The main difference between Europe and USA...

[Jocke]

[Bleyseng]

Well, you got that right!
Also the women in Europe actually walk to shop! I was amazed at how slim the women are compared to the American SUV driving,cellphonetalking women here. In Holland the women ride bikes too and that makes for great legs!
Going back for a second look in August.
Geoff

[Superman]

Yum.

[widebody911]

While I don't go in for the Kate Moss look, women seem to be getting fatter, and they don't seem to care. I see women at my work with *considerable* extra poundage, wearing skin-tight jeans and midriff-baring shirts with their gut hanging out. Yeah, that's attractive! Oh wait, they have a dangling belly button ring, a tattoo, and a nose ring, so that makes it OK.

[john70t]

You guys are full of it.
American fast food contains the four food groups(cheese=milk, bun=carbs, "meat"=protein, ketchup=vegetable).
The high fat content is part of an Atkins diet(who incidentaly died young of heart disease), and a link to obesity has never been definitivly proven, just as there has never been a definitive link between cigarettes and cancer. There are always other factors involved.

Besides, fast-food has many decades of traditional history and is integral to every cultural community.
Just see for yourself: http://i-am-asian.com

[Aurel]

The extra poundage does not bother me as much as the thong on top of it...That is really gross. Like a set of Fuchs on a honda Civic.

Aurel

[304065]

As I have pointed out to this sophisticated audience before, no less a personality than V.I. Lenin said that capital's continuing need to generate returns would result in global imperialism. He never wrote much about the cultural effect, but it's probably just as significant as the economic effect. Just like the proliferation of chain restaurants after WWII (some of you may remember that this was a war in which the United States and Russia liberated Europe from the Nazis and then contributed the capital to rebuild both victor and loser), which was an offshoot of the "Holiday Inn" phenomenon, in which travelers seeking a consistent product eschewed local motels in favor of chains, US franchises have gradually expanded around the world.

Do you give no credit to the indigenous cultures around the world for having the maturity to make a CHOICE about what they eat and what movies they watch?

Do you take the position that it is MORALLY WRONG for US companies to serve up movies and fast food, even though these have been shown to contribute to softness of intellect and body with protrated use? Should we exercise RESTRAINT to avoid corrupting the rest of the world with our high-carbohydrate, low nutrititional and educational content lifestyle?

Should PEOPLE magazine be ILLEGAL, because people cannot excersise the DISCRETION to avoid reading it and becoming superficially obsessed with the personal hygiene habits of Hollywood glitterati?

Why does it BURN your ARSE so much?

All socratic method aside, the objection here is EXACTLY the same as elsewhere in the US political landscape, and it's simply this: people are unwilling to take responsibility for what goes into their bodies and minds, and once corrupted, seek to use the US tort system to recover for their self-imposed injuries. And do you know what? Every tort recovery is a liquidation of something the individual has lost, that they are NEVER going to get back! Tort settlements are not like winning the LOTTERY, they are designed to compensate the VICTIM and punish the tort-feasor. Ask somebody who has a stroke caused by hardening of the arteries brought on by continuous consumption of Le Big Mac whether they would rather have $1mm from McD's or their neuro function back, see what they say!

It is the worst kind of paternalistic outlook that suggests that people, whether in the USA or elsewhere, lack the ability to decide what is right and what is wrong for them. And yes, I say the same thing about the possession of recreational marijuana and automatic weapons.

Having said that, has anybody seen "super-size me" yet?

[widebody911]

Originally posted by john70t
The high fat content is part of an Atkins diet(who incidentaly died young of heart disease),
Actually, he slipped on ice and bonked his head. I guess "dying young" @ 72 is open to interpretation.

Death cert here.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/atkinsmed1.html

[lendaddy]

"The high fat content is part of an Atkins diet(who incidentaly died young of heart disease)"

No, he died from a head injury after a fall, and he wasn't "young".

[turbocarrera]

I've only seen the interview with the director on cnbc and saw the trailer here.

That movie should be hilarious and frightening. You hit the nail on the head Mr. Cramer.

[RickM]

Originally posted by widebody911
Oh wait, they have a dangling belly button ring, a tattoo, and a nose ring, so that makes it OK.

Yeah, the standard faire for today's youth to be cool and unique. Problem is it's far from unique.

Tattoos? Usually the scroll work on the small of their back and the flower anklet. Sound familiar?

[turbo6bar]

I was stretching in front of the TV the other day thinking about all the work it takes to stay in shape. The Health Matters segment flashed on screen, and researchers estimate obesity will overtake cigarettes as the number 1 cause of death. I believe the current numbers are 40% for cigarettes and 30% for obesity. I can't believe the hubbub about cigarettes, and yet the silence about obesity. I guess the problem is we can sue over cigarettes, but you can't sue anyone because your arse is too d@mn big??? With great freedom comes great responsibility.
jürgen

[Rot 911]

Originally posted by turbo6bar
I guess the problem is we can sue over cigarettes, but you can't sue anyone because your arse is too d@mn big???

Apparently you can:

INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis woman said she was humiliated after a cab driver allegedly refused to let her in his vehicle in February because of her size.

Mararika Parker, who weighs 650 pounds, has depended on taxicabs for the past three years to drive her short distances, but she said she never had a problem getting service until February, WRTV reported.

"He said 'I can't ride you. You too big for my cab. You'll pop the doors off of my cab,'" Parker said. "I was so mad, I couldn't talk to him."

