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).

Over 50% of our population are overweight. 50% of out population are not struggling to get to supermarkets. Yes,there are some areas where it is difficult to access a variety of fresh food, and yes they are generally poorer areas but it is not responsible for more than half the population being overweight.

Food and cooking are closely associated with social class here in the UK and in the USA too.

I have a very mixed social circle. My MC friends can all cook and are knowledgeable about food. All could easily host a three çourse dinner party with everything cooked from scratch. Conversely I have a friend who'd be described as WC...she told me she'd never cooked a piece of chicken that wasn't breaded.

Look how humous is often described as middle class or used as a middle class parody...quite often on these boards. I pay 65p for a tub of it in Lidl. Why on earth is it viewed as being middle class?

I've also noticed the car thing. You assume in the morning when the kids are thrown out the car usually late that the parents are then off too work hence the car.

Go pick up early for a drs appointment and there they all are. Sat in the car an hour before it closes just to be outside the school rather than a side street.

Why is the idea of walking five mins down the road so terrible you would leave the house over an hour before school starts just to avoid you or the kids having to walk nore than a few feet.

We live 4 and a bit miles away so no choice but to drive but there's no way all the obes on the cars are "outsiders"

And actually some of them make it very unsafe or very difficult for those who walk or cycle to do so....

Thanks for that info Birds, that's interesting. I said earlier I thought the issue was cars and not food, but I'm thinking about what you said about junk food being comforting, and it makes sense when you consider that if someone has a shit job/money worries/no cash for hobbies then very addictive types of food are an easy fix.
It's easy for priveledged people with fullfilled lives, in leafy areas with interesting leisure options to resist the lure and to not become addicted in the first place.
It's very patronising when people say "it's education". It's not. We all know crisps and doughnuts are bad for you.

Oh and I park at the park so I'm not outside the school.

Sat in the car an hour before it closes just to be outside the school rather than a side street

Noticed this too. I had to pick up my DC early as they were sick. It was 45 minutes before the school pick up time. The road was full of parents sitting in their cars. There is loads of parking on the side streets... literally a 2 minute walk! But they'd rather waste 45 minutes in their car than walk for a few minutes. It's just ridiculous.

My brother (68) is so thin, but his eating habits are to be desired sometimes, his wife tries i think, but he eats a lot of chocolate/ pies/stodge.
He is a gardener though, so burning it all off and fitter than me and was even thin when he had a desk job for years.

Yes. If you’re trapped in a shit job/relationship/situation that you can’t see your way out of then you take your comfort where you can. People with nice sorted lives often don’t see that.

"Also, that is for a 330ml can of Coke vs a 150ml portion of OJ. OJ is not sold in 150ml portions and the bottle you are drinking probably has at least 2 portions, if not more. The OJ you are drinking has more sugar." No that's not how percentages work.

I never said juices weren't high in sugar I said CONTRARY to the myth they're NOT as high in sugar as Coke and that sugar comes WITH high levels of nutrients. So not empty cals like Coke.

Maybe more PE is an answer but include all manor of sports and dance.
Aerobics, martial arts, weight lifting not just the usual team sports, rugby, football, hockey. Encourage playground games, football, rounders, skipping (can you still buy ropes).

I also note somebody commented that kids activities are normally once per week rather than twice.

Maybe we need after school carers to provide sports opportunities too.

The thing I keep coming back to is:

What has changed significantly enough to double obesity levels in 20 years?

Before then obesity was rare.

Weather? No
Poverty? No
Access to shops and supermarkets? No- if anything there are more big, medium and small supermarkets selling fruit, veg and meat than 20 years ago.
Cookery lessons? No - we didn't have them in 1980s and no YouTube then.
Healthy food availability? Maybe
Exercise? Probably- but kids in 1990s weren't super active (vs kids in 1950s-60s)

Snacking becoming an acceptable part of our culture? YES! Most people didn't constantly graze with fistfuls of junk pre-2000

Advertising of junk/ snacks? Yes - it is everywhere. Junk food companies make sure they sponsor sports and leisure events to subliminally link their products with health, youth and fun.

Availability of snacks/ junk? Yes- everywhere you go there is junk food and chocolate available at all times of day.

