this bothered me Saturday

Maybe so, but there's one more inch strip of lettuce in the salad than on the Big Mac, so it's worth it.

Maybe so, but there's one more inch strip of lettuce in the salad than on the Big Mac, so it's worth it.
:P Meet ya at McD's in 20 minutes for super sized value meals?? ;)

Yeah, I laughed and then became when I heard about their new salads, pffffff (I'm sure their deep-fried as well, no?).

The heart disease/obesity numbers are growing exponentially off the charts in places like China now that it's being 'americanized'...

Instead of focussing on adults, I'm more concerned about obese children and love to see running clubs and such created for them (just recently a running club was created for middle school girls here in WI)...

My sister in law feeds her kids complete GARBAGE...Cookies, chips and soda right before bedtime...man...

You mean, that's bad? Mikey will be disappointed.

What I find so funny is the simplicity of it all.

Eat less calories than expend and you will lose weight. :duh:

The number of obese kids is outstounding. Its a shame.

Right! I mean if you can balance your checkbook, you should be able to lose calories, yes?!

Obese children bother me immensely. If you are gonna have unhealthy habits fine, but take care of your children! Might as well give'em a cigarette after their dinner o' lard.

Yeah, adults feel much more :duh: about on the obesity issue, but children, I just feel terrible when I see overweight kids because they can't help it, at least not befoe a certain age. I read once that once they are about 12 and still overweight they are almost guaranteed to be overweight adults. Its not fair to do that to your kid. I volunteer at several kids fun runs in town, I think whatever we can do to get the kiddos more active at a younger age can help.
Also a big :1: on disgusting in-laws and their poor dietary influences on nieces and nephews (although can I expect any more from a man who is in excess of 340 and only 5'9"? no I do not like my BIL)

I can't believe I'm going to say this to you, shelfie, but I disagree with you. It's a cop out when people say "I want to lose weight and exercise but I can't". I have been overweight since I was seven years old. I could blame it on my emotional problems, my inability to deal with myself when I was younger, my parents who made me clean my plate, whatevah. But that would a lie. I have only myself to blame, and after yo-yoing for many years, battling a life-threatening eating disorder, and making excuses for years, I finally found my cure last May: running.
I am still overweight, but no longer dangerously so. I've lost 40 pounds and have another 35-45 to go. I've learned to have a few pints a week instead of a few a night, I've vastly improved my diet, and have recently seriously upped my mileage to accelerate the weight loss. It's been a long, slow process, but I'm doing it safely and am enjoying the shape I'm evolving into much more than the cheese fries and mozzarella sticks of old.
Yes, it's easier and more convenient to eat like c**p. As a society we've gotten lazy and complacent about everything - why not diet and exercise? But if you have no self control, you should expect to look like you have none and should quit your b!tching about being fat. Can't resist the cookies/chips/etc. in your house? DON'T BUY THEM. Can't say no to sauteed mushrooms and onions on your steak? EAT IN. And for the love of Pete, please don't pass on your lazy eating and exercise habits to your kids. Set a good example for lifelong health.
My weight has been a lifelong struggle, and no doubt will always be. Having been there (c**p, I'm STILL there), I have a lot of sympathy for the overweight. But excluding a few rare medical cases I do not accept for a minute the excuse that people want to lose weight but cannot. That mentality is simply bullsh!t that smacks of laziness.

The weight loss gimmick industry in this country is no help either. It not just popping a pill, proper diet and some exercise are needed.

a bigger SHAME is the fact that obese kids are now developing type 2 diabetes which has always been known to me as and "old person's affliction" Type 2 Diabetes is basically when your body says -- ENOUGH damnit!! i can not continue to make insulin to give you energy if you continue to cram c**p into your mouth and do zero exercize. As a pancreas, i say take this job and shove it baby -- i'm quittin....
and, as a result, older people are faced with increased heart disease, amputations, blindness and kidney disease because of type 2 diabetes which sets in at 65 or so....
now, i tutor kids (obese kids) who are type 2 diabetics. this is a sickening part of this fattening of America. talk about serious health issues down the road. it makes me cringe. RED FLAG= kids with type 2 diabetes. They may have a genetic predisposition to the disease, but this one can be delayed or avoided completely.

