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.

One way to look at this is to look at what countries like America that are fatter than us do more of and what countries that are thinner than us do less of. And you end up with quite a list-

• UPF forming majority of diet
• normalisation of snacking, esp junk food
• normalisation of very large portion sizes, esp junk food
• environment built for cars and to discourage walking/cycling

Of course there’s a proportion of the population who don’t do this stuff, eat well and are in the gym or out exercising every day but that’s not the majority.

I think we’re really past talking about this solely in terms of will power and education- both seem to be code for “do nothing and wring our hands”. Better to see the obesity crisis as what it is- a public health crisis primarily caused by an obesogenic environment. And to change that environment we’ll need to regulate the food industry as we now regulate the tobacco industry, as well as changing our built environment to encourage healthy ways by of living.

But surely this has always been the case?
Im in my 60’s and there certainly wasn’t any help like this when I was a child. We didn’t have the internet to look for information and we didn’t even have a phone to call anyone for advice.

People are naturally gaining weight through less activity. People no longer walk ling distances, wash clothes by hand, cook from scratch, brush down the stairs, go food shopping daily etc. People are eating processed foods, and moving less.

I dislike the belief that slim people starve themselves or do not enjoy food, or simply do masses of cardio. It isnt true.

How do you think the words greedy and lazy are helpful? What role should they play in the strategy to reduce obesity?

I remember back in the 70s seeing film footage of obese people in America and how shocked I was (I think it even made the news) because there really wasn’t that level of largeness in the U.K. at that time. I’m so used to seeing very large people now it doesn’t even register. I would never body shame anyone (my best friend is obese) but the reality is it’s just not good for you. She is a few years younger than me and has started to get all sorts of health issues related to her weight that I don’t have. I am overweight myself by 13 kilos which I am currently losing to get to my target weight. I have cut out carbs and sugar and it’s great, I don’t even miss them (much) and have very good alternatives. (Shout out to the Keto diet).

Oh great I had ‘greedy’ & ‘lazy’ on my bingo card. House!

A couple of things I have noticed over the years;

the demonising of fat, so everything became low fat, I still hear this today even though its been debunked.

the massive upsurge in sitting activities, so streaming tv, social media, gaming etc.

the idea that the average woman needs 2000 calories daily, still being a thing. It's a number based on self reporting during a survey decades ago. How many calories you 'need' depends on your age, your size, your activity levels amongst other things.

I don’t think we’ve had ‘massive salad’ yet though. We’ve definitely had ‘we’ve lost sight of what healthy food looks like/what healthy weight looks like’ and variations of.

The bottom line is being very overweight is bad for you. It may feel ok when you’re thirty but it’s not going to feel so okay when you’re 50,60,70,80. Your mobility will be greatly compromised, your blood pressure will be high, your joints will be inflamed etc. Everything will be a big effort and that’s not fun. I don’t believe in body shaming - Iwas body shamed many times in my younger days for being skinny and it’s very hurtful so I would never do the same to a larger person but it’s not good for people to be so large they have to use mobility scooters in their forties. If we focused on health rather than appearance maybe people would get slimmer. I completely disagree with people who say carbs or processed food or takeaways are cheaper. Have they seen the price of a bag of carrots or potatoes? Veg can be incredibly cheap!

Those people aren't really vegan then and never were. Yes, vegan meat alternatives, vegan chocolate etc is much more expensive but actually eating wholefoods is cheaper than meat usually. I made a saag aloo last night. Probably cost about £2 to make and fed 4 of us.

Like most diets, a vegan diet is only healthy when done properly. Technically you could be vegan and eat only chips and crisps. I think some people are just following the trend and kidding themselves that they're healthy because they're vegan when the majority of what they eat is still highly processed.

It's not news to anyone that being overweight is bad for you, it really isn't. Please don't add 'stupid' to 'greedy and lazy' to categorise all fat people.

And for the poster whose 16yo favours telling overweight people they'll die of a heart attack aged 35, is there a particular reason we should listen to a teenager's view on health policy? Congratulations on raising such a thoughtful, empathetic child with such incisive strategies! I'm sure that would sort things out immediately, because fat people have no idea of the negative outcomes whatsoever! And this is the only push they'll need to become much better people rather than morally deficient slobs. Well done that boy.

I can’t speak for others but I’m definitely getting fatter. A combination of poor mental health and a sedentary lifestyle has made me put on almost two stone, I’m now as heavy as I was mid pregnancy with DC3 and I don’t feel good for it. I know about nutrition and exercise and healthy eating, I just haven’t given a shit about it the last couple of years. Trying to get back in to the swing of it now but practically every person alive will go through swings like that where they give up on a healthy lifestyle for a period of time because it’s simply not what they’re in the mood for at that point in their lives.

