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Education is not the problem. I live in Mississippi, and can attest that we are bombarded daily with messages about obesity, diet, and exercise. I am as educat

Education is not the problem. I live in Mississippi, and can attest that we are bombarded daily with messages about obesity, diet, and exercise. I am as educated as anyone on the mainstream teaching on this subject, yet I am clinically obese (though not for much longer). I was poor as a child, so I think I can speak to this subject a little. It's anecdotal, but when accompanied by what I have learned from different sources (in particular, Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes), I suspect that my experience was typical. Poor people eat an unhealthy diet because they cannot afford high quality protein and complex carbohydrates on a consistent basis. Further, parents in poor families often work excessive hours, and quick meals become the norm due to the lack of time. This leads to an excessive consumption of refined carbohydrates, creating an insulin imbalance that increases hunger. One of the worst offenders in this category is soft drinks. White bread is another big problem. A coke and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was a common meal around my house. Sweet tea is another big offender. I have rarely seen sweet tea outside of the southeast, and almost everyone drinks it here. If you order tea in a restaurant, you are getting sweet tea unless you specifically request unsweetened. Surely this enviroment is bad for adults, but I think it is particularly damaging for children. Kids that grow up with an excess of blood sugar and elevated insulin are headed for metabolic syndrome and Type II diabetes. Make no mistake about it, it is insulin that controls fat storage. When your serum insulin is high, your body is storing fat. When it is low, you are converting fat stores to energy. No endocrinologist or reputable doctor anywhere will dispute this fact. Nutritionists are often unaware, resorting to the calories in - calories out causation fallacy. When you eat lots of sugar and refined carbohydrates, your insulin is going to rise, and you are going to store fat. The worst part is that modern day nutritional education eschews fat and, to a smaller degree protein, in favor of carbohydrates, so the "educated" individual is really in no better position to regulate his endocrine system via diet and exercise.

bokonist 17y ago
I don't think you can just blame it all in poverty. People in poor countries (Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico) are much less obsese than Americans. And America had much less obesity when we were poorer as a country. Being poor doesn't somehow cause you to drink soda. Water is still much cheaper.
- kingkongrevenge 17y ago
  Mexico has a high obesity rate. They drink loads of soda. I don't think people in the Philippines are all that trim, either. A lot of very poor countries in Africa and South America have high obesity rates. They can only afford cheap starch and not enough meat and vegetables.
- briancooley 17y ago
  People in eastern Asia have historically consumed sugar at an extremely low rate. In many of those countries, fruit passes as dessert. Mexico is the second fattest country in the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_Mexico http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_Mexico), and soft drinks are used heavily there. There are no calories in water. When your brain is inducing your body to increase blood glucose, you won't crave water. Sugary drinks are some of the most calorically dense (wrt volume and cost) foodstuffs you'll find. Poor people don't drink sodas because they are thirsty, they drink them because they are hungry.
sdesol 17y ago
"Poor people eat an unhealthy diet because they cannot afford high quality protein and complex carbohydrates on a consistent basis. Further, parents in poor families often work excessive hours, and quick meals become the norm due to the lack of time." I personally think this is BS (sorry for the tough stance) and I agree with others in saying it's an educational thing. My family grew up in poverty when we immigrated to Canada, but we still managed to eat healthy and cheaply. My parents also worked crazy amount of hours as the only jobs they could only get were poor paying remedial ones like dish washing. Despite all our hardship, we managed to eat a healthy diet and we were able to do so because my parents understood the value of vegetables and fruit and stretching the dollar when it comes to groceries. Now that I'm all grown up, I can't go more than two days without feeling amazingly guilty if I don't integrate a good serving of vegetables into my diet. When ever I hear stories about how people are claiming that the public is being educated, I always think of this interview that I saw once of a young girl who idealized Jared from the Subway commercials. She was with her mom and she basically said how it was so unfair that they didn't have a lot of money, otherwise she could afford to go on the subway diet like Jared. What was extremely sad about all of this was, her mom was nodding her head in agreement. I've been out of school for quite some time now, but for the life of me, I can't remember being educated in school on a regular basis on how to eat healthier. I would hope that this is higher priority for schools now a days, but I highly doubt it.
xiaoma 17y ago
Americans already eat way too much protein. Japanese and Koreans are the thinnest 1st world people on the planet and they eat more rice, more vegetables and a lot fewer steaks burgers and fries than Americans (or Canadians or British). The same is true for rural Chinese, who are far poorer than American southerners, and they don't have obesity and heart disease problems. Here's what the American Heart Association has to say about the subject: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=11234 http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1123... "Eating large amounts of high-fat foods for a sustained period raises the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and several types of cancer. People who can't use excess protein effectively may be at higher risk of kidney and liver disorders, and osteoporosis. That's why the American Heart Association guidelines urge adults who are trying to lose weight and keep it off to eat no more than 35 percent of total daily calories from fat and less than 7 percent of total daily calories from saturated fat and less than 1 percent of total daily calories from trans fat. On most high-protein diets, meeting these goals isn't possible. Some high-protein diets de-emphasize high-carbohydrate, high-fiber plant foods. These foods help lower cholesterol when eaten as part of a nutritionally balanced diet. Reducing consumption of these foods usually means other, higher-fat foods are eaten instead. This raises cholesterol levels even more and increases cardiovascular risk." Eat food, mostly plants and not too much.
- briancooley 17y ago
  China and Korea are among the lowest consumers of sugar (7kg and 21kg per capita compared to about 70kg per capita in the US) in the world. What about other groups (e.g., Pima Indians) that eat very little fat and protein yet have the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, and coronary heart disease? What about groups that eat very little plant matter and mostly fat and protein yet have almost no cancer, obesity, diabetes, or coronary heart disease (Inuits)? Read Good Calories, Bad Calories if you want to get the background on why the AHA recommends what it does and why they are probably wrong on the subject of dietary fat and protein. I do agree that replacing grains and starchy vegetables with green, leafy vegetables is a good dietary strategy. It is a good way to get variety in your diet without activating insulin secretion. The amount of calories you eat is largely irrelevant with respect to fat storage. Your body will adjust your appetite and basal metabolism to maintain homeostasis.

