# How to fight obesity **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 27, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412 "2004-05-27T20:47:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/41 "2004-05-28T22:01:29Z")
> [@5que](#): > > Because the lard-asses where I work had a 20% increase in insurance payments last year, which is being directly passed on to me for this year. So their obesity problem is hitting me right in **my** take-home pay. > > And it doesn’t help that the firm offers free donuts and pastry every morning, and people take sacks with them back to their desks. Insurance payments for what? How did you separate obesity-related payments from non-obesity-related payments? Even in a case like diabetes payments, how did you separate between people who have always had it and are height/weight proportionate versus diabetes brought on by being overweight? Did people at your work collectively “get fat” over the course of just the last 12 months? And how can I find data like this at my work? In all honesty, I’m wondering whether you’re passing the buck right past an insurance company onto the fat people. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/42 "2004-05-28T22:35:29Z")
> [@Heart On My Sleeve](#): > > Isn’t it easier in an urban area to just drive through the drive-thru on the way home? I can’t possibly see how making homeade bread, excluding even shopping for ingredients, can take less time than picking up pre-made food on the way home. Bingo - to that, and to many other things that **HOMS** said. I do work out, quite a bit, and it adds to the tiredness. And at the end of the day, (usually 10-11 on my way home from the gym) I need to make a decision, I can go to the store, buy wholesome food (much of which will go to waste because they only sell portions for families of 6), spend the next 40 minutes preparing it, eat for 10 minutes, and then spend another 20+ minutes cleaning up. In the short term, when you’re tired, that seems like an awful lot of work for minimal return. Or I can drive up to a speaker, yell out my order, and have a nice teenager hand me hot food out of a window for a mere $2+tax… Plus, when I go home, the clean up involves crumpling the bag. The drive-thru wins more often than it should. I expect it does for many people. In the meantime, I like **even sven** ’s first and second suggestions - I’m not sure how much they’ll do, but it couldn’t hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/43 "2004-05-28T22:56:06Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > Ummm…I work three jobs. I just found out I work eight shifts in the next four days- in other words, I work nearly what people work in two weeks in less than one week. I can go three or four weeks without a full day off. And I don’t have a car so you gotta add an hour of transportation there and back to each of those shifts. I don’t get enough sleep. I hallucinate from lack of sleep at work sometimes. My free time in a week (time not working, traveling to work, getting ready for work, or sleeping so I can go to work) often measures in the single digits. > > Which hour of sleep do you want me to “sacrifice”? The fifth or the sixth one? > > Not that this is relevent for most people, but the concept still stands. Households used to have at least one person dedicated to making sure people get fed. Single people lived in boarding houses where meals were provided. Even people renting a room would expect meals. Now it’s every-man-for-themselves and it _does_ mean that we have less time than we used to. I would say that your condition is rather rare. I have things to say about it, but it could come off in a way that I don’t indend it to come off. So I won’t comment on your situation. However, I would wager that very few people are in your position. I would suggest that you take your next few days and evaluate your position though. If your jobs require you lack sleep for so long, how can you find happiness at all? You certainly are endangering your health for a few bucks. I don’t mean to sound rude or preachy, and I say this only because as a fellow human being, I don’t like the idea that you suffer… but isn’t there an alternative? You are killing yourself! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/44 "2004-05-28T22:56:37Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > I would guess that solving the problem will involve increasing prosperity for folks so that we can return to the norm of having a parent that does not work (man or woman (I for one would love to be a man-wife)). Chances are that an educational component would help as well so that kids going through school would learn how to cook, what foods are good for them and so forth. How many kids these days take Home Ec or Foods in school? I’d bet not many. I had an advantage because my Dad came from a restaurant family, and I also learned to cook in the Boy Scouts. Here’s how it was 35 years ago when I was a kid. Very few fast food places (I didn’t go to my first McDonalds until I was in college,) so I never got hooked on it. Gym all through junior high and highschool, except for the term we had health. Today, because of a shorter school day, my kids got two years of gym. Not so many high fat packaged foods, just some TV dinners. Np concept of takeout food. My mother worked, but we still ate real meals every day. My school had no soda machines, and no candy. My high school, which had over 4,000 students, managed to feed everyone, with a closed campus. (Even when the local schools have a closed campus, they bring in pizza, so the nutritional value of lunches don’t improve all that much.) I don’t buy the no time to cook or exercise argument. The sum of TV watching is still damn high. Poor people do have special problems, but obesity is not limited to them. Or to single parents. Or to people with pre-existing health problems. Well, the silver lining is that maybe there will be enough in the Social Security fund left over to pay for my thin ass when I retire. ---
