| User | Comment |
|---|
| Lex | | posted 23-Oct-2002 4:29am |
High calories Junk food, IMHO. Its cheap and readily available. |
| dora | | posted 23-Oct-2002 5:38am |
Junk food I guess.  |
| Biggles | | posted 23-Oct-2002 5:46am |
The obese Americans eat too much of the wrong kinds of food and couple that with doing too little exercise. Some may have thyroid disorders or "big bones" but nnot very many! |
| Cain | | posted 23-Oct-2002 6:13am |
Erm, because they eat too much? |
| justjulie | | posted 23-Oct-2002 7:15am |
fast food places and the idealism that supersized is better than not
and we're lazy
and we drive everywhere
and.....the list goes on |
Irene007  | | posted 23-Oct-2002 7:43am |
They eat high-calorie junk food
and
It is the fault of the fast-food retailers
Are related.
I think that eating habits are the biggest problem. |
| Dino | | posted 23-Oct-2002 7:46am |
Whoah - this is a single pick survey. Well its a cultural thing really. High calorie junk food. The high number of cars. And then after a while you get used to people being a certain weight and it looks regular whereas to the rest of the world you're overweight.
The big question is though - are they happy? |
| confetti | | posted 23-Oct-2002 7:53am |
They live in a culture that encourages a sedentary lifestyle and excessions in food. |
Enheduanna  | | posted 23-Oct-2002 8:54am |
Not enough exercise. I read an article recently that mentioned that the US is only very slightly behind the UK. I sure hope some pudgy Brit didn't make this survey!  |
jettles  | | posted 23-Oct-2002 9:02am |
inactivity would be my choice........ wouldn't necessarily say lazy but inactivity plays a big role with high fat diets right behind. |
| Lex |
lol.. I AM a brit.. but fairly thin. Actually, there is an additional reason, that I'm pretty sure is the REAL reason behind it. I've not put it on here though, cos I wonder if anyone else will come up with it. |
Lahdee  | | posted 23-Oct-2002 10:31am |
One reason---eating too much and their get togethers and functions centered on food. They are big on functions and social things and act like pigs just because they get together with others. Another reason... many illnesses where people use meds to help the illness cause weight gain. Other countries might not use those meds? I don't know that's just a stupid guess. I just know a lot of people gain weight due to meds. |
| Biggles |
Perhaps on the overweight scale, the percentage here is catching up with the percentage there. But when it comes to obesity, the Americans win hands down! There are a few Americans at my college (visiting students rather than full time ones) and they're all amazed at how thin people here are generally. Although, I have noticed that people are considerably thinner here in the South of England than they are in the North. |
| anoddoblivion | | posted 23-Oct-2002 11:03am |
I don't really know. I think it's becoming more and more genetic, but how is started I'm not sure. I think it was just because of lazyness at first. |
| Biggles |
How is becoming "more and more genetic"? *bemused* |
| Enheduanna | | (reply to Biggles) posted 23-Oct-2002 11:40am |
I think part of the point in that article was that British food isn't necessarily that healthy either--especially since you folks boil the crap out of everything! After all, a lot of traditional American food probably traces back to British roots. |
| Enheduanna | | (reply to Lex) posted 23-Oct-2002 11:41am |
Aliens have been zapping a disproportionate number of Americans with their ObesityRay?! |
| darkshadowsseeker | | posted 23-Oct-2002 11:52am |
SOME are overweight, SOME aren't and it's often a combination of factors, not just one thing. |
| FXDL2K | | posted 23-Oct-2002 12:14pm |
most all of the above, and general lack of discipline is what i think |
| spidertea | | posted 23-Oct-2002 1:11pm |
It is too complex an issue to just blame one factor. |
| southernyankee | | posted 23-Oct-2002 1:32pm |
It's mostly because of greasy fast food. But also because we are a bit lazy and drive everywhere and avoid walking at all costs. Some people that I know would go as far as circling the parking lot for 5 minutes just to find the closest spot near walmart even though it would actually be quicker to just park father away and walk a bit. |
| Zang | | posted 23-Oct-2002 1:33pm |
If I had to narrow it down to one thing, I would say that it is because there is an enormous industry which makes gobs of money off making people fat, and then encouraging them to lose weight through completely useless means. The fast food industry is only a part of this. Women's magazines, daytime television, fad-diet weight loss books, exercise devices...the list goes on. It is quite ubiquitous. Tendrils of the evil monster pervade every element of your lives!  |
| jekaba | | posted 23-Oct-2002 1:52pm |
all the above except:
my mom has a hypo thyroid condition and she is 5'4" and weighs 120. same with my grandma and uncle. all normal. they all take medication for it. they say people who blame it on thyroid are well, all the above and full of it... |
| Biggles |
True. But steaming's big right now Especially student food, since we only have two hob rings and a microwave between about 18 people! |
| msgman | | posted 23-Oct-2002 2:50pm |
A combination of several of the listed reasons, plus others. |
| romkey | | posted 23-Oct-2002 3:25pm |
the fundamental reason anyone is overweight is that they take in more calories than they burn. The more interesting question is, why does this happen?
