Americans Life Expectancy

[iamshack]

A whole thread on healthy eating and no discussion on the subsidies given to the crappiest food out there? It's no wonder unhealthy food is cheap.

That is very much a problem.

[ptatc]

Time is a factor as well. Going to the library takes time, learning how to cook takes time, getting the necessary cooking utensils and tools takes time and money. The parent raising three kids by themselves might struggle to find time to go to the store, learn to cook, raise their kids, work, exercise, etc. etc.

 

It's a hell of a lot easier for some people to make the 'right' choices than it is for others is all I'm saying. Think about what advantages you might enjoy and might take for granted before you cast a moral judgement that someone's being lazy, dumb, irresponsible etc.

Someone is a little touchy. I never said any of those things that you are implying. I resent the fact that you are trying to paint me as someone who would even says that about someone. You really need to take it down a notch and respond in a civil fashion.

 

All I said was anyone can learn to cook. You don't need much as far as utensils. Everyone struggles to find time. If it's worth it to you, you will. If not it's your choice.

 

Have you ever had to live on welfare and use food stamps to eat? I have, my father died when I was in high school from cancer. I've lived with my mother making 12,000 as a secretary with 3 kids. It's all about prioritizing and making the right choices.

Edited January 11, 2013 by ptatc

[caulfield12]

From the perspective of teaching for 4 years in a couple of "inner city" high schools, the first thought that came to mind was of many of the single mothers out there struggling with the workload of having 2-3 jobs and also having to take care of kids...

 

I'll never forget one of my students who said his mother never cooked anything for him and there was never even any food in the house, she just came home, shut the bedroom door and had sex with her boyfriend and ignored her kids after she got home around 8-10 p.m. at night, with the kids having no supervision from 3 pm until that time. What do you think unsupervised kids will eat? What's the average nutritional level of meals served in daycare centers that serve mostly lower middle class or poor parents?

 

Just not having the energy, and perhaps some of it is knowledge about cooking/nutrition...some of it is ease of access and price/s of healthier fruits and vegetables, there are a ton of factors.

 

I also think of how many of my former students had jobs involved in the fast food industry itself...and how many often ate there, because of ease/availability/cost issues.

 

 

On a personal level, I have an absolutely atrocious diet. I drink 2-3 sodas per day. My cholesterol level is on the borderline of being a bit dangerous. My father died of a heart attack at only age 63...but I'm too lazy to change my diet or cook for myself.

 

On the other hand, I usually walk or play badminton or do something physical every week, and I've never been above 190 pounds at 6 feet tall, so I keep telling myself I can put off making diet and nutrition changes to the time when I'm 50 years old or so (just like smokers think they can stop smoking at any time and reverse 75% of the damage)...that I can change eventually when I have no choice.

 

Perhaps part of it is the idea at some future point I can go on cholesterol medication and that will take care of the problem. And the fact that I exercise quite a bit, enough to where I at least sort of believe it's keeping me "healthy enough."

 

 

[bmags]

From the perspective of teaching for 4 years in a couple of "inner city" high schools, the first thought that came to mind was of many of the single mothers out there struggling with the workload of having 2-3 jobs and also having to take care of kids...

 

I'll never forget one of my students who said his mother never cooked anything for him and there was never even any food in the house, she just came home, shut the bedroom door and had sex with her boyfriend and ignored her kids after she got home around 8-10 p.m. at night, with the kids having no supervision from 3 pm until that time. What do you think unsupervised kids will eat? What's the average nutritional level of meals served in daycare centers that serve mostly lower middle class or poor parents?

 

Just not having the energy, and perhaps some of it is knowledge about cooking/nutrition...some of it is ease of access and price/s of healthier fruits and vegetables, there are a ton of factors.

 

I also think of how many of my former students had jobs involved in the fast food industry itself...and how many often ate there, because of ease/availability/cost issues.

 

 

On a personal level, I have an absolutely atrocious diet. I drink 2-3 sodas per day. My cholesterol level is on the borderline of being a bit dangerous. My father died of a heart attack at only age 63...but I'm too lazy to change my diet or cook for myself.

