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.

Deliveroo and the like have a lot to answer for. I can't do it, my son on a weekend orders in McDonalds
/ KFC , I couldn't waste my money like that for a start

Same, I weigh and log whatever I eat, I stick to 1,400cals or under. I usually have the same 2 meals everyday, I need my routine&am strange about food, I have toast, 1/2 slice mozzarella, avocado, mushrooms and egg for breakfast around 9.30, I go to work(physical job, walking, bending, lifting, stretching) then I usually walk home, so walk around 5-6miles a day. I get home at 6ish, eat my dinner which is baked or baby potato(season dependant) and a salad consisting of: lettuce, cucumber, radish and red onion. I don't usrebutter or oil to cook, I don't have butter on bread, I don't drink alcohol, I drink water and black coffee, no sugar added to anything, the occasional diet coke. Yet i'm still obese, my weight never budges, it's depressing, my gp isn't interested, so what do you expect me to do op? Sorry for offending your eyes, thank you for making me feel even more shit than I already do about my myself! People are rude and judgemental, think they can abuse you in the street avout your weight, it's a horrible existence, so once again, thank you to all of you fattie judgers for making life that little bit harder!

Maybe all the thin people on this thread pontificating about how ruinous the fatties are could chase them up and down hills, to kill 2 birds with one stone?

All the thin people get their exercise and get all their nasty judgy energy out and the fatties will get thinner and won't have time to scoff a burger.

We've lost sight of why people should be less judgemental

I’d love to know why women in other countries aren’t overweight given modern lifestyles.

I work in a demanding office job where I’m sat down all day. I leave for work at 8am and get home at 8pm four days per week and one day per week I work from home. My husband works similar hours in a hospital.

On weekdays my step count is 5000-6000 steps from my commute. I go to the gym for a 30-40 minute workout 2 days per week - not enough, I know. At weekends we are generally out and about and average 20,000 - 30,000 steps per day.

We eat out 2-3 days per week as this is how people socialise nowadays plus I’ll grab something from Pret for lunch when I’m in the office. The rest of the time we cook at home and eat healthily (wide variety of vegetables and legumes) although I’ll admit we do eat a lot of pasta dishes for speed! We don’t drink.

My BMI is 24.5, so very close to being overweight and while I don’t think people would describe me as “fat” I’m definitely not slim and would say I have fat legs which is where all my weight goes! My husband is also a bit overweight.

So for me, I suppose it’s because my lifestyle is fairly sedentary and I’m probably having high calorie lunches and meals out without being, even though I try to choose the healthy option.

However, I already feel like I push myself just to make it to the gym a couple of times a week and cook healthy meals at home so would struggle to make further changes while maintaining my career and relationships with friends and family. If I didn’t do those things I’d probably be like the women you describe! Do French and German women not have the same problem? How do they do it?

Back when I lived in the UK, I saw this with many housemates. They would often have a glass of wine or two, a posh ready made meal and think it rather classy. And be rather sneering of my meat, sauce, potato and veg. I (man) was slim, lean, making food from scratch etc. But the veneer of sophsitication misled them into thinking the ready meal and booze was the classier choice.

People eat too much, too much of the wrong things, drink too much, don’t move enough, claim they are too busy to cook from scratch, prioritize speed over healthy food, spend too long on technology, go from office to sofa without passing by a gym/pool/whatever, stay inside when it’s cold, and have every excuse under the sun for being overweight.

I live in France and most women I know work - a far greater proportion than when I was in the UK. I was almost an exception at school balancing family life and a busy career whereas in France everyone around me works. Yet they are not overweight!
So not this can’t be the reason.
Likewise there are no overweight children in my kids’ class in France whereas there were a handful in each class when we were in the UK.
I think it’s just a lack of « food culture » and awareness of what makes a healthy diet. I am often horrified when I read suggestions of healthy meals on Mumsnet (which for me are closer to junk food) so not surprised there are so many overweight people

Agree with this
A couple of French friends came to the UK to marry British men because French men ( they said ) ‘can’t grasp equality in the home’.

