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As a non-US person, I used to think "you all just have to stop eating so much" towards those overweight in the US. But after living in the US you start to unde

As a non-US person, I used to think "you all just have to stop eating so much" towards those overweight in the US. But after living in the US you start to understand that it really is not easy. In other countries, bread is bread, restaurant food is one serving and the snacks your peers bring in are home-made sweets, or cheese and crackers, etc. In the US, bread is sugary and dense in calories, restaurant food is in two salty-oily servings, and the snacks your peers bring in are donuts and cupcakes. When I first moved to the US and lived as I normally would, I gained weight quickly. It sucked having to involve yourself mentally in something you normally don't have to think about.

maxxxxx 8y ago
Agreed. Bread is really bad in the US. The food culture is also terrible. Snacks are seen as a necessity. Most drinks are super sugary. Portion sizes are way too big. Vegetables always have to be processed beyond recognition, people can't often comprehend that I eat raw cucumber and pepper. Coffee used to be a small cup, now it's a gigantic Starbucks with tons of sugar and flavored syrup. You really have to put up a lot of resistance because if you follow the normal eating patterns you will get fat.
- antisthenes 8y ago
  A lot of what you said sounds like an argument for 'just eat less'. When I tried to follow a 'normal eating pattern' in the US, it made me physically sick from the amount of food and sugar in the portions, so I had to forcibly reduce the amounts to not feel like garbage every waking day. Maybe people just don't realize how amazing they can feel if they just size down the portions?
  - maxxxxx 8y ago
    "Maybe people just don't realize how amazing they can feel if they just size down the portions?" A lot of people seem to be genuinely afraid to not get enough "nutrients" or protein if they eat less. Living in the US for a while totally distorts your sense of the appropriate amount of food to eat. Even the ice cream cones kids are eating here are probably at least three times the size of what I got as kid in Germany. Candy bars are at least double the size.
mtw 8y ago
Also everyone drives, even to fetch milk from nearest convenience store. It's too easy not to have any exercise all day
- lawlessone 8y ago
  To be fair in my experience you have to drive in the US. Everything seems to be very far apart. A shop here in Ireland for me is a short walk down the road. A nearby shop in the US tends to be a lot further.
  - InitialLastName 8y ago
    Everything is very far apart because everyone drives. Everyone has to drive because everything is very far apart. It's a vicious cycle that does a fantastic job of exacerbating societal issues, especially poverty, obesity, and air quality.
    - lawlessone 8y ago
      great if you want a bigger house though.
      - InitialLastName 8y ago
        Well, you'll need a bigger house to fit your bigger children. Snark aside, I think that if more of the societal costs of owning a bigger house were priced in to having a bigger house, fewere people would want bigger houses. There's no reason we HAVE to live in a society fueled by consumerist real estate envy. EDIT: Forgot a word
- stronglikedan 8y ago
  There's plenty of metropolitan cities where no one has to drive, but there's plenty of rural areas where it's pretty much a necessity, and plenty of suburban areas where you can easily bike everywhere (or even walk if you have the time or drive if you don't). The greatest thing about the US is the choices you get to make for yourself - no matter which lifestyle you choose to live, you can find somewhere to fit that lifestyle in the US.
eksemplar 8y ago
Where do you live that things aren’t sugary? Because they sure are in Denmark. When I grew up, the most sugary “pre-made food” you could buy at a supermarket was Coca Cola, today it’s one of the least sugary “pre-made foods” because it’s limited by law. The lowest amount of sugar in another drink that isn’t diet skim-milk or water is orange juice with 11-15% sugar. We have ryebread which isn’t too bad, but the last time I was buying buns for burgers the lowest amount of sugar I could find were 10% in some gluten-free-eco-health buns. Even candy has increased its sugar content by around 30% over the past 25 years. It’s really crazy, but you’re right in that it’s way worse in America.
stronglikedan 8y ago
> bread is sugary and dense in calories I don't buy a lot of bread, but when I do, fresh baked real bread is readily available here always. > restaurant food is in two salty-oily servings That depends on the restaurant, but you can find good and bad food in any country. I easily get 2 or 3 meals out of a restaurant portion, so it's very economical sometimes (even more so than fast food options). > the snacks your peers bring in are donuts and cupcakes. Don't forget the abundance of home-made snacks that are common in US workplaces, depending on the individual workplace and the people in it, of course. > you all just have to stop eating so much It's true, and it's not that hard. You just have to want to be healthy and make the choices to achieve that goal. I lost 50 pounds doing strictly portion control and cutting out processed foods (unless I'm hung over - then hot pockets are my bestest friend). I choose not to eat my entire meal in a restaurant, and I choose to not to order salty meals (oily, yes, but olive oil is so good and good for you), and I choose not to buy bread full of preservatives, and I choose not to eat the processed snacks that my co-workers bring, and I choose to limit sugary drinks, and I choose to eat a scoop of ice cream every night (because it's healthy as long as I'm not overeating). I love living in the US because I get to make those choices for myself (i.e., not legislated), including "stop eating so much". That being said, none of the things you mentioned are exclusive to the US. And for the record, I agree with the article that it's easy to become obese, but it's more because of the choices people make and not the options they have.

