If two thirds of adults in the UK are overweight...

[heynori]

Then how is everyone on MN a skinny rake? Because in the 'what have you eaten today' threads people are listing an apple and gasp of fresh air as a whole days worth of food, and when talking about clothes sizes everyone seems to say they're a size 8

FWIW I'm a healthy size 10. Always have been, and probably always will be as I've already had my DC, but I eat like a normal person!

Also, I wouldn't say two thirds of my friends are overweight at all. They're my size or slightly smaller/larger but not by much. Where are all these two thirds of overweight adults hiding?!

Everyone lies.

People who feel happy with what they eat are more keen to talk about what they’ve eaten maybe? People who feel they’ve eaten too much would maybe rather avoid talking about it?

I think like in most countries, there is a lot of variation geographically. Perhaps you live in an area where people tend to be thinner?

Even in France, despite the stereotype that French people are all petite, if you go to certain areas you will see loads of overweight people. Germans have a reputation for being really healthy and athletic but in parts of the country this is not really true. So I assume it's the same in the UK.

They are not evenly spread by region, so it partly depends where you live. Some areas have much higher obesity rates than others.

It's well known that most people underestimate how much they eat and overestimate how healthy their lifestyle is.

I'm in London, and I really don't see many overweight people. I wonder why there's geographical disparities?

I think that people are more likely to share information about their lifestyle if it paints them in a good light. If I was massively overeating, I probably wouldn’t post about it on a thread full of people who were claiming to eat healthily!

It probably does depend on demographics, too.

London has a smaller proportion of overweight adults than the rest of England but still over 50%.
There’s a massive socioeconomic / cultural / race aspect too. It’s likely if you’re in a slimmer demographic then your friends are too.

I don't like to talk about my weight online. I'm about 2st over what I want to be, and I had a baby 6 months ago so I'm not carrying the weight well.

Unfortunately being a new mum when lockdown hit led me to hit the biscuit tin a little hard.

Well there certainly are lots of overweight people in London, perhaps your visual perception of what 'overweight' is doesn't match what medical guidelines say is overweight.

London is definitely thinner than elsewhere, at least in the centre. As you get further out and into poorer areas people get bigger. Up North there are more overweight folk than down South, because the North is poorer than the South.

The fact is it's easier to stay slim nowadays if you're not worrying about money. The rich have more money for good food, a better education (generally) and can afford gyms and pricier activities. It's also true that people emulate their social peers, so do things like running, cycling etc. together.

MN is predominantly middle class, so it's really not surprising that many more people are slim than is average. Class privilege is real.

I was fine for years, finally managed a consistent weight and happy with being a proper (not M&S) size 10. Since lockdown it's all gone to shit and I comfort eat, barely fit into my "fat clothes" (M&S 12). Feel like it's a bit futile as I always feel angry and hungry.

That's rubbish, I'm literally just off a thread with folk talking about how overweight they are since lockdown.

I’m in London, it had a slightly smaller proportion of overweight adults, the area I live in has a young population which reduces the number further.

From threads about jobs, types of housing etc I would say a majority of those on MN are above average earners.

People are also often secret eaters (remember that show?), I have type one diabetes so I know exactly what I have eaten. When I see people pop a food diary on I tend to assume they have forgotten things.

There's a huge regional variance. I live in north London in what would be described as "affluent", the amount of overweight people is very low, the parks are packed with people working out. In fact our high street won some strange award for being so healthy because there aren't any fast food places.

I'm from a "poor" area in North East and when I go home I would say 3/4 of people are overweight and half significantly so. My family run a fitness studio and we have a lot of people struggling with weight.

I notice an enormous difference between these two places. The reason I referenced socio-economic status is that I think there's a huge correlation increase in unhealthy restaurants and food options in lower income places. Where I'm from every second shop is some sort of fast food high fat outlet, whereas where I live we have a gigantic planet organic full of "healthy" options.

I'm overweight, i don't (apart from now!) discuss it on Mumsnet, as not really anything to discuss about it, I think those threads tend to attract people who are happier about their eating habits or more confident about sharing them.

There are a lot of obese people in Hull.

Ah, it's the same as the 'how much do you earn'? threads. Lots of people bragging or exaggerating, and many, many more not bothering to post because it'll just make them feel crap.

I'm 16st. I believe that's obese officially. I look overweight... But I'm not a lump of lard struggling to get off the sofa. I can run for 30mins for example. I did 75 sit-ups this morning in one go. (I'm trying to sort my weight problem).

The perception of 'overweight' can be skewed. Borderline people don't look that much different.

Also our perception of 'overweight' is not in sync with the actual definition - you probably see a lot more overweight people than you think. Many women who are a size 12 but on the shorter side will be quite overweight on a BMI level, but probably feel about average. You see that a lot on here too, people who are size 14 or 16 and horrified to find they're obese, or are keen to say BMI is rubbish (sure, it's not the most specific, but unless you're a hardcore athlete it's a pretty good rule of thumb).

More affluent areas tend to have less overweight people and less affluent areas have more. I live South of London and feel out of place as an overweight person in Reigate but fit right in when i go to Croydon for example

There are definitely a lot of overweight people where I live, which is hardly surprising with the number of fast food and take away places around here. It is also an area with pockets of extreme deprivation

I'm not skinny as a rake and definitely on the border of overweight since baby number 3 although don't eat to badly but just not reducing my intake enough to loss weight. I find I need to be in the right frame of mind to lose weight.
Although I probably don't look overweight as I hide my pouch, really must get onto it from now.

I'm a healthy size .... or I would be if I lived in medieval times when voluptuous women were lauded and prized

MN is hardy representative of the UK population - I'd say it's generally much more affluent than the average and more affluent people are often thinner than less affluent ones.