Why are so many women in their early to mid 20s already so heavy? Is this mainly a USA phenomenon?

[Anonymous]

I am not sure. I graduated from high school in the mid 90s and I and all of my friends were skinny. Not just average BMI. But skinny. And no one really watched what we ate. I think we did not have nearly as many options for calorie dense, nutrient-free foods (things like Frappuccinos) and we exercised more (walked more places, biked, were outside more, less studying, no texting).

[Anonymous]

People are taller. It's evolution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People are taller. It's evolution.

People have gained 0.5-1" in the past several decades. They've also gained an average of 16 lbs.

That's not evolution or better nutrition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are taller. It's evolution.

People have gained 0.5-1" in the past several decades. They've also gained an average of 16 lbs.

That's not evolution or better nutrition.

It's actually a combination of the 2. You shoudl not get taller and not get wider, it's not normal.

Bones are bigger, people are more active.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are taller. It's evolution.

People have gained 0.5-1" in the past several decades. They've also gained an average of 16 lbs.

That's not evolution or better nutrition.

It's actually a combination of the 2. You shoudl not get taller and not get wider, it's not normal.

Bones are bigger, people are more active.

No. People are fatter and in poorer shape, fitness wise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are taller. It's evolution.

People have gained 0.5-1" in the past several decades. They've also gained an average of 16 lbs.

That's not evolution or better nutrition.

It's actually a combination of the 2. You shoudl not get taller and not get wider, it's not normal.

Bones are bigger, people are more active.

No. People are fatter and in poorer shape, fitness wise.

no they are taller/wider/stronger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a guy, I wonder the same. Where are all the young hotties?

The Georgetown Medical School campus has a lot of healthy looking men and women.

[Anonymous]

I'm going to be politically incorrect here and I think it part of it is unavoidable for Americans.

I'm a track coach and I originally grew up in Russia. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among Americans is not just the obvious - portion sizes, junk food, sedentary lifestyle etc, but I also notice how the "athletic" and "thin" Americans are still heavier than average university-age young women in Eastern Europe. Our health guidelines are even different.
For example, take an average, 5'4/163 cm young woman. American medical standards say a healthy BMI is between 19-25. This means she could way about between 108-144 lbs. The athletic women I coach would be around 120. This looks relatively thin on a college campus but it isn't thin. In Russia, an average height woman probably wouldn't weigh more than 50kg or maybe 55kg until she gets married or pregnant. Young women who have not gone through pregnancy yet should be on the thinner side of the "normal" range which includes all women, post-pregnancy, post-menapausal and so on. A 22 year old woman who weighs the same as a "normal weight" 50 year old woman is not healthy.

The harsh truth is that even healthy (Relatively), athletic American women weigh more by nature. Yes, they exercise, they probably eat better than most, they can even try to eat organic, but they are still bigger than women in Eastern Europe. I see a woman run a 5 minute mile that still looks huskier than a European average woman. The fact is that for Americans it is unavoidable. There are chemicals everywhere that are illegal or regulated in other countries. Everything is processed unless you make it from scratch as in you pick the vegetables from your own garden. The air is full of chemicals. They get food in toxic disposable containers and BPA. It even starts from birth - with mothers buying packaged chemical-laden formula instead of breastfeeding. I am so used to being around Americans vs non-Americans and there is something uncanny about how I can pick out the American - it doesn't matter the race, white/asian/black/hispanic, American faces have a more chemically-altered look to them, I can't explain it. American women just don't look young and fresh - they have cellulite, they have acne or facial lines (nothing in between), bags under their eyes, etc... a part of it is that you all work too much... but also, young women putting their bodies under stress when they don't need to. And processed food and overmedication, this is the excess stress that should NOT be a factor at age 25.

