Overweight and in Debt. Why?

Gunther on 21/03/2017 - 15:56

Why is Australia as a nation, overweight and in (bad)debt? Two major necessities in life – food and money.

Two topics that people can easily be educated on, yet as a majority we are not. Is this a case of the education systems not dealing with it, so the responsibility sits at home. Thus creating a vicious cycle of uneducated people who do not or are poorly educating their children in regards to diet and money. WTF?

Random Google Statistics for those who like numbers:

Australia Credit Card Debit
https://www.finder.com.au/credit-cards/credit-card-statistic…

Australia Overweight
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by%20Subject/…

General Discussion

Comments

        • Third_Gear on 22/03/2017 - 16:48
          +1

          @DaneD: you don't have kids so really any opinion about parents and their time is irrelavent coming from you. Come back when you have a couple kids. Eating healthy is however very easy and we do have nice home cooked meals every night.

        • DaneD on 22/03/2017 - 16:53

          @Third_Gear:

          Good point, I don't have kids so I can't possibly have a nuanced opinion on an issue.

          Great argument.

        • DaneD on 22/03/2017 - 17:07
          +2

          @syousef:

          I will more than likely stop after this post (beside looking at your links).

          But what is more important that leisure time OR putting in some effort (quite minimal) and making some good food for you and your family.

          You also get the added bonuses of having a ton of energy, feeling good and generally not getting sick all of the time.

          You only have one body, do you want to say f*** it and live in a decaying body with limited physical capacity or do you actually want to put some effort in and change the way your body is shaped and what your body can do?

          It is really up to you but playing the victim at every turn and not doing anything about it will only lead you down a path of destruction.

        • syousef on 22/03/2017 - 17:20
          +2

          @DaneD:

          Again you don't get it. "Some effort" isn't even close to describing the bare minimum you have to put in just to keep your family going mate. The balancing act is a hard one. It's worth it. I wouldn't trade my kids for anything but only when you have kids will you understand the huge toll they take.

          Here's one for parenthood. See 11:45.

          https://www.ted.com/talks/rufus_griscom_alisa_volkman_let_s_…

      • frostman on 22/03/2017 - 20:54

        The truth is people are LAZY we are programmed to be lazy and to avoid pain

        Well yes & no, why weren't our grandparents snacking on takeaway chicken wings and crap all week?
        Its not like they lived in poverty and we are all rich to afford takeaway.

        When was the last time anyone here sat down on a dinner table with family, said grace and ate a hearty cooked meal for a few days straight? Mostly parents these days just grab takeaway food, or microwave food at best at home. Why is that? Back to my topic, no one has time anymore. It's all a mad rush to work 10 hours/day.

  • terrys on 22/03/2017 - 09:45
    +1

    Cheap food is usually high calorie/low protein. The correlation between a low income and high obesity is one found in most `developed' nations where people are not suffering famine - but a surprising number do suffer malnutrition.

    • idonotknowwhy on 22/03/2017 - 12:36
      +1

      I have noticed this too, having lived in outer and inner suburbs in Melbourne.
      In the inner suburbs, you see people out jogging. In the outer suburbs, you see obese people shopping.

      • syousef on 22/03/2017 - 17:30
        +1

        TL;DR You're falling into an bbservational bias snobbery trap.

        The city is more densly packed. You can walk or jog to your destination more often. People have higher incomes and often have their food delivered. Walking and jogging is a requirement when you live somewhere where Owning a car is a pain in the ass as there's no where to store it, and public transport can fill the gaps.

        In the suburbs you have lower income families who often have to shop for themselves and get there by car. The joggers are out there - they're more densly spread.

        Both groups have individuals who can't take the time out of work to have a decent exercise routine.

        Point is there are good reasons for what you think you see and some of it is real, other parts imagined.

  • keepa on 22/03/2017 - 09:57

    I just had cake for breakfast at work… It's my birthday though so its ok, yeh?

