To think if we eat and adopted some of the lifestyle of the europeans we would not be the fattest country in Europe.

[WonderWendy1]

I went on a med cruise two weeks ago we stopped in Portugal, Spain, South Of France and Italy.

I think of myself as a fairly fit size 12 (14 in some things). I would say i'm on the slimmer side in the Uk. I go to these european cities and the women (and men) are much slimmer then me and dh.

I was then in Paris for a few nights a week ago and I can only say my gosh nearly everywomen I saw had the legs of Taylor Swift.

Aibu to think we need to be doing what the europeans do to avoid becoming the American country of Europe.

The comment a couple of pages back about the UK favouring fake food/quick fixes reminded me - that new Weetabix breakfast drink thing... the advert was basically saying it was better to glug mushed up cereal and milk than an egg. It kind of represents the food industry, or at least the marketing, here as a whole... 'eat this fake crap, it's better than bothering to cook something yourself'

eat this fake crap, it's better than bothering to cook something yourself

it is better, better for their profits :(

Yep :( I can't believe now that I used to have stuff like those Special K bars - I mean I actually find them quite tasty, but they never filled me up. Now if I want a cereal bar, I choose it with the awareness that it's not a healthy alternative, it's a treat snack. Just like eating a chocolate bar. I also try and think the same way about juice and smoothies, they're a treat now (just like they were back in the day before my time thank you very much when you'd have it as a starter in a restaurant).

WW/SW and co must be sitting pretty, because they can so easily deny that they are hoping people will fail and return... they can just dismiss such concerns because of course they DO want people to lose weight in the first place...

And those bloody bars always come in multipacks Multipacks are something i REFUSE to buy.........for myself (DH does but i dont partake) I will never eat a Topic bar again....they only come in multipacks now.

If you split those with weight problems into two groups- those where it's more a side effect of mental health, and those who just need practical advice and support, they still won't be offered appropriate support. The first group won't get the counselling etc because treatment for mental health is a joke whatever your size or mh issue.
The second group who are more reliant on the diet industry won't get it either, it would be killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Spend 6 mnths supporting and educating someone, and then just be there for back up, they'll be equipped to help themselves. Sell them a silly gimmick about being slim, get them yo yo dieting and they're money for life.
Which realistically means tackling it alone, because when it comes down to it, then rightly or wrongly there isn't a current useful alternative.

Yy on the calorie dense supposedly healthy snacks. I used to throw them down my neck precisely for that reason, non filling, quick to eat but high in calories. Still do it now with granola bars sometimes, as does dd. It amazes me they are marketed to imply they are the healthier alternative to proper food.
The idea of a weetabix drink makes me heave though

Lurked a few years ago i heard of a support group for obese people called More Life. I dont know whether its still going. There was a local one here and it was helping both groups you mentioned. I dont know whether it still exists. It may not due to possible cutbacks.

I did WW 14 years ago and lost 3 stone in 6 months.
It was hard work but I did it.

Over the next 11 years I worked hard but 1 stone crept back on.

Then I saw the Michael Mosely programme and started 5:2 in August 2012
I also looked up and understood how TDEE works
thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/
since then I have found it easy to stay at my happy weight
and envisage Intermittent Fasting for the rest of my life as I enjoy it.

It costs nothing , involves no special products and has actually cut my family food bill quite a lot.

oh I loved those weetabix drinks, I used them instead of food in an emergency refuelling situation after long runs last year!

Weetabix in drink form

I still go to my SW classes but i never buy their HiFi bars. Packed with sugar.

We have just returned from Croatia. We were there for a week and the dcs had 1 ice cream. The sugary snack food we take for granted simply wasn't availible. To be fair we were off the beaten track, but IME even the tiniest British shop sells sweets, we ate in restaurants which didn't serve desert again unthinkable in the UK. We also barely saw an overweight or obese person. But they do love their beer and fags.