Americans Life Expectancy

[StrangeSox]

It wasn't doubt that they exist but on what the impacts were. Time for google.

[Jenksismyhero]

There was just a study released a week or two ago that found that mortality rates for slightly obese people were actually lower than underweight or normal weight.

 

But the "gene pool" can't be "cleaned out" like that. You're talking about massive dietary changes resulting mainly from the industrialization of food in only a generation or two at the most. That's nothing something selection pressures can really adjust to, nor would we expect them to, because you're not dying until well after your prime reproductive years.

 

Nor is being overweight a moral failing that we need to "clean out" from our gene pool.

 

Lets get the definition of slightly obese out there. How many people/kids in this country are obese versus "slightly" obese. I'm sure having a little love handle isn't going to kill you, but there are far more morbidly obese people in this country, and sadly those habits just get passed down to young generations. THOSE are the people i'm talking about. And yes, that IS a moral failing especially when you subject your kids to that kind of lifestyle. That's equal to verbal/physical abuse in my book.

 

Edit: more morbidly obese people than other countries is what i meant

Edited January 10, 2013 by Jenksismybitch

[StrangeSox]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/health/r...udies.html?_r=0

 

Within a couple of miles of almost any urban neighborhood, “you can get basically any type of food,” said Roland Sturm of the RAND Corporation, lead author of one of the studies. “Maybe we should call it a food swamp rather than a desert,” he said.

 

eh, "within a couple miles of an urban neighborhood" is a huge radius.

[Jenksismyhero]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/health/r...udies.html?_r=0

 

 

 

eh, "within a couple miles of an urban neighborhood" is a huge radius.

 

It's called a bus.

[bmags]

It wasn't doubt that they exist but on what the impacts were. Time for google.

 

In my completely anecdotal proof! When I lived in roscoe village I could take the bus 1 mile west to western ave to Jewel, or go to the corner store for another day. I sadly made that corner store trip too often. You get home from work, you don't want to do a 2 hour round trip.

[iamshack]

While a lot of this is true, weight does matter at some point. And it doesn't come down to working out, people need to count how much they are putting into their bodies. And by and large, when people do this they tend to make healthy choices.

 

But to be healthy, cut down on red meat and meat in general per week. Cut down on cheese. Cut down on butter in prep. At that point you are doing good despite size.

I disagree personally with going about things in this manner, but people should do what works for them.

 

My personal philosophy is not to worry so much about natural foods like cheese and butter or even red meat, but just to use common sense and moderation. I don't buy into the idea that it is more healthy to eat processed "low fat" versions of food instead of their natural but more fatty counterparts. Just use common sense and don't eat a crapload of it. I don't count calories, but I have a general understanding of what is a good healthy meal, and what is not. I try to eat as large a variety of fruits and vegetables as I can, and I do usually stick with white meats as opposed to red meats. But I also treat myself to pizza or some chocolate or some salty fritos from time to time if I want them, because that keeps me sane. In the meantime, I try to stay active - I use the stairs at work instead of the elevator (granted, my building is only 4 floors tall, not 40), I participate in pickup football and basketball games with guys from work. I try to workout 2-3 times a week most weeks but ALWAYS at least once a week.

 

It really doesn't have to be that difficult. It can be as easy as using common sense and moderation. And if you feel good and stay active and don't eat a bunch of processed garbage, I don't really think weight is important.

[Soxbadger]

Id rather be free and die young.

 

Im pretty sure if I die early there wont be many questions about whose fault it was.

[StrangeSox]

It's called a bus.

It's called "being poor" which is the issue with food deserts in the first place.

[ptatc]

thank you.

 

the point i was making was that when you let the almighty dollar and free market control our food supply and health care system, it leads to this result. no matter WHAT choices you make these days, our food products are far inferior to their 1950's counterparts. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies have NO incentive to actually heal people, because then they stop making money.

 

Choices make all the difference. If you eat healthy and take care of yourself, odds are you will not need the medical system often. The medical system is not a "not for profit" system. No medical systems have these incentives.

