Why are people getting much fatter these days?

I have noticed more and more people using more than one space in the underground, on buses, trains and even using planes. Why is this and what can we do to tackle it?Additional Details...

I have noticed more and more people using more than one space in the underground, on buses, trains and even using planes. Why is this and what can we do to tackle it?
Additional Details
telboy - I agree people who take up more than one seat of planes are a nuisance for others who keep within healthy limits plus they put a huge strain on the NHS. Fat people ought to be doing something about it. I have sat on planes where someone's body has 'spilled over' into someone else's space - its just wrong

♥I run with scissors♥	Go turn on the Tv flip through the channels... the chances are that you are going to see at least 3 fast food commercials. Hear if the Wendys 3 stack burger yet probably your already getting sick of the commercial. If this burger werent on Tv would you know about it and go get it no. And if you werent watching Tv would you see this Ad.. no. As you see television is one of our problems. Another problem is the internet we sit hours on the computer on end waiting for our best friend to sign on and their probably not going to.. also when we should be outside we are wasting our time taking ridicolous pointless quizzes such as the impossible quiz from new grounds, this quiz gives you three lives then your done you have skips but if you use any of the skips guess what you lose at the end of the game, then answers on this quiz make no sense. But I shouldnt talk Ive memorized the first 89 questions of it. Though matter what we say we have all spent a large amount of time on the computer the time we should have been exercising whether we be skinny or fat. Also did you ever hear of the kid who lost all of that weight eating subway, well guess what he walked 3 miles there and 3 miles back everyday to get his subway. Yesterday while driving around at a local highschool I saw an ad for drinking and driving it was a new lincoln SUV completly ruined from a DWI. The vechile was donated and the Ad was dont drink and drive and this real car was there. So what if we found an obese person and said watch what you eat. I know that ad prevented me and many others from ever drinking and driving. And the ad in which the obese person was in would effect me and many others to. Wouldnt it affect you. There is no way we can control what people eat and how much of it. The increased price of gas has caused many people to walk many different places. But what about the other people gas would have to be 25.00 a gallon before these people walked any where. So it is not under our control how these people eat, but take in perspective they may be trying to lose the weight because gaining its a lot easier than losing it or keeping it the same.

sticky	As a nation we are getting fatter due to our diets. We eat more crap! Pardon my expression..... but we eat lots of processed foods to what was eaten 30 years ago... We are not as active as most people hav cars and do not walk any where. Gosh i can remember walking everywhere in any weather..... I still walk ... computers are a factor to kids being overweight as they dont play out in the street as they rather sit and play computer games or talk on line...(Safety is an issue also) I do think it is right to stop overweight people having operations on the nhs as it is risky and it would be a waste of resources.... If people lost weight was a healthy weight then many problems wouldn't occur... I doubt there is anything we can do in respects to travel as we could be discriminating against the larger person..... but i do agree that if you take to seats you should pay for two seats..... don't want offend anyone but it is so true!

malasharrock	People have just given up caring for themselves because they are stressed out and eat for comfort. Plus they are spending all day sat down doing Answers.

McSecret	Beacuse there are alot more fat foods now then there were back in the 70's 60's and 50's. Like burger king is more popular and Mcdonalds. And hot dog eating contests. Depression!

katiem	A lot of people eat junk and processed foods these days which are less healthy and more fattening than the fresher foods your parents or grandparents used to make. Bad eating habits have developed over the years. When I was a child I got my breakfast, dinner and tea; no snacks in between. Biscuits, sweets, crisps and pop were a rare treat and I think we ate more fruit. So I would say today's parents are, to a degree, to blame for allowing their offspring to develop bad eating habits. Also both children and adults spend more time in front of the tv or on computers instead of getting exercise. Also, people tend to use their cars for short journeys when really a walk would be more beneficial.

Sue J	1) Portion Distortion http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-06-21-portion-usat_x.htm 2) Convenience foods as opposed to good home cooking http://www.healthandage.com/Home/gid2=2434

Mike T	There is a nationwide epidemic of laziness. No one wants to exercise anymore. It's not genetic or due to illness, it's refusal to do training!

Dr Frank	I agree there is a problem.Statistically you are correct. Both men and women are getting larger. On average both are an inch taller and 25 pounds, ( just under 2 stone! ) heavier than in 1960. The average weight for a woman is now 164 pounds or over 11 1/2 stone. It is however an imperfect world.

seraphim	it is sad...and the question is rude!..as if everybody could actually make herself or himself beautiful and in shape...world would have no fat,skinny, ugly...one!

jazzflower	because people are not bothering to introduce fitness into their routines, and are even less interested in opting for healthy foods, its a case of, 'lets get a cab and stuff our faces with a takeaway' .

gingin	A HUGE increase in fast food.

JACKIE T	Basically we are all eating too much of the wrong foods and not doing enough exercise. To tackle this we need to eat less and eat the right foods and do more exercise. It really is as simple as that.

venus	They get fat because of junk food and sweets. Plus they are too busy with their work and sometimes forget to exercise.

Mellissa Mojo	simple...people are eating more and exercising less. Its cheaper, faster, and tastes better to go by a big mac then it is to go by a bag of apples.

