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.

No I wouldn’t think so. Years of dialysis 3 times a week for a diabetic, years of heart medication and treatment for diabetics, amputations, blindness, insulin and other meds.
Then the higher risk of cancer like breast and colon high blood pressure.
high cholesterol and atherosclerosis , stroke
asthma and liver disease

It’s quite a mixture really, some higher income and some not. And I may be exaggerating slightly with some but not much. I’m about 10 stone and some of them are easily double my size.

People smoked instead of snacking in the 1970s. Food was generally not as omnipresent. And a lot of it wasn’t very nice, tbh. I feel sick remembering school lunches. I was a thin child because I ate as little as possible at school.

That sounds very very much like my hairdresser!

Drunkandalone i disagree, there are lots of tall, broad women for whom a size 16 would be perfectly healthy. Think of someone like Miranda Hart (disclaimer I have no idea what dress size Miranda actually is but I would imagine a size 14/16 would be about right.)

My friends daughter is a size 16, she is tall, broad shoulders, wide hips and plays a lot of sport. Completely healthy and happy.

Shaming people into doing anything never works well ime and shaming women for having different body shapes is wrong.

You need extra calories if you're going to breastfeed.

How do you know Miranda Hart is healthy?

This is quite interesting as I've noticed this too. I Live in a very affluent area, and I have noticed that people here are slimmer. In fact I've just thought about the parents in my dc class. There are one or two that are bigger in structure but slim. Everyone else seems to be slim. Maybe Wealth/class has something to do with it, I'm not sure.

We live in a well-off town. Most people are slim and fit-looking and at weekends the vibe is morning jogs and activities, nice social meals and drinks in the evenings but not a drunken town (thinking of the York thread). We regularly go to London, and south coast. I haven’t been to many other places in the UK recently.

Recently we went to visit Warwick Castle and for some reason there was just a totally different “society” there. Loads and loads of people were noticeably fat. I found it quite shocking like, where have all these people been hiding cos they’re just not visible in my usual stomping grounds. It’s class and socioeconomics, it’s also a cultural thing.

I’m 5’6” and a size 10. I exercise reasonably regularly and drink/eat reasonably well, I’m by no means a gym bunny. It’s just a part of looking after yourself in life, like brushing your teeth. For me it’s not a lifestyle (!) it’s just basic health.

I do wonder what people eat, and how little they must exercise, to end up so fat. I know it’s not a polite thing to say, and I’m sorry if it hurts any one’s feelings.

Surely we are all a lot taller in general as well so i am not totally convinced bmi is the only way to decide and also that I don't think people weighed themselves continually, bmi would put most rugby players as overweight

Smoking has not decreased it has been replaced by vaping and is very popular amongst young adults so it is not that.

Besides there are many overweight smokers too.

It's access and portion sizes that have increased.

@Fairyliz really around here most are a 4/6 where as in the 80's most would of been a size 12/14

It's like seeing pregnant women everywhere when pregnancy is on your mind. You're actively looking out for slim people and focusing on them more but in general people are getting bigger (fatter AND taller).

Several posters made pro fat shaming comments. If fat shaming works for you, volunteer yourself to be fat shamed but don't assume it will work on others or be appreciated. Some people rebel more against the criticism and shaming and actually get fatter. Part of it because food is a source of comfort to them. If you don't have an emotional connection to food and don't use it as a coping mechanism but your weight gain was from medication or lifestyle change (retired, changed jobs to a sedentary one) or menopause/child birth for example, you might not relate to this because it's calories in calories out, overeating is not a crutch to you.

Food is plentiful, delicious and easily accessible. Technology and machines have made our lives easier and saved us from burning calories. It's a natural consequence of modern lives. It's human nature to seek comfort and pleasure. The slim people I know are either careful and watch their portions, have an active job/hobby obsession or genetically so. It's also easier to stay slim when you were slim in childhood and youth especially if your parents put the groundworks for a sporty personality to develop. It's easier to maintain than yoyo.

I completely agree with those posters talking about accountability! Covid was the kick up the arse me and my husband needed, we have a young child, and the fact that obesity put you more at risk was terrifying for us, we'd both always been big - but since then I have lost 3st and my husband 4.5st (we have a tiny bit to go before we are fully happy but still going) it's been the hardest thing we have ever ever done, honestly, but we both feel a million times better.

I think people who have health complications because of their weight should have to financially contribute to their treatment, same as drugs/alcohol/smoking too, it's not fair that because people don't take care of their own health, other people who do are subject to longer waits for treatment. Lots of people I say that to don't agree with me though

Mine and friends lunch in early 80's was certainly not healthy , we had crisp and chocolate and school dinners were very carb heavy and cane with a large pudding , but we did have 1 hr lunches and breaks outside , Pe multiple times a week and mostly all walked to and from school

There’s “big boned” as my gran used to say…tall, muscular…you can be large and still very fit and healthy. Strong too.

Then there’s just fat. Rolls, sweaty, uncomfortable-looking, can’t walk uphill, can’t walk and maintain a conversation, worry about fitting into chairs type fat.

I think there are tons of factors already mentioned which affect this but one that hasn’t been mentioned before is the availability of cheap and fashionable clothes for all sizes. There’s no “need” to be slim any more, which is a great thing for body positivity, but no incentive to slim down.

I got fat when i had children. it wasn't because of the actual having of the children, it's because i am tired.

I work full time, when i get in after a long day and picking up the kids i have an hour or two to spend time with them, provide a meal, get them bathed, read to and into bed. i don't have much time to cook and because i am so damn tired my body isn't craving healthy food, it is craving carbs, comfort food.

i also have no time to exercise. i'm out of the house between 7.30 and 6.30. i possibly could do an exercise vid once the kids are in bed, or i can do our washing, tidy up and have a couple of hours before it all starts again

i wonder if the increase in full time working parents (mothers) has impacted obesity rates? i can't be alone in living in a constant quagmire of exhaustion and lack of time due to the daily grind

oh and i'm not obese, just a bit overweight, i walk over 15,000 steps a day, so i don't think it's my fatness making me tired and demotivated. It genuinely is not having time to shop / cook / exercise