AIBU to think poor health in later life is a UK problem?

I am finding it interesting that the report highlights poverty, poor housing and obesity but a lot of the conversation is about obesity. I guess people feel this is the easiest to address, but you need to address it for poor people in poor housing specifically.

also i wondering how much upfs there were 50/60 years ago - it cant just be childhood diet but what we did in adult life.

No - Scandinavian countries have it colder and wetter but their outcomes are better because of their basic level of social responsibility being higher. Poorer parts of society in the UK have less money, often time, and definitely education - even in their traditions - to maximise their health.

I'm in my sixties and live at the British seaside.
There are year round walking groups, sports teams and a sea swimming club here all absolutely bursting with pensioners.
Every single day at high tide the town swarms with older folk walking or cycling to the beach to swim 365 days a year.

There are a lot more people on the beach in summer, but it's busy all year round.
If people want to exercise they do so whatever the weather.

Most towns and cities have sports centres where you can swim and exercise out of the weather all year round.

Sorry, I know in your post you listed that as one of many factors.
Re weather : I get February was miserable but that was winter. I don't think any country escapes winter entirely.

Also my kids have a dedicated paediatrician who I can WhatsApp and can always see my kids thay day. She sees my children for an annual check up in addition to any medical emergencies. If need to see my GP he has drop-in hours and I just rock up and he sees me. There are also lots of dedicated specialists in the public system, so you get referred quite early on. From the age of 6, you need an annual heart check in order to participate in sport/attend a gym. In pregnancy I had a million checks and the doctor did not like me gaining too much weight; in fact I was put on a diet towards the end.

There is a very competitive private sector so I can visit any type of medical specialist either out of pocket or through insurance.

Not everyone loves the system here but I have never not been able to see a doctor, have to beg for antibiotics or felt like I was being kicked out of hospital to free up a bed, which friends at home have complained about.

Here the doctors can be quite OTT and I do tend to get a second opinion from a private doctor in the UK if I am unsure about an ongoing medical issue. Its always very insightful.

So the medical system is full of preventative measures, doctors in both the public amd private spheres are easy to access, in my experience.

I had home ec too and we weren't allowed to turn the cookers on 😅 The only thing we made was some apple coleslaw thing. It was nice but not very helpful in terms of education!

It rained in the UK every single day of this year until 17th February. That, paired with the dark and cold doesn’t make it very appealing. It has been nice the last few days.

it is just one factor, lots of others referred to in this thread. I don’t think they’re excuses. We are an active family but I can appreciate that we do have to make it happen and are lucky to be able to do that.

Again, though, health was much better in the past with same weather.

And by that logic the unhealthiest countries would be the coldest and wettest ones : are they?

Eating chicken nuggets sometimes isn't the cause of poor health.

I think the weather is part of it. I was in Torremolinos last winter, it was warm and sunny and there were elderly people out walking, and cycling, chatting outdoors, swimming in the sea. A different world

But they might do that as well

I think the poster was saying instead of just sitting in the car waiting she (think it was his mum) was using that hour (or whatever) doing some exercise of her own, not being sedate. That is a choice she was making as an adult and perhaps if more people incorporated bits of exercise into their busy lives when opportunity presented itself the UK might not be at the bottom of this list.

Well that’s how I read it.

You're nitpicking the poster's choices though. The poster's son is doing something active, healthy, outdoors and sociable. The poster is exercising outdoors too. They are both already making healthy choices.

The necessity is exercise. They are both doing it.
The preference is cricket/exercise in park. What's wrong with that?

Your family did it one way. This family is doing it another.
I don't know why your way is better.

Isn't after school club an organised activity?

I had home economics, but it didn't teach me to cook much.

Poor housing is mentioned at least once in the report. You can't eat healthily or exercise your way out of poor housing and all its consequences.

mothers generally were SAHMs, so kids had fresh meals prepared,

• this is true, but I think it's good that more women are able to pursue a career now. There should be the choice and ability to have a one wage family,,but we also have women who want to work...and if working full time, or part time, there are ways to cook healthily - there needs to be more stiff restricting UPFs too.

Singles who work full time also need to cook healthily.

I live in Italy but am from the UK. I've been living here for about a decade. I have noticed that processed food is consumed much less frequently here in Italy, and people have very structured meal times which they rarely deviate from. People here drink lots of water and now when I go back to the UK I notice the rows and rows of soft drinks which I just do not see here. People engage in a lot more outdoor activities and I think that the thought that you may be in your bikini every weekend for three months of the year is a motivator to catch amy weight gain before it escalates! This is just my experience of the region where I live but I know that when I go home to the UK I always gain weight and feel more sluggish because the food can be quite stogdy and it rains so much that its not possible to get out for a daily walk etc. People here don't seem to go out and get completely pissed the way I remember doing when I lived in the UK. I definitely feel much healthier since living here.

We don’t do enough preventative healthcare - by the time issues are picked up it’s too late. And no surprise women suffer worse than men, it’s been proved time and time again that some doctors ignore us!

Of course - I'm just trying to say that sending a child to an activity and then spending that time wandering around a car park doing squats is a choice the same as not sending them to the activity and exercising as a family or at the park is also a choice

But a team sport for a boy is more than just exercise - although it is exercise - it’s social (good for health), teaches sportsmanship and fair competition, helps children deal with disappointment in a positive and controlled way, and he’s with peers/friends instead of another hour with mum (which I am presuming he has opportunity to do other evenings).

Remaining healthy and enjoying exercise throughout life is hugely influenced by how you feel about it growing up. A healthy mind is vastly important as well all know for a healthy body, it gives you motivation and confidence if nothing else. Many things basically that can’t be established with an hour with just mum on a bike.

Teaching home economics isn’t one of the “key issues” at all! The over emphasis on food just demonstrates the privilege and health we do enjoy in this country in 2026.

It’s not pollution, dangerous working,fried food, alcohol, cigarettes or poor road safety killing us like it did it in 1960s and still does in much of the world- apparently it’s eating frozen reformed chicken rather than fresh. You must acknowledge how marginal and privileged this conversation is .

What you’ve described isn’t education.
Refusing to eat eat convenience food under the circumstances you describe is just (quite extreme) determination and prioritisation of fresh food (maybe at the determent of more important things, for all we know)

Education doesn’t help a poorly, exhausted person get the energy to cook.

Preferences =/= necessities, though.

My point is that lots of people make choices for themselves or their families that aren't necessarily the best in terms of health and lifestyle, they do it because it's fun or because their kids would prefer it.

I remember my dad picking me up from after-school club and taking me swimming, or for a bike ride, or to play tennis, for example. I never did organised activities - my parents just never presented them as an option lol.

Surely the poster knows her own son and his preferences better than you??

Why would it be unfair? Loads of children don't cricket after school for a whole number of reasons - are they suffering because of it? I doubt it...

For example you're choosing to send your DC to activities and spend that time walking around the carpark doing squats when you could skip the activity and all do something else instead (like a bike ride, a walk, swimming, playing tennis or football etc).

He was at cricket training! It would be odd & unfair to take him off his team & make him “play” with me wouldn’t it?