skilletlicker
Head Chef
Try an experiment. Deprive any kid of breakfast and lunch and then see how many Big Macs and fries they'll eat at supper.Andy M. said:
What's going on with our American diet?
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jpmcgrew
Executive Chef
Its many things lack of education lack of money, lack of excercise,being epxosed to massive advertising the fact that you can go to a grocery store that has entire rows devoted to chips,cookies and other foods made with trans fats the cheapest way to make these things.They force you to go thru these rows just to get some milk or vegetables.Also we have become really lazy and dont want to cook its all about convinience.And a lot of people just dont eat vegatables,they just dont appreciate them because they never really ate them when they were kids, I suppose.Refined foods is another problem no one seems to want to eat food in its natural state.Then heres another issue people eating because of something missing emotionaly to fill a void in their lives.I think America has alot of depressed individuals I also believe if you are raised on bad food then thats all you know so thats what you eat.I also believe rather then having a sweet tooth alot of people developed a fat tooth fat which is also really addictive.
skilletlicker
Head Chef
jpmcgrew said:
Did you coin that?
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
skilletlicker said:
My comments throughout this thread have addressed the free will of individuals. A 'kid' doesn't always get to exercise free will in a world run by adults or have the intellectual maturity to make inportant decisions for themselves. So I have focused on adults.
That aside. I understand your point. Were it an adult scarfing up big macs, I'd say they were making a concious decision to overeat to compensate for day-long hunger.
GB
Chief Eating Officer
And this is where education comes in. You know how to cook legumes and grains. You know that they are healthy. Believe it or not, not everyone does. You would think that people know these things, but I have run into uneducated people who think fast food is plenty healthy.skilletlicker said:
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
jpmcgrew said:
These are all circumstances which may encourage individuals to eat unhealthy foods or to eat in excess.
It takes an effort on the part of the individual to say no to them and practice proper eating habits.
jpmcgrew
Executive Chef
No I did not but read it somewhere and I believe its true that we get an appetite for fat.skilletlicker said:
jpmcgrew
Executive Chef
Yes that is true but if they have never tried to eat healthy or dont know how to cook and eat healthy they just wont do it.I have met so many people that have not had certain vegatables etc before they will not even try it.I have met people who dont know what salmon is or artichokes,asparagus or fresh cherries and so on,all they know is cherries from a can.Andy M. said:
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skilletlicker
Head Chef
In this day and age there are a lot of uneducated people like me who are online. Does anybody screen out googled sites above a specified education level? This is where sites like this one come in. We can still cater to the folks who want to discuss caviar and truffles but a forum dedicated to quality dishes cooked with inexpensive ingredients would be helpful to many current members, including myself, and a huge numbers of guests who visit daily. There is a constituency here that would rather exclude us great unwashed, but I think they are a minority.GB said:
VeraBlue
Executive Chef
skilletlicker said:
And families want to eat oatmeal and brown rice?....especially when they are bombarded with the junk?? Easy to cook??? For a person who may have some cooking knowledge and a pantry full of things to add to it. Beans for dinner??? Most people eschew beans in general. If your only option for fresh fruit and vegetables are the local supermarket, they are most assuredely not cheap, and they are not local produce, either. The price of milk has risen three times in the past year.
VeraBlue
Executive Chef
skilletlicker said:
I don't believe many people living at or near the poverty level are spending their leisure time 'on line'.
GB
Chief Eating Officer
Not to mention have a computer. That is a luxury item and if they can't afford fresh cherries then they certainly can not afford a computer, let alone the free time to use one. How many low paying jobs are they working just to put any food on the table, even if it is unhealthy food? What free time do they have left to come online to DC?VeraBlue said:
skilletlicker
Head Chef
Well, you're wrong. What's more, some of us are spending our working hours on line. I understand it would be more comfortable and convenient for you if we remained invisible; many will because of hope, denial, or embarrassment. The fact is, nigh on forty million of us interact with you every day.VeraBlue said:
skilletlicker
Head Chef
This level of arrogance is literally incredible.GB said:
Chipotle Tom
Senior Cook
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2006
- Messages
- 102
I know I said I wouldn't post in this topic again, but I also promised to give a link to some statistics for IronChef, so here is the link.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus06.pdf#073
Also, I see some people getting offended at this topic. I hope that we can remember we're talking about percentages and likelihoods, not every single individual in any given group. Also, some people seem to be thinking there is educational snobbery going on here. That is not the case for me, and I hope it is not the case with anybody else. My mother has an 8th grade education and she is one of the wisest people I know. She might not know statistics, but she sure knows life.
