Food in America

I do think a lot of Americans are overweight because we are the most car oriented culture and it leads to a chain like this. We have the sprawling cities leading to many people having long commute times, they don't have as much time on either the morning end or night end to eat properly (buying fast food, freezer food, easy prepare food) eating stuff that is packed with preservatives, salt, and high fructose corn syrup. There are millions of other reasons but this I believe to be a key one.

There's a lot of truth to the geography and car links. In addition to spending time commuting, living in a spread out suburbia means it's nearly impossible to walk anywhere. It's more than 3 miles from my home to the nearest grocery store, 5 to a dedicated produce market, and there are no sidewalks or even road shoulders. I can't simply slip on my sneakers and wander down for some fresh vegetables for dinner (nor can I walk to a pub, restaurant, or store of any kind). That means I need to plan a trip. Since this 2 mile trip takes an average of 15 minutes (yes really) each way and is out of my way I'm not going every day. That means I am buying in bulk, to last me several days or even a week. Fresh food doesn't last a week so I'm buying some fresh and some preserved.

So I'm not getting any real "consequential" exercise since I can't walk/cycle to work, or the store, the pub, or a friend's house. I have to set out special time to say "and now I will exercise." Since there aren't sidewalks in my neighborhood I have to GO somewhere even to walk. I have a car so going somewhere isn't difficult at all, but it is one more "thing to do" in life and psychologically that always means it can get pushed back, even if it shouldn't.

I would point out that I live in a fairly new city (even by US standards). When I was living in an old city in VA town was very different. I could, and did, walk into the local business district. I walked to work, the grocery, the pharmacy, little stores, and even to synagogue. I have gained considerable weight since leaving this town but there are other factors in this as well (stressful job, loosing one grandmother the other grandmother having open heart surgery, dad diagnosed with bad cancer, etc).
 
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I think the major difference between Europe and the USA is, that Europe as a "food culture" of sorts out of various traditions, which mostly are hundreds, if not thousands of years old.

It starts in the supermarkets, where the food is nicely spread out in the open and decorated in a vast variety in Europe, with clerks who cut the meat or the cheese into portions for you, while in the USA everything is wrapped up in plastic foil and you have not much to choose from (if you cut crisps and breakfast serials out of the picture).

I'm not an expert in U.S. food but when I was over there, I noted a certain ambivalence. On one hand I found the biggest fruit and salad buffets I have ever seen at the cafeteria of the company I worked for (next to every fat thing you can imagine of course), on the other hand you were forced to attend to fast food or diner food, if you wanted to go out and eat.

There were of course Chinese and Mexican restaurants but the food is practically identical to the food that's served here, so not much temptation to go there and try something new.

But the Americans have developed quite an astonishing BBQ culture. I must say that this is an area, where we can still learn from them.

I didn't stay in a big city in the USA and I imagine that in the major cities there is a different picture but truth to be said, I was rather fed up with the U.S. food after a couple of weeks...
 
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This thread is worthless without cholesterol.

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Don't know if this has been said, but I think one factor is just the change itself.

A lot of foreigners who come to Japan (Americans included) say they put on weight - and Japan is supposed to have one of, if not the healthiest diet around. Japanese I know who have lived overseas say they put on weight too.

So even though the US has some crazily unhealthy food available in deadly doses, I think the change in circumstances/lifestyle etc is probably a bigger factor.

And as for the fat poms...

"All that healthy food, like fruit and veg, is too expensive. We're fat because it's in our genes. Our whole family is overweight," she added.

...complete contradiction! Healthy food is "too expensive" (read: it's a pain in the arse to cook and wash the dishes) so we eat shit, but we're fat because of our genes. Wrong. You're fat cos you eat unhealthy food, like you just said.

Whole families are often fat because the kids learn unhealthy habits from their parents and by the time they're adults it's too late. It's one of those cycles.

Yes genes play a part, but more often than not it's poor upbringing.
 
I think the major difference between Europe and the USA is, that Europe as a "food culture" of sorts out of various traditions, which mostly are hundreds, if not thousands of years old.

It starts in the supermarkets, where the food is nicely spread out in the open and decorated in a vast variety in Europe, with clerks who cut the meat or the cheese into portions for you, while in the USA everything is wrapped up in plastic foil and you have not much to choose from (if you cut crisps and breakfast serials out of the picture).

The last time I was in the states (a few months ago) I went up to the meat counter in the supermarket, talked to the ukrainian butcher working there, he gave me a slice of 2 different hams to try, I chose one, and he sliced off a pound of it for me. I then proceeded to do the same thing when chosing my cheese. after that I walked over to the vegetables which were all lying out in baskets, looked at a few tomatoes and picked some nice ones out and put them in a plastic bag myself.

In short: just like I do in Germany.

