I eat fast food, like, twice a year... and almost no processed foods at all. But now I'm going to cut out even that. Because it's EVIL!!!

I'm particularly interested in this, because I've watched this happening here where I live in Greece. When we first moved here, I saw very, very few overweight people (almost none!), and, really, no obese people. Over the last 10 years this has begun changing dramatically, and now I see overweight kids, teenagers, and 20-somethings quite often. This has gone hand-in-hand with the rise of fast food industry here. There were almost no fast food outlets (beyond traditional gyro shops) when we arrived, and now there is fast food on every corner, nearly.

It's been quite a stark demonstration for me, and goes along with what these articles are referring to in terms of nations that have never had obesity problems suddenly facing the same thing the U.S. and the U.K. have been dealing with for decades.

Wow. Thanks for the links, taz.

Interesting articles, taz.

I think the rise of the fast-food industry is only one part of the 'obesity pandemic'. When I was a kid growing up in Derbyshire, the only available fast food was the chip shop (and the baker's). There were always queues outside the chippie, so people were eating chips and pies on a regular basis.

But there was far less processed food available in the supermarkets. Most people didn't have freezers (I'm talking the mid-60s to early-70s) and microwaves didn't exist, so there was a lot more fresh produce and fewer additives in food. We were taught in Domestic Science classes to cook 'proper' meals from fresh ingredients.

I, and most of my classmates, walked to and from school. Hardly anyone I knew had a car. My dad rode a bicycle to work, and it was only the 'posh girls' in the class whose dads had cars. People either got the bus, walked, rode a bicycle or a moped.

In England in those days there was no all-day TV, no such thing as videogames and I thought nothing of walking 2 miles to visit a friend and then spending all day playing in the park and then walking 2 miles home.

So, whilst fast food does of course play a big part in obesity, I think it's part of a general shift in lifestyle to a more sedentary way of life, nobody walking anywhere, kids spending hours in front of the TV or with their X-box and eating either fast-food crap or supermarket crap.

I think jan makes a good point about the poor quality of supermarket ready meals. Generally the quality of meat in your average mcdonalds is pretty good (although the quality of the meal is debatable). The quality of the meat that goes into a bog standard supermarket beefburger is by contrast pretty horrible and I dread to think what's in some of that stuff.

What makes it worse is most of this poor quality food is being fed to children.

Yes, it's more than one thing, for sure... Yet, what I've seen happen here seems to be specifically about the fast food - with most other factors during the period I've lived here remaining roughly the same (computer/internet being a huge exception).

And I'm definitely not saying Greece (and I can't even speak for Greece, only the city where I live) is a "Fat" nation - just that it's quite jarring to see the number of overweight young people now. They are still in the minority, but they seem to increase every day, and I do think that in this case it's down to fast food more than anything else.

Homer: Yo, Apu! Give me the usual.
Apu: Yes, sir! One Kwik-E-Dog, one bubblegum cigar, and the latest issue of "Success" magazine.
Homer: Mmm ... Hey, this hot dog tastes different.
Apu: Yes, I just cleaned off the machine, sir. So the snack you are enjoying has not been soaking in putrid grease.
Homer: Yeah, but without the grease all you can taste is the hog anus!
Apu: I'm so sorry, but I sold it all to the rendering plant.
Homer: People buy grease?
Apu: Oh, yes, they use it to make products such as soap, cosmetics, baby food ...
Homer: Used grease is worth money? [gasps] Then my arteries are clogged with yellow gold! I'm rich Apu, rich! I ... aaggh! [clenches heart, then sighs] Money in the bank.

So, whilst fast food does of course play a big part in obesity, I think it's part of a general shift in lifestyle to a more sedentary way of life, nobody walking anywhere, kids spending hours in front of the TV or with their X-box and eating either fast-food crap or supermarket crap.

I agree. Unhealthy eating habits have always been with us but we were able to ameliorate this by being more physically active. Many jobs were physical. People rode bikes or walked.

Now that we've removed a lot of physical activity from our daily routine, the chicken mcnuggets are coming home to roost.

"Because it's EVIL!!!"

Don't forget bad table manners and failure to signal motorway lane changes.