**Author:** ![iamme99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/57b2e6/32.png) [@iamme99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamme99)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/45 "2004-05-28T23:37:28Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > I do work out, quite a bit, and it adds to the tiredness. And at the end of the day, (usually 10-11 on my way home from the gym) I need to make a decision, I can go to the store, buy wholesome food (much of which will go to waste because they only sell portions for families of 6), spend the next 40 minutes preparing it, eat for 10 minutes, and then spend another 20+ minutes cleaning up. In the short term, when you’re tired, that seems like an awful lot of work for minimal return. > Or I can drive up to a speaker, yell out my order, and have a nice teenager hand me hot food out of a window for a mere $2+tax… Plus, when I go home, the clean up involves crumpling the bag. > The drive-thru wins more often than it should. I expect it does for many people. I hear you but it still comes down to a person making their own best choices. If you eat well, exercise moderately (30-45 minutes, 4 X weekly) and get enough sleep, you will not only feel better, but have more energy, be more relaxed and think better. One thing I’ve learned form my latest spate of unemployment is that I NEED 8 hours of sleep daily. If I get less, I get ornery, surly and don’t feel 100%. When I return to work, I WILL NOT go back to the 5 1/2 - 6 hours of sleep I was trying to get by on for most of my life in the past. It really isn’t the chore you describe to make your own dinner. I do it virtually every evening and once you get a routine down, it flows nicely. Some examples that may help: Since I went to Costco yesterday, I brought a 2 1/2 lb roasted chicken for $4.99. I prepared part of it along with a salad and a microwaved potato. Total time to prepare everything was about 10-12 minutes. I have a lot of left-over chicken that will make another 2 meals later in the week. You can make a pot of real rice (not the minute stuff) in the microwave in about 15-20 minutes. That pot will last up to a week for a single person. Just take out what you want and microwave to warm it up. You can go over to the supermarket on the way home and buy something fresh. For instance, I like trout. I can buy a 1/2lb piece of trout fillet for about $3 (or if you know how to fillet it yourself, for about $1.50-$2.00/lb). You can buy a bottle of pre-mixed spices. Sprinkle the pre-mixed seasonings on the trout, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 4 minutes. Warm up some rice in the microwave. Make a salad. Voila! Time to make this dinner, about 10 minutes. Don’t like trout? You can make a piece of chicken in the same time. Pizza isn’t the most healthful thing for you to eat but is OK now and then. You can buy a personal size pizza (Trader Joe’s has a good chicken and artichoke version) that takes 10-12 minutes to cook in a toaster over. Make a salad while it is cooking. slice an orange for dessert and pout yourself a glass of apple juice. Dinner’s done in 10-15 minutes. You can make some stir-fry and a salad in 10 minutes. The possibilities are endless, only depending on your creativity and desire. I have one of those George Forman type grills and I cook a lot of things on it. It’s great for fish steaks, boneless chicken, hamburgers, etc. You can cook two hamburgers in 3-4 minutes, a halibut or tuna steak in 5-6 minutes. I highly recommend one of these. In fact, I haven’t used the oven in years. ---
**Author:** ![Cobalt\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@Cobalt\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cobalt_Blue)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/46 "2004-05-28T23:55:28Z")
> [@iamme99](#): > > Virtually everyone in the USA has a low price warehouse store like Costco, a Sam’s Club or whatever within a reasonable driving distance. You can buy foods in big packages at significant discounts. I was at Costco today. Some of what I brought included a box of 19 lb box of oranges for $7.99 ($0.42/lb), a 6 lb bag of pears for $3.99 ($0.65/lb), 2.5lb of fancy mixed nuts (no peanuts) for $8.99, 1 1/3 lb of fresh Ahi Tuna at $8.99/lb, etc. You’re assuming virtually everyone has 1) a vehicle, personal or shared; 2) storage and prep space for these large portions; and 3) a steady income to allow ‘stocking up’ for lower prices-per-serving. Like many urbanites, I don’t have a car, and trying to lug groceries from the nearest discount supermarket (30 minutes each way by bus, in an unpleasant neighborhood) is not feasible. There isn’t much storage space in the freezer; my husband and I can’t consume the typical ‘family pak’ of produce or meat before it goes bad. Thus I end up shopping more frequently (can’t always wait to take advantage of sales) and paying more per portion. And we aren’t even poor. Some people live in apartments with a tiny fridge and a microwave or hot plate–some of the urban poor has no means for food preparation. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/47 "2004-05-29T01:13:57Z")
