A couple of thoughts. Though it has been a few years since I was in Rio, I remember it as a more curvy physical ideal (as opposed to waif-like models) with specific attention paid to how one looked walking into the water - hence the amazing bikinis that Rio is so well known for. So this is disappointing to hear if it has been super-sized.

That being said, I try to avoid commentary about obese people because a) my father obsesses about it and talks about it all the time; and b) my wife is not blessed with my metabolism (though she is fiercely disciplined about intake and exercise, unlike me).

But holy cow, whenever I travel (and especially at US domestic airports) I'm mouth agape at how large my species is becoming - and how people wear clothing ultimately inappropriate for their body types. BTW, some of the most egregious stuff is in the UK with wasted young, fat girls. Seriously, do you own a mirror?

As the father of a daughter, I like that women are comfortable with their body type, and don't starve themselves to reach an unrealistic ideal that they can't achieve. But I think the pendulum, like so much belly fat hanging over the fanny pack strap, has swung too far.

I do blame high fructose corn syrup (it is in everything, I can barely read ingredient labels anymore) and a general lack of fitness. The one gallon cup that people fill with Coke at the convenience store is the cigarette of the 21st century. Mad Men in 2050 will be a story about fast food workers and 7-11 clerks watching small whales walk into stores swilling Cokes and eating low-fat, high-sugar snacks.

There's an interesting analysis out about how misled we were with the low-fat diet to combat heart disease, and ultimately how this resulted in the substitution of carbohydrates to keep food appealing.

Moderation in all things folks. And please, wear a shirt that covers all that flesh.

Denis, the website says they have it for grownups now too.

Hugh's tax dollars at work
https://www.presidentschallenge.org/participate/index.shtml

My kids go to Catholic school but they follow most of the public school standards. There are zero fitness standards that I am aware of. For public schools, just follow the money. Funding is partially dependent on standardized test scores, hence why you see so much focus on "teaching to the test". They are happy to have a school of fat kids if they test well.:p

"WE" are hardwired to "EAT" and by default most humans are lazy.

So if there's food in front of us we "EAT" and there are plenty of big companies that know these two things and act accordingly.

The "drive through" for instance. You don't even need to get out of you car to stuff your face on cheap fast food.

There's no great mystery to obesity. It's just diet and exercise but somehow that escapes most fat people.
What really bothers me is seeing attractive women age and they're only going one way on the scales.

I hope I don't sound shallow but fat girls just don't do it for me. That and crooked big toes. :(

I've seen many lovely, fit, nicely dressed women in London. It must be the walking culture there because the food is dreadful....oh...maybe that's it.

Dear Scott, please don't take offense.

Could be!

There were a lot of malnourished people back in the day & the govt started to fortify food back in the 50s. Back then the rich were fat. Now we're all too "fortified" and the rich are the ones who pay for better food and gym memberships. The govt now pays for gastric bypasses and hip replacements to get people to lose weight. Crazy.

Could be what Mr Jim?

Its not just people in our generation. Notice the huge amount of overweight teenagers these days? It is disturbing. When I was in HS, you had maybe 5 -10% of the kids that where overweight. Now I wouldn't be surprised if it was close to 40 or 50%. I place the blame on easier access to crappy fast foods, the electronic/video game/internet age and just laziness in general. Its pretty pathetic, that at 49, I can run circles, fitness and performance wise, around most of the young guys in their 20s and 30s in my firehouse. But then again I've always been health and fitness oriented since my teens.

The one good thing though is there is a resurgence in fitness lately, especially among women. But sadly I feel its just another fad that will pass.

Thanks for the EXCELLENT post there Don.

Well said!

Yours too, Vinny!

This thread is perfect WITHOUT pictures. Please keep it this way!

Overweight teenagers is one thing but when you see young people in their early 20s who a truly obese that is just wrong.

Your 20s should be some of the best years of your life! .......... Spending them "BeachBall" FAT is just not and option IMO.
Sadly for some if they fight their "hard wiring" in their brain they pay a huge price.
Anorexia and Bulimia anyone? I've seen a woman's life destroyed by Anorexia. It also caused huge pain and misery in her family and it didn't end well.

