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.

meilka - isn't that just another excuse an example of passing the buck?

What about Sacndinavians? Less daylight and far colder...but look at how they're generally lean.

I can always remember a really discomforting occurrence which happened a couple of years ago. DD was about 4 and wanted to go on a bouncy castle (but the type you have to climb up - more of a slide effect really). Another little girl of about the same age but triple the weight also went on it at the same time. DD leaped up to the top in the blink of an eye whereas the other little girl was puffing and panting like an elderly person with chronic airways disease... Needless to say as it was a lovely, sunny day we kept bumping into them in the locality and every time we saw them, she was eating something....

the weather isn't that bad in the uK a lot of countries have extremes of hot or cold or wind that makes going outside potentially fatal! but they still do most of the time (with proper equipement/cothing), 99% of the time what's the worst that's going to happen to you if you go outside in the uk in just an ordinary coat? you might get a bit damp! you're not likely to have a cow land on your head from extreme wind, or literally freeze to death or get fatally dehydrated from the heat!

YANBU.

I am overweight but in the process of losing it. DH is slim. My DCs are slim and I want them to stay that way. I have noticed very few overweight children at DCs primary school but see many overweight teens. I also see a lot of teens eating fried take away chicken - surely there is a link.

People are definitely bigger. I think it's partly we have made being overweight normal and snacking. I am sure we didn't snack so much when I was young. I couldn't agree more with Caitlin Moran's words in WestCoasts post.

He weather definitely doesn't help. In the summer we are all outside and barely feel like eating whereas in the winter, comfort eating is something I have to consciously fight against when it's cold and grey and drizzly outside and my body is covered up in woolies so I don't necessarily have the motivation to look good.

I think maybe there are more than I originally thought as DSs infant school, now I am picturing the classes there are probably 1 or 2 in each of the 5 classes so probably 10 children out of 130 altogether which is definitely more than when I was at school. I definitely remember there being either just 1 fat person (and not actually that overweight like the kids now) or none.

Loads of the children are thin and look fine-skinny to me, I think I have a fairly good grip on what is thin as with my problems I probably see people as being slightly 'fatter' than maybe they are (especially me).

i always notice this when watching tv progrmmes from the 70s and 80s; there's rarely anyone overweight, not even in the background

Icbeneg people will always talk weight issues and obesity. Always have, always will. You can't really do anything about that. If talking about it bothers people then the solution is to not put yourself in that category surely? Or read another thread?

I think alcohol is relevant here too - we have a binge culture here and I don't think people realise the incredible number of calories in alcohol. Absolutely no nutritional value either - at least a calorie-heavy bowl of white pasta would fill you up. Alcohol does nothing.

Just back from an AI in the Caribean. The majority of folk Canadian, US and Brits were very fit and toned. At a size 12, I felt quite porky in comparison. I was surprised at how good the US folk looked but think it's more a folk who are maybe educated, fairly well off look after themselves more. Have lived overseas as well and agree at how big everyone looked when I'd come home.

So true baglady a real treat for me is grilled veg with fish -yum!

CRISPS!!!
You are the only country in Europe to consume so much Crisps. You are the 10th fattest nation on the planet.

You friggin Brits just dont get it. You are hell bent on clinging to your entitlement to eat a pack of crisps a day, saying "it is only potato cooked in oil and some salt, and everything else I eat is healthy, so neeerrrrr- No difference."

People advocate the rights and health value to giving the following items in their childrens packet lunches, setting them up for a life of obesity:

• Sandwich item (usually white pasty bread with jam, chocolate spread/cheese spread or ham)
• Fruit Juice (High in sugar)
• Cheese strings (processed fat with dairy)
• Packet of Crisps (potato cooked in oil)
• Cake bar (No comment)
• Piece of Fruit (only healthy element, and the one item which justifies the rest, and which most likely ends up in the bin as opposed to a little tummy)

Idiots.

< prepares for flaming and deletion>

Everyone keeps saying we've lost touch with what a healthy weight is - I think that's probably true but how do we find out what is a healthy weight for our height? What is a reliable source of information on this?

Well, I think the BMI guidelines are fairly reasonable, hopkinette, unless you're a serious athlete.

I used to live in the Netherlands, and I'm sad to say that you could spot British tourists a mile off. They were always twice the size as everyone else.

I think heres's why: as a nation we do no exercise, we give ourselves too many "treats", we binge drink and obesity is contagious (seeing people fatter than you gives you licence to eat more).

Disclaimer: am a bit of a chubster myself.

I think misifnormation is a significant issue, or partial incomplete info.

Lots of Italy eats pasta, lives long time=pasta healthy=eat pasta.

Except the portions of pasta in the UK are HUGE. Even in people's homes, not just resturants. And it is drowing in sauce.

Somebody mentioned on another thread that the sensaltionalist media was an issue, and I agree.

They seem to be giving a lot of conflicting info like it was fact via the constant use of "scientists say"( as though there was a concensus and X was an undisputed fact). The food industy doesn't help by jumping on bandwagons and squeezing profit out of them as much as possible.

Maybe people pick and mix as suits in a state of confusion.