What's the answer?

Food is big business as we all have to eat.

we can do without alcohol and smoking and gambling, but you cant take away food and the selling of it.
its a tough call for any government to tackle. can you imagine the huge stores being told to not sell around a third of the ' bad aisles'
or be as restrictive as they are in France?

Kids today need energy and hydration.
When I went to school, we had milk mid-morning until it was stopped, water at lunchtime and that was it. I don't recall being hungry or thirsty.

" What has changed significantly enough to double obesity levels in 20 years? "

IMO, it is that children are no longer able to walk to school or spend the day on their bikes, like we used to. to be a 'good parent' these days, you are supposed to make your children sit indoors staring at a screen.
Their only exercise is supposed to be PE at school ( radically reduced now) or expensive 'clubs' which are monopolised by those who can pay upfront for a term's worth of lessons.

@Voguevvague, I'm a lone parent with not much budget but we manage. I try to stick to a few rules:

• all bread & pasta are wholemeal
• every meal is at least 30% fruit or veg. This week a fresh apricot or slice of melon with wholemeal toast for breakfast. Apricots are 6 for 49p so not expensive
• Water or s/s milk to drink
• at least 10 different veg in a week
• no pudding unless all the veg are eaten

All the fruit & veg goes through the checkout first so I can see what I spend on healthy stuff. I aim for 1/3 of cost being on fresh veg/fruit.

Jun - I'm inspired to plot the kids sights when I get home that's such a good idea to track it thanks

Yes. If you’re trapped in a shit job/relationship/situation that you can’t see your way out of then you take your comfort where you can. People with nice sorted lives often don’t see that.

But that hasn't changed in 20 years either- there have always been people in difficult circumstances needing comfort.

Why didn't that result in obesity 20 years ago?

also, looking back, we didn't have a huge range of exotic juices and soft drinks did we?

In fact you couldn't even get fresh orange juice in the 70s, let alone mango, pinapple, smoothies and so on that everyone is gulking down in vast quantities these days.

Also the coffee shops where you see women with vast vats of sugary milky coffee, with cream and chocolate on top with maybe a muffin to go with. People even get this stuff to suck at while they are walking down the street, like a breast substitute.

If I go to one of those places, I get a single espresso.

As a nation, we have become far too reliant on the car. As kids we used to walk 1.5 miles to school..or we'd run it if we were late. That kept us at a decent weight.
Yesterday, my kids and I walked the mile into town. Our neighbour spotted us as we started walking home and asked if we wanted a lift home as "it's such a long way for my little one to walk". He's 8...and the same age as her DD.

Kids are also scooting or biking to school, when in the past they would have walked. The speed they go at is not exercise, it's a gentle push and then glide at walking pace. This isn't helping keep them fit or maintain a weight.

@Graphista

Pret's freshly squeezed orange juice has 51g of sugar! Fruit juice doesn't even have much fibre in it because of the way it's produced, it's definitely not a healthy choice.

Yes. If you’re trapped in a shit job/relationship/situation that you can’t see your way out of then you take your comfort where you can. People with nice sorted lives often don’t see that

Again we have this argument that people overeat because they are unhappy

Lots of people are unhappy and eat healthily . I am not compassion free but this argument really frustrates me . It takes away responsibility

My DC’s are Uni age now so I’m probably out of date with school age habits but how often during a week do DC’s now have snacks? With mine it was on a Saturday unless there was a party, holiday or special occasion .

It's snacking in my opinion. Not just when we are out and about but at home and work. When I started work in the 80's there were no vending machines at the office, people might have brought cakes in on their birthday but now it's more common to just bring in something "that I baked last night". No coffee shop chains in the 80's. My mum didn't have cakes and biscuits in the house. We had three meals a day and that was it, sweets were a once a week treat that I spent my meagre pocket money on.

This does not apply to kids, but what about alcohol? When I was a kid in the 70s supermarkets didn’t sell it. You had to go to an off licence to get it. People drink at home far more while they are watching television.

I hate the poor people eat shit because they are poor and unhappy argument. It's a mind set. You can eat well and exercise whatever your financial constraints.