I think the more technology prevails, the more people tend to avoid exertion and the more people eat out of boredom, often indulging in salty, greasy food.
To politicize this a bit, I live in a "blue" state but always see the most obese people at Wal-Mart.
My instincts tells me these people are not socialists.
While I have Republican friends in better shape than me, I do have a number of right wing friends that fit this sort of fat consumerist archetype of angry white young man who spends tons of time online complaining about people who are vegetarian or bad customer service at Fry's electronics or the oversights of Microsoft with their new OS or anything else that should have been perfect because he is a customer and deserves satisfaction.
This is a person that believes his measure of democracy is through purchase power.
Like anyone else he wants to be heard, only he feels the only way to be heard is to buy some product or stock or to have some other vested interest in the capital he is concerned with.
He is frequently unsatisfied, as is the human condition, and like so many he fills it with food. Ipod does not make him happy. It occupies his mind incessantly so he forgets what was bothering him, and he gets in his truck to go to TGI Friday's.
Stuck in a muck with gadgets and stuff, he always has nicer electronics, and when we go out to eat he always adds fries and a drink and a salad and a soup. Salad sound healthy? Not after he adds bacon, ranch and butter. Never buttered a salad? try it you'll love it. (loathe? it)
He frequently supersizes even though he doesn't want all of the fries and the drink is refillable.
He eats out when he has food at home.
He eats out on unemployment checks.
He eats out because he wants to support the chain.
Straying from my imaginery friend I would wager to say America has the fattest homeless population in the world.
I am not saying all the homeless are fat, as I am not saying all Republicans are fat. I am not saying being fat is only an American problem. I am saying that there is probably a higher percentage of fat homeless than any other country. And there are a huge number of fat Republicans. I am not saying homeless should be hungry. Really there should be no homeless, but what is up with fat homeless?
My conclusion is that fatness is a product of boredom and/or ease with which to get crappy food.
Even the food that is sold at good food prices is terrible for you. Friday's, Chili's. Even some upper scale (chain) restaurants have decided that Texas size is a charming way to lure in Americans who have fat wallets and need to fatten their gullets to be able to take on ever increasing portions and prices. Think of it as a sort of portion inflation. Inflabtion. And the cheap stuff is worse. Mickey D's Burger King. Hardees.
People eat to fill the void of action.
People don't exercise because it isn't as stimulating as Youtube.
Homeless eat McDonalds because it has a dollar menu.
People eat to fill empty feelings.
People eat out of convenience.
People eat because it is instinctual. This one isn't our fault. It is just too bad that it is so easy to get food.
So ultimately even people who eat healthy may not have a perfect weight if they don't excersize or mindlessly snack. But if you eat crap food whether in a red state rest area or at a fast food place in the ghetto, well thats a recipe for fatness, which we have prolifically in certain areas of the US.
