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.

Excellent point! But also, maybe they were fatter before and actually lost weight on this cruise?
Certainly makes you think

Lazy people ordering takeaways every night whilst scrolling through crap on their phones and laying on the sofa

😂

You only have to look at Starbucks / Costa/ restaurants
Coffee with syrups/ marshmallows/ cream.
Burgers are double / triple stacked with extra bacon and cheese.
Breakfast isn't a small fry up anymore , there are waffles/ pancakes/hash browns.
A snack isn't just a bourbon biscuit, it can be a seemingly'healthy ' cereal or protein bar at 300 calories or more.

they we have all given up smoking

Oh I got fatter after my first born... Despite running around and eating less, I was eating the wrong things and not looking after myself. Mums do come last :(

You've clearly given this a lot of thought. Well done you! Makes my day when a deep and serious thinker finds time to share their considered opinions.

I'm overweight due to a stressful full time job, three teenagers and raging mental health issues. I self medicate with alcohol but actually I don't really care about myself at all so why bother looking after my body?

does that help? I'm having counselling which is slowly helping, but a DH who doesn't accept that emotions can be irrational means my home life is hard work as well.

I’m fat because I’m hungry Horace I’ll hold my hands up. I hate any talk of diets not because it triggers me but because I find it bleedin’ boring. I’ve got no intentions of losing weight. I also have no problem attracting men.
I don’t hide myself away or wear anything drab and have dresses in every colour.

If I went on a cruise they would have to roll me off the ship at the end.

A poster mentioned that she saw women doing more housework in the UK than France.
I (man) was a little shocked, as that was utterly not my impression. The French men I worked with could all cook, but considered it the woman's job and thought that were really good husbands for helping with the housework.
It was similar with the Belgians in Brussels, women were shocked that I kept my flat clean and tidy without a maid. When I quickly prepared a meal for date, tidying up as I went, before we headed out on the actual date, she was genuinely shocked. She gossiped about it with her friends. I had never experienced that reaction in the UK.
In Denmark, I think it is pretty similar to the UK. I think Danish women are very generous in their perception. British women married to Danish men report they are bone idle on the whole, Danish women married to British men generally report they do their share. I think it is more a reflection on social values and how people like to see themselves.

If you are used to highly palatable food like substances then proper food can taste very bland, not to mention the time & effort required to prepare it.

How nice it must be to be an able bodied person with the time/energy to do all that.

One day of that, i'd be floored for a week, but you know. we can't all be healthy/perfect/not disabled.

Living in the USA, I started to sympathise with them. Food without added sugar would taste very strange and even bland to them.

It usually boils down a 2 factor combination in my opinion. Lack of discipline and being lazy.

Most people will know roughly how much food they need to consume but instead overindulge.

Most people could probably make time for a home workout, run or gym session a couple of times a week but instead watch TV.

I wouldn't get up at 5.30am and go to bed at 9.30pm. Sounds a bit dull.
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Child of the 80s and 90s here. We had one overweight girl in our primary school. A few chubby ones by end of secondary school.

A third of my son's reception class are overweight.

I think it's the toxic combination of screens and upf. Although upf was definitely around when I was a child it hadn't reached the ubiquity and low cost that it is now. Meanwhile kids spend all their spare time indoors on screens. When I was young kids TV was very limited hours and we played out a lot of the time.

Yes.
So are you suggesting we change the people out until we fit a population up to your standards?
Or do we accept people as they are and perhaps change their circumstances?
Or just keep judging them until that cures everything?

It has become completely normalised in this country to eat highly processed foods. It's embarrassing and will be the ruination of the NHS.

I lived in Spain for 9 years as an adult, with Spanish family, and have a lot of Spanish friends. Spain is a really feminist country ina lot of ways, especially since the PSOE Podemos coalition era. This said, a lot of women in Spain do take on the mental and physical load of the lioness' share of cooking, food shopping, caring for the elderly (men seem to take on an equal-ish share of child-related responsibilities) while also working full-time. In older generations, women do a lot (but, similar to the U.K., worked less or not at all before 1977).

The main ways in which Spanish eating culture is different to U.K. is:

• everyone eats together, family meal times are sacred. Meals are slow so well digested.
• healthy, fresh, delicious foods esp. fruit and veg. are cheap and abundant (in season)
• focus on home-cooking, as it is cheaper (e.g. lentils, chickpeas, beans)
• smaller portions (sharing rations of 'tapas', for example)
• less culture of snacking and less abundant junk food
• much less chocolate (too hot / not part of the culture) although there is hot chocolate and chocolate flavoured things
• for women (and increasingly, men) BIKINI OPERATION in the spring, essentially, dieting for the summer (as you spend 3 months in a bikini)
• generally less alcohol than in U.K. and apart from youngsters clubbing and the annual summer fiestas in your town, alcohol is consumed with a meal

This doesn't mean the Spanish diet is perfect! A big problem, for example, is colon cancer and other health issues from eating too much processed (not ultra processed and often good quality), salted, fatty pork.

@Sweden99 I’ve no idea. I’m basing my opinion on what I know and experience. I don’t think it’s selfish to eat regular fresh meals and exercise. I’m not overweight either so I’m only speculating based on what I see & hear combined with how I view society today in 2024.
Alcohol intake in England plays a huge part as it’s become normal to many to drink to excess several nights a week.
Where I work there are many women who drink every night of the week, eat mainly processed food and live sedentary lifestyles. They claim not to eat much and don’t understand why they aren’t slim like others. They are always on a diet. They starve themselves for hours then eat cakes regularly. They talk about food constantly and comment on everything others eat.
I think it would benefit them to eat three regular meals a day, cut down on the booze and walk to work. I don’t think there needs to be drastic measures such as getting up with the larks to exercise or exist on lettuce. It has to be a sustainable long term way of living. I understand it’s different if there are serious health issues and morbid obesity.

Honestly, I don't know. I was on holiday at Easter sitting around the pool and beach and I just couldn't believe how many very overweight people there were outweighing average sized (pun unintended).

I think UPF has a huge part to play. I was a skinny child in the 80’s. Healthy weight teen in the 90’s. Grew up on a farm and did sport 6 days out of 7. Probably barely sat down. Had a fish supper maybe once every few months and the odd Sunday carvery at the local.

Then j moved to London to Uni. I got so fat. Far less movement, ate a fry up in halls for breakfast, a cheese baguette, cake and crisps for lunch. Halls dinner in the evening before a lot of booze and a cheeky McDonald’s at 1am. I put on about 6 stone. the availability of food just rocketed to me.

I was far for all of my twenties then I lost 5 stone on my 30’d and have kept it off. I run 3 times a week, mostly Dow 15k steps a day. But mainly I cook healthy homemade food I grew up with (plus pasta and adventurous salads as they didn’t exist on farms in the 80’s). We don’t eat takeaways - maybe once every 3 months or so.

i find it so sad that you can have a McDonald’s delivered to your door.

Yes this is my experience, in Spain and Italy the women are the sole child carers, cooks, cleaners etc etc. Its their job to look after family.

Although obviously looking after family means cooking beautiful, healthy, home cooked fresh foods

I am not judging nor expecting them to change. I like to keep in shape but if others are happy being overweight then good luck to them.

I am merely answering OPs question.