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sappstuf
9/22/2011, 10:22 AM
Interesting theory..


The No. 1 Reason Americans Are Getting Fatter: We're Not Smoking

The sidewalks are getting crowded. Today, about 30 percent of Americans are obese -- not fat, obese. That's a roughly 100 percent increase from just 25 years ago, according to a working paper released this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). As the country sheds manufacturing jobs and more Americans move from blue-collar positions to white, jobs are becoming more and more sedentary. With the economy in tatters, food stamp use (and, with it, the consumption of unhealthy foods) is on the rise. But there's another factor contributing to our weight gain that is often overlooked: Smoking.

Smokers are less likely to be obese. And the declining use of cigarettes across the country -- due to both tightening pocketbooks and new laws (thanks, Mayor Bloomberg) -- accounts for a bigger increase in the obesity rate in the U.S. than any other factor, according to paper authors Charles L. Baum and Shin-Yi Chou, who have both written with some frequency on the economics of obesity.

"Using the traditional Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique" -- a social science method often used to study two groups or components with different credentials; a method, essentially, of comparing apples to oranges -- "we find that cigarette smoking has the largest effect: the decline in cigarette smoking explains about two percent of the increase in the weight measures," Baum and Chou, both professors of economics at Middle Tennessee State University and Lehigh University, respectively, explain in the paper's abstract. "The other significant factors explain less."

badger
9/22/2011, 10:31 AM
Oh the irony --- smoke less for your health! Obesity is just as bad if not worse for your health!

All of my co-workers who smoke aren't fat, I've just never thought about the connection before :D

NormanPride
9/22/2011, 10:56 AM
Yeah, this makes sense. Except that there are fat people that smoke too.

The answer is just to eat less, dammit.

DenverSooner751
9/22/2011, 11:06 AM
Interesting take on th matter for sure.

Speaking from experience, I smoked for 10 years and when I was finally successful at kicking the habit, I did notice substantial weight gain due to increased appetite and decreased metabolism (nicotine is proven to cause metabolic rates to increase.....not to mention all the other crap in most mainstream cigs.) The trick is, to replace that vice with another, healthier vice. I started going to the gym daily for 30 minutes for stress release and to get back in shape a bit. I found that without changing my diet at all, I regained the "smoker's metabolism" just by doing cardio in the morning. It works, without a doubt. It's difficult, without a doubt but if you stick with it and make it a habit, the results are surprising.

It's hard to make so many life style changes at once, i see many of my co-workers that decide they will stop smoking, stop eating out and start working out....most fail, miserably. Gotta take the small victories.....over time, if you stay committed, you will see major success......like a lot of lessons in life.

It's a hard addiction to kick, but anybody can do it. Just gotta find a way.

FirstandGoal
9/22/2011, 09:00 PM
Articles like this **** me the hell off.

We deserve to be a country of unhealthy morons if we buy into this ****.

Hey, I've got an original idea.... maybe, just maybe crap food and no activity is what is making people fat. Perfect case in point is the following monstrosity (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/06/dennys-mac-n-cheese-review_n_950813.html) recently introduced by Denny's. Hey, if you want, you can even super-size the thing. Want fries and a cup of cheese with it? Sure, but make sure to keep in mind that its going to be more than the already insane 1,670 calorie total. 1700 calories for a damned burger? That's more than my BMR.

Sheesh!

C&CDean
9/22/2011, 09:04 PM
Big Macs and fries make you fat, not dropping the Marlboros. Sheez.

Yes, when I quit smoking a long time ago I tacked on a few pounds. You just adjust your lifestyle accordingly. I know several people who have quit/started, quit/started, and their reason for starting again? I gained weight. STFU. Have at least one ounce of personal discipline. Sheez.

silverwheels
9/22/2011, 10:36 PM
I did put on some weight when I quit smoking, but I still look good, so **** smoking.

Peach Fuzz
9/22/2011, 10:41 PM
The stuff I smoked made me eat more..

On a serious note, I have heard of something kind of like freshmen 15 for newly quitters.. I'd imagine it's worse for dip/chewers

FirstandGoal
9/23/2011, 08:00 AM
Yeah, I remember gaining about 15 pounds in the few months right after I quit too.

I also remember gaining about 40 pounds during the 10 months I was doing chemo/radiation. Still have about 10 pounds to go before I can say I've officially lost my chemo weight, but its coming off. My method? Don't eat crap and start moving around a bit more. Amazing how that works. :smug:

C&CDean
9/23/2011, 08:52 AM
Heading off to the gym right now. Being retired is great.

jkjsooner
9/23/2011, 01:20 PM
Oh the irony --- smoke less for your health! Obesity is just as bad if not worse for your health!

All of my co-workers who smoke aren't fat, I've just never thought about the connection before :D

Yeah but they stink and sound like a grumbling old man when they talk.

Tulsa_Fireman
9/23/2011, 02:50 PM
Maybe, like the article mentioned, it has a lot more to do with bricklayers and roofers being mexicans.

Who wants to grow up and work their *** off in the trades for years as a blue collar worker? Used to be a source of pride to be a lunchbox guy. Now, it seems more and more that good old fashioned hard labor is dirty and demeaning.

It's sick.

jkjsooner
9/23/2011, 02:57 PM
Articles like this **** me the hell off.

We deserve to be a country of unhealthy morons if we buy into this ****.


That's a lot of anger directed towards an article about a scientific study.

It's just a study. It's not an excuse or a free pass to go out and get fat. How you use this information is up to you.

Also, as I read it this is the single most influential factor. It didn't say it was the only factor or more than all of the other factors combined.

Again, it's just information.

jkjsooner
9/23/2011, 03:02 PM
Maybe, like the article mentioned, it has a lot more to do with bricklayers and roofers being mexicans.

Who wants to grow up and work their *** off in the trades for years as a blue collar worker? Used to be a source of pride to be a lunchbox guy. Now, it seems more and more that good old fashioned hard labor is dirty and demeaning.


Those jobs pay like crap - thanks a lot to the fact that it's now done by undocumented workers. That's why nobody wants to do them.

The reason many would consider the work demeaning is because they and everyone else know that the jobs pay like crap.

Question: Don't know if you have a son or not but would you push him just as hard to be a roofer (not own a roofing company mind you) as an engineer/lawyer/doctor/whatever? Does pay factor into that? (I'm not asking whether you would be proud of your son being a roofer. I'm asking if that would be your preference.)