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 can't believe that educated women believe that it's ok to gorge on chips, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, vast quantities of noodles, vast bowls of rice , endless bread , crisps and sausage rolls.

I think snacking is more of an issue than booze culture. I do it and I know I shouldn’t. I know my body needs a rest and it’s good have periods of not being full and actually being hungry. DH never snacks and in 27 years I have never once heard him say he’s bored and start rooting for crisps.

When my DCs were small everyone seemed to bang on about snacks all the time. Mine were fine without until everyone else got one. I wanted them to be hungry at dinner time not whining and not eating because some twat had given them organic orange puffed things shortly before.

Obesity isnt an eating disorder at all

Obesity is simply the category of overweight someone is if they are too fat, the amount of adipose tissue a person has

Some eating disorders can contribute to obesity but not necessarily

I agree with @choixduroi , the diet in Germany , and the lifestyle is completely different . Uk supermarkets are on a whole different level for upfs . German women eat completely differently and so many women in their forties there are super slim compared to women in the Uk. I gained weight every time I returned to the UK from Germany, and lost it all quickly if I returned.

They were on a cruise so probably not poverty n this case.

No - it's bias - as in "sample bias"

Follow rightguysreviews see what they are cooking, most of it are fakeaways because that is the cheaper food that families want to eat. They do do meat & veg but not very often. To the original poster but you are judging, many people don’t have food role models it’s become generational thing. See how the US cook things all out of tins or packets nothing is fresh or if it is they have it pre cut & the amount of sugar they use is obscene.

Contempt and disgust dripping from that post.

I'm not sure this rings as true anymore, I see so many German fatties now. They're obviously eating something, so maybe their supermarkets have changed.

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

Porridge is cheaper than cereal, root veg, dahls, chick peas, beans etc all cheap. The biscuits, crisps, squash don't need to be bought. Use frozen fruit and veg....

You put on your coat and boots and go for a walk whatever the weather. It's also free yo walk and run.

Time- you make time. I have 3 children under 3 & 2 dogs. I work 4 days a week and have a house and garden to look after. I get up at 5:30am to exercise, then take the dogs out, then on working days I will get food in the slow cooker to be ready after work. I go to bed by 9:30 to be up early, prep salads for lunches the night before.

It's not splitting the atom, it's basic planning, time management and motivation.

I was a teenager in the 70’s we were all very slim. It was unusual to see anyone who was overweight. We didn’t eat as much at each meal, didn’t snack and have coffee/sugary drinks constantly and were far, far more active.

I am nearing my 70’s and am still slim, weighing around 8 ½ stone which is more than a stone more than I weighed as a teenager. I can’t imagine the stress on joints when overweight young people put on a bit of weight as they age.

The obsession with baking and cake
Sweet, fizzy drinks
Nothing wrong with good coffee, not so good to have a latte, cappuccino, often with a syrup every day.
Two glasses of wine
Takeaways - usually laden with fat, sugar and carbs that give a spike
Chocolate and biscuits and sweets
Heavily marketed breakfast cereals and that includes granola
Ready meals

All of the above are delish. None of the above have much in the way of protein, fibre or fresh fruit and veg. Sadly all of the above make people crave more sugar and carbs.

Trackies and Jersey interlock also have much to answer for. With those the trigger of not being able to fasten a button is gone.

They eat too much.

I agree with you. And to anyone who thinks you’re judging, I believe you when you say you aren’t.
Im the last person to judge anyone because I’m a recovering alcoholic.
Im pretty sure that like drinking, food addiction and the reasons for over eating are on a spectrum and the reasons some people over eat are the same reasons alcoholics drink.
The difference is, alcoholics cause more damage to their loved ones and to society.
Over eaters do cause harm though. They contribute to global warming, they cost the nhs obscene amounts of money and if their weight causes secondary health problems then that harms their loved ones. I’m frequently uncomfortable on trains and buses because an overweight person is sitting next to me causing me to have to hang over into the aisle.
When I was drinking, people were quite rightly disgusted with me and told me in no uncertain terms what a disgrace I was. I found out why I drank and I’ve put years of work into remaining sober.
Some of those people who expressed their disgust to me are overweight and have health problems as a result, yet I could never ever bring myself to say anything to them because it’s the biggest taboo to mention a persons weight.
I am so polite about it that I got on a fairground ride with an overweight friend and I ended up with bruised ribs. I didn’t tell her but you can be sure she’d have let me know if I’d been drunk and stumbled into her.
Drugs, gambling, alcohol, anything else is fair game for people to have a judgmental rant about.
But don’t say anything about someone’s eating habits or weight. That’s fat shaming.
Makes no sense to me.

There is a Facebook group for UK immigrants and ex-pats.
Sometimes people will write to the group say they are proud of their roast dinner (or such) but cannot find roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings in the freezer section nor ready made gravy.
If it is a man, they are directed to recipes and how to cook from scratch. If it is a woman, doing this is considered trolling. This is a patriarchal stigma not to acknowedge women not being able to cook from scratch and it helps ensure they never learn. Old fashioned sexism.

Hark at super mum.

They tend to drink more and take more drugs.

The government/ nhs/ schools still continue to give poor advice about the amount of carbs in a diet, so while it’s not the government’s responsibility, I think they are guilty of bad advice that encourages people to overeat calorific foods eg. Big plates of pasta.
While I’m off keto now, three years on it was a revelation.
Also, while I’m not overweight, I’m very guilty of plating up a similar sized plate of food to my husband, when I probably only need half of that food.
I also think programmes like the GBBO have led to the normalisation of sweet treats and stacks of sugary snacks/puddings; same with coffee shops stocking tempting cakes and muffins - too much availability!

Ah! Well that’ll do me then.

Congratulations.

Don't blame schools.

I think you're really missing the point about time here. You work 4 days a week and get up at 5.30am to exercise. That's great. But it's not unusual now for women to be running two jobs and also doing childcare/acting as a carer for a family member. They may be getting up at 5.30am to go to work, not for a bit of self-care.

I am the first person to advocate for eating home-cooked, unprocessed food but I am also fully aware that there are women who have neither the time, the money, nor even the cooking facilities.

In short, what you are describing is a middle-class lifestyle. This is increasingly unavailable to many families.

😂

If I come out of my front door and turn left, in five minutes I pass a Dunkin Doughnuts, a Subway and a Kentucky, if I turn right, in five minutes I pass an ice cream parlour and 4 cafes. I love food, I love feeling full and I find it hard to stick to a healthy diet but I try really hard to be healthy and nearly always cook from scratch I dread to think how difficult it must be for some.