bokonist 17y ago

I don't think you can just blame it all in poverty. People in poor countries (Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico) are much less obsese than Americans. And America had much less obesity when we were poorer as a country. Being poor doesn't somehow cause you to drink soda. Water is still much cheaper.

kingkongrevenge 17y ago
Mexico has a high obesity rate. They drink loads of soda. I don't think people in the Philippines are all that trim, either. A lot of very poor countries in Africa and South America have high obesity rates. They can only afford cheap starch and not enough meat and vegetables.
briancooley 17y ago
People in eastern Asia have historically consumed sugar at an extremely low rate. In many of those countries, fruit passes as dessert. Mexico is the second fattest country in the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_Mexico http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_Mexico), and soft drinks are used heavily there. There are no calories in water. When your brain is inducing your body to increase blood glucose, you won't crave water. Sugary drinks are some of the most calorically dense (wrt volume and cost) foodstuffs you'll find. Poor people don't drink sodas because they are thirsty, they drink them because they are hungry.

sdesol 17y ago

"Poor people eat an unhealthy diet because they cannot afford high quality protein and complex carbohydrates on a consistent basis. Further, parents in poor families often work excessive hours, and quick meals become the norm due to the lack of time." I personally think this is BS (sorry for the tough stance) and I agree with others in saying it's an educational thing. My family grew up in poverty when we immigrated to Canada, but we still managed to eat healthy and cheaply. My parents also worked crazy amount of hours as the only jobs they could only get were poor paying remedial ones like dish washing. Despite all our hardship, we managed to eat a healthy diet and we were able to do so because my parents understood the value of vegetables and fruit and stretching the dollar when it comes to groceries. Now that I'm all grown up, I can't go more than two days without feeling amazingly guilty if I don't integrate a good serving of vegetables into my diet. When ever I hear stories about how people are claiming that the public is being educated, I always think of this interview that I saw once of a young girl who idealized Jared from the Subway commercials. She was with her mom and she basically said how it was so unfair that they didn't have a lot of money, otherwise she could afford to go on the subway diet like Jared. What was extremely sad about all of this was, her mom was nodding her head in agreement. I've been out of school for quite some time now, but for the life of me, I can't remember being educated in school on a regular basis on how to eat healthier. I would hope that this is higher priority for schools now a days, but I highly doubt it.

xiaoma 17y ago

Americans already eat way too much protein. Japanese and Koreans are the thinnest 1st world people on the planet and they eat more rice, more vegetables and a lot fewer steaks burgers and fries than Americans (or Canadians or British). The same is true for rural Chinese, who are far poorer than American southerners, and they don't have obesity and heart disease problems. Here's what the American Heart Association has to say about the subject: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=11234 http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1123... "Eating large amounts of high-fat foods for a sustained period raises the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and several types of cancer. People who can't use excess protein effectively may be at higher risk of kidney and liver disorders, and osteoporosis. That's why the American Heart Association guidelines urge adults who are trying to lose weight and keep it off to eat no more than 35 percent of total daily calories from fat and less than 7 percent of total daily calories from saturated fat and less than 1 percent of total daily calories from trans fat. On most high-protein diets, meeting these goals isn't possible. Some high-protein diets de-emphasize high-carbohydrate, high-fiber plant foods. These foods help lower cholesterol when eaten as part of a nutritionally balanced diet. Reducing consumption of these foods usually means other, higher-fat foods are eaten instead. This raises cholesterol levels even more and increases cardiovascular risk." Eat food, mostly plants and not too much.

briancooley 17y ago
China and Korea are among the lowest consumers of sugar (7kg and 21kg per capita compared to about 70kg per capita in the US) in the world. What about other groups (e.g., Pima Indians) that eat very little fat and protein yet have the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, and coronary heart disease? What about groups that eat very little plant matter and mostly fat and protein yet have almost no cancer, obesity, diabetes, or coronary heart disease (Inuits)? Read Good Calories, Bad Calories if you want to get the background on why the AHA recommends what it does and why they are probably wrong on the subject of dietary fat and protein. I do agree that replacing grains and starchy vegetables with green, leafy vegetables is a good dietary strategy. It is a good way to get variety in your diet without activating insulin secretion. The amount of calories you eat is largely irrelevant with respect to fat storage. Your body will adjust your appetite and basal metabolism to maintain homeostasis.