On 2014-09-05 23:39, jmcquown wrote:

>>> people here bitching about food at amusement parks being nutritious or
>>> not. LOL!
>>
>> Amusement park food and Fair food are glaring examples of why
>> Americans are so fat.
>>
> I'm American, I don't go to fairs or amusement parks. Is that why I'm
> not fat?


To be fair Jill, there are a lot of very fit Americans. There are enough
Olympic medals that have gone to Americans to support that. I see lots
of very fit looking Americans. You can consider yourself lucky to be
thin and fit looking. However... you have to admit that a lot of your
countrymen have weight issues. We have our share of overweight and obese
people up here, but I have to tell you that when I cross the border I
see whole new dimensions of fat. Not everyone, not a majority, only a
small percentage, but they are way fatter than you see in other places.

On 9/6/2014 12:08 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2014-09-05 23:39, jmcquown wrote:
>
>>>> people here bitching about food at amusement parks being nutritious or
>>>> not. LOL!
>>>
>>> Amusement park food and Fair food are glaring examples of why
>>> Americans are so fat.
>>>
>> I'm American, I don't go to fairs or amusement parks. Is that why I'm
>> not fat?
>
>
> To be fair Jill, there are a lot of very fit Americans. There are enough
> Olympic medals that have gone to Americans to support that. I see lots
> of very fit looking Americans. You can consider yourself lucky to be
> thin and fit looking. However... you have to admit that a lot of your
> countrymen have weight issues. We have our share of overweight and obese
> people up here, but I have to tell you that when I cross the border I
> see whole new dimensions of fat. Not everyone, not a majority, only a
> small percentage, but they are way fatter than you see in other places.

True enough. But to label all Americans as fat is simply wrong. I'm
sure there are plenty of fat people in France or Italy, too. There
certainly were fat Thai and Chinese people in Bangkok.

Jill

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> On 9/6/2014 12:08 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
>> On 2014-09-05 23:39, jmcquown wrote:
>>
>>>>> people here bitching about food at amusement parks being nutritious or
>>>>> not. LOL!
>>>>
>>>> Amusement park food and Fair food are glaring examples of why
>>>> Americans are so fat.
>>>>
>>> I'm American, I don't go to fairs or amusement parks. Is that why I'm
>>> not fat?
>>
>>
>> To be fair Jill, there are a lot of very fit Americans. There are enough
>> Olympic medals that have gone to Americans to support that. I see lots
>> of very fit looking Americans. You can consider yourself lucky to be
>> thin and fit looking. However... you have to admit that a lot of your
>> countrymen have weight issues. We have our share of overweight and obese
>> people up here, but I have to tell you that when I cross the border I
>> see whole new dimensions of fat. Not everyone, not a majority, only a
>> small percentage, but they are way fatter than you see in other places.
>
> True enough. But to label all Americans as fat is simply wrong. I'm sure
> there are plenty of fat people in France or Italy, too. There certainly
> were fat Thai and Chinese people in Bangkok.
>
> Jill

From what I have read online and in magazines and books there is no such
thing as a fat French person.

"Julie Bove" wrote in message ...


"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> On 9/6/2014 12:08 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
>> On 2014-09-05 23:39, jmcquown wrote:
>>
>>>>> people here bitching about food at amusement parks being nutritious or
>>>>> not. LOL!
>>>>
>>>> Amusement park food and Fair food are glaring examples of why
>>>> Americans are so fat.
>>>>
>>> I'm American, I don't go to fairs or amusement parks. Is that why I'm
>>> not fat?
>>
>>
>> To be fair Jill, there are a lot of very fit Americans. There are enough
>> Olympic medals that have gone to Americans to support that. I see lots
>> of very fit looking Americans. You can consider yourself lucky to be
>> thin and fit looking. However... you have to admit that a lot of your
>> countrymen have weight issues. We have our share of overweight and obese
>> people up here, but I have to tell you that when I cross the border I
>> see whole new dimensions of fat. Not everyone, not a majority, only a
>> small percentage, but they are way fatter than you see in other places.
>
> True enough. But to label all Americans as fat is simply wrong. I'm sure
> there are plenty of fat people in France or Italy, too. There certainly
> were fat Thai and Chinese people in Bangkok.
>
> Jill