What I think we should aim for is a "healthy" weight. Two examples and they are Both HOT IMO.

This 40 something lady would work very hard to look like this and her bod screams health and fitness. How can that not be HOT?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1400372422.jpg

This lady is a bit younger so her feminine and her voluptuous body is the most alluring things about her but she doesn't look like she exercises much and I'm pretty sure she's seen a burger or two. ;)
Fast forward ten years and what do you think she'll look like?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1400372483.jpg

oops...

Huzza wuzza......Vinny would approve! (Me too!)


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1400372422.jpg

And that's the point!

"We" all want love and being attractive means we're more likely to get it.

Evolution or modern life? I go with evolution every time ;)

You couldn't be more wrong if you try.

1. Government isn't just one person making all the calls, look it up and you'll be better off

2. It doesn't matter how much you exercise, if you eat crap, you'll look and feel like crap.

Can't argue with facts.

A sad day. The last time I was in Rio was 1988 and I could barely contain myself on the beaches there. It was a magnificent display of fine human form in all it's glory. Traveling fairly recently in China, France, Switzerland, Austria, and southern Germany, Americans look like a herd of elephants compared with the locals.

At 5'10/175 I am about 10lbs over my college athlete fighting weight but still look reasonably human I think. I have decided to take matters into my own hands for the rest of my life to stay in the same clothing size I was married in. Some things are simply off the table and major lifestyle adjustments are warranted.

My thoughts on intake:

* Sweetened, carbonated soft drinks are simply poisonous to humans. All of em IMO. I have already consumed more than a lifetime supply of the stuff. Diet drinks may be worse than HFCS laden ones in the way it tricks our system into craving sweets. Same goes for most packaged snack foods.

* Strive for 95% whole meats. Processed meats, burgers, hot dogs, sausage in very limited quantities.

* Avoid packaged/processed foods and stick to the outer perimeter of the grocery store.

* Whole fruits and vegetables are open and relatively unlimited if it comes in mother natures package. The more locally grown, the better.

* Whole bread and pasta with very simple ingredients that I can pronounce from specialty stores and bakeries.

* If the "mouse type" ingredients on a package contain a bunch of chemical compounds or other big words, it's not food so don't eat it.

* If I can buy it through a drive-thru window, it's not food.

* Restaurant meals- Eat half and bring home the other half.

My thoughts on daily exercise:

* Walk 2 miles in the neighborhood every day. It costs nothing and the dog likes it too.

* "Couches kill" so limit time on it.

* Regular active weekend adventures- hiking, surfing, motorsports, skiing, biking... whatever gets me moving.

This is the plan and has been in place for about two years now. I'll check back in 10 years and let you know how it is going.

My thoughts too. OK, she has a pretty face but the size of her arse and those short legs - yuck. Sure I've just been banned from UKDailyMail but every second article was about how "beautiful" she is, I won't miss that.

SC, I'll take the pink one.:). I like some curves, muscular girls are too pokey.

Rusty, if you're going to tell me that I'm wrong please don't say "look it up". That strongly suggests that you don't have anything to back up your retort. Here's what I know, school funding is tight and at least partially based on standardized test scores. That I'm aware of there are no standards tied to physical fitness that drive funding, please correct me if I'm wrong. In public schools it's all about the quest for funding, programs that aren't tied to govt money (PE, shop, home ec, etc) have been on the cut list for years. Many grade schools now only have one recess, some have none. Many extracurricular sports are now funded by donations and parents. There is no incentive for schools to have any variety of physical activity.

As for #2, BS. I know plenty of people that violate every rule in the book but make it up with exercise or genetics. All things being equal you will be more healthy if you eat healthy foods, but I know plenty of people in great shape that don't only eat organically fed organic foods from virgin animals packaged in 100% recycled products and transported to the farmer's market by horse and buggy. When I was a kid in the 1980s we had pizza, hamburgers, and chicken fried steak for school lunch. We also had two recesses, daily PE, and lots of other activities. Childhood obesity was a fraction of what it is today.

Wow