It's called Kwashiorkor, and the manifestation in the form of distended or swollen bellies is generally recognised as being caused by inadequate protein intake by its victims. That's why carbohydrates such as grain products aren't the simple solution to "malnutrition" where starvation exists in the population through drought, natural disaster or politics.

Yea that too. i only had my slate tablet this weekend and it is tedious enough to type this much.

hey machka-- i think you should befriend a few of the muffin tops, find out why they dress the way they do and report back to us. it's been a mystery to me too but i don't have any friends who sport the look so i have no one to ask about it! All we can do is speculate. . .
-flips

Hmmmm ..... there was one sitting next to me in my class today ......

I think the bigger problem on campus is soda and energy drinks. Almost every student I see here at the University of Arizona is drinking regular soda (never diet, not that it is much better) and energy drinks such as "full throttle" and "red Bull" and "Monster" and various others.

I mean these people drink this stuff ALL the time.

Now saying all of that I do need to reduce the amount of diet soda I drink and increase the amount of water.

i've noticed it too...kids in their teens and 20s who look really slack,pasty, with shlubby butts, tubby stomachs.Like they never get any exercise. Even the skinny ones are like that. Too much Xbox and not enough sun, that's for sure.

No, flab is not "in." It's just that the majority of young adults are sedentary. Since a fat chick won't stand out anymore, she can wear tight & revealing clothing along with her other dumpy looking friends. Note, there is nothing wrong with tight & revealing clothing, as long as the person wearing them is at least okay looking.

Although, out here in L.A. where we have sun all year round, there are a lot more tanned, attractive, and atheletic young women than elsewhere. I would guess having snow for a few months, or high humidity throughout the summer, makes one less active. Plus, nearly everyone has to keep up the L.A. "image."

Mix the Internet and all of the toys that go with it (video games, blogging, etc.) with an unhealthy food supply filled with trans fats, HFCS, chemicals for flavoring, color, etc. (thank you mega-food corporations) and you have dumpy-looking young adults. I recommend that everyone read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser to see just how manipulated our "food" is by the mega-corporations. It's all about producing the cheapest possible crap for consumption, health be damned. It's also why I'm not surprised about the E. Coli breakout in the spinach supply.

I find fat repulsive

Especially on myself. I'm working on that though

-D

it's not so much about how it looks, but how unhealthy it is. If they're flabby and out of shape like this at 19 or so, imagine if they keep up that kind of lifestyle. Think of your heart, lungs, muscle tone, not to mention bone density. I remember this one guy who was like that, when he was 18 he was skinny. By the time he was 32 he was huge. He never exercised, ate crap food, no sun. Apparently though, he's gotten in better shape recently and lost weight. Maybe some of these tubby kids will change their ways. When i was in my late teens and early 20s I smoked, didn't do much sports, but I was very skinny so weight wasn't a problem. Still, i wasn't living the healthiest lifestyle. Now i'm in better shape than i was then, but it wasn't for weight, it was because i didn't want to be in bad health.

1 in 3 American youngsters 12 - 19 are physically unfit

About a third of American youngsters age 12 to 19 fail treadmill tests measuring heart and respiratory health ... went to an examination center where they performed a treadmill exercise test consisting of a two-minute warm-up, two three-minute periods of exercise and a two-minute cool-down. "Approximately one third of males and females ... failed to meet current standards of acceptable cardiorespiratory endurance"

You know, once my friends and I hit puberty we had every incentive to stay in shape and get "buff" to show off to the girls. Likewise, the girls did the same to look good at our pool parties. What's wrong with kids and young adults today? Aren't they embarrassed by how dumpy-looking they are?

I agree with mac, americans have gotten so overweight that what was once considered fat is now considered normal.

I have relatives in SW Pennsylvania. People are considered "fat" down there only when they are practically spherical.

My theory is that we've been too soft on fat. Don't say that, it'll hurt their feelings, or, it's OK to be different. Fat people are victims, etc. Even Doctors have a difficult time telling their patients about their obesity. Recall that case in New Hampshire a few years back when a woman sued a Doctor for calling her fat. Don't get me wrong. I know how easy it is to become fat. I put on 30+ pounds in a coupla years, and now I'm paying for it.

It's about time we stopped being so touchy feely about the subject and stop being enablers.

Wrong. It's called "not knowing what a portion size is" and "over eating".

I don't think it's the actual soda, but the HFCS in the soda. Don't some of these chemicals (HFCS, trans-fats, natural & artificial flavoring, other unpronounceable ingredients) cause the body to not know that it's full and causes people to overeat?

in addition to north americans becoming fatter (statistics tell us that).... people think that if something is in fashion... it's OK to wear it... well... it's NOT... they look like he!! and SOMEONE should tell them!

the key to not having a perfect body... is wearing the right clothing in the right size!

Tell their lawyer, you mean?

Is anyone here attracted to very lean women? I mean, I like fit women, but a six pack on a female kinda freaks me out...

No.

No. It's just that most of today's young women are nothing if not two things.

1. Lazy and self-centered. So they get flabby stomachs.

2. Slaves to pop fashion. So they hang those guts out over pants that are too small and low with a shirt that is too short.

I think it's cute. Fitness nazis, get over it.

Yes. Short of steroid use, I like really athletic women. At my university, I used to train with a girl who'd lift more than the average guy. She was "buff", but her body still had that womanly "soft" feel to it. Take a look at the top college gymnasts - they are also pretty cut. Same with track & field sprinters, soccer, swim team, etc.

Steriods, however, physically change a woman's body and "hardens" it up to look, feel, and sound like a man. But by training naturally, there's really no way for women to get huge & cut and look like the freaks in the Ms. Olympia contest.

Yeah, I see a lot of that "look" around here. People who are height & weight proportioned. But due to poor nutrition and no exercise, they actually have very little muscle and a lot of fat. I see "thin" girls who try to fit into the Britney-inspired low-cut jeans and their guts and love-handles are hanging out. They also have double chins! From my very unscientific measurements through rubbing, massasing & groping, I'd say as lot of these 100-115 lb chics are pushing 30-40% body-fat! There's a fad 1000-calorie/day diet that a lot of girls are doing. Problem is they're losing a lot of muscle too, so the look is still flabby after they've lost weight.

I bet Machka is pretty solid.

It all depends on your outlook. I'm a student too and I'm surrounded by gorgeous babes all day. I'm sure there are plenty of flabs on campus as well...but man I just don't have time to notice

I also live close enough to campus to see them jogging every day on the nature trail. With any effort and good genes, those 18-25 y/o girls should be great shape (or at least look like they are)