Why does obesity a rarity in Europe?
 

I've heard recently that the latest research shows that many obese people are fat because they eat for emotional reasons. If so, don't Europeans have emotional issues; therefore, why aren't they fat? Excuse me if I offended anyone.

Why IS obesity.......too early for me...sorry

The fact of comfort eating is hardly latest research.Europeans have alcohol tobacco suicide & driving too fast(depending on the country) to fall back on.
IMO this ends up being a cultural choice.

lucky03, people gave you the benefit of the doubt yesterday as to if you were really just a troll. This question gives us the true answer today.

American children could over-eat through and after Hitler?s war. From 1939 until about 1955 European children were hungry or if not hungry but were strictly fed. Butter and sweets were rationed in Britain until about 1953. So that large part of the people of Europe, now in their 50s or older, were saved from fast food, fatty food, and much advertising for food.

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I read an article about obesity in the US recently, and they listed these reasons;
- portion size
- so called low-fat products that are too high in sugar
- general acceptance of obesity; for example by changing sizes to make people feel better (ie a medium size in the US is really quite large).
Europeans do have emotional issues, and I am sure they too use food for comfort, but systematic overeating every day of the year is something else; and that is what causes obesity.

Have a look at this. It's almost a great a problem her as in the US

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/yourweig...is_stats.shtml

Europeans don't eat gigantic portions of food like many Americans. Food is cheaper in America than in Europe. Europeans don't have as many Couch Potatoes as America does. More Europeans walk or bike to their jobs than do Americans.

This is an interesting question.

Of course Europeans have emotional issues. And dress sizes are definitely getting bigger in England (can't speak for the Continent).

I think the issue is with snacks. When I go to the States for a holiday, I am always struck by the array and availability of snacks. Whole supermarket aisles devoted to snacks, piled high. I even went to a drive thru for the sheer novelty of it - it has been so long since I could just pull up and order a cream laden coffee to go with a donut. Or 3.

When did Americans start eating while walking around? When malls began?

Lucky03 may be a troll but I'll take his/her topics to those of Degas/dumas/ChubNuts, any day.

Obesity in America is a very serious phenomenon and we all pay the consequences in our health care premiums. And those premiums will continue to rise with American waistlines. Idiot radicals quack away about the treatment of ducks and farm animals but where are these so called "animal lovers" when it comes to the human animals who can't stop gorging themselves?

I'm sure this will come as a surprise to many readers and every word of it is true (Degas/dumas/ChubNuts DON'T READ! Too personal!): I topped the scales at 280 pounds my Freshman year of high school. I was one fat child with a fat, sassy grandmother who loved to cook. I went to an all-girl, Catholic college prep school and let me tell you it was BRUTAL. I couldn't show my face in the cafeteria at lunch time without getting food thrown in my face and a day did not go by without tears in my eyes. For two years I ate lunch in the chapel and begged God to tell me why I had to be so different. Now you know why I won't take anybody's donkey dung. I grew almost 4 inches the following summer and by the time I moved to NYC at age 18, I was 5' 9" and weighed 135 pounds. Even though I thought I was a happy child (at home), I will NEVER go back to being fat. Today I deprive myself of nothing. But I work out regularly and I eat everything in moderation. Some days I splurge while others I conserve. Smart, healthy balance is the key.

Food is a very easy escape for many people and their are plenty who refuse to face their fears. Some very good points were made so far on this thread and I'm sure there will be more to come. Obesity is a serious problem in America and it needs to be discussed constantly. Tulips is absolutely correct about the clothing size LIE on American racks. Just try and get a designer to talk about it in the open. Ladies and gentlemen, just add 2 inches to every number the next time you go shopping if you're willing to face the truth.

If I may add my 0.17 Euro worth,

Although some people are very overweight because of emotional needs, most overweight people in the US just eat too much and get too little exercise.

Would this be the appropriate time to mention the issue of fat between the ears?

I agree about snacking and browsing being a problem. I notice nowadays that you often see a child sitting in a buggy with a packet of sweets or crisps in its hand.
I read somewhere that the British actually consume fewer calories than they did in the 50s but take far less exercise.
Sadly, I have started to notice overweight Italian children. I was in a restaurant in Venice recently when a school group arrived. The teachers and a few of the pupils came into the restaurant for a meal, but the majority of the children went off and returned with McDonalds packets. Of course, McDonalds in very cheap and that may have been one reason.

How about this - most visitors to Europe visit the large, popular (usually capital) cities, and are usually only exposed to seeing Europeans like that.

Most such large cities have public transport and people are forced to do a lot of walking (even if they use the metro).

Walking burns calories.

Also, unlike some places (such as the USA - a.k.a. land of the free drink refills and the all-you-can eat buffet), Europe usually provides smaller portions, especially concerning drinks - hence less calories.

Although Americans eat more food, even those in larger cities are generally thinner than those who do not have to walk as much.

Let me add that the type of work we Americans do has also radically changed over fifty years. The manufacturing jobs of the past tended to keep men in shape. Agriculture work has waned and become more machine oriented. Men are more likely to work on their bums. The same goes for women. The housewife of 1955, not to say 1925, performed a lot of physical work. Now house chores of the past have a lot of labor-saving machines easing the physical strain and a majority of women work outside the home, at desks, on their fannies.

Jumbo, you know, it's been my experience that when guys begin to feel inadequate around women (normally with good reason), they play the bitch card. I bet you're a Cubs fan too.

I'm sure this is an oversimplification, but my observation is that Europeans tend to eat 3 meals a day with little or no snacking in between. Also you don't see the proliferation of junk food plastered all over the place like you do in the US.
JoeG

That is a nice opinion about large cities, BUT Philadelphia is known as the fat capital of these United States and oh the food is to die for. A few of you hit it on the mark with larger portions and all-you-can-eat buffets, but it seems to be more a societal issue and I don't see it changing anytime soon. I live in the southeast and to witness the carriages of so many young children bearing so much extra weight is sad and nothing turns my stomach more than persons, who are observably overweight lining up at those infinite buffets. The key word is moderation and if parents don't teach their children how to eat properly, then why should the children care. From my observations since I've been traveling to Ireland these past ten years, there is a noticeable expansion in the girth of those wonderful people and I dare say that they watch just as much television as americans, not to mention those frequent visits to the pub. Surely, it is the excess of western society causing the laziness of the people. Now you know why americans love SUVs, cause their the only vehicles that make them feel skinny:) Hurrah for capitalism!!

North Americans eat too many "empty" calories, and Europe is beginning to catch up. I agree that food addiction, portion size, and lack of physical activity are also culprits, BUT not all food/calories are created equal. Junk foods, fast foods, convenience foods, whatever you want to call them, are killing us. There seems to be a direct co-relation between the increasing availability of these so called foods and the rise of obesity. I shudder when I see parents throwing potatoe chips and chocolate bars at their children in malls, grocery stores, and the subway (often at dinner time) just to shut them up. I'm sure those same children get plopped in front of the tv when they get home. It's a form of abuse.