"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> Oh, probably, but I don't believe it's limited to the United States; it's
> just we talk about it obsessively. I saw plenty of obese folks in Bangkok
> and Malaysia. One of our maids, Uhn, used to walk around saying "Me fat"
> and then giggle like crazy. She *was* rather roly-poly. So was our cook,
> Alum. But her daughter, Dook, was thin as a rail. They ate the same
foods.
> Go figure.
>
Though it is true obesity is not limited to the USA, it is the percentage of
the population and the number of obesity related deaths that have earned it
the status of "epidemic" in America. It is not so much "obsessive" alarm of
fitness junkies as it is concern of the Surgeon General and Health
organizatins in America. It is also very educational to look at the impact
American junk-food chains have had on health of youth populations in foreign
cultures.

> My mom taught me a long time ago - eat the most expensive thing on your
> plate first. That way if you get full, you don't feel quite so bad about
> not finishing the rest

LOL, the most expensive item on the plate is most likely the highest in
saturated fats, too...... as in, the least heart-healthy. The whole idea of
guilt driving food consumption is ultimately not a good one.