    • lainey13 on 22/03/2017 - 10:45

      Happy birthday!
      I had curry for breakfast. Since I cooked it on Saturday and I'm going out for lunch and dinner I figured I better eat it and not waste it…

    • songford on 22/03/2017 - 15:26

      Oh happy birthday there! Here's an eneloop as present! Have a lovely new year ahead!

  • syousef on 22/03/2017 - 10:59
    -1

    Wouldn't have anything at all to do with companies spending billions on ads designed to trick you into parting from your cash and make you hungry? Which is handy because they can spend some more on tricking you into parting with your cash for gym memberships and excercise equipment they know you won't ever be able to fit into your way of life, then more on "health food" that isn't healthy, pills, potions, magic hypno bands and weight loss surgery.

    I'm all for personal responsibility but when you have psychology research by companies backed by billions of dollars the average chump doesn't stand a chance.

    There's another factor on the weight issue - our genetics may be dooming us from the start as we breed people who have a tendancy to gain weight. The alternative is eugenics ala Hitler so there's a nice little problem for you to solve. Don't believe me? Check out the BBC "Why are thin people not fat" and countless other sources I have cited here before. It's not a zero some game for energy in vs out and how your body chooses to hold onto those calories plays a very big role - otherwise we'd all be enormous.

    • DaneD on 22/03/2017 - 12:36
      +5

      No your statement is 100% factually inaccurate.

      If you are only consuming 1000 calories and you burn 1500 calories per day IT IS IMPOSSIBLE i will repeat that IMPOSSIBLE to gain weight. It does not matter 'how you store the weight or how your body chooses to hold calories'.

      If you expend more than you take in then you won't gain weight. It is really that simple.

      Just be accountable for your own bloody actions, why is there always some mystical reason why people are overweight? There isn't, they are either lazy, pick bad foods, are not educated on the issue or are not accountable. It is truly that simple.

      The reason why the 'fitness' industry makes so much money is due to the fact people are pain averse. So they want some mythical potion to solve all their problems.

      • U4333439 on 22/03/2017 - 13:06
        +1

        I completely agree with all your comments on this page. have an upvote.

      • syousef on 22/03/2017 - 15:27
        +2

        You are talking absolute nonsense. The body is not a closed system. It can retain water (no calories, but plenty of mass) and it can use the chemicals you put in to manufacture fat at a different rate. Some people can eat until they go blue and find it very hard to put on weight. Other people could literally get fat eating an extra 20 calories.

        You are also leaving out of the equation what a huge motivator hunger is. If you're constantly hungry, you will find it very very difficult to stick to 1000 calories a day.

        Here are a bunch of links. Most people I post these for ignore them or downvote or whatever else. The sources are pretty solid. Real research by real medical practitioners not fad diets and people scamming. What you do with the info is up to you. The thing is if you refuse to actually analyse a problem because it's easier to vilify the victim don't expect an actual solution to ever be found.

        http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/152728/Why_Are_Thin_…

        Story of a doctor who thought like you and was disgusted by his patients until he ended up with a metabolic syndrome of his own.
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3oI104STzs

        Neuroscientist's view and some facts about obesity and links with disease
        https://www.ted.com/talks/sandra_aamodt_why_dieting_doesn_t_…

        "Source:
        King's College London
        Summary:
        The chance of an obese person attaining normal body weight is 1 in 210 for men and 1 in 124 for women, increasing to 1 in 1,290 for men and 1 in 677 for women with severe obesity, according to a new study."
        https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150716180913.h…

        https://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/do-95-of-diet…

        "Hunger gene" isolated for Labadors
        http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2016-05-04/faulty-gene-ma…

        More genetics, with people this time
        http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867415…

        Link between obesity and microbes in the gut
        http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/the-diet-my…

        NY Times article on dieting
        https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/sunday/why-you-ca…

        • Gunther on 22/03/2017 - 15:38
          +1

          Medical practitioners… plenty of fat doctors out there. A great deal of them do not understand nutrition or care enough themselves.

