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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was wondering just the opposite OP. I live in Georgetown, and I see so many fit young women going to Soul Cycle, yoga, etc. that I don't think girls/young ladies every looked this great. Maybe it's an urban vs. suburban thing.

I had the same experience at my neighborhood pool in NE DC this weekend. Most all of the younger people were slim/fit and attractive and every time I turned around more were coming! I'm usually with my kids and don't pay attention to what's happening on the adult side of the pool.

Give them a few years and see what happens.

Insert a tracking device on them and look them up 2-3 years from now.

This was my experience living in DC. We were in Logan Circle and everyone around us was very slender/fit. Moved to MoCo burbs a few years when we had kids and I'm BY FAR the thinnest person here. And I'm 5'3" and 115, not a stick. People aren't obese or anything, but most carry 15-20 extra lbs.

I think the weight gain happens in large part because people drive everywhere as opposed to walking. There's a nice playground within a 10 minute walk of our house. Everyone around us drives there instead of walking. I'm also out walking daily, pushing a stroller all over the neighborhood (two small kids) - rarely do I run into other moms doing the same. I am a runner and rarely see others out running in my neighborhood. In Logan Circle I never failed to see other runners even very early in the morning, in any weather.

My relative was one of those slender/fit women that you saw running around DC.

Then guess what happened?

She got married, left DC, moved to the suburbs and had 3 kids.

She is now quite heavy.

Her parents are wealthy and her husband is too.

The thing is, I totally get it. In DC I really didn't have to make a huge effort to be fit. We were an almost 20 minute walk from the Red Line (my work commute), and in general I walked everywhere - grocery store, meeting friends, etc. And I had plenty of time for the gym or a leisurely 3-5 mile run apart from that. Now I'm in the suburbs, I have kids and a commute. I have to wake up at 5:30 AM in order to get a short run in a few times a week. After work I rush to get the kids fed and then, unless it's freezing or pouring, we head outside for a walk. I'm slender but I'm always tired. (What I'm not is wealthy...)

Logan Circle resident and runner here. I swear its a mafia. If you go running anytime around lunchtime or on the weekends, the rush hour traffic on the sidewalks is insane.

That's why I love it. Being surrounded by a community of people who exercise normalizes it.

[Anonymous]

Why Was It Easier to Be Skinny in the 1980s?

A new study finds that people today who eat and exercise the same amount as people 20 years ago are still fatter...

Something is definitely up with our food supply.

I watch my diet pretty stringently here in the States -- no grain, no starch, no sugar -- because otherwise I'd be thirty pounds heavier.

And then I go to Europe on holiday and eat ALLL the grains, starch, and sugar -- sometimes while on road trips, so no walking or real exercise -- and I come back a couple of pounds lighter.

I don't know what, exactly, but there's something very, very bad in our food supply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why Was It Easier to Be Skinny in the 1980s?

A new study finds that people today who eat and exercise the same amount as people 20 years ago are still fatter...

Something is definitely up with our food supply.

I watch my diet pretty stringently here in the States -- no grain, no starch, no sugar -- because otherwise I'd be thirty pounds heavier.

And then I go to Europe on holiday and eat ALLL the grains, starch, and sugar -- sometimes while on road trips, so no walking or real exercise -- and I come back a couple of pounds lighter.

I don't know what, exactly, but there's something very, very bad in our food supply.

Funny you mentioned that. But the British negotiations for Brexit alliances are ongoing and their farmers are raising a stink about accepting U.S. standards for food production.

Normally I'd tell them to suck it - but maybe its more than just 'chlorinated washes' that they're worried about.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9733299/britain-must-accept-chlorinated-chicken-us-trade-deal/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was wondering just the opposite OP. I live in Georgetown, and I see so many fit young women going to Soul Cycle, yoga, etc. that I don't think girls/young ladies every looked this great. Maybe it's an urban vs. suburban thing.

I had the same experience at my neighborhood pool in NE DC this weekend. Most all of the younger people were slim/fit and attractive and every time I turned around more were coming! I'm usually with my kids and don't pay attention to what's happening on the adult side of the pool.

