EVER said:
It takes a lot of time to exercise enough to make a difference. It's far easier and a more realistic option for people to just not eat as much.
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That's just simply not true. Studies have shown, time and time again that those who focus on losing weight by diet (i.e. lowering caloric intake) only lose weight temporarily. Because they don't make the necessary lifestyle changes they inevitably gain the weight back and usually then some.

The problem I have communicating to people is the focus about weight. Obesity is not the problem rather it is a sign of the underlying problems that causes obesity. If one addresses those problems, particularly via holistic methods (body, spirit, mind) then the body tends to adapt a healthy and functional BMI.

In fact, with a lot of the women I have trained one of the first things I require them to do before I will coach them is for them to go home and throw away their bathroom scale. You'd be surprised at how many women won't do that.
 
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PostmodernProphet said:
yes, it makes it easier to slip into the gaps between liberals arguments.....
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Well it's really a shame that you feel that way about this topic because as someone with a divinity background and with your knowledge of spirituality there is probably much you could contribute to this discussion about how balancing spirituality in ones life has a positive impact on health and wellness issues such as obesity. It's a crying shame that you would with hold that from the discussion.
 
Fish said:
It's not really "don't eat so much" it's "make better choices when you eat".
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Exactly but that's just one small part of a complex equation that impacts, in the holistic approach, what is called the triad, (body, spirit, mind) and the relationship and connection these three aspects of our being have. I can't drive that point home enough. (Body, spirit, mind. Body, spirit, mind, Body, spirit, mind). From the holistic approach the focus is always balancing the triad (body, spirit, mind) because what impacts one aspect of the triad always, repeat, ALWAYS, impacts the others. (can you tell this is something I feel passionately about?)
 
SmarterThanYou said:
tell me you don't really think that this 'fat' issue would go away if everyone had a doctor.

most of these people are overweight because they want to be.
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Well you do have a point that everyone having a doctor won't make the problem go away but I utterly reject the notion that most obese people choose to be obese. Go ask some obese persons if they want to be overweight. I bet you don't get a lot of "yes" responses.
 
Mott the Hoople said:
Well you do have a point that everyone having a doctor won't make the problem go away but I utterly reject the notion that most obese people choose to be obese. Go ask some obese persons if they want to be overweight. I bet you don't get a lot of "yes" responses.
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and they'd be lying through their half eaten philly cheesesteak sandwiches.

it's real simple to figure out that if you're overweight, you figure out why.

If it's medically related because of thyroid or some other physiological issue, then obesity is understandable and a doctor most likely could help. This is only the case in maybe 25% of the overweight people out there though.

The majority are overweight because of poor nutrition and dietary personal standards and lack of physical exercise. If you're gaining weight and refuse to do anything different, like portion sizing or exercising more, then you are choosing to be overweight. It's the equivalent of saying 'I don't give a damn'.
 
SmarterThanYou said:
and they'd be lying through their half eaten philly cheesesteak sandwiches.

it's real simple to figure out that if you're overweight, you figure out why.

If it's medically related because of thyroid or some other physiological issue, then obesity is understandable and a doctor most likely could help. This is only the case in maybe 25% of the overweight people out there though.

The majority are overweight because of poor nutrition and dietary personal standards and lack of physical exercise. If you're gaining weight and refuse to do anything different, like portion sizing or exercising more, then you are choosing to be overweight. It's the equivalent of saying 'I don't give a damn'.
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That's a somewhat specious argument. I mean suffering the conserquences of making poor decisions is not the same thing as "choosing to be obese" but if one doesn't want to be obese then that person must make the needed changes. Don't underestimate how difficult it is to make those changes. What I mean is, try gaining 30 lbs and then try losing that weight permanently. It's not easy by any means.
 
Mott the Hoople said:
That's a somewhat specious argument. I mean suffering the conserquences of making poor decisions is not the same thing as "choosing to be obese" but if one doesn't want to be obese then that person must make the needed changes. Don't underestimate how difficult it is to make those changes. What I mean is, try gaining 30 lbs and then try losing that weight permanently. It's not easy by any means.
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I'm not saying it's easy, but it is a choice. it's one thing to see your issue and choose to do something about it while not succeeding well. It's another issue entirely to not do a damned thing about it or give up after a short time.
 
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