Pound shops! I think its more like 25 years. I don't remember having all these snacks after school but if I don't give DS a snack after school it's like a sin!

Inactivity and fewer local amenities, meaning a car is key to doing something which would have been a quick walk 30 years ago.

Added expense to already inflated CoL so a gym/swim membership isn't on the cards.

Needing to work after having kids (for most of us) is stressful and you care more about just relaxing with the precious time you have together than making a meal from scratch.

Maybe in addition, i think people care less about out-dated societal norms and expectations..I grew up with a mother ALWAYS talking about her weight; this shit sticks and it impacts how we see our weight later on. Would be interested to know what it was like for the slimmer countries with matriarchal attitudes towards women being thin.

Not saying these are correct for everyone, just thinking out loud.

I am slowly coming down from a big size 16 and I am enjoying the slowness of it instead of frantically trying to drop weight quickly. I don't compare myself to anyone but do yearn to pop myself into my size 12 Nicole Farhi dress which is 15 years old! 😆

Truth hurts I guess.

Some people think that to be overweight must mean that you order takeaways regularly, secretly eat cake and never do any exercise.

If it was as simple as calories in vs calories out then everyone would be slim and the weigh loss industry wouldn’t be worth billions of pounds.

Just like some slim people struggle to put on weight, some overweight people struggle to lose it.

Judging someone is never helpful and unfortunately it’s almost always women who get judged for being too big/too slim.

Iwas the opposite. Slim for my 20s despite living on mostly crap and doing no exercise to speak of. Then my thyroid malfunctioned. In my 60s now and fat. I eat healthily and exercise but it’s so so hard t lose weight and keep it off.

I think a lot of it has to do with Covid and people being stuck inside, cooking bread related foods, drinking more alcohol than usual and not getting the same amount of exercise. It's habit forming and difficult to break.

Maybe not on this cruise? Women do holiday together.

@Internationalpony, You are doing great. People often romantisise foreign nations too much. If you are in central Copenhagen, it is incredibly beautiful, but go an hour out to Tureby or Haarlev and everything is far more normal. You sound very healthy and most who say they do as much as you do not.

I think a few things at play here:

• Food is hugely expensive if you want to be able to cook from scratch. Went to Tescos the other day to grab salad stuff, Veggies, and some spices and spent over £40. Barely filled two shopping bags.
• Time and knowledge: time to cook and hereditary what to cook
• cheaper and quicker to have processed foods
• no active lifestyle - again everything is so bloody expensive. Yes, they are in a cruise - but its a one time big spend. To do anything on a regular basis is expensive - gym, national trust/days out - its become ridiculous.

I think you're being hugely judgemental anyway - was the cruise boring for you OP? Better to spend your time judging?

Never been on a cruise, but we were on a caravan holiday with haven recently and literally everyone in the swimming pool over age 12 was obese except us, every day we went there. It was very striking as normally I think about half of adults are obese, thinking of school mums or people in the supermarket etc.

Well then, you must feel very hurt by my comment

Increasingly, generations are growing up with easier access to junk food and an increasing focus on socialising around food. Our parents very rarely ate out or even went for coffees but my children think it’s normal to eat out / visit coffee shops at least weekly. They want frappes that have hundreds of calories in them as well as cake, cookies etc. it’s all become very normal and hard to avoid.

Why are you apologizing and explaining for being who you are.

Who is looking after your DC when you get up at 5.30 to exercise and take the dogs out, would that possibly be the person who is working in a higher paid job that contributes significantly to your lifestyle? Also be interested if you are in your twenties or thirties...if so, don't count on the energy levels always remaining that high.

Exactly, it's vile being so judgemental to women just because of how much they weigh!

Ah! Thanks!
I was concerned, I am a man so it would be harder for me to spot British sexism rather than French sexism.