[Anonymous]

It’s really not all that acceptable to be fat—if it were, clothes for fat women would be mote readily available in brick and mortar stores and they wouldn’t be so dang ugly most of the time. Very very few stores sell above a 14 in store, and if they sell larger styles at all, you have to order online and hope they fit. Some sell a few token items, but not their full range. So as a fat person, who eats well and has tried different workouts (including my most current one called training for warriors which focuses more on strength which I like) and continues to gain and not lose, I can say it’s really not that acceptable to be fat, and it’s really not as simple as diet and exercise. I am careful of what I eat and I move A LOt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am heavier now than i was in 1989

I’m not. I’m a 44-year old woman, and I weigh about the same. The best part is that I am still physically able to do everything I could 30 years ago.

It makes me sad to see this. I have a relative I care about who is in her mid-twenties, and she’s easily 60 lbs overweight. I worry about her health once she’s my age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t even understand how this is a question. People just eat way more than they did in the past. Simple as that.

Well, it’s not that simple. They aren’t just eating more broccoli. They are eating more sugar, so they are fat. It’s that simple.

They are eating more of everything. And not exercising.

This has been pointed out by the wiser people on this thread but it's amazing how many people still want to believe the pathetic excuses, blaming it on GMOs or not smoking any more or HFCS. It can't ever be their own fault, namely that they eat too much and don't offset it with exercise.

I'm old enough to remember when a large soda at a fast food place was the equivalent of today's medium. And you can no longer get a small size drink at many fast food places, last I checked. Portions at restaurant meals have ballooned. Even the size of dinnerware has grown. I have inherited sets of china from the 19th century through the 1950s and the plates and cups are noticeably smaller than today's equivalent because people weren't piling huge quantities on their plates or drinking enormous mugs of sugary sweet drinks at a go. Coke used to be sold in small glass bottles, now it's sold in enormous quantities at a go. Bags of junk food have gotten bigger and bigger.

Americans are fat today because they eat too much. And food is too cheap. And the culture now accepts being fat. This is the answer. There is no avoiding it or blaming it on other things.

Agree. I was just pointing out that it is sugar, which all of your examples focused on. It’s not excess quinoa and chia seeds. I eat a very healthy diet with no sugar and I eat as much as I want. I don’t go to fast food places. Eating garbage makes you fat and yes, being fat, or certainly being chubby, is acceptable. I noticed a few years ago how much Dove was pushing body positivity. It made sense given that Dove’s parent company is Unilever, which makes garbage food. It’s all so sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am heavier now than i was in 1989

I’m not. I’m a 44-year old woman, and I weigh about the same. The best part is that I am still physically able to do everything I could 30 years ago.

It makes me sad to see this. I have a relative I care about who is in her mid-twenties, and she’s easily 60 lbs overweight. I worry about her health once she’s my age.

You weigh what you weighed when you were 13-14? Do you have children? Did you ever weigh more than that? Are you athletic?

[Anonymous]

Bad eating habits. Drinking soda, eating processed food, driving instead of walking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am heavier now than i was in 1989

I’m not. I’m a 44-year old woman, and I weigh about the same. The best part is that I am still physically able to do everything I could 30 years ago.

It makes me sad to see this. I have a relative I care about who is in her mid-twenties, and she’s easily 60 lbs overweight. I worry about her health once she’s my age.

You weigh what you weighed when you were 13-14? Do you have children? Did you ever weigh more than that? Are you athletic?

Yes, I am the same height and weight as I was in ninth grade (I grew early). I’ve always been an athlete (equestrian and runner). I have two kids. I gained about 25 lbs while pregnant., but otherwise my weight is pretty consistent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am heavier now than i was in 1989

I’m not. I’m a 44-year old woman, and I weigh about the same. The best part is that I am still physically able to do everything I could 30 years ago.

It makes me sad to see this. I have a relative I care about who is in her mid-twenties, and she’s easily 60 lbs overweight. I worry about her health once she’s my age.

You weigh what you weighed when you were 13-14? Do you have children? Did you ever weigh more than that? Are you athletic?

This confused me also. PP, you weigh what you did at 13? That's not normal.