Insurance companies on the other hand have a lot at stake to keep you healthy. Many of them have incentives (good results with blood work) to keep premiums down.

[Steve9347]

There's a "time to prepare a meal" aspect, too. Making processed foods or picking up fast foods is quick and easy. Making a big meal from scratch, a little more difficult and requires more resources.

Making a big ass, healthy salad with a protein source each day is not expensive nor all that time consuming. I can whip up a beast salad with three eggs on top in the time it takes to go to the drive through and order trash.

 

People always have excuses for why they can't stay healthy - when it's not hard at all.

Edited January 10, 2013 by Steve9347

[StrangeSox]

you going to feed your family nothing but salads every day? you going to be able to find fresh greens and whatever else to throw into it? afford half a dozen eggs or more for every salad if it's feeding four people? There's obviously things people can do, but you can't just ignore the different challenges people face.

 

eta: I made that comment in the context of the "food desert" discussion and the class divides in life expectancy.

Edited January 10, 2013 by StrangeSox

[ptatc]

Making a big ass, healthy salad with a protein source each day is not expensive nor all that time consuming. I can whip up a beast salad with three eggs on top in the time it takes to go to the drive through and order trash.

 

People always have excuses for why they can't stay healthy - when it's not hard at all.

Agreed. Time is the excuse. When we have to run one kid from one practice to practice there is no time for going home. However, going to a fast food place and ordering a plain grilled chicken sandwich or the salad is not a bad option. It cost more but it saves time.

[Jenksismyhero]

you going to feed your family nothing but salads every day? you going to be able to find fresh greens and whatever else to throw into it? afford half a dozen eggs or more for every salad if it's feeding four people?

 

There's obviously things people can do, but you can't just ignore the different challenges people face.

 

If feeding your kids is such an issue, maybe you shouldn't have kids.

[Steve9347]

you going to feed your family nothing but salads every day? you going to be able to find fresh greens and whatever else to throw into it? afford half a dozen eggs or more for every salad if it's feeding four people?

 

There's obviously things people can do, but you can't just ignore the different challenges people face.

I didn't say every day. It's not hard to make sandwiches with buffalo sauce, or tacos with healthy ingredients, or to grab a .99 cent can of black beans and make burgers out of them. A 3 pack of romaine hearts is $2. Eggs are dirt cheap. One onion can be used in meals for multiple days. People just have to venture into the produce area instead of grabbing bags of processed chips and pre-packed expensive meals. Take 15 minutes one day and plan out the week's meals. It's not hard at all.

 

But going to the drive through or ordering dinner is SO MUCH EASIER. People who say they don't have time to eat healthy or can't afford it are f***ing idiots. Same with working out - people choose what they do, and they choose to order in food and watch that extra episode of whatever. I don't want to hear about people with kids, either, because you can exercise at home without any equipment and get your sweat on quite easily.

 

Edited January 10, 2013 by Steve9347

[StrangeSox]

I didn't say every day. It's not hard to make sandwiches with buffalo sauce, or tacos with healthy ingredients, or to grab a .99 cent can of black beans and make burgers out of them. A 3 pack of romaine hearts is $2. Eggs are dirt cheap. One onion can be used in meals for multiple days. People just have to venture into the produce area instead of grabbing bags of processed chips and pre-packed expensive meals. Take 15 minutes one day and plan out the week's meals. It's not hard at all.

 

But going to the drive through or ordering dinner is SO MUCH EASIER. People who say they don't have time to eat healthy or can't afford it are f***ing idiots. Same with working out - people choose what they do, and they choose to order in food and watch that extra episode of whatever. I don't want to hear about people with kids, either, because you can exercise at home without any equipment and get your sweat on quite easily.

 

But the issue with food deserts is that they may not have access to a decent produce area with affordable produce, so that doesn't do them much good. There's also the aspect of actually knowing how to prepare and cook different meals and having the stuff to do so. Yeah, processed food is easier, there's a whole lot of time and stress issues you face when in poverty. The parent working two jobs and raising two or three kids might not actually have time to exercise that much or they might be exhausted at the end of a long day.

