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 don’t think there’s many excuses not to exercise.

Lots of people do make excuses. Building up muscle though exercise can improve bone conditions, the exercise doesn’t need to be extreme, no ones saying you should be doing ‘hit classes’ or running ten miles a day, swimming and aqua fit are examples of gentle controlled exercise which can be tailored to suit almost anyone, going for a short walk and basically moving more can build muscle and help control weight gain.

People need to eat to suit their life styles, if you sit in a office all day and do no exercise then you don’t need to consume as many calories as say someone who is on their feet all day and goes to the gym/run every day.

I know I consume too many calories, I’m not really gaining weight but I’m not losing it either, I’m quite active, I walk, swim, paddleboard but I also eat things that I shouldn’t, when I haven’t got time to cook I grab a take away, I know I’m lazy when it comes to making healthy meals and I need to start cooking more (I do like cooking but it’s a lot of hassle for one person). I can admit I’m at fault and I need to change my relationship with food. I do believer the only way to stay at a average weight and stay healthy is to exercise and to eat healthy food.

People need to stop making excuses, you can walk with children, you can swim with children, lots of parks now have outdoor gyms, exercise doesn’t cost money. I also don’t believe that unhealthy food is cheaper, it’s pretty easy to make a simple health meal for not much money.

On radio 2 yesterday afternoon Steve Wright had Michael Mosley on discussing weight loss. I think he said you have to run a marathon to use up 1800 calories - could be wrong about that but the basic premise was that the problem was food not lack of exercise.
link www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ldv2

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

You need to talk to NHS dieticians. This is definitely my odd.

Dd is vegan. In hospital she was offered a ham sandwich by a dietician who though it was vegan.

The person who can't use the gym because they have no childcare....Go for a walk with your child and consume less energy

So walking for a 1/2 mile at 1/2 mile per hour is going to get your exercise in.

My dc wouldn’t go in a pram or pushchair (Ds walked at 9 months)

A 30 minute walk I used to do with the dog could take 2 hours
A lot of it was walking very slowly or waiting whilst dc caught up or finished looking at a stone on the path.

My odd=not odd

In hospital she was offered a ham sandwich by a dietician who though it was vegan

No they didn't. If you're going to make shit up, at least try to make it vaguely credible.

So walking for a 1/2 mile at 1/2 mile per hour is going to get your exercise in

If that's your only chance at exercise, just do some star jumps while your kid is looking at a stone. It's not hard.

The incentive to eat better food and take exercise is a longer, more healthy & wealthy life.

I have struggled with my weight, but I can see that I only have myself to blame.

A bit of willpower and care is what it takes.

I do feel for people born into families who can't/don't eat/cook good healthy non-junk food. It's tough to change habits, but it can be done if you want to do it.

IMO the sugar tax has been a disaster, more cancer inducing chemicals added to our food/drink by removing sugar.

When I was over-weight I used to buy so much 'diet' food.
Now I'm slim I don't touch the stuff - it's so nasty and so far away from real nutritious food as you can get.

You need to talk to NHS dieticians. This is definitely my odd.

I have. Both of my kids were under the paediatric team including a dietician due to lactose intolerance (DD) / CMPI (DS). And, like I said, odd. I stand by that.

Some people are just too special

BarbaraofSeville

I am most certainly not making this up.

Dd had to explain that ham was not vegan because it was pig. She explained that she didn’t eat any animal products so was then offered an egg sandwich
When she explained that eggs came from chickens she was told she was too picky.

I agree, that's absolute BS that a registered dietician didn't know that ham was not vegan.

And not just one. 2 dietitians. One doesn't know ham is meat and second one doesn't know Weetabix have wheat.

Staplemaple

What can I say but it did happen.

In the next bed a woman who was allergic to Penicillin.

On the board behind her it said NO PENICILLIN.

She was given Penicillin.

At the end of the day, we are animals. When food is plentiful, we overeat. Eating something tasty makes us feel better?. Also food which is heavy in carbohydrates and sugar generally tastes better than food which is not as I guess when we are programmed to find such food tastier?? Rich people lead lives which are more stress free so they can divert more mental energy into controlling their diet, exercising etc. At the end of the day better to live in a country where there is child obesity than child malnutrition. Also think that food in UK is cheaper than food elsewhere.

I'm a 90kg bloke and I burned 4700 calories running a marathon.

I know people don’t believe that these things happened and people think it is made up.
A few friends are registered with the same doctors surgery. You only use it in an absolute emergency and even then you usually come away feeling like your time would have been spent more wisely either going private or sitting in A&E for 4 hours.

I won’t go into detail as for those who are with this surgery will surely recognise it.
But each doctor has their own response to anyone they see.

Unfortunately a dietician not knowing that Wheatabix contained wheat if you knew the surgery it wouldn’t seem so ridiculous

The dietician in hospital. Dd thought she might have been a member of the public helping out and calling herself a dietician She said she seemed pretty clueless in general .

My dietician suggested I eat tins of Heinz baked beans to help control my T2 diabetes. Yes, beans are good for you, but not in the form of a tin with added salt, sugar and other chemicals (colourings, preservatives, etc). Well, actually, she suggested beans on toast, so that adds in carb-laden bread into your diet, and Diabetics are told to reduce carbs!

I was in hospital for a week several years ago, the person next to me had been admitted after collapsing and was diagnosed as T1 diabetic. Two dieticians came to see her in different days and gave her completely conflicting advice - one told her to eat a low fat diet, don’t worry about sugar, the other told her the opposite. The patient didn’t speak very good English and the advice got repeated several times, so I wasn’t in any doubt.

I had gestational diabetes and saw a dietician twenty five years ago and she basically told me not to eat too much. It was woeful. I got admitted a few times with blood pressure issues and my meals were always unsuitable, when I asked they just said not to worry.

@DillonPanthersTexas

I'm a 90kg bloke and I burned 4700 calories running a marathon.

Good for you. I assume you got a medal, were you expecting another.

Food in general I find cheap in the U.K. (or I did last time I visited a couple of years ago). In Denmark obesity level for children, not sure about adults, but for kids it’s low. Maybe even the lowest in Europe. Anyway general food is probably double the cost, or more, than in the U.K. and there is no offers at all in the supermarkets. But the fruit and veg is very cheap in comparison- around the same cost as in the U.K. Food is a big cost for most people I imagine, especially processed or fast food, and it’s comparatively cheap to fill the DC up on fruit or veg. I agree it’s a big omission from the plan. There is room for improvement for sure.