Are older people obsessed with commenting on other peoples weight?

Have you been on Mumsnet long, Op? 90% of posts are disagreeing with each other 🤣 If we all just scrolled on, love, there would be about 6 posts a day.

You have never met an "older" person who's not obsessed by other people's weight? Really?

There are lots of people who are older than you, who are not. Happy to introduce you to them and prove your massive generalisation wrong.

Well you answered your own question, not everyone over 60 comments on people's weight, I certainly don't. Suggestion, get to know people over 60 who don't comment on things like that and you will see how narrow minded you and these people are.
I will not scroll on, you just don't like people disagreeing with you. I find your thread narrow minded and insulting, also I have heard people alot younger commenting about weight. It has nothing to do with age.

on the other hand maybe young people are porkers?

I find all generations have some members who feel compelled to comment on weight.

However, in my experience, there is a difference in the type of comments.

Older generation: faux concern about health.
Younger generation: unattractive, unfuckable.

As a fat person myself, both are equally tiresome.

Please note, this is my experience within my family before anyone thinks I’m ageist.

Is it so hard for you to believe that this our lived experience of the older people around in OUR lives? Not yours, not you, OURS??

I definitely get where @ByZanyRubyOrca is coming from as this was my experience from aged 8 and up, all my female, some male, elders were constantly on at me, jokes, insults, snide comments all about my weight?

I volunteered at an old folks home for a while too during my teenage years and what a bloody mistake that was too for my self esteem, constant comments "Ooo, you won't be cold like us dear, will you? Not with your insulation! Here, Maureen, did you hear what I said, won't be cold, will she?" Cackle!
Having a cup of tea with them and the biscuits get passed round "leave some for us dear, won't you?" Cackle!

So yeah, in my experience, a lot of old people have been utter shit bags towards me!

My older relatives can be like this. Commenting on weight, aspects of appearance like acne, judging what people name their children. The dread of sitting at the school play, reading the programme ‘who would call their child that?’. I don’t know, but let’s hope they’re not sat within earshot.
In my experience, it seems to be part of a general judginess with not much of a filter.

Totally agree with this comment. I know loads of old people who would refer to a person as looking 'strong' if they were clearly well-fed and worry if someone was thin. The shortage of food during wartime led to some complexes about food intake; petrified if someone looks too lean - tuberculosis worries and horror at someone over-indulging (falling into flesh). They are dated notions but are part of elderly people's thinking.

I do hope you keep your ageist opinions to yourself at work.

I think you have a point.

However, I am 66 and I don't comment on other people's weight.

OP you are forgetting the rules of MNs, you can't criticise teachers, dog owners and particularly not older people. The average user is old so they will come for you!

Maybe OP just has an over critical family, and has pickup on this and has learnt to be too critical herself. My older relatives never made comments about people’s weight.

Fair enough if that's your experience, but there is a certain irony when we live in an age that is totally obsessed with image, weight loss, cosmetic procedures and awash with horrendous bullying because of physical appearance. It's never been so bad. According to a recent survey 46% of teen girls and 26% of boys said social media as well as their real life peer group had negatively affected their mental well being over their "body image".

oh more ageist bollocks.

plus ca change and all that

I am in my 50s and have seen plenty of Memes on this so I do think it might be a thing for some older people.

I have seen it mainly in people in their 80s, though obviously not all.

My elderly dad always has to include people’s nationality when describing events. He is not white himself and I don’t believe it is racist. But he will always say the Cypriot receptionist or the Polish barber, even when it is completely irrelevant.. I thought it was just him, but then I saw a joke on social media about other older people doing this.

I think it is interesting to notice the behaviours of different generations. It doesn’t mean that every single person is doing that of course.

No she didn’t comment on other people’s weight all the time between the 70s to 2000’s, she just dieted. It’s in the last 5 years it’s become relentless and in public it’s getting quite rude because she’s not saying anything quietly anymore. But maybe it’s just her ‘polite’ filter going?

My mum is like this. Born just before the end of the war. She’s spent her whole life being personally offended by fat people and only stopped making nasty comments after I pointed out that I was now fat.

apparently she likes me enough to stop

Of course it isn't everyone, but it is a tendancy I've also noticed OP.

My parents, mother-in-law, aunts - we're all very quick to comment on peoples weight - and are seemingly very good at judging who has gained/lost weight. It was difficult as a teenager in the 90s for sure, especially as I'm tall. And they still do it about other people so I am always slightly aware when I'm around them that I'm probably being sized up like a prize cow

I agree with you OP. It's not ageist to acknowledge that people are the product of the culture they were born into and that attitudes and values change over time. My parents are in their late 80s and live in retirement accommodation. The weight obsession there is insane. I don't think I've ever spent more than an hour with my mum where she hasn't, at least once, commented on someone's weight. I'm 57 and am aware that when I was younger I frequently complimented other women by remarking that they looked like they'd lost weight. I'm embarrassed about it now but honestly it was down to my mum's role modelling. I thought that was how women greeted each other!

The faux naivety.

You would not dare come on mumsnet and say this is my experience of all black people would you? You'd be considered to be racially stereotyping and rightly so.

So stop with your ageist nonsense.