I really don't think it's the growth hormones in the food... those are more likely to cause cancer than fatness. Partially I think it's because dietary fat is so much more abundant today than it was millions of years ago. We have a "fat tooth", which was an evolutionary advantage a long, long time ago but which today is definitely a disadvantage when fat is so readily available in our diet.
We also just have way better access to higher quality food in general, and we have exert ourselves less physically in order to get it.
Supersizing it doesn't help at all, either. |
| magbast | | posted 23-Oct-2002 3:50pm |
I would say it's a trend of fast food combined with no excercise... |
| confetti | | (reply to jekaba) posted 23-Oct-2002 4:09pm |
One of my friends has your mom's condition and she's extremely obese. She claims that she isn't taking the thyroid medication because she's too young (15). But something about it doesn't ring true to me. I was wondering if there are any unwanted side effects to it? |
| Maarten | | posted 23-Oct-2002 4:37pm |
Americans consume way too much. Not only food.
|
| Jemmy | | posted 23-Oct-2002 4:38pm |
I'm not sure, but I have noticed that in the States, you can buy a very large amount of food for not a lot of money. The meal portions are so big, you feel like you have to eat more than you need because you paid for it. Also, if you have bad eating and excercising habits, you tend to raise your children with the same lifestyle you have, and that adds to the number of overweight people. |
| Enheduanna | | (reply to Biggles) posted 23-Oct-2002 5:38pm |
What's a hob ring?
And don't you put on your gown and go to the dining commons to eat?! |
| juliw | | posted 23-Oct-2002 5:52pm |
Too much junk food |
| joachim | | posted 23-Oct-2002 6:02pm |
I think the biggest problem is lack of exercise. That's my biggest problem. A close second is overeating. It's not just "junk food" like Macdonald's and Hostess Ho-Hos. For me the issue is that for lunch it's very difficult to find a reasonably sized portion. In order to make more money, restaurants give out more food (since it doesn't cost much more to make, giving out larger portions and charging more is profitable), so my lunch choice is either a salad or a huge steak. The solution is to bring food from home but of course since I spend 22 hours a day at work I don't have time to make my lunch or even shop for food. America sucks. |
| Glassa | | posted 23-Oct-2002 6:10pm |
They're lazy and eat too many high-calorie junk foods, then try to sue some restaurant because the bum won't put the fork down. |
| Glassa | | (reply to Zang) posted 23-Oct-2002 6:16pm |
Oh, so it's not the idiots fault for making bad eating choices huh? Those fast food giants force us to eat badly? What a bunch of crap!
It's all about taking responsibility for what you put in your body. Don't go blaming it on some food chain. They don't put a gun to your head and say "eat this fat-laden burger or we'll pull the trigger."
It's there because there's a demand for it. Once the demand is gone, it won't be there. |
| jekaba | | (reply to confetti) posted 23-Oct-2002 6:17pm |
ok, i ask my mom here is what she said. the hypo thyroid is called Hashimoto's disease. usually runs in the family. mom, grandma, uncle and my sister have it so i need to get checked. detected in uncle and sister at young age but not as young as 15. mom wonders how they would know so early cuz its all about hormones and such and thinks that is rare. she says she didnt just get obese prolly always been big so mom says if so more likely a pituitary problem. mom says there are no real side effects because for one it is a replacement of something you need, not really a medication, and if there were side effects it would be because your dose may be wrong. she says if you take too much you will get heart palpitations, headaches, be irritable. she says a long time ago they used the medication for diet pill. its called synthroid (synthetic thyroid) and there is also another similar but not the same called levoxyl. all they do is replace the thyroid hormones so the thyroid can work. mom says the thyroid is like hormone central and people have all kinds of problems they wouldnt even imagine related to lack of thyroid.
