# Fat America **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 12, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914 "2011-12-12T15:36:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/81 "2011-12-13T13:33:21Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > Exactly. The fatter the general population gets, the more fat people convince themselves that they are of a normal weight. > > \ > > As far as I am concerned, people can be any weight they want to be, but please stop with the denial regarding how fat you are. I find that this creates sort of a trickle-down denial as well. People who are of height-weight proportion suddenly seem to be stick figures and I think those people (of which I am one) are at risk for thinking they have more leeway than they do. _Hey, I wear a size 2 or 4; I must be pretty thin and a few pounds won’t make that much difference_. The reality, on the other hand, is that I have about a 5-pound margin before I become overweight. I know enough about what I want for myself and what I am comfortable with to ignore the whole “Hey, doing better than the average American” aspect of it and keep my weight where I want it, but not everyone has those same priorities. > [@overlyverbose](#): > > Perhaps that’s true, but it’s hard to make 5 pounds of carrots taste as good as an 18-ounce bag of Doritos. There are also a hell of a lot of people who a) don’t know how to make healthy food taste good or b) assume that because there’s a vegetable in the pot with the bacon fat, it’s healthy. > > \ > > I don’t think it’s that these people lack intelligence, but certainly information and decent food and the means to make said food tasty. Based on my work with homeless families, I also think that part of the rationale behind fast food is that it’s a relatively low-cost way to provide a treat for the family that makes being poor sting less. I remember working with one family who consistently ran out of food towards the end of the month, but when they could afford it, they got some coupons for KFC and bought the Family Feast or whatever it was called. Yes, that $12.99 (pulling that figure out of the air) would have served them much better if they saved it up, but the instant gratification of both tasty food and happy kids won out over the long-term goals. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/82 "2011-12-13T13:47:27Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > How do they keep people from swiping the scoters? Or if I took my chair, and wanted to go on a ride, what would keep someone else from swiping my not overly expensive travel chair [I think that the insurance company paid around $700 for it, it is a fairly basic invacare, solid, heavy and better than putting my fairly expensive custom chair in the hold of an airplane for the gorillas to play with while we fly…] I’m not sure about your first question, but they’re probably well labeled and the staff at the exit areas keeps an eye out for them. Also they do take info from you when you rent (look at ID, etc(. As to your own chair, it’s behind a fenced off area in the separate line area, and away from the general public. There aren’t usually too many chair riders on any given ride at any specific time, so you may only have one or two people go by that area while you’re on the ride. At least that’s my memory of it. It’s been a while. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/83 "2011-12-13T13:55:18Z")
Another thing I’ve noticed in recent years is more of the extra-wide wheelchairs at airports. Btw, the obesity levels around the world… is there a chance that, say, Scotland has more people with a BMI of 30, but the US has more with BMIs greatly higher than that? So while they’d technically have a “higher rate of obesity” we’d still be the fatter country? ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/84 "2011-12-13T13:58:16Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > Btw, the obesity levels around the world… is there a chance that, say, Scotland has more people with a BMI of 30, but the US has more with BMIs greatly higher than that? So while they’d technically have a “higher rate of obesity” we’d still be the fatter country? We will not be outdone!! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/85 "2011-12-13T14:35:06Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Two things. First, while I defer to the stress level, is it really cheaper to serve a family fake food than real? Next, you think there are fat people at Disney World? Try the Mall of America. Nothing will make you want to put a bullet in your head more enthusiastically. Why does seeing a lot of fat people at the mall make you want to shoot yourself in the head? I realize you’re being metaphorical but…is seeing a bunch of fat people in one place the worst thing that can ever happen in your life? I can see it maybe making you want to shake your head or point and laugh but…really? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/86 "2011-12-13T14:35:20Z")
> [@Elret](#): > > Food Basics in Ontario. They frequently sell huge bags of carrots, beets, potatoes and apples for $1 - $2. > > I know the ability to eat healthy is more complicated than simply buying a big bag of cheap carrots, but I just always find it puzzling to hear the argument that it’s too expensive to eat healthy foods when I actually find it to be the opposite. Like anything else, it’s an excuse perpetrated by the fat-apologists. The cold, hard reality is that most fat people actively shun healthy foods. Given a choice, most fat people will choose a half-pound bacon cheeseburger & large fries over a grilled chicken salad, even if the latter was free. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/87 "2011-12-13T14:40:15Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Given a choice, most fat people will choose a half-pound bacon cheeseburger & large fries over a grilled chicken salad, even if the latter was free. I feel like that’s part of a mentality of asking themselves “Where am I already?” and “How much more harm could I do?” so they have a strong urge to just say “Fuck it” and eat what they want because hey, they’re _already_ fat. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/88 "2011-12-13T14:49:15Z")
> [@Minnie\_Luna](#): > > I may have seen one “chubby” asian person a day in China, never saw someone I would consider obese that was asian. Did see fat westerners. > > My in-laws have a house in Colorado ski country. Colorado is already one of the thinnest/fittest states (can’t remember the cite, but I read it on the internet, so it must be true) and we usually remark about how when we visit, fat people are a rarity. > > Another places I rarely see fat people: Trader Joe’s. Whole Foods, too. There’s two large institutions of higher learning in the small town where I live; Cornell University and Ithaca College. It seems like there’s fewer overweight and obese students at Cornell compared to IC. A friend has a theory that its because if students had the mental discipline it takes to be accepted into an Ivy, they’re more likely to have the discipline to control their diet and stay fit. Here in Ithaca, where the demographics are very similar to pre-gentrification Boulder, overweight people are uncommon. Two exceptions: African-American women and lesbians. Ithaca has one of the largest lesbian populations for a community its size in the United States, and pear-shaped butch women are as much a part of the landscape as vineyards, Cayuga Lake, and head shops. