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

I don't keep a spreadsheet, but I like that idea 😆

At the moment I'm using AI for meal suggestions and ways to make small improvements to my diet. Yesterday it listed my plant intake for the week.

Here it is...

Strawberries, satsuma, apple, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, pineapple, mango, banana, kiwi fruit, redcurrants, blackcurrants, lemon, lime, courgette, aubergine, butternut squash, sweet potato, potato, cauliflower, celery, broccoli, asparagus, edamame, rhubarb, tomato, carrot, onion, spring onion, garlic, red cabbage, peppers, cucumber, spinach, mixed lettuce, chard, radishes, beetroot, sugar snap peas, olives, chickpeas, green lentils, kidney beans, black beans, butterbeans, cannellini beans, pinto beans, soybeans, oats, wheat, buckwheat, rice, mint, parsley, lovage, chives, rosemary, thyme, sage, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, mace, ginger, chilli, paprika, turmeric, fenugreek, black pepper, sumac, peanut, almond, pistachio, walnuts, pecans, prunes, dates, sesame, coconut, coffee, green tea, miso

(Which I realise isn't 85)

The problem with these interventions is that there isn’t much evidence to support them being effective in reducing obesity rates significantly (feel free to correct me if I’ve missed it).

In an ideal world everyone would have a healthy diet and lifestyle and maintain a healthy weight but in the real world I think we should be grateful we have drugs which can help.

@ComfyKnickers that sounds almost competitive and obsessive listing 85 plants or whatever you ate this week 😂

did u make a spreadsheet? Do you count and list everything you eat? Do you think this is actually a healthy attitude?

You're lacking a bit yourself, to have missed off income. We'd all be snacking on chicken if we could afford to. The link between obesity across Europe is lower income levels. If the scandals of late have taught us anything (as well as a good few threads on here) lack of intelligence goes across all income groups.
@alwaysdream have you offered yourself to the NHS? You'd save them a fortune in scans and blood testing.

You sound a bit judgemental about how these young women dress (let them dress how they like!)

and like you live in a bubble of affluent part of London and rarely get out of your bubble and only socialise with people similar to you

that makes you by default a bit narrow minded so probably a good idea to go out more and see other parts of London, the U.K. and the world 😅

Totally agree that being overweight has been normalised. This idea of "love yourself" goes too far beyond being comfortable in one's skin and overrides entirely taking responsibility for oneself and one's health.

I am overweight and I am ashamed of that. I don't hate myself, though! I didn't used to be overweight. I used to be very active and in very good shape but too much sport as a youngster has taken its toll with injuries and wear and tear on the ol' joints. That's part of the story. The other part of the story is that my diet went from being balanced to quite unhealthy. And that's entirely on me.

The amount of people who think it's ok and try to rationalise my weight gain is crazy. It's not ok! We all have a responsibility to take care of our ourselves. Too many excuses flying around. Too little resilience. Too little personal responsibility.

As for how some people dress 🤢 The tight clothing and bare flab. Gross. And the arse-crack gymwear. Christ.

Are overweight women meant to be uncomfortable and boiling in extra material until such time as they are thin?

Give your head a wobble.

Very good! Interesting.

I see the UK is significantly fatter than Germany.

(this week I've managed 85)

Please tell me you had to go back and count, and that you don't keep a spreadsheet!

Interestingly I have a huge Hellmann's mayonnaise banner advert at the top of this page.

High calorie, low nutrient, highly UPF food is being presented to us as being 'normal'. It shouldn't be the norm to eat the way the majority seem to.

But then I'm very much aware that I have the time, money and knowledge to cook from scratch, eat 8-10 portions of fruit and veg every day, eat all 7 colours of fruit and veg every day, eat at least 30 plants a week (this week I've managed 85), don't have sensory issues around food, don't have to fill up on cheap carbs, etc.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/obesity-rates-by-country

The UK is not the fattest country, by far. The women's obesity rate is higher than some European countries, though.

It's also true that you are likely similar weight to your friends, there's quite a bit of robust research on social networks showing this. It clusters.

The men are just as fat, indeed some countries have even fatter men than in the UK.

The women- it depends on the country, they do indeed have people who are overweight and obese, but in some countries like France and Italy, there's a lot of pressure on women of a certain socio-demographic to be slimmer and they are, although some are not. It's a percentage thing, rather than them having no overweight people.

Absolutely true. Also as one person making personal observations, this is not reliable information - it is anecdotal rather than systematically-gathered evidence. It is like going to the train station at 8am, asking the price of a ticket for the next train to a destination and assuming that it always costs that at all times for everyone.

You are a terrible person and I'm glad I don't know you personally.

True!

If you are giving your opinion based on your personal experience, why is it relevant that you are a doctor?
I don't think you need to be a qualified doctor to observe overweight people.

I don't disagree. I do think other countries are catching us up rapidly though. What we don't know yet is the impact of GPL1s and how much differences in access to those medications across Europe will impact. That will be very interesting.

We'll agree to disagree. As a doctor, I'm speaking about my own personal observations.

the article does start with saying the UK has the worst obesity in Western Europe. I don’t suppose it’s changed. I can’t honestly be bothered to look it up, but either way, we know it’s very bad.

@PloddingAlong21
"Schools here seem to rush children to shovel their food down within 10/15 minutes, this will create habits later in life. "

You've hit the nail on the head here. I'm a fast eater and definitely first learned it at school, when we were rushed to finish after 40 minutes of queuing. It's taken me a long time to learn how to savour food, and I still default to quick eating if I'm not careful. The other part of the equation is growing up with an older brother who would scoff everything and serve himself seconds and third helpings, so if I wanted more of something, I also had to wolf it down. Not much you can do in a societal level to fix that latter problem though!

Being slim and healthy is an effort. It's not easy. People choose the easy way for a huge variety of reasons. I've always been against body positivity if it promotes being overweight. If you're fat and happy that way good for you but you're likely going to cost the NHS much much more as you age and I won't celebrate that.

"Fat" people like shorts in the heat too

I disagree, mostly.
It is certainly true all over Europe that higher BMI tends to be seen in lower income areas, same as in UK. But if you look at the distribution the UK is unhealthier.

among people I know, those who are the most shocked are North Americans living in Europe and who travel back to the USA.

This is a weird one but I’d say Wembley is “originally” a football venue and with a few exceptions, you’d rarely go to any football ground in the uk and expect much beyond pie and chips. I agree the food sounds dismal but equally I wouldn’t turn up at a large stadium concert expecting anything apart from a large queue for crap expensive food so would eat elsewhere beforehand. There are loads of pubs and restaurants on the streets close to Wembley. The O2 is surrounded by a purpose built shopping centre and is a different vibe. I wouldn’t rely on either for a delightful culinary experience and catering is just not their main line of business.
Different issue to national obesity, I think.
There’s no doubt Brits are getting bigger, there’s also a partial element of no longer needing to hide away if your tummy isn’t completely flat - when I was a teen it would have been all covered in baggy T-shirts but there’s no shame on letting it all hang out nowadays. For good and bad.

When I go back to London, I notice that people are much slimmer in general than we are here, in the sticks. I put that down to the fact that you walk a lot more in London - as, indeed, I did and was slimmer.

I like seeing the local young women in their fashionably revealing clothes, large as they are. Young flesh looks good, even when there's a lot of it. And I'm delighted they aren't crippled by shame, as they would have been in previous generations.

I've got to say it sounds as though your particular area has a massive outbreak of size fascism, OP, or it could simply be that your own unhealthy attitude colours your perceptions. Either way, I'd suggest easing up. Life's pleasanter when you don't fret about such things.