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.

I'm not much of a drinker but have heard that the Japanese are phenomenal binge drinkers. I think you are right about the stream of sugar and sweeteners we are getting increasingly used to. I think someone earlier mentioned the volume of food we eat too...
We have lots of low calorie, low fat, low sugar options sold to us that encourage us to think it's what we are eating rather than the amount that is the problem. I think things like slimming world etc don't help either with the idea of free foods etc so that you can carry one eating as much as you like. Quantity is our real issue I think.

She's extremely tall so it may look as though she has less fat then she does.

The Japanese have a very low tolerance to alcohol, certainly saw that when I was there. There is a big after work drinking culture amongst the city workers but they can't actually drink very much at all

I would love to just eat Japanese food for a month! Yum

I think they just eat more veg and walk a lot more.

It's the constant stream of sugar that's really done the damage.
I agree, and the fact half of it is hidden I hate those junk foods in disguise as healthy treats.

I studied in France in my early 20s. I noticed that the students made healthier choices. In the canteen at lunchtime, people didn't make straight for the chips. Young men would choose a lunch that would probably be considered "girly" here - a plate of veg or salad as a starter. The portions were smaller. The vending machines had pieces of fruit in them. French bread in France is much less dense (and therefore less calorific) than the version we get in the UK. Lots more people smoked. And there was enormous pressure on women to stay thin. There was no encouragement from other women to have another biscuit or use food as a comfort. People didn't binge on beer and wine (although it was drunk). More people had spirits and it was very rare to see a French woman drunk, even at university parties.

So I would say it is due to a huge combination of factors.

I put on a lot of weight when I moved from Italy to the UK. I am trying to get back to the way I ate when I lived there. Luckily, most of the ingredients are readily available.

My Mum lived in Spain for a while and is Diabetic. When she went to the GP's she was shocked they didnt have the same level of care for Diabetics ie annual check, eye screening, foot check etc her GP just shrugged and said they didnt do that kind of thing as there were so many Diabetics, its so common there.

Mum said even the bread is sweet

I'm adopting a mix of Greek italian and French diets
Pasta
Meat with plenty of salad or veggies
Fish and sea food dishes
Wine
Olives
Coffee
Full afat Greek yogurt and honey
And every morning I have a croissant or pain or choc with lots and lots of fresh fruit.

I had a colonoscopy last week and apparently have a beautiful colon.
i do eat at the local indian and have choc and cakes but I never feel deprived and rarely snack as I feel satisfied.
I'd totally recommend

I think my post above may have been misconstrued , on the whole pasta would be a side dish/ starter never the main!

I also hate the "healthy breakfast bars". Why would you have biscuits for breakfast?!

"healthy breakfast bars" yeah right! might as well just eat spoonfuls of sugar for all the nutrition they have...

I agree its the amount of sugar in UK diets that's the problem rather than dairy.
Dairy is vilified but actually a diet low in dairy and high in fizzy drinks is going to lead to massive amounts of bone problems in later life for women.
Add in a lack of impact exercise such as walking/running and it gets worse.

Sugar is in everything low fat in the UK- all those low fat yoghurts are full of sugar but its hidden by "strawberry" etc to make it sound healthy.
Its a myth that you need to eat lots to put on weight, you can actually take in a lot of calories via drinks .
One fizzy drink, one latte and an orange juice per day is (140 cals Coke, 240 cals starbucks chai latte, 141 M&S orange juice )
Total of 281 cals and a massive 18 teaspoons of sugar right there!

I've lived elsewhere in Europe and there are definitely more snacky foods eaten on a regular basis in the UK. A bag of crisps with lunch, for example? It's easy to eat an extra 200-300 calories a day without even realising but it quickly adds up. Especially as most women don't need the recommended 2000 kcal a day.

I now eat butter, and full fat milk and cheese, bread with dinner.

Me too.
Since ditching semi-skinned and going onto full fat milk,plus I increasingcheese consumption and switching to butter instead of low fat spread, I have LOST weight!

I think the reason being - you feel more satisfied and fuller after eating real, non-reduced fat foods, so therefore are less likely to snack later on.

semi-skimmed.

I can't see how this would lead to an increase in pressure on girls to be slim. Whatever country you go to the most attractive/admired women are slim.

I'm pretty much the same switched to full fat milk,butter/olive oil etc I've lost weight while doing so.

I spent two weeks in Japan, last year; a short time but a lot of people. I saw big bowls of noodle soup and lots of fried food. Restaurants everywhere, with food served super-fast. Yet I saw only one overweight person while I was there.

But.

I never saw a Japanese person eating while walking, always siting down at a table.
Lots of walking due to public transport.
Chopsticks slow you down.
Colleagues who have lived/worked there or are married to a Japanese person confirm what I also suspected; there is consistently profound social disapproval of fatness. It's seen as symptomatic of slack attitudes and lack of self-control. In a society with a still high level of social conformity, when compared to many western countries, standing out is undesirable.

People in London are an awful lot slimmer than people in my neck of the woods!

I think it depends on what part of London you're talking about Light

I live in a London borough and we have a massive obesity problem here, especially amongst children.

Agree depends the suburbs are not the same as the centre.

We've lived in France for seven years now. I am from Scotland originally and when I go back I'm stunned at how overweight and ill so many people look these days. I notice it while watching CBeebies and CBBC with my kids - I cannot believe how many overweight children appear on the programmes.

Things that are different here...

No snacking. No choice at school dinners and no packed lunch option - either you have school dinner (typical set lunch would be carrot / lentil / beetroot salad starter, beef sauté stew plus veg, yoghurt / fruit compote dessert, water to drink) or you go home for lunch.

One big difference I notice is that all the crappy Poundland type shops selling rubbish processed food and multi packs of snack foods do not exist here.
I find it really depressing to go home tbh, and I really hope my kids absorb French ways of eating rather than British ones.

On a completely different note, my DS(16) went on a school trip to the South of France last year.

They visited a senior school while they were there, and he said they had designated smoking areas for pupils