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/89 "2011-12-13T14:53:54Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I’m not sure about your first question, but they’re probably well labeled and the staff at the exit areas keeps an eye out for them. Also they do take info from you when you rent (look at ID, etc(. > > As to your own chair, it’s behind a fenced off area in the separate line area, and away from the general public. There aren’t usually too many chair riders on any given ride at any specific time, so you may only have one or two people go by that area while you’re on the ride. > > At least that’s my memory of it. It’s been a while. Well, hopefully if someone swiped my rentascooter there would be a bench I can sit on while someone gets me a replacement … with the joint issues, I just don’t walk more than a few feet at a time normally. With my crutches on a good day I can do about 10 minutes of walking, then my body is thrashed for the next couple days. > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Like anything else, it’s an excuse perpetrated by the fat-apologists. The cold, hard reality is that most fat people actively shun healthy foods. Given a choice, most fat people will choose a half-pound bacon cheeseburger & large fries over a grilled chicken salad, even if the latter was free. I prefer good food, as an ex chef. unfortunately the Navy doctors decided that I was the typical navy wife looking for attention and pretty much refused to diagnose and treat me in the 3 years I was gaining 150 pounds, when it would have actually done me good … and my health went to hell until we found a civillian doc who actually listened and gave a shit. I detest fast food, my breakfast is almost always oatmeal, my lunch is almost always a specific salad, dinner is my only wild card meal. Travel disrupts my food plan horribly =( ---
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/90 "2011-12-13T15:15:44Z")
> [@](#): > > And people tend to be emotionally vested in their cooking and take offense when it’s turned down for whatever reason. > > The upshot is that Americans have a difficult time saying “no” to food, and will have a little something to be polite. A little taste of each dish at a potluck, for example, adds up to a whole plate full of food, and what that food consists of mayonnaise-based salads, macaroni and cheese, and the aforementioned desserts, that’s a shitload of calories. I’ve been way more assertive about saying “no” but I’ve gotten a lot of snide remarks about it, too. I’ve always been an extremely picky eater (Extremely) - and I never have any problem saying no to food. People get all kinds of bent out of shape about it, you’re right. I think it would be easier to lie, and say it’s a medical issue or an allergy or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Brandus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Brandus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandus)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/91 "2011-12-13T15:18:19Z")
Places with thin people focus on the taste of food. Places with fat people focus on the quantity of food. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/92 "2011-12-13T15:30:16Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Why does seeing a lot of fat people at the mall make you want to shoot yourself in the head? I realize you’re being metaphorical but…is seeing a bunch of fat people in one place the worst thing that can ever happen in your life? > > I can see it maybe making you want to shake your head or point and laugh but…really? Heh. So I was engaging in a bit of drunken over-the-topness, but seriously, it is sad to me when 80% of the people around you are morbidly obese and slow-moving. A few fat people? Whatever, I probably don’t even notice. When pretty much everyone is very, _very_fat, children included, it really is sad and bothersome to me. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/93 "2011-12-13T15:36:34Z")
> [@Brandus](#): > > Places with thin people focus on the taste of food. Places with fat people focus on the quantity of food. Chinese people eat a shed-load of food - a vast volume of it - only most of it is rice. But they’re mainly thin. Your statement may be true for Japan or France, but it is undeniable that American food is astonishingly tasty. Give me a never-ending supply of southern barbecue and I would eat it until you have to take down one side of my house to get my dead body out. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/94 "2011-12-13T15:42:50Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I blame The Economy. No, seriously, all people can afford is crappy food, and everyone’s all bummed out, so they eat comfort food, and lots of it. The obesity issue in America was well underway before the economy went into the tank in 2008. It might be a contributing factor, but I very much doubt it’s the primary factor. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/95 "2011-12-13T16:23:36Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The obesity issue in America was well underway before the economy went into the tank in 2008. It might be a contributing factor, but I very much doubt it’s the primary factor. As a percentage of personal income, food is cheaper than it has ever been. I believe this is the root cause. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/96 "2011-12-13T16:23:52Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > It is a walking city which does help keep your weight down, but there are a lot of really big people here. I’ve always assumed I think New Yorkers aren’t fat because I only see the ones who are walking. The fat ones are probably taking cabs or cars or something. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/97 "2011-12-13T16:54:42Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Heh. So I was engaging in a bit of drunken over-the-topness, but seriously, it is sad to me when 80% of the people around you are morbidly obese and slow-moving. A few fat people? Whatever, I probably don’t even notice. When pretty much everyone is very, _very_fat, children included, it really is sad and bothersome to me. But…we’re all so jolly!! Go ahead, poke my tummy. Poke it! I promise I will make you giggle 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/98 "2011-12-13T16:55:45Z")
I’m not fat because I’m poor, I’m fat because fried chicken tastes really good. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/99 "2011-12-13T16:57:24Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I’ve always assumed I think New Yorkers aren’t fat because I only see the ones who are walking. The fat ones are probably taking cabs or cars or something. On the M23 bus, there always seems to be at least 3 or 4 people who each take up 2 seats. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914/100 "2011-12-13T17:12:23Z")
It depends so much on where you are. I work at a Whole Foods in suburban Philadelphia (Phil. is one of the fattest cities in the nation); a majority of our customers are overweight to obese, which is typical for the general area. Plenty drive around the store on those scooters. The workers are a different story; we’re mostly fit, and many of us are usually slender (and most of us tend to be the type of hyperactive/energetic people who prefer to work an incessantly active job - I am a failed office worker, as are many of my co-workers I’ve discussed this with). But the fat ones are REALLY fat. However if you go downtown to the Whole Foods on South Street (trendy hipster area) almost everyone who works there, and a huge majority of the clientele, is thin and very fit-looking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-america/605914.md?page=6)