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Foodbanks! Did I just hear Julia Hartley Brewer correctly?

198 replies

fUNNYfACE36 · 07/03/2023 09:50

Am I being unreasonable to be disgusted by Julia Hartley Brewer's comment this morning, tha t in the course of her work she has visited many foodbanks, and the people who use them are not that thin!!
So until you are emaciated you should just not eat?

OP posts:
GoodChat · 07/03/2023 12:30

Imagine outing yourself as such a massive cunt on national media?

Whiteroomjoy · 07/03/2023 12:30

Untitledsquatboulder · 07/03/2023 10:22

However carb heavy or crap your diet its the number of calories in vs calories burnt that determines your weight. Poor and fat is a western phenomenon, the majority of poor people around the world are not overweight.

Aside from this YABVU to give Julia HB's opinions oxygen.

Do you equate being fat with being stupid ?
do you equate being fat with lacking willpower?
do you equate being fat with lack of concern about your diet ?

when you’re done with patronising explanations that state the bleeding obvious, as if fat people don’t realise this, maybe actually consider why people find it hard to loose weight or put weight on in th3 first place?

most overweight people I know constantly, and I mean constantly, think about calorie intake const, they berate themselves for a single biscuit, they have done more days restricting calories and exerting huge self control than most normal weight people ever have. Getting overweight and staying overweight is complex. There is often deep routed emotional issues, there is access to high quality and more expensive food, there is lack of skills . for many it is an addiction which gets little empathy or acknowledgment with thin people vs other addictions . But unlike other addictions you can’t cold turkey and withdraw exposure to an addiction to food. Sooner or later we have to eat - no one has quite explains how to permanently manage a withdrawal from food for food addictions

if it was so bloody easy to loose weight and stay thin, why do the overwhelming people who have lost significant amounts of weight, even through surgery, endup putting a lot , if not all, and in some cases more, back on again. The diet industry rakes in millions with easy answers that do not work in long run.

most overweight people spend a life long battle with food. along with that the vast majority are walking around with huge feelings of shame, self loathing, poor esteem and guilt.

I’ll also point out the flaw that you and your mantra of in energy out misses. We are warm blooded mammals. The overwhelming majority of our calorific intake per day goes on heating our blood like a boiler that has to stay on constantly. as well as the smaller amount of energy needed for other organ functions..The difference in calorie intake between most thin and overweight people is normally relatively small , as is the amount of calories burnt in exercise. The body is hard wired to preserve the status quo to ensure our blood stays warm. So, actually go away and do some reading , stuff like why we get tired after exercise and how the body naturally controls energy out . This is relatively recent research but is useful to understand the effects of energy in equals energy out is actually not entirely true, and is way more complex even in thin people or highly energetic people.

pussycatinfluffyslippers · 07/03/2023 12:36

She's a vile nasty person.

Theunamedcat · 07/03/2023 12:38

It's cold we are staying indoors and layering up not moving so where are the calories being burned off? If you can't afford heat and your not working your at home under a duvet not down at the gym exercising

Okunevo · 07/03/2023 12:46

Theunamedcat · 07/03/2023 12:38

It's cold we are staying indoors and layering up not moving so where are the calories being burned off? If you can't afford heat and your not working your at home under a duvet not down at the gym exercising

I've been out for walks a lot to stay warm, fine when you are moving then the house feels warmer when you get in.

lazycats · 07/03/2023 12:47

She's a rightwing rent-a-gob. She doesn't beleive or care about most things she says. It's sad we have media culture that rewards people like her.

Greatly · 07/03/2023 12:54

Zebedee999 · 07/03/2023 11:52

Not necessarily true about the worst food been the cheapest; if you look into it it's surprising what you can create cheaply. A tory MP was lambasted recently for saying that people that use food banks should be invited to learn about how to cook and nutrition etc, as he runs a foodbank and sees these skills missing in it's users. Naturally that caused a furore.

It is entirely possible to eat a low cost nutritious diet if you have the skills to do it and the will power to learn. But it's much easier to shout down anyone suggesting nutrition education and cooking skills are important and should be imparted to those who don't have them.

If someone using a foodbank is overweight and malnourished then they should imo be encouraged to cook and eat more nutritious food. Having hissy fits whenever this is suggested does not help those over weight malnourished people at all yet 70% of replies on here will be those hissy fits.

I agree

SallyWD · 07/03/2023 12:58

She's really not very bright, is she? It's no great mystery that many of the poorest people in the country are overweight because of their poor diets.

Nagado · 07/03/2023 12:59

KnittedCardi · 07/03/2023 11:32

Ummmm. That's just not true though is it. Most of the third world lives off carbs, and they are generally not obese.

I don’t think you’ve thought this through. There is a much larger proportion of the population in third world countries who make their money working in jobs where there is hard, physical labour, than there is in the UK.

PlaitBilledDuckyPuss · 07/03/2023 12:59

You can be overweight and still be malnourished - users of foodbanks will be shopping as cheaply as they can, possibly on foods that are high in calories and 'filling' but low in other nutrients - e.g. cheap biscuits, white toast with marge and cheap spread.

Even if you suddenly are unable to buy any food whatsoever, someone who is 20 stone won't drop to 8 stone in a week through starvation - they will just start the process of starvation through lack of nutrition.

