The other weird thing was that most American's thought I was Australian from my accent
It wasn't your accent. They saw you bend over, and wanted to poke your down under.
It wasn't your accent. They saw you bend over, and wanted to poke your down under.
And I already told you why in a general way... but I will digress...
First, Brits come to America in hoards to visit places like NYC, Florida, California, etc. They get familiar with the names of places and a few of the "popular" tourist states. That is opposed to the average American who doesn't travel over to Britain nearly as often; and, if they do, they just stop in London for a day or two. Point is: Americans do not have the interest in the UK overall that the British have in the US. That makes you get a better sense of the geography of the country.
Let us also consider that Americans will know more about cities and places in Mexico and Canada because they travel there frequently due to its physical proximity .
I think I'm done ripping on the US and other countries. Not something I think is very constructive...and is frankly a real time waster.
For the record, if Americans want to eat themselves to death, let them; I could give a shit. Maybe the rest of the world is worried as they have tendancy to copy the "ignorant" US...(looks like a lot of other countries are well on their way)...but not much you can do about it...just watch your people eat, eat, and eat...YUM!
Le monde continue à s'américaniser, que voulez-vous que j'y fasse, moi?
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Drifterwood
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Is that why everyone is getting fatter then?
Actually, I think you are behind the times. This was probably true in the 80's and 90's and in food terms came about because of industrialised food production with big business money behind it, rather than food quality.
I think that unhealthy fattening processed foods should attract taxes.
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I think it has a lot to do with the outrageous portion sizes here in the states, the rise of processed, unhealthy foods with tons of hidden fats, sugars and lots of sodium, the usages of more corn based feed in meat, especially beef, which leads to higher fat content, the lack of physical labor and exercise that is rampant in society, and the convenience of fast food and take out.
Another thing to keep in mind, many times, higher quality food is much more expensive. It's cheaper to get crappy, processed stuff that comes in a box from Wal Mart or somewhere than it is to actually buy the ingredients yourself, and cook something. It's also a whole lot less labor intensive. $5 and 30 minutes cooking time, versus $30 and two hours cooking and prep time. Most people, especially ones watching their pennies, and having to work extensively, will pick the former option.
Another thing that's a contributing factor is the rise of suburbia. So many of these "Beaver Cleavervilles" are not walkable, nor are they within walking distance of shops and places to buy healthy food. Everything is in a suburban strip mall. That you drive to. Hell, I know a lot of people who drive around the block to pick up take out...
Then there's the rise of video games and couch potato/mouse potato culture. Leads to a big mess of obesity and everything that results from it.
Another thing to keep in mind, many times, higher quality food is much more expensive. It's cheaper to get crappy, processed stuff that comes in a box from Wal Mart or somewhere than it is to actually buy the ingredients yourself, and cook something. It's also a whole lot less labor intensive. $5 and 30 minutes cooking time, versus $30 and two hours cooking and prep time. Most people, especially ones watching their pennies, and having to work extensively, will pick the former option.
Another thing that's a contributing factor is the rise of suburbia. So many of these "Beaver Cleavervilles" are not walkable, nor are they within walking distance of shops and places to buy healthy food. Everything is in a suburban strip mall. That you drive to. Hell, I know a lot of people who drive around the block to pick up take out...
Then there's the rise of video games and couch potato/mouse potato culture. Leads to a big mess of obesity and everything that results from it.
Drifterwood
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We need to fight this if we want a more healthy society and lower healthcare costs.
The ready meals and processed foods do not contain the expensive products that equate to a $30 grocery bill. It is quite possible to home cook a range of healthy meals at under $3 per head, even at $1 you can have some delicious pasta meals.
Lifestyle changes do though keep pushing us towards fast foods in the day and convenience foods at night.
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And that's the problem. More people are inclined to take the easy way out, and buy the box dinner, that has 3,000mg of sodium, and god knows how many grams of fats and carbs, as opposed to taking the time to cook healthy foods.
If you're too busy trying to keep up with the Joneses, you're not going to take the time to eat healthy in many cases.
For a lot of people, it's not the money, but it's the time. If the processed stuff takes a half hour, as opposed to two or three hours for the healthier homemade stuff, too many people will take that half hour, or the time it takes to open and microwave a can of soup.
I don't think that's true. Don't only around 10% of Americans own passports? So very few will ever actually visit the UK (or other countries) in the first place...
Do schools in America teach British geography & history? In the UK I can remember being taught lots about the US at school & that wasn't just a "few" of the popular tourist states...
American culture is popular over here of course, we love the celebrities, we love all the US TV shows & I expect a few even love being America's 'lap dog' :wink:
So yes I would say America is a very insular country & most are quite ignorant about the world outside their 50 states...
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Shit, many Americans are ignorant of the world outside of their one state/region.
Not sure what this has to do with why the US is the most overweight country, tho.
Not sure what this has to do with why the US is the most overweight country, tho.
And I explained why: it is because we are the superpower! But that is not an excuse, is it? It is often what naturally happens with that status (and be careful not to say "all"...they are very bright American kids who know their geography like the best of them, but not they are very small minority). Again, if the UK were the world's superpower, you would also find a stronger "insular" mentality there.