That being said, I have given the original topic much more thought. I work with many people of varying education levels. I would say the more educated people are more often overweight than the less educated. Granted, my circle of acquaintences certainly isn't representative of the US, but my point is that overall education may not have anything to do with it. The people who ARE their "ideal" weight in my office are the ones with some sort of nutritional education. I believe this might be the only education that has influence on this topic. Perhaps more nutritional education in our public schools would help prepare young adults for maintaining a healthy weight after they leave school.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus06.pdf#073
Also, I see some people getting offended at this topic. I hope that we can remember we're talking about percentages and likelihoods, not every single individual in any given group. Also, some people seem to be thinking there is educational snobbery going on here. That is not the case for me, and I hope it is not the case with anybody else. My mother has an 8th grade education and she is one of the wisest people I know. She might not know statistics, but she sure knows life.
That being said, I have given the original topic much more thought. I work with many people of varying education levels. I would say the more educated people are more often overweight than the less educated. Granted, my circle of acquaintences certainly isn't representative of the US, but my point is that overall education may not have anything to do with it. The people who ARE their "ideal" weight in my office are the ones with some sort of nutritional education. I believe this might be the only education that has influence on this topic. Perhaps more nutritional education in our public schools would help prepare young adults for maintaining a healthy weight after they leave school.
GB
Chief Eating Officer
Excuse me? Just how is this arrogant?skilletlicker said:
GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
Just to add a bit to the discussion, from Epidemiologic Reviews -- Sign In Page :
<quote abstract>
This review of the obesity epidemic provides a comprehensive description of the current situation, time trends, and disparities across gender, age, socioeconomic status, racial/ethnic groups, and geographic regions in the United States based on national data. The authors searched studies published between 1990 and 2006. Adult overweight and obesity were defined by using body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)2) cutpoints of 25 and 30, respectively; childhood "at risk for overweight" and overweight were defined as the 85th and 95th percentiles of body mass index. Average annual increase in and future projections for prevalence were estimated by using linear regression models. Among adults, obesity prevalence increased from 13% to 32% between the 1960s and 2004. Currently, 66% of adults are overweight or obese; 16% of children and adolescents are overweight and 34% are at risk of overweight. Minority and low-socioeconomic-status groups are disproportionately affected at all ages. Annual increases in prevalence ranged from 0.3 to 0.9 percentage points across groups. By 2015, 75% of adults will be overweight or obese, and 41% will be obese. In conclusion, obesity has increased at an alarming rate in the United States over the past three decades. The associations of obesity with gender, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are complex and dynamic. Related population-based programs and policies are needed.
</quote>
<quote abstract>
This review of the obesity epidemic provides a comprehensive description of the current situation, time trends, and disparities across gender, age, socioeconomic status, racial/ethnic groups, and geographic regions in the United States based on national data. The authors searched studies published between 1990 and 2006. Adult overweight and obesity were defined by using body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)2) cutpoints of 25 and 30, respectively; childhood "at risk for overweight" and overweight were defined as the 85th and 95th percentiles of body mass index. Average annual increase in and future projections for prevalence were estimated by using linear regression models. Among adults, obesity prevalence increased from 13% to 32% between the 1960s and 2004. Currently, 66% of adults are overweight or obese; 16% of children and adolescents are overweight and 34% are at risk of overweight. Minority and low-socioeconomic-status groups are disproportionately affected at all ages. Annual increases in prevalence ranged from 0.3 to 0.9 percentage points across groups. By 2015, 75% of adults will be overweight or obese, and 41% will be obese. In conclusion, obesity has increased at an alarming rate in the United States over the past three decades. The associations of obesity with gender, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are complex and dynamic. Related population-based programs and policies are needed.
</quote>
Chipotle Tom
Senior Cook
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2006
- Messages
- 102
Here's another site I found with some pretty good information:
Obesity In America - Obesity Facts and Information
Obesity In America - Obesity Facts and Information
Mark Webster
Senior Cook
Too many simple carbs and no real will power to exercise regulary
keltin
Washing Up
*cue spooky music*
Dun, dun, dunnnnnnnnnn......
Actually, this has been an interesting thread. I see the point about no education on nutrition leading to being over-weight. Still, I can’t help but wonder if that is truly it? Is this lack of education leading to overeating, and overeating bad food at that?
It just seems a stretch to me that someone could not possibly recognize the link between the food they eat and the amount they weigh; no matter the level of education.
I still say most of it comes down to eating habits!
Dun, dun, dunnnnnnnnnn......
Actually, this has been an interesting thread. I see the point about no education on nutrition leading to being over-weight. Still, I can’t help but wonder if that is truly it? Is this lack of education leading to overeating, and overeating bad food at that?
It just seems a stretch to me that someone could not possibly recognize the link between the food they eat and the amount they weigh; no matter the level of education.
I still say most of it comes down to eating habits!
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