something doesnt sound quite right to "us" either. maybe they are embarassed and making a excuse. that is sad. its hard enough to be 15. |
| jekaba | | (reply to confetti) posted 23-Oct-2002 6:18pm |
ok, i ask my mom here is what she said. the hypo thyroid is called Hashimoto's disease. usually runs in the family. mom, grandma, uncle and my sister have it so i need to get checked. detected in uncle and sister at young age but not as young as 15. mom wonders how they would know so early cuz its all about hormones and such and thinks that is rare. she says she didnt just get obese prolly always been big so mom says if so more likely a pituitary problem. mom says there are no real side effects because for one it is a replacement of something you need, not really a medication, and if there were side effects it would be because your dose may be wrong. she says if you take too much you will get heart palpitations, headaches, be irritable. she says a long time ago they used the medication for diet pill. its called synthroid (synthetic thyroid) and there is also another similar but not the same called levoxyl. all they do is replace the thyroid hormones so the thyroid can work. mom says the thyroid is like hormone central and people have all kinds of problems they wouldnt even imagine related to lack of thyroid.
something doesnt sound quite right to "us" either. maybe they are embarrassed and making a excuse. that is sad. its hard enough to be 15. |
| confetti | | (reply to jekaba) posted 23-Oct-2002 6:22pm |
Ha! Okay. Thank your mom for me.
|
| mandy | | posted 23-Oct-2002 6:34pm |
Sedentary lifestyle coupled with high calorie foods in huge portions. |
| jekaba | | (reply to confetti) posted 23-Oct-2002 7:26pm |
ok, she says no problem - anytime |
| teatree | | posted 23-Oct-2002 7:46pm |
There is more than one factor at work here. You can't say it's this or that and leave it at that. |
| joachim | | (reply to Glassa) posted 23-Oct-2002 7:58pm |
In theory you're right that people can always make their own choices and eat what's right for them, but in fact it can be difficult. Or rather, it can be so much easier to eat badly that you're hard pressed to think of an excuse not to. I was laid off my job for three months and I started exercising every day and eating at home. I lost ten pounds. Then I got a job and gained at least that much back again. I don't exercise much and I always eat lunch at a restaurant. It's a textbook plan for getting fat. If I could ride my bicycle to work I'd be much happier. If I could leave work at 5 pm intead of 7 I'd probably get some vegetables on the way home and make my lunch. All I'm saying is that it can be hard not to overindulge if your culture expects it. |
| Biggles |
Not really. Gowns are only for formal hall on a sunday evening (I'm going this week) and I haven't eaten in hall much anyway. It's quite expensive (nearly £2 for a meal) so a group of us are cooking every night together. We've had some pretty good food! A hob ring is the metal ring on the top of an electric stove. I think, I'm used to gas, so I don't realy know! |
| harekrishnadasa | | (reply to Lex) posted 23-Oct-2002 9:14pm |
|
| kaleb777 | | posted 23-Oct-2002 9:29pm |
Americans aren't the fattest people. Tongans and other Polynesians are. That is mainly genetic though. Since Americans are not a race, their obesity can't be genetic. Like most western economies, the US has few people employed in primary or secondary industies. Service industries are not physically demanding so people spend a lot of time in front of computers and in meetings. The size of western cities means most people can't live within walking distance of where they work so they drive. Americans and otehr westerners aren't lazy, it's just the type of work we do that results in gaining weight. |
| weepydebacho | | posted 23-Oct-2002 9:40pm |
I don't know. |
| weepydebacho | | (reply to kaleb777) posted 23-Oct-2002 9:47pm |
Maybe the survey creator meant genetics in the sense that if your family is fat then there is a good chance you may have a higher degreee of being overweight. In that case it's probably a combination of genetics and family eating habits. None of my family is overweight, but we get a lot of exercise and because we live in a rural area with only one fast food restaurant in town (Dairy Queen) which we visit at most twice a month, none of us are overweight. Farming is busy, hard work, especially in the Winter time. Right now it's in the mid-twenties and we have had snow flurries all day. We have a tendency to be much more active when it's cold outside and you have to be in an unheated barn. |
| bcollins | | posted 23-Oct-2002 10:04pm |
