33 replies to this topic

[MadVlad]

"The states with the lowest percentage of obese adults are Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Montana. Hawaii was not included in the report."

Just read that on CNN.com, here's the link...

http://www.cnn.com/2...s.ap/index.html

[Cotuit]

Rhode Island!!! Holy mary mother of god, the rest of the country must be obscenely huge then! Maybe it's just me coming from New York City where everyone is forced to walk and in the process shed pounds, but I find people in Rhode Island to be ginormous!

[Recchia]

The article in the Providence Journal today about this quoted someone saying something like "damn all the people in Warwick are fat..."  I have to agree, if RI is third, then the rest of the country must be morbidly obese beyond beleif.  This country is so friggen fat that places like RI (where noticeably tons of people are fat) are among the thinnest.  

I blame obesity on none other than the automobile.

[Cotuit]

Recchia, on Aug 24 2005, 09:17 AM, said:

"damn all the people in Warwick are fat..."

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

    

[Recchia]

Here it is:

Quote

"Oh, I don't think so," said Hall, 34. "We're chubbies. Not to be mean, but I think a lot of us are chubbies."

Working at a Del's Lemonade in Providence, Spencer Stolle, 16, said: "I'm surprised. I thought everyone in Warwick was fat."

http://www.projo.com...y.132352c5.html

[Shawn]

Seriously, when I got off the plane from Tokyo last August for my summer break, I had this article in mind . . . and yet all I could think was, "If THESE people are the 2nd skinniest in the country, then the US is beyond help."

[Captain Obvious]

My two cents ...

I live in Florida, went to college in Rhode Island. I cannot comprehend that Rhode Island might be one of the skinniest states. There are quite literally tons of fat people waddling all over RI. My "gut" assumption would have been that RI had a much higher proportion of obesity than Florida. Just walking around Florida's cities (which have their fair share of regular buffet patrons, mind you) one doesn't notice as much obesity as I saw in public places in RI.

- Perhaps New England's high concentration of young students trims up their average?
- Perhaps New England's relatively smaller rural and exurban areas are the reason? It's no secret that obese people live out in the exurbs. But geographically speaking, NE has less physical space devoted to suburbs and exurbs.

[MadVlad]

maybe we just know when to jog around the block instead of stopping for that  Friendly's ice cream sundae.....

[Cotuit]

MadVlad, on Oct 4 2005, 10:22 PM, said:

maybe we just know when to jog around the block instead of stopping for that  Friendly's ice cream sundae.....

I don't!  

[Garris]

Recchia, on Aug 24 2005, 07:17 AM, said:

I have to agree, if RI is third, then the rest of the country must be morbidly obese beyond beleif.  This country is so friggen fat that places like RI (where noticeably tons of people are fat) are among the thinnest.

Visit Minnesota, and the Midwest in general...  I lived there for four years, and every instance I flew back to the Northeast, I used to think, "Man, people here are so much thinner!"  

The founder of the MetRx bars used to get healthcare at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and he was so struck by how obese people were in the area that he donated money to the Clinic to build two gyms for their employees!

- Garris
Providence, RI

[Recchia]

Garris, on Oct 6 2005, 12:46 AM, said:

Visit Minnesota, and the Midwest in general...  I lived there for four years, and every instance I flew back to the Northeast, I used to think, "Man, people here are so much thinner!"  

The founder of the MetRx bars used to get healthcare at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and he was so struck by how obese people were in the area that he donated money to the Clinic to build two gyms for their employees!

- Garris
Providence, RI

Interesting.  I guess it depends on the people you come into contact with.  One thing I can say for sure, at my school here in Albany, the majority of people are very thin, except of course for the occasional fatty that can't get over the all you can eat cafeterias.  I myself used to be obese (295 lbs), but lost it all and am now happily not a fat lazy American.

[SOCOM]

Recchia, on Oct 6 2005, 02:29 PM, said:

Interesting.  I guess it depends on the people you come into contact with.  One thing I can say for sure, at my school here in Albany, the majority of people are very thin, except of course for the occasional fatty that can't get over the all you can eat cafeterias.  I myself used to be obese (295 lbs), but lost it all and am now happily not a fat lazy American.

Speaking of schools...I attend Hofstra University and I'd estimate maybe 5-7% of the students here are "obese".  Just about everyone is at least in moderately good shape, many in great shape.  I'm sure it's the same in most of America's universities.  So I got to thinking, are these same people going to start ballooning once they leave college, or are college kids today more health concious than previous generations?  

The obvious answer is that in college, we care much more about how others percieve us, and therefore keep in pretty good shape, but even then, it's hard for me to imagine that a good portion of these skinny, buff kids are going to gain 30, 40, or 50+ lbs after leaving college.

[Recchia]

SOCOM, on Oct 6 2005, 02:40 PM, said:

Speaking of schools...I attend Hofstra University and I'd estimate maybe 5-7% of the students here are "obese".  Just about everyone is at least in moderately good shape, many in great shape.  I'm sure it's the same in most of America's universities.  So I got to thinking, are these same people going to start ballooning once they leave college, or are college kids today more health concious than previous generations?  

The obvious answer is that in college, we care much more about how others percieve us, and therefore keep in pretty good shape, but even then, it's hard for me to imagine that a good portion of these skinny, buff kids are going to gain 30, 40, or 50+ lbs after leaving college.

