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.

the theory is very simple as previously mentioned.
calories in versus calories out.

the reality is very complex though with socio economic factors that would only be solved with a massive engagement/funding from government.
people looking to other countries ike the netherlands need to consider that it took many years and lots of (tax) money to get the public transpart and cycling infrastructure built and maintained.
taxes are high.
food costs are high.
mc donalds is more expensive than local cafe.

and national curriculum: when dc went back to school in may/june pe was a priority subject.

Not sure if you were trying to tag me in the comment about weight loss medication. I’ve no interest, but thanks. I think you’re probably referring to saxenda/liraglutide - and I don’t hate myself or my body enough that I’d choose the risk of cancer over being fat. Although one of the benefits of cancer is that the afflicted sure do seem to shed the pounds

I’m having WLS done privately in October.

China's type 2 diabetes is climbing rapidly. And it generally occurs at a lower obesity level in Asian ethnicities.

I think the advice to avoid fat and eat lots of carbs has been misguided for a big chunk of people. It left me more hungry and eating more frequently.

This effect got noticeably worse after menopause. Many of us know our hormones have a huge individual effect.

But there are systemic issues driving this population level weight gain.

I'd love to hear solutions on the population scale.

Poverty is strongly correlated with obesity. The gap between rich and poor is growing in the UK and so is obesity. I only usually come to the UK once a year so it is really noticeable that obesity is so widespread - you used to see the odd one or two overweight people. Now it's the majority.

@allsideways

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.

Yes, I believe it makes things way worse.

A lot of kids are just not allowed to feel hungry. It's like hunger is some kind of big bad wolf that's going to kill them instantly, rather than a completely natural feeling.

Also, look at the amount of times you read on MN "Take some snacks to occupy your child on a journey/in a waiting room or any situation where a child may feel bored.

Then the same posters will be saying comfort eating leads to obesity.

I think its because of our sedentary lifestyles. Only 30-40 years ago we walked everywhere. My mum didnt have a car and my dad worked away. She took buses into the town with three kids in tow and carried the shopping home. Took hours and totally normal . We also spent all day outside playing, even in the rain. Work was also more physical if you were working class so it's easier to eat what you like and not gain weight. Now you hear that its abusive not to buy your kid an ex box so they can spe nd hours staring at a screen!

the reality is very complex though with socio economic factors that would only be solved with a massive engagement/funding from government. people looking to other countries ike the netherlands need to consider that it took many years and lots of (tax) money to get the public transpart and cycling infrastructure built and maintained

Agree. Unfortunately as we see over and over again the UK is obsessed with the cult of the individual. People don't want to analyse the real social, economic and cultural issues that underpin our widespread obesity; they just want to be able to point fingers and blame the fatties for their lack of willpower.

That's not, by the way, to suggest that it doesn't take some effort and commitment on the part of the obese individual to keep their weight within healthy parameters. But we live in an obesogenic environment which actively promotes the over-consumption of shit, nutritionally-empty food. Excess consumption is normalised. Vanity sizing makes us all think we're thinner than we are. Urban sprawl with lack of good green spaces, poor cycle or walking infrastructure, poor work/life balance that leaves people exhausted and craving crap, all contribute to an environment that means it is difficult to stay slim and healthy.

That's not making excuses. It's fact. Of course no one needs to eat all the time, no one needs a Starbucks venti latte and a cinnamon bun every morning, but to deny that we live in a society that pushes this stuff as normal and even desirable at every moment of the day is ridiculous.

If you are one of the people that reads a thread like this and thinks 'it's SIMPLE, just eat less, move more' then you are showing yourself up as a bit dim and severely lacking in critical thinking skills.

The WWII rationing and supplement programs for expectant mothers and young kids prevented malnutrition. The rickets generations were older.

The Boer War 1899, highlighted the terrible state of health of the urban poor as apparently one third of recruits failed the medical.

@pinkbalconyrailing can you tell me by what mechanism is the McDonald's more expensive? Very interesting as I've always known it as the ultimate bargain.

@QueenOfPain no I was tagging the other queen who was talking about her thyroid medication .. the nhs doesn't understand the thyroid in my experience

I'm a public health doctor and have worked with women in weight loss schemes in the past. All of their experiences with their weight problems was as simple as eating too much and exercising too little. But they all shared the same experience of fat shaming making them feel even more shit than they did already, because they knew what people thought of them, saw the looks and heard the comments. They felt like second class citizens, assumed to be thick, told that they don't deserve NHS treatment. Told that they don't deserve even to be able,e to wear nice clothes.

Making changes to our lifestyles is difficult at the best of times. Doing it whilst self loathing and being ostracised by society is impossible.

Fat People are aware of the increased risk of diabetes, cancer etc because despite the views of society we (oh yes, I'm fat now as well) are not stupid. We are also aware that we don't deserve to go to the beach, use the NHS that we also pay for and of course if we dare to exercise we deserve all the taunts and comments and laughter. Hell, we should just stay locked up so we don't spoil the views of slimmer people.

I have put on weight since some very stressful events, the same events that caused my very slim husband to drink more and take up smoking again. I was seriously ill end of last year and it's taken a long time to recover, so while before I was able to exercise, now I can barely walk up stairs. Though to some of you it's because I'm fat not because I was ill. Seriously ill. Oh, btw I also dared to use the NHS as well.