From what I have read online and in magazines and books there is no such
thing as a fat French person.

~~~~~~~
That's ridiculous. There certainly are fat people in France (or just about
any place), but it is true that the *proportions* are different. Even in
the US, the percentage of obese people is far different today than when I
was young. Ironically, there were almost no fat children in school when I
was a youngster--I can really only think of one person in my class who was
truly obese when I was young. By contrast, years later we had a great many
obese students in my class when I was teaching.

MaryL

"MaryL" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> "Julie Bove" wrote in message ...
>
>
> "jmcquown" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 9/6/2014 12:08 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
>>> On 2014-09-05 23:39, jmcquown wrote:
>>>
>>>>>> people here bitching about food at amusement parks being nutritious
>>>>>> or
>>>>>> not. LOL!
>>>>>
>>>>> Amusement park food and Fair food are glaring examples of why
>>>>> Americans are so fat.
>>>>>
>>>> I'm American, I don't go to fairs or amusement parks. Is that why I'm
>>>> not fat?
>>>
>>>
>>> To be fair Jill, there are a lot of very fit Americans. There are enough
>>> Olympic medals that have gone to Americans to support that. I see lots
>>> of very fit looking Americans. You can consider yourself lucky to be
>>> thin and fit looking. However... you have to admit that a lot of your
>>> countrymen have weight issues. We have our share of overweight and obese
>>> people up here, but I have to tell you that when I cross the border I
>>> see whole new dimensions of fat. Not everyone, not a majority, only a
>>> small percentage, but they are way fatter than you see in other places.
>>
>> True enough. But to label all Americans as fat is simply wrong. I'm
>> sure there are plenty of fat people in France or Italy, too. There
>> certainly were fat Thai and Chinese people in Bangkok.
>>
>> Jill
>
> From what I have read online and in magazines and books there is no such
> thing as a fat French person.
>
> ~~~~~~~
> That's ridiculous. There certainly are fat people in France (or just
> about any place), but it is true that the *proportions* are different.
> Even in the US, the percentage of obese people is far different today than
> when I was young. Ironically, there were almost no fat children in school
> when I was a youngster--I can really only think of one person in my class
> who was truly obese when I was young. By contrast, years later we had a
> great many obese students in my class when I was teaching.

We had fat people when I was in school. And I haven't seen proportionally
any more fat people at my daughter's school. I have seen more fat adults
but my mom claims they were always around. They just stayed home. Don't
know if that is true or not.

> wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 6 Sep 2014 05:41:24 -0500, "MaryL"
> > wrote:
>
>>
>>From what I have read online and in magazines and books there is no such
>>thing as a fat French person.
>>
>>~~~~~~~
>>That's ridiculous. There certainly are fat people in France (or just
>>about
>>any place), but it is true that the *proportions* are different. Even in
>>the US, the percentage of obese people is far different today than when I
>>was young. Ironically, there were almost no fat children in school when I
>>was a youngster--I can really only think of one person in my class who was
>>truly obese when I was young. By contrast, years later we had a great
>>many
>>obese students in my class when I was teaching.
>>
>>MaryL
>
> You're so right - looking back through some pics of my kids (they're
> in their 50s now) when they were the 8-12 year old era, all the kids
> look so skinny by todays standards. In part it was better eating and
> in part it was more exercise. I don't just mean soccer, swimming,
> etc. I mean running the neighbourhood with their friends, riding their
> bikes everywhere, active from dawn to dusk.

Very true.

Cheri

"Cheri" > wrote in message
...
>
> > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Sat, 6 Sep 2014 05:41:24 -0500, "MaryL"
>> > wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>From what I have read online and in magazines and books there is no such
>>>thing as a fat French person.
>>>
>>>~~~~~~~
