I agree with many of the comments made, it seems like people really are educated on the reasons for obesity in norht america. we absolutely are slaves to the corporations that have massive profits and cost next to nothing to make, since these foods are of zero nutritional value. i weighed 240 at 6'0 and 23yrs old 3yrs ago. today i am a very healthy 180lbs 26yrs old and i lost it simply by eating 6 small meals a day, cutting out carbonated POP and fast food, eating tons of fruits and vegetable and whole wheat breads and pastas. if only everyone would take the initiative to change their diets and not simply complain they cant lose weight by simply running 20minutes on a treadmill and picking up a few dumbbells. eat organic as much as possible and stay away from the false "whole grain" labels by the cereal companies! :)

As a Canadian living overseas one thing that has struck me is the food intake. The Scottish diet is based mostly on deep fried pies, chips, fast food, sausage, and beer. Not suprisingly people here tend to be overweight. Go over to Italy, people eat the same amount of calories, but in complex carbohydrates and vegetables. The result is more averaged weight people. I don't think it takes a degree in kinesiology or nutrition to understand that fat makes you fat. Simple sugars that spend a half hour in our body then are used up make you fat. It's about having a little will power and going for a walk. One style of food i.e. processed food cannot be blamed for obesity, it's a life style change. I challenge anyone who does not have time or energy to go for a walk to try it for a couple of weeks and see what happens.

We and our children are not becoming obese because we eat too much fatty food, we are becoming obese because we eat too much non-food. Our weight problems - and most of our health problems - can be traced to the huge amount of stuff we eat that has little or no nutritional value. Its not the fat in our hamburgers we need to be worried about, or the cheese on our pizzas. Its the polymerized vegetable oil were putting in our stomachs every time we eat a french fry, and of course the load of sugar we get in every soft drink. These are the substances that are not just worthless but dangerous as well.

We once ate low-cost, high-nutrient foods that provided us with all the protein, carbohydrates, fats, sugars, vitamins and minerals we needed in exactly the right proportions. We now eat high-profit, low-nutrient food products that leave us forever hungry, never satisfied, and thus always poking around in the fridge.

To the extent that we replace small amounts of high-nutrient foods with larger amounts of low-nutrient foods, we invite obesity, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. We neednt look far for proof. The evidence is all around us.

The rise in obesity in North America can be directly linked to the rise of fast and processed food, the decline of neighborhood grocery stores, and the corporatization of the global food supply.

If possible - eat local, eat whole foods, shop for groceries often and stay away from sugar and refined flour. You will no longer be obese.

http://junkandcrapamen.blogspot.com/

The whole theory of the BMI in my opinion needs to get tossed out the window. The index does not account for muscle mass, bone structure or other differences in people.
An acquaintance of mine is in extremely good physical condition, 6pack abs and firmly muscled throughout. However, due to the additional "weight" he carries due to his muscle he is classified as "obese". However a "thin" person on this scale is considered "healthy" no matter that they may not eat properly and get little to no cardiovascular exercise. These people could be malnourished and or borderline anorexic. Stick thin does not necessarily equate to health.
A proper indication of your health should take into account all aspects of a healthy body, fat deposits on the body, cardiovascular health etc...not merely a height to weight ratio

Of course obesity is a problem these days.
Things should be changing though, according to all the low-fat food alternatives which are now available.
Low-fat ice cream & frozen-yogourt, those silly flavored waters, etc... I think we should worry about what was done to these low-fat products to actually make them low fat?
I'm rather be a little obese, then consume tons of aspartame and the other replacement additives in foods and beverages. Lean and full of cancer, no way. We just need to be healty for our body type. Eating well and exercising regularly should keep us going strong, no?

Yes, it's a good thing that "most of us understand obesity is a big problem". A good thing for people making their living promoting social hysteria over health. A good thing for neurotics with a compulsion to mind their neighbor's business. A good thing for journalists desperate to have a "life-saving" crusade to call their own.

The thing that gets me about our children becoming obese is that some parents still find it shocking. You mean all those hours I ALLOW my child to sit inactive will actually set them up for weight and health problems? Go figure! Or wow I had no idea all that fast food and packaged stuff I feed them daily was bad for them! Who knew? Also we work full time and have 3 little children. On any given night you can find us all in the backyard playing or out for a walk or skating in the winter....sometimes we're the only ones out there. I think it's time to stop blaming video games and technology and look at who's allowing it to occur.

Being fit and healty is not just a measure of looking like a GQ or Shape cover model. BMI is only part of the equation in accessing health and fitness. Eating the right foods, getting exercise and care for yourself is the answer - sorry there is no magic pill. Eat pizza and cheesecake, just do not eat it everyday and the whole thing.

183 pounder who does not move much needs 2600 calaories?

I don't think it is that simple. It depends on few factors. Muscle to fat ratio is one of them. Muscles need energy, fat is energy. Some people burn more than others naturally.
Life style is another factor. Even simple walk in the evening instead of watching TV makes a difference.
Also, when we sleep energy usage by our bodies decreases by half. Average person will burn 50 calaries while sleeping and about 100 when awake. It increases when when are more active.
To sumarrize, a couch potato of a size of 170 pounds, sleeping 8 hours a night will need about 2000 calories in 24 hour period. Anything more will be deposited as fat. 1 pound of fat is about 3500 calories, meaning that if consume 500 calories to many in a day, we can gain a pound in a week.
Another factor to consier is how fast certain foods can be digested (transformed to sugar). If very quickly, like sugar - be ready to get running right away or it will go right on your butt. Learn about glycemic index.
Have fun..... Jerry

Okay, so here is my problem with this stuff. According to BMI I am borderline obese (BMI = 27 and one calculator told me that was obese). Then I do the waist measurement test and I am fine.
Then I look at my lifestyle. I am healthy, don't eat "far too many calories to burn off" because I have been this size since puberty. And I am in better shape than many normal BMI people I know. And yet, I my weight is going to be a drain on society for years to come - worse than if I smoked. Give me a break!