MavisMcMinty · 07/03/2023 13:02

The cheapest peanut butter in my local Londis had so much sugar in it, I couldn’t eat it.

EmbraceTheGrace · 07/03/2023 13:02

@Zebedee999 wow, some people can't afford electricity, it's not down to ignorance, it's survival
Nobody should be judged on using a FB

sevenbyseven · 07/03/2023 13:19

SallyWD · 07/03/2023 12:58

She's really not very bright, is she? It's no great mystery that many of the poorest people in the country are overweight because of their poor diets.

On the contrary, she's very bright and very well educated. But she's also got stridently right wing views and likes to be controversial.

There's some truth to the point she's making, even if it's put in a deliberately offensive way. If you eat less, you'll lose weight, and that's true whether your diet is crap or good, and whether you're rich or poor.

However clearly the obesity epidemic in this country can't be solved just by telling people to eat less - it's far more complicated, and she knows that really.

SaturdayGiraffe · 07/03/2023 13:21

She has body image issues herself and seems to project her insecurities about beauty and weight fairly often (mocking Emma Watson’s breasts as too small was the last I remember).

Bigpinktrain · 07/03/2023 13:21

She is vile, same bracket as Katie Hopkins, Farage and Lawrence Fox. Says anything she can for notoriety. Revolting human

OopsAnotherOne · 07/03/2023 13:26

Another point she's failed to even consider is that not everyone who has to use a food bank has always been poor. Some people can be comfortable or even well off, but there are countless reasons why someone in a good position in life can find themselves heading towards poverty. If someone who is financially comfortable and also overweight then runs into circumstances which mean they need to use a foodbank, what are they supposed to do? Starve themselves to an underweight BMI before they'll be considered?

It's the same as when people shame people for relying on benefits or using food banks with the regurgitated "well they have tattoos?!" as if they forgot that tattoos are permanent and the tattoos they are referring to could have been on that person's body for years, if not decades, before they fell on hard times.

AllOfThemWitches · 07/03/2023 13:31

Should wealthy fat people be taught how to cook too then? What's their excuse?

TooBigForMyBoots · 07/03/2023 13:31

GoodChat · 07/03/2023 12:30

Imagine outing yourself as such a massive cunt on national media?

You forgot the word thick. I'm embarrassed for her. I bet at some point she was actually good at something and had aspirations and now she just spews out divisive, ignorant drivel for Likes.😳🤦‍♀️

Bigpinktrain · 07/03/2023 13:32

OopsAnotherOne · 07/03/2023 13:26

Another point she's failed to even consider is that not everyone who has to use a food bank has always been poor. Some people can be comfortable or even well off, but there are countless reasons why someone in a good position in life can find themselves heading towards poverty. If someone who is financially comfortable and also overweight then runs into circumstances which mean they need to use a foodbank, what are they supposed to do? Starve themselves to an underweight BMI before they'll be considered?

It's the same as when people shame people for relying on benefits or using food banks with the regurgitated "well they have tattoos?!" as if they forgot that tattoos are permanent and the tattoos they are referring to could have been on that person's body for years, if not decades, before they fell on hard times.

Precisely and unlike weight loss, getting into financial hardship can happen very quickly. Various articles and documentaries concerning food banks always mention the same statement, “ you’re only one life event/decision away from being homeless”
You can hit dire straights very suddenly

TheFretfulPorpentine · 07/03/2023 13:35

GoodChat · 07/03/2023 12:30

Imagine outing yourself as such a massive cunt on national media?

Well, I don't think it will have come as news to anyone.

LadyKenya · 07/03/2023 13:39

KnittedCardi · 07/03/2023 11:32

Ummmm. That's just not true though is it. Most of the third world lives off carbs, and they are generally not obese.

Most of the developing world, yes. The foods that they may eat will not be all junk food, and biscuits though.

LakeTiticaca · 07/03/2023 13:48

BluebellBlueballs · 07/03/2023 11:24

It is far cheaper to buy a pack of value apple pies than a pack of actual apples.

This woman is talking shite

You can buy a pack of 6 bramley apple pies at Sainsburys for £1.25 or you buy a pack of 6 royal gala apples which are currently on offer at 85p.
Problem nowadays is nobody seems to take responsibility for themselves.
The top and bottom of it is that people are overweight because they consume far more calories than they actually need. Simple

TooBigForMyBoots · 07/03/2023 13:51

@LakeTiticaca apples in my Sainsbury's are 59p each or a packet of 6 for £2.20.

Enthrallingstory · 07/03/2023 13:59

LadyKenya · 07/03/2023 13:39

Most of the developing world, yes. The foods that they may eat will not be all junk food, and biscuits though.

Developing world that'll be, not third world.

Most poorer countries don't consume vast quantities of cheap, processed food. Go to any developing nation and yes a lot of rice and noodles will be eaten but all freshly cooked and with a few vegetables and maybe an egg on top. Ride around India on their trains for a few weeks and you'll soon see the difference in diet out on the streets where the poorest live. Most of their diet is far healthier than a Western average diet!

Enthrallingstory · 07/03/2023 14:00

Sorry that KnittedCardi that said third world

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