[shureluck]

Why has it become shameful to simply say indulging yourself with calories is a personal choice that has consequences?

It boggles my mind we need “science” to tell us this stuff that is frankly just common sense that has been beaten down by pop culture.

[brnt]

As a European, the (default) food options I see in the US make it very difficult to eat what I would call a healthy meal. You really have to make an extraordinary effort, which I don't experience back home and therefore I can't be surprised to see it translates in these obesity statistics. To place that all on personal agency seems not very productive to me, back home there are efforts made that make easy and default options meet a minimum level of healthiness. I don't see why Americans can't do the same, and why you would want to count on billions of individual choices if you can solve with a (health) program. This kind of thinking made us into programmers, right?

[eue6e6ey]

I see variations of this idea a lot but I find it hard to agree with them. Right now (in California) I can buy a week's worth of low calorie healthy groceries (including a variety of leafy greens) from Walmart for around 30 bucks. I'm fancy so for me it's around 45 via instacart (sub+tip). That's not too bad for most Americans. Even if it is for some, rice, beans, and milk alongside a wide variety of filling vegetables can be bought for gallons/pounds on the dollar. The problem isn't access to healthy meal options, it's that most Americans with a choice would rather just eat food they enjoy more. Personally I never saw the issue since private healthcare means the added health burdens get priced in.

[fxtentacle]

It has also become shameful to honestly tell people that they failed at a task. Instead, you praise them for trying...

We're treating adults more and more like kids.

[AlecSchueler]

If you call them a failure they internalise their failure as a feature of their character. If you praise them they will be more likely to engage in improving their performance.

Why is being harsh seen as being more adult? It's just harmful and creates many social barriers and ill will.

[d0mine]

Obesity is much more complex than your comment implies.

It is completely unsurprising that there are people who think like you.

[inglor_cz]

One of the factors in fattening of the UK and the USA is that many people forgot how to cook. The intergenerational transmission of this skill somehow diminished over the last decades. In contrast, in the poorest part of the world, pretty much everyone cooks at home, it would be unaffordable to live on processed foods only.

But oh God, so many Westerners are absolutely clueless in the kitchen. I am not sure whether this is caused by not having enough time, by successful advertising from processed food producers or from a cultural stigma that cooking is somehow backward and a kind of self-oppression. But cooking is dying out, for the first time in human history.

[ketamine__]

It was the mission of the Hairy Bikers. They wanted people to start cooking at home again. All their recipes were high fat and high calorie. Eventually they did a weight loss show because they got so big.

When my friends talk about "knowing how to cook" they are talking about making rich, luxurious foods with lots of butter, oil, eggs, and meat. It's probably worse than a hamburger from McDonald's.

[AlecSchueler]

Because we understand that obesity is highly linked to traumatic experience and that the over eating tends to be the result of compulsive escapism rather than a conscious choice to indulge.

Can highly recommend the book The Body Keeps The Score for further reading.

[Veen]

It's also linked to enjoying fatty and sugary foods. I'm overweight, and it's not because of a traumatic experience. It's because I enjoy eating pizza and burgers, and I'm too lazy to shop for and cook healthy food.

[throwitaway1235]

According to the most recent CDC data, 42% of Americans are classified as clinically obese. Are we to believe nearly half the country is suffering from severe psychological trauma?

I blame the intersection of capitalism and food, the normalization and expansion of horrific fast food choices solely because it is profitable and advertising is cheap.

[jhayward]

Because your description of obesity has very little to do with what's actually happening. It's just more of the pernicious "sickness is due to evil, health is due to righteousness" nonsense that pervades certain demographics.