US Corporations Evil Plot to Fatten the World for Profit.

[evildevil]

Make Them Eat Cake
How America is exporting its obesity epidemic.

With this summer's news from the United Nations that Mexico has surpassed the United States in adult obesity levels -- one-third of Mexican adults are now considered extremely overweight -- U.S. foreign policy has come into sharper, or perhaps softer, focus. Despite first lady

Comments

[beoweasel]

I'll admit that an evil American plan to fatten the world sounds like an outlandish conspiracy theory.

It sounds more like the plot to the incredibly awful movie, Branded, which reacts to the appearance of fat people in the same way the Don Bluth film, An American Tail depicts cats*.

*Admittedly, I stole that line from Movie Bob's review of Branded.

[gambitia]

1. I am really, really tired of people using my body type as a symbol of American greed and imperialism.

2. Yet again, we have no actual numbers as to the weight increase or how it's distributed. BMI is a useless measurement, and most people have no idea what "obesity" actually looks like. This lovely woman is obese. As is this one. This one is morbidly obese. I can't help but think that when everyone sees "obesity" they think "holy shit 2/3rds of Mexico is now 400 pounds!". In the US, people over 400 pounds are under 1% of the population, IIRC, and I have no reason to believe Mexico is vastly different. There is no shocking increase in weight; there is a very modest weight gain

[lollycunt]

BMI is an accurate measurement across populations, so in this case they were actually using it properly. They weren't using it to try and diagnose an individual's obesity. You trying to refute it by posting individuals is actually you missing the point.

Also you creating an argument where you're saying people think obesity=400 lbs, then trying to say you think only 1% of the population is 400 lbs, and then using that completely unfounded argument to refute actual facts, is you missing the point.

[gambitia]

I don't think the study is wrong about BMI going up in developing worlds. I think people are going to have an exaggerated reaction to it because of a misconception of what obesity looks like.

I think people have a very set idea about what obesity looks like, thanks to the lovely headless fatty phenomenon. The people invariably portrayed in media as "the obese" represent a very small fraction of the population. I think that people freak out whenever "rising obesity rates" are mentioned, because they have a completely incorrect assumption on what obesity looks like and what it actually encompasses.

"Obese" covers a lot of ground that most people assume to be "normal"; that is what I wanted to point out. Sorry if that was unclear.

[romp]

It wasn't unclear to me. You make a valid point about the perception of what "obese" looks like.

[lollycunt]

The article makes a good point. Though my concern is more that the US causes other countries to adopt less sustainable eating habits vs that those eating habits also cause obesity.

[maynardsong]

Yup that exactly.

[astartexx]

Last month I saw a photo article about 16 families around the globe with their weekly groceries and the package garbage involved from industrial nations was crazy. Compared with diets consisting of fresh fruit, corn and less meat.

Personal example, my grandmom was 25 when WW2 ended and the way she can prepare meals with very few ingredients and a bit more patient is still somewhat mindblowing for me and the way she goes with seasonal local food.

[the_physicist]

This article is good in highlighting the research on the corn replacement syrup for sugar being worse for people than sugar, as that's interesting, and in how the US is putting pressure on other countries that it would never allow to have applied to itself by other countries - to the detriment of other countries

[the_physicist]

Well, I guess I think such taxes aimed at high fat and sweet foods might curb the consumption of those foods if they are implemented fantastically, amazingly well(which is not what the case would be in reality anyway), but yeah, as you said, they'd come at a cost, and again, like you said, it's a cost that would affect primarily the poor, because if you take away cheap ingredients, you end up with pricier food, even more pressure on families, and if the only alternative is making meals designated as healthy from scratch, then you have to deal with dumping a huge time commitment on the poor on top of the financial squeeze.

I think the argument can be made a tax would work, I think it might very well, I just think it's a fucked up idea when it doesn't actually address the root of the problem, which is very complex. Heavily rose tinted views of the past don't help some people see this. :/