Are we all 'skinny challenged' compared to the world?

[TheIncredibles!]

We know that there are many reasons for using an ECV but to the casual observer it seems like most are overweight. Many mobility issues are due to weight. This country would have a much healthier population if we all had a good BMI.

And on the flip side we need to remind ourselves that mobility issues can CAUSE weight issues, but we always assume the "worst" and think all overweight people in an ECV became mobility impaired because of overeating and lack of exercise.

It's a daunting thought to overcome the fact that you WILL be perceived as lazy, unhealthy or just another fat American when it literally hurts to even try and move. This is the horror of being a chronic pain patient.

It would be so much easier if people just didn't verbalize their unacceptable observations about people that are different than they are though We all have them, but most know it's not ok to go to a different country and make statements about their body types, appearances, perpetuate stereotypes and generally just be yucky, especially when you are a tourist and the point of travel is to see and experience the world. Go forth and do it but keep your comments to yourself - lol

 

[Ekitro]

Our standards of what “looks unhealthy” have dropped over the years. When I look at photos of the so-called “fat kids“ from when we were in grammar school (70s) they don’t seem all that fat by today’s standard average kid.

Remember when a large (single serving!) Coke at McDonald’s was 16oz, and looked HUGE?

You can't call a kid fat when it's 5, 8, or 10 years old because this kid is still growing, and when they hit puberty they can grow in a year and the body will change drastically.

 

[Moliphino]

I don’t think it’s super odd to notice something different about the make-up of the population in a given place if it’s a lot different from what you are used to or what you were expecting. When I went to San Diego, we went to legoland and SeaWorld. I wasn’t expecting so many Asian people! I shouldn’t have been surprised but I never really thought about it and it definitely stood out. Not in a negative way of course, but it stood out for sure.

I felt so tall in the Tokyo airport.

Free refills of soda can add a lot of calories too. My daughter went to school for a year in the U.K. and she said when she got back to the U.S. she had to get used to again getting not only a larger glass of soda, but the waitress bringing a refill when you got half way through with the one you had.

Giant ice-filled drinks with free refills are what I miss the most when traveling outside the US.
When we were in Spain in the spring, it was hot as heck walking around Sevilla and we were so excited to be able to get a giant (almost 1L cup) Coke from a Burger King. We each got our own, half filled it with ice, and pounded it in about 10 minutes. We wound up at Starbucks a few times in Cordoba because it was the only place to get a drink with ice, and even then they were too small.

 

[BrianL]

And on the flip side we need to remind ourselves that mobility issues can CAUSE weight issues, but we always assume the "worst" and think all overweight people in an ECV became mobility impaired because of overeating and lack of exercise.

It's a daunting thought to overcome the fact that you WILL be perceived as lazy, unhealthy or just another fat American when it literally hurts to even try and move. This is the horror of being a chronic pain patient.

It would be so much easier if people just didn't verbalize their unacceptable observations about people that are different than they are though We all have them, but most know it's not ok to go to a different country and make statements about their body types, appearances, perpetuate stereotypes and generally just be yucky, especially when you are a tourist and the point of travel is to see and experience the world. Go forth and do it but keep your comments to yourself - lol

You are right about mobility issues. A buddy of mine was a very active kid, but a car accident messed up his knee. I don't know how that was addressed medically, but it has always caused him pain, and he now carries a lot of extra weight. That's not his only issue - certainly his diet is an issue, but it is a contributing factor. Pain can just be so hard to deal with.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Our standards of what “looks unhealthy” have dropped over the years. When I look at photos of the so-called “fat kids“ from when we were in grammar school (70s) they don’t seem all that fat by today’s standard average kid.

Remember when a large (single serving!) Coke at McDonald’s was 16oz, and looked HUGE?

I also recall that in the 60s a juice glass was between 4 and 5ounces.

 

[gmi3804]

I also recall that in the 60s a juice glass was between 4 and 5ounces.

Remember a “large” juice was something like 8oz?

 

[dvcgirl67]

And one’s just as bad as the other - obesity and smoking.

True, but the French fare far better than we do with respect to life expectancy. French men live over six years longer....and French women over 5 years longer. The europeans are far better (as a whole) at moderation than we are.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

You are right about mobility issues. A buddy of mine was a very active kid, but a car accident messed up his knee. I don't know how that was addressed medically, but it has always caused him pain, and he now carries a lot of extra weight. That's not his only issue - certainly his diet is an issue, but it is a contributing factor. Pain can just be so hard to deal with.