>>>That's ridiculous. There certainly are fat people in France (or just
>>>about
>>>any place), but it is true that the *proportions* are different. Even in
>>>the US, the percentage of obese people is far different today than when I
>>>was young. Ironically, there were almost no fat children in school when
>>>I
>>>was a youngster--I can really only think of one person in my class who
>>>was
>>>truly obese when I was young. By contrast, years later we had a great
>>>many
>>>obese students in my class when I was teaching.
>>>
>>>MaryL
>>
>> You're so right - looking back through some pics of my kids (they're
>> in their 50s now) when they were the 8-12 year old era, all the kids
>> look so skinny by todays standards. In part it was better eating and
>> in part it was more exercise. I don't just mean soccer, swimming,
>> etc. I mean running the neighbourhood with their friends, riding their
>> bikes everywhere, active from dawn to dusk.
>
> Very true.

Most of the kids I see are at the dance studio and most of them are very
skinny. But a lot of them are dancing 12+ hours a week and don't always get
regular meals.

On 9/6/2014 8:00 AM, wrote:
> On Sat, 6 Sep 2014 05:41:24 -0500, "MaryL"
> > wrote:
>
>>
>>From what I have read online and in magazines and books there is no such
>> thing as a fat French person.
>>
>> ~~~~~~~
>> That's ridiculous. There certainly are fat people in France (or just about
>> any place), but it is true that the *proportions* are different. Even in
>> the US, the percentage of obese people is far different today than when I
>> was young. Ironically, there were almost no fat children in school when I
>> was a youngster--I can really only think of one person in my class who was
>> truly obese when I was young. By contrast, years later we had a great many
>> obese students in my class when I was teaching.
>>
>> MaryL
>
> You're so right - looking back through some pics of my kids (they're
> in their 50s now) when they were the 8-12 year old era, all the kids
> look so skinny by todays standards. In part it was better eating and
> in part it was more exercise. I don't just mean soccer, swimming,
> etc. I mean running the neighbourhood with their friends, riding their
> bikes everywhere, active from dawn to dusk.
>
As kids, my brothers and our friends were always out riding our bikes or
roller skating. Running around playing tag, hide and seek or other
outdoor games. As you say, we were active from the time we got up until
time to come inside at dusk. In many of the places I lived we *walked*
to and from school.

Something like a piece of candy or a scoop of ice cream was a treat, not
a given. Kids need to get off their butts, go outside and learn to play
again. It was fun!

Jill

"jmcquown" wrote in message ...

On 9/6/2014 8:00 AM, wrote:
> On Sat, 6 Sep 2014 05:41:24 -0500, "MaryL"
> > wrote:
>
>>
>>From what I have read online and in magazines and books there is no such
>> thing as a fat French person.
>>
>> ~~~~~~~
>> That's ridiculous. There certainly are fat people in France (or just
>> about
>> any place), but it is true that the *proportions* are different. Even in
>> the US, the percentage of obese people is far different today than when I
>> was young. Ironically, there were almost no fat children in school when
>> I
>> was a youngster--I can really only think of one person in my class who
>> was
>> truly obese when I was young. By contrast, years later we had a great
>> many
>> obese students in my class when I was teaching.
>>
>> MaryL
>
> You're so right - looking back through some pics of my kids (they're
> in their 50s now) when they were the 8-12 year old era, all the kids
> look so skinny by todays standards. In part it was better eating and
> in part it was more exercise. I don't just mean soccer, swimming,
> etc. I mean running the neighbourhood with their friends, riding their
> bikes everywhere, active from dawn to dusk.
>
As kids, my brothers and our friends were always out riding our bikes or
roller skating. Running around playing tag, hide and seek or other
outdoor games. As you say, we were active from the time we got up until
time to come inside at dusk. In many of the places I lived we *walked*
to and from school.

Something like a piece of candy or a scoop of ice cream was a treat, not
a given. Kids need to get off their butts, go outside and learn to play
again. It was fun!

Jill

