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

[Anonymous]

Too much processed food.

Kids & parents are so busy that dinners are eaten in the car and consist of all processed foods.

I teach dance and it is not at all uncommon to see girls coming in with bags of fast food, venti Starbucks drinks with whip, and other processed crap as their dinners.

Their parents don't have time to shuttle them and their siblings from their 3 after school activities and cook dinner.

I just don't see the point in paying for your kid to play a sport if you have to drop him off 45 mins. early to each practice with a bag of fast food so that you can make it across town to drop off two other kids.

But kids need to start building those resumes early to have that edge in getting into a good college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yikes, ladies. Eat a burger and skip the 4 am workout. You might feel a little better about your life. The younger generation doesn’t value the skinny boy look as much as you do. So what. We’re all going to die someday.

You can eat a burger and still not be overweight. I eat bread, sugar etc (in moderation), but also run, do yoga, and walk everywhere. I’m not fat, because I’m active and eating isn’t a diversion or a hobby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, your "question" reeks of misogyny. You don't ask the same about young men, even though there are similarities. Go troll elsewhere.

I'm sure OP is a real prize too..The picture of perfection.

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is always the simple one.

They eat and drink more while living a more sedentary lifestyle.

It's not the decline of smoking. If it were smoking then why are American women fatter than their 19th century equivalents when it was seriously frowned upon for women to smoke. It's just eating more and not exercising while living a sedentary lifestyle. And now a culture has emerged where being fat is acceptable, so people become lazy about their weight. The exception is among the upper middle and upper classes, where there still exists strong cultural pressures not to be overweight and to eat healthily.

I have a 7 figure earning relative (she receives yearly bonuses at her job) who is FAT FAT FAT.

Nothing wrong with that though because she is in her 40s.

And your point is? Just because you know an exception only means that you know an exception. Upper and upper middle class America is still very fit and healthy, far more so compared to the general population. It's bleedin' obvious.

All you need to do is to compare the girls at, say, Holton Arms or NCS or the W schools and compare to middle income schools. Compare the women in Bethesda and Arlington to, say, Carroll County. Compare NW DC to Anacostia. And repeat across the country. Then go to the collegea. Compare young women at the Ivies with the typical regional state universities. Then go to cities like DC or NYC or most popular urban areas and see all the fit young women going to yoga classes from their consulting jobs.

It's very much a class thing these days.

For all the excuses on this thread, women are fatter these days because they eat a lot more and don't exercise enough. Its not the fake chemicals or GMOs some are alleging. It's the big portions, the high calorie Starbucks drinks, the junk food, both fancy and low end. It all comes down to quantity and calories. Its exacerbated by the decline or body shaming and growth in cultural acceptance - with the notable exception of the educated upper middle and upper classes, who still strongly link bodily health with virtues and morals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yikes, ladies. Eat a burger and skip the 4 am workout. You might feel a little better about your life. The younger generation doesn’t value the skinny boy look as much as you do. So what. We’re all going to die someday.

You can eat a burger and still not be overweight. I eat bread, sugar etc (in moderation), but also run, do yoga, and walk everywhere. I’m not fat, because I’m active and eating isn’t a diversion or a hobby.

Same. I get in 7 miles a day and eat what I want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is always the simple one.

They eat and drink more while living a more sedentary lifestyle.

It's not the decline of smoking. If it were smoking then why are American women fatter than their 19th century equivalents when it was seriously frowned upon for women to smoke. It's just eating more and not exercising while living a sedentary lifestyle. And now a culture has emerged where being fat is acceptable, so people become lazy about their weight. The exception is among the upper middle and upper classes, where there still exists strong cultural pressures not to be overweight and to eat healthily.

I have a 7 figure earning relative (she receives yearly bonuses at her job) who is FAT FAT FAT.

Nothing wrong with that though because she is in her 40s.

And your point is? Just because you know an exception only means that you know an exception. Upper and upper middle class America is still very fit and healthy, far more so compared to the general population. It's bleedin' obvious.

All you need to do is to compare the girls at, say, Holton Arms or NCS or the W schools and compare to middle income schools. Compare the women in Bethesda and Arlington to, say, Carroll County. Compare NW DC to Anacostia. And repeat across the country. Then go to the collegea. Compare young women at the Ivies with the typical regional state universities. Then go to cities like DC or NYC or most popular urban areas and see all the fit young women going to yoga classes from their consulting jobs.

It's very much a class thing these days.

For all the excuses on this thread, women are fatter these days because they eat a lot more and don't exercise enough. Its not the fake chemicals or GMOs some are alleging. It's the big portions, the high calorie Starbucks drinks, the junk food, both fancy and low end. It all comes down to quantity and calories. Its exacerbated by the decline or body shaming and growth in cultural acceptance - with the notable exception of the educated upper middle and upper classes, who still strongly link bodily health with virtues and morals.

This isn't true either. Upper class, well educated girls and boys are larger now than they were in previous decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because sometimes we come from badly dysfunctional families and ate our feelings.

Thankfully, some of us untangle that mess at some point and lose the weight, and are in better shape at 40 than 30 or 20 or even 10, but you never know what someone else has been through.

Surely those same problems existed in previous decades when most women were not so heavy at such younger ages.

Please in previous decades we didn’t have food science cranking out prepackaged snack foods.

I grew up in the 80s and bet to differ.

We didn't have daily venti fraps, that's true.

We did have lucky charms and while milk.

[Anonymous]

I am heavier now than i was in 1989

[Anonymous]

Lack of SAHMs a big cause

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lack of SAHMs a big cause

What does that have to do with anything?

Spain has the highest SAHM population in Europe. 40% of their women don’t work. And yet 55% of the female population is still overweight and 80% of the male.



https://www.elpais.com/elpais/2019/01/10/inenglish/1547131751_501777.amp.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lack of SAHMs a big cause

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They don't value the hard work and dedication you spent on being skinny. They have other things to do.

It's healthier to be a certain range in overweight than to be underweight or, actually, normal weight. We covered this in another thread.

No. No, No!

It is not “healthier” to be overweight than a normal weight!

So delusional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Smoking alone was huge prior to the last decade or two.

Ugly blackened lungs, cancer, heart disease -- but yeah, it's an effective appetite suppressant for many, so yay? Not so much.

You are generalizing way too much.

Perhaps the PP is generalizing, but this was my mother. She was more concerned about being skinny than healthy so she never quit smoking bc when she did try, she gained weight. She died of lung cancer at 57.

I was skinny in my 20’s. I worked out 6 days a week, but I also took weight loss pills, partied and smoked. When I quit all that, my weight skyrocketed. Smoking is less prevalent these days so perhaps there is a correlation. A dysfunctional childhood can leave major imprints on people and so now their outlet is eating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Smoking alone was huge prior to the last decade or two.

Ugly blackened lungs, cancer, heart disease -- but yeah, it's an effective appetite suppressant for many, so yay? Not so much.

You are generalizing way too much.

Perhaps the PP is generalizing, but this was my mother. She was more concerned about being skinny than healthy so she never quit smoking bc when she did try, she gained weight. She died of lung cancer at 57.

I was skinny in my 20’s. I worked out 6 days a week, but I also took weight loss pills, partied and smoked. When I quit all that, my weight skyrocketed. Smoking is less prevalent these days so perhaps there is a correlation. A dysfunctional childhood can leave major imprints on people and so now their outlet is eating.

All my skinny friends smoke and drink diet coke/soda.