Exactly. Not the ONLY factor of course, the weight does creep up and yes even with being a pain patient, we are still encouraged to move THROUGH that pain... it's easy to just give in and choose to not move though.

I just completed 10 weeks of PT on my shoulder. It was brutal torture to try and rehab a shoulder while I have so many other issues going on with my spine. Now my shoulder is better but I have tweaked my back in the process and will likely have to go back for some nerve ablation(sp?) again. I can't get steroid as I got that in my shoulder. UGH!

 

[GAN]

We brought a couple of friends over from the UK for their first disney visit. We had a ball! However, on one day they were acting funny and we finally said "WHAT is it??" and they sheepishly asked why everyone was fat.



I looked around and I guess the views were vastly different than how we all looked in the 1970s. Not sure what has happened.


I don't do world travel, but am wondering...do we as americans look different than non-tourists in the EU and south ameria and australia etc?

And if so....why?

Right ...even I was skinny in the 70's!

 

[gmi3804]

Right ...even I was skinny in the 70's!

I wish I was as fat as the first time I thought I was fat.

 

[gmi3804]

True, but the French fare far better than we do with respect to life expectancy. French men live over six years longer....and French women over 5 years longer. The europeans are far better (as a whole) at moderation than we are.

Europeans on the whole eat much more whole foods, i.e., unprocessed and unrefined foods, and in much smaller portions more in line with intake needs. They also don’t think much of walking, cycling, or living in a fifth floor walk-up for most of their lives. It all adds up to better health and longer, comfortable life expectancy.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I’m not sure I would use Venice as typical of a European city on this level as there are hardly any Venetians left who can afford to live in the city. It has become a victim of its own popularity and those horrid mega cruise ships that dwarf the port and erode the shoreline. Makes me angry thinking of all that came before.

I do agree that Euros have a different approach to disability and you will see less grading of landscape, street furniture that accommodates different disabilities , etc. Of course generally the disabled receive more money to live than their American counterparts but that is true of most. From my current perspective a combination of both approaches would serve better.

Precisely why I said Venice is Venice because it's made up of canals but we walked the whole way from one end of Venice to St. Mark's Square and I saw a lot of locals use the boats more. Murano, where we stayed at the locals used the boats to get to the other side of one part, we walked from bridge to bridge and only used the boats to get to and from Venice island itself. It was just an example not meant to be used as the be it all but it was a counterpoint to the exact quote I quoted of "While I get the impression an American needs a car to get to the next street."

In regards to our first foray into Europe it was mostly concentrated in the Mediterranean area and Athens was the only walkable city in regards to what others are talking about but Athens public transit is terrible and only the locals (who did use it a lot) seemed to know the non-scheduled schedule. The tourists were the ones walking because we had very little choice lol. The rest of the cities we visited cars were how you would get anywhere, terrain making it more important.

Now when we go on this upcoming train trip there's more local transit but again highly concentrated within certain areas. We specifically chose cities that would be 1) on the trainline serviced by Eurail 2) walkable enough. That's our choice as tourists but once you get outside of the cities you'll have the same issues as you do here in the U.S. it's just in Europe the way it was developed was limited based on transit (I'm speaking about the ancient days to centuries ago). The U.S. would be the same if we didn't have cars, a/c as a norm in most places where it's needed, etc.

In terms of lifestyle money does not equal access. There cannot be any dispute that because of the laws we have we have made it more accessible for those with mobility issues, when the law was made it was the first in the world in terms of encompassing laws. For Europe unless they are willing to require their buildings (yes even the old ones) to have access you will always have more limited access. The church we went into in Kotor, Montenegro had only in the past few years added a wood ramp to get up the stairs and that wood ramp was in rough shape. We didn't see people really in wheelchairs out and about in Venice, Croatia, Montenegro, and the various cities of Greece, that doesn't mean people didn't exist that needed them.

 

[flav]

Don’t be.

This one is coming at it from many different angles.

Btw, is anyone actually watching those videos?

Yes, interesting. Thanks for posting them.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

We know that there are many reasons for using an ECV but to the casual observer it seems like most are overweight. Many mobility issues are due to weight. This country would have a much healthier population if we all had a good BMI.

Uh the causal arrow frequently goes the other direction you know. Many times mobility issues or other issues cause the weight gain.

True, but the French fare far better than we do with respect to life expectancy. French men live over six years longer....and French women over 5 years longer. The europeans are far better (as a whole) at moderation than we are.