Give them a few years and see what happens.

Insert a tracking device on them and look them up 2-3 years from now.

This was my experience living in DC. We were in Logan Circle and everyone around us was very slender/fit. Moved to MoCo burbs a few years when we had kids and I'm BY FAR the thinnest person here. And I'm 5'3" and 115, not a stick. People aren't obese or anything, but most carry 15-20 extra lbs.

I think the weight gain happens in large part because people drive everywhere as opposed to walking. There's a nice playground within a 10 minute walk of our house. Everyone around us drives there instead of walking. I'm also out walking daily, pushing a stroller all over the neighborhood (two small kids) - rarely do I run into other moms doing the same. I am a runner and rarely see others out running in my neighborhood. In Logan Circle I never failed to see other runners even very early in the morning, in any weather.

My relative was one of those slender/fit women that you saw running around DC.

Then guess what happened?

She got married, left DC, moved to the suburbs and had 3 kids.

She is now quite heavy.

Her parents are wealthy and her husband is too.

The thing is, I totally get it. In DC I really didn't have to make a huge effort to be fit. We were an almost 20 minute walk from the Red Line (my work commute), and in general I walked everywhere - grocery store, meeting friends, etc. And I had plenty of time for the gym or a leisurely 3-5 mile run apart from that. Now I'm in the suburbs, I have kids and a commute. I have to wake up at 5:30 AM in order to get a short run in a few times a week. After work I rush to get the kids fed and then, unless it's freezing or pouring, we head outside for a walk. I'm slender but I'm always tired. (What I'm not is wealthy...)

Logan Circle resident and runner here. I swear its a mafia. If you go running anytime around lunchtime or on the weekends, the rush hour traffic on the sidewalks is insane.

That's why I love it. Being surrounded by a community of people who exercise normalizes it.

Stop generalizing.

People exercise in the suburbs too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was wondering just the opposite OP. I live in Georgetown, and I see so many fit young women going to Soul Cycle, yoga, etc. that I don't think girls/young ladies every looked this great. Maybe it's an urban vs. suburban thing.

I had the same experience at my neighborhood pool in NE DC this weekend. Most all of the younger people were slim/fit and attractive and every time I turned around more were coming! I'm usually with my kids and don't pay attention to what's happening on the adult side of the pool.

Give them a few years and see what happens.

Insert a tracking device on them and look them up 2-3 years from now.

This was my experience living in DC. We were in Logan Circle and everyone around us was very slender/fit. Moved to MoCo burbs a few years when we had kids and I'm BY FAR the thinnest person here. And I'm 5'3" and 115, not a stick. People aren't obese or anything, but most carry 15-20 extra lbs.

I think the weight gain happens in large part because people drive everywhere as opposed to walking. There's a nice playground within a 10 minute walk of our house. Everyone around us drives there instead of walking. I'm also out walking daily, pushing a stroller all over the neighborhood (two small kids) - rarely do I run into other moms doing the same. I am a runner and rarely see others out running in my neighborhood. In Logan Circle I never failed to see other runners even very early in the morning, in any weather.

My relative was one of those slender/fit women that you saw running around DC.

Then guess what happened?

She got married, left DC, moved to the suburbs and had 3 kids.

She is now quite heavy.

Her parents are wealthy and her husband is too.

The thing is, I totally get it. In DC I really didn't have to make a huge effort to be fit. We were an almost 20 minute walk from the Red Line (my work commute), and in general I walked everywhere - grocery store, meeting friends, etc. And I had plenty of time for the gym or a leisurely 3-5 mile run apart from that. Now I'm in the suburbs, I have kids and a commute. I have to wake up at 5:30 AM in order to get a short run in a few times a week. After work I rush to get the kids fed and then, unless it's freezing or pouring, we head outside for a walk. I'm slender but I'm always tired. (What I'm not is wealthy...)

Logan Circle resident and runner here. I swear its a mafia. If you go running anytime around lunchtime or on the weekends, the rush hour traffic on the sidewalks is insane.

