Americans... Are they what people say they are?

You're a little bit late with this thread "American Bashing" was the hot topic about two weeks ago. Everybody has moved on by now.

I think most americans are fat. But not lazy. See, America is the most prosperous country, because it has jobs and people who work at them. Now, I think that goes hand in hand with the obesity problem as well. Most families have 2 parents working. They dont have time to cook, so they stop at McDonalds. They dont have time to go to ball games, so they dont put there kids in sports. They dont have time to take the kids out to the park or go out and play a game of catch so the stick them infront of the TV or Xbox. That's just my opinion though. But of course, thats like with any thing else, its not true for everyone. Like alot of people assume that people from South Africa are poor & uneducated. Obviously, thats not true for everyone. I believe that you said that you are in collage. So apparently you are educated. Everyone is differant & you cant lump people into one group because of there skin, hair, eye or nationality.

Obesity is a growing problem. But not all Americans are fat and lazy. My husband works about 12 hours everyday--outside. It doesn't matter if it is freezing or if it extremly hot outside. I would never call him lazy. There are lazy people..but I'd assume they are everywhere in the world. Not just the United States. I think it is rotten when people make generalizations about different countries. I mean I could probably sit here and make a generalization about a lot of countries but all that would do is offend someone and I'm smart enough to realize a few people in any given country do not speak for the whole country!

It does seem that way. Our customs have changed alot in the last 20-30 years. People used to be more healthy conscious, more athletic, etc. We do seem to have an obesity problem in our country and I belive it has to do with the change of lifestyle that we, Americans carry. We live a very hurried lifestyle where everything needs to be done fast and without thinking of consequences. Fast food places are very popular here and therefore people tend to go to those in order to get a quick bite to continue their fast lifestyle. Because we work so many hours a day, exercise seems to go by the wayside in many cases and therefore the lack of exercise contributes to the increase in weight. We personally moved from a very high trafficked state where everythign is high paced, too much traffic and there was no time to do anything else but to get up, go to work, eat sleep and start all over again. We have now moved to a more tranquil area and people here seem to focus more on their health than in the previous place where we lived. Its all in the area that you pick to scrutinize Americans. I think that fast food and snacks have been a huge detriment to our health and bodies. I saw a documentary not long ago where LAYS, which is the biggest snack food company, is trying to saturate the Asian market with their snacks and trying to get the Asians to accept snacks like Americans have. Many of the younger generation do accept them, but the older and wiser people realize that having all these oil saturated fats is only a detriment to their health and therefore LAYS has not been able to as successful in Asian countries as they have been here in America. I hope I answered your question.

It is true about the obesity problem. I think it something like 20% of americans are obese. However, that doesn't mean we are all fat....I'm sure more of us are than other places, but for example, I'm not obese, as you can probably see from my picture. As for lazy, I never heard that and I don't really have anything to compare it to so I don't know if I can really help you there.

yea same here........ i think you are right and there is a need for ligh to be thrown on this topic

actually to lay it out simply, American's are becoming obese and more by the day, typically it is because we're not eating as healthy, and why is that? We are WORKING MORE. I work 40-50 hrs a week, I commute between my job and home about 3hrs per day total, which puts me outside my home for 55-65 hrs a day, just "working" , Tack on another 40 hours to sleep (which we're SUPPOSE to be getting which I rarely do) ok so now we're at 95-105 hours a week just in work and sleep (keep in mind this is a 5 DAY work week) Now for a 5 day week there are only 120 hours. Explain to me how I'm suppose to clean house (which gets done daily)this includes, picking up any messes my kid makes, straightening things up, doing dishes, taking care of my pets and other little odds and ends just for cleaning... And I must grocery shop, take a shower, spend time with my fiance, and kid... all within that SMALL space of time.... Do I put everything on hold for the 2 days of weekend? 48 hours in which I must do laundry, do other errands, pay bills, and RELAX for the next week? Give a girl a break.. LAZY? NOT IN MY VOCABULARY! I work hard, keep house, have a family, and STILL manage a full time stressful job. and here's a clue, ALOT of AMERICANS are doing this exact SAME thing. With prosparity comes a price. We're paying it. I honestly get 5-6 hours of sleep a night NOT the RECOMMENDED 8 hours, because I'm to BUSY being all the things I described above. I work while sick, take care of my family while sick, and everything else. Now tell me if it isn't easier to pick up something from McDonald's or our other NUMEROUS fast food resturants instead of cutting into even MORE of our schedules with Cooking dinner that takes anywhere from a half hour to 2-3 hours (depending on what your making). That is why american's are OBESE. We're too freaking BUSY to take care of OUR HEALTH! *phew* ok done ranting...