Parker went to the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, which is now pursuing an investigation against Indy Airport Taxi.

Officials with Indy Airport Taxi told the commission that the company has never refused transportation to a client based upon any type of discrimination, and claimed that Parker was physically unable to enter the cab, even with assistance from the driver.

"He (cab driver) said he may have to pull me in and out of the cab. That's not true. I'm 28 years old, I'm not a senior citizen. I'm just overweight and can't walk far," Parker said.

Commission officials had Parker call for a cab from her mother's home and observed her getting in and out of the cab without any problems. WRTV also observed Parker on camera getting into a cab without a problem.

The commission is still investigating the case, but Parker said she won't back down.

"I need help. It's not something I can do myself, and for him to embarrass me ... I am going to take it as far as I can," Parker said.

Officials say people who believe they are victims of discrimination have legal options.

"They can request damages such as emotional distress. They can file for an injunction if there is a pattern. Some can even get out-of-pocket expenses," Civil Rights Commission Chief Counsel Gregory Ellis said.

[GrindingGears]

armpit hair and straight teeth

[john70t]

(oops, thanks for the fact corrections- I thought he had keeled over by heart attack at 50ish, which would be young. Doesn't S.S. start at 75 nowadays or is it still at 65?)

[widebody911]

650#? She doesn't need a cab, she needs a flatbed!

Maybe I'm overly insensitive, but I don't see much of an excuse for being so grossly overweight. There's a lady at my work that's close to those proportions. She wheezes like an old pickup when she walks, her belly hangs almost to the floor. And I see her in the cafeteria first thing in the morning loading up her tray with bacon and Hostess; it's like she's making special effort to bulk up!

[304065]

The most common misconception about Atkins, or any carbohydrate-deprivation diet regime like South Beach or The Zone, is that it's a high-fat content diet in addition to carbohydrates.

People think, and I'm not singling you out, John70T, that Atkins means high-fat because that's what they've heard, but word-of-mouth doesn't communicate the fact that you must have a very low, under 50g/day, carbohydrate intake, for the diet to work. If you "cheat" and eat ice cream on a low-calorie, carbohydrate-based, "fat-free" diet, all it will do is set your progress back. If you "cheat" on Atkins, guess what, you are on THE BODY DESTROYER DIET, because the high fat content coupled with carbs generating an insulin response will pack on the pounds faster than you can say "I'll have fries with that!"

Atkins says in the book that you should have a baseline cholesterol test performed and a physician checkup before going on the diet. I'd go that one further and say that you should have a couple different cholesterol tests performed: you will be AMAZED at the variation between tests and labs. Average the results. Atkins claims that your cholesterol level will go DOWN if you practice the diet correctly. It's just that it takes MORE DISCIPLINE than lo-cal diets due to the need to maintain a state of Beneficial Dietary Ketosis (BDK) while on the diet.

Naturally there will be LITIGANTS who claim that Atkins FOULED them up and seek a recovery. Consider the case of the man below: do you think he is an agent provocateur for the now-ailing bread industry, that has thrived for years on the "Food Pyramid" recommedation of FIVE SERVINGS of GRAIN a DAY?

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/27/national/27atkins.html?ei=5062&en=d399bbe237d93537&ex=1086235200&partner=GOOGLE&pagewanted=print&position=

[CJFusco]

This is why I think that obesity is on the rise in America... just one humble nut's opinion:

When the Kate Moss/anorexia/heroin look became popular in the early 1990s, the natural backlash was for heavier persons to declare "be proud of who you are, no matter what your shape." Of course, seeing as this is America, people take things to extremes. "Be proud of who you are" became "who gives a ***** about health?" While I have no problem with people being proud of how they look if they happen to be a little big-boned, I don't think people should be proud if they let their lifestyles become detrimental to their health. Chock it up to good-old-fashioned American laziness misinterpreting a positive social message.

Now, the difference between America and some of the European countries is a matter of lifestyle. I spent some time with my cousin in Holland; thieir idea of snackfood is fruit, veggies, fish, crackers, and cheese. They sit down to dinner at 5:30, and don't gorge themselves... meals take awhile to serve, and everyone sits at the table for hours enjoying one another's company. I have seen 4-hour "dinners" where I have eaten much less (and better food) than a 20-minute gorge-fest here in the states.

Also, due partially to obscenely-high gas prices and partially to a lack of parking spaces, people are far more apt to ride their bikes short distances instead of driving their cars. People in Holland are seriously in very good shape! I don't think I saw anyone under the age of 60 or so that wasn't toned and slim.

[beepbeep]

Jocke is from Sweden so I feel obligated to add some of my observations:

Here in Sweden we have strong feminist movement that is strongly opposed to any sort of "beauty ideal". Unfortunately, this has influenced Swedish woment in a negative way during last couple of years so we now have notably higher percentage of not-so-slim bellies exposed under ahh so short tops.

Anyway, trend is slowly moving from "Kate Moss"-look towards "neither skinny or fat" look...

I had my "taste" formed in early 90's so I'm somewhat subjective though

[dd74]

I loss like 45# on an Atkins diet. You better like meat, though, because that's all you'll get.

As for women and their...um...dress style: obviously they need more men to tell them what to wear (and what not to wear).

But I have yet to find a guy who has enough balls to be a trailblazer in that department.