Dammitall

Crap like high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, higher amounts of refined sugar, etc. Some observations on the cultural phenomenon of obesity (in the US):

Time is precious in modern life, now more than ever. We're on the go constantly, to and from work, grabbing food to eat on the way. "Crap food" is made cheap and available with minimal turnaround time in convenient locations for people who feel too rushed to cook meals at home. The lower prices of this immediately available food also make it seem like people are saving more money than they would if they'd bought a week's worth of groceries from the supermarket. Same with processed food: maybe easier to cook out of a box or throw in a microwave than a heap of fresh, unprocessed ingredients, but you pay the price in the quality of what you're eating. I imagine the weight gain resulting from these conditions—and false sense of comfort nurtured by them—makes it all the more difficult to stop this cycle by changing eating and lifestyle habits, and the pounds pile on. It's especially dangerous for children to be starting these patterns out so early on in their lives; they remain a prime (and easy) target for fast food and junk food marketing, despite more recent trends towards healthy alternatives being offered by fast food chains. Finally, throw in the dominant car culture in the US, where non-urban population centers all but require a car to get anywhere (or so people think), and you have less and less activity to offset the food being consumed.

Yes, sometimes overweight and obese people don't feel motivated enough to make a healthy meal or go to the gym and shed some weight. And yes, there are mental and psychological factors that contribute to obesity, like depression and metabolic disorders. But the cultural odds stacked against us in the scenario described above aren't helping to address the overall issue.

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If one million people replaced a two mile car trip once a week with a bike ride, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 50,000 tons per year. If one out of ten car commuters switched to a bike, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 25.4 million tons per year. [2milechallenge.com]