Ok, so some things in the golden era were not too cool...

[LizzieMaine]

Also we ran a mile every day in P.E. and physical education seems to be something that they are eliminating from schools along with music.

I hated gym with a purple passion, but it served its purpose. More important than gym, though, I walked to school every day. Every kid who lived within a mile of the school was required to walk -- the buses were for the kids in the sticks.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

It was like that for us, too. When my dad sold the farm and moved into town, we walked to school. If it got too cold, Dad might give us a ride on his way to work. Otherwise, we walked. There were no buses for kids in city limits.

I hated gym with a purple passion, but it served its purpose. More important than gym, though, I walked to school every day. Every kid who lived within a mile of the school was required to walk -- the buses were for the kids in the sticks.

 

[tonyb]

Up hill both ways.



I was no fan of gym class (or P.E. or whatever it was called at the various schools I attended in my checkered scholastic career) either. But it, and school athletics in general, provided a platform on which to shine for some kids who might have found the entire school experience nothing but frustration and humiliation otherwise.

 

[Atomic Age]

I hated gym with a purple passion, but it served its purpose. More important than gym, though, I walked to school every day. Every kid who lived within a mile of the school was required to walk -- the buses were for the kids in the sticks.

I lived less than a mile from school, but we had a bus anyway. Of course walking even half a mile to school with a trombone wouldn't have been fun.

I think we actually had a bus because they thought, probably rightly so, that the traffic made it dangerous to walk.

Doug

 

[Blackjack]

We just had this conversation about a week ago about the weight battle and why people were thinner generally years ago and I thought it was pretty obvious. Besides the birth of the fast food society, the availability of food is everywhere today. You can stop at any gas station and see aisles of junk food as well as cappuccino, hot dogs, whatever. Food is everywhere today where as years ago it wasn't. It's so easy to say hmmm, I'm a little hungry that twix bar looks pretty good. It's cheap, and everywhere you go it's staring you in the face. I'm as guilty as anyone else too, pretty hard to pass that Starbucks without thinking about a white chocolate mocha cappuccino!

 

[LizzieMaine]

There's a lot more calories in that cappawhatsit, too, compared to an ordinary diner-sized cup of plain coffee -- even if said coffee has a spoonful of sugar and a dollop of milk in it. I think it's not just the amount of food but the *type* of food -- how many of these upscale snacks we see around are padded out with much more fat and calories than what people used to eat?

 

[Blackjack]

 

[Feraud]

I'm not sure we can blame anyone but the parents. When I was a kid we could have gone to McDonald's every day, but we didn't. When I was growing up in the early 70's, we definitely had a full aisle of snacks a the grocery store. But my mom didn't buy everything from it.

Also we ran a mile every day in P.E. and physical education seems to be something that they are eliminating from schools along with music.

The blame is not only on parents but the grocers who stock such garbage, the manufacturers who can take a simple product like oatmeal and turn it into a junkfood, and our Government to allow business to manufacture and advertise such garbage.
Americans are more obese than ever but we spend huge amounts of money on health clubs, exercise equipment, and "healthy foods". Something ain't right here..

I give people in our era credit who are able to make healthy food choices, raise responsible children, and conduct themselves as decent human beings when the opposite is actively encouraged.

 

[sheeplady]

The blame is not only on parents but the grocers who stock such garbage, the manufacturers who can take a simple product like oatmeal and turn it into a junkfood, and our Government to allow business to manufacture and advertise such garbage.
Americans are more obese than ever but we spend huge amounts of money on health clubs, exercise equipment, and "healthy foods". Something ain't right here..

I agree. The only thing I would add is a population that is very very uneducated and lacks common sense about nutrition and what they should eat and what they shouldn't.

I had a student do a presentation and flashed a list of additives to a product. I asked my students what additives they thought were bad and "unnatural" and my students couldn't differentiate between things like "corn syrup," "high fructose corn syrup," "maltrodextrin," "yeast extract," "nutritional yeast," "sodium benzoate," and "cane sugar." Those are all very different things that serve different purposes in food products. Knowing what they do is important to deciding which product you should buy- some of those are much worse than others and some of those are totally unnecessary in some products- I once saw "sodium benozate" on a container of cream.

