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

It’s cheaper to buy a McDonald’s than to cook a healthy dinner 🤷‍♀️

No one seems to know about nutrition…I can buy a packet of sweets for less than a £1 fruit is ££

Anyone who is really interested in the obesity crisis needs to read Ultra-Processed People by Chris Van Tulleken. It really is more complex than portion control and eating less and moving more. This is why we are in such a mess as the doctors keep getting it wrong.

I saw an article recently which showed the ultra processed food consumption by country in Europe. The U.K. was 50% compared to, say, Greece which was something like 12%.

Our convenience food consumption is really high. I struggle to eat healthily unless I do online shopping and avoid popping into shops where all the chocolate and crisps are on display as soon as you walk in, as I have poor willpower!

To be fair, people do discuss how much other things cost the NHS. I’ve seen threads on here talking about charging people who get drunk and injure themselves and wind up in A&E. The cost of smoking is widely discussed. It’s not like obesity is the only issue where people talk about costs to the NHS.

Oh that’s a blast from the past! And then the ice cream factory at the nearby Pizza Hut (#topical)

The body positivity attitude I think comes from trying to stay fit, putting the work in, but not getting the desired results. And yes, at that point we have to accept it. I think it is great. When I was a young girl, everyone would make fun of fat people. Openly. And they were not even obese, just overweight, by the time it all kicked in. Well, that is wrong. Keeping respect for others is paramount.
But, on the other hand, I do not have any issuesopenly talking about it, without judgement. But trying to find a solution.
Really, it is not about weight per se, but about being fit and mobile and healthy. The weight and shape follow a healthy lifestyle.

Weight is 80% diet. Why bother putting the effort into working out if you’ll undo it with overeating?

I agree. The obesity problem is going to cause so many issues down the line, although I suppose it will reduce the aging crisis as life expectancy will reduce.
There needs to be a massive shift with food companies though, and more mental health help, as well as other factors that impact it. It isn't as simple as saying eat less and control your portions, otherwise there wouldn't be people who try and struggle to lose weight.

I think people think they will get told off for body shaming but there is a difference between body shaming and dealing with the health issue from people being fat.

It's very strongly correlated with poverty. Affluent regions of London and elsewhere don't have much of a problem. In the poor regions, including many deprived London boroughs, you can barely find anyone who is a healthy weight, and that includes the children.

But that's what I think we should be discussing; how we (collectively as a society) got into this mess.

As an aside, illness and medication sent me hurtling into the obese range. I am recovered but in menopause and fighting back but it's a huge battle.

I would never judge any individual for being fat, never have. It's the extreme change in the population which alarms me.

I was already obese in the 1990s as a child, which is probably the root of a lot of people my age’s issue with weight. And our current society doesn’t help to shift the weight.

My being morbidly obese was absolutely nothing to do with “body positivity” or people not talking about obesity. I’ve been aware of all the social campaigns about healthy eating, step counts, etc etc. It’s not information that I need, I know full well how to lose weight - I’m not ignorant of these things. It’s the actual doing of it that is extremely difficult.

I have no other bad habits, I don’t drink, I don’t do drugs, I don’t do anything anti-social. I’ve always worked, I look after my family and take part in wider society, contributing positively to my local community. The one thing that I (used to) do, was over eat. That’s how I coped with stress, boredom, frustration, tiredness etc etc. What would help is wide scale societal change to facilitate family life and an active family life. So making towns and cities compatible with walking and cycling. Having facilities that are walkable rather than giant housing estates with nothing there so everything is a drive. So many things could change to facilitate a healthier life style in general. Changing work so that long hours presenteeism isn’t encouraged, making workplaces flexible and family friendly. Etc etc.

Yet all that ever seems to get talked about it is how useless obese people are and why they fail to lose weight all the time.

It's not. I made dinner for 4 last night for less than £5? Tonight I've splashed out on salmon, tenderstem and asparagus, among other things, and dinner for 4 will still come in at less than £10. What are you getting in M@cDonalds for that?

😬 we did get McDonald’s milkshakes after 3 hours of stair climbing to go down flumes. It was a rare treat.

Also live in London, only see a really overweight person occasionally, maybe once every few months?

I don’t really understand the EMERGENCY ITS GETTING WORSE message in this thread

its better than it’s ever been. Widespread weight loss injection WILL likely mean the end of obesity. So what’s the issue?

I do notice those who’ve lost a lot of weight on injections and also the cruellest to fat people. It’s the whole “pull the ladder up” mentality, isn’t it?

Of course we can discuss it, it’s quite widely discussed in the media. which is fine, obviously.

In a previous life I was very adjacent to public health research and the commissioning of public health services, along with the drinking/smoking/obesity impact on other areas of health.

I think there is a recognition that in terms of 'nudging' people to change their behaviour through information campaigns we reached the limit some time ago of what people were prepared to do themselves, even when fully informed. It's partly because the external cost consequences of obesity don't impact the fat directly, but also because we just don't like being told things we don't want to hear. The only policy responses left now in public health are to force behavioural changes, and nobody will accept that.

I believe there are insurance based health systems in parts of the world where if your doctor tells you to lose weight and you don't, then your insurance premiums go up.

I’m personally sick of the body shaming nonsense, I don’t think a size 16 is shameful but I do think a 26 is shameful. As adults we have control over our bodies & to allow our bodies to get to that state is shameful

There is a thing to target: to reduce the appeal of pricessed food.
Children do learn how to cook in school these days. And Jamie Oliver did advocate for healthier better lunches.
Now I bet one of the issues is the cost of living and how expensive is to buy the ingredients and cook them in our days, in comparison to our wages.

I was fat, 19 stone fat, then I lost weight, I cut my calories right down, didn't exercise and I've lost 9 stone 5lb.

Nearly half my body weight in 3 years.

I did it by eating lots of protein and veg, not Lettuce leaves.

My blood pressure is down, I look and feel healthy.

We are fat and we need to sort it out.

Yanbu. It's going to destroy the NHS. I see the youngsters at work (huge shared building) getting a lift up just three floors and carrying a McDonald's, and overweight. They will be in such poor health once they hit 40.
I'm 50 and always take the stairs. Not many of us do it. Too many legs will fall off apparently.

You are coming from a place of privilege clearly. Yes, many people will know this but there is a large group in society who are poorly educated and do not know this.

There is too much blaming of individual people rather than addressing societal issues on this in my opinion.

One of the interesting things I discovered when researching this is that we treat type 2 diabetes by giving insulin which actually makes you fatter in the long run!! Nuts IMO.

It’s for a different thread but I don’t think ozempic is going to solve the obesity crisis. You stop injecting, you regain…and the battle is then worse as you’ve fucked your endocrine system (on top of the fucking UPFs and chemicals did).

The euphemism I hate is curvy. Sorry you’re not curvy, that means you go in, as well as out and out and out.

I always called myself curvy as a size 8 with big boobs and hips, then got told by a couple of guys on OLD to not say it because that is what fat people say. I never know what to call myself now because I’m not athletic, or any of their other body types. It’s just actually curvy people have lost the word!