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.

Regarding life expectancy - I think this is spot on:

the current 80 & 90 somethings have better health care than perhaps previous generations. But they were also fairly fit in their younger years.

Someone who is 80 or 90 now will have probably spent a large portion of their life walking or cycling most journeys. They will have been teenagers when rationing ended; almost none of that generation will have been overweight or obese as children or young adults.

You make it sound like you'd drop them if they dared wear a size 12.

Guess what, I'm towards the bottom end of the BMI scale and sometimes wear a 12 and sometimes a size 6, without any change in weight. No-one would call me fat or unhealthy.

Lots of people are perfectly healthy and slim at a size 16.

Your 6'2" friend is probably of a very slender build and not representative of the majority of women

The clothes companies have even changed the dress sizes so what was a large is now a medium and so on.

People are also getting taller, so that isn't just about weight.

I do notice post lockdown the children seem to have got much, much larger in school. Many of them were slim before covid, and now seem to have put on a lot of weight.

The city I visit most often is Leeds, which is fairly mixed in terms of deprived/affluent populations. But there are definitely a lot of very overweight people.

I listened to the most recent Louise Newson podcast this morning which is titled "Science based weight reduction that lasts" and the guest is Dr Saira Hameed, an endocrinologist and author of "The Full Diet".

During discussions they mentioned that 10% of the NHS total budget is spent on diabetes, mostly Type 2, which is massively impacted by diet. Can you imagine the money that could be spent on other areas if the number of Type 2 sufferers could be reduced. It has been shown that Type 2 diabetes can be reversed in a lot of cases with a low carb and fasting diet.

In which case, it cannot be linked to your weight. A huge percentage of people with type 2 are obese, diet and lifestyle is a huge factor (of course not in your case, but in other cases this is true) and can be reversed with weight loss. Surely we can agree on at least that much? That weight is a factor in a lot of cases? It's not just diabetes either, it's many other health conditions that are either exasperated or caused by excessive weight.

I know a woman who has attended a well known weight loss group for years, she's bigger than she was when she started and has been diagnosed for many years with type 2 diabetes, she has been on medication for it, of she lost weight it would reverse.

Lots of people are perfectly healthy and slim at a size 16.

I've got to agree with a pp that a size 16 isn't ever going to be slim. I'm a tall woman (not quite 6ft), and a size 10-12. I look healthy at that weight, BMI slap bang in the middle of the healthy range. If I put on enough weight to be a 16 there is no way I'd still look slim, and I would definitely be overweight by BMI, despite my height.

I think this is what I was trying to say....you've just said it better than me 🤣

And there is no height at which a size 16 is healthy.

I suppose it depends on where you shop then. My BMI is currently 22.2, which I admit is a bit higher than I would like, but is certainly well within the 'healthy' range. I am 5'6" and I exercise requarly. Yesterday I had to return the size 14 gym leggings I bought from M&S and get a size 16 instead, because the 14s were too tight. In normal clothes I tend to wear a size 14 bottom and size 16 top, as that looks and feels right. Usually this is M&S/Next/Saunsbury's. But I know not to worry about clothes sizes, as I currently wear things that range from a size 12 to a size 18 and all fit ok.

Yes, I totally agree with you and I have been saying as much on this thread. Even in my case, getting my BMI below 23 will help immensely. :) Bit of a tall ask at 50 but am trying.

I'm really not a 'size 16 is slim' person but weight (and therefore dress size) is absolutely relative to height!

I weigh 9 stone at 5' 6", which is good for my height. 9st at 5' would be overweight; at 6' it would be very thin

@JanisMoplin I'm sure you're going to absolutely smash it 💪 good luck.

I'm 5ft 10 and would look and feel big at a size 16.

Yeah I'm 5ft 10 and built like the male members of my family (I'm the only female) - they were wrestlers, heavy weight boxers and swimmers
If I stand next to my 5ft 6 friend, my shoulders are twice the width, she's a very petite size 6

Yes I'm overweight but I'm not waddling/struggling to breathe like some people think a size 16-18 is. I exercise almost daily doing 30-90 min spin classes and can do a 20 mile spin class happily

Yes agree. I'm 5ft 9 a small 12, often a 10 and my BMI is 24. I actually had it done this morning. I have some muscle as I do exercise but it wouldn't take much for my BMI to put me in overweight.

After I had my son, I was a size 16 and my BMI was obese at 14.5 st

I took my son swimming last week and I was shocked to see three quarters of the school kids doing a lesson as visibly very overweight. When I was at school 90s and 00s it was very uncommon, and I grew up in working class northern town.

I am overweight and happy to admit it but dress size is not a good indicator at all. I have noticed at the gym in the room with mirrors that my shoulders are far wider than most of the other people there even though I am not tall.
A previous poster said she was a size 16 at 14ish stone, I am a size 18 at 12 stone

You say that you're "not tall" - that previous poster was almost certainly a fair bit taller than you. If you're not tall, then obviously you will be a larger size at a lower weight.

The point being discussed above is that there is no height where a size 16 would be slim/healthy. Even someone very tall would almost certainly be overweight at a size 16.

Fatter for sure I was skinny then gained 4 stone during lockdown and now 14 stone and felt like half the nation gained it with me so don’t feel bad about it in the slightest 😂

Fatter for sure I was skinny then gained 4 stone during lockdown and now 14 stone and felt like half the nation gained it with me so don’t feel bad about it in the slightest.

At least you're honest.

4 stone is a huge increase in such a short time.

Was it no exercising and overeating?

It happens very easily too, did you notice it creeping up on you?

Those of you citing mental health reasons as to why you/people are obese, how come this is still a recent thing? People in the 50s still had mental health issues but they weren’t fat. It’s not the mental health issue, it’s how you’re reacting to it - by eating too much. There must be other ways of dealing with issues like that without eating too much junk food.

@Bighairydogs the reason MH plays a part when it didn't in the past is the availability of cheap crisps, sweeties and cakes.
Manufacturers have upped their game in finding the sweet spot for the ratio between sweet and savory food. They have made food addictive.

It was a combo of working long hours from home no exercise and too much snacks cause in the office we aren’t allowed to eat unless on breaks where as at home I could have a gin (full of sugar) or some munchies at my leisure, I’ve never gained so much weight in such a short period in my life but have to say I’ve got no desire to loose it I’m quite happy fat or slim

People used to self medicate with nicotine but that's really expensive now.

I think there's also factors like medications such as anti depressants or being on the pill that can cause weight gain as a side effect. These wouldn't have been easily accessible in the 50s.

People used to self medicate with nicotine but that's really expensive now.
They still do now in oil form.
The majority of people who quit smoking cigarettes continue to vape, not as harmful but certainly keeping the hands and mouth busy in the same way cigarettes did so that is not the reason.