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.

I think some people just don’t like and don’t want to exercise. It might be as simple as that.

That and education around nutrition, health and physical exercise is abysmal in this country.

For me, being healthy and active is so very important. I like feeling strong, capable and well. As such, I cannot comprehend why other people don’t feel the same. But it’s a deeply nuanced area of health and psychology.

I would never call someone overweight names, but I’ve been called awful names for not being fat. One group deriding the other does not help anyone. And it’s probably going to take years of generational change for there to be any discernible difference in the shape of our bodies in the main.

Oh yes, I will balance my previous comments about sunburned brits with European smokers! It always surprises me when I go abroad that so many people smoke still. I hadn't even realised that smoking in the UK had reduced so much, but going abroad really highlights how much more smoking there is in Europe.

I work in an office of about 20 people and no-one smokes. Only one guy vapes.

Mind you - I was also shocked the other day when someone in front of me in a Tesco Express bought a pack of cigarettes and they were about £15, so I suspect that explains it!

This post does really well to diminish the positive one a few days back which encouraged people worried about their weight to enjoy themselves on their holidays.
You have no idea about these people's lives and should try working on your judgemental attitude.

Its not individual people's fault. Its Capitalism.
-No zoning or caps on rent which allow only big chains to have shops on high streets, so tesco express etc are in every area, often the only shops, selling wall to wall shite, rather than fishmongers, greengrocer and also allows whole streets of fast food places.
-Selling off communal green space to developers.
-incredibly expensive and shit privatised public transport, so everyone drives, rather than walk to the bus.
-Councils being financially starved by government so leisure centres and pools are few and far between and also expensive.
-Schools being seen as future worker factories and extracurricular and sports being cut.
-Parents forced to work really long hours/multiple jobs to survive, leaving little time for browsing markets. Although my nearest market is £4.50 on the bus to get to, so I don't go..

I thought low BP wasn't generally treated in the UK (though it is in some countries).

Agreed. Good luck with your weight loss

Yes, people living longer could ultimately cost the NHS a lot more and cost the taxpayer more in terms of state pension and social care. I remember someone calculating that smoking actually reduced costs rather than increased costs for that reason.

No, I think the suggestion that avoidable chronic conditions (T2diabetes, hypertension, coronary disease, gallbladder disease etc), will be reduced, plus there will be a knock-on with various other more acute diseases and conditions (cancers, heart attack, stroke, etc). A reduced cost of appointments, drug demand,
staffing, etc…

But obesity is one issue. Stress, smoking, sedentary lifestyle… there’s many factors that need to be addressed regarding national health.

@DizzyRascal totally agree.
Big business, they win.

The twin doctors did the experiment. One ate UPF the other not. Massive changes.
Our private health club is cheaper than our local leisure centre, how can that be?

I am on Greece at the moment and there are a lot of portly Greek men

True. There’s a cost reason for lowering weight across a population, I’d say most reports on it start with cost as a consideration

We have a poor attitude to food in the UK. It’s a miracle there are any slim people left. We have mimicked the United States with the all-you-can-eat aka Bottomless Brunch, refillable soft drinks, giant pizzas, 24/7 availability of junk food, a culture that doesn’t value sitting down at lunchtime and instead celebrates eating on the hop….

People still got diabetes, hypertension, coronary disease, gallbladder disease etc in the 70s when people were thinner. Also, even those diseases are lower everyone is going to get ill and die of something. If people get older and get dementia it is likely to be even more costly.

As other people have mentioned, it's a lot to do with how cheap UPF's have become, and that many 2 working parent families struggle to find the time and energy to cook. My son get a good meal at the childminders daily, but by the time he's gone to bed and it's time to cook dinner I'm half dead. I've been making more of an effort to cook from scratch recently though, with 15-30 minute meals.

Yes. The tax payer did quite well out of dh. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack having paid decades of tax and NI. He'll never claim a penny of pension. No widowed parents allowance or widows pension any more, which used to be based on the deceased person's NI contributions. No years of old age health care or care homes.

I note smoking is A LOT more prevalent amongst other nationalities

My now 98 yr old Grandmother describes Carribbean cruises as "loads of fat Americans getting fatter".

Of course they do. But the point is, prevalence would almost certainly be reduced in a meaningful way. Because obesity is a large contributor to these particular conditions, but again, not sole.

An ageing population is another issue (I was quite plain in my posts that obesity is not the single issue within the NHS).

Incidentally, obesity also contributes to the likelihood of developing dementia.

Mental health is another area of healthcare that would likely benefit.

It’s a bit of a pipe dream however, there’s plenty of people wanting to cash in in making people fat.

Fat people, especially in the UK with its long working hours, shitty gov, shitty food industry and crappy climate, are generally less well off.

It's not a moral failing, it's the expected outcome of their environment.

But no one wants to discuss the environment, because it's all about personal responsibility and 'eat less, move more!'. Because discussing the environmental issues that contribute towards obesity doesn't lend itself to feeling morally superior over another person, we definitely are an overweight nation, but we're also one that revels in being critical.

Making healthier food cheaper and crap more expensive would be a start, while you can pick up a bag full of crappy processed food for a fiver 'deal' and healthier alternatives cost you twice that and you're on a low income, counting every penny, then what are you going to choose?

When you're in a nmw job that doesn't give you time enough for an adequate break to be able to eat at all, working long hours and doing everything else, it often comes down to priority. Unfortunately keeping a roof over our heads, paying bills so I don't have bailiffs at the door and getting enough sleep to function at work has always been my priority, not that people don't like looking at me because I'm overweight.

I worked permanent nights for years, and still work shifts. I have been ripped apart on here for saying this impacted my weight, told it's 'bullshit' and 'excuses' despite it being a recognised contributory factor in several health issues including obesity. But it did affect my weight, I have lost weight since working more 'conventional' hours, without specifically dieting. I had more energy for exercise, I had more time for cooking, my sleep improved dramatically which improved everything.

But people want services 24 hours so someone has to do them, they just better not succumb to the known issues that come with staffing those services 24 hours because then they're just lazy and costing the NHS a fortune .

And on that note, it's very rarely about health, or the NHS, it's about being critical to boost self esteem and no more. If being ridiculed, called names and condescended to worked, well no one would be fat at all because I'd bet my last £ that everyone who has been or is overweight has experienced that, probably more than once, and yet the problem is getting worse, not better.

It depends where you go, and where the people are from (within Britain) who go there - as broadly, more people from lower socioeconomic groups will be overweight.

Greek people I have holidayed with for decades call them “English cows” - that particular, very recognisable stereotypical fat white British woman you’re referring to.

Some of these things are linked though. Obese people find exercise hard which leads to a sedentary lifestyle, which leads to...
Stress and sadness can make people overeat, etc.