My favorite recent hypothesis for the obesity epidemic is the increase in snacking [1]. It seems very easy to believe that highly preserved snacks are becoming more available in these countries at the same time as fast food does.
As the article states, the reasons for obesity are "complex," and 'involve blaming society, and everyone else' for individual choices.
The most interesting thing about this topic is why does if fit entirely into the "can't blame them category," when there are still so many examples--albeit on a diminishing list--of other personal choices that one may be acceptably villified for--many of which don't even involve environmental destruction and animal rights abuses?
Yes culture, wealth, consumer products, job opportunities, and corn subsidies all participate; but perhaps the biggest problem is one of personal responsibility.
By contrast, in Japan obesity wins you an automatic trip to counseling(2).
1-https://www.today.com/health/man-loses-56-pounds-after-eatin...
2-https://www.bu.edu/themovement/2011/05/29/the-fats-on-fire/
And yet Japanese aren't nearly as obese. That would seem to suggest either genetics or self control.
Certain things help like often (not always) portions are smaller but you can always buy 2+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW4jOlyj-sM
Surprisingly, hamburgers and fries have more calories in Japan.
But maybe that's a difference in how they're measured?
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO5Yc2ER79pb4d0qyAF5A_P...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/greggman/albums/72157594189733...
Of course Japanese in most big cities also walk more on average than most car bound Americans?
Being fat is looked upon as a bad thing in Japan, and people will let you know. Meanwhile, in the Western world, it's rude, even taboo to talk about people's weight.
some more ideas - give a tax/health insurance benefits to those under certain BMI, subsidies on gym membership (but somehow make sure that there are actually regular workouts happening). some of these are happening on some places, but having it in embedded in laws would make our societies healthier and it would also fix the mindset.
or add an extra tax on all foods that contain sugar/corncrap/monosacharides above certain threshold, plus raw sugar itself.
Even coke (or pepsi not sure) has different amount of sugar in it depending on region - here comparing eu vs usa.
Is that true? When I was in Japan a couple of years ago I found that at least their 'US/European' style bread and cakes where all sickly sweet sometimes verging on being almost being inedible. More traditional snacks though did seem less sugary.
The first time we went to Tokyo, my wife lost ten lbs in a week and a half. Granted as tourists we were walking more than Tokyo residents, but still, to get around in Japan walking is just kind of what you do. My brother in law had a similar experience when he was with my sister who was doing an internship in a smaller Japanese city, he lost a ton of weight without trying.
The walking would have contributed, but some quick Googling to check my intuition states 3,500calories/lb and 100calories/mile running. Call it 200/mile. That's 175 miles of walking and without eating anything for 10 days.
Probably >90% of this weight loss was due to normal fluctuations in bowel movements, fluids, and scale errors.
http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2014/06/the-calorie-theory-prove-...
Personally, I just think fat shaming "for their own good" is an excuse by assholes to be assholes.
In general, they weren't nearly as sweet as what you find in the USA.
Did Japan go through the same low-fat craze that America went through from the 70's forward? A lot of the tasty fat here was replaced with sugar. That led to people being less sated and portion sizes going up.
Which makes total sense, because "individual choices" are never made from a blank state, but always in an already developed environment, which pushes towards certain vectors more so than to others.
While it's a classic (religious-derived) moral point to put it all on individual choice, the people who do so overestimate their own ability to make choices. Either because they lived life in easy mode (so they can't fathom the forces that make it hard for others to take the high road) or because they are the rare outliers that made it to the other side despite the circumstances (and suffer from survivor bias).
Humans are very imperfect machines, able to be manipulated from countless evolutionary-derived tricks -- which casinos, super markets, marketeers, politicians, and of course fast-food joints and the food industry take advantage of. The second point (tricks that can be used to manipulate people towards certain actions, from adding salt/sugar to some food to changing the color of light in a room have been studied a-plenty.
If we were raised any society of the past where some beliefs where held by most, most of us would support them (eg. pro Party in 1936 Germany, pro slavery in 1820 South), "individual choices" be damned. The outcome wouldn't be the same if we were asked our opinion for the same things in another society/time.
He was my Uber driver once and spent the 45 minute ride from Des Moines to Ames trying to sell me his book :) Nice guy.
How is it a kid's responsibility when they are fed with junk food from their parents or their school?
Freedom of choice and personal responsibility is all fine, but one shouldn't underestimate the brainwashing power of big food corporations. Mac Donald's and the like devote a lot of energy into convincing people to eat their stuff. It's their incentive to sell as much food as they can, making people obese as a side effect, and they're very successful at it. Apparently this is fine, but if the government tries to somehow counterbalance it, it's viewed as an inacceptable threat to our fundamental rights. I just don't get it.
In my post I already noted some agreement with you -- it is fair to say all those things you mention play a role, and I said that. In fact, I would go a step further with improving government intervention and am in favor of abolishing farm subsidies for corn (which subsidizes junk food and corn syrup). I even think taxes on junk food and sugar is a great idea.
So I am with you most of the way.
However, at the end of the day should we be teaching people they are not responsible for their choices? Ultimately, when even with McD as your only option you can lose weight and still be relatively healthy, is the individual without fault?
And regardless of the answer, even in the extreme case of no-fault, I just don't see the lack of responsibility productive.
Additionally, I am weary of why we put some failings in a "can't blame them basket," while others not, when everything comes down to environmental influences--A person left to age from birth in a dark, silent room will not be a person the way you and I understand it. So should we just give up on personal responsibility and blame everything on everyone else? There is not one shred of taking individual responsibility in that article.
Maybe fries too, because people buy combo meals and then scarf everything down without stopping to see whether or not they actually feel full.
If you go to a fast food restaurant and get just a burger and water, I don't think it would actually be that bad for you, even if you ate like this more often than you should.
When visiting the States I also found that the US tradition of offering free refills on sodas led to me drinking more soda that I otherwise would have.
Yes and no...part of the problem, much like cigarettes there are many industry paid physicians and scientists happy to create confusion and dispel truth. And just like the cigarette industry who took their carcinogenic products to countries with less regulation, fast food and sugar industries are doing the same.
First fast food is high calorie and low in nutrients. Its also high in carbs which tends to trigger insulin production, insulin enlarges cell size in the body including fat cells priming a body for obesity (just add excess calories here). Additionally, fast food is notoriously inflammatory (sugar, grain fed meat, gluten, additives, saturated fat, BPA type toxins, preservatives, fried, etc...) and inflammation is linked to obesity, of course coming full circle you will find scientists paid by the sugar/fast food industries happy to claim its the other way around and that obesity is linked to metabolic inflammation.
I will highlight the comment below regarding the teacher on the McD's diet for 6 months who lost ~60lbs is the type of misinformation the food industry thrives off. Just to highlight, the individual lost 56lbs but was still classified as obese, the individual limited himself to 2,000 calories per day (which can easily be exceeded in a single meal) and the individual walked 45 minuted everyday, but there is no information pre-McD diet.
Also probably homemade on the spot by someone who really knows how to make it taste amazing. A small portion of something well made, from good ingredients, that tastes amazing will satisfy much more thoroughly than something that's nothing but carbs, sugar, and MSG.
Also, I've seen discussion of "fat-shaming" elsewhere ITT, and I think it's relevant, but shame isn't the right word. Seems like Asian cultures are frank about discussion of weight (and salary, and other things), but without the taboo of talking about it there isn't the associated shame of being talked about, in my experience.