Hey there, I think there is a huge problem over here with obesity but i would'nt say it's all americans. I have never traveled out of the US but i do know the food portions over here are pretty large and there is a fast food place on every corner. I myself dont have a problem with weight but i can understand how some americans do. There are all kinds of diets and it seems we are obessed with losing weight and being skinny.

I agree that obesity in American is affecting many people over here...but not all..it is up to the indivdual people to be obese or not to be obese...it's a lifestyle change....I myself was consider obese...but have changed the lifestyle I was at and have lost about 100lbs....and have stayed on a heathly eating regiman and exercise plan....so like they say you are what you eat..as far as lazy I disagree to a certain extent....some people work there buns of and some don't....I have worked hard for everything that I have and own....nothing has come easy...but that is just me..and then you have those who were born with a silver spoon in there mouth and do nothing but party, etc for example Paris Hilton...

most of the american feels lonely. as i'm working for tele marketing, i call up for more than 300 american to sale our product. most of the time they use to talk even they are not buying anything. they said'"i'm not goin' to buy ur product, but lets talk for a while, i feel lonely". i talk them because i feels the same before i was working.

There is definitely an obesity problem here. We eat far too many processed foods and yes our portions are too large. Many americans are lazy with physical activity but not with working. So many people don't exercise and many times even if they do, they will drive around a parking lot 80 times looking for the closest space so they won't have to walk. However, when it comes to working, Americans in general, work more hours than other developed countries.

I am from Pakistan and many of my friends have visited to America for 2-3 months and when they return back they are much healthier then what they were before its because american food make them healthier and they also have a good diet but about the laziness I dont agree because if americans are lazy then how came they increased their economy so rapidly?

Yes what they say is true. I don't know why but from what I've seen americans seem to be ignorant, arrogant, obeise people. Not trying to offend just stating what I see. This defiantly does not go for all americans, and canada has the some of the same type of people.

About the post that involved Asia. I have heard that Asian countries (particularly China I think it was) are experiencing more obesity among their population. I think and agree that fast food and junk food appeals to younger generations because it tastes good. China itself has a large population and a large amount of people being born each year, so it will be interesting to see how its and other countries' newer generations handle healthy eating.

I forgot to tell you we really admire you people who live in africa to be able to put up with being with such poor people of the world. You probably dont even have a house. If theres anything I can do for you just let me know. Im always willing to lend a helping hand to the poor people from africa.hehehehehehehehe If your hungry you can go to one of the shelters there for some food. Oh thats right africa does not have shelters. So Sorry.

I am an american and Im not fat. Not at all. I dont know why you would say something like that. Im far from lazy. They say the people from africa look like stick people. Thats because everybody is too poor to eat. and yes you certainly do tend to offend us. Thats okay I dont mind we have come use to the sarcasm from people that dont live here. We feel pity for you people and only wish you the best. So try to eat alittle more you do look a bit on the wimpy side.heheheheheheheheh

I am Canadian and to me this sounds like nothing more than a stereotype. You can not judge people by stereotypes alone. I don't believe this at all!

I think that a lot of it's true, sadly. The portions you see in just your average restaurant are much larger, I think, than what you'd find in other countries, or so I've heard from friends who've traveled. I've also heard from a friend who took a trip for school to Italy, for instance, say how small, medium, and large-sized clothing is all significantly smaller (their medium-sized shirts would be our small) than what we would expect to find here, and commented on how thin the women were there. I think that, with all these standard servings of proportions, we're just conditioned or influenced to think in that same sense. Our version of a diet usually ends up sounding like how other people from different countries eat on a regular basis--healthier, smaller portions, etc. That's not to say everyone in the States eats like that, not everyone does and I think it's also dependent on location and its overall influence, but most do. Add into that all of the lovely things we eat on a regular basis that we might even consider to be "healthy" (especially if it's prepared at home) and it's not, and then you've got problems. Frightening, really.

I'd say for the most part it's true. It's sad, I think it stems from the uneducated.

Okay, here's the deal. Yes, America has an obesity problem. But that doesn't mean all americans are fat. Statistically, the American Obesity Assocition says that about 64% of Americans are Obese. This is due to their BMI. I wouldn't go as far to say that Americans are lazy. The vast majority of people work at least an 8 hour day, but on average we work 10-12 hour days. Pulling in a 40-60 hour work week. And due to the expenses, some families work more than just 1 job. Fat does not equal lazy. People become fat because they overeat, or eat the wrong types of foods, and they generally don't exercise. However, we are starting to take care of this problem. Restaurants are working to bring portion sizes down to normal, and Fast Food rest. are working to bring about healthier menu options. I even believe they are trying to pass a law in New York that says Public Prepared Food can not contain ingredients which carry trans fat - which puts on the pounds. And Exercise has become the new black in 2007.