I don't know, but it's certainly more than one factor. One thing you cannot blame it on is the fast-food retailers. They do offer healthy alternatives such as baked potatoes and salads. No one is forcing people to buy triple cheeseburgers and mega orders of fries. People who choose to do this and then turn around and sue McDonald's, Burger King and the like disgust me. They (the people) need to take responsibility for their own actions instead of trying to make the fast food restaurants take the blame. These restaurants didn't grab you and say ORDER THE MEGA MEAL AND SUPER SIZE IT, did they? I think not! That's a real beef (pardon the pun) that I have with sue-happy people. The coffee is hot and you burn yourself because you are such an idiot that you try to drive with the paper cup of coffee between your legs, it splashes on you and burns you so you SUE McDonald's because the coffee was hot and they didn't warn you-well  , you ordered HOT COFFEE so what did you expect? I realize some people are compulsive overeaters, but you can't place them in the same category as those who smoke, I don't believe people can become addicted to food. The cigarette companies put increased amounts of nicotine in the cigarettes in order to make them more addictive, but I don't believe there is anything in food that could honestly be considered addictive. You can't go around saying that it's the salt levels, the sugar levels, etc. because salt and sugar appear in foods that haven't been altered by man. Apples for example have a fairly high level of sugar in them (not processed of course, but it IS a type of sugar). Butter has salt in it even before the the processing company adds it (my mother told me that's why you use unsalted butter when you bake because butter already has naturally occurring salt in it). If you took cream and churned it into butter at home it would already have salt in it because that's the way it comes out of the cow. I guess I've ranted long enough so bye-bye. |
| Enheduanna | | (reply to Biggles) posted 23-Oct-2002 10:18pm |
Do you have to pay for each meal separately? When I was in college, we had to sign up for a meal plan if we lived in the dorms. There were different plans, so you could get one that cost less and covered fewer meals if you wanted--I usually had one for 14 meals a week instead of 21, since I didn't generally eat breakfast in the dining hall.
When I lived in Israel the dorms were all little apartments. We had a kitchen--there were no dining halls in the dorms--with a little four-burner electric thingy that sat on the countertop. No oven, no microwave. We managed to come up with quite a few creative meals that could all be cooked on a stove.
So are you liking Oxford so far? |
Galomorro  | | posted 23-Oct-2002 11:02pm |
I would say mainly because they eat too much high-calorie, hi-fat junkfood. Take the people where I work, PLEASE! They dine on burgers, fries, soft drinx, and other stuff that is fattening, has too much sodium, and is generally bad for their health. Because they see ads on TV, etc. and are not all that concerned about nutrition -- partly, I think, because they are younger. I used to eat more junk food when I was younger too. I think people are too likely to want what they see advertised on TV, billboards or whatever, and let themselves be carried away by how good something might taste, without taking time to read anything about nutrition. I have shopped in natural food stores for years, so I am an exception. Not that I do not think junk food does not, mainly, taste good. It does, but I do not think it is a good value nutritionally for what it costs. Since I don't have much money to spend on food, I try to get the most nutritional value for the money. I am also a nonconforming old "hippie" so rebelling against current junkfood trends is quite easy for me... |
| BrightBlue | | posted 23-Oct-2002 11:39pm |
It's societal. Physically, mentally, and spiritually, America is a country based on desire. Desire for power, wealth, success, etc. It is societal gluttony. That carries over to ones physical state. |
| Zang | | (reply to Glassa) posted 23-Oct-2002 11:48pm |
Sorry, are you sure that comment was intended for me? Your statements would carry more weight (excuse the pun) if the question asked why people with little or no will-power were so overweight. But that's not the case. The question asks why Americans are overweight, so I was trying to put it into some kind of cultural context. Makes perfect sense to me. There are people with little or no will-power everywhere. They aren't just limited to the United States.  |
| romkey | | (reply to bcollins) posted 24-Oct-2002 12:07am |
you should check up on the McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit... there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. McDonald's had a policy of keeping their coffee at a much higher temperature (185 degrees) than was common in the restaurant industry. They also had almost a thousand complaints from people who had been injured by hot coffee at McDonald's, which the dismissed as 'negligible' during the lawsuit. The woman who was injured by the coffee was 81 years old, suffered third degree burns and required skin grafts and a week stay at the hospital. I think that anyone who serves coffee that can do that kind of damage to you is guilty of criminal negligence.