          Genetics is a load of BS - 99% of fat families all eat the same food, same takeaways, same poor choices - as taught to them by their parents and their grandparents.

          This statement deserves a repeat…
          "If you expend more than you take in then you won't gain weight. It is really that simple"

        • DaneD on 22/03/2017 - 16:49
          +1

          Well we are talking about totally separate things here.

          Firstly water retention is generally caused by a poor diet. A good example is 'the biggest loser', these people seem to lose 5-10kg per week. Not surprisingly this is mostly 'fluid loss'.

          Secondly, this is 100% due to calories in calories out your body can't magically make calories from thin air. If you don't eat you will lose weight, if you eat too much you will gain weight. I do agree that the consumption levels of individuals change but that is due to the fact some people burn more and some burn less. Not because they can magically eat all day and not gain weight.

          1000 calories was an example (not a realistic expectation of consumption) to highlight a point in a simple way.

          I will endeavour to read some research and get back to you.

        • syousef on 22/03/2017 - 16:51
          -1

          @DaneD:

          I'm sorry but retention is caused by a wide variety of medical conditions, not poor diet. You're falling into the trap of blaming the victim.

          You seem more open minded than most. Please just take a look at the very first link - the BBC doco. It's not short but I think you'll find it interesting.

        • DaneD on 22/03/2017 - 16:57
          +2

          @syousef:

          Just google 'water retention diet' or 'water retention bad diet'.

          Diet and exercise play a SIGNIFICANT factor.

      • rabid_monkey on 22/03/2017 - 16:41
        +1

        Yes, a calorie deficit is required to drive weight loss, but just be a little careful with the calories-in, calories-out argument, things get a little more complicated at the biological level: http://healthyenough.net/calorie-counting/

        • BuyoTheCat on 22/03/2017 - 16:49

          Not all calories are the same.

          Instant sugar hit is a major killer.

        • DaneD on 22/03/2017 - 16:50

          Obviously agree food quality matters, but I am simply trying to make a point without going into the complexities for ease of reading.

        • syousef on 22/03/2017 - 16:54

          @BuyoTheCat:

          Not all bodies are the same either.

          For example did you know that diabetics have to find out for themselves which non-starchy vegetables cause blood sugar spikes. More specifically some can eat tomatoes without issue and for others it causes a spike.

        • BuyoTheCat on 22/03/2017 - 18:52

          @DaneD:

          I do understand what you are trying to say and I do not disagree.

          I saw a documentry about overweight children who tried desperately and unsuccessfully to lose weight. They had adequate exercise but diet consisted of processed food and refined sugar.

          That was what ultimately failed them.

        • BuyoTheCat on 22/03/2017 - 18:55
          +2

          @syousef:

          Totally agree as well. Siblings in a same family with the same bad diet can have different body index. Some are fat, some might not be. However thin does not always indicate healthy.

        • syousef on 22/03/2017 - 19:03
          -6

          @BuyoTheCat:

          And you can actually be fat and healthy if all other factors including fitness are good.

          https://www.ted.com/talks/sandra_aamodt_why_dieting_doesn_t_…

        • syousef on 27/03/2017 - 11:54
          -1

          @syousef:

          Ahh Ozbargain. Where downvotes are all about how a comment makes you feel not the truth of it.

  • niknah on 22/03/2017 - 13:17
    +1

    The numbers in the credit card debt link are actually ok.
    Looks like "balances accruing interest" has been going down for a few years.
    People are maybe using these cards for convenience or fly buy points, not to be in more debt.

    • Baysew on 24/03/2017 - 18:54

      I noticed that to. I think OP just chucked that in, without really giving it much thought.

      Discussion has turned into food fight, anyway.

  • ozlab on 22/03/2017 - 13:34

    1. Laziness. Enjoying being served. Go to Woolworths or Coles, if you see a cafe serving breakfast next to it, you'll see it's crowded with people eating simple breakfast like scrambled eggs, bacon, croissants, and cup of tea or coffee. Or probably people eating sandwiches. They can save lot of money just buy getting their breakfast next door from Woolworths or Coles, making their own sandwiches or cooking their own eggs. Same goes with drinking wine in restaurant.