It has more to do with universal healthcare, better working environment (earlier retirement, 5 weeks of vacation a year in addition to holidays), a more relaxed lifestyle, and far less stressful lifestyles than it does with moderation.

 

[MillauFr]

One of the primary reasons is how we configure our cities. We don't create walkable communities in the United States. If you compare the walk score of a neighborhood against the level of obesity, you will find an inverse relationship.

 

[tzolkin]

This is a good point. The few times that I have reason to travel to the south, I notice a stunningly larger number of big people than back here in the northeast or any of the places I've been in Europe. I believe the last study had Mississippi as the fattest state in the country (they also have the worst public school system in the country too, so maybe there's a correlation there...)

I think it's more socioeconomic, not a north/south thing. I have found that the majority of people I encounter are significantly thinner since I have moved to the south from the northeast. However, I lived in a very poor rural county in the north and am in a more affluent/educated area in the south.

In addition to everything else mentioned, is cigarette smoking a way to lose/keep off weight? Back in the 70s, there were a lot more smokers than now.

I think this does play a role. When I was a kid, every woman that I knew who smoked claimed to do so explicitly to stay thin and their primary concern any time quitting was discussed was that they would gain weight if they stopped smoking. Even after the health risks of smoking were clear, many would still rather take their chances than be "fat".

Obviously, I don't think this was a healthy alternative, but it's worth taking into account when discussing societal reasons for an increase in obesity. I think women were often thinner in previous generations because they had disordered eating behaviors (like smoking to avoid eating, constant fad diets, etc.) We (especially girls) were taught from basically toddler age that the absolute worst thing in the world was to be fat and that we must do anything within our power to avoid it.

In response to that, many of us have made a deliberate decision to take a less judgmental and more body positive approach with our own children (no forced diets in elementary school, no name calling, no commenting on other people's weight, etc). I certainly don't want my (now adult) kids to be unhealthy, but I would rather them gain a few pounds than have mental health issues or an eating disorder because I made them obsessed with their weight and correlate their body shape to their value as a human being.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

It is easy to walk here in the US, just not necessarily for all your errands. We walk our neighborhood, walk to nearby parks, drive into the shopping area and then walk around to various places, go do walks in the woods even if we have to drive to the trailhead, and so on. It just takes making it a priority. I live about 8 miles from the office and I will run to or from work some days.

In other countries (and some major cities in the US) you are more likely to do that walking as part of your day to day life. You don't have to "make it a priority" because it's just what you do.

One of the primary reasons is how we configure our cities. We don't create walkable communities in the United States. If you compare the walk score of a neighborhood against the level of obesity, you will find an inverse relationship.

Agreed. I went to school in Chicago an the biggest thing I noticed when I went back home to a more country area (completely car dependent) was the difference in size of people. In downtown Chicago most people are walking to the train, grocery store, etc. and a bike is superior transportation to a car. The people in that area don't eat any different, they just have more physical activity in their day to day life.

 

[Karin1984]

they also have the worst public school system in the country too, so maybe there's a correlation there...)

Very possible, and also economic which is a result of it.

One of the causes is of obesity:
Bad food is cheaper than healthy food.

I work for a health-related charity, we just did a campaign where we investigated things like this. Science says that 80% of food/drinks in our supermarket are not really a healthy option. That is scary when you think of it.

What should be taught (preferably in school so everyone gets the information) is how to read labels on food, how to determine if something is healthy.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Since NYC transit changed the pricing system I’ve noted a higher number of larger people coming from the outer boroughs. Until the late ‘90s you paid to transfer from a bus to subway so a lot of people walked the shorter route to save money.Now you see people jump on transit to go one or two stops

 

[tvguy]

I felt so tall in the Tokyo airport.



Giant ice-filled drinks with free refills are what I miss the most when traveling outside the US.
When we were in Spain in the spring, it was hot as heck walking around Sevilla and we were so excited to be able to get a giant (almost 1L cup) Coke from a Burger King. We each got our own, half filled it with ice, and pounded it in about 10 minutes. We wound up at Starbucks a few times in Cordoba because it was the only place to get a drink with ice, and even then they were too small.

Yeah, I was in London in June 1976 during a heat wave and the only cold drink we could find was lemonade shandy, a lemonade beer mix. Also amazed that our hotel, the Hilton, did not have air conditioning or a pool.
I'll pass on the ice. My wife and I frequently order soft drinks without ice. The 38 degrees soda is dispensed at is plenty cold for us, and I am paying for soda, not ice.