Surprised at numbers of overweight adults - surely more needs to be done?

[OrangeSunset]

Fully prepared for this to be fairly controversial but here goes.

We’re on holiday in the South West. I am honestly shocked at the numbers of overweight adults on the beach today. I’d say at least 50% were overweight, across all age ranges. Really it was more like 70%. DH and I are ok but being harsh I’d say we could/should each lose 5kg and be more lean. It’s just miserable and I was shocked - even more so when you see overweight kids too as we all know that sets them up for a lifetime of weight issues.

I’m not sure what my point is, other than to say that Boris cutting some adverts just isn’t good enough. The prevalence of shit food is condemning people to an unhealthy life with medical issues and challenges that us as humans just shouldn’t be subjecting ourselves to.

How do we break this cycle? Anyone who points it is out is seen as judgemental but it’s gone beyond the point of individual choice surely - it doesn’t work and is ruining people’s lives and perpetuating the cycle.

I'm at the upper end on healthy for BMI it has taken work to get here and maintain it. I logged everything I ate in a day accurately (weighed and measured where necessary) for a week and horrified myself. If you eat loads you will get fat.
The pub excuse is weak have a starter as your main if you're being strict or burger without the bun will save a load of calories, brioche buns are 240 cal alone. Other buns from 140 upwards.

@Pipandmum It really isn't simple though, is it? If it was simple we wouldn't have such incredibly high levels of obesity.

Saying it's 'simple' negates the effects of:

• poverty
• conflicting dietary advice ( carbs are good! carbs are bad! keto is good! keto is bad!) too broad to be helpful to individuals. For most people it's trial and error to find out what works for them individually - for me it's higher fat, lower carb.
• lack of transport / facilities / cooking skill
• ethnicity
• cultural associations with food and generosity
• overwhelmed by life (I lost a stone in lockdown just because I was wfh and wasn't commuting every day so actually had time to cook instead of running about like a headless chicken)
• mental health issues
• emotional issues around food (some of which people have openly and generously shared on this thread to avoid the stupidity of comments like 'it's simple')

I can agree that it's not easy.

Numerous studies have come back saying the obesity issue is highly complex, with everything from genetics, our own instincts, to socio-economic status and mental health playing a part. Yet, the same blinkered robots will keep coming out with the same old "eat less, move more you lazy sod". It would be funny if it wasn't so damaging.

My parents generation somehow managed to remain relatively thin despite the mental trauma of living through a world war. I'm pretty sure that genetically they were the same as us. Food wise they had low calorie diets first through rationing and latterly due to their socioeconomic status their low income kept their meals simple. Pretty sure their bodies did not break the law of thermodynamics either.

I think a change to the working hours culture could help with exercise. I teach full-time and have 2 primary-aged DC. Between being in school myself, taking them to activities, cooking, shopping, doing housework, working some more in the evenings I only manage to fit in a bit of exercise on a Saturday morning. Luckily I am on my feet a lot as part of my job but for a more sedentary job it would be tricky. I know lots of people who spend their evenings having to do extra work from home - catching up on admin, emails etc. Added to this is also less time to prepare healthy meals.

If we had shorter working hours, there would be more time for exercise and cooking. Maybe a culture of more working from home could help with this.

Poor public transport is also an issue. I work 6 miles from home. I have the choice to get in my car for 12 minutes or catch 2 separate buses taking at least 40 minutes. I wouldn't mind cycling but the roads are so busy I wouldn't feel safe.

@QueenOfPain

Imagine if we could have one of these threads where just overweight people were able to discuss the problem and what they think would help them? Instead of lots of spiteful skinny (by nature rather than nurture) people telling us to order salad instead of chips and just stop being such fat pigs.

I'm not overweight but I don't think it's simple and also don't think it's about willpower or lack thereof. I'd equate it to any other addiction, identifying the foods with which the issue lies and blocking them out. It's not a case of "I've not had any for a week/month/year so I can have some as a reward". It's a lifestyle change. It's a day at a time, and a deeper understanding of what underlying reasons lead someone to gain comfort in a particular food.

There's always a tonne of excuses, the reality is that for some, not all, they simply eat too much, be it through greed of mindless eating and not realising the calories are stacking up. Of course there are more complex issues, but most of them begin with acknowledging there is an issue, and not just blaming other things. People don't want to listen though, and would rather just defensively blame others for being cruel or smug.

I know a lot of people you saw will be on holiday, but we do have a higher percentage of overweight people in the south west. Must be all the pasties and cream teas! Or the low incomes and a culture of driving everywhere because public transport is rubbish (generalising).

I think a lot of modern habits are driving the problem.

Food everywhere, the snacking obsession, highly processed food relentlessly marketed, eating at all hours, walking and cycling less as normal ways of travelling. Lack of sleep is a driver too apparently.

My ancestors couldn't have got fat if they'd tried. (Unless they were the cook in the kitchen who funnily enough snacked all day and, though they built up their arm muscles with the pans, didn't walk much.)

I have no idea why people think I'm "making excuses" to.point out the blindingly obvious that in the UK today it takes advance planning, research and willpower (and some time and money) not to overeat. I know it does because I've been doing it for the last 6 weeks. It was much easier when I was a child, or even about 15 years ago, because you weren't surrounded by food outlets (environmental effect), portions were smaller (environmental effect), there was less sugar in most things (environmental effect), eating in public (e.g. walking down the street) was frowned on (social effect) and you weren't surrounded by people who were mostly overweight (social effect). We have also as a society become much more sedentary (social effect) as there's much more to do in the house that's entertaining.

