Average Weight of Adults and Increasing Obesity

[Soloist]

Wife: Just curious how the demographics compare United States versus UK.

[JohnH]

America is about 62% white vs UK is about 81%.

[Justfiguringitout]

I got in the category of obesity. Most of my life I was so thin I felt embarrassed about it & would try to eat to gain. Kids being kids find things to tease & I was teased a little about it.

At 34 I was 98 lbs (I’m 5’2)
Then in my 50s I really gained so lifelong eating habits caught up so now I feel like ashamed of extra weight- (I found out too late too about an under active thyroid which contributes)

Twice I’ve worked hard to get it off & did but her I am again.

Okay so being a cashier I see what people buy and it explains the stats you shared.
All the extra weight contributes to so many other issues- myriads of people I know get knee replacements. The extra weight is terribly hard on knees.

People tell me it’s expensive to “eat right” but it is also expensive to deal with the consequences.

Your timeline of weight gain matches everyone else’s tome-line - so it seems something environmental happened.

So something specific American then, I guess. Do you have theories about what it could be?

[JohnH]

Also happening in Canada, Europe, and other places.

[Justfiguringitout]

Also happening in Canada, Europe, and other places.

Not as much. Obesity reates in the Netherlands are 16%. I suppose we're getting eventually to US levels, but not yet. Hence my interest in your theories. Because I thought we're just caving to unhealthy habits, and that's why it's on the rise here as well, but you say it's the environment.

[JohnH]

Also happening in Canada, Europe, and other places.

Not as much. Obesity reates in the Netherlands are 16%. I suppose we're getting eventually to US levels, but not yet. Hence my interest in your theories. Because I thought we're just caving to unhealthy habits, and that's why it's on the rise here as well, but you say it's the environment.

For a realistic comparison due a break down by ethnic group and socioeconomic status.

I don’t think human nature has changed that much for thousands of years and don’t think that people used to make much healthier decisions than they do.

[Justfiguringitout]

This post started without such breakdown, other than sex.

According to AI in the Netherlands 12 % of adult men, and 17 % of adult women are obese. Based on the stories I have heard from people of the older generations, here people do make worse choices. If only because they have those choices to begin with.

[Neto]

Men: The average US man weighs approximately 199.8 lbs (90.6 kg). In the UK, the average man weighs roughly 189.6 lbs (86 kg).

The average might be up a little currently, with Neto out of the country.

Something we noticed in Europe is that we saw very few people of the 'ample' type. In Amsterdam they have more bicycles than they do people. You see them everywhere, and most people have a really good bike for longer excursions, and an old one for daily use, especially for when they need to leave one at the bus or train station for an extended period. And I man old like rusty single speed bikes. Of course it's also very flat there, so they don't have to ride the hills like here in Holmes County. It was rather amazing to see so few bikes that were locked up at all. The guide said that automobile drivers are on the whole much more considerate of the bike riders, because they are also bike riders, creating more mutual understanding and concern.

[Soloist]

Men: The average US man weighs approximately 199.8 lbs (90.6 kg). In the UK, the average man weighs roughly 189.6 lbs (86 kg).

The average might be up a little currently, with Neto out of the country.

Something we noticed in Europe is that we saw very few people of the 'ample' type. In Amsterdam they have more bicycles than they do people. You see them everywhere, and most people have a really good bike for longer excursions, and an old one for daily use, especially for when they need to leave one at the bus or train station for an extended period. And I man old like rusty single speed bikes. Of course it's also very flat there, so they don't have to ride the hills like here in Holmes County. It was rather amazing to see so few bikes that were locked up at all. The guide said that automobile drivers are on the whole much more considerate of the bike riders, because they are also bike riders, creating more mutual understanding and concern.

Wife: yeah, I don’t think our UK friend ever got a drivers license and he made it sound like that was pretty common over there. it’s actually interesting to see the obesity rate broken down by state as well for the US, since a lot of our states are about the size of some of those countries. I bet our lifestyle of driving everywhere doesn’t help us any, but Colorado has it good.

[Outsider]

So something specific American then, I guess. Do you have theories about what it could be?

The massive switch from sucrose (sugar) to fructose (high fructose corn syrup).

They did a study which corrobrated the introduction of HFCS into the diet of the masses, and the resultant "obesity epidemic" ( https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15051594/ ).

It also contributes to fat around the organs ( https://bant.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/ ... r_2022.pdf ), ( https://openheart.bmj.com/content/4/2/e000631 ), ( https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-he ... iver-heart ).

"High fructose intake drives liver DNL more potently than glucose or other carbs. In the liver, fructose is quickly converted to intermediates that become fat when glycogen stores are full. This can increase liver fat rapidly in overfeeding scenarios and is linked to NAFLD, which in turn raises cardiovascular risks (e.g., via inflammation, dyslipidemia, and visceral/ectopic fat deposition that can affect the heart)."