# Why is America so fat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 15, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583 "2019-04-15T16:59:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/161 "2019-04-20T10:50:50Z")
> [@Mcmechanic](#): > > I agree. Also, the few times I’ve been to japan, I don’t recall ever eating bread, cheese, or milk, or potatoes from what I remember. It would be easy to avoid eating those things if you mostly ate at hotel restaurants and you wern’t a breakfast person, but most people who live in Japan eat those things daily. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/162 "2019-04-20T10:52:26Z")
> [@Mcmechanic](#): > > I agree. Also, the few times I’ve been to japan, I don’t recall ever eating bread, cheese, or milk, or potatoes from what I remember. It would be easy to avoid eating those things if you mostly ate at hotel restaurants or traditional Japanese type restaurants and you weren’t a breakfast person, but most people who live in Japan do eat those things daily. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/163 "2019-04-20T12:26:06Z")
One thing to keep in mind is that the culture in America encourages the “more is better” attitude, it’s not just food. For example (fresh in my mind from shopping yesterday), it used to be that you could find melatonin supplements in 300mcg and 3 mg (=3000 mcg) sizes. A study was done testing which is better at helping people sleep. It found the smaller size more effective. What was America’s response? Go bigger! In our local stores you only see sizes like 3, 5 and 10 (!) mg. The more effective 300mcg is hard to find. It’s like this with a _lot_ of things. Take cars. America car makers are phasing out their small and midsize models. America wants their pickup trucks, SUVs, etc. More is better! So you see people driving their Canyoneros alone. When it comes to food, same thing. So you see ads for tripe chili bacon cheeseburgers. People go “ooh” and “aah” when a new mega burger is introduced. Never mind that for someone like me (and hopefully most people) a simple Whopper Junior is actually a bit too much food. It’s not just food, It’s the whole flippin culture. If it can be overconsumed, it will be. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/164 "2019-04-20T12:31:44Z")
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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/165 "2019-04-20T14:29:35Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Every time you eat it raises your insulin level. Insulin is a fat storage hormone. It’s not. It’s a sugar (carbs) transportation and storage hormone. Sugars and fats are two completely different kinds of substances. There is a relationship between “having small carbs (sugars) available directly from the digestive system pretty much continuously” (a lot of Americans eat once a day, it’s just a very long once\*) and “storing away sugar and fat without ever taking either out of storage”, but insulin is not part of the fat-storing mechanism itself. - So did my Yaya, but in her case the only stuff that was sweet was fruit. ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/166 "2019-04-20T15:14:50Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > It’s not. It’s a sugar (carbs) transportation and storage hormone. Sugars and fats are two completely different kinds of substances. There is a relationship between “having small carbs (sugars) available directly from the digestive system pretty much continuously” (a lot of Americans eat once a day, it’s just a very long once\*) and “storing away sugar and fat without ever taking either out of storage”, but insulin is not part of the fat-storing mechanism itself. It more complicated than that. “Glucose, a simple sugar, provides energy for cell functions. After food is digested, glucose is released into the bloodstream. In response, the pancreas secretes insulin, which directs the muscle and fat cells to take in glucose. Cells obtain energy from glucose or convert it to fat for long-term storage.” > **[NIH study shows how insulin stimulates fat cells to take in glucose](https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-shows-how-insulin-stimulates-fat-cells-take-glucose)** > > Findings could aid in understanding diabetes, related conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/167 "2019-04-20T15:58:43Z")
Uhm… how does that in any way contradict what I said? The only “new” detail is that sugars (not only glucose, actually) can be converted into fat (fats can also be converted into sugars), but insulin is again not part of that conversion mechanism. ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/168 "2019-04-20T16:28:00Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Uhm… how does that in any way contradict what I said? The only “new” detail is that sugars (not only glucose, actually) can be converted into fat (fats can also be converted into sugars), but insulin is again not part of that conversion mechanism. You’re right. My quote does not make that claim. However the link does. “NIH study shows how insulin stimulates fat cells to take in glucose.” Thought it was settled science. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/169 "2019-04-20T17:02:08Z")
Insulin isn’t what makes you fat. What creates fat is having more sugar in your system than your body is using. Insulin is just a part of that mechanism of dealing with the excess sugar. If you somehow suppressed the secretion of insulin and still consume the same amount of calories per day, you have bigger problems on your hands than fat. (You have diabetes.) ---
