Ummm here in the US we have tight restrictions on our vacation time and it is frowned upon to miss work and the amount of stress we have is overwhelming because of this (we come to work sick and in general we get 3 days of bereavement) … I mean we have the most flimsy employment laws of most other well developed countries. This extra stress boils over into our personal life and causes us to over eat. Lets also not forget there are only 2-3 cities that you don’t ‘need’ to own a vehicle in…. so walking to work really isn’t an option for the majority of this large country.
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Its all about the $s and nothing more in the US. If you look at the stuff that is in most junk food items are things that help keep shelf life and it is also stuff that the body has no idea how to break down so it stores it as fat. That's why for instance Coke is better for you then diet coke.
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I'd say what someone said above about junk food being so much easier to buy, keep, and eat than healthy food.
But another factor is our schools. Back in the early 20th century the government needed soldiers and too many kids were growing up unfit for service. This was often because poor families tended to have the most kids to use as free labor (and then made the kids eat last instead of first, my granny telling me how the kids had to even forage their own food from the wild after getting food off the far that the adults ate the most of) and not eating enough often makes kids grow into small, skinny adults (it also interferes with puberty and adolescent development). So the government came up with a solution: fatty foods with lots of protein in the schools (along with PE/gym).
Times grew more prosperous and kids were no longer raised to be starving for the most part, so the lunch programs and menu were no longer necessary yet the government & schools did not adapt while vendors sold junk food in the schools as well. By the time this was faced and changes started to be made then kids were often prevented from getting enough exercise, and even when allowed they find computers and video games a lot more interesting than playing outside, so it's too little, too late. And when one eats too much in school (and/or doesn't get enough exercise) the body gets fat and when it happens in adolescents the body grows in a way that is much bigger than normal and harder to lose weight, mostly out of habit, but there are physiological changes responsible as well.
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there are a few countries >60 %, not France tho
60 or 70 statistical noise
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I read a funny quote recently...it said something to the effect of:
"America: Where being obese is genetic and being gay is a choice!"
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I remember the last time I was in Atlanta , I had never seen so many fast food outlets in my life.
You could not turn the corner without running into one , Mexican food southern-fried food, Italian , Chinese.
It blue me away ,most of the counters were empty , no one waiting to be served,it was all drive through, and all super-sized for $1.00 .
And when they say Super Size , they mean it.
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![[Image: oecd-percent-of-adults-overweight-obese-nyt-chart.jpg]](http://www.globalsherpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/oecd-percent-of-adults-overweight-obese-nyt-chart.jpg)