Dee	In my opinion, there is too much fat and sugar in our diet and even some people who are trying to eat healthily are unaware of how fattening a lot of food is. Fast food is an obvious reason but foods which are advertised as low in fat may be high in sugar and vice versa. In addition, generally people don't take enough exercise. I have put on weight since I started driving because I don't have to walk to and from bus stops etc. What can we do...show "Supersize me" regularly in schools and colleges and to obese patients as well as providing exercise on prescription as appropriate.

tasty	because they do less exercise

Violet Pearl	Start reading the ingredients on the foods you buy-- 98% of all packaged foods have not just sugar, but often times 2-4 different types of sugar. "Foods with a traditionally healthy appeal have up to twice the amount of sugar in them compared to 30 years ago. Breakfast cereals, wholemeal bread and soups are chief among those foods which are significantly sweeter than they were only three decades ago. European Union trade reforms leading to a reduction in the price of sugar and an increasing demand for sweeter products are being blamed for what health experts say is a worrying trend. Scientists have also said increased sugar levels are a major reason for soaring obesity rates in the UK, particularly when it comes to sugar-thirsty children. In 1978 Kellogg's Special K had 9.6g of sugar per 100g. That figure has since doubled to 17g per 100g."

brandy	Because they eat too many fatty foods and convenience meals like takeaways. Today's young mothers don't know how to cook tasty meals from fresh ingredients, judging by what I have seen piled in their supermarket trolleys. Also not many people have enough physical exercise like walking, swimming, running etc. as computers and games have taken over spare time. Why did schools get rid of playing fields and stop having physical exercise in the gym? Usually to raise money and political correctness in teaching physical activities I think. Glad my family have all grown up with good nutrition, exercise and the ability to cook proper meals for their own families. I notice in other European countries you don't see many really fat people as they know how to cook fresh food and vegetables. We are as a nation becoming just like America, overweight and under exercised.

cubalishus	Because its easier to use excuses than it is to get off their backsides and do something about it, kids don't do PE in schools like they used to, they go everywhere by car, their parents allow them to live of McDonald's and other junk food, sweets are their best friends as are cans of fizzy sugary drinks and crisps, parents use the excuse they have a busy lifestyle and job but have no time to cook, rubbish, their bone idle basically, its takes half an hour to prepare a good healthy meal which can then be put in the oven to cook, it takes that long to cook these prepared processed crap meals they live off, its easier for them to plonk themselves and their kids in front of the TV instead of going out for a walk or bike ride as a family, people have become a slave to junk food and TV and not only have they forgotten what is outside their front door or were the recipe books are in the kitchen, they've forgotten how to live properly too.

kitty	People are eating too much crap and not enough veg, then also they dont do any excerice to burn off all the fat and crap they put into hteir bodies. I say if everyone was on a healthy diet and had regualr excerice then not as many people would be fat.

King Fu	Could be that we drink sweet drinks and eat sweet food. Sugar trigger the glands to produce the hormone insulin and insulin trigger the fat in the bloodstream to go into the fat cells instead of being burned in the Krebs cycle to produce energy for the body, so the sugar makes you eat more to produce the energy you need because the fat is not burned.

EDWARD W	PURE GLUTTONY.

♥♥ §åråh ♥♥	actually when i go out all i see is skinny sticks!!! there's hardly any fat people where i live

laplandfan	Too much junk/fatty foods lack of exercise But do remember not all fat people are fat because of overeating. Some have general health problems. We must not stereo type here.

lilian c	because we are a lot lazier than we used to be!! using cars when we could walk! we can eat what we like as there is so much food everywhere! etc!!!

Beth	Convenience. The convenience of being able to drive everywhere and the abundance of convenience food (99% of which is very bad for you).

millyajok	It seems quite simple to me...overindulgence. America is a society that preaches over consumption i.e. it's ok to eat another cookie, piece of cake etc. Plus when you go to restaurants, the portions are just huge: there's no portion control. All you have to do is look at the stuff in grocery stores to know that we are headed for trouble. I lived in Europe for so many years and there, portion control is the order of the day: from store-bought goods to your dining table at home or in a restaurant. That's why Europeans are smaller than the average American (think French). Also, the fast food craze does not help matters as far as the expanding girth of the American is concerned. People consume alot of greasy non-nutritious foods that have a lot of empty calories. Many people resort to convenience and sacrifice nutrition. And don't even get me started on the amount of soda consumed in this country every year. I have met people who couldn't identify a fruit and a vegetable if their lives depended on it. Coming from a culture where the diet is predominantly veggies and fruit, I find it very sad...and pathetic really! As if consuming all that food isn't bad enough, many Americans cringe at the thought of simple exercise. They prefer to drive everywhere, take the elevator instead of stairs, order take out instead of cooking, and spend too much time on the couch watching TV. For most people, exercise is more of a punishment than a pleasant activity. The most practical way to tackle this problem is to educate yourself and your kids on the nutritional value of certain foods versus others. First, cut out soda completely if you can, limit sugars, minimize consumption of red meat, eat more veggies & fruit, and exercise. In my opinion, it's the simple things like taking the stairs, taking a walk in the park, that could make a difference in many Americans' lives. The ever expanding girth (waist line) only spells doom.

ELIZABETH T	lack of physical activity. fatty sugary food Make it more expensive for unhealthy food, cheaper healthy food educate the children

Courtney Cola	people are getting lazier and lazier. less girls know how to cook these days so the easy way out is to get cheap easy fast food all the time. why walk when they have a car? why go out and do social activity's when they have the tv and internet? ur right people keep getting fatter it's horrible but it also makes me mad at the people for not putting in any effor and then complaining about it

lovemelovemybum	I believe it is because it is much cheaper to eat burgers and pizza's than to eat fresh meat and vegetables and your five a day. Also now women are out working also they don't have time to cook proper meals. Kids eat rubbish as school and parents won't put them on a diet. Gone are the good old days when dads went to work and mums stayed home cooking fresh healthy food. Bring back the old days thats what I say.

Knownow't	Coz we eats a lot more and I for one sit on my fat **** on this computer and never get up to do any exercise...and I think I am not the only one in the world to do this....