That's why I love it. Being surrounded by a community of people who exercise normalizes it.

Stop generalizing.

People exercise in the suburbs too.

No one is generalizing. How much more specific can you get than personal experiences?

[Anonymous]

PP -- people may exercise in the burbs but as a previous poster before you said, they don't even make a 10 minute walk to the park for God's sake!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was wondering just the opposite OP. I live in Georgetown, and I see so many fit young women going to Soul Cycle, yoga, etc. that I don't think girls/young ladies every looked this great. Maybe it's an urban vs. suburban thing.

I had the same experience at my neighborhood pool in NE DC this weekend. Most all of the younger people were slim/fit and attractive and every time I turned around more were coming! I'm usually with my kids and don't pay attention to what's happening on the adult side of the pool.

Give them a few years and see what happens.

Insert a tracking device on them and look them up 2-3 years from now.

This was my experience living in DC. We were in Logan Circle and everyone around us was very slender/fit. Moved to MoCo burbs a few years when we had kids and I'm BY FAR the thinnest person here. And I'm 5'3" and 115, not a stick. People aren't obese or anything, but most carry 15-20 extra lbs.

I think the weight gain happens in large part because people drive everywhere as opposed to walking. There's a nice playground within a 10 minute walk of our house. Everyone around us drives there instead of walking. I'm also out walking daily, pushing a stroller all over the neighborhood (two small kids) - rarely do I run into other moms doing the same. I am a runner and rarely see others out running in my neighborhood. In Logan Circle I never failed to see other runners even very early in the morning, in any weather.

My relative was one of those slender/fit women that you saw running around DC.

Then guess what happened?

She got married, left DC, moved to the suburbs and had 3 kids.

She is now quite heavy.

Her parents are wealthy and her husband is too.

The thing is, I totally get it. In DC I really didn't have to make a huge effort to be fit. We were an almost 20 minute walk from the Red Line (my work commute), and in general I walked everywhere - grocery store, meeting friends, etc. And I had plenty of time for the gym or a leisurely 3-5 mile run apart from that. Now I'm in the suburbs, I have kids and a commute. I have to wake up at 5:30 AM in order to get a short run in a few times a week. After work I rush to get the kids fed and then, unless it's freezing or pouring, we head outside for a walk. I'm slender but I'm always tired. (What I'm not is wealthy...)

Logan Circle resident and runner here. I swear its a mafia. If you go running anytime around lunchtime or on the weekends, the rush hour traffic on the sidewalks is insane.

That's why I love it. Being surrounded by a community of people who exercise normalizes it.

I loved it too, in spite of the occasional shoulder check by a faster runner. I miss it very much. It was so motivating to see the same faces out there each day, even if we didn't ever interact outside of eye contact or a quick nod. Wish we could have been in a financial position to stay. Fitness felt easy and now it feels like a battle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP -- people may exercise in the burbs but as a previous poster before you said, they don't even make a 10 minute walk to the park for God's sake!

Once again you are generalizing. STOP IT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was wondering just the opposite OP. I live in Georgetown, and I see so many fit young women going to Soul Cycle, yoga, etc. that I don't think girls/young ladies every looked this great. Maybe it's an urban vs. suburban thing.

I had the same experience at my neighborhood pool in NE DC this weekend. Most all of the younger people were slim/fit and attractive and every time I turned around more were coming! I'm usually with my kids and don't pay attention to what's happening on the adult side of the pool.

Give them a few years and see what happens.

Insert a tracking device on them and look them up 2-3 years from now.

This was my experience living in DC. We were in Logan Circle and everyone around us was very slender/fit. Moved to MoCo burbs a few years when we had kids and I'm BY FAR the thinnest person here. And I'm 5'3" and 115, not a stick. People aren't obese or anything, but most carry 15-20 extra lbs.

I think the weight gain happens in large part because people drive everywhere as opposed to walking. There's a nice playground within a 10 minute walk of our house. Everyone around us drives there instead of walking. I'm also out walking daily, pushing a stroller all over the neighborhood (two small kids) - rarely do I run into other moms doing the same. I am a runner and rarely see others out running in my neighborhood. In Logan Circle I never failed to see other runners even very early in the morning, in any weather.

