UPF.... WTF - I knew it was addictive but didn't realise...

People also underestimate how much they eat and their true size.

People underestimate the damage caused by physical inactivity.

Although, I have to say none of them is adverse to a scone or slice of lemon drizzle with their cuppa at the end of the service!

That's the thing though, it's fine as an occasional treat, every week
Eating cake / biscuits/ pastries every day doesn't work for your average sedentary brit.

WhatI noticed when I lived in France was that they ate plenty of bread/ pastries etc but they were way more active

I agree. We attend a local village church with an older congregation. There are a number of healthy, active older members living very full lives. One of the notable things about those that are out and about and attending services into their eighties is that they tend to be slim, or at least not significantly overweight. I presume those who are not are either not in good enough health to regularly attend these events or sadly have not made it to that age.

Although, I have to say none of them is adverse to a scone or slice of lemon drizzle with their cuppa at the end of the service!

This thread reminds me of when I temped in the hospital of a clinic. A lot of elderly people presented with a lot of problems related to overweight and lack of exercise. And then you'd get the odd person of that age who was fit and healthy and guess what? They didn't smoke, drink or eat junk food. They were also active. That was a long time ago, but it stayed with me.

For those who say that a healthy lifestyle is boring well, when we all get old it will be a hell of a lot more boring to be stuck indoors in front of the telly than out and about like the elderly fifties.

I know what you mean, even after a day eating food I know is not good I feel bloated and unhealthy. Sometimes it’s hard to get decent food when you’re out and about. I too need my daily half hour exercise or a long walk just to feel well. I’m definitely with you.

This 👆

Well said!

The ultra processed food that is presented as a ‘normal’ diet in this country is a disgrace. So many of us have lost sight of what a normal, healthy diet that nourishes our body looks like, and it is having desperate consequences on the nation’s health.

Good on the OP for continuing to live a healthy, active lifestyle into older age, I find people like her inspirational.

I eat whatever I like including so-called UPFs and I'm slim and healthy.

The obsession with 'UPFs' is just the latest craze. I've seen plenty come and go. It strikes me as a manifestation of disordered eating to latch onto any particular mindset in this way.

I'm happy just cracking on with life. You do you.

I don’t find it strange that they defend their own rights to eat the stuff, it’s the passion with which some posters defend the rights of the big food companies to constantly push the stuff at us and our children without restriction that puzzles me. When people suggest banning advertising or maybe restricting availability near schools or in the workplace they get lots of shouts of ‘willpower!’ and ‘it’s my responsibility what I put in my mouth!’ Which it is, but it would be easier for everyone to make healthy choices if it wasn’t quite so ubiquitous.

I’d have thought the canning process just prolongs food shelf life and freezing 🥶 foods does the same .

Yes, freezing and canning are very useful forms of processing!
I did the Zoe thing a few months ago, iirc baked beans didn't get flagged as 'UPFs' - they're processed but they're still mostly bean and tomato even if they've got a bit of seasoning etc.

They really do!

Everyone is so bitter and mean on here. If I have muscles at 70 I will be extremely proud of them. UPF are not something one can ‘enjoy as part of a balanced diet’, they’re mass marketed shite labelled as convenient or as ‘treats’, and the reason that the western world has increasingly suffered from
childhood obesity, diabetes and other health related problems. People get so weird about defending their right to eating shit.

Yes, well said.

Also SoLo7, have you asked these ancient relics whether they’d rather be dead, or is it just your opinion they’d be better off that way?

Of course we always think it will be terrible to get old, but when we get there we find it’s generally better than the alternative.

Yes I don’t know enough about it really 🤔 I guess if you read the ingredients list and it’s like a chemistry lesson then avoid ?😆 I’d have thought the canning process just prolongs food shelf life and freezing 🥶 foods does the same .
plus those very nice Charlie Bigham’s meals ingredients list read like a homemade dinner

Generally upf free here but I give some things a pass.
Mayonnaise, brown sauce, Thai curry pastes as I will never use up the fish paste stuff within date/storage time. Stock cubes. Protein powder.

Have you been living under a rock? You do know there’s now more people living with obesity and who are overweight than not. Those figures are rising. It’s undoubtedly a consequence of the industrialisation of food.

1 in 5 children leave primary school obese so they’re likely to be obese adults with significantly decreased life expectancy and all manner of health complications.

Unless you consider type 2 diabetes, early death, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, vitamin deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, and increased stress and tension that can affect bone growth “normal” that is. Which it sort of is normal, but it’s not ok and it’s not the future I want for my kids.

You mean the obesity epidemic?

Except they’re not stopping at a bit, they are eating far too much of what they fancy and that’s why we have an obesity crisis.
Make your own choices about what you eat but don’t pretend there isn’t a wider problem.

PanimaMozart I feel for you. After two weeks of eating dreadful food, too much booze and not moving as much, I’d look and feel like a lump of raw pastry. What we eat affects our physical and mental health pretty rapidly, maybe some more than others. And maybe some don’t appreciate how much better they’d feel if they made changes.

You sound like one of the amazing women I see at my health club. In their sixties- seventies, active, healthy and looking pretty hot! Don’t worry, it’ll come back soon enough, once life is back to normal.

Really? I’d rather be healthy, do strength work and maximise my life. My grandpa died at 94 still engaged in his life’s work and that’s what I want. My parents and in laws are all still very happily living a fulfilled life.

Doesn’t everyone in the western world who has ever celebrated Christmas know that you most definitely absolutely can put on weight in 3 days?? Who are these people saying it’s not possible in 10? What mysterious elite regime are they on?

This ☝️