TOPIC: What caused the obesity crisis in the West?

British people are on average nearly three stone (19kg) heavier than 50 years ago, but who or what is to blame?

Contrary to popular belief, we as a race have not become greedier or less active in recent years. But one thing that has changed is the food we eat, and, more specifically, the sheer amount of sugar we ingest.

"Genetically, human beings haven't changed, but our environment, our access to cheap food has," says Professor Jimmy Bell, obesity specialist at Imperial College, London.

"We're being bombarded every day by the food industry to consume more and more food.

"It's a war between our bodies and the demands our body makes, and the accessibility that modern society gives us with food. And as a scientist I feel really depressed, because we are losing the war against obesity."

One of the biggest changes in our modern diet stems back to the 1970s when US agriculture embarked on the mass-production of corn and of high-fructose corn syrup, commonly used as a sweetener in processed foods.

This led to a massive surge in the quantities of cheaper food being supplied to American supermarkets, everything from cheap cereal to cheap biscuits. As a result, burgers got bigger and fries (fried in corn oil) got fattier.

According to nutritionist Marion Nestle, this paved the way for obesity.

By the mid 1980s, corn syrup had replaced sugar in fizzy soft drinks. The move made financial sense from the soft drink companies' point of view, as corn syrup was a third cheaper than sugar.

But it was also sweeter and, argue some scientists, more addictive. In the next two decades, the average American's consumption of fizzy drinks almost doubled - from 350 cans a year to 600.

Apperently about 80% of food in supermarkets now didn't exist 100 yrs ago

Apperently about 80% of food in supermarkets now didn't exist 100 yrs ago

Fast food, as in how easy it is to obtain. Years ago, as a rule we had 3 meals a day (I realise this wasn't the case for everyone) and didn't snack in between. Now we can get food cooked and prepared for us 24/7, with more and more people filling their face with crap all through the day.

pheony wrote:
Exactly...

And the sugar, corn syrup and also vegetable oil in some of the fast food is like dope to the obese...

I know people who do hard manual labour who eat mostly fastfood and take aways and they're not overweight at all.

Ultimate Seeker ™ wrote:
How old are these people?

Teens who i coach basketball can eat McDonalds 3 meals a day every day and still stay chiseled.

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chiseled

But people in their 30's-40's-50's who eat like that will be a fucking fat mess.

Drivers tend to get well fat

.......... wrote: Fifties, seriously less people have physical jobs nowadays, they're mostly sitting at desks eating tea and biscuits or fast food on their breaks.

Builders, mechanics, labourers, carpenters gardeners and many other workers stay in shape despite hard drinking and fast food diets.

Drivers tend to get well fat, there's a lot of fat fuckers work in the DWP aswell sitting at their desks eating biscuits all day.