My relative was one of those slender/fit women that you saw running around DC.

Then guess what happened?

She got married, left DC, moved to the suburbs and had 3 kids.

She is now quite heavy.

Her parents are wealthy and her husband is too.

The thing is, I totally get it. In DC I really didn't have to make a huge effort to be fit. We were an almost 20 minute walk from the Red Line (my work commute), and in general I walked everywhere - grocery store, meeting friends, etc. And I had plenty of time for the gym or a leisurely 3-5 mile run apart from that. Now I'm in the suburbs, I have kids and a commute. I have to wake up at 5:30 AM in order to get a short run in a few times a week. After work I rush to get the kids fed and then, unless it's freezing or pouring, we head outside for a walk. I'm slender but I'm always tired. (What I'm not is wealthy...)

Logan Circle resident and runner here. I swear its a mafia. If you go running anytime around lunchtime or on the weekends, the rush hour traffic on the sidewalks is insane.

That's why I love it. Being surrounded by a community of people who exercise normalizes it.

I loved it too, in spite of the occasional shoulder check by a faster runner. I miss it very much. It was so motivating to see the same faces out there each day, even if we didn't ever interact outside of eye contact or a quick nod. Wish we could have been in a financial position to stay. Fitness felt easy and now it feels like a battle.

Most people leave because of the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP -- people may exercise in the burbs but as a previous poster before you said, they don't even make a 10 minute walk to the park for God's sake!

Once again you are generalizing. STOP IT.[/quote

Sometimes the truth hurts!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why Was It Easier to Be Skinny in the 1980s?

A new study finds that people today who eat and exercise the same amount as people 20 years ago are still fatter...

Something is definitely up with our food supply.

I watch my diet pretty stringently here in the States -- no grain, no starch, no sugar -- because otherwise I'd be thirty pounds heavier.

And then I go to Europe on holiday and eat ALLL the grains, starch, and sugar -- sometimes while on road trips, so no walking or real exercise -- and I come back a couple of pounds lighter.

I don't know what, exactly, but there's something very, very bad in our food supply.

I posted a few pages back about taking a trip to the french countryside and eating cheese, croissants, and wine for 3 weeks and coming back lighter. It's so, so unfair and makes me truly furious that I (and probably my kids, in 20 years) will try so hard to eat healthy and do everything right and I'm still carrying an extra 10 pounds, but if we literally just lived in Europe I'd not only lose the 10lb I need to lose but if I tried to eat as healthy as I do here, I'd be SKINNY! I have a French friend who moved here and immediately gained 20lb, in her first 2 years here. She blamed it on not walking as much. But we still live in a city and she walks plenty. She laments how she used to have croissant for breakfast with her coffee and now she'd never dare. It's truly infuriating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why Was It Easier to Be Skinny in the 1980s?

A new study finds that people today who eat and exercise the same amount as people 20 years ago are still fatter...

Something is definitely up with our food supply.

I watch my diet pretty stringently here in the States -- no grain, no starch, no sugar -- because otherwise I'd be thirty pounds heavier.

And then I go to Europe on holiday and eat ALLL the grains, starch, and sugar -- sometimes while on road trips, so no walking or real exercise -- and I come back a couple of pounds lighter.

I don't know what, exactly, but there's something very, very bad in our food supply.

I posted a few pages back about taking a trip to the french countryside and eating cheese, croissants, and wine for 3 weeks and coming back lighter. It's so, so unfair and makes me truly furious that I (and probably my kids, in 20 years) will try so hard to eat healthy and do everything right and I'm still carrying an extra 10 pounds, but if we literally just lived in Europe I'd not only lose the 10lb I need to lose but if I tried to eat as healthy as I do here, I'd be SKINNY! I have a French friend who moved here and immediately gained 20lb, in her first 2 years here. She blamed it on not walking as much. But we still live in a city and she walks plenty. She laments how she used to have croissant for breakfast with her coffee and now she'd never dare. It's truly infuriating.

