You’re in charge of the Gov policy on tackling obesity. Give me your five point plan...

[MrsGrindah]

I’m sick of reading lots of vague pledges . What , in your experience , would work? NB I’m not Michael or Boris just interested having struggled with weight all my life. You don’t have to cost it etc..just what do you think would work if it could be done.

Mine would be:

1. Sugar fines or levies not taxes on producers of core foods eg processed food and drink manufacturing. Fines have a completely different association than taxes
2. Weight management education running through a variety of classes eg home Ed, biology, PE etc. at school and also part of any childcare classes
3. School meals to have complete overhaul. No pizza, chips etc. More expensive yes but cheaper than the cost of obesity
4. Zero tolerance on fat shaming in schools.
5. Doctors to have more rights to refuse treatment for weight related health problems ( unless life threatening) until patients agree to a weight loss plan of action that is supported by suitably trained healthcare professionals.

Free fruit and salad in secondary school
Cycle racks in schools and workplaces
Online and telephone national counselling service
More selection of fruit and vegetables in supermarkets
Free parking at swimming pools and leisure centres

That stuff starts early, food is just fuel. I don't know how we change the mentality but that's how we need to view food IMO.

I don't agree. I see food as joyful. I love to eat. I look forward to eating. A lovely meal cheers me up.

I'm not fat and I've never been fat.

1. Ban the phrase 'eat less, move more'. Its over simplistic bollocks generally trotted out by people who have never struggled with their weight and it doesn't take into account the huge number of factors that influence people's weight.

1. Overhaul the PE curriculum so it doesn't end up putting young children off exercise for life. None of this picking teams nonsense where the overweight/non-sporty/non-popular kids get left til last and know exactly why, end up feeling rubbish and no longer wanting to participate. Offer activities that children actually might want to do and enjoy instead of rugby/football/netball/hockey etc.

1. Urge GPs to treat symptoms not numbers - for example underactive thyroid is woefully underdiagnosed in the UK even if people are showing obvious symptoms because their blood test results don't match the differing regional ranges. Also urge them not to dismiss every health complaint as being down to being overweight. It puts people off seeking medical attention early on and ends up costing the NHS more than it could have done.

1. Mental health care really needs a complete overhaul and a massive injection of funding. And the stigma of having mental health issues needs tackling too. Access to good, supportive mental health care might lead to less self-medication using alcohol, drugs and food.

1. Stop all fat-shaming, including in the media. Remember that beneath the fat is a person and they probably feel shit about themselves. All that shaming does is push them further down the spiral of self-hatred/eat/self-hatred/eat. Change the narrative from being fat to having excess body fat, treat people like people not disgusting blobs and if that means having all body types in the media then so be it. Having a plus size person in a magazine isn't celebrating obesity. Encourage people to love themselves and feel good about themselves and they will naturally feel better and care about themselves more.

1. Teach actual cooking skills and dedicate time in schools to learning actual useful life skills. Involve families, especially at primary level.

I live in East Asia, basically no obese people here, though that is changing with the introduction of Starbucks, sugary snacky crap in the shops and so on. But people basically eat healthily and smaller portion sizes. The fact that it is totally socially acceptable to say 'oh my God, you fat porker, lose some weight' to your friends probably helps (not saying that's a good thing).

People are just more sensible I think. If they eat a big breakfast, they skip lunch. If they buy snacks, they share them out (seriously, have seen my classmates share a packet of crisps between 5 or 6 that a British person would eat to themselves). If you go to a coffee shop with a friend, you get one cake to share, not one each, even if there are three or even four of you. Restaurant food is not the processed crap you get in the chain places in the UK, it's generally made up freshly every day - not saying it's all healthy by any means, but I find even salads in the UK come with a massive mound of weird glutinous sauce of unknown origin. Eating as a group is the norm, eating alone has connotations of sad loneliness. Old people go out hiking or trekking as a norm - it's one of the main forms of socialising.