And of course, after the lawsuit, McDonald's conducted a smear campaign against the woman, distorting the facts of the suit and turning it into a joke. There's a lot more to that particular issue than most people think - it's more the equivalent of tobacco companies uping the levels of nicotine in their cigarettes to make them more addictive than it is of people being stupid and thinking smoking won't hurt them. |
| anoddoblivion | | (reply to Biggles) posted 24-Oct-2002 1:40am |
It's evolution, you know, Darwinism. |
| they | | posted 24-Oct-2002 2:42am |
Foooooood.... |
| bcollins | | (reply to romkey) posted 24-Oct-2002 2:56am |
I'll check that out, but I do stand by my beliefs that you can't put the blame on fast food for making you fat. Nobody forces you to eat it. |
| Biggles |
It's really not. |
| Biggles |
I have a university card that gets scanned every time I have a meal in hall and that gets added to my termly bill (battels). That's my college's system - at other colleges you have to pay a flat fee for all your meals for a term. There's a lot of diversty between the different Oxford colleges.
I'm loving Oxford so far! Pity about the essays, but I suppose you have to take the rough with the smooth.... |
| Enheduanna | | (reply to Biggles) posted 24-Oct-2002 8:54am |
I take it you have to write a lot of essays? |
| romkey | | (reply to bcollins) posted 24-Oct-2002 9:20am |
no argument on people being responsible for fast food making them fat. Just the coffee thing. |
| Lex | | (reply to FXDL2K) posted 24-Oct-2002 10:00am |
Thanks for helping this one get through qual. It can be a real pain in the arse sometimes esp when the people commenting are trying to change the survey to be something that you dont want. |
| Biggles |
Well, only one a week, but it's more than I'm used to! And before this, I'd only ever written one science essay outside of an exam before. I'm just glad I'm not doing something like English, History or Law - they have so many essays and massive reading lists to get through. |
| Enheduanna | | (reply to Biggles) posted 24-Oct-2002 1:37pm |
How long do the essays have to be?
It's really good writing experience--especially since the sciences tend to have so little essay-writing.
Are you taking any non-science classes? It doesn't work that way in the UK, does it? You pretty much stay focused in one area? |
| anoddoblivion | | (reply to Biggles) posted 24-Oct-2002 3:02pm |
Uhmm, yes it is. It's called proven scientific fact. Not that man evolved from apes or anything extreme, but that you tend to pick up traits generation after generation of them being there. |
| FXDL2K | | (reply to Lex) posted 24-Oct-2002 3:42pm |
you are very welcome lex. pain in the arse eh?
more likely its a a big, ugly, old, unemployed, fat ass, miserable, no life loser who probably doesnt get along with anyone so they bring their controlling ass here where they believe they have some big power or something. ooooo im so impressed.
this is no democracy here lex, its a clique first of all. it certainly isnt as much fun as it should or could be or used to be. and i TOTALLY agree about "them" trying to change your survey to something you dont even want.
these people (mostly one) need to lighten up. we arent getting paid for this...so why so serious?
there are other sites, i wont mention here out of respect for this site. and i even like this site a lot. i think its great. its some of the people that suck major donkey dick. this site used to be waaaaaay better. its about 5 years old. used to be really fun. most everyone got along and had fun. another thing i like is the diversity, except when people not in USA complain you have no choices for them. well, sorry, but sometimes they just have to choose other. this site is based in boston, i believe. i could go on and on, but i think i will just go. i dont think i will create any more surveys here. too aggravating and you cant get away from the control freak nazis. (incidentally, i followed a couple people around the site late at night when hardly no one is here to see what they were doing with their voting and stuff - let me tell you there are at least a couple who just plain and simple fudge with you and try to sabotage your survey. i wont mention the name(s) BECAUSE THEY ALREADY KNOW WHO THEY ARE. there are a couple of otheres that are on to their crap too.) maybe i will come back another year LOL. maybe some of them will be gone or have lost weight, had plastic surgery, gotten a job and a life and have no time to come here and irritate and offend people. (they will still be old tho, LOL)
good luck lex, youre gonna need it. for myself, i cant be bothered with such trivial bullcrap or trivial people.(its only a few, but its a few too many. life is too short my man and i got a lot to do!!! besides, the feeling is probable mutual at this point, right? LOL bye, lex.
want me to tell you what i really think?
