Is the obesity 'epidemic' just a myth?

While I am not out to defend unhealth eating habits, I can't help but think that all the hype about soaring obesity rates is just a bunch of baloney to help sell exercise equipment, diet fads and make reality tv success.

Reading through the news I hear about how politicians are forcing children into exercise routines, banning so-called 'bad foods' at schools, and the constant reminders that we are becoming a fat nation. But when I go out into the real world, the number of fat people I see is not as dramatically high as the media makes it out to be. So I ask, is this really just an inflated scare campaign put out by the media, or a real problem?

It's not a myth and I believe that you did say that you've looked around you so I'll try to answer the question as best I can.The percentage of people who fall into the overweight category in the US is very high.This depends on the geographic location as some areas are higher than others.The area that you live in may not be one of these.
And yes,slimy and unscrupulous companies in the diet and fitness industry exploit this data to sell oftentimes over priced and ineffective products.Take Bow flex for an example.One of their ads claimed a guy who's 40 gained 12 lbs of muscle in just a few weeks.That is a preposterous lie and it's impossible to gain like that especially at that age without drug use.
Products like Hoodia and some others don't even have any controlled clinical studies to support their claims.
These companies are capitalizing on a pretty significant problem and making millions for selling ineffective products that they haven't even invested much R&D into.
Many parents have no idea how to eat right themselves so they perpetuate this in their children.So I think legislature on what is made available inschools will help.Chidren are notoriously picky eaters so giving them choices of only healthy foods could at least prompt them to try something healthy.

Are you kidding? No it is not just a myth. Look around you.

i love how in our country- we say obesity is a huge epidemic (which it seriously is), and then we say anorexia/bulemia/any other eating disorder is also a huge epidemic. so...whos contradicting ourselves? say it with me! "WE ARE".

where ever you live, thats where I want to go. When I look around thats all I see is fat people. I work in a DR office and we see a whole lot of obese people. There is no media hype, people and worst of all children are huge!

It's a myth to you because you live in the country that has the problem.

http://win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/inde...

The average weight in the US for a male that's 6ft tall is 240 pounds - worldwide it's 170. Yeah, that includes ethiopia, but it also includes the rest of the world.

That's a whole 90 pounds heavier, on average, per human being. Does that make any sense to you? We're a country of fatasses, and no one sees it inside because we only judge ourselves by our own standards - and hey, most americans are short sighted and believe there's nothing outside of the US anyway.

No, this is NOT an inflated problem created by a bunch of people who are conspiring to sell exercise equipment or diet books. The U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare declared in 2004 that 50% of all Americans are overweight. And yes, it's a good thing that schools are banning the "bad" foods like soft drinks (easily the Number One cause of obesity -- drinking just one can of soda per day can add 15 pounds to your frame in a year) and all those junk cookies, cakes, chips, etc. What do you expect with fast food chains putting out "value menus" that are pure dietary evil and the fact that portion sizes in this country are HUGE?!?!!?!?!?!! Americans, as a whole, eat and drink WAY too much, and obesity greatly increases a person's risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and a host of other ailments that can end your life prematurely. Probably one of the reasons people in other countries consider us "Ugly Americans..."

Apparently, the experts are saying that this is the first time in history that children will not live as long as their parents did. I think it's a small minority who actually practise good health.

In the 50's when I was in High School I only knew of 3 people in the school of 800 people, with weight problems. Then we never sat around. We were always working or playing, of course in school we had PE. 1 hr. every day.

With the arrival of TV and snack food we all began to slow down, lay around and gain weight. Junk food in the schools contributes considerably.

I finished high school at 5'7" and 135. Both of my children (adults) are 100 lbs overweight.
Within a few years of graduating.

YES OBESITY IS AN EPIDEMIC!!
LOOK AROUND.

No its not. Look around. Look at any elementary school playground. Remember when children under around 8 years old were all about the same size? Now think about those 5 and 6 year old kids that you see every day who don't have the energy to run. America is a nation full of over fed, over indulged people who have become so used to our instant gratification society that we think any other lifestyle is inhumane. How sad is it that in a country as advanced as ours our number one killers are the basis of our free time?

I don't know. On one hand, I don't think obese people would go out as much (t.v., video games, computer, etc.) which is what might explain why you don't see heavy people out there. But on the other hand, I think people don't realize it's not weight that counts, it's the fat percentage. You can weigh 180 pounds being 5'7" and be really healthy because it's muscle that's making you weigh so much (look at professional athletes.)