Supersized Americans Weighing Down Cruise Ships

I'm soooo proud of my country right now.
*sighs

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11609204%5E663,00.htmlAmericans Weigh Down Cruise Ship :

hahahahhahah!

we did it to ourselves. Fast food, long car commutes, suburban sprawl, lack of any physical activity... fatties galore!

Well that's not as bad as what I thought when I read the title. I thought that it was about the passengers being so heavy that collectively they exceeded some sort of weight limit on the ship itself.

But still, it's pretty bad.

May I suggest bicycles as a remedy to many of America's health, pollution and fuel supply problems?

If you haven't already, you gotta check out Super Size Me:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390521/

Attn: Calling all conspiracy theorists: There is a vast, fast-food conspiracy afoot!

No, you may not.

Many of us live quite a long way from where we work. I live 35 miles from my office in downtown Seattle.

Before you say "oh just move to the city" consider this:

I live in a 1500 square foot house in a nice part of town. If I were to live in Seattle, and in a safe neighborhood at that, I'd be limited to 900 sq ft condos. When we moved a couple of years ago we had the option of moving closer to the city and living in a small space or commuting and enjoying a larger home in a nice neighborhood, three blocks from a good school.

I don't have children now, but I certainly don't want to raise my future children in a 900 sq ft condo.

Having said all that... yeah I'd love to live close enough to walk or bike to work. Just doesn't fit into my budget right now. Perhaps in several years I can reconsider my home location.

I guess I kind of went off on a tangent, but oh well.

This movie was even better than Farenheight. Once you watch it you will likely never eat fast food again. Though the book Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain has pretty much killed my appetite for going out to eat.

I suspect that some of these cruises attract more sedentary folk who like to eat, so the stats may be more skewed towards people of size. I had a travel agent friend who once told me that if you like to eat, these cruises are the place to be; they apparently set out multiple buffets throughout the day and night, and eating is practically one of the activities. I've never taken a cruise, but the thought of being shuttled around from one canned destination port to another on a floating bathtub with "nightclubs," restaurants and shuffleboard doesn't really appeal to me as a vacation option. Maybe I just overdosed on "The Love Boat" back in the 80's.

baba bah ba baaaaaaaa I'm lovin it!

Shaddup and get off my stool you salad eating freakizoid! *Plants one cheek on stool and falls through three decks...*

Good point Beryl. I noticed a similar thing going on in Las Vegas. At first I couldn't figure out why everyone was out of shape. Then it hit me- if Joe Blow is some food-loving, sedentary guy- what kind of vacation would appeal to him? Backpacking? Hiking in the mountians? Extended walking tours? Or somewhere (like a casino) where he can sit all day (when he's not hitting the bar or the buffet table)?

If you don't want me sittin on your stool, I suggest you flush next time!

Siggy.

Side Note : Mc D's salads contain just as much fat and crap as their burgers.

I prefer Fatburger myself - that thing makes my heart literally skip a beat just lookin at it.

*Loves Fatburger. In and Out Burger too!*

Ever tried Whataburger?

Fargin' HUGE!

I like Wendy's burgers. She has a nice ass too.

I stopped eating fast-food a year ago.

I've lost over 60 pounds, exercising 3 times a week and eating sensibly.

The thought of a fast-food burger, which before I would be ready to eat at a moments notice, is actually repugnant to me. Once you are 'out of the loop' of being used to the taste, you'll notice that they're actually quite bad. I mean...ugh, the meat texture alone...

I'll gladly scarf down a good steak, but not a fast-food burger. That being said, fries are the devil, and I still like those. I just know myself well enough to stay away from that.

Yup, lotsa Americans are fat...and a whole lotta us exceed 6 feet and 150lbs ('cept me I'm a scrawny 5'7" and are in shape, so we could kick your puny little pale asses. And we have entire sports leagues full of giant men all pumped up on 'roids. And we even have a T.V. show where we put morbidly obese people on diets and call the winner "The Biggest Looser". And reportedly, KFC is still using their 6-legged "Super Chickens" to keep up the supply of dark meat for the masses who wanna be finger lickin' full. Sorry we have an abundant food supply that we don't have to import. We really are!....man, I'm getting hungry.

This is a good movie, but I felt it was pushing the limits on what was believable. Yes, Mcdonalds is an extremely prosperous business and of course they are going to have as many locations as they possibly can have to make the most profit. The fact that he ate Mcdonalds EVERY meal was a bit much. He forced himself to eat until he got sick from it at least that one time. He grew tired of the food on the menu and was forcing himself to eat it 3 times a day. The fact also is that most people don't eat 3 times a day.

I know people, including myself, who eat Mcdonalds sometimes 3-4 times a week .. no one forces me to eat there. I have a choice , and do excercise that choice when I need a change.

He ate Mcdonalds 3 times a day , 7 days a week, for a month. When your entire diet consists of fast food in that many meals, YES, I can see how messed up this would be on your body. This guy also had a vegan chef girlfriend and appeared to enjoy his last meal (which appeared to be vegan). So he probably ate many vegan foods to begin with so I'm sure his health was better than most. Going from one extreme to the other would definetly cause some drastic problems in your moods as well as your physical well being.

The problem isn't Mcdonalds, the problem is self control. People blaming others for their problems with discipline is the main issue here. This documentary is in the same realm of those law suits where Mcdonald's was being sued for creating overweight children.

Big conspiracy? NO .. its just a large company trying to turn as big of a profit as they can. They don't have Ronald outside holding a gun to your head to come eat a Big Mac.

I'm dissapointed, I was hoping to read something about a ship sinking because of it's overly large passengers.

I agree - I went on a Carnival Cruise once and the first thing you do is start eating. It was one of those 10 day cruise things and by the time I left - I'd gained 6 pounds.

Not only that but I felt horribly claustrophobic. The room was small. I'd explored most of the ship and the ports were as you say "canned". Also, you are not given enought time in port to do anything significant that is not pre-planned.

So what's to be done? Lay on the deck and drink pina coladas at 1000 calories each, eat pizza, sandwhiches and cookies between the four formally planned meals.

The worst part of the entire trip was having to sit at a table with complete strangers and "get to know them". I had to choke down an entire bottle of freakin wine just to motivate my self to speak to them.

This was in the 1980's so I suspect things have changed somewhat since. But I've learned that cruises are not for me personally. I'd rather fly somewhere, rent a motorcycle and take long quiet roads that lead to silly places with giant balls of string.

I'd go mental. I don't see how people can enjoy cruises, I'd be itching to get off. I get bored pretty fast.

I really want to check this movie out. I just finished reading the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and it was really eye opening. The book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is excellent also. Both can really change your viewpoint on not only the food you eat, but some of the working conditions in the US.