ROFLMFAO |
| kaleb777 |
Yeas but there are people living in the US from all over the world. There is no fat gene for Americans. I find I lose weight in summer mainly becaise I'm too hot to want to eat a cooked meal and I fill up on cold drinks a lot. In winter I tend to eat more. |
| Biggles |
Nope, that's Lamarckism (sp?) not Darwinism and it's been completely trounced by the Theory of Evolution (ie it's not true). Possibly if you were a bacteria you could claim that, but not as an organism with eukaryotic cells (which is what humans are) that replicate themselves through mitosis and undergo meiosis to produce gametes.
Probably humans do have a genetic predisposition to eat a lot of fatty foods, but that's not a result of recent evolution - that dates right back to some of our earliest reptilian ancestors. If anything, evolution is working the opposite way. People who eat excessively and are very obese when young have less of a chance of surviving to have children. Even if they do survive, they make less attractive mates so are likely to have fewer children. Thus they don't get to pass on their genes which are effectively removed from the gene pool. |
| Biggles |
The essay doesn't need to be hugely long. He (my tutor) said 4-5 sides but that was hand written. The first one I handed in (which was set during Fresher's Week!) was only 2 and a half and he said it was "v.good" - hopefully this current one doesn't need to be any longer than that! But i need to have read around it as well because I have a tutorial tomorrow afternoon. I'm just doing the Biology course although that does include a computing and statistics module ( ). Some people do joint honours courses, often a language as well as whatever else they're doing. There are more general courses though - there's Human Science here which incorporates some Biology, some Physiology, some Sociology, some Psychology and possibly some History and Social Geography too. There's a lot of emphasis on extra-curricular stuff though, especially at this uni - work hard, play hard! I've taken up rowing And I'd like to learn Russian at some point. Plus I've joined the Oxford Union which is a debating society (they get very impressive guests, even Michael Jackson spoke here!) Then there are lots of other societies, drama and sports. Most people do quite a lot here - probably because only people who have shown they can juggle lots of work and other stuff manage to get in. I have to do weight training for rowing tomorrow  |
| anoddoblivion | | (reply to Biggles) posted 24-Oct-2002 6:28pm |
I don't feel like argueing anymore. I know I'm right. I'm sorry I won't be convinced. I'm sorry also I can't convince you, but we don't all want to be like robots, you know. |
| Enheduanna | | (reply to Biggles) posted 24-Oct-2002 7:32pm |
So you can take Russian at some point if you want to. Could you take, say, a literature class if you wanted to as well?
The rowing team where I went to college had to practice really early in the morning--one reason it never appealed to me! |
| Biggles |
Are you at college? Do you understand what evolution is exactly? Explain to me exactly how Americans might be becoming genetically more obese - just spell it out. If you're right then I'll be persuaded.
What did you mean by "we don't all want to be like robots, you know."? |
| Biggles |
The Russian wouldn't actually be part of the course, i wouldn't get any kind of credit for it - it would just be for fun. I could join a literature society and have wide and varied discussions about literature but it wouldn't feature in my actual course and my final degree wouldn't take into account anything that I do outside of my course. Our rowing teams have early practices too 7am on Monday I have circuit training. Some of the other teams actually have to row at 7 which means they have to be at the boathouse at quarter to 7. That's a good mile from here as well! |
| Enheduanna | | (reply to Biggles) posted 24-Oct-2002 7:48pm |
So how many classes do you take each semester? Or does it not work that way? The British system (and other European countries do it the same way, I gather) is so different from how we do it in the US. Do people change what they're studying at university often? In the US we don't even pick an area to focus on until the second year of college, typically, and then it's usually only 8 or so classes that are in the major area, and lots of people end up changing their majors in their third and sometimes fourth years. I don't know if I would have liked what I picked if I'd had to choose an area to study while I was still in high school! I certainly wouldn't have chosen what I ended up with, because I wouldn't even have known it was an option! |
| Biggles |
We narrow what we're studying down so much in the last two years of school (because most people leave before that point) taht we get a fairly good idea of what we want to study at degree level. I couldn't have chosen having just done GCSEs because they were a lot broader, I did 9 subjects. Most people just do 3-4 subjects at A-level (at 18) - I did a couple more though - so we've already studied the subjects we're most interested in to quite a lot of depth. I found some notes from a US College site for biology and they weren't to any greater depth than my first year of A-levels which I did when I was 16-17. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad. The American students we have here (visiting students - they stay for a term) are so much more relaxed about their choices - their term here is actually counting towards their degree at home! Whereas the Brits here are all deadly serious about doing well because this is *the* degree - most of us won't go on to study at a higher level.
