NHS costs attributable to overweight and obesity are projected to reach £9.7 billion by 2050

[hellymissy]

So many posters keep banging on about people not wearing masks, spreading the virus and overwhelming the nhs, people breaking rules etc which is obviously an issue - but we also need to focus on some bigger issues around the long and short term sustainability of the NHS a d consider ways to fix them.

Extracts from government website shows that;

“UK and international evidence suggests that being severely overweight puts people at greater risk of hospitalisation, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission and death from COVID-19, with risk growing substantially as body mass index (BMI) increases.

The current evidence does not suggest that having excess weight increases people’s chances of contracting COVID-19. However, the data does show that obese people are significantly more likely to become seriously ill and be admitted to intensive care with COVID-19 compared to those with a healthy BMI.

The UK-wide NHS costs attributable to overweight and obesity are projected to reach £9.7 billion by 2050, with wider costs to society estimated to reach £49.9 billion per year.”

If anything will cripple the NHS it’s the direct and indirect impact of obesity on ICU units, and long term pressure obesity puts on the NHS.

Seriously, What else can we do to tackle obesity?

**this is NOT a fat shaming thread, purely a thread to redirect some peoples attention towards some of the real issues around COVID

Finally. Why do I mention the increased cost of pensions and social care (if everybody is super healthy and lives longer)?

Because the OP firmly links obesity with cost. They can't write about the cost to the taxpayer of obesity without also looking at the cost to the taxpayer of everyone living longer.

@SheepandCow

Don't stress it. The aggression says way more about PP than the fat people they hate.

If it keeps people like that away then being fat has one advantage. There have been some really useful posts however, so I am glad I read the thread.

You're right @chickenyhead

It's even harder than weight to change personality.

I hope things can better for you. It's not at all easy.

God you are ridiculous.

I prefer eccentric but ridiculous will do.
Have some For free. It's on me.

'They've explained the reasons behind their obesity - reasons including physical health conditions, medication, trauma, emotional distress and pain, and also the vicious circle of feeling so depressed about being overweight that they need to comfort eat.'

Yes that's my point. No honesty, no 'do you know what? I eat far too much, I'm obese but I couldn't care less or certainly not enough to do anything about it, I prefer playing the victim'. I would guess, anecdotally, this applies to 95% of over overeaters.

As an aside I really do not 'hate' fat people at all I just wish they'd try to do something about it rather than blaming everything on your list.

@SheepandCow

a lot of it is mindset and lack of motivation

And even more of it is poverty and inability to afford a healthy diet of variety and fresh unprocessed food - with limited or no access to cooking and storage facilities.

The NHS bears a lot of the blame too.
Far too many people gain weight because of being left with limited mobility whilst on long waiting lists for diagnoses and treatment. (I'm talking about in 'normal' pre pandemic times).

It's the Government that is to blame for long waiting lists. Not the NHS.

To an extent, I think it's better to go through life with an eat, drink, and be merry attitude, rather than a life of misery, denial, and judgment

Yes.

I consider it a great luxury in life to be able to eat exactly what I want. I enjoy food and it is not a source of.misery to me

I dont want a life of denial of one of my greatest pleasures.

This doesnt make me a bad person.

(From a poster who is an advocate for bariatric surgery)

Then you have not looked at all the research and long term studies. and your attitude is one of the reasons people feel embarrassed to approach their GPS about Surgery

If I had a heart problem I wouldn't think twice about having heart surgery if it were going to save my life and make me healthier!

You tell us that you had a weight problem before having most of your stomach irreversibly removed. It’s hardly surprising that you would be an enthusiastic supporter of weight loss surgery.

Did you bring the ‘wouldn’t think twice about something that was going to make me healthier’ attitude to your lifestyle when you were gaining weight? I am genuinely curious.

You say that your weight gain was a consequence of an under-active thyroid and anti-depressants. Let’s say for the sake of the argument that that makes you a special case and that you couldn’t have lost the weight whatever you tried.

Do you think that the same principle applies to everyone, including those without the same medical problems as you and have gained weight through bad diet and no exercise? E.g. “I don’t like exercise but I love eating a tub of Quality Street in front of the TV every night”: cut the stomach away, it will make you healthier! “I don’t much fancy cooking vegetables or boring stuff but I’ll eat a KFC bucket each night because I like the taste”: cut the stomach away!

I find that scary. That anybody can be so fond of their eating habits that the only way they can control themselves is by undergoing major surgery to make their stomach so small that they can’t physically swallow the volume of food they would like to eat, without vomiting.