I'm not fat because I eat crap. I actually dislike chocolate and cakes, cream and just don't like dessert. We cook from scratch everyday because it's our way of relaxing. We have loads of fruit and veg because we are wealthy and the kids rarely have pizza because it's difficult to get it delivered where we live. I'm fat because I cannot exercise as much. I'm fat because stress has led to me drinking a bit more than normal. I'm fat because I'm 50. I, fat because of genetics.

I'm actually trying to do something about it at the moment, but it's difficult as I'm still stressed, still dealing with two teenagers who have their own stresses, still trying to get my business off the ground and still dealing with the fact that because of my weight I'm seen as a sub human.

You simply can't make people change their eating habits. It's hard, it takes permanent willpower, and lots of things (over which the government has little or no control) make people unable or unwilling to do it. Even the ones who are desperate to do it almost always fail long-term.

A lot of kids are just not allowed to feel hungry. It's like hunger is some kind of big bad wolf that's going to kill them instantly, rather than a completely natural feeling.

I completely agree with you. My seven year old rarely wants to eat breakfast as he’s not hungry. Over the holidays I’ve accepted it. He has put weight in over lockdown due to not being as active, so he’s got plenty of fat stores to keep him going. I practice intermittent fasting every day, so not eating doesn’t scare me. I have said when he’s back at school he will need breakfast as I won’t be there to ensure he eats enough lunch.

@justanotherneighinparadise

A lot of kids are just not allowed to feel hungry. It's like hunger is some kind of big bad wolf that's going to kill them instantly, rather than a completely natural feeling.

I completely agree with you. My seven year old rarely wants to eat breakfast as he’s not hungry. Over the holidays I’ve accepted it. He has put weight in over lockdown due to not being as active, so he’s got plenty of fat stores to keep him going. I practice intermittent fasting every day, so not eating doesn’t scare me. I have said when he’s back at school he will need breakfast as I won’t be there to ensure he eats enough lunch.

I haven't eaten breakfast since the age of about 9. I'm 51 now and I still don't eat it because I'm just not hungry in the mornings.

I remember at primary school I was ravenous about an hour before lunch, so my mum used to pack me a banana for break time and that would tide me over.

I think my DC lost interest in breakfast at roughly the same age, so I too would just pack a banana for them.

@justanotherneighinparadise

Fat is not the enemy FoxyLoxy I eat everything full fat and am losing fat. The issue is far when combined with high carb/high sugar. That is a lethal combination not found outside a factory. There is not one food in nature that combines fat with sugar and carbs. Fat and carbs - yes. Sugar and carbs - yes. Fat, sugar and carbs - doesn’t exist.

Sugar is a carb.

Avocado (a nature product) is both a fatty and a carby fruit.

You certainly can’t make people change their ways no. But you need to educate them as to how they can do it correctly, sustainably and without feeling hungry. That is key. This is why I’m just so irritated with the calorie conversation as no one wants to be wandering about feeling hungry and dissatisfied. That’s a sure way to go back to previous habits.

I want people to know they CAN eat fat and yet lose fat. But to do that they need to have periods of abstinence. We have become a nation of constant grazers and that needs to stop. It’s Teri me for your health.

I'm on an anti-depressant that's well known for weight gain. Very well known for it because it's an appetite stimulant. It's the only thing that worked on my depression and PTSD without even more and worse side effects and also did a little towards my insomnia.

I lost weight on it because I was no longer staying up all night boozing trying to slug myself out and eating junk and smoking cigarettes, but a lot of people gain on it, but it's the only thing keeping them from entertaining suicide as an option or worse.

There are quite a few medications that are quite common now that are keeping people alive who'd have died in the past but that are known to cause weight gain.

I've also found it very hard to maintain my weight as I age/menopause.

My h is very slim. He smokes, though.

Avocado (a nature product) is both a fatty and a carby fruit.

Name me a natural piece of food that is high in refined sugar, high in carbs and high in fat. I’m happy to stand corrected.

@CommonCarder

The WWII rationing and supplement programs for expectant mothers and young kids prevented malnutrition. The rickets generations were older.

The Boer War 1899, highlighted the terrible state of health of the urban poor as apparently one third of recruits failed the medical.

Visit The People's Museum in Glasgow. There's a special section on maternity and childbirth. Plenty of highlights of malnutrition and rickets well up into the 1960s.

My MIL was malnourished under rations. It effected her health for the rest of her life.

I have a suspicion that the reason Boris is going so hard on the lose weight message right now, is to lay the groundwork for the dismantling of the nhs

It's more likely the old divide and rule - the NHS has been starved of investment for ten years now and this govt is not going to invest in it either. So much easier for them to say that the problems with the NHS are all due to fat people. Especially when so many people are willing to do along with that idea.

Glasgow has its own special story on deprivation that is for sure and I bow to your greater knowledge.

However I commented as my family were in North West England and there was awful deprivation but oddly perhaps to young people today it WAS mitigated by wartime govertmment intervention on diet and supplements so I wanted to put that point across. Governments can change things for the good even UK ones on occasion.

I’m overweight because I’m greedy

I don’t think there’s much the government or NHS can do about that

My grandmother and her generation would refer to different ones as "the bandy legged fella" and it was only later I twigged why I did not know any bandy legged people - it was the rickets!

@HermioneWeasley

I’m overweight because I’m greedy

I don’t think there’s much the government or NHS can do about that

You’re not greedy. You’re hungry.