To think that the Obesity Epidemic is Exagerated and there IS no so-called epidemic.

[luvmetelly]

It's been on the news all morning about Obesity..

Where are all these morbidly obese people? I was out all morning, on a very busy high street and I came across only two people who I would class as obese.
Where do they get their facts and figures from?

Many people I know that are less affluent see cooking your own food as being poorer if that makes sense?
They would feel richer If they ate take aways every night and didnt have to peel spuds and carrots and cook their own food. 'Were not that poor, we can afford take aways, meals out and ready meals.' Ive also noticed that they are the ones who spend far more on their children for christmas. Loads of toys, tablets, games consoles etc. They save all year and get in debt. Maybe its because they dont want to be percieved as poor, a pride thing?
My grandmother looked down on me for breastfeeding as it was what poor women did...

Disclaimer: i often word things terribly on here so please dont think im judging or being a snob, just what I've noticed from my own experiences

As others have said we are just more used to seeing people overweight now meaning that it isn't noticed as much rather than people not being overweight.

I have dropped from a size 20 (and which point my BMI was morbidly obese) to a 10-12 I am still overweight, but when I am dressed it probably wouldn't shout out as an "isn't she fat" type thing but I still weigh more than I should ideally for my height.

We have a culture which revolves so much around food, and 'bad' food at that, and doesn't revolve enough around exercise so its no suprise we have a problem

I think food is just everywhere and therefore people eat it.

You can get fat on almost anything if you eat too much of it.

Snacks are everywhere . We unconsciously consume extremely calorific food - look at the calorie content of cappuccinos and lattes, go intoCosta and look at the calorie content of their snacks.
People just eat more than they used to.. But there's more of it about and it's a quite tasty.

HelloItsMe - so you have to be a certain weight before your allowed to complain about putting on weight?

I'm a size 10 and a couple of weeks ago I was nearly in tears that I had to leave for an appointment and couldn't do any of my trousers up. Didn't realise that feeling of "oh fuck I have put weight on" was only reserved for people of a certain size.

I agree, thebogqueen. There was a thread on this forum recently about childhood meals we hated. Liver, mince and onions, plain mashed potatoes. Most food was boring and didn't taste that nice. We ate because we were hungry and thats all there was. Nowadays we eat for pleasure.
I also agree about more people using the car. I've noticed on forums and in real life how little some people walk. To some people a mile is too far to walk, and they're bringing up their children with the same attitude.

Errr... they work out that there is an epidemic by calculating what proportion of the population have a BMI that is 'obese' or over. And it's going up very quickly. Check out Wikipedia 'Epidemiology of obesity'.

I was in a country over the summer where thinness is the norm, and it was very noticeable to me how much I have become conditioned to larger body shapes. I am not obese and would usually consider myself normal in the UK, but I was a heffer compared to most women there!! :) It has made me reconsider my diet.

There was a documentary about social history in the first half of the century and it was striking how much more active people were. Factory workers would have social nights which involved frenzied dancing fir hours, all ages.

I do think we have git used to people being fatter. I'm an M&S size 10 which is an absolute bloody joke as I am slightly overweight myself.

I grew up surrounded by knitting and dressmaking patterns. These were the standard sizes in the '70's listed as size, bust, waist and hips. Each measurement on the next size up was 2 inches larger.
At 5 foot 3 and weighing 8 stone, my stats were 33, 28, 35. I was just an ordinary size, definitely not seen as skinny. Thing is, these measurements have stuck with me, so nowadays if anyone says size whatever, these are what I still automatically think of.

10 = 32 - 24 - 34

12 = 34 - 26 - 36

14 = 36 - 28 - 38

Then I think anything over that was frumpy and was sourced in the Evans Outsize shop, yes, it was really called that. I can remember my Granny remarking on a family member being a "really big girl, 44 inch hips".

If you look at Victorian or Edwardian clothing, they seem to make the 1970's clothes look enormous in comparison.

These days apparently, the average woman's shape has changed to a thicker waistline. Perhaps now I'll be an average shape

I do think it would be a lot more helpful on threads like this and easier for comparison, if alongside height and weight and vanity size, people listed their bust/waist/hips measurements, although that may be a step too far, I'd not like to list mine right now

Don't forget food deserts. Where I live:

• nearest market is over an hour's drive away
• no independent grocers
• v expensive butchers
• farmers market runs once a month from 10 to 12 on a weekday (so if you work office hours you can't go) on a site accessible by car only, selling jaw-droppingly expensive stuff to tourists
• you need a car to get to Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Tesco
• we have 2 big, deprived housing estates - nearest food sources are takeaways and Spar-style convenience stores.
• Public transport is rare, unreliable and expensive. You need a car for work, leisure, etc as distances are long.

This lifestyle is conducive to obesity - you have to go against the grain if you don't want to put on weight.

I currently have a BMI of 30 and therefore borderline obese, and I'm a modern size 14-16.

We have definitely forgotten what a healthy weight is, and vanity sizing doesn't help.

Aldo, morbidly obese is a specific medical term and not just a metaphor for "really really fat".

