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.

Possibly part of the issue is the desire/pressure for 'instant results'. During lockdowns, myself and four others I know decided this was 'our moment' to finally get fit. We all used various quick fix diets,meal replacement, very low calorie etc and all lost between 2-4 stone. Not one of us has maintained it and speaking for myself, I was 1/2 stone heavier than when I started.

I'm now doing WW which is a slow and steady loss, sometimes just 1/2lb a week. I'm eating really well (lots of veg and protein) and am rarely hungry but I've had to seriously detox my brain which berates me for not losing huge amounts each week. I've now lost 11lbs and I'm slowly chipping away at the rest.

At age 48, I think a big part of the issue is 'quick fix' diets. Not many people manage to sustain the mad lifestyle and often just go on to gain it back plus more.

Has anyone said ‘we’ve lost sight of what is a healthy weight’ yet?

It is the convenience though. If there is a shop next door selling junk or a supermarket requiring a 10 minute drive which do you pop into most regularly? Sugar acts like an addiction for most people and the convenient sources of it are far too tempting.

This is also the assumptions i was on about, plenty of people with incredibly stressful lives jog.

Long hours at desks and driving everywhere.

There are moves to fix those problems but half the UK has Stockholm syndrome.

People actively campaigning to maintain our shit lifestyles

I've just finished the Miracle Pill, absolutely fascinating and very relevant to this post!

Equating size with health isn't the right attitude.

I am 'large' but equally I do strength training and cardio activities (boxing, running) because I enjoy it. Shock, I enjoy food too.

For women, it's great to see that being skinny, starving yourself and endless cardio is no longer promoted. Being strong is, as is no shame on body sizes where I go.

I doubt someone who MN thinks is 'healthy' could do the exercise and lift weights like I do.

For a forum that's meant to be about celebrating and helping women there's an awful lot of hate.

Exactly @Bubbles254 . Cost is a red herring. It’s peoples preference, the easy option. The cost argument doesn’t hold water.

Humans are designed to choose higher calorie foods to avoid starvation. Coupled with that being easier and it being harder work to prepare healthy meals, it’s no wonder. Not saying it’s easier to eat healthier, it’s really not, just that cost isn’t the problem. Cut 50% off the price of vegetables, I doubt people used to eating crap would change their ways.

Definitely. When I grew up sweets were for Saturdays only, no takeaways really and dinner would be meat and two veg with little snacking between- maybe a biscuit or two.

But… people were unhealthy af! Smoke break 8 times a day supressing the appetite, liquid dinner at the weekends. People forget the cheap and bad food we ate then, chips in a pound of grease, angel delight, crispy pancakes etc.

So 40 years ago wasn’t a golden era by any means. The norm then was that most people were slim and anything other was seen as unfortunate. Kids could get beaten up for beng fat, shy, having glasses, being poor etc. Attitudes have changed for the better thankfully. My point is, we’ve gone from unhealthy one way to being unhealthy in a different way.

I was struck the other day by what a young couple in the supermarket had in their trolley. My weekly shop is about 40-50% fruit and veg, the rest ingredients to cook from scratch. Myself and DH both work full time and have a toddler.
This young couple (mid twenties?) were both obviously overweight, had a trolley full of crisps and biscuits and one lone packet of apples and were buying chicken for fajitas, but no veg to go with the chicken (I know because I heard them talking).
You just think how is the message not getting through?
If I know it’s important to eat properly and make the time for it, why aren’t they?
Society is only going to get fatter and fatter I think

I lived in a deprived area and the supermarket only stocked certain foods that sold well. This was Iceland and I cam confirm they didn't stock spinach..not even frozen spinach. I'd have to catch the bus to Sainsburys for such delights!

I was waiting for this 😂

It isn’t fat shaming it’s a health crisis.

They also didn't stock frozen fruit. Iceland tends to be in the poorer part of town.

A little Sainsburys and little Tesco (can't remember what they're called!) focus on convenience food and prepacked everything.

People can't win. Even the veg stall won't be stocking spinach 😂

Not only is our relationship with food up the spout, we do so little physical exercise. We’ve lost sight of what an appropriate level of physical activity is on an average day - and it’s probably a damn sight more than 10k steps.

My recent Asda online order cost £1 to be delivered, which is offset by how cheap their stuff is. The just essentials range has fruit, veg, rice, potatoes etc. Healthy food can be brought to your door.

Humans are literally designed to source the most calorific dense meals because evolutionary we wouldn't know where the next meal was coming from. Our bodies are designed to love the taste of calorie dense foods because previously it would keep us alive.

People are turning this into a moral issue and failing when it isn't. Thankfully medicine is recognising this and its moving towards a disease based model. Obesity will be solved but it won't be through dieting, they will eventually discover a medication that stops obesity with minimal side effects. It's where it's heading the moral panic doesn't work.

Yes we would have to run miles to catch food and forage previously. Now you can sit on your sofa and get delivery. It's two things less physical exercise and an innate preference for calorie dense food.
Evolution hasn't caught up

UPF is to blame, it doesn’t fill you up so you eat more, read Ultra processed people. The food manufacturers are making cheap food with very low nutritional value,
life is expensive and when family’s are time poor it’s easier to put something in the microwave than cook from scratch. We need a food revolution starting at primary school.

Porridge is not high GI unless you’re buying the quick cook sachets. Rolled oats are fine 🤦🏻‍♀️

No one's denying the health implications, but to say people aren't taking delight and gleefully talking about their colleagues and strangers being 'fat' on this thread just isn't true.

Lettuce generally has very little nutritional value but it's a useful low calorie, tasty (to me!), bulking ingredient. I prefer iceberg, it's cheap and lasts for ages.

You're obviously not just eating a quarter of a bag of spinach for each meal though - whatever you're having with it is going to push the price up considerably

People eat ALL the time. I'm convinced that's what does it. Constant snacking. And alcohol. UPF aren't great but tbh I lived on a diet of Vesta meals, doughnuts and fish fingers as a teen and was very skinny.

Also lots of spinach makes me bloat and fart. Chocolate has its place and can't really be replaced by spinach!

I agree with and sympathise with this but I think that the other thing that our sedentary lifestyles are doing to us is driving the huge rise in anxiety and depression. It's really well established that exercise can be as effective as medication for mild/moderate cases but it's so hard to start when you're already ill and our lifestyles make it easier and easier to barely move.