Well I never.
Australia, Iran and Arabia have obesity problems, but in the US, it is a reflection of ideology:
“Yet the US obesity problem has particular resonance, perhaps because it is reflection of the modern way of life the country typifies, with its junk food and technology of convenience.”
Just what part of anti-American bias does Mr Davis not understand? If “The US is one of the worst affected countries in the world, but in percentage terms not the worst”, then surely it is not some elusive American culture of imperialist technological rape-the-world laziness that is responsible?
Anti-Americanism truly is the new anti-Semitism, allowing its adherents to ascribe to Americans mutually inconsistent evil motives.
Note also the non-sequitur – “Back in 1960, a 250-pound (113kg) American Football player was considered a giant. This year, more than 550 players weighing 300lbs or more were on NFL training camp rosters.” Look at the camps – I suspect that the 300lbs is pure muscle, and hardly the place where fatties train to be elite footballers, but never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Update An anonymous commenter finds those trans-Atlantic fatsos – here they are in the UK in June 2005:
and here they are in the US in December 2005:
(Haloscan deletes comments after a few months – thanks Anon!)
The article also says that America is the “spiritual home of the super-sized meal.”
I dont fully understand what that means. I never realized it was possible to have a spiritual relationship with fast-food.
And you’re right, even the largest American football players could easily outrun most people.
Muscle weighs much more than fat.
That “spiritual relationship” to food distantly echoes the blood libel.
BTW – it was presumably a cheap allusion to Supersize Me – ie leftist “dogwhistling”.
Grin.
Who gives a flying oppotunity for intercourse what the BBC opines.
Ex-Brit, US permie – yoh call.:)
“Back in 1960, a 250-pound (113kg) American Football player was considered a giant.”
Let’s rewrite this from, say, a US perspective:
“Back in 1960, a 6ft 2in 14st UK soccer player was considered a giant”:
http://www.thefa.com/England/SeniorTeam/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2004/07/England_vWales_JohnCharles.htm
Today, there are many players in the Premiership whose ‘vital statistics’ exceed this, etc. etc.
Er, but I thought those three fatties depicted under the body mass index caption were Brits. Well, they were back in June as the BBC informed us here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4119312.stm
As usual the BBC degenerates to generalisations, no balance. Why is it obvious that American fatness is caused by eating large portions?. Because the BBC says so. Some obese people have a medical problem, maybe diabetes, any sympathy for them, some are even African Americans.
Is there a skinny rapper out there? apart from Eminem.
For some it is in the genes.
If White North Americans are descended from British founding pilgrimes from the old world maybe there was someone on the Mayflower who when they stepped aboard caused a large list to one side. Maybe that’s where fat genes come from – Plymouth England.
Blimey the Political Correctness is flying around here. It’s in the genes…it’s all muscle…everyone else is as bad…it’s all because of the war (wait, that’s not right).
As everyone who has been to the States (wonderful place though it is) knows, there are lots of Americans who are hideously fat because sh*t food is dirt cheap, portion sizes are ridiculous and everyone drives everywhere. Everyone knows this so why is some BBC muppet being paid to write about it. Next up – Pope Catholic shocker??!!
“Why do black women have such a bad obesity problem?”
I’m being deliberatly provocative in the above. But why would the BBC happily swap Americans for Black Women?
Does it ever cross the minds of the food-fascists that it’s not eating too much so-called “junk” food that causes fatness, but eating too much of any damn food. Or are the Nazis seriously contending that eating a never ending supply of say, PASTA, doesn’t make one fat, but Big Macs do?
Jack Bauer,
It’s ALL exercise related. We are eating 1/4 less calories, we are just burning 1/3 less up!
a never ending supply of say, PASTA, doesn’t make one fat, but Big Macs do?
Yes it does seem that burgers, & only burgers, qualify for true junk status.
Wonder how the supersize me man would have survived a month of fish’n’chips or rogan josh.
Black Americans (and White Southerners too) tend to be heavy because their traditional type of food is incredibly fattening — everything is fried (often in lard) and breaded, and that which is not friend and breaded, is smothered in butter and/or cream. Even the vegetables are often fried with bacon or ham. It wasn’t a problem in the days when most people did manual labor — but those days are long gone, and the food is still there.
Susan,
You’re right. We in the South still have that kind of food. And you’re right about the manual labor. My grandparents and great grandparents ate that food but were lean and strong. Nowadays, people sit at a desk or stand all day rather than move around.
On the body mass index, it isn’t always accurate. My husband works out a lot and benches well over 300lbs but his BMI says he’s obese. Yes, muscle weighs more than fat. His chest feels like a brick wall. I’m sorry but I don’t call that fat. So you can’t always go by BMI. Any health expert is supposed to know this. The BBC should try quoting those that do know this for a change. “Fat” chance of that happening, though.
This has nothing to do with the BBC but the topic reminded me of an essay I read last fall. I was happy to find it again. The author gives an interesting perspective on fat Americans and those who hate them.
He doesn’t focus on lazy, gluttonous, spoiled Americans who “drive everywhere”, but more on why other people dislike them.
http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CAD43.htm
“…critics of cheap food forget that its attainment is a considerable historical achievement. Most of human history involved a constant struggle to find enough food…”
kcb (an American who’s not fat…er well, maybe just a pinch…could lose say about 5 pounds..)
kcb
I wonder why it’s never taken into consideration that some people who are obese didn’t get that way from eating at McDonald’s. Lots of people get like that by craving and eating lots of sweets. Yet I never hear those who go on and on about fast food, American bigness and greed say anything about Little Debbie.
According to the NHS 33% of patients reporting for operations are suffering from malnutrition. This requires a crash diet of chips beefburgers and suger etc. High calorie food. This reported on the BBC apparently cost the NHS millions of £s per year, as does obesity. So it seems that most of us are now either to fat or to thin. Seems like we are getting softened up for extra taxes on fast food and more hand outs to pay for it, at the same time. Why not? New labour apply the same logic to every thing else. Lotts of people payed to dig a hole and more employed filling it in. Great way to make sure everyone is not only thin but stone broke skint. Classic National socalist ways to create employment for otherwise useless Facist supporting graduates. When you dont now how and cant be botherd to create employment in productive industry.