[latch]

If nothing else, we agree that processed foods are the real problem. Maybe people who eat fruits, vegetables and legumes are simply more likely to avoid eating processed foods.

I will challenge you on your last point. You seriously see a lot of fat people eating fruits and soy?!

[progrock]

Fruit is so artificially selected that it's high in sugar, and probably not as healthy as people think - if not eaten in moderation.

I eat mainly wholefoods. My vices are probably beer and the odd bag of white flour. I'm pretty much sedentary (sat most of the day in front of computer.) A little overweight.

I haven't been to the doctors for over 10 years. That's not to say I haven't got a few ailments. I certainly don't feel super healthy or anything. Though I did cycle 6 miles yesterday with no issue.

[duqee]

Fruit is high in natural sugars, like anything you put in your body over consumption of more than your body needs or can handle will be stored as a fat for later use. The body is good at converting the natural sugars in to glycogen for muscle fuel. The problem is people are not using as much muscle movement (desk jobs - i'm in the same boat during the day, but I make sure I exercise in the evenings)to use up the glycogen to replenish the muscle with the reserve fat stores.

[dkersten]

Fruit are also usually high in fiber, which I hear helps counteract the sugar.

[rubashov]

Absolutely. Fat white people in desk jobs eat handfuls of soy loaded trail mix in the afternoon, and an apple an hour before lunch. It's SWPL emotional eating.

[progrock]

There's a lot of talk of soy here on this thread. Is this a US thing? What soy are you eating? It's not that big in the UK. You can get soy milk and it's mixed in with some meat products and found in veggie burgers - but it's not that mainstream.

I buy frozen 'fresh' soybeans, which are quite hard to find. They're nice.

[nzjames]

Check the ingredients on anything that you think is mostly wheat. It will have soy in it. All bread from the super market for example.

[Fuzzwah]

Not here in Australia. Our wheat = American corn. Subsidised and used in everything. Its terrible for coeliacs.

Though as my fiance found out while living in the US, over there things can be sold as gluten free which have oats in them. Bad news for 1 in 4 coeliacs.