AIBU - With this new data on obesity and the NHS is it time to have some honest and difficult conversations?

[IAmADancer]

New data from a ‘landmark study’ has show that obesity costs the NHS around 14billion a year and that 2 out of 3 adults are obese.

I know this is a difficult subject but the numbers are pretty clear. With the cost of living crisis and a general requirement for both parents to work now to support themselves how do we support people to make the right choices and tackle a growing problem?

Im really interested to hear people’s opinions on what we can do with such stark figures laid bare.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/17/cost-of-obesity-twice-those-who-are-healthy-nhs/

I don't think whacking prices up on processed foods is ok when so many are struggling to keep a roof over their heads, and healthy foods are extortionate anyway. People would be starving and children wouldn't be eating.

Huh? Do you know how much a bag of carrots costs? Potatoes? Broccoli? A cabbage? Have you actually looked?

Healthy food is not ‘extortionate’. If you’re struggling financially processed foods are not the answer.

Speaking only for myself, I do not find processed foods cheaper than healthy food. Admittedly, I do not have a typical British diet. But still...

I’m interested in how many people on this thread (and generally) have chronic conditions that prevent them from losing weight, either because of the condition itself, side effects of medication or inability to exercise.

As we didn’t have a problem with obesity 60 years ago we can only assume that these conditions too have increased.

I don’t think this is a coincidence. We haven’t become unhealthy because we suddenly have more thyroid issues and chronic pain - we have thyroid issues and chronic pain because we’ve become unhealthy.

These are not irreversible conditions. Yet we’re treating the symptoms of thyroid disorders, chronic pain and fatigue etc without treating the cause.

It's unpopular but a good point. It's a bit chicken and egg really.

Very interesting discussions here. Some excellent and sensible points made.

Today in my city's train station there was a huge pick and mix stall that appeared this week. Oversized colourful trays of sweets. Smack bang in the middle of the concourse, impossible to avoid. Kids going past clamouring for sweets.

Ad on the radio for Macmillan cancer support. Who are working with... Domino's. Couldn't make it up.

That's the problem we have. It's too huge for us to address, it HAS to start from top down. But much like climate change, it won't until it's too late.

Hmm. I'm still pretty sure that eating too many calories and not exercising enough is the main cause of fatness. Our grandparents' generation were a lot slimmer and genetic makeup doesn't change that much in a few decades.

I was told to just eat less. Because I've never thought about doing that.

But thinking about eating less isn't going to shift the weight. You need to actually do it.

Will maybe but why? The types of food we now have on offer now must partly be behind it.

Of course things have changed. Heck they've changed since I was a kid in the 80s! My gran didn't work, my mum was part time, I'm full time. There's a dizzying array of choice of convenience food that wasn't the case when I was a child. I try my best to cook from scratch, have veg on the table, and we avoid takeaways but there are times when I'm too exhausted to not revert to pasta again. Because it's easy, everyone will eat it.

I get up at 530am to exercise. Only time I can do it. But then I'm constantly tired during the day and reach for sugar.

I'm at the top of my BMI and at 44, feel it's a losing battle.

Can't believe people are suggesting it's as likely that binge eating disorder will be fatal as anorexia. That's not statistically supported at all.

I live alone and am happy to do so, so don't worry about my MH or loneliness! However, as others have touched on, when you live alone preparing three meals a day can be a chore. I am older now and retired and when I was working and moving a bit more I could eat things that I wouldn't touch now.

Anyway, I have to say that for me, I.F. is the best discipline ever, and it has retrained my mind to realise that grazing after 7pm is not necessary at all anymore. It is amazing how much you get used to it. I eat to live now not the other way around. Illness made me lose appetite and enthusiasm for life, but I'm back and ok again with a new attitude since just before Covid and it works so well for me.

I pack in a very nutritious home made smoothie to break the fast. Then full fat Greek yogurt with fruit and nuts when I feel like it. Then believe it or not, porridge or weetabix with flax, chia, and protein powder as a lunch substitute. No one ever said you MUST eat that for breakfast! I'm not good with big meals prepared just for me, so I make do with home made soda bread and cheese, or maybe tinned salmon and salad for tea or something like that. I have Ice cream for a treat at weekends and I don't drink alcohol.

I just walk, nothing else but thankfully at my age I'm limber and have no joint or other mobility issues. I carry a backpack for shopping and it can weigh up to 8 or so kilos if I get shopping while out walking. I only use my car to visit others or the necessary journeys, I walk everywhere else. It's become a habit now. I'll never be slim, but don't want or need to be like a model. I am 5.5 and weigh 66kilos which is ok for me. All bloods done every six months, all fine re lipids, glucose etc. That's good enough for me.

