Sitting around has made us fat - but food is still the problem

July 9, 2014  12:55

A new study in the American Journal of Medicine says we are fat because we move so much less, not because we eat more. But that is no reason to let the food and drink industry off the hook.

A new analysis of the nation's eating patterns and activity levels from the United States puts the blame for obesity firmly on our sedentary lifestyle. Americans are not eating any more than they used to, over the last 20 years, say researchers from Stanford University. But what HAS changed is the amount people move - or rather, don't move, The Guardian reported.

Over the two decades from 1988 to 2010, the calorie intake of the population has not shifted, they say in their paper in the American Journal of Medicine. They do not look at the different types of foods people are eating, but overall total daily calorie, fat, carbohydrate, and protein consumption have not altered significantly, they say.

What has changed markedly, however, are exercise levels - particularly for women. At the beginning of the time period, 19.1% of adult US women said they were involved in no physical activity. By 2010, that had risen to 51.7%. The figures for men were 11.4%, rising to 43.5%.

Not only BMI (body mass index, a measurement of weight related to height), but also the more concerning waist measurement, an indicator of how much fat is stored in the abdomen, wrapped around the internal organs, have soared in the last 20 years. Abdominal obesity is defined by waist circumference of 88 cm (34.65 in) or greater for women and 102 cm (40.16 in) or greater for men. Data showed that average waist circumference increased by 0.37% per year for women and 0.27% per year for men.

The Stanford team conclude that it is not food that is to blame.

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