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/

Sad but true.

When I stop to grab a coffee from Greggs it's full of portly people buying loads of pasties and cookies. Same with most fast food places. I just don't believe there's no connection.

For a start I’d like to see the NHS update their diet advice. For a start off that sets many people off on the road to obesity and yo-yo dieting.

It’s a given that women’s health issues shouldn’t be so dismissed (so much that books have been written about it), but the obese women I personally know have not got to the size they are simply by overeating, they have years of undiagnosed health issues that started before they were obese.

No one’s suggesting that there shouldn’t be any personal responsibility here, but we can’t ignore the elephant in the room that is a whole system setting us up to fail.

To anyone saying “this thread isn’t about you, this is about the vast majority who are eaters”, you’re wrong. Until 4 months ago i was the lazy overeater, until my diagnosis and medication means I can now lose weight. Until 11 months ago one of my friends was the lazy overeater, until her diagnosis led to treatment. My other obese friends over the last 2-6 years have between them collected a variety of diagnoses that have meant they can finally take some control of their lives. You can’t talk about obesity then exclude many obese people because they’re not the right sort of obese, that’s not how it works.

Because it's not as common as people on here make out. For every person who genuinely has hypothyroidism, there's one who is in denial about the state of their diet

I have friends who are convinced they have low thyroid

Well, a blood test will tell you.

Not all obese people have got there eating junk food.

I am obese (BMI 33) and have gained weight steadily throughout perimenopause and menopause. I gained weight whilst going to the gym 5 times a week. I gained weight cooking from scratch, lots of vegetables, no white carbs. I gained weight because my metabolism changed to such an extent that I needed to eat less than 1000 calories a day to lose anything and I can't do that as I am so hungry. My body wants me to be fat because it wants to use the oestrogen in fat cells.

It's much more complicated than the popular view that fat people are lazy and live on McDonalds and doughnuts. I'm sure some do but an awful lot don't and need help.

@Scalottia we are getting closer to properly understanding how food choices impact weight gain now though, and it clearly ISN'T just down to willpower alone.

Ultra processed foods are addictive (by DESIGN!) and leave the body feeling measurably less full and more hungry.

And yet, they are more or less the only thing on offer in most hospitals, secondary schools, universities, transport hubs, petrol stations, and many smaller high streets - particularly in poorer areas.

The food lobby will try to suppress this information as 'nanny-stateism' for as much longer as it can, but the tide is turning as more detailed research comes out on how addictive this kind of food is, and how hard it is to turn away from it.

For most people, if they stopped eating anything made in a factory, and met the daily recommended fibre intake, they would lose weight because they would be actively feeling full & weaning themselves off food designed to make them overeat.

The pod cast 'A thorough examination' is a proper eye-opener.

Over-processed foods will be looked upon like cigarettes in another 20 years time, but the food industry will fight like hell to keep you picking their products off the shelves instead of vegetables & lentils in the meantime!

We need to stop thinking that parents that feed their children porridge and vegetables and don't own a chicken nugget and chocolate cupboard are fun sponges

This is a very very good point. Even on here, anyone who objects to their children’s grandparents feeding them endless sweets and chocolates, or who say they don’t bring snacks on a 1 hour car journey, or don’t meet their kids at the school gate with a ‘packet of crisps for the car’, are made out to be neurotic health-obsessed parents who are starving their children and don’t want them to have any fun. Or the ‘anorexia’ card is wheeled out.

Everanewbie
Yes I realised that's what you were illustrating. Sorry if I sounded snipey. That wasn't my intention.

It's one of those situations where I feel like the hospitality industry are generally very good at making it clear and then people seem surprised that they're drinking over 1,000 calories a week in their daily take out off, as if someone has misled them

I feel the same when a relative of mine complains they aren't losing weight, but doesn't seem to take on board that alcohol is a lot of empty calories, and nipping out for lunch is more empty calories.

If you’ve gained weight consistently through menopause to the point that you’re obese then you’re eating more calories than you burn, gym notwithstanding.

