That's what they say - WSJ

"Severe obesity was extremely rare before the early 1970s, but rates have risen sharply since then and continue to rise..."

We are at 1/3 obese now.

Do you think this projection will come to pass? Why or why not?

No because we'll be growing our own food my then.

I don't think this is a passing thing. Many people in this country are so profoundly out of touch with our environment, our purpose, our spirituality, and how food connects with all of that.

It is very difficult for people without land or a place to grow a garden, to eat appropriately with the little money many are living on. With the Government attacking small family farming institutions on a regular basis, and people leaving the countryside in droves...  With the FDA giving horrible dietary advice, and people living off of body imbalancing prescription drugs, for diet induced illness...I don't know. It just makes sense that 1/3 of the people in this country are this fat and sick.

There will be more.

I can see it getting worse, but I am on board with Carrie.  I think we have a long way to go.  The fast food revolution started in the early 80's, so that's a lot of "undoing" to do.  Two generations will have to relearn.  I am a 'raw' food geek so I am trying my best to educate my friends and acquaintances. 

Possibly. It can be hard to stop generational eating habits, the food that's easiest to get is high in sugar and fat (and our bodies are programmed to go for that anyway.)

^ The above comment about fats...

Fats are good (animal fats from properly kept animals, cold pressed tropical oils, fish oils, olive oil, butter, broths....). Fatty fish is very healthy.

The cholesterols from eggs, tallow, butter, and duck fat are healthy. Very healthy. The societies who live the longest in the world, have the least heart disease, and few dental carries/deformities are: the French (gascony...where goose liver and butter are god), Okinawans (wild hog, fish broths, organ meats, fatty fish, etc), the Masaai (diet consists of cow blood, cow meat, and raw milk. Few vegetables), Georgians, Russians...etc., The list marches on.

It is fats like... canola oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil...etc. Margerine... that cause arthlersclerotic damage and make people sick/fat.

The villification of "fats" has everything to do with cost basis. It is soooo much cheaper and so much more profitable for companies to sell you bad oils, and tell you it's better than butter.

Sugar, unfermented (grain, legumes, and nuts,), bad oils.... that is why this nation is fat.

Yes I think we will hit that.

How do I know? Because my BMI is in the "overweight" range, it's raised my blood sugar and... people tell me, "You don't need to lose any weight."

No, dear, I do. When I might get diabetes from it, I need to lose weight.

At some point, you need to be slapped and say, "Hey! Quit eating!" but society instead is all ,"Oh, no -- you're beautiful on the inside."

I wont be very beautiful on the inside if I'm dead. 

I think it will.  We simply do not know what we are eating in the US.  Our food is so processed and sugar is in everything!  Its not the fats, although they can indeed be bad, its the SUGAR.  Our liver converts excess sugar to FAT.  So you can eat all the low or non fat you want, if you eat sugar in all its various forms, most of which you don't even realize you are eating, you are going to have problems.

And the sad fact is that between the sugar lobbyists and our pig headed nature in "we have the right to eat whatever we want", nothing is going to change.  I guess one has the right to eat whatever you want, but maybe being more INFORMED would be a great start to addressing the problem. 

And lastly, do people realize that the food corporations are doing to food what they did to cigarettes?  Manipulting it with additives it so that the more you eat the more you want.

I think we will hit it sooner than that because of toxic frankenfood passed off as healthy by agribusiness and the FDA.

Ok, yeah, I was being lazy and thinking about Twinkies not olive oil and so on. In my post above, for "fat" read "saturated fat." Refined sugar is probably more of a problem anyway.

HadesMoon: I'm very hesitant about suggesting legal enforcement of eating habits. That is an infringement of freedom and anyway these measures keep getting bogged down in red tape.

I don't understand obesity.

Yes, likely, it will come to pass.

Why? Because it will become the norm. Access to fresh and healthy foods will decrease more and more. Dependance on foods that cause obesity will increase. People are becoming more and more depressed. Eating is too often linked with depression. Anti-depression drugs actually increase weight on depressed people. More and more people are on those drugs.

I don't know. You name it. It's certainly a good way of killing people off. (That and smoking -- and I confess, I smoke.)

When I start thinking about these things, I just start going down the "we're hooped" lane.

Possibly.

Stressed out Americans running on sleep deficits, drugs (of which many can cause people to gain weight), lack of time (to go buy healthy food, to read grocery labels, to prepare food, to sit down and just eat, to exercise because a lot people's jobs do not have movement built in) combined with lack of access to healthy food (food deserts, droughts, and the breakdown in trucking, bye bye February strawberries) combined with fast foods which are processed to hell with sugar, fat, salt and who knows what else equals fatter Americans. 

Also if you live in an unsafe area, (smog, high crime, reckless drivers), you're not going outside to exercise. 

Yes, it will come to pass, for all the reasons michele stated.

I thought the statistic was currently higher than that, though. I thought it was 64%?