Thats where the conspiracy theorist in me comes out. I find it odd that food keeps getting fattier as the 'weight loss industry' continues to boom and profit...do you think the right hand is in some sick inverse way actually helping out the left hand in this situation? Both sides feed off the same dumb hedonistic public while also gaining more clients? It could be one giant vicious cycle. or it could be I watched too many movies over the weekend ;)

I don't think it is a conspiracy, Cheryl. I think people vote with their dollars everyday, and if the restaurants and markets are providing larger portions and unhealthful foods, it's because that's what sells. Follow the money. If people only wanted to buy healthful foods; salads and tofu, vegetables and broiled chicken, what do you think the restaurants would sell? McDonald's would be changing their menu faster than you can say "Supersize it please!"
Public education is important. But do you really think that because we're runners, or that we are focusing on our health that we're the only people who know the facts? There are public service announcements, there are newspaper and magazine articles, there are a bazillion books; the information is out there. I've known a lot about nutrition for a lot longer than I have exercised regularly or started running. You don't have to be dedicated to a sport to understand nutrition.
Monk is right. It is a basic energy equation. And if people refuse to help themselves, that's their choice. And in so choosing, only they should pay the higher medical costs and premiums.
For the record, I don't think everyone should look like the models on the covers of magazines. I think the obesity statistics are overstated, and that there are a lot of people who are carrying extra pounds but are also very healthy, not at risk and shouldn't worry one iota about losing weight. But people who are morbidly obese are just like anyone else fighting a chronic illness. No one else can make them healthy, and it isn't anyone else's responsibility to do so. With every bite they take, they make a choice. I refuse to be responsible for that.

I can't believe I'm going to say this to you, shelfie, but I disagree with you. It's a cop out when people say "I want to lose weight and exercise but I can't". I have been overweight since I was seven years old. I could blame it on my emotional problems, my inability to deal with myself when I was younger, my parents who made me clean my plate, whatevah. But that would a lie. I have only myself to blame, and after yo-yoing for many years, battling a life-threatening eating disorder, and making excuses for years, I finally found my cure last May: running. I am still overweight, but no longer dangerously so. I've lost 40 pounds and have another 35-45 to go. I've learned to have a few pints a week instead of a few a night, I've vastly improved my diet, and have recently seriously upped my mileage to accelerate the weight loss. It's been a long, slow process, but I'm doing it safely and am enjoying the shape I'm evolving into much more than the cheese fries and mozzarella sticks of old. Yes, it's easier and more convenient to eat like c**p. As a society we've gotten lazy and complacent about everything - why not diet and exercise? But if you have no self control, you should expect to look like you have none and should quit your b!tching about being fat. Can't resist the cookies/chips/etc. in your house? DON'T BUY THEM. Can't say no to sauteed mushrooms and onions on your steak? EAT IN. And for the love of Pete, please don't pass on your lazy eating and exercise habits to your kids. Set a good example for lifelong health. My weight has been a lifelong struggle, and no doubt will always be. Having been there (c**p, I'm STILL there), I have a lot of sympathy for the overweight. But excluding a few rare medical cases I do not accept for a minute the excuse that people want to lose weight but cannot. That mentality is simply bullsh!t that smacks of laziness. Alot of your points I agree with...If you whine and b***h about losing weight and don't do a damn thing about it, then you deserve to be :duh: But if you try, and then fail, and then try again and then fail again, then I'm not going to feel at ya. My FIL is extremely overweight, the poor man tries..he walks, he skips family functions (so that he's not tempted by cheese tray), he's made a commitment to try to lose weight. This was years ago and everytime i see him he's either +10 or -10... The problem in this equation is that not everyone is like you. Not everyone is like your neighbor...and so on... I think it's hard to disassociate yourself when you feel so strongly about things like this. But you kinda have to. I mean, everyone has battles, be it weight, sex, etc...The fortunate ones don't have to battle their issues that are apparent to the eye. I remind myself that we ALL fail at something...and that puts things in perspective for me just a bit...