To wonder why we are getting so fat in this country

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I know it's been done before but lately I am really struggling to come to terms with the amount of overweight people there are. I have been really observant of late and can honestly say that even in the last 4 or 5 years people seem to be getting bigger and bigger. Why is this?

I have been to two different European cities in the last few weeks and can honestly say I struggled to find an overweight person walking about, I stayed in both cities for 3 days and got around a fair bit and really kept my eyes peeled and bar the odd person who might also have been travelling, I just couldn't see what I see in this country.

One interesting thing I noticed was the supermarkets and how different they are to ours. The fruit and vegetable sections are double in size in a supermarket smaller than ours over here. There are massive sections on fresh meat, fish, cheese etc and I couldn't find a "ready meal" or pre-packed sandwich anywhere. Crisps, biscuits are all very limited with limited flavours and styles and when you stand behind people in queues and observe their trolleys it's a completely different scenario to what you see in a local supermarket here.

I know a lot of people will come on and say there are plenty of overweight French, Italians, Spanish etc but I think this is delusional. I spent two weeks in Spain in the summer and was about 11 stone at 5' 7" so not exactly twiggy but felt huge in comparison to the European women and both myself and my friends really noticed that if there was an overweight woman/man/family about they were generally English.

I personally find it quite worrying.

Cooking from scratch £3.49 buying a frozen oven pizza £1
cooking from scratch £3.49 buying chips £1 fishfingers £1 and lasts 3 days.

Waitrose! Lol. There wasn't one within 50 miles till last year.

Also I give my kid that sort of thing and she hardly eats any of it. On Saturday I give her pizza/fish fingers etc and she eats all of it. If you're stuck at home all the time with no DC, no car, no prospects you cannot be arsed with the moaning I'm sure never mind the waste.

I meant I give her 'proper' food (lots of Waitrose too! And M&S) and she doesn't like it. She likes the stuff she gets at nursery or grandma's house, like toad in the hole or meat pie.

You can't feed 6 people for 3 days with a £1 bag of chips and £1 box of fishfingers..

Cooking from fresh is cheaper and healthier. If kids are exposed to only proper food from a young age they don't want to eat junk.

Ah didn't see it was for 6 people.

£1 bag of chips and £1 box of fishfingers would do one meal and come £1.49 cheaper though. You could even get a tin of value beans for 30p...

One of the problems I found, AlanMoore, is that when my kids were little (before they started school) I was the one responsible for feeding them pretty much every meal and snack. They got loads of variety, and would eat pretty much everything that was put in front of them. Once they started getting snacks and meals away from home they all went through a phase of moaning unless they had sausages, beans, chips, biscuits, sweets etc etc.

I'm not saying they had never had these things before, but they very quickly decided they preferred processed food with added sugar and salt when it was on offer regularly, and kicked off when given alternatives.

Dd1, who is now 7 has finally stopped moaning at me and eats well again. Dd2 who is 4 and has recently started to go and play at other peoples houses now regularly demands biscuits and crisps where a year ago she would have been after apples and strawberries.

I hate the moaning, (and the strops) but sometimes you just have to put up with it and feed them what you know is good for them. They won't go hungry for long.

MrsMinivers your post did make me laugh - thank you for that

Before getting so defensive please read my posts properly. My thread title clearly says why are WE getting so fat, therefore including myself in that. I also said I wasn't exactly twiggy myself. I am not criticising anyone just asking a question.

I agree with all the posters re Sugar, I too have tried to follow a sugar free (low Carb) diet for the last 2 years, I don't always manage it as have been eating a certain way for 42 years but I do try and can really notice the difference when I do. 2 years ago I was 13.3 and finally saw the light regarding diet drinks, diet foods, low fat etc. I lost 2stone 3 lbs and felt so much better, more energised, better hair, skin etc. My husband also lost 2 stone relatively easily. Now as soon as we step off that path and go back to our previous sugar/carb eating ways we gain weight and realise that reducing sugar should be a way of life not just a fad - it is hard though, very hard to change conditioning in the face of all the advertising, marketing and brain washing...

I do believe in time the whole "diet" industry, nutritionists, doctors etc will eventually catch up with what a lot have people have known for years but I think it is going to take years and years to get there particularly with sugar based foods being such a huge industry.

I think people need more education on how unhealthy sugar is. I know people on low fat diets who complain they can't shift weight and that they eat healthily. They eat loads of fruit and drink lots of fruit juice and smoothies which are sugar laden.

A lot of us are probably guilty of a too high fruit to veg ratio. Me included.

1 £1 box of fishfingers wouldnt do 6 people though would it? thats like 1 and 1/2 fishfingers each (most pack of 10)

so you would need prob 3 boxes depending on childrens ages:

2 adults - 8 fishfingers (4 each)
4 children - 12 fishfingers (3 each)

so fishfingers £3. chips £1-2. beans 50p =£4.50-5.50 (£1-2 MORE)

and i agree with the sugar. people by low fat yogurts for example thinking they are healthier. yes they have less natural fats in but they are full of sugar or sweetners

sorry meant 2 boxes not 3

I am leaning towards overweight because high-calorie food tastes good and I'm greedy and lazy. If I fancy a chocolate cookie I can hop in my car, drive to the supermarket and buy a pack for £1. I might also buy some cream crackers because I know I'll want something savoury after the sweet cookies. Then I'll jump back in my car, drive home and eat the lot. And no one says a word because they're all doing it too and I feel good because I'm not as fat as them. Et voila.

I've just bought 12 bags of buttons from the poundshop. I can get 4 sausage rolls from Cooplands for a £1 too.

I'm not overweight though I'm surprised with the amount of shit I eat

Iceland fishfingers are a pound for 12. 10 for 60p in asda so you could have 20 for £1.20. Bags of 24 fishfingers are £2 in iceland.

I wouldn't do 4 fishfingers each I would have 2.

Even when I do do fishfingers at home the dc only have 2 each and I would only have 2.

If crap food wasn't cheap poor people wouldn't buy it. People who live week to week on benefits/other end up paying more for less. So yes a huge bag of rice or pasta works out cheaper but not everyone has the money to stock up on rissotto rice and buy what they can.

And your assuming everyone can cook.

But everyone can cook. Many cant be bothered to try though.

All you need is a timer and a cook book

Lack of exercise and terrible diet in comparison with other European countries. Also we have become so used to seeing large people that it is now considered normal.

How can couscous with a few peppers in be regarded as a evening meal though? I would get a lot of faces here if I presented that with nothing else. As an accompaniment yes for sure but not a main meal. Everyone would be starving again within the hour and baying for meat!

Cooking is like everything else, it takes practice.
Some people have a talent for it, some people struggle to remain competent at the basics, but the vast majority of people could make a reasonable attempt at a standard meal (mince and tatties, spag. Bol, stew etc.) and get perfectly edible results if they wanted to. Saying 'I can't cook' is a cop-out.

As for 2 fishfingers each....

I don't even know why I'm defending this I get a F&V box and it works out every week at least £8 cheaper then asda's crap F&V and use it all up in stews soups currys and casseroles. I do make a chicken last 3 meals, but I can really see if your struggling and have a £5 to feed your family for 3 or 4 days how buying cheap crap will be all you can afford till payday.

I also like crap every now and again when I can't be bothered but it's not a every day let alone every week in my house.