Things are far from perfect here. A lot of body image issues for sure. But obesity - no.

"Ban the phrase 'eat less, move more'. Its over simplistic bollocks"

I'm sorry, but it's really really not. If you eat less and move more, you WILL lose weight. Yes, some people are more predisposed to weight gain, due to age, medical issues etc, but for the vast majority of people, they just need to eat better and exercise.

• universal basic income. Being poor is obeseogenic.

- increase any tax /fees to do with private cars (congestion charging/parking/fuel). I was loads thinner and fitter before I had a car. the dutch are as a nation incredibly healthy and walk/cycle everywhere. fewer cars on the road makes for healthier, safer and more pleasant walking and cycling

• local authority leisure centres to be free at the point of use. Not just on referral for people who are overweight, but to all. prevention miles easier than cure.
• minor one, but improve availability of loose fruit and veg. It's harder to encourage people to buy more fruit and veg if they have to buy more than they need at a high price, not even being sure if they like it never mind if they'll get through it. When I was growing up we had a greengrocer on our council estate where you buy a single peach or plum. Can't remember the last time I saw them sold loose.

If you eat less and move more, you WILL lose weight. Yes, some people are more predisposed to weight gain, due to age, medical issues etc, but for the vast majority of people, they just need to eat better and exercise

Exactly. We have gained weight as a nation because we are more sedentary and eat bigger portions, consume more alcohol and other calorific drinks and eat more processed food. So it makes sense that reversing this trend would tip the balance the other way.

Ban the phrase 'eat less, move more'. Its over simplistic bollocks generally trotted out by people who have never struggled with their weight and it doesn't take into account the huge number of factors that influence people's weight.

But it actually IS as simple as that.

I'm not saying the process is as simple as that. But the science is.

Having been referred by my GP to a weight loss advice service I can tell you it is utterly crap.
They didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. I didn't lose weight, in fact it made me feel so useless I put on weight.
I struggle with my weight because I have mobility issues and lack the time and money to go to the gym. I try to include exercise in my daily routine instead (lots of walking when I'm able for example) but it's clearly not enough.
I know how to be fit and healthy I used to be super fit but unfortunately all that exercise screwed up my joints and ironically made being fit later on very difficult.
So no sending fat people to gay people classes or groups is not going to help.

*"but sometimes it's nice to have something that's a treat"

I think this whole way of thinking is why there are so many overweight people. This idea that we deserve treats. I eat chocolate because it's delicious and I want to, not because I want to treat myself. This whole "binge and starve" mindset is the root of so much problematic eating and other behaviours.*

Yes, I think that's a good point too. I was more using 'treat' as a shortcut for 'food that I enjoy, is delicious, but that is high in fat/calories and needs to be eaten sparingly', but even the word 'treat' shows the insidious nature of the idea of treating ourselves to make us feel better. I think food has so often been associated with boredom, loneliness, relaxation, comfort, etc. that it does feel like that, and I don't know quite what would change that for me. More activities that aren't necessarily exercise, but just things to not feel as bored/lonely, or to make people's lives easier so that they aren't so in need of comfort, stress relief, etc., maybe counselling.

At the same time, I think the idea of smaller portions of this sort of nice food that people want - whether you call it 'treat' or some other short cut - would still help me. Because when I do want it, a small portion that stops me having more would be good. I wish I had the motivation to stop at half, but I struggle with sugar addiction etc, and I don't think I would. But something already portioned out, I might find easier to stop. Not a long term solution, of course, I know I should be able to self-regulate, but then this isn't an ideal world yet.

