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.

Are we fatties meant to stay home until we're thin enough to be let out?

Pure gym is country wide and cheaper than council run gyms . Plenty of gyms around, its if people want to use them or not

BMI is not really fir for purpose. It was designed for white males and takes little account of muscle mass.

I'm overweight- 12 stone and 5 ft 2. I have been as low as 8 stone 7 which is ot my apparent bottom of the healthy weight range and used to have people come up to me in the street to urge me to eat more. (Not in the UK).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index#Limitations

Government policy has made the difference, it could to with food industry

It's not a 'first world problem' - take a look at the countries with the highest rates of obesity. They are developing countries where most people always cook because they can't afford much else except the home grown produce that is available.

I get it 🙄Even if you don’t like what you’re hearing.

Not everything can be the state made me this way. Yes losing weight is hard of course, it can be done without further state intervention. First up is what will you do personally.

BMI is not really fir for purpose. It was designed for white males and takes little account of muscle mass.

it doesn't take account for muscle mass, my dd2 is 5ft7 a size 6 and classed as overweight by the BMI scale - but can dead lift 120kg as she lifts weights 4/5 x per week and is very fit

Its clear you don't want to go to the gym - you literally states its boring, so whether it was free or £100 a month you'd not attend

Not everything can be the state made me this way. Yes losing weight is hard of course, it can be done without further state intervention. First up is what will you do personally.

This is incorrect. Obesity is a chronic progressive relapsing disease. Clearly education at a population level is a necessary first step.

The OP says British people are much fatter than other nationalities. So if the problem really is a British one, maybe the British government should be doing something about it?

It's very convoluted: British people are too fat! But it can only be tackled one Brit at a time because of personal responsibility!

And I'm certainly not arguing that it won't take any effort from individuals themselves. But what you really don't see on these threads are people admitting that a societal problem needs a societal solution - it's much easier to denounce all fat people as lazy pigs and assert that they must all lose weight and keep it off themselves without ever giving thought to what it is about British society that has led to this crisis to begin with. We know that people who lose weight mostly regain it - trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome is madness. But people come on to these threads and pontificate about personal choices and things don't get better. And meanwhile the rest of the world follows our example. I don't think personal choice is going to solve a collective crisis on its own.

We need the government to intervene; WE. We need the NHS, we need people to have money for a decent standard of living so that they can buy nutritious foods, we need mental health services to have money ploughed in.

That list is the tip of the iceberg. Can you do any of that? No.

Yes, losing and maintaining a healthy weight comes down the individual but sometimes help is needed for that.

I'm following your own snippy tone now but, do you really need it spelling out?

Yes no one ever thinks I could do something else. Buy another item

That’s the point they feel powerless and everyone reinforces that with oh yes the state makes you this way. Wait for the government to do it. It’s too hard.

I don’t think that helps. Small steps, small changes. It’s hard but doable

I have faith in people, I can see you getting aggro though. Too defensive.

@ivykaty44

"Its money making though and add in a failing NHS which could easily be privatised and - make more money

Why should government regulate food industries that are donating money to the political parties and why should they keep the NHS when there is money to be made

Look at USA they have a much bigger problem with obesity and they don't have an NHS - then look at Europe where healthcare isn't a money making exercise and the obesity rates are far lower by getting on for 25%"

+++

I think the UK obesity rates has less to do with some corporate and governmental conspiracy theory to keep us all overweight and more to do with people eating too much and not exercising enough.

In simple terms more calories in than calories burnt = putting on weight.

Oh my god, what a revolutionary statement. You should tell more people that; as soon as they hear your amazing new insight about calories in vs calories out no one will be overweight ever again!

The biggest problem is food poverty and lack of cooking skills.

While it's not the entire reason, it's a big factor. I know lots of people who like cooking, including myself. I tend to reach for the salad drawer for inspiration when deciding what's for dinner. My DH who hates cooking, roots around in the freezer for a box of something to throw into the oven.

Add into that when you are struggling financially, the beige frozen stuff is cheaper, and if you've fussy kids who won't eat vegetables then that's just money you don't have, wasted. In turn, those kids grow up used to those foods and cooking practices and are doomed to repeat them.

Takeaway portions are massive. Too big for one person and yet most people would eat that in one sitting because those portions are what they are used to, and anything less will make them hungry.

Exercising can be difficult to fit in, but there are ways to try. I'm gone out of the house 12 hrs a day and for months of the year I only see daylight at lunchtimes. I try to do a run or walk at lunch time.

My cousin will tell you that she gets no opportunity to exercise so that's why she's massive (her words) and that's why she needs to go to Turkey to get dodgy gastric band surgery, but she lives with her adult kids who both go to the gym almost every day, have taught themselves how to cook nutritiously and healthily and have tried to get their DM to do some. They used to be obese too until they chose a different path. She just doesn't want to.

What, another goady first post?

I also don't like walking for the sake of it. I'll happily walk to the surgery/post office, 2 miles round trip but I'd never think to take myself 'off for a walk'. I wish I did, I live in a really green area but I've just never done it.

My exercise is swimming and the gym and I enjoy both. I think that's the key, trying to find an exercise that you'll enjoy and keep doing because of that.

How fat do you consider fat?

@Hibiscrubbed

Instead of being rude why not either read what I linked or research it yourself.
Saves embarrassing yourself.

@CloudyMcCloud It would be amazing if faith in people was enough. I've lost a lot of weight myself and kept it off, but it's hard work and I hate exercise, it's hard and I hate getting sweaty. It all takes a lot of discipline.
Mental strength. I wish all day that I could eat eat eat
People don't want that hard work after a stressful day, they want to relax and they want sugar and carbs. You are expecting every individual to just magic up the willpower, it's never gonna happen. Ever.

For the population to become healthy weights it either needs a mass disaster where we don't have access to much food. Takeaways and fast food being £50 for one meal. Snacks on ration. Fat people not bring treated on NHS over a certain weight.
It will never happen.

Hoping individuals will change on a mass scale, or hoping they will be put off by future potential health problems, won't happen.
So we will continue to get fatter

The trouble is is that the people most at risk of obesity are the ones who cannot afford to go to the gym or don’t have time because they work 2 jobs or are single parents etc.

Most people I know who can afford the gym or have the time, are already the ones who can afford and know how to eat healthy anyway.

Having free or cheap gyms would absolutely help lots of people but it wouldn’t get to the root of the problem.