Government tackling obesity missing a key element

[HeeeeyDuggee]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53546151

Government have announced measures to tackle obesity

AIBU to think that although it’s all well and good banning buy 1 get 1 free and advertising before 21:00 what they really need to do is make fresh fruit and vegetables and good quality meat cheaper for people to buy.

It may be a regional thing but buying enough veg for the week here costs a fortune and it goes off within days. Where as you can buy a massive packet nuggets and chips for much less.

Pre covid it was bad enough for lots of families but given the ramifications on jobs and the economy I think lots more families will struggle to afford decent healthy food.

Ps not a fat persons bashing thread I myself am over weight

I met up with family friends over the weekend. They’ve always been an overweight family with both parents and teen dc were fairly overweight.
They have all lost so much weight during lockdown, it was amazing to see.
The parents were saying that lockdown gave them the mental space to be able to focus on healthier eating and exercise.
They were also shopping using click and collect so there wasn’t any impulse shopping, no half price or bogof deals on junk food that caught their eye.
They’ve all stopped snacking except on fruit and they have time to go for long walks every day.
It was very inspiring.

Late 50s, pretty fit, few age related niggles but reasonably healthy. Maintained a steady, lowish weight for years by being disciplined with eating/drinking all week, relaxing at weekends and briskly walking lots of miles every day.
Because of vulnerable loved ones and nervousness about getting out and about I’ve gained some weight over the past four months. Cracking on with it now, I was astonished at the increase in the number of people out exercising.
During a regular 3 hour early morning route, pre Covid, I would encounter maybe a dozen people, few walkers/runners, mostly dog walkers.
Last week (and this is from 5.30 am) I lost count of the number of people out exercising. All age groups, variety of methods but dozens and dozens and dozens. Bit of a shock for me, leaping about all over the place to avoid determined runners who won’t deviate from their path.
Can only be a good thing though, if this is repeated up and down the nation.
If people stick with it, it will be one of the only very positive things to come out of this awful situation.

If it was about calories in v calories out then there wouldn’t have been any need to adjust any daily diet or exercise routine.

Contrary to the MN laws of physics, it is about cal in cal out. The fact that body changes and so requires different amount and different exercise doesn't mean it's not about how much you put in and put out.
So yes. People get fat because they overeat. You can get fat on healthy food, you can get fat on crap food. Doesn't matter what you eat when it comes to size, but how much of it. What you eat is important when it comes to health.

Contrary to the MN laws of physics

The 4th Rule of Thermodynamics: If an uncomfortable dieting truth appears on MN than the physics of the known universe are suspended and personal anecdotes of eating only lettuce and gaining 3st in a week take precedence.

@DillonPanthersTexas

Contrary to the MN laws of physics

The 4th Rule of Thermodynamics: If an uncomfortable dieting truth appears on MN than the physics of the known universe are suspended and personal anecdotes of eating only lettuce and gaining 3st in a week take precedence.

It is brilliant isn’t it, I’m amazed by how many people are able to gain weight via photosynthesis 😂

They have all lost so much weight during lockdown, it was amazing to see.
The parents were saying that lockdown gave them the mental space to be able to focus on healthier eating and exercise

I think mental space is a big key to losing weight. Taking away the normal everyday mental load/stress and giving people the time to assess their lives and put in place a different way of life.
People have so much going on that adding up calories or thinking about trying to fit in time for exercise is just too much.

Our work life balance is screwed and added on top of that for a lot of people their wages without having to claim benefits (another source of stress filling out forms and making sure your employer pays you on the correct day other wise you lose your benefits for the month) are too low to live without financial stress. The constant juggling money and trying to work out who to pay and who you can leave for a few weeks and pay next pay day has become a way of life and without even thinking about it the stress factor is there

If someone not from UK reads these threads they must think 90% of population is destitute.

Totally agree with the last poster. There's no doubt that some of Britain's obesity problem is down to poverty. But there are a large amount of fat middle class people who have the skills, the equipment, the knowledge and the finances to eat well. But they choose not to.

