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AIBU?

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Original poster

Perceptions of 'healthy' or 'overweight' are really skewed by the area you live in?

314 replies

alwaysdream · 20/06/2026 11:21

I'm sure I'll get roasted for this, but here goes anyway...

I live in an area of London where pretty much nobody is 'overweight.' Particularly young people.

Last night, in Wembley Stadium (Harry Styles concert), the ONLY food available was chicken and chips or doughnuts. That's it. And - I know this will sound very judgemental - but I'd say about 7 / 10 people were quite 'overweight,' but all walking around in tiny shorts and cropped tops, etc (I know this is the vibe at this kind of event). It made me wonder if this is 'normal' for young people, on a national level? I know it sounds judgemental, but AIBU? Are most teens overweight where you live?

OP posts:
TorroFerney · 20/06/2026 11:46

Yes it is related to area, I live in quite an affluent area but I see far fewer children walking to the local grammar who are overweight compared to the comprehensive nearby.

faithfultoGeorgeMichael · 20/06/2026 11:43

"Let's have three pennorth of chips! Run out and buy us a twopenny ice-cream! Put the kettle on and we'll all have a nice cup of tea! That is how your mind works when you are at the P.A.C. level" written in 1937
The middle classes have always looked down on the pleasures of poor people, now it comes with "concern" and be kind bullshittery.

MidnightMeltdown · 20/06/2026 11:40

I wouldn’t say ‘most’ no. It tends to be the more deprived areas where parents are more likely to lack the the intelligence/knowledge/education to feed their kids probably.

Original poster
alwaysdream · 20/06/2026 11:40

No of course it's ok to eat chicken and chips every so often but I'm saying the food at Wembley Stadium is, by any measure, really bad. This is supposed to be an iconic venue. Nothing for vegetarians. Nothing beyond chips, fried chicken and doughnuts! I've been to the O2 which has a lot more choice.

OP posts:
Crushed23 · 20/06/2026 11:38

Yes, definitely.

I’m visiting family in the north of England at the moment (I live overseas) and there are many more overweight people than anywhere I’ve lived. Including very young people - teens and early 20s. Strangely there isn’t a shortage of gyms / exercise studios here, but still the average 20something woman is noticeably not thin/toned (for men, it’s the 35+ age bracket).

Stegosaur · 20/06/2026 11:36

Google says the average age of people who attend Harry Styles concerts is 16-25. The average BMI for this age group in the UK is 25, so right on the cusp between healthy and overweight. Therefore you'd expect to see about half and half healthy/overweight at the concert. If you saw more, it either wasn't a representative cross section of the population, or you can't count.

The food is irrelevant. It's a special occasion and I too would have 'treat food', despite being slim and eating healthily generally. It's not a character flaw to occasionally eat chips.

Wre · 20/06/2026 11:36

Oh and we don’t have easy access to take aways!

Wre · 20/06/2026 11:35

It’s all young farmers here. So teens tend to be well built but most are strong.

Original poster
alwaysdream · 20/06/2026 11:33

I think at large scale events like that you really see the 'obesity crisis' in the U.K. - and yes, how this is normalised. I think the food options at Wembley really brought it home as well. Wembley is supposed to be a venue for world class events. Surely they can do better than chicken and chips and doughnuts ffs. It's not like that at other stadiums.

OP posts:
mynameiscalypso · 20/06/2026 11:33

I’m sure you will get flamed too but it’s true to some extent at least. Apparently 20-25% of 7 year olds are overweight. That is not reflected where I live in London. There’s one very tall child in DS’ class who might be in the category by virtue of his build but, other than that, all the children are slim and a healthy weight.

Duvetdayforme · 20/06/2026 11:33

There’s an overall correlation between affluence and health so yes, it’s fair to generalise that people living in affluent areas are less likely to be overweight, but it’s very much a generalisation.

Edited to add, not sure how that relates to HS concert…

Ibi · 20/06/2026 11:31

Are you saying that people who like Harry Styles tend to be overweight? Or people that visit Wembley Stadium in general are overweight. Or that all the people at Wembley Stadium that night came from the same place, apart from you, and that place is full of overweight people? Or that the people that visited the stadium had one meal of fried chicken and they became magically overweight?

InveterateWineDrinker · 20/06/2026 11:29

Depends what you mean by 'area'.

By global standards a large majority in the UK is huge, and in some places they are more huge than others. And we also have a huge (pun intended) movement to normalise being fucking fat.

HTH.

Menopants · 20/06/2026 11:23

Ffs