**Author:** ![Mcmechanic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Mcmechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mcmechanic)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/170 "2019-04-20T19:30:35Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > It would be easy to avoid eating those things if you mostly ate at hotel restaurants or traditional Japanese type restaurants and you weren’t a breakfast person, but most people who live in Japan do eat those things daily. It does seem my food experience there was somewhat skewed and maybe not typical of everyday life. I still doubt fried potatoes, macaroni and cheese, or bread with every meal is typical. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/171 "2019-04-20T20:04:39Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > M… > Now you are arguing against yourself. Previously the key point was the reason why children were told to clean their plates, now it’s the boring old portion size after all and not a difference in the specifics of the guilt trips. … The keys reason is that Americans had a lot of food and other nations had less, so American mothers would tell their kids to clean their FULL plates because other kids are starving. Geez. Like this needs to be debated. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/172 "2019-04-21T01:36:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The keys reason is that Americans had a lot of food and other nations had less, so American mothers would tell their kids to clean their FULL plates because other kids are starving. Geez. Like this needs to be debated. Geez. Have you considered simply writing your point more clearly when questioned initially? It’s a very bad assumption and a terrible argument. Yes, the Japanese (and certain European countries) were starving — from about 1944 to a few years after the war. But there were other countries, such as Spain(!) which weren’t starving. Why didn’t Spanish kids become fat? The amount of time that Japan has a serious calorie deficit was well over within a few years, certainly by the time anyone in their 50 was born, so they would have grown up with FULL plates. Yet we don’t see as many obese Japanese in their 50s. The same obesity problem in America did not occur in the 1950s when there would possibly have been a difference in how much kids were getting post war. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/173 "2019-04-21T12:55:33Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > It’s not. It’s a sugar (carbs) transportation and storage hormone. Sugars and fats are two completely different kinds of substances. There is a relationship between “having small carbs (sugars) available directly from the digestive system pretty much continuously” (a lot of Americans eat once a day, it’s just a very long once\*) and “storing away sugar and fat without ever taking either out of storage”, but insulin is not part of the fat-storing mechanism itself. > > - So did my Yaya, but in her case the only stuff that was sweet was fruit. Yes, but once the insulin crams the sugar into the cells they turn it into fat. Here’s an [NIH Study](https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-shows-how-insulin-stimulates-fat-cells-take-glucose) documenting that. That’s why when type II diabetics with poorly managed blood sugars end up injecting insulin they gain weight. Insulin lowers blood sugar by forcing it into cells where it is turned into fat. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/174 "2019-04-21T13:05:30Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Yes, but once the insulin crams the sugar into the cells they turn it into fat. Here’s an [NIH Study](https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-shows-how-insulin-stimulates-fat-cells-take-glucose) documenting that. That’s why when type II diabetics with poorly managed blood sugars end up injecting insulin they gain weight. Insulin lowers blood sugar by forcing it into cells where it is turned into fat. But we all agree that insulin is not the CAUSE of obesity, right? It’s just part of the body’s response to consuming more calories than you burn. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/175 "2019-04-21T13:24:13Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > It’s a very bad assumption and a terrible argument. Yes, the Japanese (and certain European countries) were starving — from about 1944 to a few years after the war. But there were other countries, such as Spain(!) which weren’t starving. Why didn’t Spanish kids become fat? Oh, actually during that particular period Spain was starving longer. No Marshal Plan, you see, as the Civil War had been won by the wrong side: our post-war famine lasted until Franco gave NATO permission to use us as a landing pad. But the point stands: the famine ended long enough ago that children born as early as the mid-60s were already being told to think about children starving in India or Africa whenever our plates were fuller than we wanted. Are we the same size Americans were 20 years ago? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/176 "2019-04-21T13:30:13Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > But we all agree that insulin is not the CAUSE of obesity, right? It’s just part of the body’s response to consuming more calories than you burn. No… it’s part of the body’s baseline preparation to eating. People with healthy pancreases produce inactive insulin all the time. The insulin produced in the pancreas and released to the small intestine is not work-ready yet: it gets partially digested, and that activated form is then absorbed into the bloodstream and taken to every other organ. Eating will lead to the release of the other enzymes which perform that activation, so it does lead to insulin being activated, but it was already in place (again, if you don’t have T1 diabetes). The activation mechanism depends on eating, but not on how many calories. > [@2Bits](#): > > You’re right. My quote does not make that claim. However the link does. > > “NIH study shows how insulin stimulates fat cells to take in glucose.” > > Thought it was settled science. Insulin stimulates all cells to take in glucose. It’s the glucose carrier, it’s the molecule that tells cells “yo, wake up and get your glucose!”, telling all cells to take glucose in is its job. Other molecules tell cells to take in fats, to store fats (which most cells can do, not only adipocites), to use fats to build new cells… or to use sugar to make fats, or fats to make sugars, depending on how much of either you eat and what kind of activity you’re doing. The metabolic network is not a single line, and those conversion pathways are two-ways. