Good point. However, it doesn't explain why obesity is now an epidemic in this country and not in others. Nor does it explain why obesity is an epidemic now, but wasn't when we were kids.
That's because obesity is a multi-faceted issue with a large number of factors going into it - which is why it's not simple to pick down with just one or two views.
There's a list of different reasons (affecting people in different levels and some aren't affected by these at all).
I've never been to another country so I have no grasp of the average diet/main staple in other places. . . in America I see:
#1) Processed foods have become cheaper and more readily available . . . along with these processed foods have also been ushered in ingredients that are synthetic/unnatural and some have diverse reactions with someone's body-chemistry.
#2) Physical activity has dropped - in school and at home - this doesn't just include sitting to play video-games and at computers . . . this also includes our lack of walking/biking as a means of transportation. We're a vast country and we depend more and more on auto-transport just to get to the store a few miles away. In many other countries that aren't so sprawling this is less of an option - foot and bike are more common.
#3) It's become more socially acceptable to be obese. In fact, it's become fashionable to many - which leads to:
#4) Standards of what *is* overweight or *big* have changed - not just in the last 100 years, but in the last few centuries.
An example is that Marlyn Monroe was a modern-sized 10 or 8 (even though many have falsely stated she was a 12 or 16) - she was *my* size, now.
#5) Food availability:
Even our poor have access to foods that once were available only to the rich. Cookies, cake, ice cream, sugar, soda, other snacks, candy - these things are more available and more affordable than ever before. It use to be that mostly only rich people were fat because they had other people do their physical work (IE: chores around the house) and they ate more expensive foods. In modern-times, buying foods that are healthy is more expensive than cheaper and unhealthier options - crap in a can is highly unhealthy but commonly marketed to children (like chef boyardee which is falsely claims to be healthy when it's not), and these options are cheap.
Also - snack are so much more available, today, that people will consume a reasonable amount of foods each day - and an excessive amounts of snacks . . . Because snacks are empty calories the body quickly processes them and sooner than later the person is hungry and eats more - quickly shooting calorie counts through the roof.
#6) Meal-skipping. People don't eat breakfast because they aren't hungry (or lunch, etc). They aren't hungry because their metabolism is slow. . . and because their metabolism is slow they don't get quite a hungry - and it's a cycle that just repeats day after day.
#7) Overall taste in foods has changed.
What is good food? Most people say they don't like to eat veggies because they don't taste good - so they sauce them up, if they eat them at all. And many of these same people are simply unwilling to experiment with seasonings and herbs to flavor veggies to their liking. They even refuse to consume different, healthier foods with the intent on learning to like it.
#8) Depending too much on a pill or quick-fix something to solve health and weight problems - if you've been overweight your whole life or for a long time you can't expect it to end overnight. People give up too soon if they start at all.
#9) Altering your taste for food, exercise routine, daily activity levels and overall diet takes time and perseverance. Honestly, I think many people don't bother to even try because they just don't give a damn. Or, they do care, but they don't know how to change - they don't understand what's wrong. . . leads to #10
#10) People don't know how and don't have adequate information and support for their efforts. Habits are hard to change, especially when everyone you know seems accepting of your weight and other issue and offer little support - especially fi they're privy to the same attitude and bad habits.
#11) Portion size - The growth of everyone's waistline seems to correspond with the amount of food people consider 'a portion' - getting bigger and bigger over the years in restaurants, fast food joints and at home - and people trying to lose weight have to deal with portion-size reduction.
I can go on but you get the idea - everyone who's overweight on a real level can attribute their problems to one or more of these 11 issues I've listed. All or some of these are key factors behind everyone's weight-fight stories on a variety of fitness and weight loss shows.
Its' no longer a mystery as to why people are overweight.
What is a mystery is why so many people still don't care and aren't bothered by it.
Remember when someone a few years ago announced that she was losing weight so she could lose her virginity?
On a bodybuilding forum I use to frequent the reaction was: "good for her! Get healthy!" - very understanding and supportive.
But elsewhere, especially on all-women's forums I frequented at the time the reaction was: "that's so sad! She should be happy how she is!" - very critical of her mindset and quite disparaging.
So in her endeavor to lose weight for a personal goal - who was more supportive? Who would have been more helpful to her? Encouraging her that she can change if she really wanted to? Or trying to convince her to embrace her weight and not be worried about what others thought of her?