~~~~~~~
I do think technology has a lot to do with how little exercise many people
get today. We did not have TV in our house until I was a senior in high
school, and cell phones had not been invented. TVs had been around for a
long time, but my parents were "hold-outs." Even when they did get
television, they had a strict limit on the amount of time it could be used
(which affected my younger brother and sister more than me because I left
for college a year later). I did spend a lot of time on sedentary
activities because I was a true book-worm and I had a lot of homework, but
that was primarily done in the evening after sunset. I was on swim teams,
did a lot of horseback riding, roller skating, bike riding, walking, etc. I
walked almost a mile to school until we were shifted to a school farther
away, and then we used the school bus. In addition to technology, I think
parents today are so fearful that they drive children everywhere from a very
young age--a real loss of independence, in my opinion. I used to ride my
bicycle or horse to my grandparents' home in the summer, a distance of about
4 miles each way. Today, many people would claim that it is "neglect" if my
mother did not keep her eyes on each child "every minute." I understand the
fear that people have, but I think overprotection has brought some real
costs. Ironically, one of those costs is loss of exercise, and that means
poor health.

MaryL

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> As kids, my brothers and our friends were always out riding our bikes or
> roller skating. Running around playing tag, hide and seek or other
> outdoor games. As you say, we were active from the time we got up until
> time to come inside at dusk. In many of the places I lived we *walked* to
> and from school.
>
> Something like a piece of candy or a scoop of ice cream was a treat, not a
> given. Kids need to get off their butts, go outside and learn to play
> again. It was fun!

We walked to school. I think my elementary school had a bus. Not sure
where it went. There were two at my Jr. High. And I think two at my high
school. In those days if you lived within 2 miles of the school, you had to
walk. Now it is something like 2 blocks.

We did play outside in the winter for perhaps part of a day or two if there
was snow. We hated it but my mom always sent us out in it. We did also
some in the summer but often our weather here doesn't bode well for being
outdoors. But we were active.

I danced, played sports, took swimming lessons. My brother did the swimming
and karate or something like that for a few years. We also put on a lot of
shows in our garage. Dancing, singing and little comedy stints. We were
much more creative in those days because we had to be. Our toys didn't
really do much of anything.

I went to a birthday party for one of the girls at the dance studio. My
daughter gave her a cute stuffed animal. She looked it over and over and
said to her mom, "What does it do?" And then she seemed disappointed that
it didn't actually do anything. At least we didn't get her a Pillow Pet.
That was the year those came out. About 80% of what she got were those with
the majority of them being the lady bug. We were sorely tempted to get the
lady bug too!

On 2014-09-06 2:13 AM, jmcquown wrote:
> On 9/6/2014 12:08 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
>> On 2014-09-05 23:39, jmcquown wrote:
>>
>>>>> people here bitching about food at amusement parks being nutritious or
>>>>> not. LOL!
>>>>
>>>> Amusement park food and Fair food are glaring examples of why
>>>> Americans are so fat.
>>>>
>>> I'm American, I don't go to fairs or amusement parks. Is that why I'm
>>> not fat?
>>
>>
>> To be fair Jill, there are a lot of very fit Americans. There are enough
>> Olympic medals that have gone to Americans to support that. I see lots
>> of very fit looking Americans. You can consider yourself lucky to be
>> thin and fit looking. However... you have to admit that a lot of your
>> countrymen have weight issues. We have our share of overweight and obese
>> people up here, but I have to tell you that when I cross the border I
>> see whole new dimensions of fat. Not everyone, not a majority, only a
>> small percentage, but they are way fatter than you see in other places.
>
> True enough. But to label all Americans as fat is simply wrong. I'm
> sure there are plenty of fat people in France or Italy, too. There
> certainly were fat Thai and Chinese people in Bangkok.
>

I don't label Americans as fat. Having been to France several times, I
don't think you can say they have the same obesity issues as Americans.
In fact, I get annoyed when I hear NA women whinging about fashions
catering to women are unhealthily thin. Paris is a major fashion center
and from my observations, Parisians tend to be thin.

I agree that it is unfair to label all Americans as fat. While they may
tend to be larger than some Europeans it should be pointed out that a
lot of them are bigger because they are stronger and more fit. While
you may see more fat people in the US than in Europe, you will also see
a lot of very active, very fit people.