 

On the other hand, I usually walk or play badminton or do something physical every week, and I've never been above 190 pounds at 6 feet tall, so I keep telling myself I can put off making diet and nutrition changes to the time when I'm 50 years old or so (just like smokers think they can stop smoking at any time and reverse 75% of the damage)...that I can change eventually when I have no choice.

 

Perhaps part of it is the idea at some future point I can go on cholesterol medication and that will take care of the problem. And the fact that I exercise quite a bit, enough to where I at least sort of believe it's keeping me "healthy enough."

 

You should really tackle the cholesterol problem now, it's very hard to reduce.

 

[caulfield12]

You should really tackle the cholesterol problem now, it's very hard to reduce.

 

Yeah, you're right.

 

Keep saying (to myself) when/if I get married again, hopefully I'll be at home more often and not eating out and living an unrepentant bachelor lifestyle, haha.

 

I do try to eat as much dark chocolate as possible, that's one counterstrategy. The last time I had cholesterol checked, about 1 1/2 years ago, it was in the safe range still but getting closer and closer to the danger areas for LDL and HDL.

 

Living in Thailand and China for most of the last four years, I think my diet's actually healthier than in the US, although I still eat at KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald's way too much.

 

And usually when I eat rice, it's fried rice (xiao fan, xiao mien) and noodles, so, once again, not as healthy as steamed.

Edited January 11, 2013 by caulfield12

[StrangeSox]

Someone is a little touchy. I never said any of those things that you are implying. I resent the fact that you are trying to paint me as someone who would even says that about someone. You really need to take it down a notch and respond in a civil fashion.

 

You're right, you never said those things. Others were and it was unfair of me to conflate them with you. I apologize.

[Iwritecode]

Cook the beef until fully browned. Once that happens, get a strainer and put the beef in there with a bowl underneath. The fat drips through the strainer into the bowl. You can even take a spatchela and smash the beef down to squeeze out more fat. It ends up way less greasy.

 

That's what I've always done. I just assumed everyone else did the same thing.

[Reddy]

i have been so bummed about the explosion of this thread while i wasn't around to post, that it's taken me till now to post. I'll try to catch up. lol

[Reddy]

And I think what people are arguing is that most people in the US have as good or better access to things like grocery stores etc, and probably have as much or more ability to choose different cheap products.

 

Which is why this makes no sense arguing about the US life expectancy rate. The US life expectancy rate is lower due to many reasons, but Im pretty sure "not having easy access to food" is not one of them.

 

it's not having easy access to non-GMO food that's the issue. AND in urban areas, it's not having easy access to ANY healthy options. I live in NYC. You go to harlem it's all McD's, Popeye's, etc, etc. That's it.

[Soxbadger]

it's not having easy access to non-GMO food that's the issue. AND in urban areas, it's not having easy access to ANY healthy options. I live in NYC. You go to harlem it's all McD's, Popeye's, etc, etc. That's it.

 

I dont live in harlem so I cant comment. I did a google search for Harlem new York Food Stores

 

[urlhttps://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=harlem+food+stores+new+york&fb=1&gl=us&hq=harlem+food+stores&hnear=0x89c24fa5d33f083b:0xc80b8f06e177fe62,New+York,+NY&ei=t57wUOS6DY-HqwGRy4HgDg&ved=0CM8BELYD[/url]

 

31k hits.

 

Here is a search for Nairobi Kenya:

 

Nairobi Kenya food store

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=U...p;ved=0CJcBEMgT

 

3k hits

 

Now this isnt scientific, but Id guess that a store with fresh produce is closer to someone in Harlem NY, than in most other places in the world.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Soxbadger

[BigSqwert]

I dont live in harlem so I cant comment. I did a google search for Harlem new York Food Stores

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=U...p;ved=0CJcBEMgT

 

31k hits.

