Young people in other countries are remarkably thinner than Americans

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know OP. Generally speaking, Americans are much fatter than other countries.

Oh European are fat also.

We're getting fatter, but nothing, I mean nothing like Americans. US obesity rate is 36.2. The fattest country in Europe is UK at 27.8. Big difference.

Is it that big of a difference, honestly? When you take into account America's car dependence, greater racial diversity (at least in terms of the races that tend to be bigger), and fast food culture, I would personally expect the difference to be greater. People get on this board and act like Europe has no fat people - the numbers tell a different story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally think the whole food chain in America is seriously broken. All of it, from the types of food we grow and how we grow it (e.g. corn-fed cows) to how it's manufactured (so much sugar, corn syrup) to how we market and sell/deliver it. I married a European and was really startled when we started visiting his family regularly and I got really see firsthand how families eat and WHAT they eat. There's so much more healthy food readily available to eat on the go (e.g. cheese sandwich on good dark bread instead of a cheeseburger at the airport or train station or park). Most European countries also have a significantly better work-life balance which provides more time and mental energy to cook at home.

It's systemic, at all levels, and yet we spend so much time in this country excoriating each other for not making "the right personal choices." Which of course plays right into the hands of the giant agribusinesses and food corporations as it prevents us not only from regulating food more rigorously here. (So, politics as usual, I suppose.)

I don't think this is the same at all as being predestined to be bigger, except in the sense that our food culture is "pre-destining" us I guess.

It is absolutely this.

Coupled with the fact that our soil is largely depleted of the microbiota that makes nutrition in food (due primarily to the massive amounts of inputs we use in corporate farming, but also global warming) https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/09/13/food-nutrients-carbon-dioxide-000511/ the number and amount of additives that are used in all foods, even “whole foods” that you wouldn’t think would have any, and that labels don’t have to list them. We have no idea what’s in our food.

+1 The problem is systemic on a level people have a hard time comprehending, so they just fall back on "close your mouth, fatty!" personal responsibility arguments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish people in this thread would stop denying that America has a weight problem. ALL of America, not just the rural areas.

The typical high school girl today would be considered fat in the 90s.

So freaking true!

My kids go to one of the $$$ k12 area schools. There aren’t a lot of heavy kids in the lower grades, but there are a sizable number of “thick” girls in upper school. When I was in (low col public) high school, I can think of a handful of girls who were chubby. It seems much more prevalent now.

This is not a upper/lower class thing. It’s accepted to be heavier today. These girls are also wearing clothes that I would be so self conscious to wear if I were their size, but they seem perfectly comfortable in short, tight clothing.

[Anonymous]

This is hard to accept, but thinner Europeans eat less, and less than you think that “eating less” really means. Americans are especially accustomed to the idea of always eating until they are full. The reality is you are not supposed to feel full all the time, you are supposed to leave room for digestion. Being full is actually really bad. When you eat, you are supposed to feel energized and at best, satisfied, like you could have a little more but realize you don’t need to. You are not supposed to feel sluggish and heavy and tired after eating.

Europeans typically only have one heavy meal (that includes meat and carbs) and two very light meals, one of which would be coffee or tea and the other, a salad.

American snacks are heavier to European light meals and that’s in addition to three heavy meals that make you feel full. This and the lack of exercise means not only being overweight, but normalizing being overweight, since three filling meals every day is “normal.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know OP. Generally speaking, Americans are much fatter than other countries.

Oh European are fat also.

We're getting fatter, but nothing, I mean nothing like Americans. US obesity rate is 36.2. The fattest country in Europe is UK at 27.8. Big difference.

Is it that big of a difference, honestly? When you take into account America's car dependence, greater racial diversity (at least in terms of the races that tend to be bigger), and fast food culture, I would personally expect the difference to be greater. People get on this board and act like Europe has no fat people - the numbers tell a different story.

Perhaps…

But Europeans are less likely to think being fat is acceptable. They will call our their kids if they are overeating/putting on too much weight. As where in US, parents are afraid of giving their kids eating disorders so they don’t say say anything. Or they are fat themselves so it is acceptable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't necessarily a comment on obesity, so much as an observation of different body types among young and young-ish (let's say, people under 30 or women under 35 who haven't given birth) people in the USA versus Europe.

I am a normal weight, athletic American. Most people around here would describe me as on the thin side of normal, but with a booty. I usually wear a size 4.

I spent three years living in various countries abroad, and at the time (I was in my early 20s) I had to fight off some nagging body image issues due to how thin everyone was. Again, it's not the lack of obesity - there were plenty of overweight and obese people, especially older women and middle-aged men. Most young women were probably 50kg or less. They didn't work out like crazy like I do, they just ate less. Portions are smaller and having three square meals + snacks just isn't really a thing. This isn't to say they didn't indulge on occasions, especially parties and holidays, but if we were just having lunch during a normal day, usually a coffee and a piece of fruit would be enough. It wasn't even like there was a diet culture, other women just said they weren't hungry and were just used to eating less. They certainly walk more than most Americans, but weren't gym crazy or into running like me.

