80% of Americans over 25 are overweight

That said, yes, Americans have among the highest body fat percentages (a better assessment of weight as a potential health problem, IMO) in the world and our common food and exercise habits only make this worse. And while in theory one can choose what one eats and whether or not to exercise, drastically changing this would require massive cultural changes that would fly in the face of current food production, distribution, and marketing. I can't see McDonalds and the other multinational conglomerates taking this gracefully.

As for what's coming, the typical future human probably will be Chinese...but he will have the physique of a typical contemporary American. Obesity is on the rise in Europe and other comparably developed countries, because of decreases in manual labor and increased consumption of the processed foods that help make Americans what they are today.

So I guess my answer is that obesity is largely a social issue with some medical bits thrown in.

mmm, is it lunch time yet?

excuse me i appear to have turned into a food rockist.

What is this Chinese vs. American issue? Would a Chinese dominated future be less likely to be fat for moral, cultural, genetic, or resource issues reasons? I'm assuming you refer to resource issues, but should China become a dominant cultural/economic power, they may adopt a fast food lifestyle, tho obtaining sufficient resources for such a large population base might be tough.

The future: didn't some scientist announce that humans have stopped evolving? I'm interested/afraid to see what scientists are able to come up with. Since every technology immediately gets put to it's lowest possible use, I assume that genetic enhancements will somehow be porn-related. As such, I suspect you are both right and wrong about huge heads.

Momus and others, I'm sure you've travelled a lot. Have you been doing biometric observations round the world? And is it possible for anyone to state their opinions based on travel without sounding like a chauvanistic jerk? Hunter's list, very limited sample in ascending fatness: Mexico, Peru, Scandanavia, Greece, UK, Australia, USA. I have no idea what they look like at home, but thought German tourists were as big as USAs. And of course, there's so much variation even in USA. Big Americans: Wisconsin, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, the south in general.

Why would I even notice? Fat-kid-itis.

Pop fact: you can hear my tummy rumbling loudly on the first Momus record I ever made. Listen to the intro to 'Ballad of the Barrel Organist' (all three of you who bought it). My stomach almost drowns out the guitar!

Actually, I hate when people imply vegetarian = organic, bring on the robot food.

The future: didn't some scientist announce that humans have stopped evolving?

Do you have a source for this quote? I do agree that advances in medicine (vaccines and advanced life support equipment) and sanitation have kept natural selection from taking the toll it would have claimed before these innovations. But evolution--apart from selective breeding--operates over such long periods of time that I'd be highly skeptical of anyone saying that since XYZ species ABC has stopped evolving.

(Also, I theorize that these medical and other advances have had a role in the contemporary prevalence of obesity: more people living to advanced ages, and fewer people suffering debilitating illnesses or injuries. However, I am not a scientist, I am an editor who has worked with a number of scientific and medical documents.)

It's sure a favorite around here...

Isn't TVP (ect) heavily processed?

The one time I had a Dan Treacy on rye sandwich, it tasted pretty fresh.

Evangeline's analysis of Americans based on *one suburb* reveals she is either Super Insight Girl, or we're just more obvious than we'd like to think. Because I think she's exactly right.

Another aspect may be the short amount of time Americans spend on meals. People who eat quickly tend to overeat. I don't know if there's any research that backs this up, but it's something my French Aunt complains about all the time.

What irks me most is when the topic of unhealthy kids is brought up and parents say, "Oh, we've tried vegetables and they don't like them. They love their Big Macs haha -- kids will be kids!" Well who introduced them to (and basically trained them on) Big Macs? And when those parents attempt to cook with health in mind, the vegetables come in the form of canned corn -- as a side dish with a wedge of butter on top.

Cognitive dissonance moment: Arch social conservative George Will touting the dietary lessons of "Fast Food Nation" as a warning to the obese children of America in this past weekend's paper. I never thought I'd see one of his ilk even hint at a criticism of McIndustry. But unbridled capitalism is still an absolute good for us, I'm sure. Will's essay makes me believe that overindulgence is not just a right, but a _vital_ necessity, just to prove him wrong. *plans to trip to Vegas*

lunch calls.

These people (= small humans) are the same ones who choose raspberry bootlaces over broccoli!! Why do they ge to be the arbiters (ps I know the answer to this!!) God if I put in my mouth half the stuff I scarfed up so eagerly as a child I would never stop throwing up! I wuv Mac fries tho.

(blah blah cultural brainwashing blah blah media blah blah bloated culture blah blah parentszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz::thud::)

BMI: 20. Question is: is that high?

It certainly depends on where you live, how much you exercise. Where I am now (Long Island), I walk *everywhere*. (Tis less dangerous than hitchhiking;>) It also depends on whether you can afford to have that sandwich.

I have a huge sweet tooth, and healthy appetite. Indulging it is a major benefit;>

Sure, the US has massive portions of food, but no one forces you to eat it, do they? Mickey D's and Burger King have finally learned to offer different size portions though, so you do have a choice....

I think it's more of an aesthetic than medical or moral issue, not because that's the most important concern, simply because no one I know acually cares about medical or moral values of thinness.

But here's the deal: I love food. I will, unlike Nick, procrastinibble.

Let's just say I was a not very sweet 16. It was gross.

Why would companies knowingly kill their customers? Maybe it's habit forming. They're no smarter than us. There's only one wake-up call they'll hear: class actions from the fat. Supersize punitive damages. It *will* happen.

I know that the majority of adults in the US are obese, and have been getting bigger and bigger each year. I know that we don't get enough exercise, eat the right food, or just have a healthy lifestyle in general (we also have a tendency to sleep below the norm).

But I got to a school where all my friends and more than 70% or so of my fellow classmates (girls and guys, but mostly girls) are normal or too thin. They look like if a gust of strong wind came, they would be pushed right over, and sometimes they literally are. We have problems here, let's just say.

All of my friends have admitted to being bulimic at least one in their life, one of my girlfriends even did it for three years before anyone found out and then sent her to a psychiatrist.

The mentality here is too mixed. There are only extremes as far as anyone is concerned. We only hear about the clinically obese people or the anorexic people. This is wrong. I dunno, I guess it just makes me uncomfortable to be thinking about it all the time. It's a constant topic among school mates and it never seems to stop.

Don't get me wrong Momus, this is a wonderful thread and has certainly caused everyone to comment and think...but I guess societal pressure is just getting too high on everyone. "Get thinner! Get more body mass!" screamed everywhere confuses people like me.

evolution has stopped, doesn't mean that it has forever, but the conditions to ignite evolutionary change do not exist those being small populations, genetic isolation, some environmental change or competition from another species.

Vegans vs. Everyone Else: FITE! (again, zzz)

I read that as 'preposterous', which would be a rum description.

Now I find it odd that the same diet that causes Mexican-Americans to bloat, get round-faced and stay short (and Mexican-Americans certainly don't have the 'shrinking torso' problem!) makes Japanese grow tall, get weak-chinned and torso- lean! What's not emphasised enough here are the cultural factors -- like the fact that Japan is the most energy-efficient country in the world (per capita energy consumption measured against GDP) because of things like widespread use of bicycles rather than cars for short city trips.

But are the Mexican-Americans truly eating the same diet as the Japanese? I was under the impression that the M-As are eating the Taco Hell adaptations of their traditional cuisine--more meat and grease and fewer vegetables than would be served in a traditional Mexican household. Whereas the Japanese may be eating *more* protein and dairy than was customary before World War II, but they're still getting good amounts of rice, fish, and vegetables.

And I do agree with you about the cultural/infrastructure factors in Japan versus those in the United States.