I disagree with people saying don't use fat models or whatever because it normalises it. fat people are very very aware that they are fat and that this is shamed by society. They might deny it overtly, but trust me, we know. A lot of time the over denial is a defense mechanism. If people truly wanted to help the NHS save money, it would not just be about getting people to lose weight. You also want to think of their mental health - anxiety and depression are huge parts of weight problems, and shaming people for being fat or denying them nice clothes or not showing them as normal, useful parts of society, makes us feel embarrassed about going out, embarrassed about exercising, ashamed to leave the house, go to work etc at more extreme cases. This is also going to cost massive amount of money - maybe not in diabetes treatments, but in other areas of health, or more generally, other areas of society. If you help people with self-esteem, loneliness, anxiety, etc, then they are much more able to lose weight and have a more rounded life. People really underestimate how all the little niggles of fat shaming eat away at you. It's not normalising it to make people feel they are worth it and they matter, despite being fat.

Oh god I didn't mean to say gay people classes obviously meant fat people class

It's such a hard one to tackle to be honest. People say bring Home Economics back and I agree but I really don't know how much difference it makes. I paid no attention at school. A lot of kids won't engage with it like they don't engage with maths or history. I was lucky enough to grow up in a family that values cooking and good food so I learnt everything from my parents. Our problem in the UK is cultural and how do you change the culture? People often don't cook from scratch, they put things in the oven, they buy ready meals, they get take aways. I remember a friend was incredulous, telling me that our mutual friend cooked from scratch every night! She couldn't believe it. I personally do because I love cooking. Even if you're time poor or just poor it's so easy to knock up a nutritious meal in less than 30 mins but many people just don't know how to do it!! They don't have a clue. They were brought up on pre-prepared food or junk food and just can't cook. I know of many families who just survive on processed food. My in laws live in southern Europe and there are hardly any ready meals in the supermarkets there. Here there are dozens of options! I've also noticed how the poor people eat in this country - the eat a piece of fish, new potatoes and salad. Or they eat a soup made with vegetables, beans and pasta. This is the diet of the poor in southern Europe. They are slim. Just imagine if the deprived people of the UK ate like this. There would be no obesity problem! Instead they eat a diet of take away chicken/burgers and chips, processed food, drink coke and other sugary drinks, smoke etc. I know it's not just the poor. I have middld class friends who never have a proper meal. I believe if you eat nutritious meals you just don't feel like eating crap. You're satisfied more easily. If you're always eating nutritionally poor food you're always hungry because your poor body is craving vitamins. I really don't know how you can change the whole culture of a country. Slapping on a sugar tax just won't do it.

Why has nobody mentioned cannabis yet?

If you want people to lose weight, there needs to be a huge crackdown on people smoking weed in densely populated areas. If you want to smoke, move to the countryside where you have plenty of room to smoke in a field well away from other people.

Take the side of neighbours who want to breathe clean air. Otherwise, every time you smoke it makes everyone else around you hungry. It shouldn't have to be me who ends up moving house because of other people's behaviour.

"I remember a friend was incredulous, telling me that our mutual friend cooked from scratch every night!"

Right, I have had the same experience. I can't say we never get takeaways, but I never buy jars or ready meals or anything like that, really and I think that is where a lot of the calories add up and a lot of opportunities to eat decently are lost. A takeaway is for when we truly cannot be bothered or come home from a weekend away or something, but I'd rather that once every couple of weeks than jars of sauce and ready meals every night.

Like you can have a shop bought lasagne with horrible sludgy sauce and fake cheese with almost no nutritional content, or you can make your own with a lot of vegetables, decent proteins and so on. It's not that simple if you've never learnt, I know. Especially once you have children, who the hell has time to learn to cook from scratch, I've been cooking for 20 years so I can make a go of most things, but I can see how even following a recipe can be hard if you've never done it. Then you have issues like people not having an oven or no money on the electricity or the fact that if you mess up you have to throw it all out and you don't have money to buy anything else.

Policy makers should not assume that fat people are too stupid to make the right decisions, that there are sometimes complex emotional reasons why people overeat. It isn't enough to say "eat less, move more", there has to be proper support for people asking for tools to help them change their emotional relationship to food.

