Has anyone else been following the CBS story on the Obesity epidemic on the evening news? I have and each night just shake my head at their report.. here is the link for the story:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002...ain509585.shtml

here is part of the story and why they believe so many people are overweight:

When did we get so fat? And why? Some trace it back to the industrial revolution, when automation and cars made us less active. Others say the current trend started in the late '70s, when women entered the work force in droves and processed, convenience foods became a necessity

Basically the article goes on to say we are overweight because we eat too much and do not exercise.. how many times have we all heard that before!!

I think CBS just lost my respect.. I would have thought a news station like that would look at a story from more than one angle and do a little more research... it is just the same retoric we have heard before.

I re-read this paragrahph one more time:

When did we get so fat? And why? Some trace it back to the industrial revolution, when automation and cars made us less active. Others say the current trend started in the late '70s, when women entered the work force in droves and processed, convenience foods became a necessity


Didn't the Low Fat craze start in the 70's? hmmmmm......

No they don't. At least not when I was a kid. We were lucky to have more than 10 minutes of actual activity in the gym classes I was in. And since when do they teach nutrition in gym class?

;-Deb

I found this statistic on the CDC link on the CBS website.

Recent results of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999 indicate that an estimated 61 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more.

Among U.S. adults aged 20-74 years, the prevalence of overweight (defined as BMI 25.0- 29.9) has increased an estimated 2 percent since 1980, increasing from 33 percent to the 35 percent of the population in 1999 (based on NHANES II and NHANES 1999 data).

In the same population, obesity (defined as BMI greater than or equal to 30.0) has nearly doubled from approximately 15 percent in 1980 to an estimated 27 percent in 1999.


I think these numbers follow the Low Fat trends... and the increase in production and promotion of Low Fat products...

Yeah Deb, really how much time is spent in school on exercises.. a local school district here just did away with the sport program because they could not afford it... they want to focus on academics instead.. that is a good thing to focus on but what about physical activity and sports for kids?

I must say that I don't totally disagree with the article -- I do agree on some points. The exception is that I believe it was the high carbs, not fats, in convenience foods that caused our weight gain.

My husband and I did start to gain weight when I re-joined the work force. We totally changed the way we ate because I no longer had the time to grow veggies and cook from scratch. Before I worked outside the home I grew a big garden and everything I made was from scratch. Not only did the garden provide lots of exercise, but we had an endless supply of good, fresh veggies. A typical meal was two or three different types of veggies and plenty of fresh meat (usually grilled).

Then, when I went to an office instead of the kitchen, I fell into the 'working woman' trap -- turning to convenience foods -- mostly frozen pizzas, pastas, etc. Most convenience foods are loaded with carbs because they're cheap fillers for the food manufacturers and make their products more profitable for them.

I also became sedentary -- no more long walks, no gardening, etc., because I went from work to driving kids to activities, etc., and had to time for myself.

So I do believe that my going to work outside of the home contributed to my weight gain, but not because of fats, but rather because of buying into the typical American high carb convenience foods.