@Oliversmumsarmy If stress = fat then everyone with a slightly rocky life would be fat but that's not the case.

I've had my fair share of crap in my life;
Carer for my paranoid schizophrenic, addict mother
Held my mother in my arms as she died in traumatic circumstances
I'm a single parent with 0 support after fleeing horrific DV
Have been dirt poor whilst working 2 jobs to keep a roof over our head, pay the bills..
Suffer from incredibly painful chronic conditions

Thankfully an incredible streak of luck ended all my money problems but I'm not fat, never have been. In fact I'm the opposite end of the spectrum.

There has to be some accountability. Whilst there could be several contributing factors, eating too much and not moving enough will always be one of them.

To be fair, the UK is one of the worst countries in Europe for food insecurity , at 20%. Only Romania, Bulgaria and Lithuania are worse.

@06TinkersTailor If stress = fat then everyone with a slightly rocky life would be fat but that's not the case

Stress can either make you gain (due to comfort eating) or loose weight (due to loss of appetite). For you I assume it made you loose weight, but that doesn't mean that happens to everyone else.

@keiratwiceknightly

Totally agree with the last poster. There's no doubt that some of Britain's obesity problem is down to poverty. But there are a large amount of fat middle class people who have the skills, the equipment, the knowledge and the finances to eat well. But they choose not to.

Yes, I think the "poverty" card is being over-played. Yes, I'm sure some people live in "food deserts" with only a convenience store with limited options, but the vast majority have access to "proper" supermarkets, either by living close, via public transport, or by car ownership.

And even corner shops will often cater to the local demographics - if they don't have a good range of fresh fruit & veg it's more likely to be that their customers simply don't want to buy it.

We have two Spars in our village (at each end). Both owned by the same people, but what they sell is VERY different. One is the fags, booze, ready meals and crisps type of corner shop - the other is the opposite with loads of fresh fruit & veg, chillers with meat/fish etc. Both are easily walkable for most of the residents, but it's clear the one concentrating on fags, booze and crap food is the more popular.

@Kpo58 No, it didn't change my weight at all. I've always been at the lower end of the scale.
It's not just me either. Modern life is hard for most people.

Whilst it's not the entirety of the issue, we must be accountable for what (and how much of it) we put into our bodies.

Whilst it's not the entirety of the issue, we must be accountable for what (and how much of it) we put into our bodies

But what if you are being careful and the weight isn’t coming off.

If you're eating carefully and exercising and it's not coming off/piling on then that's when health investigations need to come into it.

The amount of people (without medical conditions, not on medication...) who put on/can't lose weight whilst eating better, smaller amounts and exercising is probably equivalent to the portion of the population that are in food deserts, have no access appliances and are unable to afford decent, healthy food.

Re all the people out exercising - gyms and sports clubs were all shut and there was no football or rugby training etc.

So while it would be great if it turns out to be a huge increase in exercise, I suspect most of these people are active anyway.

I have to confess that from my observations down the gym there is a sizable minority of folk who don't really do very much when they are there. Just mooching around between equipment for 25 mins before hitting the showers. Yep, they might be in the gym but they are not exercising or raising their heart rate.

Interestingly, in my 30s, I got into a health and fitness thing.

I religiously went to the gym 3 times a week to actual classes so no 'wandering around between machines' for 25 mins. Weights and aerobics.

I cycled 8 miles return to work; I didn't snack, I watched what I ate.

In 8 months, I was fitter. End of. My vitals remained the same, same clothes size, everything. I started a bit overweight for my height, I ended up a bit overweight for my height.

I tried really hard but it really appeared to have made no difference to me! It was rather disheartening, especially as my partner did it all with me and lost weight and toned up.

It isn't always so very straight forward!

Interestingly, in my 30s, I got into a health and fitness thing.

I religiously went to the gym 3 times a week to actual classes so no 'wandering around between machines' for 25 mins. Weights and aerobics.