@GetOffYourHighHorse

Are you seriously suggesting losing weight is just a matter of wanting it enough?!!!! Stunning. Really stunning

Can you share anything that proves that damning indictment?

No, she is saying that there must be a significant number of people who simply eat too much and who can’t excuse it with poverty/mental or physical health problems.

And that we stand no chance of addressing obesity without being honest about its causes.

@GreenlandTheMovie

Haenow We do need to explore, why, as a society this is happening. However, I always smile at the comments about how it’s socially acceptable in other countries or cultures to outright tell someone they are overweight. What’s the point?! The 5ft 4 woman who is 15 stone knows she’s not a size 6 with a washboard stomach. Do you really think very overweight or obese people think of themselves as fragile little waifs? grin There will be the minority who don’t notice they’ve gained half a stone over lockdown but most adults very much realise when their trousers are feeling a bit snug!

The point is I think that people in society look out for each other and they sort of think its a good thing to make someone aware if they are gaining weight. But in The Netherlands, total strangers will say it e g in a changing room or at a social meet up, if they get talking to you. I've also had a couple of people from non-European cultures say it to me too and to be honest, it was quite helpful as I'm slimmer than I was when I was younger and those sort of remarks helped me wake up to the fact that I could look better (and I was never very overweight, maybe 1 - 1/12 stones over my ideal, but I'm short so I don't carry it well).

I'm not sure it would be said to a person who weighs 15 stones so much. It depends on context. But different countries with different cultures exist, Britain isn't the only country in the world!

@GreenlandTheMovie

Obviously I’m aware there are other countries and cultures. However, this thread is about rising rates in Britain and I still don’t think being told I’ve put on a few by a random is a serious solution to the problem. Just my opinion!

@GetOffYourHighHorse

That is YOU.

Food doesn't even taste nice after the first few bites, you start eating it and it is a flavour sensation, but 5 bites in and it starts becoming bland. And cheap shit processed food doesn't even taste very nice to begin with. You can almost taste the preservatives.

Don't tar everyone with your brush and I won't with mine.

I'm going to take the advice of the PP who is getting her husband off of that particular drug, which I have put on a stone a year with, and I am going to insist on different antidepressant medication.

People are different.

As for me being ridiculous, look in the mirror at your true reason for posting.

Why would anyone need an excuse for being overweight? It's almost as if people should be ashamed of being overweight

Couldn't agree more with PP. A strong defense against all of this is putting yourself in a place of good health (where you can control it!) in the first place.

It's no good bleating on about wearing cheap masks when we do not have strong defences within ourselves in the first place.

Here’s what can be done

Offer better mental health support (many obese people either become that way because of or develop mental health conditions/low self esteem

Stop pushing medication on people with mental health issues it often leads to weight gain -my BIL had this issue

Change the focus of society to free up more time for exercise

More public areas available for communal exercise

Police to crack down on yobs so people can use public space for exercise

Specific crime of fat shamming akin to hate speech so people aren’t embarrassed to go out and exercise fearing abuse

People should stop judging people’s weight, it’s a lot more complex than laziness and gluttony

Stop referring people to weight loss/money making clubs

Stop food poverty

Stop adding chemicals to food

Bring into law any desk job must include 10 min exercise for every 1hour sat down

Doctors to stop fat shaming and actually offer support and help. Accept that some people biologically have more difficulty losing weight

Just a few ideas

Oh and get rid of the 2000 daily allowance calories on food packets a lot of people see it as a target.

Dieticians need more flexible up to date advice

Are you seriously suggesting losing weight is just a matter of wanting it enough?!!!! Stunning. Really stunning

You have to want it more than you want too much food and to be overweight. For the vast majority of people (and anecdotes and whataboutery for the individual doesn't count), suggesting anything else points to a lack of discipline.

Two or three generations ago, self discipline and stoicism were desired attributes to be admired. Now these traits are ridiculed and thought of as 'uptight' and 'boring'. Self indulgence and 'treating yourself' every single day so it's not actually a treat is the trend of the 21st Century. This doesn't just apply to food. People spend money they don't have on the latest phone etc, it's socially acceptable to rack up debt, and modern technology means there's a general attitude of 'I want this, and I want it now'. You only have to look at the billions of threads when we first went into lockdown to see the entitlement of the general population; 'can I break lockdown to do ?'

Food is included in this whole culture. I fancy this, therefore I will have it. I deserve it. As a 'treat'. I'll ignore the fact I haven't moved all day and have it anyway. I'm hungry, let's put extra on my plate.