    2. Everything is overpriced but strong desire to purchase. Looks like Amazon is going to fix this by cutting 30% off the price.

    3. The debt are mostly contributed by property market. Investors need the bank for loans. Each investor has multiple properties, hence multiple loans, more debts.

    These are all simple activities that can lead to spending money unwisely in other areas. It's a habit.

  • Stopback on 22/03/2017 - 15:22
    +1

    many of the reasons blame the individual, but rising housing costs and cost of living is the main cause.

    Add in underemployment, remeber not everyone has a family who can bail them out.

    For people living pay check to pay check,

  • [Deactivated] on 22/03/2017 - 15:37
    +3

    I think the easy answer to this is because we are lazy and stupid.

  • Mumbles on 22/03/2017 - 16:05

    The low interest rate is one of the big reasons why there is such high person debt. The OP's hyperlink to the credit card statistics reflects this in the first graph where the number of credit cards dramatically increased in late 2001. That's the time when the Australian government lowered interest rates after the Asian Economic recession and Dot-com bubble.

    When interest rates are low it encourages more individuals to borrow. Eg. credit cards, mortgages, car loan. That's exactly what Australians did. Many banks were approving 100% interest only home loans.

    Here's a graph of "Household debt per person" since 1987:
    http://www.primecapital.com.au/australias-in-front-household…

    A sustained low interest rate brings an asset price boom. Paul Keating faced a similar time in the 1980's and called it a time of excess

  • BuyoTheCat on 22/03/2017 - 16:41
    +2

    I think as a society, we are driven in excess to consume. materials and food.

    I had a problem with buying material goods. Over the last 3 years I have significant improvement over buying stuff. I have to seriously ask myself do I really need it. Then I wait for the item to be OZBed so I do not have to even think about it.

    Food has never been much of a problem. I eat to live. Dining out is a social activity and I am not an overly social person.

    I am learning not to do anything in excess. Everything in moderation. Even moderation.

    I am not rich, but I am fit. Who has a sister for me?

  • T1OOO on 22/03/2017 - 17:06
    +3

    this a serious question?

    FOOD TASTE GREAT!
    AND
    I LOVE BUYING STUFF (even when i cant afford it with money, hence CC)

    • outlander on 22/03/2017 - 17:48
      +3

      I know right? Like isn't it obvious

      Why wouldn't that be the case. 90% of people don't know what food is, and 97% don't know what money is

      • BuyoTheCat on 22/03/2017 - 18:58
        +3

        What is this money you speakest of?

        I touch this card on a little box and I walk away with goodies. ITs FRRreeeeeeeee

  • MessyG on 22/03/2017 - 19:14
    +2

    Really complex question and one I am ill-equipped to answer, but the discussion about people being 'stupid' reminded me of a graph I saw some years ago which may contribute to the explanation.

    https://www.sochealth.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/all-m…

    There's a lot of stress and sleep deprivation the traps these days, it does bad things to your metabolism but I suspect the answers are many.

    • retiredfeline on 22/03/2017 - 19:23
      +2

      Yes, studies show that people who are struggling to survive are more likely to make bad decisions due to stress. Conversely, if you are short of sleep, or are experiencing turmoil, avoid making important decisions.

      • lainey13 on 23/03/2017 - 11:29

        I think you've used the word 'conversely' wrong here.

        • retiredfeline on 23/03/2017 - 12:01
          -1

          Check it yourself online: 1. a situation, object, or statement that is the reverse of another or corresponds to it but with certain terms transposed

          Conversely isn't always used to make the opposite statement, it can also mean transposing terms in a statement. Let's put the statements in a simpler form:

          a. If stressed -> likely to make bad decisions (and some may be important ones)
          b. If stressed -> don't make important decisions because of a.