This year I'm doing Cells and Genes, Organisms, Computing and Data Handling and Populations but within each of those blocks there are a huge variety of different subjects - from evolution and genetics through to bacteria, vertebrates and exobiology.
Next year I get to choose more which areas I want to specialise in, but I'll still have to do certain core elements and my options will all be Biology ones like Microbiology. |
| Enheduanna | | (reply to Biggles) posted 24-Oct-2002 8:08pm |
I guess AIM and MSN messenger aren't compatible, because I can't find you...
So I know there are people in the UK who study what I do, presumably at the undergraduate level, but how do they know it's an area of study? Do they teach Semitics or ancient Near Eastern religion in schools there? Or is it something people find out about only when they're going on to grad school?
I hear that PhD's in the UK take much less time to get than they do in the US, which makes sense--PhD students in the UK start their degrees with more specific knowledge under their belts than students in the US do. We have to do more background coursework at the start. |
| Biggles |
Not at normal state schools - possibly to some degree at some private schools. I've never heard of people going straight for something like that at degree level but bu the third ear you could well have specialised in your kind of thing if you were doing a Theology or possibly even an Archaeology or Ancient History Degree because by the third year, you do have a lot more choice about what you study. I'm fairly sure that there will be more specific courses for undergraduates available but not at the top universities. I think PhDs take 3 years here. But I'm not sure - I'm not thinking that far ahead right now!  |
| Enheduanna | | (reply to Biggles) posted 24-Oct-2002 8:16pm |
That makes sense--I guess you could easily find out about it if you were doing ancient history. And being able to pick a more specialized focus after a couple of years makes sense.
Do you do three or four years for undergraduate? |
| Biggles |
It really depends on the course and the university. Mine's 3 years but there are quite a few 4 year courses - engineering here is a 4 year course. If I'd gone to a Scottish uni my course would have been 4 years too. Also, some people do sandwich years, especially language students, where they spend a year working (eg. in a country where their language is spoken) before returning for the last year of their course. |
| bcollins | | (reply to romkey) posted 24-Oct-2002 11:44pm |
I'll check that out. I guess McDonald's really glossed over what really happened and put all the blame on the woman. |
| anonymous | | posted 25-Oct-2002 12:17am |
In the U.S. all you do is work, work, work and sleep. Some people are lazy and too tired to cook, so the easiest thing for them to do is to go through Wendy's or McDonald's drive thru and pick up some food and drive back home!!! |
| anoddoblivion | | (reply to Biggles) posted 25-Oct-2002 9:12am |
"We don't all want to be like robots". If we all do, feel, know, function the same exact way, like robots out of an assembly line do. |
| Biggles |
I don't see what relevance that had to what you were saying?
Still waiting for the explanation about how Americans are currently evolving to be fatter. |
| anoddoblivion | | (reply to Biggles) posted 25-Oct-2002 8:44pm |
I don't want to give an explination. And the robot thing, if I beleived exactly what you believed, or vice-versa, then there would be no need for research, no need for thinking, and nothing would be different. This world would be boring, understand?
