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X-Large (Obesity in America Discussion)

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  • I love how Pizza wars break out at these forums.
    I like to think of Chicago-style and New York Style as Hokuto Shinken and Nanto Seiken: The twin artery-clogging arts that balance each other out. All other pizzas are mere pretenders.
    Just Roll It Up, Eat It Sub Style
    Many a great man has had a heart attack attempting to try that with Chicago slices. Luckily, Chicagoans have a natural tolerance for cardiac arrest.


  • I think that the obesity issue in american society can be attributed to a lack of self control, on an individual level and on a societal level. It's not the foods that we are eating that are really the issue, they may exacerbate the issue, but they are not the cause. American society has become one of excess, and that excessive lifestyle has blossomed into out dietary habits. Laziness and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle has inflamed the issue to the point that everyone is trying to treat the symptoms rather than the disease.
    American portions are fucking huge. It's just insane how much food you get. There's just so much excess, I can't think of how to fix this problem. How can you get every restaurant to serve less food? It's part of the American culture.

    Go eating in Europe, and it'll feel like you're getting skimped out on so much food. It's actually just a normal meal you fat fuck. Perhaps if there was more focus on quality instead of quantity in America, there wouldn't be such a problem. Prices remain the same, you eat a normal amount of food, and the food is better. Bam, problem partially fixed.

    Doesn't stop American food from being rubbish though.
  • Why are Americans fat? Cause we eat too much fucking corn. Seriously, it's ridiculous just how many different food products corn has found its way into, and very few of them are healthy, or "healthy".

    We also eat a lot of bread. More understandable than the pervasiveness of corn products, but it's still kind of ridiculous if you think about it.

    There's also the near complete lack of self control that most people seem to have when it comes to tasty food, especially if that food is bad for you. Moderation is the key to healthy living; almost anything is good for you in moderation.
  • I'm pretty certain that widespread over-consumption and under-utilization of carbohydrates is the primary actor here. Remember the old food pyramid that said "EAT A HOJILLION SERVINGS OF GRAINS EVERY DAY?" That was drilled into people's heads for decades, and whole swaths of industry developed around that. We basically turned into a nation of bread eaters.

    Mind you, bread is fucking awesome. But a lot of people think of corn and peas as vegetables, and they're simply not. We eat too much fucking starch.

    And I'm not advocating Atkins, by the way. Far from it. I'm advocating a sensible approach to carbohydrate intake.

  • The food pyramid is right. You should eat mostly bread. Bread is the best, unless you are Nuri.
  • Upper-end restaurants don't serve huge portions by and large.
  • I effing love bread. I will never stop eating teh breads. I can eat bread for my entire meal and be happy.

    I'm pretty lucky and don't need to think too much about what I eat because I'm thin, but I went on a calorie restricting diet once to see what its like and to try to be healthier in general. Man, its hard. I feel bad for talking bad about fat people. Its easy to say "stop eating so much!", but its hard to actually do when you feel like you're starving all day. Not defending them for being fat, just need to start out eating healthier earlier in life, which is why I get so mad when I see fat kids with fat parents. (I'm talking huge average southerner whale-like fat here, not just chubby).

  • Mind you, bread is fucking awesome. But a lot of people think of corn and peas as vegetables, and they're simply not. We eat too much fucking starch.

    Er, actually peas are vegetables. They are podded veggies, as are other beans and legumes. Peas are not grains that are full of starch and little else. They have vitamins and fiber (K, manganese, C, fiber, B1, folate). Corn is mostly starch and only provides vitamin A and iron.

  • Peas and corn cobs are fruits. Tubers (potatoes) and stalks (celery) are veggies. Almost everything we think of as a vegetable is really a fruit, so the distinction on the food pyramid between fruits and vegetables is worthless. The ideal pyramid would be broken into Carbs/Proteins/Fats/Etc, with subdivisions for glycemic indices and the like.
  • edited November 2011
    Never mind that "vegetable" is just a culinary term talking about the manner in which certain items tend to be used. We really need to get people talking about nutrients, and not food types. Saying that a half cup of vegetables is a serving is a pretty crappy way to do things; half a cup of avocado is markedly different than half a cup of celery.

    Mind you, bread is fucking awesome. But a lot of people think of corn and peas as vegetables, and they're simply not. We eat too much fucking starch.

    Er, actually peas are vegetables. They are podded veggies, as are other beans and legumes. Peas are not grains that are full of starch and little else. They have vitamins and fiber (K, manganese, C, fiber, B1, folate). Corn is mostly starch and only provides vitamin A and iron.

    I stand corrected.

    Post edited by TheWhaleShark on
  • edited November 2011
    Almost everything we think of as a vegetable is really a fruit
    That's because a fruit is an actual scientific classification, while a vegetable is just a culinary term to encompass most foods that "come from a plant".