        • lainey13 on 23/03/2017 - 14:40
          +1

          @greenpossum: Er… I think you've used the word 'transposed' wrongly here too… you haven't transposed (swapped around) any of the terms?

        • retiredfeline on 23/03/2017 - 14:43

          @lainey13: I transposed bad and important.

  • Ultraman on 22/03/2017 - 19:34

    I vote Fight Club for both issues under discussion - shhhh!!

  • Sleeken on 22/03/2017 - 22:04
    +2

    I'd put it down to a mixture of laziness and shortsightedness in my age range anyway.

    A lot of teenagers I work alongside seem left to fend for themselves and end up buying complete rubbish for a meal (think a large coke for dinner). It seems their parents are either too busy working or simply don't care. When I used to work at the checkouts in a working class suburb the majority of what people bought was processed food - obviously they weren't cooking at home and the junk food on top of that wouldn't be helping things.

    I'm in my mid 20s now (at uni) and there's a split in behavior between my friends - some are careful with budgeting and an equal portion just spend every dollar they can and then some - cars, travel going out, expensive weddings etc. I think for the latter half, their life has just been too easy and they need constant excitement through experiences or new shiny things, which leads to debt.

  • NickosFoivos on 22/03/2017 - 23:14
    +1

    crisis approaching soon.

    biggest issues:

    -housing affordability
    -poor job market
    -an out of touch government

    a miracle can save us from a big wave of recession.

    hope people can wake up N smell the coffee before it is too late.

    • lddv04 on 23/03/2017 - 16:21
      +1

      Coffee and cake?

  • Diji1 on 22/03/2017 - 23:54
    +4

    Australians are fat because the gummint health messages are run by the food retailing and processing industry.

    Eating high carbohydrate food combined with the ridiculous notion that it's fine to eat all the time because you can "exercise it away" (shifting blame onto the consumer) is an recipe to gain weight because carbohydrate rich foods do not satiate hunger immediately.

    In the 1970's children under the age of 8 years old started to be targetted by food processors and retailers such as Kelloggs and McDonald's using marketing. The reason is that the child has a high chance of becoming a lifelong consumer of the companies products without understanding why. The fact that they gain the ability to reason after the age of 8 does not change the illogical preference for food that makes them fat.

    • frewer on 24/03/2017 - 18:08

      Well said

  • mezje on 23/03/2017 - 03:22
    +1

    People are lazy, plain and simple.

  • nikey2k27 on 23/03/2017 - 07:11

    Debt is housing it pack of cards Overweight is stress from housing debt.

  • Cheap Steve on 23/03/2017 - 13:39
    +3

    Anyone else look through the weekly Coles and Woolworths catalogues and is disgusted at the 98% junk/fast/convenience foods being promoted?

    • mini2 on 23/03/2017 - 14:55

      Half price Connoisseur's and 5% off Colesworth gift cards…om nom nom.

  • tommy-darko on 23/03/2017 - 15:58

    I'm trim and frugal. A lot less stress in body and mind that way.

  • lddv04 on 23/03/2017 - 16:19

    Our increasing standard of living has resulted in easy credit and a huge variety of cheap food.
    I'm a migrant to Australia having arrived in 1995. My salary has more than trebled and my disposable income too. In 1995 we had to watch our pennies, shop fortnightly, plan our meals, never eat at out etc. Now, I can go shopping and basically throw what I like into more trolley and there's enough to pay for it.
    This is truely the lucky (but bloated) country.

  • HeWhoKnows on 23/03/2017 - 18:15

    Its just a load of media hogwash.
    I'm not overweight and Im not in debt

  • snajper on 23/03/2017 - 19:44
    +3

    Cheap take away food… expensive fresh food that needs effort to prepare (not an option for lazy and overworked part of population.
    We are being spoon fed sugar at alarming rate…. Check out what is on 1/2 price specials next time you go to Coles or wollies .Always massive display of Nutrigrain, chocolates, icecreams and other high sugar crap

    • [Deactivated] on 24/03/2017 - 09:34
      +1

      expensive fresh food that needs effort to prepare

      I agree with the latter, but disagree with the former. Healthy food isn't anywhere near as expensive as people make out. Frozen and tinned veggies are as nutritious as fresh and if you buy in-season fresh veggies are cheap.

