To be shocked at the level of obesity of British children?

[MEM00]

Having recently come back from holiday I found myself really shocked by the size of so many other British kids at the resort we were at. It was mostly a mix of British, French and German families and I found it impossible to not notice the difference in the British kids compared to others. DD is 8 and I would say average sized, by no means skinny. She made friends with another girl the same age by the pool, and i'm not joking when i say the other girl must have been twice the size when they were next to each other.

Am i overthinking this? Because it really makes me worry for the future.

This isn't intended by be 'fat shaming' in any way btw.

I think what I will add though is that the narrative around UPFs is a bit of a red herring to be honest.

As Ive said quite boringly, I didnt grow up with UPFs and unfortunately I got very overweight on my own homecooked food. A mixture of eating when I wanted, eating too much, large portions which were in no way necessary, that sort of thing. Enjoying meals out too much, far too much when ordering. Completely unnecessary.

They make a lot of it at my optician.

I suppose every family was different. We always had crisps in the house but never cakes, biscuits, fizzy drinks etc. I remember we rarely had dessert, occasionally angel delight or neopolitan ice cream.
I remember I started having two slices on honey on toast each night before bed (after dinner). I don't think I was hungry, I just liked it. I definitely put on weight when I started that habit!

The poorest families in the UK would have to spend 70% of their income on food to meet UK nutrition standards. So yes, money does have an effect.

Ive never even had an Arctic Roll because they were too expensive and by the time I grew up they werent a thing.

Are there more details of that?

The poorest families being on sole UC I assume?

I would need to see the numbers as Im not convinced of that to be honest.

Your answer to people not having enough money to afford a healthy diet is to just pop a vitamin pill? Really? 😫

What's that based on though? Because vegetables, pulses, unrefined carbs and small amounts of cheaper meat cuts are very cost effective and the basis of a very good diet.

That's what I ate as a child growing up. We ate like that because we had very little money.

Why is this different to every other nation on earth, where the wealthy are the ones who are obese? How has the UK managed to evolve this way? Also, perhaps the US?

Hang on let me give you some more information. I was really shocked. And I'm not sure exactly what would be considered poorest. But some families may be on solely UC but have debts to pay plus get sanctions (through no fault of their own) so have much less money than that anyway. I keep mentioning it hoping someone else will know more!!

I am also fed up of people going on about how organic veg and meat are terribly expensive. I don't know anything about meat because I don;t eat it, but nobody needs to eat organic veg. You can get nutrition from any kind of veg or pulses. You just have to make up your mind to eat it.

The weight loss forum is full of people eating ten chocolate bars a day. i really do not believe that is because they are low income. It is because of sugar addiction.

'An analysis by the Food Foundation shows that the poorest 50 per cent of households would need to spend almost 30 per cent of their disposable income on food if they wanted to eat a diet that adheres to our national healthy-eating guidelines. The poorest 10 per cent of households by income would need to spend almost 75 per cent.'

From Ultra processed people

Scott C, Sutherland J, Taylor A. Affordability of the UK’s Eatwell Guide. 2018. Available from https://foodfoundation.org.uk/sites/default/files/20210–10/Affordability-of-the-Eatwell-Guide_Final_Web-Version.pdf.

Well one factor must be because some areas are food deserts. There is no access to fresh food if you don't drive.

The link doesn't seem to be live anymore

This doesn't make much sense to me either. The UK is very well served for supermarkets.

Agree, supermarkets that deliver to the door too - a relative doesn’t drive and is living on a state pension, so not well off and there is no major supermarket within walking distance, so she shares the cost of a supermarket delivery with a neighbour. Easier than catching the bus, but she does that too sometimes.

This is true. The UK has some of the most extensive and cheapest supermarket delivery in the world.

I am beginning to sound like a Tory. I promise you I am not. I am all in favour of healthy food being made more accessible to those in poverty. As I said upthread, I don't have or want a car myself. I am all in favour of the govt taking some responsibility for allowing UPF to mushroom.

BUT at a certain point people need to take some responsibility for themselves and stop making a million excuses. Far poorer nations with worse transport and sports facilities manage it. We have reached that point, I think. I myself am post menopause and cannot eat like I used to. All that delicious rice, potatoes and carbs have to go. Nobody's fault but my own slowing metabolism.

I totally agree with you.

I don't deny there are significant barriers to those with lower incomes feeding their families well, but there's no value in misdiagnosing the problem.

I think the issues are much more around education, skills, social norms, food culture and expectations.

The other thing that occurs to me is that fruit in smaller shops in poorer areas seems more likely to be bruised and not that nice looking compared to fruit at a greengrocer or even a large supermarket. I wonder if that puts some people right off.

Well I suppose being pedantic I would really want to see the actual numbers

And yes there are going to be some places where a combination of lack of public transport and a supermarket being far away makes it difficult for someone to buy fresh fruit and veg, so perhaps only a corner shop available, but I would hazard that isnt the majority of the population.

I work and live in a very deprived area, we have 3 aldis, a lidl, a morrisons, an asda, a sainsburys, a tescos, then a myriad of tesco extras, budgens/spar/coops, 2 icelands, home bargains, poundland, pound stretchers

All of these sell foods that are able to be bought on a budget

You’re not a Tory for suggesting people should take responsibility for their own actions, in conjunction with suitable government action. The fact you would even be accused of this is nuts, and frankly discredits them to the degree they shouldn’t even be debating

Yes same here, bread, pasta and potatoes are a distant memory to me now

Really poor food culture. Its normal to feed waffles, nuggets and beans and call it a meal. Look at the children's menu in a UK pub.

I'm considered unusual and strict because my children don't eat cereals and at 1& 3 will eat venison, olives, hummus, mackerel and almost anything we eat (except all 3 hate raw carrots...)