Sarah

Hi guys,
My husband is doing a presentation at Penn State University on how the American lifestyle takes its toll on recent immigrants, for example, more fast food, sedentary lifestyle, poorer eating choices, weight gain etc.
He needs about 25 responses, theres only about 6 questions, if you could check out the survey I'd appreciate it

Take the survey

Thanks!
Sarah.

ImHere

I'd do it but the link redirects to microsoft.com...you need to remove the leading http://http// bit.

mandpete

Did the survey via the thread in the Lounge forum.

ImHere

Yeah, I realised it was the same but sarahs hubby so did it that way too, Anyway good luck to him however we get to it

jjw152

Just wanted to thank everyone who took the survey. I really appreciate it.

Tone

Done 165lb regards

Rete

For the heck of it I went to your husband's survey not intending to take it mind you but to read it.

I believe the survey is very misleading. The questions live out so many other areas which might explain weight gain after migration at least from participants in this forum.

It is my belief that the men and women here if they have gained weight it is not because of poor American lifestyles or eating habits but because they are now married. Any married man who has married a woman who like the kitchen and knows how to use a stove, oven, broiler and what the difference is between a pot and a frying pan, will gain weight initially.

Rete

Elvira

Have not looked at the survey but firmly believe that the American lifestyle DOES induce weight-gain. I never had to diet in my whole life but I gained 20 lb in the first 2 years I was here.

Lost them again through sheer determination and discipline - but gained back 10 lb again already

woodsey

would definitely agree, my very tall, slim daughter gained around 25 pounds in the first six months seriously..she did need to gain some weight as she was very slim before but gained a bit too much, she's done very well though and has lost some of it, she's realising at a very young age that too much of a good thing, gets you in the end. We were without a kitchen for seven weeks when we had it remodelled and I'm afraid far too much junk food was eaten by us all, school meals don't help though, pizza, nacho's and burgers..

Rete

Not disputing that at all. Just thought that it is not always the American lifestyle but lifestyle period. Many men, such as my husband who was a bachelor for 4 years before we married lived on Kraft dinner every night but Fridays when he had Chinese. Of course once married I cooked dinner every night and kept food in the house and he gained weight. I cook wholesome meals, not junk food, but never-the-less he did gain weight just from eating one decent meal per day.

Elvira

Before I moved here I hadn't realised how many miles I used to walk in the course of an average week - just doing what one normally does in the UK: doing the weekly shop (parking a hassle - easier to fill the cart/trolley and push it home...), going to the library, having lunch at a friend's house the other side of my 'village' (London is not one big city but a collection of towns or villages), wandering down to the High Street for a cappuccino, taking the kids to the local park or feeding the ducks by the river...

Oh, and of course I lived in a 3-storey house, not a bungalow (or whatever you call them here) - so I was forever up and down the stairs - no need for step exercises

Sometimes a whole week would go by without getting into the car. In fact, if I moved back now, I almost certainly wouldn't bother to get a car. Here I'd be lost without one. Which reminds me: where is that blooming driver's licence from the DMV???

Noorah101

I agree with Rete to some extent...that a married couple will probably gain more weight than an unmarried couple, simply from eating more good home cooking more often.

Just to give you my scenario, though...my husband does attribute his 25 lb in 6 month weight gain to American lifestyle. He didn't spend much time with me at home before heading out to California to work...so he can't blame my regular home cooking! The once-a-month weekend home cooked meal he gets now isn't doing it. It's his total change of lifestyle and eating habits here in the USA. He runs around on foot a LOT less...all travel is by car. He has tried (and liked!) McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. So the combination of eating junk food (which I never saw him eat in Turkey!) and not walking many miles a day is what did it. After 6 months, he panicked when he couldn't bend down to tie his shoes, and now he's lost most of what he gained, by eating far less and exercising every day. He said that's the first time in his life he's had to make a conscious effort to eat right and exercise. Now I just need to learn from him! LOL

Rene

ImHere

I was 172 lbs before we moved here last November. Im now 178lbs. I've been married 14 years.

My weight also went up about 5 years ago to over 180lbs but I got it back down again. Now the main problem I have with weight is actually diet related but not the way it may seem. I am allergic to wheat and dairy and it is incredibly difficult to have a completely wheat and dairy free diet in the US. It was pretty hard in the UK but I really do find it harder to get non-wheat products here on such a wide scale. I tend not to eat fast foods for this very reason, but I have found that there are more corn sugars in off the shelf foods here and there is infact medical research to show that corn sugars - as opposed to cane sugars as are more widely used in Europe - causes weight gain faster. Heres a link but not the one I recall:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp...nguage=printer

So yes there is more to weight gain than simply eating loads of fast foods - after all fast foods are just as abundent in the UK now as they are here - but weigth gain is also linked to other dietary factors relative to the USA. Equally, there is less inclination to walk here. I have neighbours who get in their car to drive 400 yards to the post office near here.

Heres some facts on obesity in the US:

http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/1031002183.html

I also recomend the book "Fast Food Nation" as a good read.

Anyway, my opinion is that weight, lifestyle and diet are an individuals responsibility and are very dependent on upbringing - including culture - and that the tendency in the US is towards a higher calorie, lower excercise lifestyle in general. However I also believe the rest of the world is rapidly catching up as the US way of life, including the proliferation of fast food, and labour saving technology spreads across the globe. This isnt a dig at the US or Americans but observation based on facts. Lets be honest: The average American consumes more food per capita, drives more and further and excercises less than in most other cultures. Heres some data for that:

http://www.choicesmagazine.org/2004-.../2004-3-02.htm

Percentage of obese and overweight population by country:

USBound

I had/have LOTS of issues... here I'm lactose intolerant - I'm NOT in the UK (go figure that one)... the main issue I find is portions... they are ALWAYS huge....

I've gained maybe 30lb in the past 14months... mostly due to my doctor telling me to STOP working out for medical reasons however.

NC Penguin

If portions are large, when you receive your food, ask for a box and before you start eating, put some of it in the box you start eating with less food in front of you. That's a suggestion I've read anyway...




NC Penguin