Why are there so many overweight and obese British women?

[EvaHara]

Genuine post and I promise I am not a weight troll. Recently I was on a cruise and couldn't help but notice that many other British women onboard - especially younger women - were considerably overweight or obese. Some were in fact huge and easily as big as some women I saw in the US when there a few years ago.

What has caused this rise in overweight people, particularly younger women? I don't remember there being this many overweight/obese people even 10 years ago.

I am not judging, just curious.

I'm overweight. I'm not young. But I love my food. I don't sit there eating a whole packet of family size crisps, but I must eat too much in general. I cook every day from scratch just have too big a portion!

Yes, yes to wearing what you want for you and no one else.
No to having an unhealthy lifestyle/weight/habits (whether over or underweight or other things like smoking or an unbalanced diet).

Actually you're wrong on many levels. If you look into the research on UPF you will find that it's no coincidence that the increase in obesity and health conditions associated with it correlate highly to the increase in it's prevalence. Google "the nestle barge" which highlights how damaging this can be. There is a lot less free will in your food choice than you think - you are conditioned to want the highly processed, nutritionally devoid food that companies want you to buy.

Actually you're wrong on many levels. If you look into the research on UPF you will find that it's no coincidence that the increase in obesity and health conditions associated with it correlate highly to the increase in it's prevalence. Google "the nestle barge" which highlights how damaging this can be. There is a lot less free will in your food choice than you think - you are conditioned to want the highly processed, nutritionally devoid food that companies want you to buy.

It's a refusal to take responsibility for themselves and their health alongside some people not having an 'off' button . . ..

I suppose it will come just like smoking is now looked at, or drink driving.

I don’t think it is bad but depends on how much money you have to spend - like anything really.

Well that’s clearly not true; did you miss the part where the op said she was on a cruise? They don’t come cheap so these women obviously weren’t living in poverty.

Poverty = malnutrition, which can make someone overweight or underweight.

The fact that we now have much busier lifestyles and a crap work/life balance, means that we eat more processed foods and get less exercise.

You only have to compare the UK to places like France which has a much better work/life balance and see the difference between the levels of obesity.

Many women are affected the most because they are juggling being working mums and therefore have been less time to eat healthy and exercise.

Many men don’t carry the same mental or physical load that working mothers do.
They’re also not as susceptible to gaining weight like women are.

Ignorance of how to cook healthy food.
Working too long hours leaving too little time to homecook food
Poor attitude to exercise - all those girls turned off sport by school PE
Stress leading to comfort eating
Too much alcohol

namechanged221 not really - we’ve gone on several once we were child free as it gave us the opportunity to see a variety of new cities, we def didn’t go to just eat non stop. The first one we went on, we were quite surprised at the amount of food some people were loading onto their plates and did make a conscious effort to enjoy being cooked for but to eat mindfully. It’s very possible to go on a cruise, stay active, eat well and come home the same weight.

I'm surprised the ship didn't sink with all those fatties onboard!

Er yes, have not you not visited different supermarkets in different areas. The offerings are very different.

However, the point still stands, it is a supermarket/food industry's business model for us to overshop, over spend and over eat.

Packaged. processed foods are much much more profitable, they have a higher mark up, its easier to sell crap to those who either dont have the time, inclination, executive functioning, money to buy whole foods, cook them, store them, enable the kids to eat them

Its much much easier to have pizzas on special, crisps on special for what appears to be 'bargain prices'.

I think it's store dependant. The items that are fast movers / bigger sellers will be placed around the store in more easily noticable areas.

It's just marketing.

I just think people don’t give a shit. There’s no shame any more because everyone is fat. The NHS will patch them up when they inevitably get high blood pressure or diabetes. They don’t have problems buying clothes. Being fat isn’t the hindrance it used to be.

Laziness and poor food choices, plus the 'body positive' movement that lauds obesity. I feel sad when I see teens/ twenty year olds so overweight when they should be in their prime.

I dont agree its about type of food necessarily although I do see this in other families.

I grew up in a family where we couldnt afford to have treats, no fizzy pop or biscuits or crisps as a regular thing, mum cooked everything from fresh, was big on wholemeal and whole foods. Would cook cakes now and then although Ive never had a sweet tooth.

However I was always a big eater, massive eater from a young child and the rule in the house was you do not need to finish the plate, so there wasnt any pressure about finishing what you had. From very young Ive just always had a taste for rich, creamy, buttery foods, very savoury toothed. I just love my food and lots of it.

Cruises don’t come cheap but they are certainly aiming for a particular ostentatious clientele, you can certainly have money and be overweight. I live in one on the healthiest cities in the UK with the second most green spaces to use for activities and you genuinely don’t see loads of overweight people here, that is definitely the case with children as nearly everyone walks everywhere or cycles. Something like 70% of the restaurants are healthy. There is wealth but it isn’t spent on cars and cruises.

I don't think British weather helps. Can't get outdoors to walk or exercise unless you love getting soaked.
I'd be a stone lighter if the weather was nicer I'm sure

Where is this idyll?

@SuziQuinto Yes, that's exactly it.

I know two branches of Tesco about 7 miles apart. One in a very affluent market town, the other in a fairly low-rent industrial town.

The first shop sells fennel & asparagus and swede, broccoli, purple sprouting, cauliflowers, french & broad beans. Five different types of lettuce, rocket, watercress, lambs lettuce. Fresh herbs. Plenty of other veg.

The second shop has one vegetable aisle and an awful lot of lager and crisps.

Shops sell what their catchment area will buy.

The weather comments are a bit of a cop out. You can still walk in the rain, you don't go out in a tee shirt when it's cold and wet, you put a decent coat on.

Here are some reasons for Denmark

• Trade unions that negotiate good work life balance. I work ft. 37 hrs. That includes 5 lunch breaks of half an hour, paid. So by UK standards I'm only working 34.5 hours. Most of my colleagues work 4 day weeks.
• sport is popular and there is a big emphasis on being part of a group. Also the amount of money you can get for kids as club members is an incentive for clubs to keep them in.
• smaller cities and infrastructure for bikes.

I’m not going to out myself. I am definitely the fattest amongst friends, I am about a 14 and I hate it as was always thin, I blame the fact that I don’t do the school run or park with my kids anymore as teenagers. If you go to the parks most parents look casual but effortlessly good looking helped by the fact they are thin and fit.

I'm not British, but I live in the UK.

In my case it was due to 3 back to back pregnancies in my 30s.

I'm now 37 and 1 stone oberweight.

It's very hard to shake it off with 2 toddlers and a baby to take care off.