> [@jeevmon](#): > > I’m more in agreement with this one, although high schoolers should be allowed to have more choices because they are more on their way to being adults. The main issue is one of school finances - the shortfall in revenue that the machines generate would have to be made up somehow. Cigarettes? ---
**Author:** ![iamme99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/57b2e6/32.png) [@iamme99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamme99)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/48 "2004-05-29T01:29:20Z")
> [@Cobalt Blue](#): > > You’re assuming virtually everyone has 1) a vehicle, personal or shared; 2) storage and prep space for these large portions; and 3) a steady income to allow ‘stocking up’ for lower prices-per-serving. > > Like many urbanites, I don’t have a car, and trying to lug groceries from the nearest discount supermarket (30 minutes each way by bus, in an unpleasant neighborhood) is not feasible. There isn’t much storage space in the freezer; my husband and I can’t consume the typical ‘family pak’ of produce or meat before it goes bad. Thus I end up shopping more frequently (can’t always wait to take advantage of sales) and paying more per portion. > > And we aren’t even poor. Some people live in apartments with a tiny fridge and a microwave or hot plate–some of the urban poor has no means for food preparation. Well, I live in a jr. one bedroom apartment and I can find places to store the bigger packages,like 12 rolls of paper towels. Sure, it’s not as easy as would be in a house, but you have to make do. As to not having a car, that is certainly a real problem when trying to shop at these stores. But there are possible solutions. Perhaps get together with a neighbor, co-worker, church group, etc. that has a car or access to one. Or get together a group of people and rent a car for a few hours or a day. I’m sure you are not the only one’s who faces this problem. Also, you might also want to look into [Car Sharing](http://eartheasy.com/live_car_sharing.htm) which is available in a number of urban areas. As I’ve said previously, it’s your decision and choice as to what you do. No one is going to do anything special just for you. You have to help yourself. _Carpe diem_… ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/49 "2004-05-29T01:30:14Z")
> [@](#): > > the shortfall in revenue that the machines generate would have to be made up somehow. Not throwing away money at stupid high school sports and ineffective computerization programs? ---
**Author:** ![iamme99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/57b2e6/32.png) [@iamme99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamme99)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/50 "2004-05-29T01:57:04Z")
Here’s a few good stories on the subject I coincidentally saw today: > [@](#): > > **Poll finds Americans in denial about weight > 6 in 10 who are overweight say they are healthy** > > The Associated Press > Updated: 6:05 p.m. ET May 28, 2004 > > WASHINGTON - Many Americans are in denial about their weight problems, according to an Associated Press poll, although more than half say they have been on diets at some point. > > Those who do watch what they eat are more likely to trim fat than take the trendier approach of cutting carbohydrates. > > [Full story](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5086368/) [Excess calories, obesity may increase risk of an enlarged prostate](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5077569/) > [@](#): > > **Obesity, diabetes could reduce global lifespans > Twin epidemics likely to cut life expectancy, experts say** > > Updated: 12:35 p.m. ET May 28, 2004 > > PRAGUE - Twin global epidemics of obesity and diabetes are out of control and could reduce life expectancy in the future, health experts said on Friday. > > Obesity, a major risk factor for diabetes, already affects 300 million people worldwide while an estimated 194 million suffer from diabetes. > > By 2025 the number of obese people is expected soar to 333 million. > > “I suspect that within a short period of time we will begin to see a reduction in life expectancy because of the twin epidemics,” said Professor Claude Bouchard, president of the International Society for the Study of Obesity. > > [Full story](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5084687/) ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/51 "2004-05-29T02:50:09Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > And I don’t have a car so you gotta add an hour of transportation there and back to each of those shifts. Maybe you could walk or bicycle to work? That way, your transportation time would become exercise time. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/52 "2004-05-29T02:50:15Z")
