Even though "first world" is a bit of a charged and dated term, the point in using it here is as a criterion from a modern economic development standpoint, not to rank cultures. Apparently, obesity has risen considerably in recent decades in countries which have only fairly recently achieved postindustrial livelihoods for the majority of the population. So, I'm talking about countries where that process occurred many decades ago (and probably represents the vast majority demographic of this forum, anyway) like the United States, greater English-speaking world, and most of Europe.
Seems that the epidemic of obesity became truly pronounced in the 1980s-90s for many of these countries. So, relative to then, do you find that it is decreasing or getting worse? When I was a kid (and admittedly, I live in a state with some of the lowest-ranking metrics across the board) obese people were everywhere. It seemed like perhaps a majority of everyone above 30 years old was also approaching or above that same bodyfat percentage. My impression now is that it seems a little lower, at least where I live. Maybe the pressures of social media and more collective experience with the consequences of fast food, etc., have dampened the effects against when cheap, tasty and calorie dense foods first became ubiquitous. Also, Millennials as a generation just seem more health-conscious overall than Gen-X or Boomers, probably related to the previous assumption, but then maybe also in response to medical research about public health simply having reached deeper into public knowledge than before.
Even though there are official obesity rates, it seems like that data would have to be a lot of conjecture. With so many people lacking health insurance and regular doctor's visits in the first place, there's a sizeable group omitted from the pool of accurate, measured data. So I thought it would be a fun discussion but also to some extent necessarily anecdotal. Those of you who were already adults when obesity got really common in the US/UK, I'd be curious to know what your personal impression is.
Seems that the epidemic of obesity became truly pronounced in the 1980s-90s for many of these countries. So, relative to then, do you find that it is decreasing or getting worse? When I was a kid (and admittedly, I live in a state with some of the lowest-ranking metrics across the board) obese people were everywhere. It seemed like perhaps a majority of everyone above 30 years old was also approaching or above that same bodyfat percentage. My impression now is that it seems a little lower, at least where I live. Maybe the pressures of social media and more collective experience with the consequences of fast food, etc., have dampened the effects against when cheap, tasty and calorie dense foods first became ubiquitous. Also, Millennials as a generation just seem more health-conscious overall than Gen-X or Boomers, probably related to the previous assumption, but then maybe also in response to medical research about public health simply having reached deeper into public knowledge than before.
Even though there are official obesity rates, it seems like that data would have to be a lot of conjecture. With so many people lacking health insurance and regular doctor's visits in the first place, there's a sizeable group omitted from the pool of accurate, measured data. So I thought it would be a fun discussion but also to some extent necessarily anecdotal. Those of you who were already adults when obesity got really common in the US/UK, I'd be curious to know what your personal impression is.
from Bodybuilding.com Forums - Nutrition https://ift.tt/3l61ae7
0 comments:
Post a Comment