Obesity Caused By Stress
- Atheist-Lite
- Formerly known as Crumple
- Posts: 8745
- Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 12:35 pm
- About me: You need a jetpack? Here, take mine. I don't need a jetpack this far away.
- Location: In the Galactic Hub, Yes That One !!!
- Contact:
Obesity Caused By Stress
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12135537
People in wealthy countries with "free market" economies are more likely to become obese, an Oxford University study says.
Money stresses in countries like the UK and US could explain their higher obesity levels, compared with countries such as Norway and Sweden.
The study, in Economic and Human Biology, compared obesity in 11 affluent countries from 1994 to 2004.
The researchers said the study showed obesity had "social causes".
Researchers set out to discover why Americans and Britons are heavier than Norwegians and Swedes.
(continued)
People in wealthy countries with "free market" economies are more likely to become obese, an Oxford University study says.
Money stresses in countries like the UK and US could explain their higher obesity levels, compared with countries such as Norway and Sweden.
The study, in Economic and Human Biology, compared obesity in 11 affluent countries from 1994 to 2004.
The researchers said the study showed obesity had "social causes".
Researchers set out to discover why Americans and Britons are heavier than Norwegians and Swedes.
(continued)
nxnxm,cm,m,fvmf,vndfnm,nm,f,dvm,v v vmfm,vvm,d,dd vv sm,mvd,fmf,fn ,v fvfm,
-
- Posts: 32040
- Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 2:03 pm
- Contact:
Re: Obesity Caused By Stress
How about...people in wealthy countries are fat because they eat more food, and don't move around as much by their own locomotion?
- Rum
- Absent Minded Processor
- Posts: 37285
- Joined: Wed Mar 11, 2009 9:25 pm
- Location: South of the border..though not down Mexico way..
- Contact:
Re: Obesity Caused By Stress
Also - I put on weight when I worry. But I can afford the food to do that..
- mistermack
- Posts: 15093
- Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:57 am
- About me: Never rong.
- Contact:
Re: Obesity Caused By Stress
I think if you're looking for patterns in obesity, one of the major ones is how it runs in families. You get families where people are obese, generation after generation.
I would love to see how identical twins compare who are seperated at birth.
Would identical twins both grow up fat, if one grew up with a thin family, and the other with a fat one?
I don't know the answer to that. I imagine someone's done a study, somewhere, although the twins might be hard to track down.
I would love to see how identical twins compare who are seperated at birth.
Would identical twins both grow up fat, if one grew up with a thin family, and the other with a fat one?
I don't know the answer to that. I imagine someone's done a study, somewhere, although the twins might be hard to track down.
While there is a market for shit, there will be assholes to supply it.
- AnInconvenientScotsman
- Posts: 646
- Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 9:05 am
- Location: Glasgow, Scotland
- Contact:
Re: Obesity Caused By Stress
Because Scandinavians aren't wealthy enough to do that?Coito ergo sum wrote:How about...people in wealthy countries are fat because they eat more food, and don't move around as much by their own locomotion?
When I feel sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead.
True story.
True story.
SUIT UP!
"Dear God, dear Lord, dear vague muscular man with a beard or a sword,Dear good all seeing being; my way or the highway Yahweh,
The blue-balled anti-masturbator, the great all-loving faggot-hater
I thank your holy might, for making me both rich and white"
- maiforpeace
- Account Suspended at Member's Request
- Posts: 15726
- Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:41 am
- Location: under the redwood trees
Re: Obesity Caused By Stress
You don't see nearly as many obese people in France or Germany too. All my family and friends there are financially secure and don't stress about money like we do here, mostly because they don't have the same taste for material wealth like we do. I was also doubly surprised to see that they don't dedicate themselves to physical exercise the way we do here in the US...they just do it as a natural part of their lifestyle, like walking to the bus, or carrying the groceries up the stairs instead of taking the elevator.AnInconvenientScotsman wrote:Because Scandinavians aren't wealthy enough to do that?Coito ergo sum wrote:How about...people in wealthy countries are fat because they eat more food, and don't move around as much by their own locomotion?
