Overweight Brits abroad

[Artyfart]

I know this will upset people but it’s time to face facts and I’m talking about myself here too. Just got back from second holiday abroad this year when once again it was painfully noticeable how overweight British people are compared to our European neighbours. We stand out a mile! Every time I saw someone fat I’d wait for it and…. British accent. We look a state and it’s time to do something about it. No wonder the NHS is on its knees. I came back more determined than ever to lose weight.

Yes actually, that’s why we get the train

I’d look fucking awful if I was at the bottom of my healthy weight range which is 7st 3 to 9st 10 at my height of 5ft 2. I’m currently losing weight and aiming for 9st 4.

I think ‘accepted lifestyle’ is key.

Habits and expectations. Our cultural patterns, from ‘Full English’ to ‘afternoon tea’. Crisps with a drink, snacking, our national dishes, a roast laden with roasties , stuffing, yorkies etc, followed up by apple pie.

Chips on the side of almost anything. Garlic bread ditto.

I know no one eats all this all the time but it sets a benchmark of what we see as a ‘proper meal’ that seems to be different elsewhere.

We value quantity, often over taste / quality. We love a great brimming plateful.

Before we even get to comfort eating etc.

Lol

@KimberleyClark Im the same height as you and the smallest I've been is 7 stone 4 (abusive relationship stress) I looked utterly grotesque

Im now almost 9 stone so verging on the 'heavy' side of BMI. However I'm still a size 6/8... make of that what you will 🤣

I say shame because it’s never nice to be told you’re getting a bit chubby even if you’re still heathy weight. It’s just direct and plain speaking - you’ve put on weight

Ime it worked for those around me, and still works for me now. I’m in the same obesogenic society as everyone else in UK I just don’t want to give way to it.

Also making sure dc don’t just eat rubbish but healthy food. Yeh it can take effort but worth it.

So being direct - is that good or not? I don’t mind it. It can be harsh but works

For the very fat you say it doesn’t work, maybe that’s because we lack the earlier interactions that slow getting there at all

Lizzo is obese and yet we're all supposed to pretend that obesity is strong and beautiful.....

I agree that this is madness and there's no need to adopt that mentality; it makes no sense, but it's being used as a defence against the barrage of judgement. If the judgement wasn't there, what's to rail against?

Fit, healthy, strong bodies should be the norm and what is striven for.

I don't know the answer to this; we have a corrupt government who will have weighed up the benefits/disbenefits of their profits -v- dead citizens and made their decisions. Anything else is lip-service; it's no secret where their priorities lie.

I think these threads are started for drama/enjoyment... they achieve nothing other than a ruck which some people crave and putting 'obesity' or 'overweight' in the thread title, ensures that very thing.

I've only briefly ever been a normal BMI since I had kids at 29 - certainly after my second age 33. And that was through an extreme and unsustainable diet.

That said I don't find any greater effort is required in my late 40s and my weight has actually gone down over the last 14/15 years, in a period when most people put 5kg to 10kg on.

@Artyfart we have recently been in Italy and it was so stark the difference between the Brits and the locals. Not just in terms of weight but also pride in their appearance. Almost everyone wearing actual clothes rather than ‘sportswear’.

Yes. I've seen the flip side of this when travelling in the US. I am American but have lived in the UK for 30 years.

I'm obese. In the UK I am conscious of being obese. But after a month on holiday in the US, I feel like a normal person. There are so many people there who are my size, and even some who are twice my size. In some ways it is pleasant to fit in and relax, but at the same time I feel that if I lived there I would become dangerously complacent and would lose all motivation to change to a healthier lifestyle.

Our surgery has a machine now. Yesterday I was asked to use this machine after my asthma consultation which I did. It measured my height, weight and blood pressure then printed a ticket to be handed into reception for their records.
I have no idea how this will be used if at all. My BP was low so I await a call if anyone actually interprets the data

Totally agree OP, I’ve just come back from Greece and thought the same. You can spot the Brits a mile off. We also tend to be…dare I say it…generally uglier than those from many Mediterranean countries. Look at the average British 30 yr old (male or female) compared to the average Spanish or Greek 30 yr old, for instance. We tend to have worse hair/skin/teeth/body shape/fashion sense. Was talking about this the other day with my European friend.

YANBU. It’s definitely a thing.

Almost everyone wearing actual clothes rather than ‘sportswear’.

Perhaps that's because they are working rather than on holiday.

Though I've never seen British people on holiday in Italy in summer wearing football tops and the like - you'd boil in that shiny nylon stuff. Most people seem to wear sensible lightweight cotton clothing.

Have you not see how many fat Italian, Spanish, French people there are..

I echo this. We had old bikes for birthdays my dad would take apart, respray, add a bell and give to us. We were either on these bikes, roller skates or scooters all the time. My children had bikes and skateboards. My grandchildren have been given bikes but only use them at center parcs because the roads are too busy

True, but it is a question of balance.

Lots of people will hear ‘external factors’ and basically justify making poor choices by blaming entirely these external factors, ie not accept that ultimately they are responsible for what they choose to put in their mouth / how much they exercice.

Would you really though? I mean, a kg or two is one thing but if you pile on weight it really impacts joints and makes moving about much more difficult. If you've ever had a weight gain issue yourself then you'd be cognisant of that and I imagine you'd rein it in - for your joints and wellbeing if nothing else.

I have a tendency to weight gain and keep a very beady eye on it because I know how difficult it is to shift (HRT also helping/not helping).

I do agree with you that normalising overweight isn't the way to go but there's a stark difference between that and the 'point and gasp' brigade who always find their way onto these horrible threads.

Oh well up to you. Not being overweight is of course for me primarily. For physical health and overall feeling good.

I also agree with this very much. Too much loss of facilities for people to be active, too high a cost of living and too much access to cheap non-nutritious food that is designed to cause addiction.

A government that really doesn't care is the 'cherry on the cake'...

No one has said these nations don't have overweight people - but Italy for example has 1 in 10 that are overweight where as UK has nearly 1 in 2

Thank you. 😌 I mean, I could have been ruder and assumed an orifice, I at least enquired.

Anyway, I have subsequently replied to this ‘truth’ in a later post. Do keep up.

Don't need to go abroad, just come back from Tesco, assumed the whole store was given over to Fatty Tuesday priority shopping, so many people waddling around, sad to see so many younger people over weight.

Processed foods?