You didn't need passports to go to Canada until a year or two ago, and neither was the case for Mexico, either. So the 10% wouldn't have made any difference.
Yes, we do learn about basic British history when we study Early American history. But, like in your country, the average kid could give a rat's ass about retaining stuff like that.
I lived in three other countries (UK, France and Australia), and, yes, in very general terms, they know more about the US than Americans know about them (UK are the most traveled out of the three). But I encountered horrible narrow-mindedness, ignorance as well as an abundance of uneducated people in all three. But what shocked me most were the levels of xenophobia and racial tensions (that is, such poor integration of immigrants) that we don't see in the US (considering all our "ignorant" people). And never could I imagine any three of them having a black president (makes me very proud to be an American).
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Of the three of them only france even has a President. The UK and Australia have Prime Ministers.
Also the ignorance is true of anywhere you go, you're always going to get stupid ignorant people in any place you visit. Also where did you go that you experienced such high levels of xenophobia?
For most people, this doesnt seem to work.
I know what you mean, but people are different. For some its relatively easy just as bobg suggests but for others its a nightmare. I tend to the thin side naturally, which is just fine so long as the good times keeping going for the rest of my lifetime. Might be tricky if we hit famine.
And an expletive to clothes designers! Just for example I am wearing some jeans that are loose all over except the waist is the size it claims to be and fits above my hips holding them up. Then i have a pair which are comfortable, but really need a belt. then the ones so tight I can barely get into them. All three have the same label sizes. This is soooo annoying.
Hey! good for you.
BPA's Obesity And Diabetes Link Strengthened By New Study
I was going to remark on this earlier, but I got distracted and forgot
http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/97/2/E223.abstract
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Strange, as I found the complete opposite every time I have been to the US, infact I was shocked at how acceptable 'casual racism' was. And of course the world saw what happened after Hurricane Katrina... France & Australia I will give you, but the UK has been a very mixed/multicultural country for decades... Any racial tension is more likely from the last few years in the economic downturn, when the floodgates have been open to anyone from Europe to move here & get a job. Not to mention the thousands of illegal immigrants who flood here as they know they will get a roof over their heads & benefits to live off...
Australia send immgrants straight back & France actually "helps" them get into the UK as they are leaving their country, so you can see why some British people may be a little pissed when record numbers are unemployed & most people can't afford a house & have no chance of getting social housing...
You have your black president, for now, but how many who voted for him actually still support him? :wink:
Have you lived in the US, or just visited? Seems you like just visited based on your latest observation about the acceptance of casual racism.
Casual racism acceptable in mainstream US? Give me a break. What America did you visit? It ain't the one I know. Political correctness rules, and one racial slur gets your ass in hot water (sure, you still have racist people like everywhere). And have you ever heard of Affirmative Action?
I'm sorry, but immigrants do not integrate as well into the UK as well as they do in the US (still not a perfect here, as nowhere is).
I'm sorry again, but no country in the world has been as historically kind to immigrants as the US. It's a fact. And for the record, Europe is usually the second-rate choice for immigrants after the US and Canada.
Katrina was a one-off case of poor black people being grossly overlooked and abandoned by the government. But only a fool would judge America's view of black persons on this single incident.
I'm done arguing with you with this US vs UK bullshit. :biggrin1: You're just trying to push my red hot buttons. And no matter what I say, you're going to have the "esprit de contradiction"! LOL.
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Don't worry, I'm done arguing with him.
(This is exactly why I don't post in "serious topic" forums, and you won't be hearing more of me.)
WASTE OF TIME!!! (ashamed of myself...I know better:biggrin1
Au revoir!
Thanks for the informative links petite. If BPA is linked to obesity and diabetes, both of which have increased in the last 50 years, I wonder if it could also be linked to allergies and asthma.
We were very careful about what our child ate, no meat, organic veggies, much of which we grew ourselves and we were wary of plastic containers too. Glad to hear that perhaps erring on the side of caution was a good thing. She grew up healthy as a horse btw. Her Grandmother was convinced we were neglecting the kid and overly paranoid. Maybe, but 4 out of 11 other grandkids have asthma and some of the others are overweight.
Drifterwood
Superior Member
OMG
This is a great site - I didn't really look very far, but how about this one "meal" without a drink? Your entire daily calories and over double you daily fat and salt.
CalorieKing - Calorie Counter - Calories in Chili's Grill & Bar Restaurant, Sandwiches & Burgers: Burger, Southern Smokehouse, with Fries & Ancho Chile BBQ Dressing
This is a great site - I didn't really look very far, but how about this one "meal" without a drink? Your entire daily calories and over double you daily fat and salt.
CalorieKing - Calorie Counter - Calories in Chili's Grill & Bar Restaurant, Sandwiches & Burgers: Burger, Southern Smokehouse, with Fries & Ancho Chile BBQ Dressing
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You're right - Australia is probably a long way away from having a black head of state. But that's not really surprising, given that approximately 95% of the population is white. The remaining ~5% is made of Indigenous Australians/Torres Strait Islanders, Maori/polynesian, south-east Asians, Indians, Africans, as well as the occasional African American and West Indian, not to mention all those of mixed heritage.
But hey, we've only been federated since 1900 and we have a female Prime Minister and a female Governer-General. When is America going to acknowledge the other 50% of its population?
