to want to slap my friend

[sandy4]

for his comment - 'southerners are so much more wealthy and thinner than northerners who in general are uneducated with regard to good food' .

ammunition, please...

not sure about the thinner but there used to be truth in the health bit and certainly the wealth bit -- no idea about the education about good food bit

no idea if it's still true -- there ahve been studies

why did he say this? is he from down south or up north himself?

Am sorry Sandy but it seems to be true from my own observations. Not sure about the wealth bit but in relation to the food then definitely yes.

I am a southerner living in the north and when I first moved here I was quite shocked at how hard it was to get hold of healthy food (excluding the major supermarkets). Where I was originally from you can walk into a sandwich shop / cafe and be offered lots of healthy options, yet up here all that seems to be on the menu is greasy fried food, potted meat and mayo with everything. When I first moved up here I worked in the headquarters of a major bank which had its own canteen. All they served were pastry based dishes with chips or a sad looking wilted salad that no-one touched because it seemed to be there day in day out without being changed. I once asked if they ever ordered avocado as I love it on salad, only to be asked "Whats an avocado love?" Sadly where I used to work more people were on the bigger side than the thinner side. I believe this is down to poor education from parents and also healthy food being inaccesible.

I live not too far away from the notorious school that was in the media last year because the parents did not agree with the new healthier school dinners and were taking orders from the children for the chipshop which they were then passing back through the railings. This is the sort of mentality that needs to change.

PS - Disclcaimer! I am only talking in relation to where I live btw and not to everywhere up north. For example Leeds is a fantastic city with a huge choice of healthy food, Wetherby and Harrogate ditto. I live in South Yorks where apart from Sheffield city centre and the affluent SW of the city, what I describe sadly seems to be v true

a superior laugh and comment about sweeping generalisations.

Wish that were true - I would be skinny and rich then

I'm a Southerner living up North.
Your friend is ignorant - that us a sweeping generalisation. I don't agree that Northerners are 'uneducated with regard to good food'.
There is a grain of truth though - there is more wealth in the south, and healthier foods tends to be more expensive.
But I don't have a problem eating healthily... and I was fat living down south and am still fat now - but reckon I eat healthier now but that's probably an age thing!

totalchaos - your style i like...

What about Midlanders? Semi-literate and slightly overweight? I'm a Midlander, so I'd like to know if I should be fat and thick or thin and clever?

I'll be back when I've finished my lard pie and cup of tea with 8 sugars.

I'm from London and I am overweight and can't cook to save my life. No I live in Yorkshire and fit in a lot better

I meant 'now I live in...'

when I first moved up 10 yrs ago, I was surprised at the volume of take-aways/ pastie shops, pubs & tanning shops here. It is bit of a different culture, but sweeping statements are always inaccurate. It's much different now though as many pubs have closed down and more healthy options are available. wealth, hmm, has he been to Alderley edge?

In the crappy poor areas of SE London that I lived in, there were take-aways aplently even though most people couldn't afford them.

ambi - exactly! i will take him there to prove point.

Not nice to say, but it's true I'm afriad!!
People in the north are more likely to be overweight, smoke and be in poor health.

Why?

because they're poorer?

Don't know why but it is true statistically I think - I live near one of the most deprived areas in the country (in the NE) and almost everything indicates that - higher levels of smoking, higher rates of obesilty...

Yes, generally 'the North' scores higher on indicators of ill-health. Because of poverty. Maggie shut down the traditional heavy industries that employed millions of people in the North and ran the economy entirely in favour of the South East.

However 'the North' is a bit of an abstract concept. Liverpool is very different from Harrogate and Harrogate is v. different from Newcastle. It's like suggesting Penzance, Haywards Heath and Camden are all the same sort of place.

It ill behoves Southerners who a. voted for the evil Thatch and connived in throwing millions of people on the scrap heap and b. have benefitted from the economy being skewed in their favour to sneer at the North.

I think there's a good split of constituencies in the north and the south, you can't blame the southerners for voting her in???? I'm not sure Southerners sneer at the North, that's quite insulting if you ask me. In my experience I have come accross far more inverted snobbery and insults being thrown from the North in the direction of the sounth that the other way!!
I spent five years in Leeds and worked throughout my degree, but was still a spoilt rich girl, ????

South!!!

i think it depends on what 'good food' is

if that statement means healthy food - i would probably say your friend is right.

as for good food - now....thats a different matter

the person mentioned in the OP is sneering.

That's one then , as always an individual truly represents the whole of the region. I guess all Northern folk are like Chbby Brown then.

Chubby (sorry I couldn't make more effort with the shining vile example of a Northern man)