Comments on: [Noun] Makes You Fat

By: alison

alison — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 21:41:37 +0000

Gah! This is so ridiculous. I read this one too…

“Geesh, you’re so right, this “_______ makes you fat” thing — they’ll blame anything but medications and dieting, because that would cheese off their advertisers, but other than that almost anything is fair game.”

as usual, Meowser, you state more eloquently exactly what was going through my head as I read…

By: La Wade

La Wade — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 16:43:06 +0000

The common thread of all these articles and studies seems to be that everyone is the same, and what works for one will work for all. That is the root of the bad science, right there.

Don’t blame the science! This is bad journalism, not bad science. Health science does, in general, look at populations of people. This is a good thing, because in order to shape health policy and treat disease, we want to understand how most people’s bodies and minds work most of the time. The problem comes when journalists extrapolate things like “credit cards make you fat” from what seems to me to be a pretty solid study looking at actual trends in people’s spending habits.

By: spinsterwitch

spinsterwitch — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:35:22 +0000

Since I’m not fond of fast food, generally, I think that this would generally not apply. Although, I do have a hard time with credit. Mostly this has to do with clothes and jewelry.

By: whyme63

whyme63 — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 14:51:54 +0000

After reading my first comment, I think I want to clarify a bit. The reasons for the way I handle this are:
1. I am a compulsive overeater.
2. I am very tight with a real, actual paper buck.
3. I am not very good at handling plastic money.

The common thread of all these articles and studies seems to be that everyone is the same, and what works for one will work for all. That is the root of the bad science, right there.

I know my particular circumstances are, if not unique, certainly not universal, either. Everyone is different, and needs to find their own way of handling things.

By: vesta44

vesta44 — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 05:59:43 +0000

Hubby and I have a credit card, but we never use it at the fast food joints. Whatever we charge on it is paid off the next month so we don’t have to pay interest. However, we do use our debit cards for fast food, but we don’t eat any more using them than we would if we paid cash. I don’t like carrying cash anymore (lost too much of it at work when I couldn’t lock up my purse), so I use my debit card a lot (and most fast food places here don’t accept checks anymore). We don’t eat a lot of fast food either unless we are driving to the cities for doctor’s appts and will be gone most of the day, then we eat out and fast food is usually cheaper.

By: Meowser

Meowser — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 04:05:29 +0000

I don’t use credit cards at all. I haven’t for years. I can’t handle them, frankly. And I haven’t gotten anywhere near skinny since giving them up.

Geesh, you’re so right, this “_______ makes you fat” thing — they’ll blame anything but medications and dieting, because that would cheese off their advertisers, but other than that almost anything is fair game. Bowling makes you fat! Paper airplanes make you fat! Cat hairballs make you fat! Playing guitar makes you fat! (Everyone, one, two, three: “And now he only eats guitars!”)

Can’t help thinking of that great old SCTV bit where they did a tabloid news show called the “National Midnight Star” featuring John Candy as a doctor explaining how “your underwear can kill you.” (Paraphrasing) “You know, people buy underwear that’s too small…and then it cuts off their breathing…and then they choke to death and…they die!”

By: Jessica

Jessica — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 02:24:29 +0000

Hmm, I don’t know if it has anything to do with Fast Food, but I do know that as my waistline rose, so did my credit card debt (or perhaps it was vice versa?), it was like money wasn’t real when I was charging it, and by the time I hit 250 lbs, I also hit nearly $40K (God that is so embarrassing) in credit card debt.

I was just depressed about it all, and then I’d get depressed that my clothes didn’t fit so I’d have to go buy something new, which I’d charge because i couldn’t afford it, and then I’d feel guilty so I’d go order a pizza and eat it all and then I’d feel even more fat and guilty and have to buy MORE new clothes… it just went on and on and on…

Suze Ormond has a really interesting segment in her “Woman and Money” book all about the correlation between weight and debt. I think it is true for a lot of us.

By: whyme63

whyme63 — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:45:57 +0000

I don’t use my credit card much, period. And never for consumables, be it grocery store, gas station, or FF franchise. I keep it mostly for emergency situations, or hotel and rental car reservations. I don’t have a debit card, and I only write checks for bills, so almost every time I make the choice to spend, actual cash has to flow through my fingers. I’ve found this very effective for curbing my gratuitous food indulgences.

By: La di Da

La di Da — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:08:57 +0000

The only fast food place I ever get anything from is Subway, where I occasionally like a turkey sandwich. They have EFTPOS facilities, but you have to spend a minimum of $8 to use it (it costs them a certain amount every time to access the banking network), so of course people will have to buy $8 or more of stuff to use it if they don’t have the cash. My turkey-on-wheat-no-sauces-or-i-will-kill-you costs $8.30, so they’re not getting anything extra out of me anyway if I use EFTPOS.

Having EFTPOS does encourage me to buy more delicious cocktails at my favourite bar, however. ;D

By: Toni

Toni — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 22:54:36 +0000

Oh, I think credit cards have made it way faster – not longer. They just scan the card, you don’t even have to sign a slip – there’s no change to be counted back, etc. It takes all of 3 seconds to pay.

And as I said, I use a debit card – so it’s coming out of my checking account, but I don’t have to make the extra step of finding a bank, using the cash machine, etc.

I think it’s a matter of personal preference. I won’t shop at places that won’t take plastic. It’s probably been 3 years since I last handled cash.

So taking credit cards makes it MORE convenient for me. But if you’re someone who doesn’t use cards regularly, it would be a disincentive.

Re: Having McDonalds show up on my bank statement – it’s pretty sad. I, unfortunately eat there a LOT, and I look at my online transactions, and there’s just line after line after line of $3.73 transactions at McDonalds. I’d be incredibly embarrassed if anyone else saw it!