Why does America have an obesity problem? (Page 2)

colesdad - 2010-07-14 3:22 PM Maybe this new sandwich at Friendly's (target audience kids!) is part of it?

CitySky - 2010-07-14 1:08 PM Just for the record, I eat some variant of the legume-plus-veggie combo more days than not.

* black bean soup with cumin & cilantro
* chickpea curry
* white bean "green chile" chili with tomatillos & chopped green apple
* pinto beans + plantain stew with Jamaican curry powder

etc.

NFPFO.  Not For Poor Folk Only.  Of course, I blow any savings on chocolate and coffee. 

phoenixazul - 2010-07-14 11:51 AM I know a lot of you are suburb dwellers...tell me if this is just a Pittsburgh thing then? My parents live in a little municipality just outside the city, and it seems like the bloody place has a vendetta against sidewalks! There's really no sidewalk, it goes driveway, street. If you want to walk somewhere, you walk on the street, regardless if it is residential or commercial (and there are both in the neighborhood, a little shopping plaza with a grocery store and some offices and a pharmacy). It really isn't safe, for a variety of reasons including speed of drivers, bad sight lines, and general aggression towards pedestrians. It is no wonder people don't walk in these places, you could end up dead! When I lived in the UK, I walked everywhere. It was really the most convenient. The library, the shops, my uni, the bus stops, the train station, even the town centre and my diabetes specialist were easy to access by walking. With sidewalks. And pedestrian lights. I think we need to focus on building communities in which people can have their needs met. If you had a green grocer around the corner from your house, would you really drive to Kroger? If you could see your GP three blocks away, wouldn't you rather walk there? If you could live closer to work, would you?

phoenixazul - 2010-07-14 1:51 PM I know a lot of you are suburb dwellers...tell me if this is just a Pittsburgh thing then? My parents live in a little municipality just outside the city, and it seems like the bloody place has a vendetta against sidewalks! There's really no sidewalk, it goes driveway, street. If you want to walk somewhere, you walk on the street, regardless if it is residential or commercial (and there are both in the neighborhood, a little shopping plaza with a grocery store and some offices and a pharmacy). It really isn't safe, for a variety of reasons including speed of drivers, bad sight lines, and general aggression towards pedestrians. It is no wonder people don't walk in these places, you could end up dead! When I lived in the UK, I walked everywhere. It was really the most convenient. The library, the shops, my uni, the bus stops, the train station, even the town centre and my diabetes specialist were easy to access by walking. With sidewalks. And pedestrian lights. I think we need to focus on building communities in which people can have their needs met. If you had a green grocer around the corner from your house, would you really drive to Kroger? If you could see your GP three blocks away, wouldn't you rather walk there? If you could live closer to work, would you?

phoenixazul - 2010-07-14 11:51 AM I know a lot of you are suburb dwellers...tell me if this is just a Pittsburgh thing then? My parents live in a little municipality just outside the city, and it seems like the bloody place has a vendetta against sidewalks! There's really no sidewalk, it goes driveway, street. If you want to walk somewhere, you walk on the street, regardless if it is residential or commercial (and there are both in the neighborhood, a little shopping plaza with a grocery store and some offices and a pharmacy). It really isn't safe, for a variety of reasons including speed of drivers, bad sight lines, and general aggression towards pedestrians. It is no wonder people don't walk in these places, you could end up dead! When I lived in the UK, I walked everywhere. It was really the most convenient. The library, the shops, my uni, the bus stops, the train station, even the town centre and my diabetes specialist were easy to access by walking. With sidewalks. And pedestrian lights. I think we need to focus on building communities in which people can have their needs met. If you had a green grocer around the corner from your house, would you really drive to Kroger? If you could see your GP three blocks away, wouldn't you rather walk there? If you could live closer to work, would you?

phoenixazul - 2010-07-14 2:51 PM I know a lot of you are suburb dwellers...tell me if this is just a Pittsburgh thing then? My parents live in a little municipality just outside the city, and it seems like the bloody place has a vendetta against sidewalks! There's really no sidewalk, it goes driveway, street. If you want to walk somewhere, you walk on the street, regardless if it is residential or commercial (and there are both in the neighborhood, a little shopping plaza with a grocery store and some offices and a pharmacy). It really isn't safe, for a variety of reasons including speed of drivers, bad sight lines, and general aggression towards pedestrians. It is no wonder people don't walk in these places, you could end up dead! When I lived in the UK, I walked everywhere. It was really the most convenient. The library, the shops, my uni, the bus stops, the train station, even the town centre and my diabetes specialist were easy to access by walking. With sidewalks. And pedestrian lights. I think we need to focus on building communities in which people can have their needs met. If you had a green grocer around the corner from your house, would you really drive to Kroger? If you could see your GP three blocks away, wouldn't you rather walk there? If you could live closer to work, would you?