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/177 "2019-04-21T17:39:56Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > But we all agree that insulin is not the CAUSE of obesity, right? It’s just part of the body’s response to consuming more calories than you burn. I don’t agree. Constantly provoking an insulin response builds insulin resistance, type II diabetes, and weight gains. Type I diabetes is a disease caused by insufficient insulin, type II us a disease caused by too much insulin. It requires greater and greater amounts of insulin to force the glucose into the cells. Giving type II diabetics insulin lowers blood sugar by making them get fat. In _The Obesity Code_ and _The Complete Guide to Fasting_ Jason Fung describes how intermittent fasting can reverse insulin resistance and type II diabetes. I personally know several people who were diagnosed as type II diabetics (HbA1c \>6.5) and were on several medications for diabetes who now have normal blood sugar and are completely off their medications after following the diet outlined in those books. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2019, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/178 "2019-04-22T03:14:54Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > In _The Obesity Code_ and _The Complete Guide to Fasting_ Jason Fung describes how intermittent fasting can reverse insulin resistance and type II diabetes. Anybody can write a book and say anything they want. Are these findings backed up by actual published research articles? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2019, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/179 "2019-04-22T04:35:10Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Anybody can write a book and say anything they want. Are these findings backed up by actual published research articles? A quick check of articles: one study said no, another said hopeful and two studies on rats showed promise. I would rate this “needs further research”, Not “write a big book about it”. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2019, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583/180 "2019-04-22T11:52:46Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Anybody can write a book and say anything they want. Are these findings backed up by actual published research articles? Oh, you mean, “It works in practice, but how is it in theory?” It works just fine in theory. Here’s a list of references from one of the chapters in _The Complete Guide to Fasting_ > [@Thge Complete Guide to Fasting](#): > > A. B. Nichols, C. Ravenscroft, D. E. Lamphiear,and L. D. Ostrander Jr., “Daily Nutritional Intake and Serum Lipid Levels. The Tecumseh Study,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 29, no. 12 (1976): 1384– 92. > > Ancel Keys, “Atherosclerosis: A Problem in Newer Public Health,” Journal of Mount Sinai Hospital New York 20, no. 2 (1953): 118– 39. > > F. Hu, J. Manson, and W. Willet, “Type of Dietary Fat and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: A Critical Review,” Journal of the American College of Nutrition 20, no. 1 (2001): 5– 19. > > Gary J. Nelson, Perla C. Schmidt, and Darshan S. Kelley, “Low-Fat Diets Do Not Lower Plasma Cholesterol Levels in Healthy Men Compared to High-Fat Diets with Similar Fatty Acid Composition at Constant Caloric Intake,” Lipids 30, no. 11 (1995): 969– 76. > > Gregory G. Schwartz, Markus Abt, Weihang Bao, David DeMicco, David Kallend, Michael Miller, Hardi Mundi, and Anders G. Olsson, “Fasting Triglycerides Predict Recurrent Ischemic Events in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome Treated with Statins,” Journal of the American College of Cardiology 65, no. 21 (2015): 2267– 75. > > Igor E. Konstantinov, Nicolai Mejevoi, and Nikolai M. Anichkov, “Nikolai N. Anichkov and His Theory of Atherosclerosis,” Texas Heart Institute Journal 33, no. 4 (2006): 417– 23. > > Michael Eades, “Framingham Follies,” The Blog of Dr. Michael R. Eades, M.D., September 26, 2006, https:// [proteinpower.com/](http://proteinpower.com/) drmike/ 2006/ 09/ 26/ framingham-follies/. > > Michael Miller, Neil J. Stone, Christie Ballantyne, Vera Bittner, Michael H. Criqui, Henry N. Ginsberg, Anne Carol Goldberg, et al., “Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association,” Circulation 123, no. 20 (2011): 2292– 333. > > R. L. Rosenthal, “Effectiveness of Altering Serum Cholesterol Levels Without Drugs,” Proceedings (Baylor University Medical Center) 13, no. 4 (2000): 351– 5. > > Surabhi Bhutani, Monica C. Klempel, Reed A. Berger, and Krista A. Varady, “Improvements in Coronary Heart Disease Risk Indicators by Alternate-Day Fasting Involve Adipose Tissue Modulations,” Obesity 18, no. 11 (2010): 2152– 9. > > Zoë Harcombe, Julien S. Baker, Stephen Mark Cooper, Bruce Davies, Nicholas Sculthorpe, James J. DiNicolantonio, and Fergal Grace, “Evidence from Randomised Controlled Trials Did Not Support the Introduction of Dietary Fat Guidelines in 1977 and 1983: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis,” Open Heart 2, no. 1 (2015): e00196, doi: 10.1136/ openhrt-2014-000196 . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-america-so-fat/832583.md?page=10)