I'm no natural food faddist -- I grew up on lard, butter, potatoes, pork, and beef, and only ate greens when my mother threatened to kick me down the cellar stairs if I didn't, but clearly there's something going on in the American diet now that wasn't going on then.

I'd call those "whole" and "natural" foods. They certainly are more natural than ramen or extruded french fries.

 

[Noirblack]

People are fat because of the choices they make

The blame is not only on parents but the grocers who stock such garbage, the manufacturers who can take a simple product like oatmeal and turn it into a junkfood, and our Government to allow business to manufacture and advertise such garbage.
Americans are more obese than ever but we spend huge amounts of money on health clubs, exercise equipment, and "healthy foods". Something ain't right here..

I give people in our era credit who are able to make healthy food choices, raise responsible children, and conduct themselves as decent human beings when the opposite is actively encouraged.

I'd put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the fat person. It isn't about what food fat people are being sold, it's about what fat people are buying. It isn't the job of government to fix the problem, it's the fat person's job to fix the problem. Regulating marketing and advertising will make people lose weight? Oh please! Fat people need to regulate what they eat all by themselves. The healthy options are already there for them.

Every grocery store has lots of fruits and vegetables and healthy choices. However, fat people buy lots of unhealthy high-calorie products such as cookies and chips on top of the basics. Then they watch their waistlines get bigger year after year. In addition to consuming too many calories, people live sedentary lives. By eating the proper amount of calories and increasing daily activity levels, fat people could easily lose weight.

 

[Atomic Age]

There's a lot more calories in that cappawhatsit, too, compared to an ordinary diner-sized cup of plain coffee -- even if said coffee has a spoonful of sugar and a dollop of milk in it. I think it's not just the amount of food but the *type* of food -- how many of these upscale snacks we see around are padded out with much more fat and calories than what people used to eat?

I agree that portion size is out of control these day, unless of course you are like me, and you take more than half of it home and you have lunch for the next 2 days.

Doug

 

[vitanola]

Every grocery store has lots of fruits and vegetables and healthy choices. However, fat people buy lots of unhealthy high-calorie products such as cookies and chips on top of the basics. Then they watch their waistlines get bigger year after year. In addition to consuming too many calories, people live sedentary lives. By eating the proper amount of calories and increasing daily activity levels, fat people could easily lose weight.

Well, problem solved, at least in the land of Black and White.

 

[Atomic Age]

The blame is not only on parents but the grocers who stock such garbage, the manufacturers who can take a simple product like oatmeal and turn it into a junkfood, and our Government to allow business to manufacture and advertise such garbage.
Americans are more obese than ever but we spend huge amounts of money on health clubs, exercise equipment, and "healthy foods". Something ain't right here..

I give people in our era credit who are able to make healthy food choices, raise responsible children, and conduct themselves as decent human beings when the opposite is actively encouraged.

I don't blame the food companies or the government. First of all the food companies are simply supplying what their customers want. And frankly this kind of junk food has been available for more than 50 years, so why all of the sudden are American's fatter? Its because parents refuse to say no to their kids. Its the same mentality that says we shouldn't keep score at sporting events because someones ego might be bruised.

Secondly the government has NO business telling a private company, or a private citizen what to make and what to eat. I can't stand these busy bodies who think the government should be butting their noses in to people private business!

Doug

 

[Atomic Age]

Well, problem solved, at least in the land of Black and White.

Its not black and white, its reality. People make choices and they are responsible for those choices. There are more people who don't have weight problems than do. Obviously some people can control themselves and some either can't, or simply don't choose to.

Doug

 

[Blackjack]

Its not black and white, its reality. People make choices and they are responsible for those choices. There are more people who don't have weight problems than do. Obviously some people can control themselves and some either can't, or simply don't choose to.

