Why are the British so comfortable being overweight?

[lookforthespace]

When it seems there is a lot of chit chat about now 'oh, you've lost weight!' People obviously want to be slim. But they can't do it?

Yet so many people, including myself,
seem to fluctuate and remain overweight

Is there a psychological difference between us and Japan/South Korea? It is it just because those countries will outright tell you 'You are fat'. And it isn't seen as rude or impolite to say so

I am from Asia.

My aunt back home told my DH 'you have lost weight, you used to be fat!' he found this funny because no one would have ever said this in the UK..people are a lot more direct.

@Zilla1 most mothers work in places like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore. They eat out a lot. But there is pressure to be thin. In the UK, I feel like the pressure isn't that great. In terms of dating, most men don't seem to care. In terms of job searching, unless you are morbidly obese, I don't think it would make a huge difference (not that it's right to discriminate against the obese but surveys do say obese people less likely to get jobs). Unless you are in a looks focused industry like modelling, influencer etc, I don't feel like there is pressure to be stick thin esp if over the age of 30.

@EmmaWoodhousestreehouse

10/10 on sweeping statements.

Not sure why its a sweeping statement when 2/3 of UK adults are overweight or obese, and we are well known for being one of the fattest nations in the world.

In certain groups and parts of society being overweight or even obese has become normalised, where the average used to be a size 10 it is now a size 16, where for men it used to be a 32 in waist it is now a 38. If most people around you are overnight or obese you will end up seeing that as normal, rather than being fat.

@ghostmouse

The uks shitty cold damp weather. In the summer I eat quite healthy. In the winter I just crave stodge and carbs. Not the only reason but certainly doesn’t help!

I was going to suggest this. We don't have the coldest winters, but they are damp/ wet which can feel colder. We also don't have winter (snow) sports and trudging around swampy muddy parks has limited appeal.

The traditional British diet was based around energy which was great when life was more active and manual. Meat, potatoes and two-veg followed by a fruit crumble and custard is great when you're cold and moving all day.

Our lifestyles have changed but diets aren't much lighter as a culture. Salad is lovely when the weather is warm and it's in season, but when you're cold and the food is imported (air miles) and not flavourful because it's been picked for transporting, that's not appealing.

Then there are old biases about gluttony/ greed. Food is more avaliable and appealing and it's very difficult to constantly restrict to what your body needs. Gluttony would be bad in a society where food is restricted and others are being deprived, but it's hard to shake off old prejudices through society even though food is generally plentiful.

@Mifacagare I found your post really interesting. What would be a typical days diet for you in Italy and could you give some examples of the meals you prepare from scratch each day? I only week half the time you work each day and really struggle to cook from scratch each day! Am impressed

Someone correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t people of south East Asian heritage naturally more petite anyway, their BMI normal range is lower than for other ethnic groups?
So surely Nature plays a role here too?

www.diabetes.co.uk/south-asian/bmi-values-for-south-asians.html

I’m a now naturally slim person and I really dislike threads like this because it’s more fat shaming and othering of ‘fat’ people, like it’s the worse thing in life you can possibly be. Of course a healthy BMI is important (it’s an outdated and arbitrary measure of a ‘healthy’ weight anyway) but there are so many individual factors that contribute to obesity, socio economic (fact is convenience food is cheap), we have an eat and run culture (France for instance has 2 hr lunch breaks and meals are to be savoured), we have a finish everything on your plate culture, a diet industry worth billions that reinforces unhealthy eating habits, huge pressure to have the constantly changing perfect figure (again unhealthy eating habits), an all or nothing societal mentality, generational bad habits, not enough emphasis on food as nutrition and healthy cooking with cheap ingredients in school, and the stigmatising of those perceived to be fat (i for instance have been bullied my whole life for my weight and I’ve never been more than 9.5 stone at 5’3 a large size 10) the stigma is social but it’s medical too.

I think it's more than one thing. I'm a foreigner who used to live in the UK. Size 14 is seen as normal, nothing to worry about, but actually the average woman is overweight at size 14. The perception of a healthy weight is lost. The drinking culture is appalling. Not drinking alcohol for a few weeks or months is seen as a massive challenge. Drinks should be water or coffee or tea without sugar. You don't need wine or a coke unless maybe at a party. Also, how come crisps at lunch is seen as normal???? Meals should be healthy, junk food should be a treat.

I also don't understand why so many people can't cook from scratch, the internet is full with how-to video's. It's just lazy not to bother to cook. The rest of the world does.

@onlychildhamster Thank you. I did try and be careful and picked Japan from the OP's Japan and South Korea original examples as I think Japan has fewer working mothers but understand South Korea has higher workforce participation and more time pressure on women.

@Namechangetimes100 yes. Also for east asian. My BMI is 23.5, but apparently I am at increased risk of obesity related diseases. I need to lose another 2 kg to be a good weight.

I think it’s a different culture around food.

It’s an interesting point

I'd be inclined to reply with 'why are some people so comfortable slating a whole country of people'? Seriously, I mean this tongue in cheek, but you are being a bit judgemental, there are overweight people all over the world, some for more 'medical' reasons than others, focus on you and your life and less on the lives of others (which you may well know very little about!).

I've taught in high schools and universities in Asia, and it is painful to hear these already stick thin girls call themselves and each other fat and starve themselves on insane diets. They might be thinner but it's not like they're all just naturally thin because they eat healthy and never think about it.