Cheap takeaways have taken over high streets selling fried chicken, kebabs or whatever, Maybe the local councils can take a long term view and reduce the number of outlets. Years ago it was not like this.
I live in a rural area so not a big issue for me but when I venture into town everyone is munching on high fat, low nutrient foods as a snack.

You can teach yourself to cook, If you can follow a recipe, just a list of instructions surely
Probably more about confidence

@ItWasNotOK

"I think the culture around food has to change."

And how are you going to do that? It's very nice to think that people will just suddenly want to start depriving themselves, but the UK has a totally messed up mentality towards food, shit weather on a regular basis (so both depressing and not great for growing our own local produce), and many people for whom food is their only pleasure.

Healthy eating has been pushed in schools for decades, but it hasn't worked.

Your way of thinking is lovely, but very hard to implement.

But I linked this to the cultural change of Veganism. It’s changed from being the providence of socially redundant virtuous hippies to being the diet of the trendy, forward thinking and environmentally friendly.

People will happily change what they eat to fit in with a lifestyle. It’s just that wine o clock, grabbing a meal deal or chocolate everyday is considered normal.

Loads of cycle paths. A free healthy breakfast if you cycle to work.
Walking groups that run at certain times, no matter what, where anyone can turn up. These include, fast, intermediate and slow walking groups.
Soup. Soup promotions, soup recipes, soup everywhere! Soup is the new crisps and sweets. Free soup. Soup on every corner.
What is your favourite soup?
Very cheap gyms, like £5 a month with slots for children, slots for OAPs etc.
Advertising the cheap gyms and walking groups over cheap snack foods. Brain wash the nation with these ads so exercise is normalised.
Healthy "food swap" posters everywhere, so you can see how many almonds and peaches a mars bar equals, for example. Lots of these posters everywhere.
A large scale clinical trial of the public, say 20,000. Measure and survey at the start of these changes without them promising to do anything and do the same after a year to see if the large scale state focus is working.

Shorter working week, more support for active pass times for all ages, living wage for everyone and housing and employment stability, much better mental health services and mental wellbeing services for the currently healthy.

I get fat when I’m stressed, too busy and feel like crap.

Agree with better school meals. Quit the snacking culture by starting in nurseries and primary school. There is a break time snack and afternoon snack at most nurseries. This is not repeated in Europe where they have a proper hot dinner a lunch time and not a morning snack.
Same at school. After reception free fruit snack they reverted to toast in year 1, cheap white bread and marg. The breakfast clubs and after school clubs are also a big pile of carbs. Once kids get into the habit of snacking it’s hard to break it.

1. Transfat and sugar bans/restrictions in processed foods. Put the onus on the companies to make their foods healthier, not on the people to look for all the hidden sugar.
2. Restructure workplaces so that people have more time for self care. We live in a high stress world with a culture of presentism that is badly affecting our stress levels and our ability to care for ourselves. This can be answered by more remote working.
3. Fund municipalities so that they can provide more green spaces/areas for exercise and more walking paths, side walks, and local business centers.
4. Subsidize small businesses that open in suburbs and non-business centers, so that locals can walk to the shops, rather than having to drive to places.
5. Give more money for mental health programs, particularly for eating disorders.

"Eat less, move more. Simple" isn't helpful because you need to provide the facilities for people to do so. So subsidise gyms, free classes etc as everyone's been saying. And overeating is often due to stress, which needs to be addressed by employers and councils, taking bullying seriously etc. Eating healthily is much easier if you feel happier in the first place.

1. No more patronising time-wasting expensive blaming policies. No sugar tax, no "cooking classes." No.

1. Sort out our work life balance.

1. Reduce poverty, shrink the rich/poor divide.

1. Proper mental health care and support for everyone. No post code lotteries. No private only options. No fobbing people off with antidepressants and the phone line for Samaritans.

1. Proper physical health care. No post code lotteries. No private only options. No months/years long waiting lists. No fobbing people off with painkillers and pamphlets.

Socialism, basically. But we are going the other way.