Doug

With todays lifestyle for most people it ain't quite that easy as just control yourself. It costs more today to eat healthy than to eat quick, mom's are shuffling kids off to this and that, there's not as much time to prepare proper dinners with both parents working. It can be done but it's way harder today to have that lifestyle than 50 years ago.

 

[Noirblack]

Well, problem solved, at least in the land of Black and White.

No, the problem isn't solved. There are many individual problems, namely people who don't take care of their health. I'm only recognizing the source of the problem.

 

[Noirblack]

With todays lifestyle for most people it ain't quite that easy as just control yourself. It costs more today to eat healthy than to eat quick, mom's are shuffling kids off to this and that, there's not as much time to prepare proper dinners with both parents working. It can be done but it's way harder today to have that lifestyle than 50 years ago.

I'd say that if your health suffers because you have no time to cook and can only eat a fast food meal then you have to look at your priorities. One of the things you have the most control over in this world is what you put into your mouth and chew. The Burger King isn't a real monarch and he can't force you to eat his food by royal decree. The Colonel doesn't really outrank you and he can't order you to eat his fried chicken. As for Ronald MacDonald, why would you let that clown tell you what to eat? If you point to being time-pressed and having a hectic lifestyle while you hoover down food from MacDonalds or Taco Bell, that's your choice and you will have to live with the health consequences.

As for the cost, I have no idea what MacDonalds food costs. But could a home-cooked serving with, say, two vegetables and a piece of lean meat really cost so more than a trip to MacDonalds that it is unaffordable? That strains credulity. And what value are you getting from MacDonalds food compared to healthier food?

I've heard the time and money reasons before, but those are just they typical cop-outs that people always bring up.

 

[Miss Golightly]

With todays lifestyle for most people it ain't quite that easy as just control yourself. It costs more today to eat healthy than to eat quick, mom's are shuffling kids off to this and that, there's not as much time to prepare proper dinners with both parents working. It can be done but it's way harder today to have that lifestyle than 50 years ago.

I believe for the first time in history that obesity is a sign of poverty in many circles - it's so much cheaper to buy junk food than to buy fresh fruit and veg - never mind trying to buy organic food. If you are on a tiny wage and are trying to feed your family your choices are pretty limited. This of course is not the case for everyone - some people are just eating too much (even of the right foods - people forget about sugar in fruits and other foods they think are healthy like granola) and not exercising enough.

What I find very worrying is a recent study here in Ireland found that one in four 9 year olds are obese - I just wonder what is going on with the parents that they can't see the weight creeping up on their children. I can't count the amount of times I have been in the shopping centre and seeing parents with their overweight children and the kids are eating crisps and drinking fizzy drinks. How often are these children given these kinds of "treats"? When I was small my parents rarely brought me to McDonald's and if they did I would have a cheese burger and that was it - no fries/drink/ice cream - I didn't need all that - the burger was treat enough for me and I never asked for more - that's just the way it was. And this is how I intend to do things with my own daughter - treats will be just that - a treat - occasionally given.

 

[Tomasso]

Many low income families use low cost carbs (rice, pasta, beans, etc..) to stretch their food budget. That type of diet will put weight on a person.

 

[Miss Golightly]

As for the cost, I have no idea what MacDonalds food costs. But could a home-cooked serving with, say, two vegetables and a piece of lean meat really cost so more than a trip to MacDonalds that it is unaffordable? That strains credulity. And what value are you getting from MacDonalds food compared to healthier food?

I've heard the time and money reasons before, but those are just they typical cop-outs that people always bring up.

Well I can only tell you what I saw on Oprah (in relation to this issue for some families in the US) which was all about food and where it comes from - there was a man who had $5 to spend on food for the day for his family - he went into the grocery store and if he bought brocolli that would have blown his budget - it was cheaper for him to feed himself, his wife and daughter in a burger joint - so sadly this is the situation that some people are dealing with. The man had diabetes and couldn't afford medicine for it and was more than aware that the food he was eating was contributing to him being ill but he was trapped in a vicious cycle with low wages and poor diet.