I agree that processed foods (which I don't like!) and sugar/too much alcohol are the devil.

Yes. I agree for the vast majority of people, with the exception of those with health conditions - although I do think we can be a little quick to diagnose something (in the absence of medical advice, I mean - consulting Dr Google) when it really is a case of eating too much/the wrong stuff. I have a morbidly obese relative who is like he is because he has consistently - for many years - eaten far more calories than his body requires while living a pretty sedentary lifestyle. The problem is why he and others do this of course which is where the real problem lies and crucially the answer to this problem... It’s complex.

Do you eat enough protein? We all need protein and fats to balance out carbs. Carbs give us a burst of energy but then it dips. Protein is released more slowly so gives a more steady release of energy.

The BBC has a load of recipes, many of which can be followed really easily and they're not all expensive. For example:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/one-pan-spicy-rice

If you're having rice, make sure you have eggs or lentils.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/creamylentilandriced_86573

You can find similar recipes for pasta dishes.

Don't only eat one meal a day. It's unsustainable, discourages exercise and is making you miserable. Try eating something low calorie but filling. For example, yogurt and a sprinkle of nuts or fried egg on unbuttered toast. Homemade soup or leftovers for lunch. Bananas for snacks.

Start exercising at home. You can do a fifteen minute online exercise class to start. I know this is for older women but it's a good place to start.

Seated exercises will put less pressure on your joints and you can even do them watching TV.

It takes a while but you can manage this. Maybe join one of the weight loss threads on here for support. Healthy weight loss takes a lot longer than we think. But if you lose it steadily you're more likely to keep it off. I've taken a year to get fit/lose weight and I feel a whole lot better.

Good luck!

People speaking about having no time. Many had a lot of time during lockdown - which for many had the opposite affect ?

@PamDoooove i herd the McMillan/Dominoes advert on the radio today and my jaw hit the floor! It’s so ridiculous and just shows what a mess we are in.

I was also really angered by it because putting that into an already struggling body is the worst thing you can do.

Working long hours for shit money and having a disabled young adult to take care of seems to sap the willpower right out of me. How odd!

Lockdown had a dire effect on people mental health though, many ate through boredom and drank alot more alcohol, and everyone seemed to go through a mad baking phase.

In my personal experience I didnt have extra time in lockdown either - I had a young baby, I was trying to home school a child with suspected ADHD and no support, my partner and I both still had to go to work (I work evenings whereas he works days though so no need for my eldest to be in school), I was trying to keep my home tidy and while I do cook from scratch because I always have done I imagine if that wasn't already my routine I wouldn't have found it easy to incorporate into my life at that time. I ended up having a pretty severe mental breakdown in the last lockdown. I don't think that's a fair comparison to every day life.

But a whole meal isn't a packet of carrots or a broccoli is it!

They are components but not the meal itself

Didn’t Nestle partner with the change 4 life campaign?

I’m sorry for your situation. But surely adding in your own potential ill health to that scenario would make things worse? If you are a carer you have even more reason to make sure you are fit and healthy?

Really? Have you not seen what the USA is like? Higher obesity rate despite an insurance based healthcare...

A Spanish omelette is eggs, onions, potatoes, frozen peas and red peppers. Takes 15 minutes.

Or dahl - red lentils, carrots, spinach, onion, tomatoes, spices. Takes 30 minutes.

Or roast chicken thighs with potatoes, carrots and broccoli. Takes 20-30 minutes.

Or turkey meatballs in tomato sauce with green beans and rice. Takes 30 minutes.

@Mumsday so add up the cost then. You can get a ready meal or a pizza for £1 eggs round here at the moment are about £1-75+ for just six! How many eggs per omelet for a family of 4, plus the veg etc soon adds up whereas I could in theory get the basics ready meals for a pound each maximum (not that I like them or eat them but you get my point).

Veg also goes off much much quicker e.g I brought tomato's on Sunday. By Tuesday they'd gone soft and squidgy!

But people choose to smoke. Some people are obese through no fault of their own. Why should they be discriminated against?

@Mumsday take your Turkey meatballs. Looking at Tesco price for meal breaks down as follows

Mince - 4.50, jar sauce (to make tomato would be approx same amount so for ease done jar) - 95p, green beans - 1.25, I haven't put the rice in as cat be bothered to split the price per portion so just for that we are at £6.70.

I can then get from Tesco a family meal e.g lasagne or cottage pie for £5