Is it just me or are Londoners freakishly slim?

[manicinsomniac]

Not all of them obviously. And I don't mean that individuals are unusually thin. More than the population as a whole seems to be much thinner than the UK population in general.

I went in to London yesterday evening to meet a friend who was very late so I had lots of time to indulge my nosy, people watching habit (usually I just rush from A to B and don't look at anyone). And after a while it really struck me that almost everyone was slim.

So, now I'm wondering if it was a coincidental thing or not. And if not, then why is this?
Because so many people don't have or don't use a car?
Because, on average, the population of London is perhaps younger than the UK average?
Because, on average, Londoners are wealthier than the UK average?
Because so many artsy people whose weight/looks affect their jobs in some way live in London?
Because London is more multicultural than anywhere else and some ethnicities are genetically smaller and some cultures eat a different (better?) diet?

Or something else I haven't thought of.

I just thought it was interesting. Apologies if it really isn't!

i have just checked, and Southwark, Lambeth and tower Hamlets have the highest childhood obesity rates in the country.

I think it was because you were out in Central London on a Friday night. There would have been a high proportion of students and young office workers heading out to pubs and clubs. Then there would have been people going to restaurants and theatres, perhaps older than the clubbers, but more affluent than average. People you see hanging out in London on a Friday night are not representative of the 8 million people who identify themselves as Londoners. In fact most Londoners are not rich, so most people would be at home in the evening.

Freakishly thin? As opposed to freakishly fat...

Also, bizarrely, even though in London you are surrounded by food outlets, the fact that I am bone lazy means I don't snack. I work on the 10th floor of a big office block and have to go through 4 pass controlled barriers and down a lift to get out of the building to go and find food. Makes the 3pm bar of chocolate a pain in the ass to find so I don't bother.

'i have just checked, and Southwark, Lambeth and tower Hamlets have the highest childhood obesity rates in the country.'

Interesting Gertrude, on the study Jassy linked Tower Hamlets was one of the local authority areas in which less than half of the population was overweight. So the exact opposite to what you've found! I wonder if they didn't include children in their study.

Have you got a source Gertrude? I'd like to read it too.

Central London is very health conscious you constantly see people cycling and jogging everywhere. Not to mention everyone literally power walks everywhere.

i found it in a GLA report here

I have always thought this too on my visits to London. We live in a rural Shire and there are many overweght people from all economic backgrounds. When we visit London, we walk for miles even in between using the Tube, so have assumed that everyone else does the same. Where we live, people jump into the car to go to the shop 1/4 mile away to buy a newspaper or take the DCs to school. In our local town, people would rather drive around waiting for a space near to Tescos front door, than park in the bigger carpark which is a few yards further away (and still accessible with a trolley load of shopping) In fact, one local councillor said of parking in our area "if the people in this town could drive their cars down the isles of Tescos, they probably would".

I have recently visited New York (my 1st visit to the USA) and was surprised at how few overweight people I saw there - I assumed again that everyone walks, as you get nowhere fast by car/bus.

I walked so much when I lived in London.

To the tube/station - up and down steps - along tunnels.

Half the time it was easier/quicker just to walk to where I wanted to go, eg Kings Cross to Fleet St/ Strand. Ment I saw the more hidden bits of the city, like the grazing sheep.

That chart from the Telegraph doesn't surprise me at all.
Nor does Gertrudes info.

If you are in the centre of London, most people that you see are of normal weight - affluent workers on the whole, as madsometimes says.

If you are in one of the boroughs above, particularly in certain schools/areas, many children are overweight.

I suspect it's because people drive less. I live in a city (not London) and walk or cycle everywhere. I never understand people who want to live in the countryside because it means everything has to be done in the car and no doubts lead to a more sedentary lifestyle.

Tube stations are often a bit of a walk away.

When i work on Central London (sitting at desk all day) i meet my 10,000 Syria target on pedometer on my phone easily. That's just waddling to and from the train and tube. The food options are healthier, independant pages with soup and salad, chains like itsu and Pret. In the suburbs it chicken cottage and McDonald's.

I love in london and when I go back to my parent up north I really notice how many really fat people there are eg in town on the high street.

Probably a combination of wealth, educational status and a more active lifestyle maybe.

Unfortunately I've put on a little bit of weight since moving to london and have a squidgy love handle I've never had before! Far too much socialising involving eating and drinking in my case.

I notice this whenever I pop up to London (I live in Essex). The few overweight people that you do see tend to be men. In my home town there are a lot of visibly obese people, especially women, especially older people.
I think it's a combination of things - definitely a lot of walking, lots of lovely parks to exercise in, probably more money generally. Overall though I think it's part of maintaining a professional image. I think it's probably socially unacceptable and limiting to be noticeably overweight there.

I'd say it's both walking and that most people buy food as and when they need it more rather than doing a big 'weekly shop' because of more people not having cars/driving everywhere

That's a good point about the food options too, littleducks. If you're on an ok salary and working in central London it's so easy to be healthy, if you want to be. Healthy food shops two minutes from your office so you don't even have to think about making a healthy lunch, and a gym within 3 mins walk of your office so you can nip out on your lunch break.

So if you have the inclination and will happily spend £10 a day on food, you can be insanely health conscious despite working at a desk all day.

Most of the women in my office are like this - pilates at lunchtime, miso soup back at their desks...

It's a wealth thing.
You notice the opposite if you go to deprived areas of the country.

Freakishly thin? More like normal. I live in a leafy part of West London (high level of education and attainment, affluent). Obesity is low for both adults and children. People are health and diet conscious, and children are involved in multiple sports activities per week, on top of all the school sports they do. This is the norm in my area.

Shouldn't this be the way it should be ?

Most people who take the tube walk up the escalators and some of them are pretty long (very good way to burn calories)

I was thin when I lived in London. Walked everywhere, worked hard, partied harder. I'd go without dinner to get into my right jeans. More room for booze! I was in my 20s though... It's all elasticated waists now!

50% a wealth thing - as many others have pointed out, you don't see fat people in any great number in other expensive cities such as Manhattan, Milan or the central arrondisements of Paris. The other 50% is an image thing: Londoners do spend a lot of time and effort shopping and keeping up with everyone else. I visit my in-laws regularly in a small town in Yorkshire and am always taken aback by how overweight so many of the locals are.

I think people in London tend to be a healthy weight rather than freakishly thin though.

Tight jeans. Them were the days...

Walking everywhere is not exclusive to London.