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:Look I understand a little weight gain at 41, 42 or 43 or even at 31, 32 or 33.

But at 21? 22? 23?

Early to mid 20s are supposed to be one's one prime pencil thin swimsuit worthy years.

Let’s see you. Post a pic. Post 2. One at 22 and 1 now.

I was heavier at 22... mac and cheese does that to a person. Once I got a job and could work out again and buy veggies I lost weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

But suburbanites have more time and opportunity to enjoy the outdoors once they are home. more.cooking at home and fresher air. Their kids are outside playing and so are they.

Also, mental health in the burbs is much better than in urban areas.

LOL that's actually the opposite of what happens. Most suburbanites are commuting 45 minutes - 1.5 hours in this area to get home. That's 2-3 hours of your day you don't get back and you certainly can't use to workout, walk, go outdoors etc.

Most people are desperate to move closer in BECAUSE they get that time back. I know walking to work in under 10 minutes makes me the envy of my co-workers who take a train in from Springfield, VA every morning (especially post-DST when they have to get up before dawn to trek in).

Those of us out in the suburbs have a ton more yard work than you do. I do my own house and yard work and, believe me, it is a much more grueling workout than a 10 minute walk down a sidewalk....and I also take a daily walk but that's beside the point.

You do an hour of yardwork daily?

Because I live in a city and do about an hour of walking to/from work.

If everyone is getting so much exercise in the burbs to counter the car commute than why are so many people who live in the burbs fat??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Perhaps but it is pretty clear that we lead the civilized world in obesity so whatever epidemic is spreading across the globe, it started here. I travel extensively outside of this country and nowhere (other than GB) do you see the tremendous amounts of obesity that you see in the US....it is actually quite startling.

Mexicans are actually the fattest. You also need to spend time in the Gulf states (UAE, Qatar, Saudi, Kuwait) to see the prevalence of obesity. It's mushrooming among well off Indians. So it's just a question of people catching up to the Americans.

As an experienced traveler I've noticed that where we go in a specific country distorts our perspectives of that country. An European coming solely to NYC and San Francisco will have a very different impression of America than someone who travelled to the midwest and suburban Texas. Most American travelers aren't going to suburban England or suburban Germany, which have plenty of heavy people, they are mostly going to urban areas, select small towns and mountains/beaches, which, when you get down to it, is not that different from comparable places in the United States.

Having said that, Americans on the whole are definitely heavier. But the point remains that other countries are also getting heavy too.

Yes, this. As someone with family in Central Europe - a rural part of it, no less - they are just as chubby as their American middle class counterparts. A lot of the middle aged women are probably around a size 14/16, which I think is typical for the US as well. The men have rounded bellies too.

[Anonymous]

Serious question here (forgive me, but my family is from a place where we don't have a Starbucks and everyone drinks farmer's style coffee which is weak hot brewed coffee, no espresso drinks and no iced coffee, so I never developed a taste for anything else).


Do that many people drink the "frappucinos" or other 6 dollar drinks at starbucks? And do teens actually go there? I feel like as a teen there were a million other things I would have rather spent my money on.

[Anonymous]

I'm 47, and I remember that women my age often had the "puppy fat" in their late teens and early 20's. I think some of them gained the freshman 15 and it took a few years to lose, especially with the partying that a lot of us did in our 20's. I think that's the case for some of the chubby 20-somethings now.

that said, when I see the millennials and Gen-Zers walking around very slowly with their faces buried in their phones, or spending half their gym time staring at their phones, or using scooters instead of walking, I do worry that they are going to be fatter than the generations that came before them. I'm hoping that their more walkable housing choices will help combat that. It gets harder to lose weight as you get older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Perhaps but it is pretty clear that we lead the civilized world in obesity so whatever epidemic is spreading across the globe, it started here. I travel extensively outside of this country and nowhere (other than GB) do you see the tremendous amounts of obesity that you see in the US....it is actually quite startling.

Mexicans are actually the fattest. You also need to spend time in the Gulf states (UAE, Qatar, Saudi, Kuwait) to see the prevalence of obesity. It's mushrooming among well off Indians. So it's just a question of people catching up to the Americans.

As an experienced traveler I've noticed that where we go in a specific country distorts our perspectives of that country. An European coming solely to NYC and San Francisco will have a very different impression of America than someone who travelled to the midwest and suburban Texas. Most American travelers aren't going to suburban England or suburban Germany, which have plenty of heavy people, they are mostly going to urban areas, select small towns and mountains/beaches, which, when you get down to it, is not that different from comparable places in the United States.

Having said that, Americans on the whole are definitely heavier. But the point remains that other countries are also getting heavy too.

