Fat Euros!

[Dinner]

Americans rejoice because your country is no longer the world's fattest. Of course Americans haven't lost weight but several European countries have been gaining weight much faster then the US and have now topped the US in the percentage of obese adults. Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Malta and Slovakia have more obese men as a percentage of the adult population then the US though the US is still tipping the scales at 67% of the adult male population being so over weight they are clinically obese. US women also remain a bunch of fat bastards with 34% being classified as obese but here the US only takes second place since Greek women are obese 38% of the time.

European health officials are calling for government action. Even in healthy countries like France the obesity rate is climbing fast and officials are blaming a cultural shift away from traditional foods towards high fat & high sugar processed foods. So people are calling for a tighting of food labeling laws and adjusting portion sizes in prepackaged food to better reflect the amounts people actually eat. It is hoped that by better informing people about the the nutritional content of what they eat the people will be able to make smarter choices.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,150544,00.html

[Dinner]

In any event Greeks are now the fattest people on Earth though Americans, Germans, Finns, Slovaks, Czechs, Maltese, and Cyprusians are close behind. It looks like we have a bunch of fat and happy westerns.

[notyoueither]

Americans should rejoice as well.

[Dinner]

We're still fatter then before but other people got fatter faster.

[Darkstar]

Actually, I wonder at the stats.

Remember, most baseball and football stars are "obese". Many of the football athletes are "morbidly obese".

I'm not denying that there are a lot of chunky or just plain fat Americans. But there are more Americans working out now then there used to be... and many measures of obesity don't take into account the difference between muscle and fat. When athletes, pro and am, get lumped into "fat" and "hey, you might die soon you so fat!", I think there is a problem in the data. Indeed, I sense a bit more spin on their numbers then even I would dare for an entertaining convo.

[Space05us]

67% of the adult male population being so over weight they are clinically obese

How do they define 'obese'? Do bodybuilder qualify as obese? They certainly weigh a lot more than they should. Do Pro-athletes count as obese? They're certainly not trim.

[Darkstar]

Space... I think they do. If it's the same set of stats that's been making the rounds on the online science rags, then it's a simple height/weight ratio, rather then any sort of bodyfat index.

[Ted Striker]

USA!!!!

[Lawrence of Arabia]

athletes and such make up less then 1% of US populatiion. what about the other 66%?

[Ted Striker]

That's a good point, they are the outliers.

[Dinner]

Out west we're the healthiest and weight the least but the south is fat, fat fat.

[Darkstar]

Amateurs make up significantly more then 1%, LoA. And there is this trend to work out until you get cut. That's considered healthy. But it puts you over your height/weight healthy index...

What the proportion of the population that is that are amateurs or maintaining their cut, I do not know. But it has increased significantly. And it is certainly more then a mere 1% or 2% of the US Population. Going to the gym and staying cut is a very popular past time, even with straights.

[Immortal Wombat]

I can't imagine that going to the gym makes a significant proportion of Americans weigh in as "fat". Certainly not as clinically obese.

[Ted Striker]

.

[Giancarlo]

All that about Europeans being slimmer then Americans.. I knew that was truly crap. But nonetheless this should be of concern:

Story here

"In an analysis that weighed in on the debate over reforming Social Security (news - web sites), health experts concluded that the nation's steady rise in longevity may end in coming decades as more people die early from obesity-related health problems like heart disease, diabetes and kidney failure."