I think the main reason why people get fat in America is a) the food is better (I'm not talking about random fast food, I'm talking about proper food) so you are willing to eat more of it, and b) you drive fucking everywhere. I probably bike around 100km a week, just going places, which makes me able to afford my 10 liters weekly beer consumption.
 
I'll agree with klanky, I think the fact that in the US people don't really walk or cycle as much as they do in other parts of the world catches most visitors out. They might not really be eating more or worse, but they're not getting the exercise they are used to and start putting on the pounds.
 
The last time I was in the states (a few months ago) I went up to the meat counter in the supermarket, talked to the ukrainian butcher working there, he gave me a slice of 2 different hams to try, I chose one, and he sliced off a pound of it for me. I then proceeded to do the same thing when chosing my cheese. after that I walked over to the vegetables which were all lying out in baskets, looked at a few tomatoes and picked some nice ones out and put them in a plastic bag myself.

In short: just like I do in Germany.

Funny -- I heard a lot about complains from Americans visiting Germany, who consider the way food is sold here "unsanitary", because everything is arranged out in the open.

It seems like it's a matter of what part of the USA we're talking about...

This thread is worthless without cholesterol.

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What in the world is that monstrosity?!? Looks absolutely horrific...:barf:

If your taste buds can handle that, they have already degenerated into an earlier evolutionary state...
 
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Funny -- I heard a lot about complains from Americans visiting Germany, who consider the way food is sold here "unsanitary", because everything is arranged out in the open.

It seems like it's a matter of what part of the USA we're talking about..

Well, the story I told took place in TEXAS, so.... :p

It all depends on the stores you go to. if I go to an aldi or whatever, all the meat is also prepacked, but I make the effort to go to butchers, bakers, cheeseries (?), grocers and such. But conversely, I also usually get a bag of pre-sliced wheat or rye bread, just because I'm lazy at times, and it's fucking great at 4AM when you come home drunk :D

You just have to seek out the right places in the states to match your shopping habits, because USA is the king of retail.
 
American pizzas are thick as pies. That is all.
 
American pizzas are thick as pies. That is all.

Depends on the region, New York likes thin crust and giant slices you have to fold in half. Chicago has the thick pizza that's more of a cake with meat and cheese. Then, there are the national chains that make the mass-market stuff.

Pizza in America, is as diverse as pork is in Germany.
 
Yes of course my generalization is flawed, but when I think of american pizza the one thing that pops into my head is Pizza Hut. Which I know really isnt a pizza place but more of a... miscellaneous "foods" chain. But, they do really thick pizzas. And really expensive ones too! No wonder it's no big hit around here, I like my pizza cheap, made by a hairy man from the middle east that does not pay his taxes! :)
 
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I am American, I am 5'11 and weigh 157 lbs. I think the main reason people here are huge is because they don't pay attention to what they eat and they don't exercise at all. Meanwhile everyday for lunch I eat a salad and pretty much never eat fast food. I also workout at the gym 4 to 5 days a week. Meanwhile I work full time and go out a lot to hangout with friends. If I have time to work out anybody can do it.
 
Okay, so I spent my summer back in Europe and ate delicious home-cooked meals or at restaurants.
Now I'm back in the states and once again I'm disgusted by the eating culture here. Especially with young people.
Most people around my age, even some athletes that I know, are too lazy to prepare anything healthy on their own. If it's not microwaveable - they don't bother at all. If you have to cut it - they don't bother again. Everything has to be bite-sized, and half-ready. All they want to do is open the plastic bag and throw it in the microwave. And that's everyday.
YUCK!
 
Okay, so I spent my summer back in Europe and ate delicious home-cooked meals or at restaurants.
Now I'm back in the states and once again I'm disgusted by the eating culture here. Especially with young people.
Most people around my age, even some athletes that I know, are too lazy to prepare anything healthy on their own. If it's not microwaveable - they don't bother at all. If you have to cut it - they don't bother again. Everything has to be bite-sized, and half-ready. All they want to do is open the plastic bag and throw it in the microwave. And that's everyday.
YUCK!

Bite sized? You mean elephant bites...
 
Okay, so I spent my summer back in Europe and ate delicious home-cooked meals or at restaurants.
Now I'm back in the states and once again I'm disgusted by the eating culture here. Especially with young people.
Most people around my age, even some athletes that I know, are too lazy to prepare anything healthy on their own. If it's not microwaveable - they don't bother at all. If you have to cut it - they don't bother again. Everything has to be bite-sized, and half-ready. All they want to do is open the plastic bag and throw it in the microwave. And that's everyday.
YUCK!

I just don't want to bother cooking it. Though I have multiple reason for it, largely being that any cooking heats the ever living shit out of my apartment.

So I eat out quite a bit.
 
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