    Edit: Ninja'd.
    Post edited by theknoxinator on
  • Peas and corn cobs are fruits. Tubers (potatoes) and stalks (celery) are veggies. Almost everything we think of as a vegetable is really a fruit, so the distinction on the food pyramid between fruits and vegetables is worthless. The ideal pyramid would be broken into Carbs/Proteins/Fats/Etc, with subdivisions for glycemic indices and the like.
    No, since peas are the seeds, not the fleshy covering of the seeds, I would think that they are vegetables.

    Also, never argue about the best berries. Just don't.

  • Also, never argue about the best berries. Just don't.
    Yeah, everyone knows it's strawberries. Arguing is a waste of time.
  • While strawberries are delicious, blueberries are where it's at because they make the best addition to muffins, pancakes, and oatmeal. They also help fight UTI.
  • edited November 2011
    Neither strawberries or blueberries are actually berries. DO NOT GO DOWN THIS ROAD. We know where it leads.
    Post edited by Apreche on
  • blueberries are where it's at because they make the best addition to muffins,
    How is that possible when lemon poppy seed are undeniably the best type of muffin?
  • Neither strawberries or blueberries are actually berries. DO NOT GO DOWN THIS ROAD. We know where it leads.
    It leads to Nuri yelling at you. You remember those things called "false berries?" Well, "false berry" is just a specific classification of berry. Just because it's called a "false berry" doesn't mean it's not a berry.

    This is why the other sciences hate biologists.

  • This is why the other sciences hate biologists.
    I thought it was just do to our overabundance of sex appeal.
  • The Pizza conversation was better.
  • Peas and corn cobs are fruits. Tubers (potatoes) and stalks (celery) are veggies. Almost everything we think of as a vegetable is really a fruit, so the distinction on the food pyramid between fruits and vegetables is worthless. The ideal pyramid would be broken into Carbs/Proteins/Fats/Etc, with subdivisions for glycemic indices and the like.
    No, since peas are the seeds, not the fleshy covering of the seeds, I would think that they are vegetables.

    Also, never argue about the best berries. Just don't.

    Depends on your peas. Sugar snaps come with the pod, so they're fruits if you eat them whole. Mushy peas in a bag? Seeds. I love botany.
    Also, never argue about the best berries. Just don't.
    Yeah, everyone knows it's strawberries. Arguing is a waste of time.
    I would have accepted either "avocado," "blueberry," or "non-coalesced fertilized ovum of the Pineapple." Strawberries are aggregate fruits.
    This is why the other sciences hate biologists.
    I thought it was just do to our overabundance of sex appeal.
    They call me DNA Helicase, because everywhere I go the ladies unzip their jeans.

    /most overused bio joke ever

  • I think that the obesity issue in american society can be attributed to a lack of self control, on an individual level and on a societal level. It's not the foods that we are eating that are really the issue, they may exacerbate the issue, but they are not the cause. American society has become one of excess, and that excessive lifestyle has blossomed into out dietary habits. Laziness and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle has inflamed the issue to the point that everyone is trying to treat the symptoms rather than the disease.
    American portions are fucking huge. It's just insane how much food you get. There's just so much excess, I can't think of how to fix this problem. How can you get every restaurant to serve less food? It's part of the American culture.

    Go eating in Europe, and it'll feel like you're getting skimped out on so much food. It's actually just a normal meal you fat fuck. Perhaps if there was more focus on quality instead of quantity in America, there wouldn't be such a problem. Prices remain the same, you eat a normal amount of food, and the food is better. Bam, problem partially fixed.

    Doesn't stop American food from being rubbish though.
    Quoth Mr. FinishMyGarbageBowlEveryTime...

  • edited November 2011
    Neither strawberries or blueberries are actually berries. DO NOT GO DOWN THIS ROAD. We know where it leads.
    Actually they are BOTH real berries. You fail. A berry is a fruit that has multiple seeds and one ovary. Both strawberries and blueberries fit that description.

    ETA: Okay, actually apparently strawberries are from a shitload of achenes, which makes them slightly different. But blueberries still fit.
    Post edited by Nuri on
  • edited November 2011
    Neither strawberries or blueberries are actually berries. DO NOT GO DOWN THIS ROAD. We know where it leads.
    Actually they are BOTH real berries. You fail. A berry is a fruit that has multiple seeds and one ovary. Both strawberries and blueberries fit that description.

    I don't want to say I know more about this than you, but Wikipedia article on Strawberry says...
    ...The fruit (which is not actually a berry, but an aggregate accessory fruit)...
    Post edited by Apreche on
  • Yeah, I got that. See above. Still applies to blueberries. They are berries. They just grow below the flower instead of above the flower, which leads to the classification as "false berry."
  • Yeah, I got that. See above. Still applies to blueberries. They are berries. They just grow below the flower instead of above the flower, which leads to the classification as "false berry."
    Lawyered.
  • Somehow I think the answer was different the last time we had this discussion, which is why I am done having this discussion.
  • Where does this put Crunchberries?
  • Where does this put Crunchberries?
    Below Boo Berries.

  • Where does this put Crunchberries?
    Drupes.
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