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.

But that's not what the OP (or any number of fatbashing threads that appear on MN daily) is doing. OP is judging fat people, not starting what could be a useful discussion on things which might cause obesity - poverty, lack of resources for those who want to lose weight, poor health due to poverty/environment, cheap steroid medication rather than better quality drugs, and so on.

Pointing and laughing, or assuming all fat people are fat because they're lazy and/or greedy, isn't helping anyone.

Fetishism 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

this post is making me so angry that I'm stepping away, but thank you for this laugh before I go! Needed it!

@RattleRattle why does the state have to explain about healthy living, surely these are the very basics of existing?

Upscale resort recently I noticed most women of all nationalities were slender. There were lots of dads/ older men with round tummies of all nationalities. TBF, almost all of the overweight women were British.

@x2boys that was a reply to the person who commented to you, not you!!

Is that what it is? Is it not that most people who are fat have spent years dieting, with their weight going up and down, hating themselves, starving themselves, hiding away, being ashamed to eat in public or exercise because of the type of people that populate threads like this. That it is perfectly OK to say that you are allowed to love the body you are in right now. That it is OK to expect to wear nice clothes that fit the body you are in right now. That learning to love and accept yourself is the first step to being able to start practising healthy eating and moving your body for enjoyment, not punishment.

But, no, you're right of course. Let's just humiliate and shame people for being fat, that'll learn 'em.

Severe obesity is BMI 40+. i.e. someone who is as heavy as two "healthy"-sized people. Turns out I was looking at US stats. The UK is closer to 4% (with women much bigger than men). The proportion of severely obese people is three times higher than in Spain.

So while you do get big people all over Europe, our biggest tend to be bigger than theirs!

@3WildOnes that's because you went on holiday to an area that's not known for fat beer and pie Brits , nor do you live in that kind of area either. Being very honest it's more of a situation within certain demographics- too many carbs- Greggs, Maccy Ds , kfc etc - you do get overweight comfortably off no

Well I'm in Crete right now and yes there are quite a lot of overweight Brits but there are quite a lot of overweight Germans too.

Can everyone experiencing weight gain due to steroids please ignore the entire thread. This is not about you, and apologies to the perhaps 1% of overweight people I noticed when on holiday who were on steroids. I’ve experienced it, my mother is currently experiencing it - I get it. The reason for growing obesity in the uk has been explained here very well by other posters. All I’m saying is that when you go abroad it suddenly becomes very, very noticeable.

I think we must have been reading different OPs. The Op was actually including herself in her comment, not pointing and laughing. he seemed to be saying that moving away from an environment where being overweight had become the norm made her realise the extent of the problem that exists in the UK. Then a lot of angry posters came on accusing her of fat bashing, jeering etc

Well that fetishism certainly isn't a thing on MN.

Maybe you'd prefer it if fat people were constantly laughed at, told they were lazy and greedy, ridiculed? Sorry to piss on your (calorie laden) chips but that happens to us every day, pretty much. Particularly if you're on MN.

I'm "lucky" the steroids made me incredibly ill so I have come off them now and the weight is falling off. I'm probably slimmer than some of the judgy people on this thread. But my hair is also falling out thanks to the new meds. Presumably the judgy people on here won't see my hairloss as my fault? And I am imagining people won't feel the need to give me as much unsolicited dietary advice

However, I now know I will always treat larger people with compassion. We don't know their story.
(I hope I always did before, as someone who was once anorexic I have sympathy with people who struggle around food whether that is undereating or overeating)

I also think there needs to be a big conversation around medication and its role in obesity.

Studies have shown that people in the overweight category live longer than those in the normal category.

There have been lots of calls for the NHS to change the BMI chart but I guess they’re worried that if they increase the range of ‘normal’ it could lead people to become obese.

I don’t think anyone should purposely gain weight but I think the people who are judging others for being overweight need to work out why they’re judging them.

We definitely have an obesity crisis but loneliness is said to be a bigger killer than obesity (not to mention the dangers of smoking and alcohol, which is one of the leading causes of death in the UK) and so I feel the judgement of these people actually comes from a place of vanity, rather than caring about their health.

There are lots of scientific articles on it but they’re quite long winded.

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-healthiest-weight-could-actually-be-overweight-huge-study-finds

The UK has more inequality than a lot of other European countries. We have more people living on very little income so they can't afford to eat properly. Everyone needs ro feel full, it's a human need, but it's a lot cheaper to fill yourself with high energy cards and sugars than proper meals.

What is notable and sad is the number of overweight kids. We are clearly not talking about the impact that of poverty either if these families can afford an expensive holiday abroad. They are sitting on iPads scoffing ice creams and chips by the pool.

You have no idea who is fat because of medication. You have no idea who is fat because they have a long history of eating disorders. You have no idea who is fat because they are living in poverty. You have no idea who is fat because they have poor mental health.

Don't backtrack. You saw fat people - you judged - you started a thread. The klaxon was sounded and here are your people.

Can only speak for my sons school ,he's just left a,few weeks ago after doing his GCSE,s he did good technology for three years and he made chocolate muffins ,cookies ,a fruit salad and sausage rolls I think they only did one term a year he certainly wasn't taught much about making healthy meals ,maybe they did at GCSE but he didn't take it.

No. You don't get to police who joins in the conversation.

@RattleRattle again I ask but must people be told by their government how to look after themselves and not eat crap? I never could understand this mentality.

This is not an issue for society to resolve this is down to individual choice, nobody is forcing anyone to stuff their face with MacDonalds

Just back from a week in Mykonos, OP. (Had a lovely time). Didn’t notice any overweight Brits. I wasn’t looking for them though. There were plenty of strange lips though.

Thin Brits don't do med beach holidays! Don't you read MN! 😁

Oh my days, the sunburn! I've just got back off of a cruise where it was all Brits and one day I had to share a lift with a lady that looked like she was going through a full peel. It looked so painful, yet she seemed so proud of her "tan"! I just don't understand it.

At the end of the cruise a child had to be airlifted off with severe sunstroke that couldn't be stabilised.

Just wear sunscreen and/or stay in the shade people!