Do people really not know what to eat?

I think this programme was great. There's so much nonsense pedalled online that it's nice to have someone who's qualified to know what he's talking about giving sensible nutrition advice.
The people in it were likeable people who'd lost their way a bit and wanted to improve their eating habits. Good for them.

This. No-one I knew grew up on ready meals every day. The odd angels delight or findus crispy pancake, but there really wasn’t that much stuff available in the shops. Now there’s aisles and aisles of it in every shop.

And there wasnt the endless choice of fast food options there are now. We had a chippy and a Chinese takeaway in my town and they were occasional treats. No Deliveroo offering a million choices 24 hours a day, No Greggs on every corner, no Starbucks offering “coffees” that are really desserts.

We ate three meals a day. We didn’t get to work and have a donut or a muffin because someone had brought a tray in, we didn’t eat pints of ice-cream in front of the TV.

Portion sizes when you did get a takeaway or chocolate bar or whatever were smaller.

Yes same here, foods that are regular now, were one offs or treats in the 70s and 80s.

There is a big difference between sensible healthy nutrition lifestyle and obsessive behaviours that will cause people anxiety, stress and depression. Limiting or even restricting unhealthy food options especially for children is not sucking the enjoyment out of life. To me it is ingraining the good nutritional habits at a young age where it matters. It makes me sad seeing primary school children in the morning that are overweight and some obese. As a child born in the 80s; all these sweets and chocolates, confectionary, fast foods, fizzy drinks etc were occasional treats. It was not something we ate daily as portrayed nowadays. That historical observation is what guides my actions and choices.

Why does seeing a load of pot noodles in your bath mean you're disgusted by what you're eating?

Theres lots of threads where someone will set out that they minimise the intake of this or that food to be more healthy and they're berated by other posters that they're causing eating disorders and their children must be miserable, its awful

The irony is that most people tend to eat the way their parents and family do overall, and overeating can be disordered eating.

Steel cut oats dont generally but most people dont eat these so not always aware of what is being referred to. Also if you measured during pregnancy thts not necessarily indicative of the average effect on someone because of pregnancy hormones.

And overall some people dont respond the same way to the same things, generally steel cut oats are excellent for blood sugar regulation, good cholesterol and fibre.

And yet all these people with so little time are always up to date on the Traitors/football/soaps etc
@SchnizelVonKrumm perhaps because those with a preference for junk food are also likely to have a preference for junk television?

So Ive already got an issue with something this Tim Spector said, he uses flavoured packaged rice as an example of UPF and shows an Uncle Ben pack as an example

The ingredients do have one item in it, citric acid which would mean its a UPF

I think thats the wrong focus

He says himself there is no definition of UPF and then uses a really poor example of a food which is probably just about ok.

obviously those rices are very expensive compared to cooking your own but thats not where he was coming from

Im probably going to slag this progamme off all the way through!!

People know, they just don’t. Most people with weight issues know exactly what the problem is, it’s just hard for them to put into practise.

I have noticed the same differences between my two young daughters. The obesogenic environment in the UK much like in the USA, certainly doesn’t help. The high density of fast‑food outlets, piles of sweets and chocolates at supermarket entrances and the dominance of ultra‑processed foods filled with additives makes healthy choices unnecessarily difficult.

Realistically, only strong government policy can keep this environment in check. Unfortunately, that will not change due to vested interests: food‑industry lobbying, big pharma weight‑loss drugs and politicians’ fear of being labelled a “nanny state” and losing votes.

So, in the absence of meaningful intervention, it falls to individuals and families to protect themselves. For us, that means:

1. Cooking meals from scratch every day, with a balance of vegetables, protein, and sensible portions of carbohydrates.
2. Strictly limiting the children’s intake of sweets, chocolate, and fast food. Any excess from parties or school goes straight in the bin.
3. Being disciplined about what goes into the shopping basket in the first place e.g. no fizzy drinks or junk foods.
4. Avoiding adult‑sized portions for the kids.

They’re really do! I’m not talking about the processed ones. I’ve seen it for myself - I had to measure my blood sugar when I was pregnant. The spike is off the scale.
Sure, the nutrients in the oats+dairy are much, much better for you than say a sugary cereal - but it’s not a stable energy source and eaten every day it definitely could lead to insulin resistance.
That’s not to say I don’t eat porridge - I do, and so do my children. Just to point out that the way food is categorised is far more complex than it first seems.

My children has ARFID, literally cannot have home cooked food since his only hot food is nuggets and chips

Thankfully no one looking at him judges the upf quality of his diet because hes underweight

Without knowing the full ins and outs of people's lives, medical history etc then your judging based on a bias

I use steel cut oats and cook them up in batches as I like to cook mine for a long time, wouldnt have that time each morning. I use full fat milk.

Yet another thread where people dont know the difference between processed and UPF even though there is no definition of UPFs anyway

Im just about to watch the programme.

steel cut or minimally processed oats do not massively raise blood sugar. A giant bowl of rolled oats with sweet toppings or a processed porridge/ instant porridge may raise blood sugars. But it’s not a bad option, it’s filling and full of fibre and low processing. Bran flakes or all bran might be better but not as accepted by many kids.

There very much is

Glad he confirmed that weetabix, fruit and fibre and whole oat porridge are fine. I'll keep on with those for breakfast as the whole grain fibre is good.

Instant oats are high GI for blood sugar. Less processed oats (steel cut) are much lower GI. Think 65 (instant) vs 42 (steel cut). So again it depends on level of processing.

How’s it poverty and lack of education who’s out here not knowing inhaling the calories is making them big? I became a mum at 16 lived in a homeless shelter for years sharing the kitchen with crazy bitches, none of my kids have ever been fat. I see people who were 30 when they had their first kid went to college went to uni even and still handing them family size bags of maltesers. Do you really think they’re ignorant also with more money than me going on about vegetables being expensive while they eat £15 domino’s pizzas. Making your kid fat is child abuse and there’s no excuse

Yoghurt and cheese are PROCESSED not ULTRA-processed (generally).

You can make both yoghurt and cheese at home. If you wanted to.

Well said.
It is poverty and lack of education but it’s also flipping exhaustion.
i feed my DDs fish fingers or sausages once or twice a week becuse 5 days I’m battling to make sure something healthy and freshly cooked from scratch gets into them and is actually eaten (one also has a highly restricted diet medically so it’s completely stressful)
UPF are popular because they remove some of this thinking working from an absolutely overwhelmed population. Nobody wants to discuss this part of it.
Also there’s a misunderstanding about healthy food. No food is bad but of course things like crisps should be in moderation, but everyone saying porridge oats for breakfast are misguided too - they’re absolutely appalling for your blood sugar level.

Every child is weighed in reception or Y1.

You only get a letter if they are under or overweight.

(My DD is under but we didn’t get the letter as we were already under an nhs paediatric dietitian as she has a medically restricted diet)

Being poor and ignorant about food is no excuse for making your kid fat. I had my first kid at 16 and lived in a homeless shelter for years sharing the kitchen with crazy bitches, none of my kids have ever been fat.
Also never met anyone ever who genuinely didn’t know eating excessive chocolate would make them fat, they still give their toddler’s family packs of maltesers.
Then there’s the people who are literally richer than me now claiming they’re too poor to eat a vegetable and inhale domino’s pizzas (which literally cost about £15 per pizza last time I checked).

It’s child abuse to make a kid fat. The excuses are bs

There is definitely an element for those that have no health or wellbeing issues that the less you do the less you want to do. If you find you can go through life in an ok way without expending much effort or energy then that will continue. It will continue until something becomes so uncomfortable that change is forced.