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.

Quite to the contrary, I think people who care about their health are more likely to read such books. I think if you didn't know something was unhealthy before or exactly why it gives more clarity which may make you want to change your habits- the information on inflammation I found very relevant for me, it will give you that seed of information to do your own research.

One thing it hasn't done for me is make me blame others for where they are currently. It is really helpful to do so anyway. I feel I don't blame myself so much either and there are now communities online discussing UPF-free stuff which I use. I think we sometimes think we can only make a change if we are hard on ourselves or others. I've actually come to a much better place by not hating myself for having made mistakes. I know better now and do better.

To add to this as well, the food industry is external. What is even on the pack of packaging is external. There are some things that food producers don't even have to list. The fact that we have far less dangerous ingredients in our food unlike the US is external too. We are fortunate to have so many protections but they exist for a reason. It would be nice if individuals could just make the right choice despite all the money put into getting them to make the wrong ones but that isn't life. It was the same issue with smoking.

There has been a lot of talk about MN privilege on here, and how posters do not understand poverty. If you have ever lived in a developing country or are from one, you will know that the UK is exceptionally privileged. Exceptionally. All these things that you absolutely need for a healthy diet or exercise do not exist in other countries. Your HCPs, your MH facilities, your playgrounds, and yet people still eat better, except where they are so poor they are malnutritioned.

Any person from a developing county would literally laugh at the excuses on here. They may be contributing factors in some cases. But the vast majority of parents are surely not in food deserts, without Internet connections, without cooking facilities, completely without any guidance, so devastated by trauma or MH conditions that they cannot make egg on toast rather than cereal, unable to find any veg or fruit , miles from any park or outdoor space... one would think the UK was a wartorn country judging by its description on here.

The shift from home economics to 'food tech' has a LOT to answer for. This is shocking reading it now.

Will come back on the rationing point later.

I suppose what irks me about all these books is that I was alive to all of this prior to it being made fashionable and people talking about it. Perhaps others werent

Im a bad example though as I managed to get very fat on my own home cooked food (and other peoples)

I spend an inordinate amount of time in the supermarket with my glasses on, glasses off, glasses on, glasses off peering at the ingredients for that very reason.

I find the greengrocers and farmers market shops very very expensive so Im stuck to buying things in cheaper shops and supermarkets, you can get some good foods that are convenient that dont have a lot of rubbish in them if you look carefully, although its a ball ache. I also do not tolerate and havent eaten for years, artificial sweetners.

I once had a child in my class whose Dad would bring her in in the morning and promise to come back later with the dinner money. He came back everyday with the required 90p and handed it in at the office. Goodness knows where he got it from but this is genuinely how some people live.

Edit: It looks like I've quoted the wrong post but it was part of a conversation about the precariouslness of some people's income i.e. unable to do a weekly online shop.

I agree. I did proper Home Economics (and chose to do A Level) so I can always cook something from a few basic ingredients. My daughter did the Food Tech which was all about industrial processes and packaging. Her children, at the same school, have been making proper meals with fresh ingredients so it does seem to be changing. Of course, I taught her and she taught her children so none of us are reliant on a diet of UPFs.

Not everyone has this knowledge either learned at school or handed down. My own mother was brought up during WW2 rationing by a single father and never learned to cook well. It's a good job I learned at school.

I want DD to do home ec next year. My parents were snotty about it so I didn't do it, but as an adult I really see the value in it. (Much more than German, or French!)

Is this food tech course sponsored by the industry somehow? Why else would schools do something like that.

I've always heard the rationing thing, other countries had it without losing their food cultures .

I expect the Food Tech shift was about thinking ahead to jobs in the industry.

I did it in 1973 so I expect a lot has changed but it wasn't just cooking it included a bit of sociology, town planning, architecture and interior design and there were two 3 hour written papers. It was never a soft option and I'm glad I did it.

I think it was a bad move though.

Totally agree. But I guess that's what was on educators minds at the time

UPFs

I don't agree with this. Firstly I did Home Economics in the 80s and many of my peers paid no attention and still can't cook. They live on junk and UPFs.
Secondly, my DD is doing food tech and it's certainly not all about convenience foods for her. Every week she makes a meal from scratch which includes lots of fresh vegetables. Recent examples are a vegetable curry, a Spring risotto, Shepherd's Pie, spring rolls, Goulash. They also make old fashioned desserts like apple crumble, apple pie, rock cakes etc. Her cooking skills have massively improved since doing DT food.

Exercise is NOT the key to a healthy weight.

My DCs aren't in a competitive level of sport (swimming lessons, karate, and local little football team) and there are children there who have more weight than they need, but other than the occasional outlier at swimming it's more the subtly overweight, bit of softness end rather than the obvious rolls of fat. Activity doesn't solve the issue, but a good muscle density helps and is essential for good long term health.

There are children I work with who by the later stages of childhood have gained weight quicker than they've gained strength and are now struggling with functional movement and do things like playing games or maintain a brisk pace of walking.
That's going to make life tough for them and it's easy for them to think that's the way it has to be for them. To change your default is tough.

As mine get to the secondary/ teen years, aside from cost, there is a lack of recreational sport for older children. Sports become increasingly competitive and selective, less fun and more serious. At the same time, they outgrow spaces like play areas. Interesting ad hoc activities like trampoline parks have a cost and are often located away from residential areas so need parental transport. There's a gap before 16 where adult opportunities such as standard gym access opens up.
It does get harder (and more expensive) to access casual, fun activity by the secondary years.

It actually is different!

Because lazy and lardy inactive adults are now raising porky unhealthy children

Simmer down, Fat Families presenter! 😂

In my opinion it makes a huge difference and people underestimate the difference it makes.
The only exercise I do is walking but I walk miles each day. I've looked at the calories I've burnt this year (so 6 months) and apparently I'd be a stone heavier if I hadn't done any walking. That's two stone a year!!
And I know people will say "Oh that's not true. The fitness monitors always overestimate." Well I have proof! A couple of years ago I had an injury and couldn't walk much for three months. I was eating slightly less than usual. The main difference was no walking. I put on 12lbs in 3 months. That proves to me that even gentle exercise is crucial in maintaining and losing weight. If kids are sitting around all the time, they will quickly get fat.

And afaik budgeting (my friend did it) so really very useful!

Skinny fat is a thing. And also, health is more than weight.

i think you know this but are in denial

The AA Gill food culture point - if anyone's still interested.

In countries like France / Italy - food culture was established by coming 'up' from the peasantry and 'down' from the court.

In the UK it didn't work like that though. It was more driven by the (upper) middle - what he calls the squire-ocracy. So think of country houses, food like roasts, pies, salads, puddings, cakes, preserves. The kind of food you'd read about in Edwardian novels, then later Enid Blyton.

Rationing was implemented a lot longer in the UK than other countries and ran a coach and horses through this kind of eating. It was also harder to bring back after the war as it was more expensive (not so many cheap peasant dishes to fall back on). Also this type of food relies on big kitchens and usually domestic help - all on the wain).

So after that, we floundered. He also talks about the influence of Elizabeth David introducing Mediterranean food ideas in the 60s, and people with a bit more money embracing this kind of eating, even though we don't have the produce or culture behind that. He goes a bit off piste there I think.

Then we were all sitting ducks for the convenience food of the 70s and 80s.

So, the main points as I remember them

On a separate point, there's the weird Victorian obsession with feeding small children very bland, milky food - driving a sense that children in the UK eat different things to adults.

It is a large factor in maintaining a healthy weight, and in overall health as a person gets older, and in longevity.

It is often said, if exercise was a pill it would be the number one best-selling drug in the world.