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.

Fuzzy, I'd forgotten about the Skry! I was trying to think of the name.
Isn't that what they're trying to push here at the moment?
(I bet it isn't made from the same ingredients if it is)

Why are people getting so sarcastic?

Believe me, once you leave the UK, one quickly realises how bad British food is - people at home eat pretty badly in general. And outside of London people spend so much time in their cars

British people dont actually eat very much in my opinion, but they are not active in their day to day lives and eat a lot of food which isnt nutricious, crisps, chocolate bars, microwave meals, frozen pizzas, Iceland sausages (well, anything from shops like Iceland) etc - and of course low fat and "diet"food which is all a huge con

British people also are susceptable to food fads and whatever the food industry wants to market at them next because there isnt much of a food tradition or culture. Here in Spain, people pretty much eat what their parents would have eaten 30 years ago, and even what their grandparents would have eaten 60 years ago. In the UK, food - like everything else is "fashionable" and people eat whatever has been pushed and promoted on TV, by celebrity chefs and at the point of sale

I don't think we really need to adopt the lifestyles of french/european people necessarily, just go back to some of our old lifestyle.
Obesity rates used to be very low in this country, therefore it isn't a matter of the european lifestyle being inherently better than the british lifestyle.

Jenen- the stuff they are selling over here is ok but not from Icelandic ingredients... There is an Icelandic company planning to roll out the proper stuff to the UK soon though.

I agree with you actually Mijas.
Some of the crap that British people eat is unbelivable! And so many of them seem to have had their taste buds surgically removed!

I used to be pretty fussy about what my kids ate, (eg normal food like fruit, veg, meat, bread) - my younger half sister practically accused me of child abuse when I would not buy 'Mini Chicken Kievs' for them! (processed factory shite)

She also thought that not buying a shop bought cake for birthday was 'mean'.

Lucky for me I have spent some time in Spain and Greece and know that the average British diet is really not so good.

British people dont actually eat very much in my opinion

Seriously?

Have you not been to a chip shop/restaurant/pub recently and seen the massive portions being served up?

Have you not walked through a busy shopping centre and seen the amount of people eating as they walk? The countless fast food shops that are always busy?

Just reading some threads on MN is eye watering when it comes to how much food many people consume.

But I think it's become so normalised now, that people forget what normal portion sizes used to look like.

WorraLiberty

I havent been to the UK recently over the past 3-4 years, but it couldnt have changed that much

But I can tell you that Spanish people eat a lot more - at mealtimes anyway. It blew my mind when I first moved over here. 3 source meals for lunch and dinner every day. Much better quality food though. Quality here is everything

Well if Spanish people eat a lot more, then no wonder their obesity rate is also climbing alarmingly fast.

And no, the amount of food many Brits consume hasn't particularly changed over the past 3-4 years.

Portion sizes were massive then and they're still massive now.

Spanish people might eat more at mealtimes, what with the 'menu al dia' and so on, but I do not think they are constantly grazing and snacking as we Brits have been persuaded to do. As Worra said about the shopping centres.
I am actually gobsmacked at just how many really fat people are waddling about my town. I dont mean a bit mumsy, I mean OBESE.

There was a report recently (I know, I should be able to tell you where) that concluded that we are eating fewer calories than during the war.

We're fatter because we do so much less exercise and drink so many calories

The thing that I can never quite understand is people who say Oh I don't like any fruit or veg. How is that possible and what on earth do they eat. Veg accounts for 3/4 of my evening meal in most cases with more through the day. With such a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and salad stuff being available how is it possible that people can not like any of it. I mean a carrot tastes nothing like broccoli or aubergine like cabbage. With so many different tastes and textures available how is it even possible not to like any of them

an article about it here

Exactly Maximise

The portion size argument is rubbish. I never find them too big and I am verging on underweight - but I play a lot of sport and am very active

People in the UK are snacking constantly and have too much processed food while snacking and in their main meals. A lot of this is because they feel hungry all the time because they are eating the wrong things! Too much sugar and not enough fat - and actually not enough quantity! Our stomachs are designed to need to feel satiated. Then we can go 4-5 hours without eating until the next meal

I agree restaurant portions can be huge but I agree with mijas - most people would be better having a bigger meal made from real food and no snacking.

