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

[Anonymous]

You sound really mean OP.

[Anonymous]

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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.

Do you work?!? Because with all of the housework and yardwork you’re describing it seems like you don’t. If I lived in the burbs and didn’t work I can see how I could maybe make time daily for exercise and get exercise through normal housework

But I have a job and prefer to have a job. This involves getting to the job. I don’t have time for crazy amounts of yard and housework nor do I have interest in that. I much prefer to get exercise through errands and getting to/from work. I would be heavier if I had to commute via car because I’d have to try to fit in exercise AFTER my car commute.

Of course people work and do housework and yardwork. So sad! What type of job do you have that you have not time at home. Are you young and have no seniority at work?

YOu sound like you wake, walk, work, walk and then do nothing with your life. That sounds like a sad life.

You gotta love someone who lives in the burbs bragging about all of the yardwork and house cleaning they do! Hilarious.

If your kitchen is too small to cook and you eat out all the time... you can't cook or clean. Imagine bragging about having to leave your house every time you need coffee or food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see so many overweight kids, too! That used to be rare. I honk parents are feeding their kids prepared and restaurant food because of insane sports commitments and two-parent working families. There is also a huge body positive movement that celebrates all bodies. That sounds like a great thing but I think it has gone a bit awry as the health
piece has faded.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was a thread just like this a week or so ago. OP, worry about yourself and stop fat shaming young women.

[Anonymous]

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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.

Because they think they have to eat everything that's available.


I also think YOU are trying to start some shit. Let them eat and fatten themselves. It's really not your business.

I'm not sure why people are so triggered by these threads. Slightly reducing the strong explicit cultural expectation to be thin has resulted in ... people being fat. And we're shocked, shocked I tell you.

Meh. Reducing the strong explicit cultural expectation to be thin has also reduced the smoking rate. Ballerinas and models still smoke like fiends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Because they think they have to eat everything that's available.


I also think YOU are trying to start some shit. Let them eat and fatten themselves. It's really not your business.

I'm not sure why people are so triggered by these threads. Slightly reducing the strong explicit cultural expectation to be thin has resulted in ... people being fat. And we're shocked, shocked I tell you.

Meh. Reducing the strong explicit cultural expectation to be thin has also reduced the smoking rate. Ballerinas and models still smoke like fiends.

I think the rampant obesity will lead to far greater instances of diabetes and a while host of related ailments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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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.

Because they think they have to eat everything that's available.


I also think YOU are trying to start some shit. Let them eat and fatten themselves. It's really not your business.

I'm not sure why people are so triggered by these threads. Slightly reducing the strong explicit cultural expectation to be thin has resulted in ... people being fat. And we're shocked, shocked I tell you.

Meh. Reducing the strong explicit cultural expectation to be thin has also reduced the smoking rate. Ballerinas and models still smoke like fiends.

I think the rampant obesity will lead to far greater instances of diabetes and a while host of related ailments.

So you pick. Push people to be thin and they will smoke, purge and pop pills. But don't imagine that a generation ago people ago were paragons of healthy living just because they weren't as fat as now.

[Anonymous]

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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.

Because they think they have to eat everything that's available.


I also think YOU are trying to start some shit. Let them eat and fatten themselves. It's really not your business.

I'm not sure why people are so triggered by these threads. Slightly reducing the strong explicit cultural expectation to be thin has resulted in ... people being fat. And we're shocked, shocked I tell you.

Meh. Reducing the strong explicit cultural expectation to be thin has also reduced the smoking rate. Ballerinas and models still smoke like fiends.

I think the rampant obesity will lead to far greater instances of diabetes and a while host of related ailments.

Rampant overweight or obesity? I never heard back about a PP's understanding of the n=100,000+ Danish study and various ages.

I myself am trying to stay well in the normal range, not overweight or obese. But that's about vanity, for me.

[Anonymous]

Look at the Woodstock videos and pictures. Most of the people were skinny to average weight back then.

We have a big problem today, denying isn't the solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Because they think they have to eat everything that's available.


I also think YOU are trying to start some shit. Let them eat and fatten themselves. It's really not your business.

I'm not sure why people are so triggered by these threads. Slightly reducing the strong explicit cultural expectation to be thin has resulted in ... people being fat. And we're shocked, shocked I tell you.

Meh. Reducing the strong explicit cultural expectation to be thin has also reduced the smoking rate. Ballerinas and models still smoke like fiends.

I think the rampant obesity will lead to far greater instances of diabetes and a while host of related ailments.

Rampant overweight or obesity? I never heard back about a PP's understanding of the n=100,000+ Danish study and various ages.

I myself am trying to stay well in the normal range, not overweight or obese. But that's about vanity, for me.

Look at all the other studies too. And then look at current and projected demographics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at the Woodstock videos and pictures. Most of the people were skinny to average weight back then.

We have a big problem today, denying isn't the solution.

It's all we've got.

[Anonymous]

When I was a teen and in college, the whole heroin/way too thin look was in and it was atrocious. I feel like this generation is more into fitness, at least in urban areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I was a teen and in college, the whole heroin/way too thin look was in and it was atrocious. I feel like this generation is more into fitness, at least in urban areas.

This generation is much more all or nothing. You have the gym fiends who also eat healthy and then you have people who are the exact opposite of overweight to obese. Very little middle ground.

[Anonymous]

The answer is simple. They attend the University of Obesity - McDonald’s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was a teen and in college, the whole heroin/way too thin look was in and it was atrocious. I feel like this generation is more into fitness, at least in urban areas.

This generation is much more all or nothing. You have the gym fiends who also eat healthy and then you have people who are the exact opposite of overweight to obese. Very little middle ground.

That...isn’t my experience at all. Pretty much everyone I know works a demanding job, so there’s no time to be a fitness junkie, but they still try and eat healthy and stay active. I know very few people who are fitness addicts or who are obese.