Yes the other dark side of the american dream is the standard american diet, SAD for short. All those empty calorie junkfoods and sugary snacks have no nutritional value and quickly add up to a very tough uphill battle with obesity, leading to lifelong health problems, with malnourishment being part of the bargain. Food for thought. That ad takes the cake PETA. Keep up the good work.

Posted by: vegancoin | August 20, 2008 04:38 PM

THIS IS SO TRUE ABOUT PEOPLE NOT CARING TO TAKE CARE ABOUT THEMSELF. I LOSSED 40 POUNDS WHEN I WENT VEGGIE AND STARTED GOING TO THE GYM.EVERYONE ELSE GOES TO THE DOCTOR TO GET THE "LAP-BAND" AND SAY THEY HAVE A DISEASE CALLED"OBESITY". IF THERE DOCTORS COULD ONLY SEE WHAT THEY ARE STUFFING INTO THERE MOUTHS.IT'S TIME FOR AMERICA TO START ABUSING THEMSELFS AND START GOING VEGGIE.

Posted by: SHARI PEARSON | August 20, 2008 10:19 PM

lmao, i laughed when i saw this. Great message. the majority of the USA is obese and this would defiantly strike a few controversies along the way.

Posted by: sarah | August 21, 2008 11:40 AM

Shari Pearson, just because you didn't take care of yourself doesn't mean that all of America is neglecting their personal health.

Posted by: Sharon R | August 21, 2008 12:38 PM

Obesity isn't actually a health problem. It's a symptom of health problems. Obesity in and of its self causes very few issues and in some circumstances is actually beneficial.

However, there is a world of difference between fat created and sustained by a processed foods meat and dairy centric diet and fat created and sustained by a whole foods vegan diet. The vegan, regardless of BMI, will generally live longer and have fewer health problems. Furthermore, an active person, regardless of size, is much more healthy than an inactive person no matter how skinny they are. Health is related much more to actual diet and exercise than to body size, shape, weight, or BMI.

Please don't conflate poor diet with obesity. Plenty of obese people eat a healthy diet. (Many don't, too.) Please don't fat shame. Promote fat and body acceptance. Please don't underestimate the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle for all sizes of people. Don't assume skinny people are healthy. Please don't promote veganism as a panacea for all the ails Americans. Americans have more health issues than only our diets, though a healthy diet goes a long way.

"Adults who follow a vegan diet on average weigh 10 to 20 lbs. less than their meat-eating and dairy-guzzling counterparts." Yes, but the definition of obese is a BMI of above 30, which is much more than a 10-20 pound difference for most people. If someone is obese, chances are there are other factors than merely diet.

Granted, vegans tend to be healthier than their nonvegan counterparts. That's absolutely true. But if you only measure it by obesity, you're not giving the full story. You're misleading people into believing that going vegan will make them skinny and you're promoting the idea that skinny=healthy, which isn't necessarily true.

For example, a meat-eating couch potato who has a "healthy" BMI is likely less healthy than an active vegan who has an "obese" BMI.

The David statue gave me a giggle, but I'm worried about the long term implications of all this fat-shaming.

Posted by: Elaine Vigneault | August 21, 2008 02:34 PM

SORRY IF I GOT SHARON R. UPSET. THERE WAS NOTHING PERSONAL ABOUT MY COMMENT. JUST A GENRAL STATEMENT THAT WAS MADE BASED ON THE MEDICAL INFORMATION THAT HEALTH CARE DOCTORS ARE LETTING ALL OF US KNOW. JUST A MESSAGE FOR ALL OF US TO EAT RIGHT AND TAKE CARE OF OURSELF. WHAT EVER THAT MEANS TO THE PERSON.I FEEL THAT EATING VEGGIE IS RIGHT FOR ME. AND YES I TOOK CARE OF MYSELF BEFORE BUT.. LEARNED TO TAKE EVEN BETTER CARE OF MYSELF NOW. BUT WHAT IS SAD IS VERY YOUNG KIDS HAVING A WEIGHT PROBLEM. THIS IS AGAIN BASED ON DOCTORS REPORTS ON THE GROWING OBESITY PROBLEM, NOT THAT I AN PICKING ON PEOPLE.JUST STATING THE FACTS. AND I HOPE PETA WILL CONTINUE TO PROMOTE GOING VEGGIE AND HOW HEALTHY IT IS FOR EVERYONE. AND I FEEL THAT PETA MEANT NOTHING WRONG WITH SHOWING THE "FAT SCULTURE" PICTURE EITHER. SO, PLEASE CHILL- OUT. THIS IS A LOVING WEB-SITE AND I BELIEVE WE ALL CARE ABOUT THE SAME ISSUES.

Posted by: SHARI PEARSON | August 22, 2008 12:14 AM

Holy cow, David's peepee was teeny before but with all that fat I can hardly see it. Shame, really!

Posted by: lynda downie | August 22, 2008 01:03 AM

SHARI PEARSON,

You most likely lost 40 pounds because of going to the gym, not because of going veggie. Of course, being a vegetarian probably helped.

Posted by: Karen | August 22, 2008 06:17 PM

SORRY KAREN - BUT EATING RIGHT IS WHAT WORKS. GOING TO THE GYM WILL NOT MAKE SOMEONE LOSS WEIGHT IF THEY GO BACK HOME AND EAT A GALLON OF ICE CREAM AND CANDY BARS.AND DRINK THE SODA'S. GOING VEGGIE WORKED FOR ME. PLUS - I LOVE ANIMALS AND IT HELPED SAVE SOME OF THERE LIVES. IT'S A WIN- WIN SITUATION.LIKE I SAID ...IT IS WHAT WORKED FOR ME AND ALOT OF MY FRIENDS WHO DECIDED TO START WALKING AND EATING VEGGIE AND STARTED SKIPPING THE FAST-FOODS AND JUNK FOOD. IT'S A GEAT BALANCE AND IT'S HEALTHY ! I FEEL LIKE DOING BOTH IS WHAT'S RIGHT( FOR ME).

Posted by: SHARI PEARSON | August 25, 2008 10:47 AM

Shari: You are absolutely right about diet. So many people discount the significance of what they eat, but it has a huge impact on how they look. I worked with a personal trainer (and I'm vegan), so I know this to be fact. If you want to look good, you really do need both the proper diet and adequate exercise. Most people are too lazy to do either, let alone both!

Posted by: Antigone1000 | August 29, 2008 10:12 AM

Quite a glorious, controversial ad if I dare say.

But unfortunately, I was unable to find the original document by the company posted - even after following the link.

If possible, could someone email me the year, link to where it was found, etc?

Thank you.

Posted by: Alli | October 2, 2008 06:14 PM