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Michelangelo's David, after a short stay in America

by Iva Skoch (RSS feed) on May 4th 2008 at 11:00AM

I got this email from a couple of different people: "After a short stay in America, David returns to Italy." You know what's coming before you even open the picture. David gets FAT.

It reminds me of my first extended stay in America. When I first lived in the US as a student in 1994, I gained 30 pounds and 3 months. Yep, it was a not a pleasant sight. The thing is, I am not the type of person who ever gains weight. Until I moved here, I never thought it was possible for me to gain weight. It took me a year (after leaving the US) to lose those pounds.

I still can't figure out why. It didn't seem that I was eating more than I was used to. I had exercise. Some people tell me that it was probably just because I completely changed my eating habits and ate more carbs than I did before. Others claim that the additives in US food is what makes people gain weight.

I don't know what it was. I do feel bad for David though. (Geez, lay off the pasta, man!)

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Europe, North America, Italy, United States

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Craig May 4th 2008 9:50PM

It's easy to eat poorly here and difficult to eat well. Grocery stores are lined with delicious-looking, fattening foods which are almost always cheaper (and much easier to prepare) than their fresh/homemade counterparts. Most foods -- even packaged versions of normally healthy foods -- are pumped full of high-fructose corn syrup (because corn is very cheap to produce) which is not only unhealthy but often makes you hungry so you'll eat more.

Restaurants serve dishes that would be half the calories if you made it yourself at home, even simple dishes like pasta and chicken. At a friend's house you're not likely to find healthy snacks -- it's in our culture to offer unhealthy treats to guests.

You really have to go out of your way to find and prepare good meals in the U.S., but to be honest the food companies are mostly giving the public what it wants (cheap and easy). Your average 45+ hours per week worker isn't going to want to spend an hour a night cooking dinner when he can zap a Hot Pocket in 2 minutes.