To not know whether people are getting fatter or thinner?

[giantwaterbottle]

I am trying to lose weight (again!) and I can't figure out whether people (in the developed world) are getting thinner or fatter. I keep reading that the population is obese/getting fat but then it seems like their are so many gym bunnies and slim people around (although I will say this is mainly on social media/TikTok) but there seems to be such a weight loss/health kick about where everyone looks tiny and fit, and is wearing corsets and amazing cosmetics and just generally looks amazing, but is the opposite the reality? And if so how do people feel about this!? Does it make you want to just give up before you even begin? I don't know..I can't figure it all out. I do think when I go out I see quite a lot of larger people but also loads of young very slim and fit people.

I think it’s not worth you comparing yourself to anyone and you should focus on your health first and then your look second.

Everything looks better on social media and you’ve curated your own newsfeed

The general population is getting fatter.

Don't believe what you see on SM.

It's very divided by age/class.

Even the gym bunnies I know are much chunkier than people of my grandparents generation, who were very lean in the photos I see. They simply didnt have access to the massive volume of calories we all consume now, lives were much less sedentary with far fewer cars etc.

researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN03336/SN03336.pdf

This seems to be a good summary of recent data. In England obesity levels are still increasing, and have done so since the nineties Obesity levels are associated with socioeconomic status - so the poorer someone is the more likely they are to be overweight or obese.

In the real world people are getting bigger OP, that’s a proven fact and it’s very worrying for health reasons. Sadly I see so many more overweight children too and that really saddens me because they don’t understand. I say this as someone who was obese and is now a normal weight. I truly understand the struggle, most of us do.
Social media is dangerous in that it’s possible to show only the good angles and the best times. I see the same people posting about their best days and everything fun they get up to and it truly doesn’t reflect reality - they just don’t post about their private struggles. Try to look at the perfect bodies through the same light - many images are edited, you post what you want people to see and not the actual reality.

I do agree with above poster that you shouldn’t compare yourself, it’s the thief of happiness. But are people getting bigger? Yes. The clothes companies have even changed the dress sizes so what was a large is now a medium and so on. But you can’t go by things like that - in one shop I’m a size 10 and in another I can’t breathe in a 14.

Just take it all with a huge pinch of salt and focus on your own health, no one else’s. ♥️

I would assume social media activity is heavily skewed towards those who want to show off, rather than representing the average person. I never bother with social media, it just leads to unhealthy comparisons with people who only show you their (heavily edited) best moments.

Well on social media they will have all used filters so don’t really represent ‘real’ people.

I’m actually shocked every time I go out at how fat everyone is. I walked past the local secondary school yesterday and it seemed that most of the girls of say 14/15 looked to be about a size 14. I was a teen in the 70’s and most girls would have struggled to fill out a size 8 at that age.

Thanks for the replies, sorry I didn't explain myself properly.
I'm not comparing myself to these people (although I guess maybe I am a bit). I'm not obese but I am finding all my clothes too tight after having two kids, youngest now a toddler so I am trying to be healthier for my own and their futures but this time I am going about it the right way for the first time which I think is due to my age and not caring about the look but the health aspect.

What I was more thinking of as people have said is the divide, and what that must feel like for young people. As someone has mentioned seeing kids in school etc re the young people on social media or television. But there seem to be so many slim people!
Very interesting re class/wealth divide.

@Fairyliz my mum is always saying that about the 70's!
So it's just food types and less activity that's making people fatter?
But then people are also living longer than ever before!?

Well no ones going on social media to show of that their a fat coach potato who just polishing off a multipack of crisps to themselves, so there's going to be bias in what you see online. I'd say some people are very fat, some people are very skinny, most people are slightly overweight but mostly fine.

Yes there are lots of slim people but that's because there are tens of millions of people. Even if they make up a small percentage, there are still millions of them. Surely it's obvious that people are getting fatter.

People are getting fatter. What is noticeable where I am is that children are much fatter, many are obviously obese. The availability of high-calorie low-nutrition food and drink is probably a factor

Very interesting re class/wealth divide.

I am really interested by this too. In the last year I have moved to a wealthy town on the south coast. I didn't realise until I moved here how wealthy it was (think yachting folk). Notably we have two supermarkets - Waitrose and M&S in the town. Every time I go in I am drawn to the fact that everyone is slim and fit looking. Not just younger women in their 20's 30's (I am 54 and a size 16) but women the same or similar age as me. I am currently dieting and can't help to notice women my age or older, and mostly all of them are really slim, well turned out etc. It is an eye opener and quite shocking really.

Eh? We're very obviously getting fatter. There is a gym/fitness craze too but it's not nearly pervasive enough to stop the trend.

As has been said, you get a very filtered, curated view on TikTok. Go to your local swimming pool, park ot zoo and have a look around at everyone. You will have your answer.

I get what you mean. In Ireland obesity is a huge problem too and getting worse. But in saying that I see a lot of mostly young women/ late teens that are slim out and about in town. In my own family all the under 25 women are very slim gym bunnies. It's great my cousin at 19 went to a friends house the other Saturday night they did work out videos or something, she said it was a fun evening. At 19 I was out getting drunk on a Saturday night. The younger generation in my family anyway seem a lot healthier than I ever was.

Even though I think BMI should be taken with a pinch of salt, i.e. someone slightly outside the 'normal' range can still be fine it is a good indication of obesity in a country.

As with everything in this late stage capitalistic society in which we live, the issue is heavily polarised.
The overall trend is that the developed world is getting MUCH fatter.
But against that landscape there are pockets of predominantly middle class people who are running, cycling, paddleboarding, practising yoga, going vegan and embracing the latest health trends - such as mindfulness - which are publicised via social media.
Stand on a typical UK high street during the working day, and evidence of the trend towards obesity will be plain to see.

Ive been noticing this for ages that people are a lot fatter than when I was growing up. Sitting people watching it is very noticeable, its down to the fast food and buy one get one free/multipack thing a lot I feel, plus lack of exercise.
I grew up in the 50s and I remember only one overweight child in our school
and she wasnt what you would consider obese.

Everyone is getting fatter. School kids / teens in particular are SO much bigger than in the 80s when they were all skinny as whippets. At our local primary this is still the trend, with one / two bigger kids as outliers, but in other areas that trend is completely reversed and there are no normal sized children in their communities anymore. Of course this normalises unhealthy habits and so it continues.

add in the fact that no one is allowed to mention it - ‘fat shaming ‘ - and I honestly don’t know where we’ll end up. A generation dying in their 50s?!

We recently went on holiday to a well known UK destination. I would say around 90% of the people we saw were overweight. A large portion were obese.

I live in a bubble in the SE of England where most people are fit and slim and I feel slightly on the chunky side. But outside of that I feel pretty slender. 66% of people are overweight or obese. More men than women in Generation X.

The reason why we're fatter than in the 70s but also living longer is that smoking keeps you thin. It also kills you.

And we've got much much better at treating and preventing heart disease.

Obesity grew as smoking levels fell.