I don't want to explain. Just believe me or think I don't know hat I'm talking about, but I'm not explaining. |
| magbast | | posted 25-Oct-2002 8:50pm |
*wipes the mayonnaise from his goatee, then takes a sip of carbonated sugar water*...dunno why, you? |
| Biggles |
You mean you *cant* explain. |
| anoddoblivion | | (reply to Biggles) posted 26-Oct-2002 6:45pm |
Yeah, pretty much. I can't. I know I'm right, but whatever I put down will be contradicted by you somehow. Please just leave me alone about this. I'm not going to win I know, but I still know I'm right. I wouldn't expect you to want to explain either. No, I can't explain it to you. |
| Biggles |
Fine - so go and get someone to teach you about evolution so that you actually understand it. I don't think there's anything wrong with your intelligence and I think you've almost grasped the evolution concept. Just, there must have been something lacking in the way you've been taught it because you're understanding of it is slightly skewed. That's why you're so sure you're right, because you so nearly are. Unfortunately the subtle difference between what you're saying and what the leading scientists of our day are saying actually turns into quite a dramatic difference when you look more closely.
I'm perfectly capable of explaining why you aren't right and perfectly willing to as well. It's good practice for me - I have some Genetics tutorials coming up at uni quite soon and it would get me into the right mindset for some of the broader themes we'll be discussing. |
| PURRincess | | posted 27-Oct-2002 11:08am |
It's the result of more than just one of those....... |
| Lex |
Biggles is right. What you are describing when you use the phrase "becoming more and more genetic" is behavior, not genetics. Behaviors can be inherited (term used very loosely here, sorry biggles) in the sense that we learn them from our paraents. But thats quite different from the darwinian evolution (survival of the fittest) Americans are genetically no different to europeans - it would take 100's of generations to change markedly. |
| Lex | | (reply to Lahdee) posted 28-Oct-2002 11:09am |
You are the only one here who mentioned what I think is a huge part of the problem .... "their get togethers and functions centered on food." I noticed this a lot when I was over there. Every single gathering of people (office meeting, concert, sports event etc) has junk food in abundance. Its impossible to escape it. |
| Biggles | | (reply to Lex) posted 28-Oct-2002 12:18pm |
I've still got to read Dawkins' Selfish Gene, but the whole "inheritance" of behaviour thing is referred to in that I think. |
| Lex | | (reply to Biggles) posted 29-Oct-2002 4:40am |
Dawkins is a very good writer, and an excellent thinker. Hes pretty much spot on with what he says about evolution. You could almost say hes the darwin of today. |
| Biggles | | (reply to Lex) posted 29-Oct-2002 7:01am |
His name's cropped up in both my tutorials *and* a few of my lectures so far! I have The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker on my shelf but I haven't read them yet  Good job he's not one of my lecturers really!!! |
| joachim | | (reply to Lex) posted 29-Oct-2002 9:09am |
How is it done in Europe (or wherever you are)? I guess all the get-togethers I ever went to there had a lot of food. Maybe the American get-togethers had more food, though. I guess I just figured communal eating was a bonding technique all over the world, like it has been for the last hundred thousand years ago. But maybe it's just us Americans that still gather together old-school |
| Lex | | (reply to joachim) posted 29-Oct-2002 11:44am |
A lot are based on alcohol... rather than going to the restaurant, people will go the pub at lunchtime. I went to a sports stadium in detroit once.. amazed to see that the seats had cup holders and places to strore your food. In the UK, you get just a seat, and wouldnt consider eating. |
| joachim | | (reply to Lex) posted 29-Oct-2002 6:47pm |
Interesting. I've never seen seats like that but certainly a lot of people (most, really) eat at sports events. I think the American attitude toward alcohol is still screwed up from prohibition. If I drink a beer at lunch on a workday, it's a fairly big event. Usually I wouldn't do it unless I'm celebrating something. |
| Lahdee | | (reply to Lex) posted 31-Oct-2002 8:25am |
I also think aside from all those food centered social things, people find all meals to be a sacred event or something and they eat a lot at breakfast, lunch AND dinner. People also eat just because it's "time" and out of habit to eat 3 meals at the same time every day. I don't eat meals if I'm not hungry, and I don't make every meal 5+ course. |
| autumnlight |
They don't do enough exercise. |
| Paradox5 |
I believe the reason that so many people are over weight is b/c our country has gone from a manual labor society to a managerial society. Also we don't promote fitness either. |
| bob2 | | posted 21-Aug-2007 5:03pm |
because jesus made twinkies and twinkies make you fat so dont eat twinkies all you people of the world |