People are aware that on average we consume fewer calories nowadays than previous generations, right?

They walked a lot more.

@DillonPanthersTexas

Numerous studies have come back saying the obesity issue is highly complex, with everything from genetics, our own instincts, to socio-economic status and mental health playing a part. Yet, the same blinkered robots will keep coming out with the same old "eat less, move more you lazy sod". It would be funny if it wasn't so damaging.

My parents generation somehow managed to remain relatively thin despite the mental trauma of living through a world war. I'm pretty sure that genetically they were the same as us. Food wise they had low calorie diets first through rationing and latterly due to their socioeconomic status their low income kept their meals simple. Pretty sure their bodies did not break the law of thermodynamics either.

Yes, the good ol' rationing, that is known to have resulted in malnutrition for none too few. And rickets, very common in the past, due to not enough calcium needed to process vitamin D (rickets were a common cause of 'contracted pelvis' in women, which then lead to much maternal death in childbirth). Then there was widespread tobacco use, but hey, they were thin.

My MIL was a child during WWII. She remembers, as do her peers, hunger (and loads of theft and corruption to get more food).

Cutting out a particular food or an entire nutritional category (I.e. sugar or carbs) it’s not sustainable as it feeds directly into a disordered cycle of eating, restricting desired food/then binging desired food, then feelings of self loathing and failure happen, which triggers further restriction, and the cycle starts all over again.

Dr Joshua Wolrich on Instagram posts quite a lot about these kind of things, and he’s an actual (qualified in the UK, not a quack from the USA) NHS surgeon. He’s painfully middle class though with a very toff accent, but if you can get past that he seems to genuinely take steps to understand.

I’ve been through 18 months of therapy for disordered eating, I understand my childhood trauma and the impact that has on me much much better, and I have more empathy for myself than I ever did before, I understand that I’m not fat because I’m stupid or lazy or or weak just don’t have any willpower. But the upshot is, I’m still fat, and now I understand my weight gain has been multi factored, and crash dieting and self loathing won’t fix it, they’ll just make it worse.

My parents generation somehow managed to remain relatively thin despite the mental trauma of living through a world war.

They also walked more because they lived in walkable neighborhoods before urban sprawl and the death of the local shop, didn't have weird chemical shit shoved into everything they bought, worked 9 to 5 and didn't have to be available/reachable 24/7.

In addition, living through the Great Depression and WW2 taught them to be extremely restrictive out of fear. My grandmother would hoard stuff and never eat it because it might "disappear". She was absolutely insane about waste and would keep left overs for months. Mental trauma around food can have many outcomes.

Well get out walking then, if you recognise what the issue is, why not address it?

If it's such a complicated issue and not about greed/poor habits then why have we got the biggest problem with obesity? Why are countries like Denmark and Norway doing so much better than us? I'm sure other countries have issues with poverty, health issues which cause weight gain etc but they don't have the same obesity levels.

Also, the low carb advocates confuse me. If carbs, (rice, pasta etc) are the problem then why have countries like Japan and China not got a huge obesity problem? Pretty sure they eat a lot of carbs...

I do wonder (and I do this myself) if the recent habit of always having snacks on hand for small children is going to make things worse.
It isn't that the snacks are always inherently unhealthy but it's the constant eating for fear that they might feel hungry for even a moment, get whingy and use of them to distract. As @CommonCarder said we have a snack obsession.

Why are countries like Denmark and Norway doing so much better than us?

Better work/life balance. Many people live close to their place of work and are able to bike or walk. They have more time off, better work hours, better health care. Generally less stress.

I hate the way that some people imply that fat people have no choice to be fat because of fast food outlets/eating out/insert reason here. I was fat because of the decisions I was making. Personal responsibility is a thing of the past it seems. Us fatties can't help it because we're too dim/poor/stupid to make a more sensible choice. FFS.

then why have countries like Japan and China not got a huge obesity problem?

They do, especially in the cities.

Better work/life balance. Many people live close to their place of work and are able to bike or walk. They have more time off, better work hours, better health care. Generally less stress.

Well that's a shame, somehow I can't see our government making the necessary changes.

Well that's a shame, somehow I can't see our government making the necessary changes

No. It's much cheaper and easier to blame the fatties themselves.

I am leaving this thread now because it's beginning to sound like a cover blurb for that book about the Protestant work ethic. I'm glad none of you are actually making policy if you think the solution is to tell people they've lazy and stupid. On the other hand, if you're actually interested in causes and solutions, this study is an interesting read.

ifs.org.uk/bns/bn142.pdf

The snacking for kids changed between my first and last.

At a sports session for 5 / 6 year olds and it had became a norm to give food snacks at water break.

@QueenCT .. I went private and got a medication I pay for .. have lost 2 stone .. I hated that people thought I ate cake all day!! Pm me if you want

Grazing and snacks in diet plans were being promoted to adults by dieticians as desirable too.

(I only got a handle on my hunger/ blood sugar issues by stretching out meal times, and yup using the dreaded lower carb / higher fat formula. I think that was also a middle aged thing ..probably am edging towards type 2 diabetes.)