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.

There plenty of foods in nature that combine fats and carbs @hamstersarse, nuts are an example of this.

@Chicchicchicchiclana

Agree with you Annabel85.

I am old enough to know life well past the war and rationing but before the current obesity crisis (born in the1960s).

In my childhood we didn't have loads of snacks, we didn't have takeaways, we had a quarter of sweets on a Saturday as a treat, we didn't have any fast food at all other than the fish and chip shop and most adults only drank at the weekend and that would be a couple of cans of beer or cider. I am totally middle class but my parents only drank wine on holiday or at Christmas. From age 5 to age 10 my walk to school was 25 minutes up and down hills and my sahm came with me.

Food/drink/snacks/life is so different now.

Pubs also had very limited opening times back then (Sunday particularly restricted) and there was less means to drink at home. The idea of going through bottles of wine at home during the week was uncommon.

Cheap booze in supermarkets, the omnipresence of wine in supermarkets, junk food all over the place. It just wasn't like that pre-supermarket dominated retail industry.

It’s 63% of adults who are overweight or obese

However, I think there’s no doubt at the next count this will have increased

24,000 a year die from Type 2 diabetes, a completely lifestyle related deadly disease. It also costs the NHS £23bn a year, although that figure is 9 years old and it would not be a wild claim to say that has likely increased massively considering we have 63% of adults teetering on the brink of type 2 diabetes

I agree but don't know what can be done. Losing weight and drastically changing habits isn't easy. I'm trying myself. Gone from doing no exercise and eating whatever without a thought, to running every other day and cutting out crap and calorie counting, I've lost a few pounds in about 6 weeks. Disheartening to say the least.

@allsideways

There plenty of foods in nature that combine fats and carbs *@hamstersarse*, nuts are an example of this.

Nuts are low carbohydrate. They are high fat, moderate protein

What we are talking about with most processed food is high fat AND high carbohydrate. Nature doesn’t do this.

@hamstersarse

50% of all the calories consumed in the UK are junk ultra processed foods.

The pure availability of it is shocking

I eat absolutely no junk food at all. It is VERY difficult to go anywhere if you don’t eat junk. Everywhere you go it’s packed to the rafters with junk / or terrible meal composition. Thankfully I can fast for long periods so I usually just don’t eat much when out and about.

We need to work on our food environment. The addictive qualities of junk processed foods are not appreciated, it’s not all willpower, these foods are designed with a deadly combination of fat and carbohydrate (sugar) which not only causes obesity also has addictive qualities. Pringles are the perfect example and even their strap line acknowledges this...once you pop you can’t stop.

And it’s true, high fat and high carbs are almost impossible to limit by willpower alone.

Nature never created ONE SINGLE food that combines fat and carbohydrate. We did that, and it’s deadly.

That isn't what you said though @hamstersarse I was simply correcting a falsehood. Incidentally almonds have similar levels of carb and protein.

Cashews have 43g fat and 30g carbs per 100g. That's quite a lot of both. I can't think of any other good examples though, admittedly.

There is some more info about the problem with our modern habit of combining high fat and high carbs here:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180614213837.htm

I am slim size 8-10 as are all of my family through all generations. we have never dieted and we eat all kinds of cheap crap food but just not huge piles of it. I actually believe it's the amount people eat that makes them fat and not what they eat. I have noticed over weight friends are constantly eating and have huge portions at meal times. although to them it is not a big portion it just normal as it's the way they've always ate since childhood. it's a shame as I see their children now becoming very overweight too as they've always been fed huge portions and constantly snacking too.

Nuts are rich but at least they have fibre and are satiating. The food scientist would take out the fibre, add a little sugar maybe. Make them less hard work to chew.

There is a massive issue with this ultra processed stuff. And then the marketing on top.

I used to subscribed to a little bit of everything and don't ban anything but I have come to the conclusion these arlttitudes playing into the hands of these businesses who have no care for the public good.

I absolutely agree that consuming processed high carb high fat is a terrible idea @hamstersarse that was never in question.

Sorry I haven't read the whole thread but supermarkets play a huge role in obesity. They make more money selling us ultra-processed high calorie addictive food, prettied up in plastic packaging and 'marketed' at us in a multitude of manipulative ways. When we used to shop in greengrocers/butchers/bakers etc we bought less, ate better and didn't need endless plastic. We were also thinner.
Supermarkets have destroyed our high streets, exploited farmers and put a huge disease burden on our society.

They make more money selling us ultra-processed high calorie addictive food, prettied up in plastic packaging and 'marketed' at us in a multitude of manipulative ways.

You don't have to buy it. The same supermarkets sell healthy stuff too.

We really do have to do something about the food that is available. And educate people about junk.

When I go to the supermarket I only use the fruit and veg aisle, the meat aisle and the dairy aisle, occasionally tinned stuff, while trying to track down where they have hidden the eggs. Every other aisle is just full of junk and that is usually at least half of the supermarket.

I know calories matter to some extent, but I despair of the obsession with them. It is simple logic that 1000 calories of salad is not the same as 1000 calories of processed pizza. Just concentrating on calories takes no account for the impact these foods have on our bodies and how they interact with our reward systems and ability to regulate appetite.

The supermarkets need a complete redesign and the calorie obsession also needs a revamp. Marketeers are taking full advantage of the calorie obsession by creating absolute hell on a plate then advertising it is 'only 350 calories'. No one will ever lose weight long term if their attempts at calorie counting are made up of shit ultra processed food

@bluejelly

Sorry I haven't read the whole thread but supermarkets play a huge role in obesity. They make more money selling us ultra-processed high calorie addictive food, prettied up in plastic packaging and 'marketed' at us in a multitude of manipulative ways. When we used to shop in greengrocers/butchers/bakers etc we bought less, ate better and didn't need endless plastic. We were also thinner. Supermarkets have destroyed our high streets, exploited farmers and put a huge disease burden on our society.