I think all of you who make replies with “get off the couch and do something” are going to be eating your words (along with a few too many Fudgesicles). I was once skinny. I mean, underweight skinny. Nothing bad, but I never gave it a second thought. I took it for granted. Then I turned 21. Three things happened. I lost my childhood metabolism (which happens to a LOT of people), I developed a hyperthyroid condition, and I began taking a medicine cabinet full of medications for various things, and over the time of finding the “right” med, I was on several with weight gain as a side effect. In less than a year, I ballooned to become overweight. I hardly recognize pictures of me from a few years ago. I mean, I’m not obese, but I have a belly and my face is pudgy and my ass is big. I eat pretty healthy, I get regular exercise (not having a car does that to you). I hate sweets and sugars and Coke and stuff now. But between my metabolism slowdown, a physical condition, and side effects of meds, I’m now officially overweight. I never gorged on piles of junkfood. I never sat on my couch eating 5 meals a day. At most, I ate a Mexican meal once a day and had a lemonade. Don’t take it for granted that if you’re skinny, it is because of merit, and if you are overweight, it is your fault. One day, something can happen to you that changes everything, and there may not be much you can do about it. I used to think that my high metabolism would last forever. I used to laugh at jokes about overweight people. Not anymore. You have to remember that for some people, yes, it is a result of bad choices and poor health. For other people, it is a disease, a side effect, or genetics. For some people, it can be a physical condition. A mental disorder. A body malfunction. Don’t start throwing around judgements about people based on your presumptions. Further, it is easier for some people to lose weight than others. Part of it depends on how you gained the weight. If you have a thyroid problem, you aren’t going to be able to go on Atkins and jog 2 miles every day and start dropping pounds. If you have a mental disorder, you probably have to take care of that before you can start working on your body, and that can be a very hard thing to do. I’ve finally found the right balance of medications, have a good diet, and I’m continuing my daily long walks to and from, of all places, the hospital. I stopped gaining weight a few months ago, and I’ve been slowly eating away at it, but it is a god damn hard fight. Maybe not nearly as hard as fighting alcoholism, but it is in the same ballpark. ---
**Author:** ![iamme99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/57b2e6/32.png) [@iamme99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamme99)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/53 "2004-05-29T04:17:13Z")
> [@Zagadka](#): > > I think all of you who make replies with “get off the couch and do something” are going to be eating your words (along with a few too many Fudgesicles). > > I was once skinny. I mean, underweight skinny. Nothing bad, but I never gave it a second thought. I took it for granted. > > Then I turned 21. Three things happened. I lost my childhood metabolism (which happens to a LOT of people), I developed a hyperthyroid condition, and I began taking a medicine cabinet full of medications for various things, and over the time of finding the “right” med, I was on several with weight gain as a side effect. > . > . > . > . > > Further, it is easier for some people to lose weight than others. Part of it depends on how you gained the weight. If you have a thyroid problem, you aren’t going to be able to go on Atkins and jog 2 miles every day and start dropping pounds. If you have a mental disorder, you probably have to take care of that before you can start working on your body, and that can be a very hard thing to do. Yes, some good points. True medical conditions are one thing. Also meds can have a huge effect on both your body and mind and I think that we as a society depend too much on them. That being said, I’d say the majority of people who are overweight are not so because of medical conditions or genetics. If most overweight people were in a situation similar to the Survivor TV show, where their calories were cut back significantly for 40 days or so, they would lose a lot of weight (Rupert really trimmed down after his second stint on the show). No, the reason most people are overweight is because they eat wrongly, eat too much and don’t exercise enough. Everything else is denial, lack of discipline, excuses and refusal to accept personal responsibility, something that has become much more socially acceptable in recent years. My metabolism has slowed down also. Although I generally eat well and exercise regularly, last year, I acknowledged to myself that I weighed more than I wanted to or should. I didn’t think that I needed to increase my exercise much, so that left cutting out some calories. For years, I had been drinking about 12 oz of wine with every dinner and generally eating some chocolate or ice cream for dessert. I completely gave up wine and replaced the chocolate or ice cream with fresh fruit. 6 months later, I had lost 15 lbs and my waist size dropped by 2.5 inches also! That is the only change I made. Since then, I’ve increased my aerobic exercise a little bit, eat two meals a day, and find that I can maintain the weight loss and still get away with eating a little chocolate now and then. 😛 I’ve seen people at my health club lose tremendous amounts of weight over the course of a year or two through proper diet and exercise. You just have to have persistence and the desire to make the change. Here’s a good book reference for those counting calories, carbs, etc.: [Food Values of Portions Commonly Used](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0397554354/102-4462984-7708949?v=glance) ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/54 "2004-05-29T04:48:10Z")
