Why can't we discuss how fat we've all become?

[Nodinnernogift]

Obesity is becoming the norm. Why aren't we allowed express concern or any views that are less than celebratory about this?

I mean seriously why?

If whole parts of your country were in the grip of a meth addiction we would be allowed have a discussion about it.

National campaigns to stop people smoking are applauded.

Look around you. Look in the mirror. We are all getting bigger and bigger. It reminds me of when people would visit the US in the 80s / 90s and come back with tales of huge people and massive portion sizes.

Does nobody care? It's like the Emperors New Clothes. I don't get why it's a sacrosanct topic.

Yabu - it's nobody's business
Yanbu - it's fine to address this as a societal problem

You speak for yourself.
I can still wear clothes that are over 30 years old.
Last week was my 25th Wedding Anniversary and my dress still fits and is now a little bit too big.
However, I was horrified and somewhat frightened the last time I was in the UK as LARGE seemed to the the norm on the high street.
I do also wonder if people realise that fat also is the body's way of "neutralising" toxins. So, if you are eating a lot of UPF etc. it will not go through your digestive system in the same was, as no fibre, and will be stored in fat until it can be safely "released".

Wow. What a lot of drama from posters who had no idea what they were talking about

That's interesting. I've always been a Topshop size 8 ever since the nineties and I weigh the same as I did back then. Even recently I bought a pair of size 8 Topshop jeans from ASOS and it fits me perfectly.

No I can't actually. That's a very good point. But what about countries with much lower rates or obesity.

I have a vague memory of when I lived in the states 15 years ago some 'fattest state' went on a diet led by the governor. Helpful I know but I can't remember the rest, just that it was all over the news and I was very taken with the reports - it seemed so celebratory, optimistic and united in it's efforts. They were all out walking and doing mass weightloss announcements.

The bigger problem is it's not a very lengthy list. And some of the rich countries that do have lower obesity rates than us look like they're simply at an earlier stage of the same trajectory. For example, people were talking approvingly of Mediterranean diets and societies earlier in the thread without realising how quickly the overweight and obesity rates are increasing in some of them.

Obviously it would be great if we could be like Japan. It doesn't seem at all realistic though.

Who do you want to be talking about it? In public health circles it is discussed very extensively. There is a huge amount of emphasis on how we can develop effective interventions and support people, although as always resources are pitiful in terms of need. Or do you just want to fat-bash with impunity?

I've noticed it myself more recently. I've been working in a busy town centre office, sitting at a window desk on the 2nd floor, There's constant train of people walking past all day long, and it has really struck me that most of the adults and many children are overweight. People who are slim and whose weight is in proportion to their body size actually stand out as they are not the norm.

There you go then. Not really a point to make

I did not. Did you?

Finland is the case study

https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/finland-curbs-childhood-obesity-by-integrating-health-in-all-policies

https://www.theguardian.com/befit/story/0,15652,1385645,00.html

It’s increasingly becoming clear that WLI injections may well be like a whole bunch of other medication for chronic health conditions.
But being obese isn't a chronic health condition.... stop over eating and move more will sort it.
Diabetes, CKD, epilepsy, asthma and so many other diseases can't be cured by just eating less!

I am quite conflicted about body positivity. In the last year I have lost 3 stone, and now have a BMI of 24.5.Yes, before anyone says it, I am aware that I need to give myself a buffer.
People say I should be proud of myself, but I think that it is healthier to keep a sense of shame that I let myself get so lardy.
Now that I have got my BMI back into the healthy range, people around me expect me to go back to "normal" and come out for meals/coffees etc. However, I feel like people would be repulsed by seeing a recovering lardarse enjoying food. Similarly, I haven't changed the way I dress to suit my new shape. After all, everyone knows that lots of people who lose weight regain it, so it seems overly confident to think I will be the one to keep the weight off. Therefore,dressing like a non lardy person feels a bit premature. Maybe one day I will stop hiding, but that day is a few years away. And whatever my size, psychologically I will always be fat, just like an alcoholic will always be an alcoholic even if they haven',t drunk in decades

No I don't want to fat bash. I'm overweight. Most people are. I don't want to be and I don't think it would be a goal for most people.

I want to take the emotion out of the topic.

It's another example of how much wishful thinking, often very well meant, that this subject inspires.

It would be great if there were other comparable societies with sustainable good practice that we could take inspiration from, wouldn't it? Be nice and heart warming if it were just a question of education, willpower or whatever other magic wand anyone thinks must exist because it would suit their worldview.

But none of it does, because humans evolved for precarity and now most of us live in abundance.

Wow. Thanks

What’s really interesting is I remember the same types of papers about the uk in 2012/13- following the huge investment and focus the uk government had made in childhood obesity 5-8 years previously. It hasn’t reduced obesity overall here obviously, but seems similar to Finland (and that paper is from 2015 do not a dissimilar time)

I’ll try and find them

california has a population of seventh day adventist who follow a religious based diet which is known to be healthy from longevity aspect and not likely to be overweight. their climate allows people to be outdoors more often.
minnesota has an element of both poverty and long cold winters both of which affect food choices and activity levels.

As a fat woman I can tell you people do nothing BUT ‘talk about it’. All the time. On the tv. On the radio. On the internet.
I went to the doctors because I had a lump in my hip. I was told it was just fat. I had to go back 4 times before they agreed it was growing and then had an MRI.
The MRI was difficult to do because of where it lay and the report read pretty ‘she fat, can’t really tell 🤷🏼‍♀️’ . I was told it was fine. It’s only because I asked for a different MRI report on my back and they sent me this one as well that I saw the report and that it wasn’t ‘fine’ it was suspicious. The short story is I had a liposarcoma and because it had been left so long lost my leg at the hip joint. Then had 6 months of chemo and now radiotherapy. I still might not be in remission. All because I was dismissed as ‘fat’. I’m not fat anymore though. So there is that.

so, I’d quite like to talk about that before we talk yet again about how everyone is fat.

yeah didn’t think so. There are plenty of obese people there.

Oh come on. That's really sad. I hope you change your mindset over time.

If it were as simple as just eat less we wouldn’t have the issues we have. Research shows it isn’t that simple. Obesity IS a chrinic health condition.

@CaptainFuture The Obesity Medicine Association’s definition of obesity is “a chronic, relapsing, multifactorial, neurobehavioral disease, wherein an increase in body fat promotes adipose tissue dysfunction and abnormal fat mass physical forces, resulting in adverse metabolic, biomechanical, and psychosocial health consequences.”

I am really sorry about what you went through and I have heard lots of people saying they had symptoms wrongfully dismissed because those symptoms could have been explained by overweight.

I don't really get the point you're making though; if you want to discuss something else why not start a thread?

You didn't mention just discouraging unhealthy habits though. Yes, I would imagine if a smoker presented with lung issues then medical staff would remind them that the smoking was a contributory factor and recommend they stop. But what they wouldn't do is not help them, not would there be any suggestion that they were not entitled to help by the NHS.
As a tax payer I am 'expected to fund' schools even though I don't have kids, or roads when I don't drive. We all fund some stuff that might not directly benefit us, or that we don't personally think is the best time of funds, but we don't get to decide where our pot goes.

Thing is everyone knows eat less move more but it's as simple as that is it or there wouldn't be so many overweight people. Saying it more won't change that.

We need something else.I don't now what but generic advise about healthy eating and exercise just isn't achieving anything.