Anyone see "Fat Head"

[Piranha]

my wife and I are addicted to documentaries on Netflix. We are slowly transforming into Ricksons.

[MathinTucson]

It's in my queue. In some obesity discussions, fat gets a bad rap and processed foods don't get the criticism that they deserve.

[Paro]

I saw it. The premise is basically you can be reasonably healthy eating exclusively McDonalds and exercising. The one issue that I had is that his McD selection of food was extremely atyptical of the average experience. If someone eats 1500-2000 cal/day and exercises they will probably be reasonably healthy. The issue is that at fast food places it is real easy to clear 2500cal/day. At some places you can clear 2000 cal in a single meal. I don't think we need laws to limit food choices, but that average american diet is horrible and should change.

[Fish Actuary]

Originally Posted by Paro

I saw it. The premise is basically you can be reasonably healthy eating exclusively McDonalds and exercising. The one issue that I had is that his McD selection of food was extremely atyptical of the average experience. If someone eats 1500-2000 cal/day and exercises they will probably be reasonably healthy. The issue is that at fast food places it is real easy to clear 2500cal/day. At some places you can clear 2000 cal in a single meal. I don't think we need laws to limit food choices, but that average american diet is horrible and should change.

How is this any different from eating at most restaurants?

[FourKicks]

Originally Posted by Fish Actuary

How is this any different from eating at most restaurants?

the difference is that low SES people tend to frequent fast food joints, while middle/upper class people tend to frequent restaurants. upper class vices are acceptable, lower class vices are not.

[Wigmeister General]

Originally Posted by FourKicks

the difference is that low SES people tend to frequent fast food joints, while middle/upper class people tend to frequent restaurants. upper class vices are acceptable, lower class vices are not.

Upper class restaurants serve balanced meals in proper portions.

[newts]

Originally Posted by Wigmeister General

Upper class restaurants serve balanced meals in proper portions.

Maybe you're being sarcastic, but it didn't seem that way.

http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/31268/

The single most caloric menu item was the foie gras, weighing in at 435.4 calories; followed by café Liégeois (basically a gourmet brownie with ice cream), with 185.8 calories. The single least caloric was the buttermilk sorbet, owing in part to its spoon-size portion (23 calories). All told, the nine courses tallied 1,230.8 calories, 59.7 grams of fat, and 101.7 grams of carbs. The total rises to 2,416.2 calories, 107.8 grams of fat, and 203.7 grams of carbs if you include the extras: a salmon amuse-bouche, wine, dinner rolls with butter, and chocolate candies. These might not seem like giant numbers, but that one lunch has 60 percent more fat than the average adult, on a 2,000-calorie regimen, should eat in a day, according to the FDA.

[Gyudon]

Whether you have a Big Mac from Ronald McDonald or Kobe beef burger from Bobby Flay, they're both pretty horrible for you. That doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy it if you like it but you should try to avoid it.

Some people can just watch their calories and they're healthy but most people need to also watch saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium intake, etc (and exercise). Skinny does not => healthy.

[JasonScandopolous]

red meat isn't really bad in non-sedentary individuals, nor are egg yolks. inflammatory cytokines are beneficial for many physical processes and are only a problem in the obese and/or non-exercising populations. just commenting on your assertion that kobe beef is horrible for you, which it really is not, in an absolute sense. trans fats are not good though, for anyone.

[Fish Actuary]

Originally Posted by Gyudon

Whether you have a Big Mac from Ronald McDonald or Kobe beef burger from Bobby Flay, they're both pretty horrible for you. That doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy it if you like it but you should try to avoid it.

Some people can just watch their calories and they're healthy but most people need to also watch saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium intake, etc (and exercise). Skinny does not => healthy.

From my reading on the topic it seems like the average American overeats by about half a normal-sized cookie (~50 calorie) or a 4 oz glass of freshly squeezed pure glass of organic orange juice every day. Summed over a year it results in a weight gain of about 5 lbs. Repeat over a number of years...