maxxxxx 8y ago

Agreed. Bread is really bad in the US. The food culture is also terrible. Snacks are seen as a necessity. Most drinks are super sugary. Portion sizes are way too big. Vegetables always have to be processed beyond recognition, people can't often comprehend that I eat raw cucumber and pepper. Coffee used to be a small cup, now it's a gigantic Starbucks with tons of sugar and flavored syrup. You really have to put up a lot of resistance because if you follow the normal eating patterns you will get fat.

antisthenes 8y ago
A lot of what you said sounds like an argument for 'just eat less'. When I tried to follow a 'normal eating pattern' in the US, it made me physically sick from the amount of food and sugar in the portions, so I had to forcibly reduce the amounts to not feel like garbage every waking day. Maybe people just don't realize how amazing they can feel if they just size down the portions?
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  "Maybe people just don't realize how amazing they can feel if they just size down the portions?" A lot of people seem to be genuinely afraid to not get enough "nutrients" or protein if they eat less. Living in the US for a while totally distorts your sense of the appropriate amount of food to eat. Even the ice cream cones kids are eating here are probably at least three times the size of what I got as kid in Germany. Candy bars are at least double the size.

mtw 8y ago

Also everyone drives, even to fetch milk from nearest convenience store. It's too easy not to have any exercise all day

lawlessone 8y ago
To be fair in my experience you have to drive in the US. Everything seems to be very far apart. A shop here in Ireland for me is a short walk down the road. A nearby shop in the US tends to be a lot further.
- InitialLastName 8y ago
  Everything is very far apart because everyone drives. Everyone has to drive because everything is very far apart. It's a vicious cycle that does a fantastic job of exacerbating societal issues, especially poverty, obesity, and air quality.
  - lawlessone 8y ago
    great if you want a bigger house though.
    - InitialLastName 8y ago
      Well, you'll need a bigger house to fit your bigger children. Snark aside, I think that if more of the societal costs of owning a bigger house were priced in to having a bigger house, fewere people would want bigger houses. There's no reason we HAVE to live in a society fueled by consumerist real estate envy. EDIT: Forgot a word
stronglikedan 8y ago
There's plenty of metropolitan cities where no one has to drive, but there's plenty of rural areas where it's pretty much a necessity, and plenty of suburban areas where you can easily bike everywhere (or even walk if you have the time or drive if you don't). The greatest thing about the US is the choices you get to make for yourself - no matter which lifestyle you choose to live, you can find somewhere to fit that lifestyle in the US.

eksemplar 8y ago

Where do you live that things aren’t sugary? Because they sure are in Denmark. When I grew up, the most sugary “pre-made food” you could buy at a supermarket was Coca Cola, today it’s one of the least sugary “pre-made foods” because it’s limited by law. The lowest amount of sugar in another drink that isn’t diet skim-milk or water is orange juice with 11-15% sugar. We have ryebread which isn’t too bad, but the last time I was buying buns for burgers the lowest amount of sugar I could find were 10% in some gluten-free-eco-health buns. Even candy has increased its sugar content by around 30% over the past 25 years. It’s really crazy, but you’re right in that it’s way worse in America.

stronglikedan 8y ago

> bread is sugary and dense in calories I don't buy a lot of bread, but when I do, fresh baked real bread is readily available here always. > restaurant food is in two salty-oily servings That depends on the restaurant, but you can find good and bad food in any country. I easily get 2 or 3 meals out of a restaurant portion, so it's very economical sometimes (even more so than fast food options). > the snacks your peers bring in are donuts and cupcakes. Don't forget the abundance of home-made snacks that are common in US workplaces, depending on the individual workplace and the people in it, of course. > you all just have to stop eating so much It's true, and it's not that hard. You just have to want to be healthy and make the choices to achieve that goal. I lost 50 pounds doing strictly portion control and cutting out processed foods (unless I'm hung over - then hot pockets are my bestest friend). I choose not to eat my entire meal in a restaurant, and I choose to not to order salty meals (oily, yes, but olive oil is so good and good for you), and I choose not to buy bread full of preservatives, and I choose not to eat the processed snacks that my co-workers bring, and I choose to limit sugary drinks, and I choose to eat a scoop of ice cream every night (because it's healthy as long as I'm not overeating). I love living in the US because I get to make those choices for myself (i.e., not legislated), including "stop eating so much". That being said, none of the things you mentioned are exclusive to the US. And for the record, I agree with the article that it's easy to become obese, but it's more because of the choices people make and not the options they have.