Are people still getting 'fatter'?

[NiceSausage]

Or has it plateaued?
I've done a bit of mooching for studies but only find conflicting articles. I am used to hearing people say we are all getting fatter as time goes by, but wonder what the real stats are for this.

I then thought, since we are all more aware of nutrition that we used to be, with so much info available online, etc, it seems strange that we would be getting fatter if more and more of us are cutting out carbs, bread, sugars, sat fats and so on. If knee jerk articles are to be believed It seems as if the more we exclude the worse it gets?
Simple dietary moderation rarely creates a buzz, unlike exclusion diets and fads (at least in the popular media), but if any of these contemporary/popular diets work, surely we would all be getting thinner?

Or is it something else? I understand that there are obviously strong connections between unhealthy diets and poverty, but taking a good look around me both online and in real life, people across all social strata appear to be as concerned with dieting as ever.

Are there any good sources for info on this? The tabloids and media will always over hype such issues so I would appreciate some unbiased, up to date news, if possible.

A few years ago a super headmaster had the idea of making kids run a mile in the mornings. Great idea because exercise stimulates the brain but the idea died out. Personally, something lighter and more enjoyable such as dancing freestyle would get kids exercise without being as gruelling as running.

Unquestionably people from certain countries see it as a moral failing that people are allowed to get fat and lazy. Why wouldn’t you stick up for yourself by trying to be the best that you can be? They tend to be from countries where individual rights are less important than the needs of the state. In the UK, personal freedom means that if we want to be fat and lazy we can be.

I happened to be walking back from the Coronation behind a group of literally hundreds of security staff all young and fit. In addition to the soldiers on display it was an impressive, if accidental, show of force. That the Uk Could mobilise a huge number of young people at short notice if needed.

It’s also why we need to take care of our health. The UK has become complacent and too relaxed. We have stopped competing, assuming ourselves to be above all of that. It’s not just cost of obesity it’s that we need fully functioning adults for a number of reasons.

Well we are meant to believe that fat isn’t fat it’s curves. I just don’t think it helps anyone who needs to lose weight for their health. Like drinking or smoking a person is just going to have to decide for themselves if they can change their eating (smoking/drinking) habits to benefit their health - or not. Short of having a gastric band no one can do it for you.

I was also pregnant here ( not uk). At every consultation I was weighed and you get told off if you gain too much at each appointment if it’s more than the ‘allowance’.

Do you remember when Jamie Oliver had that healthy eating at school drive and mums were shown shoving burgers etc to their kids over the fences. What was that all about, no excuse for that in my book. Shameful and embarrassing.

I think this is a MASSIVELY important aspect of why we are fatter. People keep saying "It's all due to corn syrup/refined carbs" but actually we just do far less, all day long. We don't get up to turn off the TV or adjust the set or the volume several times a night, nor get up to answer the phone or run down three flights of stairs to get to it before it rings off. We don't walk around to friends' houses to see if they are in, or down to the post office to post letters, or around the shops once a day to buy fresh food and walk home carrying heavy shopping bags. We don't whisk by hand or knead dough - things my mum did daily. We probably need far fewer calories than we used to.

I'm from the Caribbean, where a good proportion of people would be like you describe and cook from scratch. We also have incredibly high rates of diabetes and high blood pressure.

Genetics, maybe?

I'm intolerant to oats myself 😅I'm just talking about a general rule though.

I was responding to a poster who said that if you're going for fullness, cheap carbs work best, which just isn't true.

This. Absolutely this. A size 16 today is 'curvy' not fat. Which is ridiculous.

I'm sure this is true in general, but not for urban 10 year olds in the 1970s!

To be honest, I know very little about the Caribbean. I read that obesity rates have climbed sharply. Is it because there is more fast food available?

Genetics does play a part, certainly. I know a lot of slim diabetics who eat very healthy- veggies, protein, lentils- but still got diabetes because they have unlucky genes. However, the vast majority of people don't fall into this category, I think.

Absolutely. My DH has put on some weight since lockdown, and it's not hard to see why. He is/was a fit person, but apart from the odd run and occasional housework/DIY he now does very little exercise. Some days all he does is go up and down the stairs for a cup of coffee.

Work - home nearly every day
Shopping - buys nearly everything online
Hobby - computer games, sitting at the same screen he sits at all day

I try to get him out of the house but he doesn't seem to see the need. (Then he'll go out for a run and wonder why he's struggling...)

In response to the comment above about poorer people in the 1970's. My recollection is that 1970's was before ultra processed food really hit the UK, and before home freezers became commonplace. Food was mainly basic, but home cooked. Snacking was not a thing, neither were sharing bags of crisps/sweets etc.it was the American corporations which started the popularity of ultra processed food products. These then filtered down to the UK.

Yes I really agree. We've become very inactive and people don't realise what a big impact this has on our physical health and weight.
I've seen many posts on Mumsnet where someone asks if they'll lose weight by walking, for example 10,000 steps a day. People always say no!! They say it won't impact your weight at all. I know from experience this is nonsense! I walk everywhere - to school, to work, to the shops etc. I do about 15,000 steps a day. During Covid I started walking less (no going to the office, no school run etc). I was still walking about 6000 steps a day but it was less than half what I used to do. In a few months I put on 10lbs! I wasn't eating more. I ate exactly the same. I wasn't drinking alcohol. The extra 10lbs was simply from walking less.
If you start walking a lot you won't lose pounds every week but it will happen slowly over time. If you walk a lot now and think it doesn't affect your weight, try stopping. You'll soon see the pounds pile on!