The idea that your body wants you to be fat is very odd.

Its really not hard to eat 1000 calories a day - I’ve done it in the past when I’ve put on half a stone. The reason you’re so hungry because you’re used to eating a lot. After a while your body recalibrates to less food and you stop feeling hungry.

Sitting on Fortnite when previous generations would've been out on their bikes doesn't help.

I went years with an undiagnosed underactive thyroid.

I noticed some weight gain so cut back on the junk, ate a bit healthier and did more exercise.

I was diagnosed just over a year ago and I still have to watch what I eat a bit, but no more than anyone else who is mindful of staying a healthy weight.

If I were to gain a lot of weight now, it wouldn't be my thyroid I'd be blaming.

For a menopausal woman weight gain is likely to be insulin resistance and/or hormone imbalance. Calorie counting/calories in calories out very often doesn’t help in these situations, and trotting it out repeatedly is just arrogant and ignorant.

TBH you can find verifiable drs on tiktok who give far better weight loss advice to women than the crappy advice we tend to get here, which is quite a sorry state of affairs.

100% agree.

We’ve told ourselves that getting fat is something they ‘happens’ to us, rather than something we cause ourselves.

That's so naive. Some people really can't. If you aren't allowed to exercise or are severely disabled or in extreme pain for example its not that simple.

To be honest I found post menopause it was easier to lose weight plus I started walking several times a week.

I think there have probably been other points in history when both adults and children have been under severe, chronic stress. Perhaps WWII.

They weren’t obese.

If stress is a contributing factor then it certainly isn’t the most significant one.

It’s another excuse.

You do realise that there are a variety of thyroid disorders and some more easily treated than others. Some people respond well to treatment whereas it can be fatal in some cases. Just because your friend has coped doesn't mean others do.

Why would you be not allowed to exercise?

If you really can’t exercise in any way then obviously you need to reduce your food intake.

I honestly think there are very few people, if any, who would fall into the is category.

@Mumsday I can now but I couldn't before my new medication as I come out in hives. Literally allergic to exercise

Literally allergic to exercise

This wins the thread.

As in....? I mean it's not a joke, it's a medically diagnosed condition that I'm under dermatology for and inject myself monthly with a biologic drug and take 4 antihistamines a day in order to exercise
People can also be allergic to cold, water....

I think people who can't or don't exercise, can forget they don't need as much food as those who do.

I also can’t exercise as it makes me ill. Actual in bed for days or weeks on end, ill.

So much that is wrong with society. I am unsurprised that obesity costs the NHS so much. So does inequality. Poverty and social deprivision are all linked with health conditions, poor health outcomes and lower life expectancy.
We live in an unqual society. The government need to do so much more. There are few limits on the food and drink industry who make massive profits off advertising unhealthy foods to the population. But they get a light touch from the government. The government is out for itself and its wealthy mates. So I dont expect anything to change soon.

Of interest is that UK life expetency is growing at a slower rate than all other G7 countries:

Exercise induced urticaria if anyone wants to google it because people seem to think it's a joke. You can also have anaphylaxis from exercise

Try having head to toe hives every time your heart rate goes up, swollen lips, can't have a hot bath, wear a coat, raise your body temperature or clean
I fought for the medication I'm on which has been life changing and despite all this I STILL tried to exercise. Thankful that I can now

I had this albeit not to such as degree as you.

Exercise stressed my body and raised my cortisol levels which in turn lead to more weight gain. The HRT my GP prescribed was totally wrong for me and exacerbated the weight gain further. No amount of calorie or macro counting resulted in weight loss.

What did work for me was seeing a women's health specialist who put me on a different HRT combination. With exercise and eating nutrient dense food in a calorie deficit, the weight finally came off.

Along with hormonal imbalance, perimenopause and menopause often triggers all sorts of metabolic and digestive issues, insulin resistance too. It really would be worth your while going to see a women's health specialist.