 

 

Clicked the link to find "Food Stores near Haarlem, The Netherlands"

[Soxbadger]

lol what the what.

 

here is the link again, hopefully it works right:

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=U...p;ved=0CM8BELYD

 

Turns out that when you search "Harlem food stores" it comes out Netherlands, you have to put "New York"

[BigSqwert]

lol what the what.

 

here is the link again, hopefully it works right:

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=U...p;ved=0CM8BELYD

 

Turns out that when you search "Harlem food stores" it comes out Netherlands, you have to put "New York"

 

Not sure where you buy your food but when things like Petsmart come up in the results I have to wonder how good the shopping choices are in that area.

[bmags]

Not sure where you buy your food but when things like Petsmart come up in the results I have to wonder how good the shopping choices are in that area.

[witesoxfan]

Not sure where you buy your food but when things like Petsmart come up in the results I have to wonder how good the shopping choices are in that area.

 

Obviously that dogfood is a perfectly acceptable option for humans.

 

Kidding aside, if an area has a specialty store for domesticated animals, chances are there are other options for food more palatable to humans in the area as well.

[Soxbadger]

Not sure where you buy your food but when things like Petsmart come up in the results I have to wonder how good the shopping choices are in that area.

 

Do you really believe that it is harder to get food in America than other countries?

 

Like I said, it wasnt scientific. Here is another search, for grocery stores:

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=U...p;ved=0CM8BELYD

 

Notice how on almost every major street there is at least 1 little dot.

 

Here is a specific article that points out why some of this is nonsense:

 

http://www.webofcreation.org/Earth%20Probl...styproblems.htm

 

“…of the 190 food outlets, 93 (49%) were fast food and of the 62 grocery stores only 18% sold fruits and vegetables found that resulting from the limited access to healthy food options, these children had a higher rate of obesity than children in their same age range in higher socioeconomic levels...”

 

Supply meet demand.

 

It wasnt that they didnt have access to food. It was there were 62 grocery stores and only 1/5 sold fruits and vegetables.

 

Now why do we think that is?

 

1) Because the grocery store doesnt want to sell healthy food?

 

2) Because the people who go to the grocery store dont buy healthy food?

 

 

 

[Soxbadger]

Obviously that dogfood is a perfectly acceptable option for humans.

 

Kidding aside, if an area has a specialty store for domesticated animals, chances are there are other options for food more palatable to humans in the area as well.

 

No it doesnt. According to many in this thread, finding food in America is very difficult. Like being in a desert, you know like Nairobi.

[BigSqwert]

No it doesnt. According to many in this thread, finding food in America is very difficult. Like being in a desert, you know like Nairobi.

 

I wonder why affluent white people don't make it a priority to go to these places if there's such an abundance of healthy food available there.

[witesoxfan]

I wonder why affluent white people don't make it a priority to go to these places if there's such an abundance of healthy food available there.

 

Housing and crime rates are probably #1 and #2 on that list, followed closely by schooling.

[BigSqwert]

Do me a favor and drive down Lake Street westbound and tell me how many healthy food joints you can find along the way before you hit Oak Park. The answer is 0.

[Soxbadger]

I wonder why affluent white people don't make it a priority to go to these places if there's such an abundance of healthy food available there.

 

What areas are you referring to?

 

Nairobi?

[BigSqwert]

What areas are you referring to?

 

Nairobi?

 

No, impoverished areas in the U.S.

[bmags]

Do me a favor and drive down Lake Street westbound and tell me how many healthy food joints you can find along the way before you hit Oak Park. The answer is 0.

 

Do not tell me J&Ds Fried Fish King is not healthy!

[Soxbadger]

No, impoverished areas in the U.S.

 

Many single affluent people do live in impoverished areas. The reason most people move is schools. My parents moved from 1 suburb to another just so I would go to the right school.

 

In comparison. there are no "whole foods" in the suburb they live in. They dont move to another suburb just because there are no "Whole Foods" within 5 miles of their house.

 

 

[bmags]

I'm guessing they own a car in your suburb.