A few years ago a super headmaster had the idea of making kids run a mile in the mornings. Great idea because exercise stimulates the brain but the idea died out. Personally, something lighter and more enjoyable such as dancing freestyle would get kids exercise without being as gruelling as running.

A mile shouldn't be gruelling for a child of primary school age though (obviously certain illnesses and physical limitations aside)m it's only because on a society level this country is largely unfit.

I think the message around exercise is also lost I agree with a PP. The reality is that if you eat whatever you want and however much you want it's ridiculously unlikely that however much exercise you do will reverse the effect of that. However, exercise is still bloody brilliant for your body and for your health, and can compliment a healthy and balanced diet for weight loss. Walking is fantastic.

I’m fatter now than I was 20 years ago.

I was in London last year looking after an ill relative. I ate ready meals three or four nights a week for a month. I ate pastries every day and drank lattes. I snacked on bags of roasted pecans from M and S (yum). I also walked at least 12k steps a day, once 16k. I lost nearly half a stone.

I'm a child of the 60s and 70s and I remember that food was very basic - meat and veg, stew, fish and veg, salad and cold meat. I was a teenager before I saw my first lasagne and it came in a can!! There was stuff like Angel Delight, but it was a rarity and sweets and puddings were for Sundays and holidays.

There's something in the smaller helpings thing...plates and glasses were smaller. When I cleared out my mum's house I brought home some plates and they're a third smaller than the ones we have here.

Wine and beer were rarely in the house. Now I hear every supermarket trolley clinking with bottle and see lads carrying boxes of beer home to drink while the football's on. Booze is a definite factor.

The adverts I see on facebook are for cafe's serving milkshakes in hollowed out Easter eggs full of cream and with flakes in, pulled pork with cheese on and salads covered with coleslaw and dressings.

This and lack of the exercise that used to be part of daily life (twin tub washing machines anyone) are why we're getting fatter.

We just went to Greece for a week on holiday and I did far less exercise than I usually would, and I ate without the “mental logging” I do at home; I just let myself have what I wanted. I ate a lot more than I would at home (probably because someone else was making it for me 😂) but it was all lovely salads, olive oil, good quality meat, local fish, homemade bread, my body weight in feta and olives etc. I’m home now - not only have I not put on a single pound, my tummy is far less bloated. I couldn’t believe it, and I assume it’s because of the types of food I was eating. That quantity at home would definitely make me put on weight, especially now.

Whenever I go on all inclusive holidays to Greece, Turkey etc I always lose weight despite eating loads, I assume it’s the fact I’m not snacking but just eating healthy fresh food and the swimming/walking too I suppose.

I'm so glad I don't have to shop every day for food, make bread by hand and do laundry in a twin tub or by hand and have no time for a well-paid job or hobbies, all the same. I'll take being a little bit plump over doing more manual chores any day of the week.

Wealthier people aren't doing lots of household labour either, though, are they? So where does that fit in?

I think for many people they have no time eg no choice but to hold down a sedentary job plus if they eg live in a rural location no public transport so have to drive. Then children affect budget and lifestyle a great deal and the attention is focused on them. I am just lucky I work at home and no longer need a car now ds is 18. We both walk places and catch buses but for many life is not that simple.

That's different. The slim wealthy people I know all go to luxury gyms, have PTs and yoga teachers and eat very low carb high protein and fresh veg diets which are expensive. They also 'treat' themselves when stressed or low mood, to non food things like manicures, facials, theatre tickets etc which poor people can't afford. Skinniess as a sign of wealth is definitely a thing.

I agree with RoseRobot, I have seen a lot of richer ladies who are super slim and immaculately manicured and extremely well spoken. They are part of particular circles of society to which only slim people are welcome!

That’s just a bunch of excuses. If people are eating burgers, cakes, pasties, biscuits, takeaways etc and very little fresh veg/fresh cooked unprocessed food then the chances are you’re going to put on weight unless you’re running a half marathon every week. There are a lot of young mothers (you see them at the school gates) that are huge, why? They’re not sitting sedentary in offices, they are ‘running around’ after young children so why are they so big? Genuine question.
I think the food industry also has a lot to answer for, there is far too much sugar in things you wouldn’t necessarily expect there to be (although it’s always worth noting that anything processed is likely to have too much sugar). Sugar is the real enemy and I’d hazard a guess there was far less sugar consumption forty/fifty years ago than there is today. I’m weaning myself off sugar and I’ve actually surprised myself how much easier it is than I thought (I am using suitable alternatives for when I do want something sweet though). I’m losing weight and not even exercising and I’ve done it by cutting out sugar and simple carbs.

I wonder if we would all get on board with losing weight, moderate alcohol, exercising if there wasn't the NHS to pick up the pieces of obesity. All those lifestyle ailments that eventually lead to medical appointments etc. If we had to pay for NHS on top of our NI contributions perhaps we would take care of ourselves.