"Lard of the Rings"

[Onnagumo 4]

I don't know how big are Big Macs in the US, but here in Israel the so-called "Big Macs" are AWFULLY SMALL.

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The same here in the Netherlands..... (Sign of disapproval) We don't eat at McDonalds often, because I know what it's like to be an overweight child, and that is not what I want for my sons (luckily they aren't overweight (Sign of approval) ). Besides that, it's quite expensive. But sometimes, during the holidays, we do, and yesterday my hubby and the boys had a "Big" Mac each. My seven-year-old had no trouble finishing it at all, and my ten-year-old gave me such an "is-that-all?" look after he ate it.....

[sumofan 6]

No, just "fries". I wonder who the idiot who attached the "French" to them in the first place is.

especially since fries were invented in belgium. in europe we are famed for it.

other things we are famous for are our chocolate and the fact that we brew over 1000 kinds of beer.

[Manekineko 200]

Bored, so time to chuck my two lipa in...

Fat Americans is a stereotype. Like all stereotypes it has some truth in it, and that's what makes it hurt. Lack of physical exertion is about as much to blame for obeseness in Western world as are fries, hamburgers and other fat-rich food. Fat actually makes food taste good - I notice it in milk, meat, and many other types of food. No wonder, really, since eating calories-rich food was a plus as far as health is considered in most of human history... we are genetically conditioned to like it. As QttP wisely points out, it is not so much what you eat but how much and in what combinations... I do not believe in all those "fat is bad" or "carbohydrates are bad" fads. All food is bad if eaten in excess, all food is good if eaten in moderation (unless you are alergic to it etc). Personally, I avoid "light" food, decaf coffee and (I only noticed that one existed recently) deteinated tea. :-/ Partly because as a chem. eng. I have some idea of the processes needed to extract fat, cafeine or teine from food, and I like my food as little tampered with as possible...

I only ate one Mac hamburger in my whole life. It was in K

[Kaihayaiha 0]

Another thing is that who thought of the brilliant idea of selling candy, chocolade and stuff like that in schools?? Biggest mystery of all.

Straying further off topic...

When I was in high school our school district had a contract with the Coca-Cola corporation to put coke machines in the school. We had also had candy vending machines through a contract with another company.

The vendors pay the school district to put their machines in the schools. The schools add the money to their operating budgets and don't consider the health consequences for the students too much.

Why american schools need (or think they need) corporate financing to educate their students is another issue.

[Zentoryu 154]

I don't think it's just the marketing. Most of the people will find some of these things quite tasty. I, for example, like pizza and burgers and, well, I absolutely LOVE fries, as I love everything that is potato-related. But I don't like fried chicken, for example, so no billion dollar marketing will make me eat that.

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I couldn't agree more. No million dollar advertising campaign is going to make me eat something I don't like.

I do eat a lot of food that probably isn't good for me, but I also eat it in moderation and I excersice a lot, thus keeping my weight down.

It's not so much just what you eat as it is whether you choose to do the neccessary physical exercise, instead of being a couch potato.

Face it, the US is a nation of suckers. we have been suckered into thinking Coke is good for us, and McDonalds is honest food. And Ben and Jerry`s Triple Diabetic Coma ice cream is a tasty dairy product. And the bun on a Burger King Double Whopper is a serving from the Grains and Cereals food group. The pickles constitute a serving of vegetables too.

I've never heard anyone say things like that, and I don't know anyone who is dumb enough to think that. I don't think people are that stupid, I just think they lack the desire to do the neccessary exercise that goes along with eating such foods.

Edited December 29, 2004 by Zentoryu

[Kintamayama 45,305]

I love unhealthy food. It's tasty. I don't want to eat leaves, because they are healthy. I am not a cow. I am a human. Humans have been eating meat and stuff for a couple of years, I hear. I do absolutely no exercise. Never have, never will. Kaikitsune asks me if I walk. "To where?" I ask. "You know, exercise", he answers. "Yes, I know. But where am I supposed to be going???", I answer.

I'm 50 going on 51. My checkups are OK. I eat quite a lot, not too much, but I like food. We have all kinds of really fattening and unhealthy food like houmous and falafel here in the MId-East. I love bread. I love butter. I weigh 85 kilos. I should weigh maybe 78. I feel OK, except the occasional pain that rips through me in the heart area. That is gas. I have gas. My doctor asked me if gas bothers me. I said it bothers my friends.

A small price to pay for enjoying life. I enjoy life. I may die tomorrow because I had one chocolate mousse too many, but I WILL DIE SMILING!!!

[Zuikakuyama 1]

Advertising does work, or else the fast food industry (and hundreds of other industries) would not spend tens of billions of dollars each year on advertising.

I think the aim of the fast food industry is to get the kids hooked early. That is why they have kids meals and playgrounds, and Ronald McDonald cartoon characters to peddle their food. Later on in life, the kids then associate happy warm feelings with eating at McDonalds. The same thing is happening to the menus at school lunches. These same points were made in that "Supersize Me" movie, and that's why McDonald was so upset by it.

For the same reason, stores like Kentucky Fried Chicken changed their name to KFC because they don't want consumers to assoicate them with Fried Chicken, who everone associates with fatty food.

The US is probably the world's heaviest per capita eater of fast food and related junk foods. And it is not accident that the US has one of the most overweight population in the world.

That being said, I think eating everything in moderation is the key. I love good juicy steaks and whole milk once in a while, but I practice moderation. But for some segments of the US population, that is not happening. Instead people are turning to the all-meat, no carbohydrates diets like the Atkins diet, adn they think that is healthy diet. (Sign of disapproval)

[Coo-cook 0]

We Mongolians eat fat greasy mutton whole life long and often without any vegetable. And, you don't see many fat Mongolians.

[BuBa 77]

We Mongolians eat fat greasy mutton whole life long and often without any vegetable. And, you don't see many fat Mongolians.

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Add to that a lot of whole milk, some extra butter and salt in tea you drink 4-5 times a day. And in general Good meat is, for Mongolian, a fat meat, the fatter the better. And yes, even in city you will hardly see someone obese. May be our climate or may be the genes make us 'skinny'. For the latter speaks the fact that so many Mongolian rikishis have problems with gaining weight. Who knows... (Whistling...)

Edited January 8, 2005 by BuBa

[madorosumaru 7]

According to a recent AP article, "More than 10% of [American] preschoolers are overweight. . . . The 10% figure is for 2002 . . . and the situation is probably worse now, said [Dr. R.H. Eckel, president-elect of the American Heart Association] . . .

"The prevalence of obesity among adults is well-known, with the condition increasing 75% since 1991. The problem among school-age children has been reaffirmed by new statistics showing that nearly 4 million children ages 6 to 11 and 5.3 million people ages 12 to 19 were obese or overweight in 2002. . . .

"Experts blamed the higher obesity rates on the prevalence of junk food marketed to children, too much TV and the decline in the number of families who sat down together to eat. . . .

"[A prominent pediatric gastroenterologist] said he had seen many youngsters in his weight management clinic who weighed 300 to 400 pounds. . . . Some kids are drinking a liter or two liters of soda a day . . ."

* * * * *

Here is a picture of a typical American teenager enjoying his burger. ;-)

Edited January 10, 2005 by madorosumaru