Why are British kids fat?

[VogueVVague]

So time, two parents working, low budget/cost - all these things can result in ready meals being served up etc. but that still doesnt explain why, compared to the rest of Europe, our kids are the fattest.

So whats the reason?

Is it political?
Cultural?

Something must have changed for us and mot the rest of Europe in the past 50 years (doubt kids before 1960 were chunky).

What i mean is surely in the rest of europe there must be just as many low income families with two parents working/single parent.

So why are we different?

Processed crap is cheap and quick. Good food is perceived as expensive and complicated. Food is not respected in the UK.

Children get no exercise. They don’t play out. They go everywhere in cars. Dangers are hugely exaggerated so parents are paranoid.

Are we?

Just asking. I know that there is shocking childhood obesity but is that just in the UK or is it in the rest of Europe?

There isn’t the culture of nutritious, quick meals. There are so many cheap, quick meals which have proper food in them, but our society is losing the perspective with it.

You will find fat children in europe I don't think obesity is just a Brittish problem, personally I think constant snacking from toddlerhood and kids in and out of cars is part of the problem.

Marketing junk food to kids so they can use pester power to decide what the family eats.

If you are sat in front of a screen you tend to eat more than if you are outside running around.

Highly processed food being cheaper and quicker to make than fresh produce not helped by the dietary guidelines since the 1970s being completely shit.

The Tories sold off all the school playing fields and swimming pools.
The food poor people eat is more fattening.

Walk into your local convenience shop. What’s screaming at you? Plastic bottles of nuclear-coloured chemical/sugar drinks, enormous bags of crisps and chocolatey stuff. We are lazy and we have no will-power and so our children are the same.

They eat way too much sugar and don't do any exercise. It's really quite simple.

Because parents are scared to let their children feel even a bit “hungry”

We have a culture whereby pretty much every activity you do is in some way based around food and generally it’s not the healthiest of foods.

People aren’t taught how to cook a quick, easy, cheap nutritional meal. They aren’t taught how to meal plan or budget so they go for the quick option.

It’s such a complex area, but the current burying of heads in the sand isn’t going to help.

Loss of lots of manual jobs - hard physical work kept lots of people thin in the past.
Traditional British food is fattening - lots of carbs and fried food.
Cheap convenience food, which is much more established here as a cultural norm than in other European countries.
Lots of poor areas don't have shops that sell fresh food and even if they do then lots of people in poverty have inadequate cooking facilities and/or weren't raised to cook and eat fresh food.
Huge number of takeaways - particularly in poor areas.
Rotten weather for large portions of the year doesn't encourage people to get outside.
Lack of outdoor culture vs. somewhere like, say, Australia where being outside and doing sport for fun is an important part of their culture.
Schools sold off their playing fields.
Lack of nice outdoor space and play facilities in some areas.
Vicious cycle of overweight DC finding exercise hard/degrading/not being picked for teams leading to further hatred of exercise.
Being overweight is normal for a lot of families in a lot of areas. If you don't see yourself/your family as overweight you don't do anything about it.

After the war there was still rationing so things that were sugary were rare and veggies and meat , although scarce, were a bit more accessible. schools dinners at my school in the 70s rarely had any fatty foods, that all came in just as i was leaving school in the early 80s. it was meat and two veg, mash potato and traditional crumbles and custard for afters, water to drink. that was it.

My mum never bought any treats at all as standard.

then the chain restaurants started to pop up in towns - i didnt eat a mcdonalds until i was 21 and i didnt think much of it really.
eating out was a rare treat - once a year if you were lucky and the chippy was now and again.
food is big business now and eating out isnt seen as much of a treat or a rare event anymore. cinema;s had ice cream on sale and that was it when i was young , not all this acres of food places you see now selling everything under the sun!
I am overweight myself so i am not fat shaming, but it crept on in my mid to late 30s after children. My own fault, but a lot of it is the easy accessibility of food and more food than ever before on every street corner in my opinion.

I think the stay inside culture. Not everyone has access to outside. Fear maybe of letting kids run outside loose, and the ease of inside gaming and tv watching (plus damn good tv) where you can see the kids and and know they are safe. Just my guess and some of my personal experience.

I think extra curricular activities outside of school are pretty expensive and can be harder to get into because of waiting lists and demand being high (supply low). My random thoughts.