Yes, this. As someone with family in Central Europe - a rural part of it, no less - they are just as chubby as their American middle class counterparts. A lot of the middle aged women are probably around a size 14/16, which I think is typical for the US as well. The men have rounded bellies too.

I was just going to say this--I have family in rural France (in a place where tourists don't go) and they are bigger and broader than their Parisian counterparts. Same thing with rural brits vs. their London counterparts.

[Anonymous]

The convenience lifestyle of Uber and electronic/screen everything. Starbucks and giant portions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The convenience lifestyle of Uber and electronic/screen everything. Starbucks and giant portions.

I am Millennial with this lifestyle I eat 1/2 the portions and am ok

[Anonymous]

Consider the rampant sex abuse of girls. This easily results in overeating. Just ask any experienced therapist.

[Anonymous]

Abs are made in the kitchen

[Anonymous]

Is Starbucks really to blame? How many teens actually drink the full=fat drinks at starbucks more than once a week?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

But suburbanites have more time and opportunity to enjoy the outdoors once they are home. more.cooking at home and fresher air. Their kids are outside playing and so are they.

Also, mental health in the burbs is much better than in urban areas.

LOL that's actually the opposite of what happens. Most suburbanites are commuting 45 minutes - 1.5 hours in this area to get home. That's 2-3 hours of your day you don't get back and you certainly can't use to workout, walk, go outdoors etc.

Most people are desperate to move closer in BECAUSE they get that time back. I know walking to work in under 10 minutes makes me the envy of my co-workers who take a train in from Springfield, VA every morning (especially post-DST when they have to get up before dawn to trek in).

Those of us out in the suburbs have a ton more yard work than you do. I do my own house and yard work and, believe me, it is a much more grueling workout than a 10 minute walk down a sidewalk....and I also take a daily walk but that's beside the point.

You do an hour of yardwork daily?

Because I live in a city and do about an hour of walking to/from work.

If everyone is getting so much exercise in the burbs to counter the car commute than why are so many people who live in the burbs fat??

I have two acres so there is always something that needs doing - mowing, weeding, trimming, mulching, dead heading, planting, shoveling, etc. Always.

If it's not yard work, then it's a project of some sort - designing a fire pit with seating for instance or reorganizing the garage. Oh, and that doesn't include all the housework I do. Plus I take a daily 40 minute power walk. Walking 30 minutes to/from work would be easy by comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

But suburbanites have more time and opportunity to enjoy the outdoors once they are home. more.cooking at home and fresher air. Their kids are outside playing and so are they.

Also, mental health in the burbs is much better than in urban areas.

LOL that's actually the opposite of what happens. Most suburbanites are commuting 45 minutes - 1.5 hours in this area to get home. That's 2-3 hours of your day you don't get back and you certainly can't use to workout, walk, go outdoors etc.

Most people are desperate to move closer in BECAUSE they get that time back. I know walking to work in under 10 minutes makes me the envy of my co-workers who take a train in from Springfield, VA every morning (especially post-DST when they have to get up before dawn to trek in).

Those of us out in the suburbs have a ton more yard work than you do. I do my own house and yard work and, believe me, it is a much more grueling workout than a 10 minute walk down a sidewalk....and I also take a daily walk but that's beside the point.

You do an hour of yardwork daily?

Because I live in a city and do about an hour of walking to/from work.

If everyone is getting so much exercise in the burbs to counter the car commute than why are so many people who live in the burbs fat??

I have two acres so there is always something that needs doing - mowing, weeding, trimming, mulching, dead heading, planting, shoveling, etc. Always.

If it's not yard work, then it's a project of some sort - designing a fire pit with seating for instance or reorganizing the garage. Oh, and that doesn't include all the housework I do. Plus I take a daily 40 minute power walk. Walking 30 minutes to/from work would be easy by comparison.

HAHA, city girl admits it's 30 minutes to get to work. She doesn't count sitting in the metro as not walking.

Also walking for work is not nearly the same as coming home getting workout clothes on and going for a real walk.

If you compare SES, burbs are not fatter.

[Anonymous]

I recently spent a number of years in an Eastern European capital. Young women there used to be thin and many still are, but the current generation of young women are different from their mothers and older sisters because they are now drinking as much as the men. And people drink HARD there. And smoke, and drug use is high. And fast food is now freely available. Obesity is spreading, and there are plenty of unhealthy looking young women. The previous poster who talked about how young American women don't look "fresh" compared to Russian women hasn't been home recently, I don't think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Starbucks really to blame? How many teens actually drink the full=fat drinks at starbucks more than once a week?

Of course not the sole blame. But I can't count the number of times I have seen fat kids waddling behind thin parents while sucking on one of these.