All this talk about obesity: when was the last time you were weighed by a medical person?

[Finnwood]

I know I must be missing something but ... we're always being told how fat and disgusting we Brits are. How do they know? How often are people weighed in an environment were these statistics will be passed on to the authorities?

But this isn’t about looking around- No one can determine the U.K. is the third fattest nation by “looking around” OP is asking- and I think it’s a very valid point- how they collect the same data to reach that conclusion

No, the "looking around" is how you can see for yourself that the scientific data must be pretty accurate. Some pretty clever people whose job it is to know these things have told you what they think, and you can use your eyes to confirm it for yourself.
Thought that was obvious!

at last nhs health check. 7lb off would not hurt. Which I did know. facts arent rude and only fools get upset at facts.

That just makes so sense. I’m sat in an office with 40 people. I would guess that 3 are obese. So my looking around doesn’t prove it at all. But maybe obese people don’t feature highly in my profession/ company/ location.

No one is denying brits are obese, simply asking where the data would be gathered from

And if you want to know where they get the info, why not look?
All I had to do was google the question, follow sensible links, and within 10 seconds I can see who has the data and how they get it and what they do with it....

www.who.int/gho/database/en/

Eh? What’s the link supposed to be telling me? It’s a link showing how the WHO gather All of their data. Where is the link to the obesity data gathering?

Thank you, @glintandglide - that's what I'm trying to work out. Yes, I can see there are lots of fat people around. How do they put us at the 3rd fattest country in Europe?

Who are they weighing - when, where and why?

And what’s more the reports I’ve googled don’t even specify the report wasn’t from
The WHO, they are quoting the OECD

I'm sorry, did you need spoon feeding? Do you not have the ability to navigate the site for yourself?

www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/overweight/en/

data.oecd.org/healthrisk/overweight-or-obese-population.htm

Soz - @RhymeswithOranges

I was weighed by a nurse a couple of weeks ago for my pre op assessment.

I've only been weighed for new contraceptive or booking in with the MW, so about 6 years ago. I rarely need to go to the GP anyway. I am clearly within the healthy range so they may just be able to tick a box by sight. (Being short, I have no hiding space and would clearly show excess weight and feel too heavy long before a BMI of 25)

Statistics aren't infalliable but there is overwhelming evidence from so many sources that too many people are carrying excess weight to the detriment of their health. There is an uneven distribution of where that is very apparent or seems removed from reality. I've taught in schools where most children have lean physiques because their parents have the time, money and inclination to care about healthy, active lifestyles and schools where the lean children are a clear minority because there are too many other pressures in life taking priority.

Winter you don’t know, that’s fine. I didn’t ask you to find out for me. It would’ve been better if you responded to such queries with knowledge where applicable and ignored the questions you don’t know the answer to. That’s what usually happens in discussions.

Doing some weird googling then getting stroppy is just bizarre.

2 months ago for my pill check , nurse also told me my bmi which she said was 22 and fine

Winter you don’t know, that’s fine. I didn’t ask you to find out for me. It would’ve been better if you responded to such queries with knowledge where applicable and ignored the questions you don’t know the answer to. That’s what usually happens in discussions.

I do know, and have provided you with the links. If you still don't understand, I can't really help you.

I’m sat in an office with 40 people. I would guess that 3 are obese. So my looking around doesn’t prove it at all

Like most people your perception of what obese is is most likely way off. Most think that to be obese a person must be huge, but thats not the case at all.

Let’s agree to ignore each other then

In the same report it said that the UK is drinking more, only just behind Poland and Latvia. i wondered if they'd taken into account the migration from Poland and Latvia. My area, in particular, now has a Polish or Latvian person in every street.

I get weighed every three Months. My obesity is because of my Health and medication.

I suppose that they take into account Women booking in Pregnancies etc, so 'healthy people', as well.

Our local University (Liverpool) is always conducting studies and asking for volunteers from the younger, healthy community and Bio-Bank is still going (which gathers statistics).

It's Health England. Their 2015 Survey used 8000 Adults.

The 2018 report gathered information from, Local Authorities, Regions, Clinical Commissioning Groups, Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships etc.

Taken into account were,
Obesity related hospital admissions.
Prescription items for the treatment of obesity.
Adult obesity prevalence.
Childhood obesity prevalence.
Physical activity levels among adults and children.
Diet among adults and children, including trends in purchases, and consumption of food and drink and energy intake.

If you want to ignore the answers to your questions, do so. Please stop asking them then?

Last autumn for a pre-op appointment.

Weighed - I can’t remember.
Asked for my weight - last year at my NHS health check.

Really quite often.

They weigh me almost every time I step in a Drs surgery.

Never got weighed before any of my many surgeries, anaesthetist would ask my height and weight and just go off that

Never got weighed by a GP ever, though a HCA weighed me at my over 35 health check (I thought I had at least until 40 for one of those!)

I was weighed at an NHS miscarriage clinic where I was taking part in clinical research, where they wanted presumably to capture multiple data points

My IVF was private so I was never weighed, but based on my self disclosed weight, my fertility consultant advised me to get my BMI up before starting treatment

An NHS clinic would have presumably weighed me as they have BMI limits for eligibility: they can refuse treatment if you're underweight as well as if you're very overweight

I’m on the pill and get weighed all the time. Assume loads of people do for medication.

I think the biggest problem for society is that we don't really understand what a healthy body shape and size is. One pp said at 5'6 and 13 stone, she wasn't obese - I'm sorry but with a bmi of nearly 30, you are (and I can say that as someone who has been that weight and size) Our portion sizes are completely out of control - once you realise how small they actually need to be, it becomes easy to see where we run in to trouble