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.

So I said upthread, we need major investment in mental health services in this country. A properly funded NHS that treats people physically and mentally in a timely manner (not having this is political choice: this government have spent billions on eg bribing the DUP, giving Covid contracts to their friends in exchange for no usable PPE, you get the idea - the magic money tree is always there when they want it!)

Investment in infrastructure to reduce reliance on cars. Safer ways for people to cycle - also good for the environment!

PE in schools could be overhauled and the focus could be on instilling a love of exercise in young people. More investment in schools as a whole and better facilities, better quality school meals for sure.

Possibly some kind of subsidising of gym membership, not sure. Definitely a move to reopen, increase and maintain local leisure centres.

Something needs to be done about the prevalence of ultra processed foods and that one is harder. I don't really support making food more expensive in a cost of living crisis so I'll admit I don't have a solution there.

Those are a few ideas and they would work better than coming on Mumsnet to tell people to eat less and move more. They'd actually make it easier for people to do so.

There is a huge link between socioeconomics and weight so maybe you need to holiday somewhere much posher to avoid fat Brits?

They might be overweight but I bet they’re having a better holiday than sour faced judgemental twats like you, O.P. Would you prefer it if overweight people stayed in their homes all the time to avoid offending you?

Oh, long working hours and zero hour contracts are an issue too @CloudyMcCloud . There are a lot of ways in which the government could invest in the nation's health, and people like to remind us that fat people are bankrupting the NHS so it would pay for itself.

So these would help you personally lose weight?

I don’t mean general ones like those listed, I mean how could you be successful in losing weight?

I mean you currently find it hard, would a subsidised gym membership help, would you use it?

What would make you put healthy food in the trolley over UPF - is it cost?

One thing I agree with you on it’s hard, even people who have money and time join a gym and let it languish. At some point the individual has to do the hard part though.

I am more critical of behaviour in Brits abroad than weight. Whenever you are woken up by loud shouting or people playing loud music in their rooms, 9/10 it is a Brit.

Probably in some places. I can honestly say I've never seen any lairy British people on holiday since I went on a cheap package holiday with my mates to Tenerife when I was 20. And everyone was lairy there, certainly not just a British thing.

They are pretty easy to avoid. I probably go to places that are not particularly British dominated. I have never noticed lots of overweight people on holiday either - only at the airport on the way!

Is there a big shift towards celebrating obesity in the UK? I can't say I have noticed. Maybe normalised, as in the sense that it's common and not shocking anymore. But celebrated? I know there was a small movement in the US which started a few decades ago but it was never mainstream, and I don't know any obese person, myself included, who celebrates their fat.

We just don't hide away in shame either. Why should we? It is what it is . It's a health issue, same as anorexia. No more, no less.

I have a gym membership, personal trainer and money to buy healthy food. I could also buy £5 biscuits if I wanted to binge on them. The investment in mental health services would absolutely be of benefit to me though I do pay for that privately. But the thread is about British people in general so I'm thinking of societal change that would be beneficial overall. Not everyone obese has my particular mental health history, just like not everyone obese is taking steroids. So for some of us, our needs might be different. And I'm thinking especially of children and what we could put in place because preventing obesity is much better than trying to reverse it.

No, when people say it's celebrated what they actually mean is that it's more tolerated. If it was celebrated, we'd see people trying to gain weight to get a big beach body but we don't! People can acknowledge a big body can look nice or that a fat person can be confident, but no one has yet made obesity something anyone aspires towards. Pretty much everyone fat would prefer not to be.

I’m glad you’re able to access help.

Although it does show that even with extra help it can still be hard. Junk food is highly addictive and no I don’t think it’s easy to limit supply to any great extent. Maybe rationing levels of restrictions would do it but who wants that. You can give out gym membership but the users would might not be who could benefit most.

I don’t use a gym anyway, there are ways that are free. It doesn’t need to be a barrier to general fitness.

Yes I’d like to see it prevented for children too. But that includes parents taking more responsibility imo.

Most parents really do want to see their children healthy and happy. You seem to think the barrier is laziness and abdication of personal responsibility, but we live in a society where it's very easy to get fat and very hard to lose weight. We could, as a society, take some measures to address that. We won't find a perfect solution, but we could help people rather than wash our hands of them and come on to Mumsnet to say it's just greedy, lazy Brits destroying the NHS because they can't be arsed. Lots of people can be arsed but they're failing and there is more that society can do than simply judge them.

Oh another idea, water companies could be prevented from filling our rivers and seas with shit so people could swim without pool membership.

@TheoTheopolis23 , that made me laugh. An ex colleague was a great fan of Caribbean cruises that sailed out of Miami. She was a size 18+ and loved feeling comparatively thin on those holidays, because most of the passengers were much fatter Yanks. She said a lot of them would spend most of the day going from one food outlet to another - you could eat all day at umpteen different places.

These threads are always x y z are to blame. I don’t completely agree.

I haven’t used the word lazy btw, you have, but yes barriers exist for many people. They are not fixed though.

Thank you to the people who have acknowledged fat is more than a greed issue. We are a nation of very determined people (actually woman) but we have a shit offering re housing and jobs. No one in Europe has such poor employment rights or family friendly policies. The world loves our educational establishments but they are talking about the 7% of people who access private education. State education is horrendous if you don't have the money to live in a naice area. Schools have no money, the NHS has no money and 89% of people are struggling. If you are fat so bloody what. No one will help you and nearly always it's about belonging. Family and homes. People live in shitty housing with no secrurity of tenancy and if that doesn't put you on the pizza what will? I lived in a high net worth town for 21 years and nobody was over a size 14. But boy did those women need to LTB because they weren't nice. One ate chocolate mousse with her head in my fridge.
Nobody wants to be overweight but to suggest those people are stupid, lazy or ignorant is insulting. If you have always been slim, well done you. I was a UK record holder (athletics) and then ill health can get you. If those who have said that's different it really isn't. I still get abused and insulted, mumsnet or IRL. Just be careful my slim friends, we are not St Peter and we meet him soon enough.

I was asking the OP which is why I didn’t tag anyone - unless you are the OP who has changed their name? If so, I didn’t read your posts in this name. If not, then I don’t judge people on their weight, particularly those who have medical conditions that affect weight gain. And I don’t recall mentioning cost.

No, these threads are always 'fat people are to blame'.

At some point you just need not to post rubbish 😀

@RattleRattle I get you’re ‘rattled’

And maybe unhappy?

I don't think the climate, working hours or certain things about the culture help.

Ok @CloudyMcCloud , you think it's just a matter of personal responsibility. So how do you suggest we get people to take personal responsibility then? Here we are in an obesity crisis, you think it can only be fixed by individuals so how will you make them do it? Mumsnet threads about fatties spotted on holiday just aren't doing the trick, what will?

Maybe we could try my ideas and even if obesity rates don't reduce, we'll all be getting better healthcare, better education, less shit in the water, less car emissions - I think we'll all be onto a winner anyway!

Or we can just carry on and every time we see a fat person enjoying life we can post disapprovingly about it on Mumsnet, that will probably be just as good.

It used to be those who were poor were thin. Now that's something for those who are well off.

UPF is what makes people fat. They eat more of it, and it's destroying your gut. British people eat more of it than our European neighbours. Our kids eat more of it too. Give it another few years and the evidence will be that those who mostly eat UPF die much earlier.

Eat less UPF and you will lose weight. You will feel better too

@x2boys I am glad not to be recognised as from these shores, I don't want to have to discuss Brexit on holiday, or my thoughts on Mr Johnson.

YANBU the majority of humans consume too much.