To have come back from Lanzarote feeling geuinely shocked at how fat the British tourists were?

[Illgetmycoat]

I'm not talking slightly plump, I mean seriously, morbidly obese. A whole different race to the German, French and Spanish tourists.

What is going on? When did our country become like this? Whenever you heard a british accent, it would be accompanied by a 3ft wide backside. And whole families, too, all swollen to gargantuan size, with the poor kids unable to put their feet together because of the rolls of fat on their legs.

How has this happened? What the heck are the Brits feeding their children to get them so large? How can you feed an eight year old you love so much food that they become morbidly obese?

It can't just be blamed on poverty, because it's not cheap going to Lanzarote.

I was shocked.

I honestly don't think it's "recession".

I dont think it's a major factor- but it is a factor. When you want a treat, but you're skint, a chocolate bar is far more affordable than a pair of shoes or a mani/pedi. Takeaways and ready meals are cheaper than eating out, and often less healthy.

Whenever I see a large tourist in Australia, I automatically assume that they are either American or British. 98% of the time that is correct. Unfortunately, however, we seem to be going the same way .

I know this is not the done thing - but what happened to the thread about the OP who fed her daughter more food than the average 20st male?? I am very very nosey!

After this thread I felt it was in awfully poor taste to be a wind up but I was busy cooking dinner etc and when I went back it had gone with a very funny reason from MNHQ - something like - this has been deleted as it was

I think it's portion sizes that have got out if control (especially with junk food prompting us to eat more). 1 can of coke can be as much as 75p but you can often by 12 cans of coke for £3.99. So you buy 12. Bogof is a pain because you buy more than you want or need so you eat it or throw it away. You can't buy a small bag of crisps in a supermarket anymore only multipacks or an enormous 'sharing' pack. Crisps and chocolate all come in 'big eat' portions now. Things that used to be a treat have become everyday eats and they're in bigger sizes. It's often cheaper in dominos to buy large pizzas when you don't want large pizzas because of the various deals they have.

This is junk food obviously. But even with healthy, home cooked dinners often people get portion sizes totally wrong!

I agree with op theres a marked difference in weight from the rest of europe to us.

You can see is most when you visit the easten places like budapest, prague, etc. Girls there are tiny

I do think the location you chose wasnt the classiest, hence you noticed it more.

I am 11 stone and 5, 11 not overweight I never have been I would have to seriously stuff my face everyday to get my self overweight, and stay that way so it baffles me how the super large stay that way.

Not being funny but Lanzarote is pretty cheap and tacky as far as holiday resorts go, a lot of obese , low socio economic families will be there due to the all 'inclusives'

If you want classier people go somwhere classier, you sound like you're just having a pop at people who can't defend themselves tbh.

I think you are missing the point shotofexpresso. We tend to holiday in "classier" places and still find that most of the obese visitors are British. I am not fat bashing, just stating a fact.

you sound lovely shotofexpress

there are fat people in all socioeconomic groups. I live near a top university and the students seem to get fatter and fatter every year. there are plenty of wealthy middle aged people who are obese due to a love of good wine and olive oil.

Chandon It's true, Belgium is indeed home of trappist beers, pralines & the "inventor" of "French" fries. However, my 8 years living there tells me that pralines are a real "treat", not an every day consumption or something picked up in the newsagent. Fries would be a friday night takeaway type thing - and fries only, not fries and ... Beers - well I guess that's up to the consumer, but a whole lot less binge drinking.

Then there are of course the beautiful patisseries which sell works of art at the weekends. Each work of art being the size of a boiled egg and sold individually - not as one commentator pointed out - 16 for a pound in Tesco!

The Belgians I know do not snack between meals, they do not feel the need to purchase food "on the go" and are much more wary of processed crap. However, ready meals are starting to arrive on the shelves and the population will of course expand - or will the aisles expand to fill the population? :/

I was in the supermarket yesterday at school chucking out time. The secondary school is next door to the shop and it was swarming with youngsters buying "snacks".

There was a shocking number of fatties among the kids -and no, I'm not going to apologise for calling them that, these kids were fat, not "big", "well made", "plump" or anything else. Most, not all, were overweight and some of those were obese. I saw about 30 kids and about a third of them were double-take fat. This is a very mc, expensive spa town, so it isn't, in this case, a class or economic issue.

In most cases they were buying coke, crisps and huge bars of choc. Not one of them had fruit or even a sandwich. This can only go one way.

I'm not missing the point at all , but it is a fact that obesity is higher is more economically deprived families, I was just pointing out the OP seemed bitchy and judgmental.
I'm overweight myself, I'm not 'fat bashing'.

Fair enough Bunbaker, but I'm still guessing the Benidorms of the world have more.