The supposed costs associated with obesity that were on the news today are a complete nonsense, yet have been parroted by the media as if they are somehow accurate. The figure being quoted is 70% made up by 'lost productivity'. See here for a bit more analysis. I'm getting increasingly fed up with dubious statistics being used to try and modify peoples behaviour and introduce legislation (sugar tax etc).

It is PR from health campaigners who seem to think the answer to everything is more control over how we live.

OP - you asked the question earlier about height having anything to do with it...yes it does here is BMI calculator - to be used purely as an indicator. If you eat healthily and exercise regularly and have a waist measurement less than 31.5 inches then I wouldn't personally be too worried about being in the 'overweight' category.

My weight crept up pre-Dc when I had a job that was regularly demanding 10 hours at a desk ( badly run IT project) and I had an hour to hour an half commute each way via trains. I was coming home collapsing then ending up staying up late to feel like I had done something other than work all day. Lack of sleep been linked to being overweight as well - it messes with some of the hormones.

This is exactly my life. Since going back to work (stressful desk job/long car commute) I've gained 2 stone in 5 years. So I'm in the overweight statistics. My working hours just fit the school run with no time for the luxury of strolling a mile from home to school. Somehow I've got stuck in a completely unsustainable lifestyle.

However I did have the luxury of listening to Radio 4 on the way in this morning -didn't they say 30% overweight OR obese. I know from my dieting days that you can be a stone overweight and people are still saying "surely you don't need to be on a diet".

I agree on the inclusion of the productivity stats, but not on the point about government. Actually, if you want to rely on the tax-funded NHS for treatment for any obesity-related conditions you might get, it is the government's business what you eat (and the rest of society's business too). We are all linked together!!

I am not saying this as someone who is holier-than-thou: my habits are far from perfect! I just do believe the government has a right to encourage me to drink less, exercise more and eat better - and, you know what? When I follow their advice I do actually feel better physically.

And morbidly obese is defined as having a BMI over 40 - for context a 5ft 5" person would need to be just over 17stone to reach this BMI.

outofcontrol - I agree that it is, to some extent, the Government's business what we eat. Given this fact, I would like to see them doing more to regulate the food industry in terms of the crap they are selling people. As a pp said, it is consumption of processed food that has contributed hugely to this situation but all of the responsibility is being put on individuals to 'eat more healthily' but with limited education about what 'healthy' is or clear information on packaged food to tell people what is actually in it.

I was in a country over the summer where thinness is the norm, and it was very noticeable to me how much I have become conditioned to larger body shapes.

Outofcontrol, would that country have been Sweden? I've read that they're really into keeping fit over there and you rarely see an overweight person.
And that they actively encourage their girls at school that it's just as important to be fit as well as being of a healthy weight.

I can't remember where I read(or heard it) but it stuck in my mind.

Interesting BlankLook. I've always been a 10-12 and still would fit those for bust and hips, but would definitely have a size 14 waistline and then some on those measurements.

I'm slap in the middle of the 'healthy' weight range for my height but aware that most of the weight is now round the middle, exactly where it shouldn't be.

Sizing has really changed, as have perceptions: I have a size 14 skirt from thirty years ago. It still just fits me (slightly tight): but I am now a size 10-12. Yeah, right. I'm a 14 really, just like my mother was.

Yet I get told, 'Oh, look at you, you're so skinny!' I'm not skinny. I am carrying a good half a stone of flab (99% chocolate). If I mention that I am trying to shift that half stone, I get told, 'Now, don't go anorexic on us!' Fat chance of that given the chocolate habit

I come from a family with a strong history of Type II diabetes and bad knees. It's absolutely in my interests - and those of the NHS - to keep the weight off.

I'm morbidly obese and my waist is 29 inches.

People are different. I'm definitely one of those you would say was overweight rather than huge.

I don't know what this thread is on about. Only recent news stories I've heard are about costs of obesity, any obesity, not just morbid obesity.

And story is not exaggerated. Just go to public swimming pool, many people who have confidence to be seen there in spite of their several or more excess stone. So not including people deterred from swimming by their weight, there's Plenty of obesity about.

Half of all people in Sweden are overweight, with 1 in 10 classified as obese.

I went to Kefalonia in October half term. There was a Greek celebration day- the whole of the island was there. It was noticeable how slim the people were especially the younger women (20-40ish). When we returned home, the statistics were obvious - you do notice people who are obese and have a spare tyre or two. Go to a Mediterrean island and check out the locals then come back home and look round Sainsbos, tescos and Asda. Compare and contrast...

Of course its an epidemic.
Most people should be a normal weight, more and more people are shifting towards being fat.
I work in a HQ of a large company - at least 50% of people are carrying extra weight.
People work long hours, work further away from home - meaning they drive rather than walk to work. They get home later so drive to the shop for convenient food.
People who life in cities (London, Manchester, Birmingham) have better public transport/expensive parking so people walk a bit further meaning they look thinner.

I'm always been slim, and while my weight didn't change significantly between the ages of 15 and 30, I somehow went down 2 dress sizes over the years. It was very hard to finding clothing that fitted. M&S are one of the worst for vanity sizes - I wore size 8 clothes from M&S as maternity clothes.