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Re: Re: You mention Europeans... (Reply to this comment)
by vicfar
KEDSand1,
I have been here over 1 year and I haven't yet shed those 10-15 pounds that separate me from "good shape". Not that I have tried hard, but my lifestyle has changed: I walk constantly, shop on foot, socialize standing...but the rest hasn't - my diet is basically the same as in the US.
Let's not overestimate those few hundred calories we burn by walking up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. I think diet is the main determinant of obesity, and as EU eating habits are approaching those of the US, obesity is rising. Germany leads the EU in the number of McDonalds (1,200) and also in obesity. We are following the American lead here, just as in many other bad things the US is teaching the world.
Basically, the food industry and our idiotic lifestyle based on prepared, fast food are killing us. We can blame ourselves and our inability to push for legislation aimed, at the very least, at labeling food properly.
Cheers
Vic
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Apr 04 '08
12:16 am PDT
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Re: You made some great points... (Reply to this comment)
by kedsand1
Flash,
Thank you so much for your comments. They are always appreciated.
You brought up a good point about the proliferation of fast food in America, though Japan is becoming increasingly wrought with fast-food, as well. We'll see if Japan is in the same boat as the U.S. twenty years from now...
Your point about family values is also well taken and I would agree about U.S. family values, but Japanese people (at least, in the last century) were more likely to eat together, but minus the father who was often expected to work long hours for his company. Today, as far as I understand it, mothers eat with their younger children and sometimes their older children, if their older children do not have to go to cram school, supplemental classes, or club activities (which can run late into the night); on the other hand, fathers work late, and then go out drinking with the boss and/or colleagues. Unlike many companies in the U.S. today, spending time with co-workers after work is considered valued networking time and an integral part of what is often lumped into "overtime." Anyway, Japanese families may eat together in greater numbers, but usually without the father; this is changing, though...
This reminds me of another point: overtime. In the past, Japan was held in awe because of their workforce. Japanese men (and women) were reported to not only work a full work day, but also put in extra hours every night, artificially increasing total work hours in comparsion to American workers, who often work an eight-hour day and then leave. In reality, Japanese work eight-hour days, then add more hours of busy work just to stick around until the boss leaves; and then Japanese statistician count the time spent AFTER work with co-workers and the boss as "overtime." In this way, Japanese workers don't work harder than Americans; they just count busy work and socializing time as "overtime."
Statistics are deceptive. Come to think of it, I would even question the percentage numbers for obesity in Japan...
Thanks again!
KEDSand1
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Apr 03 '08
10:18 am PDT
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You made some great points... (Reply to this comment)
by flashfriday
I'd also like to add that the proliferation of fast food restaurants in America is another reason that Americans are getting fatter and fatter. On any major intersection you are likely to find 2 or 3 fast food joints.
One thing I also wanted to mention was the difference in family values also impacts a families eating habits. In general, I'd go out on a limb and say that the average Japanese family is more likely to sit and eat dinner together and it is more likely to be a much more healthy meal.
Go UCLA Bruins! Down with Memphis!
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Apr 03 '08
9:59 am PDT
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By the way, Vicfar... (Reply to this comment)
by kedsand1
About the weight loss issue, it goes without saying that it gets much harder to lose weight when we get older. I can only guess your age, but I know for me that I am eating less than I used to eat, but going nowhere with my weight. In fact, my midsection is conspiring with my tail section to form one large conglomerate. It's not funny!
I am looking forward to playing more basketball soon, though. I may have become sedentary in my work life, but I still yearn for athletic competition. I hope therein lies the key to losing some unwanted baggage.
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Apr 01 '08
8:15 am PDT
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Re: You mention Europeans... (Reply to this comment)
by kedsand1
Vicfar,
Thanks for the comment, but I think you took me the wrong way. What I meant was that because Europeans and urban Americans (i.e. New York and Chicago, but not necessarily LA) take public transportation and ride bikes, they wouldn't relate to the concept of having an aversion to walking and biking. My perception of Europeans and some urban Americans is that they don't have that aversion; most other Americans, particularly in smoggy So. Cal, do have that aversion.
Anyway, I think there are many factors that further contribute to the expanding American waistline. One is the prevalence of food advertising and how it is usually healthy commercial actors and models that portray eating at Wendy's, Mickey D's, or some other fast-food place; you never see an overweight guy chowing down. Though I believe that people are wiser these days, these commercials still send a message that eating at certain establishments is fun for the family, good for meeting members of the opposite sex, and so on. Credit to Subway in this regard; Jared Vogel, their spokesperson, combined walking with eating healthy (and some Subway sandwiches) to lose something like 245 pounds!
Another exacerbating factor is cubicle life. I sit on my bottom for 8.5 hours per day; that doesn't help.
Oh, and a third factor I can think of is the overuse of sugar. In Japan, confections that come from bakeries are mildly sweet, bordering on bittersweet; but, in America, a Costco birthday cake is heavily laced with sugar. People love their processed sugar in America, and people are beginning to love the dubiously healthier sugars like "organic evaporated cane juice." Since you're a chemist, you could probably tell me about how a sugar is a sugar, no matter from where you get it. Am I right?
Thanks again, Vicfar. Sorry for the confusion.
KEDSand1
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Apr 01 '08
8:12 am PDT
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You mention Europeans... (Reply to this comment)
by vicfar
but we understand very well the idea of biking to work and walking to the store. The Americans are rather alone in their "unhealthy lifestyle".
I agree that the facts you mention must contribute, and you should add to this the fact that many people in the US indulge in fast food that is essentially unhealthy, and this is much less prevalent in Europe.
Yet, although we do walk a lot more than Americans do, use stairs instead of elevators etc, it is still amazing the obesity you see there. After being away for a year, I am totally stunned at the waistline of the average American, and wonder whether there isn't really a deeper explanation (like the one offered in the article you cite).
BTW, I haven't lost any weight in Europe, even with all the extra walking...
Vic
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Apr 01 '08
3:36 am PDT
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Re: Astute observations.. (Reply to this comment)
by kedsand1
Jenniferkateb,
Thank you for your comments. I also miss my college days, when I had to ride my bike everywhere...in west L.A.! I was thirty pounds lighter and fitter then...
KEDSand1
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Mar 31 '08
10:01 am PDT
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Astute observations.. (Reply to this comment)
by jenniferkateab
Beyond these considerations, though, is the absence of the social stigma of walking from home to work or shopping in Japan that exists in the U.S. From what I have witnessed in the U.S., there is “shame” in walking from home to shopping.
Funny you should mention that in your essay. I think suburbia has made us feel shameful for walking, because it is essentially built around the concept of driving personal cars. Often, I would feel self conscious walking to a grocery store because so many people whiz by you in cars and I would be the only one on the sidewalk for miles.
I wish we could get rid of the artificial flavors and corn syrup you mention in our food supply. But, also, I wish I could go back to the time in my life (college) before I had a car and was forced to walk anywhere I wished to go. Funny, I never seemed to mind. Also, I always appreciate exercise more when I get from point A to point B, not just nowhere like on a treadmill.
Thanks for making some great points in your essay! I envy your experiences in Japan...
Jennifer
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Mar 31 '08
9:44 am PDT
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