I tried to reassure myself that my body was probably healthier, being more active and athletic and getting sick less (a lot of these women would often fall ill with colds and need to stay home for several days), but it was hard not to envy how elegant and feminine their thin bodies were and I felt chunky and androgynous by comparison.

I wonder how much Americans are just predestined to be bigger - even those that eat healthy and exercise. Like if all the chemicals and toxins in our food have genetically altered Americans in some way.

Also worth mentioning is how there was not a single overweight child... I found it so remarkable how active European children are, like it was the good-old days or something before screen time. During school recess, for example, everyone was playing an active game of soccer. Children actively PLAYED whenever there was time outdoors, supervised or not. They were not just standing with snacks and talking or looking at their phones and tablets.

I kinda doubt that.

Yeah 110lbs is pretty small for Europe. I'm petite and 5'1 and weigh that. Taller women would have trouble weighing that. Maybe in Asia it would be a normal size. Fun fact- I wear size Large in Chinese sizes! I'm an XS in the US

I am 5”5 115 pounds French woman living in the us. Back when I was in France I was 105. Here I am seen as thin, when I go back to Paris I am struck by how much thinner my friends stayed. 50 and under for friends my size, absolutely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't necessarily a comment on obesity, so much as an observation of different body types among young and young-ish (let's say, people under 30 or women under 35 who haven't given birth) people in the USA versus Europe.

I am a normal weight, athletic American. Most people around here would describe me as on the thin side of normal, but with a booty. I usually wear a size 4.

I spent three years living in various countries abroad, and at the time (I was in my early 20s) I had to fight off some nagging body image issues due to how thin everyone was. Again, it's not the lack of obesity - there were plenty of overweight and obese people, especially older women and middle-aged men. Most young women were probably 50kg or less. They didn't work out like crazy like I do, they just ate less. Portions are smaller and having three square meals + snacks just isn't really a thing. This isn't to say they didn't indulge on occasions, especially parties and holidays, but if we were just having lunch during a normal day, usually a coffee and a piece of fruit would be enough. It wasn't even like there was a diet culture, other women just said they weren't hungry and were just used to eating less. They certainly walk more than most Americans, but weren't gym crazy or into running like me.

I tried to reassure myself that my body was probably healthier, being more active and athletic and getting sick less (a lot of these women would often fall ill with colds and need to stay home for several days), but it was hard not to envy how elegant and feminine their thin bodies were and I felt chunky and androgynous by comparison.

I wonder how much Americans are just predestined to be bigger - even those that eat healthy and exercise. Like if all the chemicals and toxins in our food have genetically altered Americans in some way.

Also worth mentioning is how there was not a single overweight child... I found it so remarkable how active European children are, like it was the good-old days or something before screen time. During school recess, for example, everyone was playing an active game of soccer. Children actively PLAYED whenever there was time outdoors, supervised or not. They were not just standing with snacks and talking or looking at their phones and tablets.

I kinda doubt that.

Yeah 110lbs is pretty small for Europe. I'm petite and 5'1 and weigh that. Taller women would have trouble weighing that. Maybe in Asia it would be a normal size. Fun fact- I wear size Large in Chinese sizes! I'm an XS in the US

I am 5”5 115 pounds French woman living in the us. Back when I was in France I was 105. Here I am seen as thin, when I go back to Paris I am struck by how much thinner my friends stayed. 50 and under for friends my size, absolutely.

How many of your friends’ meals consist of just cigarettes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't necessarily a comment on obesity, so much as an observation of different body types among young and young-ish (let's say, people under 30 or women under 35 who haven't given birth) people in the USA versus Europe.

I am a normal weight, athletic American. Most people around here would describe me as on the thin side of normal, but with a booty. I usually wear a size 4.

I spent three years living in various countries abroad, and at the time (I was in my early 20s) I had to fight off some nagging body image issues due to how thin everyone was. Again, it's not the lack of obesity - there were plenty of overweight and obese people, especially older women and middle-aged men. Most young women were probably 50kg or less. They didn't work out like crazy like I do, they just ate less. Portions are smaller and having three square meals + snacks just isn't really a thing. This isn't to say they didn't indulge on occasions, especially parties and holidays, but if we were just having lunch during a normal day, usually a coffee and a piece of fruit would be enough. It wasn't even like there was a diet culture, other women just said they weren't hungry and were just used to eating less. They certainly walk more than most Americans, but weren't gym crazy or into running like me.

