To think most people don't believe their diet will have an impact on their health

[Notcontent]

This is just something I have been thinking about recently. There has been so much in the news about the damage sugar is doing to us, the number of people with type 2 diabetes is rising at a huge rate, more and more kids are becoming fat and having their teeth pulled out, etc.

And yet - I get the feeling most people think it's "nanny state rubbish". On mumsnet threads people always say "children need treats". I was talking to a work colleague about sugary drinks and her view was that water is too boring so she was quite happy for her kids to have juice and cordial with every meal and snack.

I am not sure what the solution is - maybe proper food and health education at schools.

I'm being facetious musketeers mummy. It is an interesting debate and not actually a straightforward issue as mrsdv says.

It just does irk me quite a lot when people assume that the reason people don't eat healthily is that they are stupid and need educating into the way of the righteous.

It's much more complicated than that :)

I think the rose tinted looking bad of the whole days is totally flawed. The British diet has always been poor.

In fact the demonisation of "fats" came about from American scientists using the UK as an example of extremely poor outcome (heart attacks and heart disease) to identify what was causing it and update advice to Americans on how to avoid it.

Theyincorrectly identified things like fried breakfasts as the main contributor.

People in this country have always enthusiastically embraced convenience food - smash, birds custard powder, lean cuisine. These foods have been in common use since the 50s. That's 70 years, pretty much.

Children aren't actually taught to cook at school or at home.
Sitting down for a family meal isn't as popular now - I don't think.
All this impacts.
I would be the size of a truck if my husband wasn't cooling peasant food all the time: various bean and pea soups, porridge, lentils etc.
he enjoys cooking hence it works otherwise I would just do sandwiches and oven chips. Awful.
As a result I would certainly argue it is cheaper to cook in big vats cheaply.

Excellent post mrs dv

I'm not certain that the key is to have mass education on nutrition. People can be educated up the wazoo and still not care - just look at Fanjo's comment that people can know all about cooking quick, healthy meals and still "not be arsed".

Countries who are bucking the trends of rising obesity are not doing so by improving nutrition education, but by maintaining their food cultures. France is an example of a country where childhood obesity is stable. No surprise as food is taken very seriously there, and snacking and convenience foods have not been embraced. Meals are eaten slowly and in a group with good quality, freshly prepared foods being expected.

I agree it's complicated. There is no one solution to any of this. People eat badly for a multitude of reasons. And I actually think most people know what's good and bad. But have convinced themselves why they can't do it or gone the opposite way and convinced themselves they are already doing it. I know many people who say "I eat really well I have no idea why I'm over weight"

Our sedentary lifestyles also really don't help the issue either. (Says she from the comfort of her sofa )

I have put on weight in the last 10 years,
I have been a mumsnetter for 10 years.

I blame the internet

Mostly, I blame mumsnet though.

Me too. . I don't reach for a salad when getting a roasting

absolutelynotfabulous - you ask what's changed since you & I grew up. The answer is we are all much much much richer, and can afford a lifestyle that is incredibly unhealthy. Having a car is now seen as a necessity, you don't even have to get off your arse to change the tv channel. You & I had sweets & fizzy drinks as a rare treat while today's kids have treats every day. I can drink as much wine as I like as it's cheap and I don't have to make a special trip to an off-licence just pick it up with the weekly shop. Etc etc etc

France is not maintaining food culture- they are just behind us and eg Ireland, the US. In 10 years they'll have the same problems. You can tell it's creeping through already. It's not trend bucking.

Dinoaursroar - your post of 9.12 is excellent. Though it does make me that I identify so much with the idea that food can be a guaranteed piece of happiness in the day.

Interesting that some posters have been saying that sweet foods bring "joy" and that they would not reach for a salad when upset/stressed. I think that this is one of the problems today. Having foods being associated with emotional implications is really part of the problem. Why shouldn't a salad bring joy and why would the solution to stress be to eat something?

It's always been that way

Mominatrix I wasn't being entirely serious.

I don't reach for anything if being roasted on MN except the off button :)

We are fatter because we don't smoke as older generations did.

I'm one of the (fairly rare) people who lost a significant amount of weight (about 15% of my body weight) and have since maintained the loss for years, and through two pregnancies.

What changed for me was complex, but it definitely involved not drinking calories, learning about sensible portion sizes (and that making me choose big portions of veg over small portions of other things) and learning not to be afraid of hunger.

But, I could only do this because I had a supportive husband and enough money / time / headspace to focus on it. After about a year, it became part of a new lifestyle and didn't take up much headspace, but initially I was almost obsessive about my food intake while I learnt what I needed to do to maintain my new weight.

Buckinbronco, the most recently produced stats show that France is the only European country where childhood obesity is flat. The government stepped in the 90s in ways which would not be acceptable here (regular mandatory weigh ins, tie ins with local government and schools). We'll see if this translates to lower fault obesity in the future.

That's true abraid. I think a lot of people forget we are MUCH healthier now than 50years ago. We live longer with a better quality life. The old days were awful for many people and not something we should aspire to go back to.

I suppose the point about stress is its a situation you feel powerless over. So you want to do something mood changing. A walk, a run, a, a chat with a friend. But mostly you're in the house with dcs to mind and stuff to do and it's dark outside and wet and... well, chocolate is just easy.

I believe the much vaunted slim French women are able to stay trim because they smoke.

It's that oral obsession--got to fulfil it one way or another self-soothe.

Childhood obesity has massively improved here. So you have a obses generation of kids who are say, 7 now, but the babies of today won't be obese to the same levels. NHS and government incentives have generally achieved this. There was a news story about it about 6 months ago but it didn't get anywhere near the attention it should've imo

Musketeers, do you not think that people might think Lloyd gross man pasta sauces are healthy? Or any sugary cereal that claims to be fortified with vitamins and minerals? Or a cereal bar that is "low fat"?

French women's attitude to food is frequently unhealthy from my observations - it's a far more sexist country and looks are far more important. I believe their rates of anorexia are high, as is smoking.