During the month I was there, I ate whatever I wanted and lost 5 lbs. Yes, it had something to do with what I put in my mouth...much less processed food and junk food. But I know it was also because the eating was relaxed and stress free...we ate meals slowly, over a period of time in the company of others that probably resulted in my eating less over all. I ate with all my working relatives that always took a two hour lunch or dinner. Here we eat lunch in solitude, hurredly, often while working simultaneously. I don't characterize that kind of eating as stress-free and it certainly is mindless rather than mindful. As part of their overall health care system, the French are adamant about healthy mental lifestyle. Their reasons for not allowing many businesses to be open on Sundays are not religious, it's to give families time to spend together. They have much less stress in the workplace...people are paid decent wages, they have a humane retirement age, they get 7 weeks of paid vacation, and the average work week is 35 hours. I was just flabbergasted at how they handle having children over there. My cousin received so much support, before and after the birth, and was able to get state supported childcare as soon as she was ready to go back to work, which allowed her to really enjoy her child without being overwhelmed, or having to give up those other activities like work that give her outside personal fulfillment. I could go on and on with these types of examples.
Their superior health care system, and the laws they have in place governing the workplace, and commerce in general results in a much less stressful lifestyle over all.
The study has huge merit.
Atheists have always argued that this world is all that we have, and that our duty is to one another to make the very most and best of it. ~Christopher Hitchens~
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3534/379 ... 3be9_o.jpg[/imgc]
-
- Posts: 32040
- Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 2:03 pm
- Contact:
Re: Obesity Caused By Stress
Sometimes the fact that the US is such a large and prominent country, and leads the way with 65% overweight, we forget that the problem is by no means confined to the US, and that other wealthy countries are experiencing alarming rates of increase in fatness.AnInconvenientScotsman wrote:Because Scandinavians aren't wealthy enough to do that?Coito ergo sum wrote:How about...people in wealthy countries are fat because they eat more food, and don't move around as much by their own locomotion?
Over half of the adult men in Norway are overweight or obese, and much of that increase has been in the last 30 years. http://www.fhi.no/eway/default.aspx?pid ... 7:16:::0:0 The proportion of overweight and obese varies between the counties. The average BMI and proportion of overweight and obese are lower in Oslo than in the four other counties where health studies have been carried out - Oppland, Hedmark, Troms and Finnmark.
And, four-year-old girls are six times more likely to have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 30 than they were 20 years ago and ten-year-olds are five times more likely, according to research published in the April issue of Acta Paediatrica.
-
- Posts: 32040
- Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 2:03 pm
- Contact:
Re: Obesity Caused By Stress
Germany has the highest rate of "overweight" people in Europe, at 60%. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6639227.stm They don't have as many "obese" people - Britain leads Europe in "obesity" rates. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6639227.stmmaiforpeace wrote:You don't see nearly as many obese people in France or Germany too.AnInconvenientScotsman wrote:Because Scandinavians aren't wealthy enough to do that?Coito ergo sum wrote:How about...people in wealthy countries are fat because they eat more food, and don't move around as much by their own locomotion?
In France, 38.5% of men and 26% of women are considered overweight - so France must be doing something right.
The difference, I believe, is cultural. The French tend not to overeat, they walk a lot more in France, they don't "snack" as much between meals, they don't swill soft drinks as much, etc. "In France, eating is a religion, like a Catholic Mass: At a fixed hour, for a predetermined amount of time, with an unchangeable ritual, we sit down to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In the U.S., people eat whenever they want -- which is all the time -- and whatever they want." http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnf ... 73_981.htm
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnf ... 21_471.htmAlso, the rich food you see folks eating in French restaurants is for special occasions. I've dined with French families in their homes dozens of times, and invariably they serve far more fresh vegetables and fruits and far less sugar and fat than Americans do. There may be four or five courses, but the portions are small, with meat being one of the many side dishes rather than the center of the meal.
"The French don't eat these great-big helpings," says Julia Child, the famous American authority on French cooking. "It's really horrifying to them to go to Disneyland and see these great-big fat Americans plodding along, always eating something
When you look into it...it always comes down to how much you eat...why aren't the French fat? "They don't eat these great big helpings." And, "the portions are small"....
- maiforpeace
- Account Suspended at Member's Request
- Posts: 15726
- Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:41 am
- Location: under the redwood trees
Re: Obesity Caused By Stress
I'd call that kind of eating stress free...when you are stressed, you eat mindlessly. It may be cultural, but that culture promotes a stress free lifestyle, including how you eat.
Atheists have always argued that this world is all that we have, and that our duty is to one another to make the very most and best of it. ~Christopher Hitchens~
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3534/379 ... 3be9_o.jpg[/imgc]
-
- Posts: 32040
- Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 2:03 pm
- Contact:
Re: Obesity Caused By Stress
Julia Child's comment above strikes home with me -- "great big fat Americans, plodding along, always eating something..."
I notice that quite a lot when I go to places like Busch Gardens, Sea World, Universal Studios, and other amusement parks. Look around one time and see the number of fat folks eating while walking around....always something in hand - fat kids in tow with baggies of little snacks and treats. Sugary drink is followed by salty snack. Then, somehow, after gorging on 500-1000 calories while plodding along like a Brontosaurus, it's now time to "sit down for lunch."
