I know that one of the other huge differences in obesity from my parents’ and grandparents’ generation to my own is that they tended to work more manual labor-ish jobs (“down on the farm…”), whereas I for one these days pretty much just sit in front of a desk all day, but these accepted serving sizes certainly don’t help, either! We’re taught to empty our plates and go back for seconds at the buffet because it’s a good value, and at the same time we’re often consuming more calories than we should all day in a single meal… 😯
I think part of the problem is that many Americans don’t want to be healthy – or they do, but not enough to put down the 1,200-calorie cheeseburger and go for a walk instead. Sure, maybe it would be easier for people to be healthy if corporate America as a whole encouraged healthier foods with 400-calorie burgers and smaller portions all around, but really they’re just giving the people what they want, even if ultimately it’s terrible for us in the long run.
I honestly don’t really know what the answer is at this point except more education like this – a lot of people are just always going to eat crap because they like it or it’s all they can afford, and most (sometimes myself included) just don’t have the willpower necessary to do any better. I don’t think that silly regulations of the size of soda cups like they’re trying to do in New York City are the answer because we Americans love our freedom, even when it’s the freedom to eat foods that are likely to shave 20 years off of our lives.
Definitely an eye-opening infographic, that’s for sure!
(by InsuranceQuotes.org, via GrubGrade)
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