Snacks and sugar. I have lots of friends who give their kids biscuits throughout the day, plus sweets, etc. It seems like fruit is no longer the ‘go to’ for snacks! Convenience stores have a lot to answer for, too, with chocolates and sweets piled all around the check outs. Fast foods takeaways in close proximity to school gates are a problem. Also snack packet sizes are hige- so kids are buying huge ‘family’ packs instead of little packets of crisps, bisxuits and chocolates. There is a Tesco express by my local train station. In the morning the kids get off the train and buys all kinds of junk to feed them throughout the day. It’s depressing.

@Undercoverbanana
Maybe this is it. My SIL (French) will often just grill some fish or roast a piece of beef or buy a roast chicken and then she'll just serve it with some veg and the cooking juices and maybe bang a bottle of mayonnaise on the table. So its really quick for her and shw doesnt feel the need to make an actual named dish or produce gravy to go with it or anything, its just meat and veg shes stuck in the oven.
In the uk ive noticed we dont do that, we either do a proper roast or complicated dish like making a lasagne, or we go the other way and do frozen stuff.

I think the title of this thread is a bit inappropriate.

And it’s not only in British kids that are “overweight”

M&S ready meals. History will show that these have influenced our diets and choices over the last few decades. For this alone I hope M&S go under.

Fuck knows.

One of mine is fat because he eats compulsively and has no off-switch. That could be related to his autism but maybe not. Serving healthy meals and watching portion sizes hasn't worked brilliantly - he's 13 and I find it a real struggle to police his eating with the sort of vigilance needed to stop him taking in the extra 1000 calories a week that he's been consuming since he reached secondary age that have resulted in him now being overweight. He wasn't fat when I had more control over his eating at primary, but it's much, much harder to control now. Two extra biscuits here and there at my mums, a sneaky mars bar on the way back from school, a trip to the tuck shop for a patty after school lunch....

My dd is also overweight - same pattern: normal weight in primary, but piled it on in adolescence.

I really don't know the answer. We don't eat shite at home. We don't serve massive portions. We eat fresh, home cooked, portion controlled meals at home with plenty of vegetables etc. Kids have no access at home to fizzy drinks. Don't keep biscuits in the house. No 'snack drawer' full of crisps etc.

I get tired of all the stereotypes that kids who are overweight always have ignorant chip-shovelling parents at home.

Because they are overfed, under exercised and there is a huge culture of denial and blame shifting amongst parents.

Parents both working makes it harder, but PE once a week, pudding every day = madness! Add in parties all the time at weekend, homework from a young age, sports classes being expensive, and so many playdates with families who won't go to the park but will probably only play sitting down games (and eat junk food)... it's not easy if your child is naturally keen on food and less on exercise. I have one DD who is naturally very active and a picky eater and one who likes to sit down and to eat, and it can be hard to keep the youngest healthy.

Not enough movement in the main. Even primary school kids are sedentary the majority of the time, plus stodgy school meals before you even consider home diet.

@Undercoverbanana
Why specifically M&S??

My Ds2 whose 8 is classed as obese, however his age, height and weight are that of a 15 year old, his hands and head are that of a mature adult, and he’s in a size 8 shoe, his bike helmet we had to get in a medium adult, he less than 10 % body fat according to his paediatrician

Ds has been on the 100th centile since birth.

Is exceptionally active and fit and has a diet of mainly rootveg and protein (multiple allergies)

However he’s the child who would in the government obese stats if I have them permission.

I can’t speak of nationwide stats however in my area, I don’t see many obese children.

People working long hours (so that there isn't time to take them out when they get home)

Lack of outdoor space (including gardens and parks)

Lack of cheap/free places to go in bad weather 7 days per week. I really struggle with damp Sundays as I have a tiny house and there isn't anywhere near by for toddlers to go.

Food has become a lazy way to entertain/occupy kids.

Every meet up or activity or club etc wastes time they should be doing activity putting out and eating food. Often paid for by the parents. So parents pay for activity, they take turns in providing the snacks or all have to chip in a couple of quid for the food so almost paying twice....

When i was a kid we went home and played out til tea.

Now it's pick up armed with effectively another lunch . Kids 're just constantly fed