phoenixazul - 2010-07-14 2:51 PM I know a lot of you are suburb dwellers...tell me if this is just a Pittsburgh thing then? My parents live in a little municipality just outside the city, and it seems like the bloody place has a vendetta against sidewalks! There's really no sidewalk, it goes driveway, street. If you want to walk somewhere, you walk on the street, regardless if it is residential or commercial (and there are both in the neighborhood, a little shopping plaza with a grocery store and some offices and a pharmacy). It really isn't safe, for a variety of reasons including speed of drivers, bad sight lines, and general aggression towards pedestrians. It is no wonder people don't walk in these places, you could end up dead! When I lived in the UK, I walked everywhere. It was really the most convenient. The library, the shops, my uni, the bus stops, the train station, even the town centre and my diabetes specialist were easy to access by walking. With sidewalks. And pedestrian lights. I think we need to focus on building communities in which people can have their needs met. If you had a green grocer around the corner from your house, would you really drive to Kroger? If you could see your GP three blocks away, wouldn't you rather walk there? If you could live closer to work, would you?

QueenZipp - 2010-07-14 8:45 PM

Man Vs Food did an episode that included that diner.  I think it's in Alaska. 

The show makes me sick cause of the enormous portions the guy eats. 

Only in America do we celebrate gluttony with its own tv show.

tri808 - 2010-07-14 4:58 PM

has anyone seen deep fried butter?

I mean...wouldn't the butter just melt?

QueenZipp - 2010-07-14 8:45 PM

Man Vs Food did an episode that included that diner.  I think it's in Alaska. 

The show makes me sick cause of the enormous portions the guy eats. 

Only in America do we celebrate gluttony with its own tv show.

phoenixazul - 2010-07-14 2:51 PM I know a lot of you are suburb dwellers...tell me if this is just a Pittsburgh thing then? My parents live in a little municipality just outside the city, and it seems like the bloody place has a vendetta against sidewalks! There's really no sidewalk, it goes driveway, street. If you want to walk somewhere, you walk on the street, regardless if it is residential or commercial (and there are both in the neighborhood, a little shopping plaza with a grocery store and some offices and a pharmacy). It really isn't safe, for a variety of reasons including speed of drivers, bad sight lines, and general aggression towards pedestrians. It is no wonder people don't walk in these places, you could end up dead! When I lived in the UK, I walked everywhere. It was really the most convenient. The library, the shops, my uni, the bus stops, the train station, even the town centre and my diabetes specialist were easy to access by walking. With sidewalks. And pedestrian lights. I think we need to focus on building communities in which people can have their needs met. If you had a green grocer around the corner from your house, would you really drive to Kroger? If you could see your GP three blocks away, wouldn't you rather walk there? If you could live closer to work, would you?

meherczeg - 2010-07-15 1:32 PM

There are lots of sidewalks in Pittsburgh.  I walked and rode buses everywhere for 5 years there.

I have read that a lot of developers don't put in sidewalks because of cost and homeowners don't want them because of maintenance - you are required to keep your sidewalk clear and safe, and if a tree root breaks it up or something, you (in theory) have to repair it.  It's easier to not have them.  When I lived in Florida, NONE of the new developments had sidewalks, but the older ones did.  Here in SE VA, there seems to be no sidewalks anywhere.

Bigfuzzydoug - 2010-07-13 5:45 PM Seriously... why?  It couldn't be because of something like this, could it?  I mean does anyone see anything wrong with this?



Only in America... 

gearboy - 2010-07-15 1:43 PM

My mother lives in Norfolk - there are plenty of sidewalks around her.  Whenever I visit, I have the flattest 5 mile runs.  Much faster than the hills in here PA.

tri808 - 2010-07-14 3:58 PM

has anyone seen deep fried butter?

I mean...wouldn't the butter just melt?

momandmd - 2010-07-19 11:18 AM

Another factor is the way companies have engineered junk and fast food with the combinations of salty, fatty, and sweet that are most appealing, soothing, and addictive to the human brain (read the End of Overeating by David Kessler).  If you are completely stressed out about not having a job, and have kids screaming all around you, and you can't really think about next week, let alone how your health will be in 20 years, are you going to pick the lentils, or the Big Mac?