Similarly in France -- yes some women are naturally thin and eat healthily, but there are also plenty of women who are slim because they smoke or starve themselves or take diet pills. There can be a lot of policing of what women (not men) eat. None of that is particularly healthy either.

@bedheadedzombie not all the rest of the world does. Some cities have a culture where hardly anyone cooks at home, but takeaway food is cheap and healthy.

I’ve been to Japan and McDonalds over there does a roaring trade. I’ve also been to one of their very popular desert shops where they do ginormous sundaes topped off with a large wedge of cheesecake! So it’s not like they don’t like treats. I think their general day to day food is so much healthier though. Like rice and miso soup for breakfast.

They overall have a much smaller build than us so that’s another thing. I feel like a giant in comparison! Plus as a pp pointed out, they’re always “on the go”. So it’s lots of factors. I was always quite trim when DC were young and I was very active. Middle age has done it for me. Easier to gain weight, not so much running around.

[quote onlychildhamster]@Namechangetimes100 yes. Also for east asian. My BMI is 23.5, but apparently I am at increased risk of obesity related diseases. I need to lose another 2 kg to be a good weight.[/quote]
@onlychildhamster, by east asian sorry do you mean, Indian subcontinent? (Sorry if that’s really ignorant my children are half pakistani and naturally v thin so wondering if that’s part of it) x

I don't believe people here are more comfortable with being overweight. I honestly think it's to do with our unhealthy dinners and high accessibility to junk food.my daughters at secondary school, she was shocked at the unhealthy dinners served at school, and their massive portion sizes! Pizza and chips served most days with huge waffles/flapjacks/brownies. It ought to be stews/meat (or vegetarian alternative) and vegetables with youghurts/biscuit/fruit. Most of my daughters friends have put weight on.

I can't speak for Japan/South Korea (but build/height is involved as well), but in Europe, basically most countries have high overweight populations, not just the UK.

In ALL European countries, more than 50% of men are overweight, Italy is the same. Italy, only 38% of women are overweight, that's not going to be about diet, given they all eat a similar diet, that's about societal pressure to be thinner, same in France. In Croatia, 70% of men are overweight, and nearly 60% of women, so some of these stereotypes about UK people being so much larger than everyone else aren't quite true.

UK is not by any means the fattest nation in the world, the most recent stats I googled had us at the 33rd, Australians are fatter for starters.

Some of the explanations on here are too simplistic, and don't recognise that the whole world is getting fatter, due to the obesogenic environment and the crappy processed food we are presented, it's not a uniquely UK thing (although it is a problem for sure).

ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20210721-2

Food poverty and time poverty, and high costs of living causing stress, all contribute to obesity, for adults and children.

2/3 of UK adults are overweight or obese

It's normal, that's why people are comfortable with it. It's not generalising or fat shaming to point that out.

Ignoring the facts won't make the obesity crisis go away.

Well, I can say how I lost 4 stone in weight. From size 14 to size 8. Cutting portions, food logging on FitBit, ensuring a deficit, running and walking most days, plus weights and resistance exercises.

Wasn't so much processed versus non processed food. What I ate was pretty healthy, there was just too much off it. My portions had increased to equal those of my DH and teenager. I do fill more of my plate with salad / green veg, now, though, so it doesn't look empty with the reduced main meal.

So I'm now fitter and thinner. I do feel much better. Culturally I think there's a few things going on.

Yes, to vanity sizing. My current size 8 was a 12 in the 80s (I am approximately the same weight and measurements as when I was 16yrs and always wore a size 12). So now at an 8 when there are only a few of this size the shops I shop in I do feel a bit puny sometimes. But I've a small frame and I am not bony. Could be the shops I shop in but at nearly 50 I would look a bit stupid in clothes aimed at teens.

People do treat me better. Well, younger, almost. When I was fatter I got called Madame and felt a bit invisible. Now people just seem to notice and talk to me more.

But I think there is a bit of bite back. You get warnings with the exercise. Not to overdo it. Lectures about running being bad. But I honestly feel better for it.🤷‍♀️ If you dare mention food logging you are accused of having disordered eating. But my eating wasn't exactly right before when I was overweight. And the health professionals I see are all pretty encouraging and congratulatory.

So much of it is what you eat.

I have noticed over the years that slim people and overweight people eat different foods and different portion sizes

Another is the attitude we have here that a 'size N is not fat'. N could be 12 or 18 or 8 or whatever. It is just a number

@lookforthespace

I think the words 'being comfortable with being fat' was wrong to use, as it's often not the case at all and isn't for myself. But it definitely is accepted and we take great offence at anyone pointing out we're fat (I know I would!), yet we love to tell people with glistening eyes that they're looking slim lately etc

It's not people telling me I'm fat I have an issue with, it's a fact the same as I'm a bit grumpy in the morning, or I have long hair or I am wearing jeans - something I have control over (mostly). What I have issues with is the judgement on my morality and personality because I am fat, especially when dressed up as 'concern'. I know I'm fat, I know the reasons and concequences around it, I have other things that currently are more of a priority in my life to deal with and therefore addressing my weight isn't the first and foremost thing for me to deal with. For other people it is or can be, and that's up to them.

Stop believing the stereotypes. There are a larger percentage of people who are obese in Korea / Japan / India / china / UK. It is far more acceptable in India to become obese or overweight when you’re married and over 30 - the Korean / Indian ‘aunty’ / ‘uncle’ term is used specifically for these people.