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Why Are Americans Fat And Obese - Who Is Responsible?BY: Jessica | Category: Health and Fitness | Post Date: 2008-07-27
Obesity is a problem which many Americans face in everyday life. Unfortunately most cases of obesity are caused by over eating which is totally controllable but we need do not keep a check on ourself. Somewhere or the other our commercial food industry and the overall lifestyle of the society is also responsible for it. Recently, I had been no a tour to Europe and was actually surprised why people out there are thinner than their American counterparts despite having similar eating habits. Both zones are considered "western" countries then why is there such a huge difference. Why are American fat, lets analyze: 1. The way our food industry is built: When you go to your nearest fast food chain they may sell their cheapest burger for a 1 dollar in their special menu, but that is loaded with high fat "mayonnaise +cheese" and a deep fried patty. Well neither I nor you would like to drink plain water with it, so for a few more dollars we are tempted to convert our burger into a "special value" meal. This meal comes with fries and a regular soda, once you add all the calories up it will easily cross 500 to 800 calories per meal. If you have a double cheese burger with all the layers of sauces+mayonnaise, you will easily cross 1000 calories. If you go for a 4 course meal in a regular restaurant (Appetizer + soup + main dish + dessert), well all I can say is you will be shocked if all those calories are added up. In European nations there are still a lot of mom and pop stores which cater much healthy food than what we get here in USA. 2. Lack of public transportation means no exercise too: Americans are extremely dependent on their four wheeler cars, no wonder we consume one fourth of the total petrol/gas used in this entire world. Countries like France have an excellent public transportation system and people like to walk around. Lets say if you have to visit a mall in France, you will walk from your home to the nearby train station, then from the destination train station to the mall (plus walk in the mall) and then use the same route to come back. They actually burn lot of calories just by walking. America is a big country and having public transport is not easy (agreed), but most of us do not utilize what is available to us. 3. Speed of eating: Lets accept, most of us gulp the food down. Eating food slowly has many advantages, not only it prevents over eating but it's good for our stomach too. In many European countries, having a lunch can actually be a 1 or 2 hour deal. When we go to a buffet restaurant we often notice that the people who are already obese have the biggest quantity of food in their plates which they consume at relatively faster speed. 4. Size of serving: The size of meal serving in United States is usually much larger than the food servings received in Europe. 5. We combine Eating and Entertainment: We often eat when we have nothing else to do. We eat while playing video games, TV or watching a movie. Many Asian and European nations will be surprised to see that we actually have a "BUCKET" of popcorn, flavoured with real BUTTER accompanied with a large coke. That bucket of popcorn can easily be divided into 3-5 regular packets in most other nations. Chips, cookies, cakes, pies ... our list never ends. 6. Peer effect: Getting fat in America is no big deal as every 4th person is obese.Whereas in European and Asian countries, people actually give you dirty looks if you are that fat, therefore there is always a pressure to maintain yourself 7. Excessive Sugar Consumption: Americans love sugar, its everywhere. Cakes, muffin, doughnut, pies, soda, chocolates, pudding, ice cream, candies, margarita, coolers etc.. Sugar is probably the number one culprit. Sugar gets converted into carbohydrates and fat which is also a big reason of our obesity. Unless we take strong steps to correct our society, the fattest nation of the world is destined to become even fatter. I did not want to hurt anyones feelings in this article, if I did then I am sorry, but I am quite frustrated with our system. I hope some day America will set an example of the healthiest nation and not as the fattest nation in the world. God bless America. Article Source: http://www.saching.com About Author / Additional Info: Additional Articles: * Oscar awards - Long coveted statuette for Indian film industry * How to develop a Positive Attitude in life * Advice for daughters - Relationship between mother and daughter * How to control joint pain? Reasons of pain and Natural ways to cure * This is the skill of a woman - Her magical intuition Does this article violate or infringe on your copyright ? 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