BMI

[roster]

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I am seeing the same changes in people that I have known for years. It happened so gradually for/to them that they are very accepting of their new "rounded" bodies. ........

I think the general impression has become that a round face is a sign of good health. They don't even think that a round face means a fatty liver and bad health.

[roster]

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Well, for openers, maybe eliminating the "eating fat is wrong." They've been subbing carbs for healthy fats for what? 50-60 years. And how long has there been an obesity epidemic? 50-60 years!
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Third: outlaw all food advertising, on TV, on the radio, in magazines, newspapers, and on billboards.

Fourth: require the production of healthy food. That means real meats, not injected with high fructose corn syrup and modified food starch. It means vegetables not served with dips made of modified celluose gum, and carrageenan. It means fresh fruits, and full-fat dairy, and free-range eggs. Sixty years ago, fast food was virtually nonexistent. It should be again.
.........

Dear K,

Of course you are right about subbing carbs for fat being the wrong thing to do.

But now you contradict yourself by calling for more government regulation.

You know the problems government has with the "food pyramid". Can you imagine, if we had more government regulations the last forty years, you would not be able to find any fats for consumption, only carbs and very little protein?

Now at least you can control your own diet even if the less educated/less disciplined cannot eat right. Let government regulate it and you won't be able to control your diet.

Regards,

[BlackSpinner]

But I give people some slack, sometimes a lot of slack, in that they may be dealing with undiagnosed medical issues, such as OSA.

But if you look at the people scapes of the 30's to the 50's there must have been just as many people with OSA not caused by obesity and they are not over weight.

Another thing to remember is that these people did NOT eat an Atkins style diet. The political phrase "A chicken in every pot" referred to Sunday dinner - not every night. People before the fifties did not eat meat every day and when they ate it, the portions were very small. They also did not have central heating, use of a car to go every where or a tv to sit in front off.

[sifr]

But I give people some slack, sometimes a lot of slack, in that they may be dealing with undiagnosed medical issues, such as OSA.

But if you look at the people scapes of the 30's to the 50's there must have been just as many people with OSA not caused by obesity and they are not over weight.

Another thing to remember is that these people did NOT eat an Atkins style diet. The political phrase "A chicken in every pot" referred to Sunday dinner - not every night. People before the fifties did not eat meat every day and when they ate it, the portions were very small. They also did not have central heating, use of a car to go every where or a tv to sit in front off.

And you've hit the nail on the head here -- the portions were very small. Most people these days can't even identify a 3-6oz serving of a food item, and would complain if it were given to them, because it would seem so tiny in comparison to what they're used to eating.

[cinco777]

sifr wrote

And you've hit the nail on the head here -- the portions were very small. Most people these days can't even identify a 3-6oz serving of a food item, and would complain if it were given to them, because it would seem so tiny in comparison to what they're used to eating.

Right on! I get hassled by friends and relatives for ordering the "small portion" at restaurants or taking just a little of everything for sit down meals at home. I hear comments like "aren't you hungry?", "don't you like the food?", "don't you like what I cooked?", and on and on. I used to respond but now, at my age, just let them have their say and continue ordering and eating my small sized portions. I sometimes think that they want me to eat like them so I will look like them so they don't have to put up with my constant "thinness". I read recently that one of the reasons for our current overweight epidemic is the peer pressure from friends. I would agree.

I don't like to feel "stuffed" when I get up after a meal. Many of my friends and relatives think that they didn't eat enough, especially at restaurants, if they don't feel "full" after the meal. Go Figure.

[Kiralynx]

Dear K,

Of course you are right about subbing carbs for fat being the wrong thing to do.

But now you contradict yourself by calling for more government regulation.

You know the problems government has with the "food pyramid". Can you imagine, if we had more government regulations the last forty years, you would not be able to find any fats for consumption, only carbs and very little protein?

Now at least you can control your own diet even if the less educated/less disciplined cannot eat right. Let government regulate it and you won't be able to control your diet.

Agreed on the problem with the food pyramid -- it's based on politics, not nutritional science. I can highly recommend to anyone interested Marion Nestle's website at http://www.foodpolitics.com/. And her book by the title Food Politics.

However, by "regulation," I'm calling for Real Food. Not fake crap. Check out the Weston A. Price Foundation at http://www.westonaprice.org/. Eliminate the loopholes which allow companies to prepare sliced meat which they dust with corn starch -- and then claim there is no cornstarch in the ingredients because the corn starch isn't an INGREDIENT. It's a processing aid! Or the fact that even at Whole Foods or Fresh Market, I can't find prepared chicken or beef broth that doesn't have sickening amounts of salt and sugar in it. And on and on and on.

I see WAY too many complaints from parents on the specialized lists I participate in that children are being taught to eat junk food in school ... like using M&Ms or Fruit Loops for counting lessons, and then encouraging the kids to eat the counters at the end of the lesson. Or forbidding parents to send homemade food to school because it isn't labeled... but allowing (and encouraging) children who cannot have commercial food to eat commercial food.

And on, and on, and on....

[LinkC]

It appears that any woman with...um..."biguns" is considered obese. (Well, men too, but that's probably about right! )

[BlackSpinner]

Actually the big problem with fat is where it sits.
The fertile woman will accumulate fat on the hips and thighs - this indicates that she is fertile and that she can carry her baby to term even if the food supply is low. Lack of fat here will stop your periods - my sister had that problem when she was training for the military police and it took her a year to get enough fat on to regain her periods and be able to get pregnant - she wasn't "skinny" but she was all solid muscle.

Fat accumulated around the waist is an indicator of future heart problems and is usually accumulated by men and post menopausal women ( the image of the rounded granny)

This is the kind of fat you will see in old photos men with "beer bellies" and "plump" grannies and "buxom" maidens

[Muse-Inc]

...The fertile woman will accumulate fat on the hips and thighs - this indicates that she is fertile and that she can carry her baby to term even if the food supply is low...

Good pt BlackSpinner! The fat percentage to get and sustain a pregnancy is approx 22-23%...we've got hips and butts and thighs for a reason! In countries with withspread caloric shortages/starvaton, birthrate drops because women are too skinny to get preggers. The body knows it needs those calories to carry a baby to term.

[BlackSpinner]

Here is an interesting study with regard to fat distribution, race and prostrate cancer.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/09/ ... eight.html

[spacetoast]

I can still wear my ski clothes from 30 years ago.

So are they back in style now?