I had old school European parents, and I look back into the deep recesses of time to my youth. When my parents would take us to the many vacation spots as children - Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, or other similar places - the word "no" was quite commonly heard and easily understood.... we would want the cotton candy and an ice cream and we would want another coke or a pretzel. But, the word "no" occurred in mid-afternoon because a meal was going to be right around the corner.
From my experience, I think overeating boils down to culture.
The western world is getting fatter - not because of a genetic change in humans - but because we just eat a lot more than we did 30-40-50 years ago, and get a lot less exercise.
I can certainly see a stressful life leading to greater eating -- sometimes people eat for "comfort," for example. The question I would have is whether Europeans really lead lives that are freer from "stress" than Americans? I don't know the answer to that question. If they do, that would be interesting.
I would also wonder about the wide disparity in Europe - France is far and away slimmer than all the rest of Europe (I think the Dutch come close, but I haven't looked it up to confirm) - the rest of Europe doesn't even come close, and the Brits are near as fat as us horrible 'merkins. Are the Brits leading a more stressful life than the French?
I notice that quite a lot when I go to places like Busch Gardens, Sea World, Universal Studios, and other amusement parks. Look around one time and see the number of fat folks eating while walking around....always something in hand - fat kids in tow with baggies of little snacks and treats. Sugary drink is followed by salty snack. Then, somehow, after gorging on 500-1000 calories while plodding along like a Brontosaurus, it's now time to "sit down for lunch."
I had old school European parents, and I look back into the deep recesses of time to my youth. When my parents would take us to the many vacation spots as children - Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, or other similar places - the word "no" was quite commonly heard and easily understood.... we would want the cotton candy and an ice cream and we would want another coke or a pretzel. But, the word "no" occurred in mid-afternoon because a meal was going to be right around the corner.
From my experience, I think overeating boils down to culture.
The western world is getting fatter - not because of a genetic change in humans - but because we just eat a lot more than we did 30-40-50 years ago, and get a lot less exercise.
I can certainly see a stressful life leading to greater eating -- sometimes people eat for "comfort," for example. The question I would have is whether Europeans really lead lives that are freer from "stress" than Americans? I don't know the answer to that question. If they do, that would be interesting.
I would also wonder about the wide disparity in Europe - France is far and away slimmer than all the rest of Europe (I think the Dutch come close, but I haven't looked it up to confirm) - the rest of Europe doesn't even come close, and the Brits are near as fat as us horrible 'merkins. Are the Brits leading a more stressful life than the French?
Re: Obesity Caused By Stress
Yeah the stress of nagging your feeder to go get you another 6 litres of cola and 12 big macs .




Give me the wine , I don't need the bread
- maiforpeace
- Account Suspended at Member's Request
- Posts: 15726
- Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:41 am
- Location: under the redwood trees
Re: Obesity Caused By Stress
Feck wrote:Yeah the stress of nagging your feeder to go get you another 6 litres of cola and 12 big macs .

Atheists have always argued that this world is all that we have, and that our duty is to one another to make the very most and best of it. ~Christopher Hitchens~
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3534/379 ... 3be9_o.jpg[/imgc]
- mistermack
- Posts: 15093
- Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:57 am
- About me: Never rong.
- Contact:
Re: Obesity Caused By Stress
I think it IS down to differences in culture. The british way of life is quite similar to the american, is many ways. The acceptance of junk food is almost as high. And I'm guessing here, but the time spent watching tv, or surfing the net, is very high in britain, especially with the young.Coito ergo sum wrote:I would also wonder about the wide disparity in Europe - France is far and away slimmer than all the rest of Europe (I think the Dutch come close, but I haven't looked it up to confirm) - the rest of Europe doesn't even come close, and the Brits are near as fat as us horrible 'merkins. Are the Brits leading a more stressful life than the French?
One other factor in Britain that is very different to France is binge drinking.
In Britain, even the girls tend to binge drink in pubs, when they get old enough.
You see girls drinking multiple pints of lager and cider, something you don't see many continental girls doing.
You often see british girls and boys start putting on loads of weight when they reach drinking age. And drinking lots of beer encourages eating lots of fast food.
I think that's one of the big factors, and the habits can last a lifetime.
.
While there is a market for shit, there will be assholes to supply it.
-
- Posts: 32040
- Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 2:03 pm
- Contact:
Re: Obesity Caused By Stress
Key point at 4:05 to 4:20
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 37 guests