Why I think Americans are fatasses

Rendo · 11-05-2009, 12:32 AM

Posted this in another thread, but I am interested to see what you guys think. I'm not saying that this is the only reason why Americans are so fat compared to others in developed nations, but I believe it's a key aspect:

I don't think the American food industry should take the blame for Americans being fat. I think it is simply the hypercompetitive nature of American society itself that leads to obesity. Let me explain:

In such a competitive environment, probably the most competitive in the world, there will be distinct winners and losers. There is a limit on the number of people who can win, but no real limit on the number of losers in our society. Thus, in America, there will always be more losers than winners and, concurrently, more fat people than those who are healthy.

A "winner" (in my mind) is somebody who is sexually desirable. For example, a man who is desirable to women has a career and takes care of themselves physically. I've always thought that success builds on itself. You succeed in one thing, and that motivates you to tackle something new. People like to win, it feels good. Say you seal a deal in your workplace for $10,000. The next time, you will ask yourself "why not $20,000"? The next time, why not 40?

Conversely, losing blows. You lose once, you don't want to go through it again, so you either try again or you simply don't bother. Most people, unfortunately, adopt the latter course of action. When you are one of these so-called societal "losers," you often do not have the motivation to improve upon yourself. It is always difficult to change the status quo, but luckily for the disaffected, this is America and there are plenty of distractions and passive avenues for people to occupy themselves with. Given the relatively affluent status of our country, one can find solace in other things, like tasty (read: unhealthy) food, video games, movies, etc. This leads to a lot of fat fucks who lounge around all day, eat Big Macs and Whoppers, and post on Sherdog.

trollzors · 11-05-2009, 12:39 AM

No doubt what you describe is a factor.

I think our sedentary life style and poor diet is a more direct factor, though.

dylanransom · 11-05-2009, 12:41 AM

It can be explained without bringing winning and losing into it, whether they are really factors or not. We are drowning in convenience and our labor is highly automated.

John Redcorn · 11-05-2009, 12:41 AM

Most people suck. Some countries abort more than half their pregnancies or chain smoke at a higher rate.

Every country blows, Americas no exception. This is just our special vice. And killing eachother.

wall30 · 11-05-2009, 12:57 AM

I don't know. People generally don't have the time to cook or learn how to eat properly. It used to be a women's job to be in the kitchen, now they act like they're too good to cook (at least the one's I've been with). Fast food or junk is generally the easy alternative.

DepthchargeZero · 11-05-2009, 01:05 AM

Every country has fat people..to bad your to arrogant to realize that.

MistoGators · 11-05-2009, 01:13 AM

The vast majority of people who are fat/obese in this country choose to. They choose to eat junk food, be lazy, make terrible lifestyle choices, etc. They make bad choices and are mentally weak. Nobody puts a gun to your head and makes you go to McDonald's. Hell, you can still eat healthy at most fast food joints (chicken wraps, salad, etc). It just amazes me that these same fatties will turn around and sue a place like McDonald's for "tempting them and false advertising"...

It leads back to why we're in our current situation in this country - a severe lack of personal responsibility.

MicroBrew · 11-05-2009, 01:24 AM

Part of the reason is that Food is very cheap here compared to say England.

Joose · 11-05-2009, 01:29 AM

Poor diet
Lifestyle that results in you never having to stand up and walk anywhere. Think about it you can do all your errands without leaving the house.
Food culture- Thanksgiving, x-mas, various other cultural activites.
Video games- not to blame but do play some part.
Cutlure that revels in overindulngce. (I know the spelling isn't right but you know the word)

When I was young as soon as I got home I got something to eat and then went to a friends house. From there we played in the surrounding woods, jumped on trampolines, rode bikes everywhere, went and shot some hoops etc. Nowadays parents are so afraid to let their kids leave the house. Plus its easier to let them sit in front of the tv all day.
Add to the fact you can't have anyfun without someone wanting to sue you, but thats a whole nother arguement.

ExTravaGanzA · 11-05-2009, 01:30 AM

There are so many things wrong with your theory I couldn't possibly name them all, but I will try. I will begin with how you define a winner (in your mind). The idea that being sexually desirable consists of two factors (wealth and physical attributes) is very short coming. Do wealth and having a "hot bod" help, and more often then not lead to dat ass? absolutely. But you can have one without the other, or none at all and be very successful with the ladies. So, without any type of constant here, your theory goes out the window. Your losing theory also holds little weight, sure losing does blow, but no one is consistent loser, and almost everyone has there strong points that can be used to succeed, whether it be music, sports, or knitting.

So, back to the question at hand, why is America so fat? Well, first you must look at some stats/facts. What is considered overweight? well Forbes uses a poll that defines "overweight" as a BMI of over 25. BMI uses height and weight to decide whose fat and whose in shape. But what about my 5'4 155 lb brother whose all muscle? According to these guidelines, he's overweight and should consider dropping some lbs. For arguments sake we'll assume that people with a BMI over 25 are fat. According to Forbes the U.S. is the 9th fattest country 74.1% of its population over a BMI of 25. Sounds terrible right? But simmer down now, not to far behind is Greece with 68.5 %, New Zealand with 68.4%, Australia with 67.4%, the U.K. with 63.8%, Canada with 61.1, and Germany with 60.1. Those numbers aren't anything to write home about.

So, before generalizing an entire country, do some research. Yeah, we're pretty fat, but that's because of our wealth baby. Poor people don't eat steaks, and pastries and all that other good stuff that fatten you up. But in case you want to call us on it, just know most of the industrialized world has a weight problem.

World's Fattest Countries - Forbes.com