Equating size with health isn't the right attitude.

I do understand where you are coming from to a certain extent, you can be overweight and actually very fit.
I am morbidly obese, I am very unfit, I am also rarely ill, have no allergies, take no regular medications, blood pressure fine, not diabetic according to last hba1c ( all of which I put down to luck and genetics rather than any effort on my part ) but I do know that if I don't make some significant changes soon, my size will have a direct negative impact on my health.

In countries where obesity is less prevalent (Japan, Korea, France) there is far more social stigma around being overweight and people won't be afraid to comment. People might not like it, but there is a correlation between the social stigma of being overweight and actually doing something about it, whether on an individual level (not eating that cake) or on a societal level (e.g. good school meals).

I'd also point out that when Jamie Oliver attempted to do something about poor nutrition in schools, he was vilified on here. If people can't cope with being called fat, and also don't want someone "judging" them for feeding their kids crap, then they get what they deserve.

@manontroppo you may have a valid point there. I’ve put on a couple of extra stone the last couple of years, society in general doesn’t shame those overweight in this country but my DD called me fat the other week and now I’m on a strict exercise regime again. Sometimes it takes for other people to point out that we’re not in the place we should be for us to notice, if there was a bigger concentrated effort by society in general to help those that are overweight then I doubt we’d reach the point we’re at with obesity in this country.

I’m fat, it’s shit. But modern life has made it easier and more acceptable to be fat. It’s down to lack of self control.

Anecdotal…

My daughter was lucky enough to attend a very good local authority nursery. They were very strict about lunches. Absolutely no crisps, sweets, biscuits etc. People would pack wholemeal sandwiches, carrot sticks, cucumber, apple slices. Or orange juice was allowed at lunch only. Everybody abided by it and the children, I am told, all ate their lunches.

My daughter then moved to the local Primary with many from that nursery. During her time in Reception, I worked briefly as a lunchtime supervisor. My daughter’s lunchbox was packed similarly to her nursery one. Many of the children from her nursery moved to Primary with her, and I saw their lunchboxes daily: white bread ham sandwiches, wagon-wheels, crisps, milkshakes, biscuits. Theses were the same children who had eaten a very different lunch the year before. The parents, as soon as allowed, had made a conscious decision to change the healthy lunches to unhealthy ones. The unhealthy lunches by the amount of branded food in them was almost certainly more expensive than the healthy ones. My daughter eventually got bullied for having ‘healthy food’. I allowed her to have a penguin-style biscuit in her lunchbox to try to ‘normalise’ her.

My daughter does eat sweets at home as treats. She has a normal life as far as I am concerned, but I expect 80% of her diet to be as healthy and unprocessed as possible. I don’t get the parents’ thinking. I just don’t get it.

Fermented point is interesting. My dad always made salad with vinegar (not basalmic proper vinegar).

I ate a lot of fermented food, especially kimchi until I realised I could smell it on my husband hours after he had eaten it. Brushing his teeth didn't work. Made me feel sick and paranoid I stank too!

Also, i thought i was a fat teen in the 90's- i was a size 12 which is basically an 8 now. I wouldnt wven be able to get the trousers over my (still size 12) knees now.

Well without knowing your size, that's meaningless.

If you're massively overweight then yes I could see people being fatter than you being an issue.

But if you're Teeny Tiny, then surely noticing everyone else is fatter than you is just, well, Tuesday.

We know how to change society so we're less fat (and it does need to be at a societal level), but we don't want to do it.

Government is actually trying to do it and people are actively protest against it.

Other countries have done it, but we seem determined to model ourselves on suburban America.

Batshit.

I work long hours across 7 days a week to maintain a basic tiny flat and car that's over a decade old. What little time I have is spent showering and getting into bed.

I eat ready meals, and don't have time or energy to exercise.

This is in addition to my PCOS that makes gaining weight as easy as breathing, and losing it complicated.

I was horrified to discover at the beginning of this year that I'd teetered over into clinical obesity. Only by 1lb but still! I was a size 14, I carried it well as a natural hourglass, I thought I was just a bit overweight. People kept telling me I didn't need to lose weight and I looked great if I ever brought up the desire to drop a few lbs.

You hear obesity and think the likes of Amberlynn Reid and Foodie Beauty, but really it's nowhere near that. I'm realising now how many people I see in a normal day who are probably also obese, but are so close to the average it's just seen as normal.

2.5 stone down, 2.5 to go!