I tried to reassure myself that my body was probably healthier, being more active and athletic and getting sick less (a lot of these women would often fall ill with colds and need to stay home for several days), but it was hard not to envy how elegant and feminine their thin bodies were and I felt chunky and androgynous by comparison.

I wonder how much Americans are just predestined to be bigger - even those that eat healthy and exercise. Like if all the chemicals and toxins in our food have genetically altered Americans in some way.

Also worth mentioning is how there was not a single overweight child... I found it so remarkable how active European children are, like it was the good-old days or something before screen time. During school recess, for example, everyone was playing an active game of soccer. Children actively PLAYED whenever there was time outdoors, supervised or not. They were not just standing with snacks and talking or looking at their phones and tablets.

I kinda doubt that.

Yeah 110lbs is pretty small for Europe. I'm petite and 5'1 and weigh that. Taller women would have trouble weighing that. Maybe in Asia it would be a normal size. Fun fact- I wear size Large in Chinese sizes! I'm an XS in the US

I am 5”5 115 pounds French woman living in the us. Back when I was in France I was 105. Here I am seen as thin, when I go back to Paris I am struck by how much thinner my friends stayed. 50 and under for friends my size, absolutely.

How many of your friends’ meals consist of just cigarettes?

Don’t be crazy. No one subsides on just cigarettes. Cigarettes and vodka tonic, absolutely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know OP. Generally speaking, Americans are much fatter than other countries.

Oh European are fat also.

We're getting fatter, but nothing, I mean nothing like Americans. US obesity rate is 36.2. The fattest country in Europe is UK at 27.8. Big difference.

Is it that big of a difference, honestly? When you take into account America's car dependence, greater racial diversity (at least in terms of the races that tend to be bigger), and fast food culture, I would personally expect the difference to be greater. People get on this board and act like Europe has no fat people - the numbers tell a different story.

It is - 26% difference. And this is just adult obesity, the child obesity is even worse. From all the large, developed countries, we have the 2nd highest child obesity rate and youth-onset type 2 diabetes rate in the entire world, after China. These children will not make it to 50 years old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The last time I went to Japan I weighed 110 pounds and I had to buy size LL (large large) in pants. I am now closer to 130 after kids and I am dreading going there next year! The secret is tiny portions. The small US Starbucks cup is the same as the large in Japan

Same. Was American small but Japanese large. Shopping was a nightmare— a sales assistant literally had to find the large sizes in the back a few times. And I was about 120 lb.

But people are short there. It's one thing to be 120 lbs at 5 ft tall vs 5'7.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The secret is that you are only looking at rich people in the most expensive cities, and you are thinking that those people represent a whole country. They don't!

If you went to the most expensive parts of NYC you'd also find a lot of very thin people, guys. Are you traveling to the European equivalent of Union, New Jersey, to see what people there are built like? I am going to guess not.

+1. I lived and worked in Germany for a few years, but in a small, rural community. We had lots of larger people. My village had its own bakery and butcher. I’d see the old woman walking in the morning to get bread and many were fat. My late 20s hair stylist was chubby. People eat at these festivals, and not a vegetable could be found. It was always some form of pork wrapped in bread.

I didn’t see many fat kids mostly because they don’t have many kids. My son was in a German hospital for two weeks. The place was big with 20-30 pediatric overnight rooms. We never saw more than 2 other kids there the entire time.

Men were definitely thinner, but they wear tighter pants and don’t generally lift weights.

I’m a bigger woman 5’5” 165lbs. HHI $350K. It is more acceptable and normal to be my size. People in the past seemed to have to apologize for their weight. I wear what I want and do what I want. My size doesn’t hold me back like it may have in the past.

Surely not. I was told by a very confident person that Europeans - yes, all Europeans - eat a single piece of fruit for lunch, if anything at all. Perhaps an open faced sandwich with just one slice of bread and on that perhaps just a couple of slices of cucumber.

I'm Romanian and we only eat dinner. Black coffee in the morning and skip lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes it's awful, if you look at Instagram fat Americans are encouraged where as in Europe it's still thin it's in. We need more fat shame

Oh, didn’t realize you’re a 13-year-old girl. Go outside and play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Body acceptance movement is unhealthy and gross. Get healthy!

No one cares about your ignorant opinion.

(and my BMI is normal, so don’t bother with your predictable childish retort)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it just me or have "OMG Americans are so FAT" threads replaced the "but really how do I look like old money?" threads?

I didn't think I'd miss the "sigh, I wish I'd been born a WASP but I'm determined to pass for one" yesteryears but here we are.

Agreed. So many hateful people here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Body acceptance movement is unhealthy and gross. Get healthy!

No one cares about your ignorant opinion.

(and my BMI is normal, so don’t bother with your predictable childish retort)

Um...I care.