DP. I hate reading these stories. We're poisoning ourselves, poisoning our children. It's awful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why Was It Easier to Be Skinny in the 1980s?

A new study finds that people today who eat and exercise the same amount as people 20 years ago are still fatter...

Something is definitely up with our food supply.

I watch my diet pretty stringently here in the States -- no grain, no starch, no sugar -- because otherwise I'd be thirty pounds heavier.

And then I go to Europe on holiday and eat ALLL the grains, starch, and sugar -- sometimes while on road trips, so no walking or real exercise -- and I come back a couple of pounds lighter.

I don't know what, exactly, but there's something very, very bad in our food supply.

Funny you mentioned that. But the British negotiations for Brexit alliances are ongoing and their farmers are raising a stink about accepting U.S. standards for food production.

Normally I'd tell them to suck it - but maybe its more than just 'chlorinated washes' that they're worried about.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9733299/britain-must-accept-chlorinated-chicken-us-trade-deal/

Obesity is skyrocketing in the UK and across much of the EU too. Britiah women are definitely on the heavier side. Its booming among Spanish and Greek kids. Obesity is also skyrocketing in Australia, in India, in the Middle East. So something other than American raised food is clearly at play here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was wondering just the opposite OP. I live in Georgetown, and I see so many fit young women going to Soul Cycle, yoga, etc. that I don't think girls/young ladies every looked this great. Maybe it's an urban vs. suburban thing.

I had the same experience at my neighborhood pool in NE DC this weekend. Most all of the younger people were slim/fit and attractive and every time I turned around more were coming! I'm usually with my kids and don't pay attention to what's happening on the adult side of the pool.

Give them a few years and see what happens.

Insert a tracking device on them and look them up 2-3 years from now.

This was my experience living in DC. We were in Logan Circle and everyone around us was very slender/fit. Moved to MoCo burbs a few years when we had kids and I'm BY FAR the thinnest person here. And I'm 5'3" and 115, not a stick. People aren't obese or anything, but most carry 15-20 extra lbs.

I think the weight gain happens in large part because people drive everywhere as opposed to walking. There's a nice playground within a 10 minute walk of our house. Everyone around us drives there instead of walking. I'm also out walking daily, pushing a stroller all over the neighborhood (two small kids) - rarely do I run into other moms doing the same. I am a runner and rarely see others out running in my neighborhood. In Logan Circle I never failed to see other runners even very early in the morning, in any weather.

My relative was one of those slender/fit women that you saw running around DC.

Then guess what happened?

She got married, left DC, moved to the suburbs and had 3 kids.

She is now quite heavy.

Her parents are wealthy and her husband is too.

The thing is, I totally get it. In DC I really didn't have to make a huge effort to be fit. We were an almost 20 minute walk from the Red Line (my work commute), and in general I walked everywhere - grocery store, meeting friends, etc. And I had plenty of time for the gym or a leisurely 3-5 mile run apart from that. Now I'm in the suburbs, I have kids and a commute. I have to wake up at 5:30 AM in order to get a short run in a few times a week. After work I rush to get the kids fed and then, unless it's freezing or pouring, we head outside for a walk. I'm slender but I'm always tired. (What I'm not is wealthy...)

Logan Circle resident and runner here. I swear its a mafia. If you go running anytime around lunchtime or on the weekends, the rush hour traffic on the sidewalks is insane.

That's why I love it. Being surrounded by a community of people who exercise normalizes it.

Stop generalizing.

People exercise in the suburbs too.

Of course. But they typically aren’t exercising simply by daily living. That’s the point. I also believe that by having to run errands on foot you have to stay fit. Being overweight in a city is harder than in the suburbs. You can’t just drive from point A to point B and hide in your car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP -- people may exercise in the burbs but as a previous poster before you said, they don't even make a 10 minute walk to the park for God's sake!

What are you talking about? I live in the suburbs. I ride my peloton daily. My husband runs three marathons a year. Our neighborhood is literally swarming with runners every morning and evening.