qualitypoint: Industrial Nations people don't get opportunity to work out.They live Luxury life.For small distance they use Vehicles.They never walk.They eat Junk foods. 10/29/2009

thewordwarrior: Thank you for this stimulating observation...ASJ 10/29/2009

Maha Sabur: The live style of the younger generation is very different than the way it use to be. Years ago children were more active when they played, not sitting with remote controls in their hands where the only part of their body getting excersize is their fingers! Overweight children makes overweight adults, usually. 11/02/2009

Maha Sabur: Not to mention overweight parents more-often-than-not lavish food on their children unnecessarily wanting the childs belly to feel comfortably full. 11/02/2009

thewordwarrior: Many psychologists says that overweight people suffer a sense of low esteem, and eating excessively somehow stems this unpleasant feeling...ASJ 11/03/2009

Phantomimic: In rich areas of non-industrial nations you also have obesity. Food is a pleasure and if you have access to it you can overindulge, like any other pleasure. Add to this the complexities of human society and you pretty much get an explanation for the obesity epidemic. 11/08/2009

Jodi Davis: High Fructose Corn Syrup. 11/09/2009

Shantih3x: Junk food in areas that are poverty-stricken tend to be cheaper than health food. It's is also worse when you're about an hour or two away from the nearest Wal-Mart. 11/09/2009

Pastor John Partridge: Because they have the wealth to do what they want, but their lives are empty of meaning. They fill their lives with food in an attempt to fill the void. Naturally, food is not the only overindulgence. Attempts to fill the void of an empty soul explain the abundance of drugs, alcohol, illicit sex and many other things as well. 11/09/2009

thewordwarrior: Pastor John, people have had wealth for centuries and have used food to fill voids. As I understand it, one-third of Northamericans are overweight or obese. Is this not an indication of something gome amuck? 11/09/2009

thewordwarrior: Jodi Davis, you should try out for Saturday Night Live! Wow! You are really funny about not funny things! 11/09/2009

Saxophone911: i live in a country called new zealand, it happens because when things turn to ****, that food is easy to get. when there is no light in your life, its easy to turn to food to escape, to be free for five minutes of indulgence. i know because it happened to me and i am only just fixing my mistakes, thanks to a little motivation. people who read my poems would know what i mean. all you need is love. 11/09/2009

Saxophone911: in these countries, your life is put to working and making money, there is not meaning any more. life becomes too much of a ratrace to care about yourself for some people. and because the food makes people happy they eat in more because its cheaper. and its a VERY hard habit to break. 11/09/2009

helenwinslow: saxaphone you're s'posed to be working on your homework assignment! Wordwarrior, I've been mulling over this question for awhile. My brief on Scribd is decidedly non-political, however I will put in this two cents. 1) My children's Portuguese grandmother, when asked why she came to America, had a succinct six-word reply: "We were tired of being hungry." 11/09/2009

helenwinslow: 2) My mother, some time after the launch of the Great Society, watching two food stamp recipients complaining on the TV news, turned to me and said: "America is the only country where even the poor people are fat." I imagine the answer to your question lies somewhere between those two remarks. 11/09/2009

Saxophone911: its society in general. i believe that america is the only place where somebody will order a double cheeseburger, super-sized chips and a DIET coke. when families have large parents, the kids follows suit in general. it makes me sad that people dont see how things turn bad, the pressures of life are so much that we forget to look after ourselves. 11/09/2009

EN Heim: Food in industrial countries is processed, amalgamated and refined—in other words, it’s dead. In order to make it palatable, they have to add synthetic ingredients to make it taste better. All the essential components of living food have been removed for a long shelf life . What you get in return are the building blocks for fat, not for health. All the problems of obesity are now emerging. 11/10/2009

thewordwarrior: What about the overweight and obese people themselves? Are they not responsible? If we know junk food is bad for us, don't we have an obligation to ourselves not to indulge when eating it? 11/10/2009

thewordwarrior: Saxophone911, it's not only in the DisUnited States. There is the obesity quandary in all the industrial nations and France is being hit hard too--perhaps more than other country in Western Europe. It is easy to put all the blame on the DUS, I know. They might start the ball rolling, but that doesn't mean you have to roll along with them. Or, does it? 11/10/2009

Pastor John Partridge: Agreed, that wealth is not new, but the obesity of the wealthy is not new. Many aristocrats in the 1700's and 1800 and earlier suffered from gout brought on by too much rich food. Now we have several generations raised with that level of wealth. Generations of children, now adults, who have never had to say no, and as a result live lives with no self control. 11/10/2009

Pastor John Partridge: Don't believe it? Then explain why parents would allow 10 year-olds to have cell phones. Even the parents do not understand the concept of limits and needs versus wants. 11/10/2009