At the moment I'm eating as healthy as I can, and trying not to think too much about it's costing me in $$$$. The cost is eating me alive. I will do this as long as I'm able, because one day it may well be too expensive. :(

Regardless fat does not automatically equal unhealthy. Nor does not-fat automatically equal healthy.

Hiya Beth - But I wasn't talking about legal enforcement -  just seems if there is even an "advertising campaign" trying to educate people about the food they eat, people get hostile.  I mean look at the efforts in schools.  When I went to school, there were no soda machines, junk food machines, and the cafeteria didn't offer potato chips and all that stuff.   If you tried to take that stuff out of schools now, I almost think there would rioting.  I even had one kid tell me he ordered pizzas and had them delivered at school (middle school).

I can definitely see this happening.

Yes, I think the US will easily achieve 42% obesity.

I've been forced to be sedentary/bed-ridden the past few years, and am heavier than I've ever been. It's very uncomfortable to be bigger and it doesn't feel natural. It's amazing how quickly you gain weight once you mess up your metabolism. Humans are designed to move, and so few of us do.

My father is obese, and despite calls from my mother, his doctor will not discuss his weight as an issue. Like it's "impolite" or something. He can hardly get up from a chair by himself. He went through a double knee replacement, which was all for nothing considering the weight that his knees are now bearing.

Here in northern Florida, the majority of people are obese. I was used to Miami Beach and South Florida, where there's a huge emphasis on looks and being skinny. The only other place I've been where people were fit, in general, was California. Other than that, the US is fat!

Obesity is still pretty low within NYC and it is honestly shocking to travel within the US -- even 20 minutes outside the city it changes. The only real difference is that cars replace walking, cycling and transit.

@kr - You're right, I thought about NYC right after I posted.

So it's mainly Miami, LA, New York for the "beautiful people," and when you spend most of your time in one of these cities, it's really shocking how large people are in the rest of the country. Now I am one of the heavy people, but hopefully not forever, ugh...

I'm seeing more people buying vegetables in a box than from a market so this projection will happen. I think the fast food generation didn't aqcuire as many cooking skills as our parents did. Ironically there is more health information and the media than in past generations..  My dad used to be a  cook in restaurants and wouldn't allow us to eat any fast food because we were always trying his awesome creations :D God Bless his Leo Asc :D I want to raise my kids the same way eating homecook meals instead fast food no matter how busy I am.

@Kr I live in a Major city as well and whenever I go to the suburbs all I see is fast food and people who are bigger. There are a lot less options in the burbs. Here I can find a bunch of vegan/ vegetarian friendly restaurants but in the burbs its impossible!

Not sure if it will come to pass, but not everyone in rural areas is fat. where I work, in a little bum@$&£ town, around 45 full time employees and I can't think of a single obese one. But that said, we are a niche, in that we cater to a generally above average healthy segment of the population. Everyone eats healthily and most (not me though) do regular exercise. Luckily I dont seem to need to exercise as man, though I am active in some ways formal exercise is so not my thing.

I do however see plenty of overweight people everywhere else I go. I think at least sometimes it comes down to poor food choices. A lot of people think they eat healthy but really they don't. When I look in people's carts or in what is in the store 90% of it I don't even consider food. I read labels and if an ingredient isn't in your kitchen or easily available, don't eat it! Avoid sugar as often as possible, and use honey instead, etc. all that keeps me from being fat, even though I never exercise. but people think hey I bought these Triskets they are made from wheat they must be healthy right? And here is my yo plait Im eating yogurt. they just don't get it that truly health conscious and healthy people know those are not real heathy choices. Healthy choices are foods in the most natural state possible, few ingredients, single ingredients, stuff u make yourself or could. while it may cost money it can also be done frugally, like beans, rice and veggies for example! Plain yogurt. But that means prep, not tear open a box and eat it, and it means loving real tastes not msg. But Im on my soapbox now, I'll stop!

How many of us maintain anything close to a "regular/traditional schedule" anymore?

By which I mean, the family is all at home and settled in--with one or more having had the time and inclination to prepare a healthful, balanced meal--that the entire family has the time and inclination to eat?

I'm not saying that it doesn't still happen--but between crazy mix-matched work, school, activity and social schedules...the ability and the will are sorely tested. I know I fight an uphill battle each month in this regard. My best laid plans and well-stocked kitchen are of no avail without agreement and consensus that healthy, regular, sit-down meals are a priority...(and I could add to that regularly getting up and out and *moving* and *breathing*).

I think it will continue....

there's so much corn syrup, salt and hydrogenated oils in our food, and the growth hormones fed to livestock is going up the food chain.

There's a reason why eight and nine year olds are getting breasts now...hell, even some of the boys are. 

Sadly I also think it will continue. Not enough people are willing to change from the "easy" foods, activities, etc that pack on the pounds. I don't understand the severe obesity. I can see how nearly everyone in our society is vulnerable to obesity. But you don't go from a healthy weight to severely obese overnight. People should be more proactive in their health and make positive changes when they find themselves 3 sizes larger than they were just a short time before. That is the part I don't get. Why they don't make changes early on?