      You can also make food in batches and freeze it. But if you'd rather sit on the couch playing with your phone then you aren't going to have the time to prepare anything.

  • DrDollar on 24/03/2017 - 07:37
    • General short-sightedness.
    • A misplaced reliance on past data "proving" future.
    • Difficulty to "succeed" increasing due to the growing disparity between salary and home price.
    • An inefficient government.
    • A cycle of government that are unable to make tough decisions that stick.
    • The intelligent are breeding less than the unintelligent mostly due to reasons above.
    • Lack of education on the fundamentals you mention, being health and wealth.
    • Unpaid overtime in Australia is very common.

    Australia is facing very tough times in the near future. Meanwhile, our governments are not making or are unable to make the decisions necessary to prevent disparity in wealth, define sustainability in terms of the environment, energy production and too many more issues to list here.

    The challenges for younger generations are going to be very difficult to manage. What a mess they are going to deal with.

    For these reasons, pressures on individuals are weighing heavy - Focus on health slips for individuals as they continue to focus on trying to achieve goals that area becoming increasingly difficult to reach. Short-sightedness and poor government policy is causing people to fuel the housing bubble in the hope they don't "miss the boat."

    Younger generations are being ostracized and do not have enough voice.

    I fear their best "hope" for younger generations is to wait until the baby-boomer generation dies off and wealth is passed on. This is of course terrible and indicates things are going terribly wrong.

  • ChupaCabra on 24/03/2017 - 09:58
    +1

    2 Steps to solve both problems:

    First step just like in Japan, record each staff members weight and place a tax on the company for any staff that become obese while working there. Also tax for obese staff who become more obese. We might end up having companies do morning training fitness camps or paying for your gym membership more regularly then and not making you sit at the desk for hours on end.

    Second step, ban interest on all but business lending purposes. Or get rid of the jews bankers.

  • PaulieDx02 on 24/03/2017 - 10:43
    +3

    I would like to weigh in on this discussion.
    Maybe it's a reflection of the Narcissistic society we live in……

  • JimmyF on 24/03/2017 - 10:55

    So OZ problems can be solved by eating less (aka buying less food) and putting that money in to repaying loans!

  • tigs6969 on 24/03/2017 - 22:24

    I got overweight due to depression when my fiancee died in a car crash

  • jenkemjunkie on 24/03/2017 - 23:45

    People become hyper-consumed with their careers… the ultimate opportunity cost is actually having a life. They fill the void temporarily by buying shit and overindulging in food. The overindulgence and consumerism doesn't solve the persistent misery that resides long term. Thus the cycle continues. Rates of diagnosed depression increase.

    people get so consumed in careers that they waste even more time with the farce that is 'networking' that they feel compelled to now go to after work events because that's how you live life - spend even more time around your work…when really they should go home and stop having their career or job steal even more of their time. These shitty policies developed by HR to increase 'workplace happiness' actually perpetuate the problem. It's indentured servitude and we're trained into it.

    Go look at a bunch of new grads at an 'after work drinks' and see how insufferable their behaviour is…all in the misguided hope of career building. Watch them get fat as they only have enough time to go through maccas drive thru in their sweet financed Audi A1

  • [Deactivated] on 25/03/2017 - 01:13
    +1

    depression = putting on extra weight

    low income
    poor living conditions

    = depression

  • OzTightArse on 25/03/2017 - 04:59

    But if no one takes debts, buy new cars, and go out eating what's going to grow the economy?…. What would our bank executives do and what will become of our countries' tax revenue…!

    Be a compliant economic unit peeps..

  • WaywardOne on 02/04/2017 - 21:01

    -

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