> [@Zagadka](#): > > Not throwing away money at stupid high school sports and ineffective computerization programs? Or getting rid of all the arts programs. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/55 "2004-05-29T05:47:13Z")
> [@MGibson](#): > > Or getting rid of all the arts programs. > > Marc I live in California. The arts programs are long gone. ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/56 "2004-05-29T06:01:46Z")
> [@MGibson](#): > > Or getting rid of all the arts programs. Yea, good point. Why should schools have anything to do with teaching anything. I vote Marc for schoolboard chairman! The kids will be dumb as rocks and cultured as much as American Idol, but by george, the football will be GREAT. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/57 "2004-05-29T06:07:25Z")
> [@Zagadka](#): > > Yea, good point. Why should schools have anything to do with teaching anything. > > I vote Marc for schoolboard chairman! The kids will be dumb as rocks and cultured as much as American Idol, but by george, the football will be GREAT. [hijack]Actually I believe both sports and the arts play an important part in the educational system and I certainly don’t want to see either one of them cut. Interesting that nobody defended sports but are reacted so negatively to the idea of the arts being cut.[/hijack] Marc ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/58 "2004-05-29T06:16:59Z")
> [@MGibson](#): > > [hijack]Actually I believe both sports and the arts play an important part in the educational system and I certainly don’t want to see either one of them cut. Interesting that nobody defended sports but are reacted so negatively to the idea of the arts being cut.[/hijack] What value are sports again? Maybe we need another thread :-p ---
**Author:** ![iamme99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/57b2e6/32.png) [@iamme99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamme99)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/59 "2004-05-29T07:10:18Z")
> [@Zagadka](#): > > What value are sports again? Among many benefits, they can help children build muscles and coordination, learn about teamwork, discipline, how to deal with competition, help develop self-confidence, build friendships and potentially introduce them to an activity they can participate in as they grow older, or for the rest of their lives. On the down side, they can encourage an inflated view of self, foster idol worship, act as an excusatory mechanism, sometimes encourage winning at any cost, introduce them to athletic drugs, etc. There are a lot of variables and yes, I think this to be a better subject for another thread… ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412/60 "2004-05-29T08:25:25Z")
> [@iamme99](#): > > . No, the reason most people are overweight is because they eat wrongly, eat too much and don’t exercise enough. Everything else is denial, lack of discipline, excuses and refusal to accept personal responsibility, something that has become much more socially acceptable in recent years. I don’t think it’s quite that clear cut, as least for base causes. Determing causes is the first step, then apportioning responsiblity can follow. The dramatic rise in obesity is fairly recent, and geographically limited. That’s just way too short a time for physiological explantions, which drastically reduces credibilty of many medical “explanations” for obesity. The human animal just plain doesn’t morph out biological changes that quickly. The significant change factors are societal. Which isn’t to say those factors aren’t real and immediate. Picking out and isolating the factors is the tricky part. Basic human psychology, for lack of a bettter term, doesn’t change all that rapidly either though. I don’t think basic human software has changed all that much either. The problem is spread (so to speak) too far around the world, throughout too many cultures for the roots to just be laziness, lack of self-discipline, irresponsibility, etc. Basic human nature isn’t all that fluid either. I’m muddling through this, so take it as a work in progress, but I suspect there are many causes, most of them having to do with habit and economics. Most nations haven’t changed all that much in the last few decades in terms of transportation, riding vs. walking, but maybe leisure habits have. TV has been around for ages, but the widespread (ahem!) social acceptance of computers, videos, solitary-sitting-games, etc. is new. Food is approached differently as well. Convenience food–frozen out of season produce, the slightly shameful TV dinners–metasized into the norm faster, highly processed and HUGE. One of the biggest complaints about “diet” pre-fab food options is that they’re tiny. No, they’re realistic, besides at least trying to be nutritionally reasonable. And they’re the optimum (and usually expensive) offerings, mind, in a glut of dubious alternatives. Eating well, healthily and zestfully, just plain takes 1. time and 2. conscious effort any more. Same goes for exercise. Positive options aren’t the defaults. What are the answers? I dunno. Possibly a very messy settling-in of market forces. IMO blame games and penalities–govermental or otherwise–are counterproductive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fight-obesity/247412.md?page=4)