I don't know, but it's way too easy to become addicted to cheese doodles and seek them out at every grocery shopping trip, so it's possible. Also way too easy to be overworked and tired, and not have a stay at home spouse who looks out for your health by doing all the shopping and cooking, and therefore eat takeout or junk more often than not. And if you're single and working, and you have to do it all on your own, it's even harder. It's sooo easy to heat up a microwave dinner and sit in front of the TV.

Yes...................................................................................

I don't pretend to know much about mundane astrology but I have noticed an increased awareness of this problem since Pluto in Capricorn has been opposing the US Venus-Jupiter conj in Cancer over the past couple of years. Maybe in 2014 when the US Cancer Sun is part of a T-Square with Uranus in Aries & Pluto in Capricorn, something will occur to bring about a change in people's eating habits.

Wonder why so many have lost a sense of satiation? In other words, eating until they feel full and stopping.

Under a Saturn in Virgo transit a few years back, I was forced to make some serious changes in my eating habits. As a result I can only eat a small amount at a time. Rich, fatty foods are off the menu. No more pizza, desserts, etc. Feel much better . . .

It's not 42% already? 

I think it's sad, but I do believe it will continue. I think it boils down in my mind to the consumerist/more is better, societal trends I've seen in America since the 80's. Sometimes keeping up with the Jones's is unhealthy. I also think that many people are either depressed, or feel ineffectual to make changes in their lives that they need. Or they can't find the resources to make those changes, so they eat.

I grew up eating home made foods, and a lot of fruit, as my dad is old country, and my Mom was going thru a massive health food kick when I was a kid. I *still* remember what wheat germ tastes like. And as an adult, my allergies kicked in, and I had to alter my diet drastically, and cut out all wheat and gluten from my diet, as I cannot digest it anymore. I live off of vegetables, poultry, fish, rice, and quinoa, and unprocessed sugars.

But I have a packed 6th house, so it all comes back to my health for me. If I eat something I know I shouldn't my strong mind/body link up with take that thought down to my stomach, and make me sick for it. And eating healthy makes me feel better, so I keep doing it.

Where I live, raw foods, and vegan cooking is as common as steak and sweet potato fries. And I like that it's so accessible here. This city is also huge regarding it's bike culture, so many people bike to work and school, or walk, and I think most are pretty healthy in the city.

Nutsy, that was my first reaction, too. :(

We'll get worse. It will take a catastrophe to change this country off the course it's going now. It's so easy to go out and by a cheap big mac (and get a second for just a penny more!) versus eating homecooked food.

Too many people are eating the bad fats and chemically enhanced food, and it's killing us. Like someone said, we don't even know what the hell is in our food anymore (pink slime, anyone?). A huge shame that the US is the butt of jokes elsewhere in the world because of this--we're "amerifats" and "burger inhaling landwhales" are some insults made against us.

I think part of the problem also lies in the fact that kids theses days just aren't taught how to cook.  It's impossible to eat healthy, good for you food, if you don't know how to prepare it.  Just going to the store and relying on packaged foods, or fast foods is another contributing factor.

I think we're just going to have to evolve faster metabolisms.

Maybe at Disney Land, Nutsy!

Scar, that's a funny idea....

I would help if people exercised more, or just moved around even. Everything now is easy, at your fingertips. You can't just blame the obesity epedemic on food.

http://calmingmanatee.com/

Nooo I dont want to be in the obessee category Puhhleasee...the gods of the Health. I'll work harder, oh is it Saturn I should be talking to? How can I be under the bus always!?, could it be my natal Saturn conj MC.

<----- Agrees with Nutsy.

Since returning to this area , I've noticed a lot of people being "chubbier" than I remembered.

I'm thinking it has a lot to do with people not wanting to cook. That and an increase in "take-out" food.

It's all the Frankein food - all the 'diet' food that is full of man-made junk.  It's like the 'fast' food lie.  It isn't 'fast' and it isn't food! Our food is full of trash and it's reflected in this obesity epidemic that will continue to grow.

The closer it is to the ground, the healthier it is.  I don't want a seedless watermelon! I want one with those big black seeds inside, like they're supposed to have.

Yes, I think it wil happen unless world hunger problems hit the USA as severely as it currently is in other countries and unless (we'll all be slaves on Uncle Sam's plantation then) there's food rationing - and it can happen. 

I don't see any sign of the necessary self-discipline required for it not to occur -the entitlement generation(s) cannot do that on their own. Sedentary jobs and just no motivation to do otherwise.  Sad, but probably true. Part of it is the Idiot Box conditioning. Remote controls - can't even get up, walk across a room and change a channel!  There's no way this generation, so accustomed to 'e-a-s-y' is what I'm entitled to, is going to do any different.  They haven't been taught any different.  They won't know how to teach the next generation, etc.  and on and on it goes.