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Why Are American's Obese? »

Posted by: Digidave 2 years, 8 months ago

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An obesity researcher at the University of Washington wanted to figure out why the most reliable predictor of obesity is a person's wealth. Poor typically suffere from a shortage of calories, not a surfeit. So how is it that today the people with the least amount of money to spend on food are the ones most likely to be overweight?

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Digidave

I am a freelance science and technology writer, or what I like to call a "geek writer."

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Comments: 8

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stephen-johnson
April 23, 2007, 11:33 p.m.
Drewnowski gave himself a hypothetical dollar to spend, using it to purchase as many calories as he possibly could. He discovered that he could buy the most calories per dollar in the middle aisles of the supermarket, among the towering canyons of processed food and soft drink. (In the typical American supermarket, the fresh foods - dairy, meat, fish and produce - line the perimeter walls, while the imperishable packaged goods dominate the center.) Drewnowski found that a dollar could buy 1,200 calories of cookies or potato chips but only 250 calories of carrots. Looking for something to wash down those chips, he discovered that his dollar bought 875 calories of soda but only 170 calories of orange juice.
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stephen-johnson
April 24, 2007, 9:05 a.m.
The school-lunch program began at a time when the public-health problem of America's children was undernourishment, so feeding surplus agricultural commodities to kids seemed like a win-win strategy. Today the problem is overnutrition, but a school lunch lady trying to prepare healthful fresh food is apt to get dinged by U.S.D.A. inspectors for failing to serve enough calories; if she dishes up a lunch that includes chicken nuggets and Tater Tots, however, the inspector smiles and the reimbursements flow. The farm bill essentially treats our children as a human Disposall for all the unhealthful calories that the farm bill has encouraged American farmers to overproduce.
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Truzseeker
April 24, 2007, 2:29 p.m.
can you spell m o n o s o d i u m g l u t a m a t e ?
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Harbeas
April 24, 2007, 3:34 p.m.
Why is America fat? In simplest terms, we eat the wrong foods, too much of them and we get very little exercise. Did I leave anything out?
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ListenUP
April 24, 2007, 4:21 p.m.
America is obese and fat cause they are so overweight. Plus, in addition, they are dumm, too.
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MajJohn
April 24, 2007, 8:27 p.m.
I eat all the junk food I want and be damned to anyone who tries to dictate to me what to do. I also exercise heavily and burn off way more than I take in. Each summer I loose 10 to 15 lbs. Lets face it! fat a$$es don't get off of them often enough. Are children don't exercise enough in school or at home.