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"They contend the evidence against junk food, supersize-me portions and high-calorie corn syrup is "equivocal and largely circumstantial" and offer some intriguing ideas of their own for other drivers of the obesity tsunami."
Come on. I'm not even that old, and supermarkets today are completely different than when I was a kid. There used to be a row or two of processed, refined snack foods and what not, with fresh vegetable, the meat department, etc. making up most of the market. Today, there is a WHOLE AISLE of Sodas, a WHOLE AISLE of cookies and sweet snacks, a WHOLE AISLE of chips and salty snacks, a WHOLE AISLE of just frozen junk like frozen pizza and tv dinners, etc, to the point where only a quarter or so of the market is fresh veggies, meats and dairy (not counting junky yogurts and go-gurts and the WHOLE ROW of different ice creams. Just a look at a supermarket today compared to a supermarket 35 years ago illustrates vividly why people are getting so heavy.
The same goes with supersizing. A McDonald's regular cheeseburger without mustard and a regular fries would be a fairly decent, if fatty and unsatisfying meal with a reasonable amount of calories for one sitting. You don't even need to supersize to overeat. A Big Mac with that sauce glop and a large fries and a medium Coke have 1350 calories. That's almost as much as most people in the world eat all day(1500~1800)! And a total of 94 grams of fat! People in the states have a very distorted idea of what a normal food intake is, and food like that leaves them unsatisfied and wanting to eat more.
I've been on a 1500 calorie regimen since last December and lost 80 pounds, never skipping meals. When I reached my goal of 195, I eased the calories up to 2000, and intend to keep to that as a permanent lifestyle change. I keep full by eating a LOT of fresh vegetables and eliminating ALL diet sodas and most heavily processed junk foods and feel great.
By the way, I also quit smoking 4 years ago, and it did not help with my weight, but I wasn't thin when I smoked, either.
As for the theory about air conditioning, how do you explain the fact that people are thinner in places like Seattle and San Francisco where it is cool year-round? I think the air-conditioning connection would be more a matter of simply not wanting to go out in oppressive heat when one can stay inside and sit in air-conditioned comfort. In San Francisco, I could go out and exercise any time of year.
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