 

This applies to some people in some circumstances, not everybody, obviously.

[Soxbadger]

I didn't say every day. It's not hard to make sandwiches with buffalo sauce, or tacos with healthy ingredients, or to grab a .99 cent can of black beans and make burgers out of them. A 3 pack of romaine hearts is $2. Eggs are dirt cheap. One onion can be used in meals for multiple days. People just have to venture into the produce area instead of grabbing bags of processed chips and pre-packed expensive meals. Take 15 minutes one day and plan out the week's meals. It's not hard at all.

 

But going to the drive through or ordering dinner is SO MUCH EASIER. People who say they don't have time to eat healthy or can't afford it are f***ing idiots. Same with working out - people choose what they do, and they choose to order in food and watch that extra episode of whatever. I don't want to hear about people with kids, either, because you can exercise at home without any equipment and get your sweat on quite easily.

 

Its more expensive to eat healthy food than junk food. That is just simple math.

 

And part of the higher mortality rates is that American's have bad habits like drinking, drugs, sex and rock & roll. Rich people, poor people, everyone can die early in the US.

 

So what. Not sure why I care.

Edited January 10, 2013 by Soxbadger

[DukeNukeEm]

Hey guys, people die. Its actually inevitable. Quit worrying about it.

[Jenksismyhero]

Its more expensive to eat healthy food than junk food.That is just simple math.

 

And part of the higher mortality rates is that American's have bad habits like drinking, drugs, sex and rock & roll. Rich people, poor people, everyone can die early in the US.

 

So what. Not sure why I care.

 

No way. Eating vegetables and fruits and lean meats (healthy food) is insanely inexpensive. When we lived in the city my wife and I would go to one of those all produce stores and load up a cart full of all kinds of things and it would be under 25 bucks. You're talking a weeks worth of meals for that much. Conversely you go to Sams or Costco and buy prepared meals and you walk out the door with a 300 dollar charge.

 

It comes down to choice. I don't excuse poor people with supposed limited access to food from making those poor choices. Their food is paid for. They gotta go get their WIC or LINK food from a real grocery store anyway. They CHOOSE to be lazy and buy the processed stuff.

Edited January 10, 2013 by Jenksismybitch

[StrangeSox]

jenks has deep insights to the day-to-day life of poverty

[southsider2k5]

Agreed. Time is the excuse. When we have to run one kid from one practice to practice there is no time for going home. However, going to a fast food place and ordering a plain grilled chicken sandwich or the salad is not a bad option. It cost more but it saves time.

 

Heck all fast food places have salads now a days.

[StrangeSox]

they also have this, unfortunately:

 

 

that's sorta what I mean by your choices being constrained or at least heavily influenced by culture/markets.

[DukeNukeEm]

jenks has deep insights to the day-to-day life of poverty

You know, I was poor for all of 6 months. I didn't like it, so I decided I'd stop being poor. Now I'm not poor anymore. It wasn't particularly difficult, I just had to stop throwing away money like an idiot and make a conscious effort to save.

 

The people we really shouldn't listen to are the ones that are poor now, have been poor for like 10-20 years (or more), and dont seem to understand why they are still poor. These people are not experts on breaking out of poverty.

[Jenksismyhero]

jenks has deep insights to the day-to-day life of poverty

 

Working in a grocery store during high school exposed me to the day to day activity of poor people that used WIC and LINK, yes. WIC stuff you have to get specific items that aren't available in mom and pop shops.

 

But i'm sure you also have deep insights into the day-to-day trouble of people living in poverty since you're arguing it's difficult for them to get healthy food.

[StrangeSox]

lol

 

edit: cross-post but works for both of you

Edited January 10, 2013 by StrangeSox

[southsider2k5]

they also have this, unfortunately:

 

 

that's sorta what I mean by your choices being constrained or at least heavily influenced by culture/markets.

 

They also have water and other healthier products as well.