Big Food Makes Big Americans

July 31, 2008 | 2 Comments

It’s not shocking that Americans eat too much. I just didn’t know how much.

“We’re eating 3,747 calories/day on average when the recommended average is somewhere around 2,000?!?!?!!!!” (source)

I’ll put that into perspective. I’m 5′10″, which is about 4 inches taller than the average American woman. I weigh around 170 pounds, which is about 10 pounds heavier than the average American woman. I eat about 1600 to 2600 calories a day depending on my activity, my weight loss goals, the food available, my mood, etc. I am right at the cusp of “healthy weight” and “overweight” according to US governmental guidelines.

The average American eats over 1000 more calories a day than I do and I’m sure they don’t burn it off at the gym or on the farm.

Since it’s the average, that means it’s a social problem. Certainly some people do manual labor and require 3000+ calories. Some people are athletes and require 3000+ calories. Some people have medical conditions that require 3000+ calories a day. But on average, 3747 calories a day is too many. On average, it’s wasteful, it’s unhealthy, and worse, it’s not being dealt with properly.

While the mainstream media is talking about “The Obesity Epidemic” and making individuals feel guilty, few are seriously tackling the root causes of this problem:

  1. School Cafeterias: unhealthy school lunches that are packed with meat, dairy, and junk food and light on fresh fruits and veggies, (read more regarding cafeteria lunches here)
  2. The Government: inadequate guidelines for nutrition and nutritional data for processed and fast foods,
  3. Big Food: misinformation and propaganda regarding nutrition in schools, on TV, and elsewhere.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Food, Health, big, calories, diet, excess, fat, nutrition 
2 Comments to "Big Food Makes Big Americans"

Intersections

July 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Way, way, way worth a read: Fashionable Nerd talks about privilege and intersecting fat and color.

Snippet:

“You have skinny, then thick, then fat (and many different words to describe what comes between). In my experience, it’s been the “thick” that’s most coveted, but that’s strictly what I see (YMMV). Now, a thick girl may not understand the issues I face as a fat woman, but she’s not as privileged as say, the skinny woman.” [...]

“The older and more militant I became, the more I noticed the color privilege I had. I would always get compliments on my ‘beautiful, light brown skin’, when I’d have an equally gorgeous cocoa-colored friend sitting right next to me being ignored. Coupled with the long hair I had then, I’d get random IGNORANT questions about ‘what I was mixed with’ because clearly, my Blackness ain’t enough to garner beauty. I have to fit some European ideal, and so my mom or dad has to be White, right? {This isn’t a shot at White people, just the beauty ideal. End disclaimer.}

“But besides the shunning I noticed, I found that some of my darker-skinned friends were ashamed of their skin color, much as some fat people are conditioned to be ashamed of their fat. For example, my friend A. and I wanted to go out one weekend and have some fun. When I suggested the beach (I was living in Florida at the time), she said, ‘Girl, no! I can’t afford to get any darker than I already am!’”

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under fat, privilege, race 
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