I cycled 8 miles return to work; I didn't snack, I watched what I ate.

In 8 months, I was fitter. End of. My vitals remained the same, same clothes size, everything. I started a bit overweight for my height, I ended up a bit overweight for my height.

I triedreally hardbut it really appeared to have madeno differenceto me! It was rather disheartening, especially as my partner did it all with me and lost weight and toned up.

Itisn'talways so very straight forward!

I would guess there may have been something wrong with your diet. It's almost impossible to bypass bodily function unless you have some manner of serious illness. It's like saying you can drink two bottles of vodka and remain sober.

Maybe you had more muscle underneath than you realised, or maybe you didn't eat enough protein. Or you may have had some water retention which made you look puffier than you were. I'd be surprised if it was hormonal. My partner had the hormonal profile of an 85yo before he was diagnosed and treated, and although it was harder to lose fat/build muscle, his body still changed when he exercised hard for months or didn't.

If someone not from UK reads these threads they must think 90% of population is destitute.

I imagine it would be somewhat perverse for an individual regularly struggling to feed their family to hear a load of people complaining that they wish they could stop eating far too much.

The reason people eat food that is bad for them is multi faceted, but I believe a big part of it is the sensory/emotional reward you get when you eat foods with a certain fat to carb/sugar ratio. Michael Moseley talks about it in his books (Fast 800, etc) as did the Atkins guy, whose name escapes me. Apparently this ratio mimics the composition of breat milk and is something we will seek out.

Very few ppl would binge on apples, for eg, but that pack of biscuits can be eaten in one sitting without even realising, and give you an emotional boost too.

It's hard to describe, but the satisfaction you get from eating foods with this ratio is pleasurable, which makes you feel good temporarily.

I was morbidly obese for years (BMI around 47) and most of my reasons for overeating were psychological & I knew what I should be eating/doing but the temporary buzz I got from bad food choices was a stronger pull than anything else.

It's a vicious cycle, and one that is very hard to break.
Although my bmi is now around 26/27 & I've gone from size 26/28 to a size 12/14, I've fucked up my metabolism in the process and psycologically I've not really changed my mindset as if I do eat those kind of foods I still get that immediate buzz.
Difference is I can now manage to avoid eating them 99% of the time and just eat much less in general, but I had major bariatric surgery to help me, and although I still have to choose what to put into my mouth every day, that surgery gave me about 2 years head start as it reset my relationship with food, meant I could eat very little at first (although you could still liquidate the wrong things if you really wanted to), and did change some of my tastes.

8 years on it is much more about my willpower now though as I could easily overeat by grazing all day and allow the weight to creep back up.

If you're eating carefully and exercising and it's not coming off/piling on then that's when health investigations need to come into it

You mentioned “and exercising”. What if you can’t through arthritis and a crumbling back. Does that mean I can stick to any diet in the world and the weight won’t come off.

I have visited the gp on many occasions and all you get is that food pyramid thing shown to you and told if you cut out cakes and doughnuts then the weight would come off.

I have never eaten a doughnut in my life and I can’t remember when I last had cake (probably school dinners where you had to eat what was in front of you)

That is as far as it got with the gp.

Told to go to the dietitian who didn’t know Wheatabix contained Wheat.
Completely useless as I couldn’t manage to eat all of the diet and if I had done I would have put on weight.

You mentioned “and exercising”. What if you can’t through arthritis and a crumbling back. Does that mean I can stick to any diet in the world and the weight won’t come off.

In that case you should work out your TDEE and eat below that level of calories to lose weight. If this tips you into a VLCD then you should seek medical advice before starting on this type of diet.

A dietician didn't know that Weetabix has wheat in it? Bit odd.

Lot of excuses on here.

The person who can't use the gym because they have no childcare....Go for a walk with your child and consume less energy. Why do you need the gym to lose weight?

Some (obviously not all) people with arthritis can do weight training. Something to consider for those who are physically incapacitated.