I think the biggest cause is missing, is the shift to a more sedentry lift style.

Interent, TV, Video games, cars, etc that began getting big in the early 80s continued on, todays adults grew up with those things.

Sports, etc have declined.

I think thats the biggest cause of obescity.

Burned half the calories we used to, AND intake double.

that is only half right. people today are into instant gratification. they feed their fat faces and practice gluttony because they feel entitled. you can't be honest and call them fat, gluttonous, pigs anymore because the PC dictates that the contemptible do not deserve contempt.

At least, based on the last 150 years of scientific evidence on obese people.

You can feed an obese person a thousand calories a day and their bodies will still store a majority of those calories as fat; for example, despite the dramatic weight loss due to bariatric surgery, almost all of the people who receive it are obese --- meaning despite the weight loss, their bodies are still converting the limited calories available in the stomach into fat.

This means the problem is a metabolic and hormonal issue, explainable only by the cheap and readily available amount of high-glycemic carbohydrates is the key cause of skyrocketing obesity rates. It's also an economic issue: where are all these cheap sugars, breads, beers, and grains coming from?

wellread:

I think the biggest cause is missing, is the shift to a more sedentry lift style.

Interent, TV, Video games, cars, etc that began getting big in the early 80s continued on, todays adults grew up with those things.

Sports, etc have declined.

I think thats the biggest cause of obescity.

Burned half the calories we used to, AND intake double.

The decline of sports has almost nothing to do with it. Take a trip to east asia, where sports are almost never taken seriously, and count how many obese people you see. Jason Stein is right on the money with this.

For me, I think the biggest cause is arthritis. I cant exercise near as much as I could 50 years ago. Anyway, I came into this world fat and bald and am right on schedule to go out the same way.

Both plumeting savings rates and obesity are caused by the same thing--paying for convenience.

You can eat healthy on less than what you would spend on fast food if you're willing to put some effort into it. I did it in college while working and studying 60-80 hours a week. But most people aren't willing and able to do this and end up spending $300+ per person per month on high calorie food.

Doing your own yardwork, keeping a clean house, and cooking from scratch will keep you off the couch and save money. But they take discipline, something most Americans lack.

What does yardwork have to do with the quality of the food you are consuming?

What does cooking from scratch have to do with the quality of the food you are consuming, if the food you are cooking from scratch consists of a majority of cheap complex carbohydrates?

Perhaps if you had suggested "cooking from scratch food your great-grandmother would recognize as food," I might have agreed.

Also, Americans are among the most hard-working and disciplined people in the world, at least if one looks at average hours spent at work---which have only greatly increased since World War II---and surveys on importance a majority of American place on hard work.

I loved your reply irvingchang. I'm sick of "politically correct". Fat people are gross and I really hate to see them eat!