There are days when I do less than 500 steps. I did put on weight in lockdown and was the high end of normal BMI for the first time in my life. I WFH but it's quite intense and I definitely had more breaks that involved snacks just for a break from the monotony! It's easy done. A conscious decision to be self aware enough to understand that putting extra food in will inevitably lead to weight gain, and I'm managing to shift it without feeling deprived. On some level people have to take personal responsibility, but I see a lot of people who say, 'I should lose some weight, and in the same breath say, fuck it, let's get that takeaway, diet starts tomorrow har har' because they want/need the instant gratification and reject self discipline.

And the poster who mentioned “eating a tub of quality street in front of the tv every night” is quite frankly part of the problem

@Pascal2908

If you saw my other post I said I understand why people in your situation may opt for surgery, but I still don't think it is the correct thing to be pushing.

4 years is not a long time, the consequences of the malabsorption may not show for many years - osteoporosis etc.

It is a very very last resort in my mind and the fact that there are people who are aged 25 in your cohort having this procedure is a disgrace.

'No, she is saying that there must be a significant number of people who simply eat too much and who can’t excuse it with poverty/mental or physical health problems.'

Thankyou wombat that is exactly what I'm saying.

It does a great disservice to those actually living with poverty or significant psychological issues when every obese person proclaims that's why they are fat too.

Its like, say, those who are feeling down but say they 'have depression' or those who are a bit worried 'have anxiety'. Everyone has to have a diagnosis, when a massive proportion of people will just have absolutely normal feelings and many overweight people really do just eat too much because they like food. Admit it! Then the focus can be on those that really need support.

[quote hamstersarse]@Pascal2908

If you saw my other post I said I understand why people in your situation may opt for surgery, but I still don't think it is the correct thing to be pushing.

4 years is not a long time, the consequences of the malabsorption may not show for many years - osteoporosis etc.

It is a very very last resort in my mind and the fact that there are people who are aged 25 in your cohort having this procedure is a disgrace.[/quote]
So you would prefer my 25 year old miserable friend to have what ? Another 30years of misery .. in her case obesity related infertility, when her surgery gave her a baby girl 2 months ago .. ???

Show me your 'research' results that say Bariatric surgery causes longterm malabsorption!! It's complete bollocks.

Simply this. She was 25 stone 4 years ago. Miserable, depressed, on a shit load of medication.. now 12 stone married , happy and with a longed for baby... and takes a multi vit... whereas that weight could of killed her from a stroke , diabetes, heart disease or even suicide.

You are talking nonsense and it's one of the primary reasons people do not go for the help that is out there.

As for '4 years' is nothing .. 1:644 people trying to diet back to a healthy weight would of successes .. and then 78% of those would of put it back on and more within five years.

You obviously have NEVER tried to tackle obesity or researched the reality of diets for the morbidly obese . !

**To an extent, I think it's better to go through life with an eat, drink, and be merry attitude, rather than a life of misery, denial, and judgment

Yes.

I consider it a great luxury in life to be able to eat exactly what I want. I enjoy food and it is not a source of.misery to me

I dont want a life of denial of one of my greatest pleasures.**

I love food and get a vast amount of pleasure from going for a nice meal. I'm a size 8-10. I live going to our local country put and having phaesent with potatoes, roast veg and a red wine jus. That's something that tastes amazing and I wouldn't make at home. It's a treat. A pizza that is bland and greasy is not. Pizza from a proper pizza oven much nicer and I might have one once every few weeks when we stop for lunch when we are out walking.

I walk the dogs twice a day o we the fields,go to yoga twice a week and do some aerobic exercise a couple of times a week because I eat bigger portions than I should. Our weekends are walking 5-6 miles minimum or going out on bikes. We keep active.

I have some cake when I bake with the children or if we have gone on a day out.

My point is I don't feel deprived or like food is a big deal. Every day I eat nice things so I would class myself as a foodie but what I don't go is have biscuits every day or munch my way through the evening after I've already had dinner and I exercise daily for health as well as weight. I don't consciously think about what I do and don't eat. That's when it becomes a battle. It's not difficult once the habits are formed. The hard bit is breaking the bad habits.

It makes me cross that precious NHS resources go on all of the obesity related illnesses when it is completely preventable.

I think that many of the suggestions above are good.

However I think that we as a society have a very unhealthy dependence on the state to help us and do everything for us. We can eat shit and the NHS will deal with any illnesses we end up with. Many people demand and expect interventions such as free vouchers from slimming world from the GP. A gastric band courtesy of the NHS if they can't lose the weight. Disability benefits should their obesity or resulting health concerns prevent them from working. I'm obviously not saying the NHS/state should just abandon people. Just pointing out that there aren''t really many consequences/hardships for people who eat themselves into oblivion. The state will pick up the pieces.