And most people drive to the supermarket as well, less exercise. Then they'll be tempted not just by junk food but the aisles of wine and gin and crates of beer.

Supermarkets also mean that I have access to an unparalleled range of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and pulses. They also have liberated millions of women from the drudgery of trudging around shops several times a week.

No one forces you to fill your trolley with crap.

I do think there needs to be serious policy changes about food before anything serious will happen. Forcing food to use the traffic light system and to display it prominently on the packaging would be a start, as would highlighting portion sizes. I’d like to see regulation of fast food outlets, especially near schools, and greater promotion of healthy fast food, as per Japan.

I don’t buy the argument that junk taxes or regulation of food is somehow an affront to personal liberty. For one, I can’t afford to drink champagne every meal, but it doesn’t mean I am somehow super envious of those who can, in the same way that I don’t begrudge those who fly off to Bora Bora for a fortnight first class when I can’t do that either. Secondly, obesity is killing people and dramatically reducing quality of life. That’s worth a bit of intervention.

We live in Devon, and locals down here tend to be slim. We always notice that tourists down here are a lot bigger.

I think we have more chance to exercise in beautiful surroundings, and it must be so hard to find motivation in more urban areas.

Having said that I am two stone overweight!

Why would anyone's heart sink to see people out enjoying themselves 🤔

Don’t be silly. You can enjoy yourself without drinking yourself silly and stuffing yourself with crap food.

If you saw a massive gang of, say, Millwall fans rampaging through your local town, pissed and aggressive, would your heart sink or would you say, aaah, bless them, they’re only out enjoying themselves?

How about if a load of alcoholics walked out of rehab and were necking white lightning on your road? Would you say, aaah, look at them enjoying themselves?

Or would you think, they aren’t doing themselves any favours and they are likely to damage themselves?

But most people don't want to get up at 5am for a hard run, or go out again at 9pm

For single parents, chance would be a fine thing.

There is a lot of discussion on this thread about the minutiae of (say) what constitutes an avocado but one avocado does not a broken diet make. For many people it is as simple as eating a healthy balanced diet, doing some exercise and not overindulging.

For others it’s a lot more complex. I can’t remember the name of it but there was a BBC Scotland programme a few years ago which looked into individual genetics and tailored diets for three distinct groups.

Some people have genes that made them hungrier much faster than others. They were given an Atkins type diet to give them greater satiety on eating. There were another group whose genes genuinely led them to constantly scour their eyeline for food opportunities when they were out and about. For these the answer was fasting.

I think we still have a lot to learn about our genes and the role they play in our predisposition to put on weight.

No one forces you to fill your trolley with crap.

Quite

"If you saw a massive gang of, say, Millwall fans rampaging through your local town, pissed and aggressive, would your heart sink or would you say, aaah, bless them, they’re only out enjoying themselves?

How about if a load of alcoholics walked out of rehab and were necking white lightning on your road? Would you say, aaah, look at them enjoying themselves?"

Are you comparing some fat girls with the audacity to go out for lunch and drinks to violent football hooligans and alcoholics?

And I literally wouldn't think ANYTHING if I saw said fat girls on a day out because why would I? Unless they're causing harm to others like on your other delightful examples, why would they even cross my mind? I certainly wouldn't wring my hands over their "faces distorted with fat" or pretend I was concerned about the health of complete strangers. I'm sure if they were all slim and "healthy" no one would give a shit.

I know nobody forces you to fill your trolley with crap. But the very best marketeers in the land work incredibly hard to tempt you to BOGOF or 'treat yourself' or buy a 'low fat yoghurt' which is actually higher in calories than cake.
It's not a great surprise that people fall for it, week in, week out.
When we shopped at greengrocers, butchers etc there was none of that.

And I literally wouldn't think ANYTHING if I saw said fat girls on a day out because why would I? Unless they're causing harm to others like on your other delightful examples, why would they even cross my mind? I certainly wouldn't wring my hands over their "faces distorted with fat" or pretend I was concerned about the health of complete strangers. I'm sure if they were all slim and "healthy" no one would give a shit.

'Judge' is the not the right word, but I do despair when I see obese young people stuffing their faces with junk food. Fertility problems and just endurance issues with everyday stuff like walking makes me pretty sad. There is no doubt that life is not as enjoyable when you are obese - you simply can't do certain things, at least with some enjoyment as it is all just much harder. Put it this way, you wouldn't wish it on a young person.

Fertility issues - here - before I get people coming on to tell me that they are obese and conceived fine etc etc.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4456969/ Female fertility

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3521747/ Male sperm count

I agree with bluejelly . And even (In fact especially) with the tempting things in supermarkets we need to take personal responsibility to make the choices our parents and grandparents perhaps made and in our family I still do. I rarely buy anything that isn’t a whole food and our DC do appreciate proper food and are very slim despite good healthy appetites and big portions. Nothing is banned but we’d rarely want crisps for example other than for a picnic and mostly drink water (and tea) and not much sugar generally. Now and again we cheat and buy a takeaway Indian from Tesco but still prefer It when made it from fresh veg and chicken etc ourselves and IMO it needn’t take longer

I didn’t mean that to sound virtuous as have a very strong ice cream habit etc! So do have treats but hopefully as treats rather than top every day