Very true, I also attribute some of it to the usual walkability of college campuses.  My campus, despite being quite suburban as far as getting to it, has a nice walkable podium where all the classes are located.  Just walking to class everyday is at least over a mile for most between going back and forth a few times.  Add to that the superficiality of being in college that you mentioned and I think it outweighs (no pun intended) the expected "freshman fifteen."  I escaped the freshman fifteen, since I got fat in high school (I called it the senior fifty instead).

[Garris]

SOCOM, on Oct 6 2005, 12:40 PM, said:

The obvious answer is that in college, we care much more about how others percieve us, and therefore keep in pretty good shape, but even then, it's hard for me to imagine that a good portion of these skinny, buff kids are going to gain 30, 40, or 50+ lbs after leaving college.

I have to say that as one of the likely "older" UP members (about 31), I laughed hard when I read the above paragraph.  Guess what SOCOM?  Many of those kids will gain that weight...  You'll see it at your 10th reunion ().  There's lots of factors:

- The biggest is that your body just changes as you age...  If you're still in college now, you're far from done developing, and your metabolism is much higher now than it will be in 10 years...  That thin friend of mine in college who was able to eat an entire pizza pie at a sitting then would be rolling down the street if he tried that now... :-)
- Life becomes really busy after college (family, career, etc, etc)...  There isn't tons of gym and jogging time, and not everyone stays a varsity athlete forever...  Those friends of mine with kids (I'm still single) say that's the real hammer to staying in shape...
- You become not quite as body-image obsessed as you age...

I like to think I've done pretty well myself.  I'm actually in much better physical shape health-wise now than I was in college (I eat much better, some health problems are under way better control, and I run about 6-7 miles every other day, which I wasn't close to doing then) but even with all that, I'm probably still about 10-15 lbs up from my weight when I was 20 or 21.  The body just changes whether you like it or not, ya' know?)

- Garris

[Cotuit]

About 31? That's an interesting age.     

I find that I eat more than I did when I was younger. I was busier and poorer when I was younger, less time and less money to eat. Also, being coupled means that I usually have dinner every night, it's not just me anymore, so I tend not to skip meals. I probably average 2.5 meals a day now, when I was in my 20s I might have had 1.5 meals a day.

[Recchia]

I'm eating right now...

[Scraper Enthusiast]

Shawn, on Oct 3 2005, 10:55 AM, said:

Seriously, when I got off the plane from Tokyo last August for my summer break, I had this article in mind . . . and yet all I could think was, "If THESE people are the 2nd skinniest in the country, then the US is beyond help."

Asians are skinny people.  Comparing them to caucasians is hardly fair.

[Scraper Enthusiast]

Recchia, on Oct 6 2005, 01:50 PM, said:

Very true, I also attribute some of it to the usual walkability of college campuses.  My campus, despite being quite suburban as far as getting to it, has a nice walkable podium where all the classes are located.  Just walking to class everyday is at least over a mile for most between going back and forth a few times.  Add to that the superficiality of being in college that you mentioned and I think it outweighs (no pun intended) the expected "freshman fifteen."  I escaped the freshman fifteen, since I got fat in high school (I called it the senior fifty instead).

When I was in college about ten years ago, I lost 20 pounds in a year, not by eating healthier or going to a gym, but by walking everywhere.  The college I attended had a pedestrian walkway with all the buildings along it, so I would walk from class to class, then on to my dorm.  Half the time, I was unaware that I was losing weight, as it was a lifestyle that I was actively involved in.  I went to Georgia Southern University.

[Scraper Enthusiast]

Garris, on Oct 6 2005, 05:57 PM, said:

I have to say that as one of the likely "older" UP members (about 31), I laughed hard when I read the above paragraph.  Guess what SOCOM?  Many of those kids will gain that weight...  You'll see it at your 10th reunion ().  There's lots of factors:

- The biggest is that your body just changes as you age...  If you're still in college now, you're far from done developing, and your metabolism is much higher now than it will be in 10 years...  That thin friend of mine in college who was able to eat an entire pizza pie at a sitting then would be rolling down the street if he tried that now... :-)
- Life becomes really busy after college (family, career, etc, etc)...  There isn't tons of gym and jogging time, and not everyone stays a varsity athlete forever...  Those friends of mine with kids (I'm still single) say that's the real hammer to staying in shape...
- You become not quite as body-image obsessed as you age...

I like to think I've done pretty well myself.  I'm actually in much better physical shape health-wise now than I was in college (I eat much better, some health problems are under way better control, and I run about 6-7 miles every other day, which I wasn't close to doing then) but even with all that, I'm probably still about 10-15 lbs up from my weight when I was 20 or 21.  The body just changes whether you like it or not, ya' know?)

- Garris

Garris, you're right.  I'm 28 years old, almost 29, and I eat much better now than I did in college.  I also walk just as much, if not more.  Yet, I can't seem to drop below 175-180 pounds.  In college, even though I was the same height (5'8"), I weighed a skinny 155 pounds (skinny for me, anyhow).  

You're also right about the body developing.  The body seems to bulk up.  You get "meatier". You look more like a man (which you are) instead of a waif twenty year old.  Not to mention, you get a few crowlines under the eyes and you lose some hair.

[MadVlad]

As men get to around 30, their muscle mass increases, or so I hear.