I think the government can put as much advice out there and guidelines as possible and people will dig their heels in and insist on their rights. Once food like this is out there, it's out there. If they were dead serious about reducing this problem they would attempt the relevant legislation. But they won't because of business pressures and accusations of the nanny state.

Sadly you are right Ariel

I think the part of the problem lies in our refusal to call a spade a spade. Noone wants to use the F word - we skirt around it with euphemisms like heavy-boned, big-built, larger ladies, curvy girls etc etc. When I was pregnant in Paris I was weighed at every ante-natal appointment and severely berated for putting on more than the minuscule (can't remember the exact figure) permitted amount of weight. Likewise when I took the dcs for check-ups when they were babies the paediatrician wouldn't shy away from calling the fat while in Britain (and I know this from now now morbidly obese niece) they skirt around the issue with words like plump, chubby, well-made etc etc. We are getting fatter because we eat too much - it doesn't matter what it is it is a question of calories. None of my French friends are fat because they never eat between meals and none of the women drink.

Interestingly, when I took (skinny) DD to the doctor recently and was discussing with her that she was too skinny for school clothes, the doctor said that DD was the right weight and that most kids were overweight.

You are supposed to see a child's ribs.

Some Europeans do snack, but again it does tend to be formal eating. Also meal times tend to be adhered to, so there is more structure around eating. They do eat calorie dense food, but again the portion sizes are different.

I have to say though, portion sizes and food in Germany - getting huge. And I see a lot of obese Germans in the local area.

The Swiss colleagues in our office are amused by the Brits scoffing sandwiches and lunch infront of the monitor. Most if them wouldn't dream of eating in this way!

So a typical Swiss day according to my admin assistants would be:

Breakfast at 6.30-7.30 - usual cereal or muesli, bread, egg, ham etc
Most Swiss are in the office for 8am.
Znuni (literally means 9am snack - like our elevenses) 9am - coffee, croissant (gipfel), or fruit salad.
Lunch : midday. On the dot. Office empty. This is the main meal of the day. Children cone home, husbands come home if they can. You are entitled in your working hours to take 12-2 as lunch, as long as you work your full 8 hours each day. The staff restaurant usually serves a stroganoff, pasta, schnitzel. With side salad and bouillon to start. Some people then have a nap with the extra hour. office workers tend to take an hour. But they will always sit around a dining table to eat.
Znieri : (means 4pm snack) so could be coffee and cake (cafe mit kuchen), or fruit.
Dinner at 6-7pm typically would be quite light - bread, cheese, ham, salad etc.

If I take in a cake e.g. for birthday, they will take a slice and leave it for their allocated snack time. They don't snack at the desk, at these times they will go to the staff kitchen and sit for 15 minutes.

I think they generally view us as slightly gluttonous and wayward.

My hairdressers MIL eats one square of chocolate a week, and used to buy 3 pork chops to feed a family of five - two adults and three teens!

Thats loads of food every day.

I dont think I would move after eating all that.

@mrsbcuketxx i don't know about the swiss, but i imagine they have small portion sizes.

'side salad and bouillon to start.' is paractically zero calories and fills you up.

@dolomites My partners mother is Belgian and we go frequently. While they are certainly not 'fat' they are more sturdily built that the french or eastern europeans!

"but it is a fact that obesity is higher is more economically deprived families,"

if you visit the exact same chain of, say, Tescos, in a deprived area and an affluent area, the difference in stock is staggering! In the deprived area it's whole isles of fizzy drinks and massive freezer sections. In the affluent area there is more fresh food and less rubbish. Food wise there is a ghettoisation going on deliberately led by the chains.

Its not even about price because that would indicate a choice! The choice of stock itself is different. And people in the poorer areas are less likely to be in a position to vote with their feet (or 4x4s like the affluent areas, where they can "pop" here for their meat then "pop" there for their veg) and are confined to the shops in walking or one bus away distance.

There have been a few dismissive comments about Lanzarote.

Can I just stand up for it? It has an amazing creative history in Cesar Manrique, incredible sixties and sevenities architecture, unbelievable volcanic landscapes, unspoiled beaches down in the south and stunning caves in the north. All combined with sunshine in the winter.

It's not all 'cheap and tacky'. It's the best some of us can afford and it's pretty good.

"Thats loads of food every day"

it's less than what most brits eat. Yes their main meals might be smaller, but once you factor in the mindless eating that so many brits just don't count (or even notice/taste!) it's not a lot - its just not constant, it's condensed into meal times.

Incredible sixties and seventies architecture

Whatever floats your boat,

You can hire a self catering national trust cottage in the uk for much less somewhere nice and a spray tan.

You can't buy class