Ie I'll eat this (massive plate of ) pasta cos of the Italian thing, a large steak as a nod to the low carb thing, sweets and ice cream cos of the "all carbs are sugar so this is practically the same as a lentil" thing, that coke cos it is "sugar free", that tub of fake dairy stuff cos it is "fat and dairy free", that ready made dinner cos it has a green design and a "healthy choice" sticker on it, that pudding cos it has a green V on it and vegetarian is a healthy diet....and so on and so on and so on.

Maybe also the idea that you are picking a "healthy choices" cos the media/industry says so (sort of) leads to faux "virtue" which is then "cashed in" for something tasty and unhealthy cos despite having eaten far more than needed, much of it of dubious nutrional value, people feel they have been "good" and deprived themselves, so something "naughty" is called for ?

I think the above is a way maybe for people to sleep walk into a weight problem without realising what they are doing and why they are gaining weight.

Its interesting that one of the most successful diets out has been shown to be the Nine Inch Plate Diet. Even more interesting when you compare it with the fact that the single most effective way to loose weight has been repeatedly been shown to be through diet clubs which offer mutual support.

All in all, it does seem to suggest a 'normalisation' process and a social acceptability that is fuelling obesity.

The thing with Scandis is that their lifestyle is often much more outdoorsy than most Britts. In the summer they practically live outside. The often have a little boat and a hut in the mountains and spend time hunting and fishing and hiking.
In Denmark (the least rugged Scandi country) nursery children go nurseries ion the woods, and spend almost all thier time outdoors.
I think it's weird when people here wont go out in anything but sunshine.
If ds and I are out and about on a big walk/cycle, or at the playground, we only ever see dog walkers. Everyone else seems to look outside, and say "oh, it might rain" and goes back to the telly, or to the shopping centres.
I can appreciate that being poor does have something to do with lack of activity though. I have been poor for 6 years, and if I had more money we could find more interesting activities to do, but I can't stand being inside all day, even when its grim out.
I think all this "slobbing out" culture, with the slankets and people wearing pj's all day is quite pervasive. Ten years ago, if you never got properly dressed people would say you were depressed!

YANBU.

And you cannot blame this country's obesity on the weather FFS! There are many reasons, but the main one, in my opinion are the types of food on offer and their advertising.

I have noticed on MN that it is often the case that people can't be regarded as being responsible for their obesity or unclean house or whatever because of greed or laziness.

It's greedy to eat too much and it's lazy to never clean up.

Well, I think the BMI guidelines are fairly reasonable, hopkinette, unless you're a serious athlete.

Ah ok. I was just wondering if maybe the "official" idea of a healthy weight had possibly crept up over the years in the same way as popular perceptions of healthy weight have done.

Thunder - not I don't eat crap - I don't snack, I don't drink alcohol. I do have self respect - again this shows a complete lack of empathy and a load of assumptions.

Binful - it is 10 years since I was diagnosed - I was on metformin prior to ds and that helped to slow down weightgain - when hormones are involved it seriously impacts the ability to metabolise normally - in that 10 years the only way I have managed to lose weight is an hour of sweat inducing excercise a night - miss a couple of days and it goes back on. Since ds I have had this hernia and only moderate exercise does not cut it. I eat 3 meals a day and drink tea and water. I don't snack. My evening meal was a piece of veggie quiche and a load of boiled veg. I will next eat weetabix at breakfast.

But thanks for suggesting I'm lazy and stuffing my face.

"Ah ok. I was just wondering if maybe the "official" idea of a healthy weight had possibly crept up over the years in the same way as popular perceptions of healthy weight have done."

well dress sizes certainly have changed totally! I have the odd sentimental item of size 10/12 clothing that I kept from the 90s and they are teeny compaired to today's sizes!
So we can mindlessly creep it on and stay the same dress size and stay one of the slimmer ones of our peer group!
On here you often hear "size 12 is NOT fat!!".... well... yeah it's at least pushing that way, and in a lot of shops nowadays a 12 is rather big! a 12 even 10 years ago wasn't big but it was a different size then!

I agree with the OP - and I've really noticed it a lot in the past 5-10 years. When I was growing up (1970s) obesity was very rare. Now it's incredibly common, and even children and teenagers are getting fatter. I think it's mostly to do with junk food, and also the way that manufacturers are putting sugar into everything - wasn't there a programme a little while ago that talked about how manufacturers started to advertise stuff as "low-fat" and then compensated by filling the "low-fat" products with sugar? And I saw that Robert Lustig had a book out saying that eating sugar can inhibit the hormone that tells you you're full, so people just eat more and more of it.

I also think that bigger portions of everything are to blame - you no longer get little fairy cakes but these enormous cup cakes slathered in icing, or big chocolate muffins. People no longer have cups of tea when they go out but extra large coffees made with milk. Instead of an ordinary size bag of crisps you can buy a "grab bag" size or "bags for sharing" which presumably don't always get shared.

And then there's fizzy drinks, which are the biggest culprit of all. I have fond memories when I was a kid of drinking squash, which probably had all sorts of undesirable e-numbers, but on the other hand a glass of squash was mainly water, not sugar.