When I was a child parents who let their children snack were considered a bit lax. Now we seem to have decided that no-one can go more than a hour or two without being fed and the nature of most snacks is high sugar, bad fat, processed food (in increasing portion sizes)

Our stomachs are designed to need to feel satiated. Then we can go 4-5 hours without eating until the next meal

Yes but the point is many people don't go 4-5 hours without eating again because they choose not to.

Read the threads about all the office workers who spend most of the day eating biscuits and cakes, despite having 3 meals per day.

Look at the people who won't go shopping without stopping at McDonalds/Starbucks/Greggs etc, despite having had lunch before leaving the house.

The people who don't watch a 1.5hr film at the cinema without a bucket of popcorn/nachos/sweets etc.

The amount of people who have had to replace the tin of 'family' chocolates 3 times by December 1st.

It's not all about need, much of it is about habit and greed.

With French friends in France
All very slim, adults & Kids.
My family are slim too. (I'm a size 8)
Breakfast is coffee,natural yoghurt. Fruit, maybe a piece of baguette (no butter) croissant 2-3 times a week max
Lunch
Often nothing. Maybe a salad, or an omelette. Never pudding. Usually a glass of wine
Dinner
Main course
Fish or chicken with salad
Maybe a risotto
Wine
Maybe cheese
Never pudding
Maybe a digestive like cognac or limoncello
Lots of walking, swimming etc
No snacks.
I think that's the thing snacking.
More calories can be consumed in snacks than in a main meal.

Yes I agree snacking is the thing.
I am not even sure it is that important WHAT your meals are, as long as you do not snack between them. Within reason of course.

I agree restaurant portions can be huge but I agree with mijas - most people would be better having a bigger meal made from real food and no snacking.

I agree with that. I do this now and I have lost a pile of weight. What I do is I try to eat a proper filling meal at meal time and not eat at other times. I think that people are keenly aware of the quality of food at meal times (so eating a lot then is pretty good) but will happily eat 150 grams of crisps at snack time.

I also think a losing battle is eating so little you are constantly hungry. A recipe for unhealthy snacking.

That's how I was brought up - decent (mostly potato based as it happens) filling meals, so then we didn't really snack on anything other than a bit of fruit.

It's still how I am now and how my kids are.

I don't eat breakfast (purely because I'm never hungry in the mornings) but I eat a decent lunch and dinner and I therefore rarely snack.

I love carb heavy meals too. That's probably what keeps me full.

Did snyone see the programme 'The Men Who Made Us Fat'? I think it was on the BBC a year or two ago. It looked at how the food production industry has contributed / caused rising levels of obesity in the U.S. and the UK. While the U.S. sections focused on the development of HFCS and other substances being added to foods and the 'supersize me' culture in places like McDs, the British sections identified the creation and normalising of snacking as the main way forward in the UK. Remember the Cadburys finger of fudge? That was one of the first snack foods marketed in the UK - high sugar, aimed at kids, trying to convince parents it's 'full of Cadbury goodness until it's time to eat'? (Showing my age here!)

"A finger of fudge/is just enough/to give your kids a treat/it's full of Cadbury goodness/and very small and neat/a finger of fudge/is just enough until it's time to eat."

Crumbs I am getting old too.

Here is said advert

People don't really snack because they're hungry. They snack because they've got into the habit and it's easy and convenient and probably to relieve boredom.
I suspect a lot of British people don't even know what hunger feels like (not just british people, tbh).

they feel hungry all the time because they are eating the wrong things! Too much sugar and not enough fat - and actually not enough quantity! Our stomachs are designed to need to feel satiated. Then we can go 4-5 hours without eating until the next meal

Exactly Mijas.
I have had arguments with my sister about this.
She is constantly either on diets or breaking diets and when she is on a diet, her main meals usually consists of lean, grilled meat or fish, plus a handful of limp, bland salad (usually out of a bag) - it never looks interesting or full of flavour.
She then wonders why she is hungry again about an hour later.
I've tried telling her she needs to eat more and include some fat in there somewhere, but she won't listen. She has been brainwashed into thinking that if you want to lose weight you have to cut down on fat.
And the cycle continues.

I think if we had some of the weather of the Europeans, we might not find it so difficult to join in with their eating and lifestyle choices .