Perceptions of 'healthy' or 'overweight' are really skewed by the area you live in?

[alwaysdream]

I'm sure I'll get roasted for this, but here goes anyway...

I live in an area of London where pretty much nobody is 'overweight.' Particularly young people.

Last night, in Wembley Stadium (Harry Styles concert), the ONLY food available was chicken and chips or doughnuts. That's it. And - I know this will sound very judgemental - but I'd say about 7 / 10 people were quite 'overweight,' but all walking around in tiny shorts and cropped tops, etc (I know this is the vibe at this kind of event). It made me wonder if this is 'normal' for young people, on a national level? I know it sounds judgemental, but AIBU? Are most teens overweight where you live?

@alwaysdream So it was the sight of fat peoples flesh that shocked you?
Where do you live OP? Paris in 1962? 😂

As PP have said, there is a proven correlation between childhood obesity and affluence. I live in an affluent part of the south east. I hardly ever see an obese child/teenager there. My mum lives near a fairly deprived town in the north and the difference is noticeable and striking.

I'm in an affluent area, Ireland not UK. Everyone is slim here. I'm not and it annoys me sometimes, if we have an obesity crisis why am I always the fattie. I'm size 14/16 and really trying to slim down. Dh works in a competitive job and they.are all not just slim but very fit. Everyone is competitively training for something. My workplace is mostly unfit and often more like my size, it's a low paid job.

Im suprised your suprised especially as you live in london like me. You must have a very sheltered life, thiness is associated with affulence in the west. Have a day off and spend some time in another area harringay or croydon perhaps, see how the other half live.

I do think its area dependent. I live in a mc commuter town and everyone seems to run/cycle/do pilates/hyrox/tennis/padel (or all of the above!) and I very rarely see people who look overweight.

DS was classified as obese when he was weighed at school age 5 but it was probably puppy fat, he grew out of it fairly quickly. He's 16 now and slim, (hes 5'7 and weighs 8 stone)

I work in central London and most people I see aren't overweight, I read about the obesity epidemic in almost an abstract way because it doesnt reflect what I see on a daily basis. But obviously I know its a thing and varies due to area demographics.

DD went to Harry Styles last week with a friend - neither are overweight, fwiw. She bought food before going in because she knew the food at Wembley is crap and overpriced.

Were none of the M&S food outlets open? We were there a couple of weekends ago for the summertime ball and though there wasn’t loads of choice the m&s was handy for sandwiches, fruit, salads- possible to get a healthy tea definitely.

We don't have a movement to normalise being fat at all. We have a movement that suggests it is perfectly reasonable to be proud of who you are, whatever your shape or size. Treating people with kindness and respect, not making assumptions is the least we should be doing.

Historically the working classes were more likely to be shorter and slimmer due to more manual jobs and lower incomes. Poor diet was mainly due to poverty.

My dm, I was raised in the 60's and 70's, gave us a tiny bit of meat and lots of veg.
We only got fresh fruit at Christmas in our stockings.
Both my dp's worked full time too but we were poor.
Our diet though was healthy.

About 30 years ago food in the UK dropped in price in comparison to wages.
There is little excuse for anyone to not eat a healthy diet in 2026.

As for the middle classes looking down on us, that is the class system, it won't change soon.

A lot of food options at these kinds of events are really poor tbh. They need to have healthier options.

I mean, I think where I live it might be the other extreme. There is this shop 'Brandy Melville' where a lot of girls seem to get their basic clothes and (I think?) there is only one size in that shop! I was quite shocked at that to because if they're not a UK size 8, probably most of that shop wouldn't fit. But that's what is perceived as 'normal' at the DD's school and all around in this area. Su I guess because that's what they see all around, that's the size / body type they gravitate to as 'the norm.'

@alwaysdream do you remember Jane Norman. I'm skinny but those clothes were tiny!

So is your problem their outfits or their weight?

@Chlorpool epi genetics is helping us gain a much deeper understanding. My DGM was obese in the 70s and very poor. She suffered extreme malnutrition and starvation growing up in the Manchester slums in the 1930s and it effected her body and her mind, the choices she made and literally every aspect of her existence.

I vaguely remember Jane Norman I think?

I’m obese and working on it. Food out and about is always a nightmare so I take my own. I wouldn’t expect to get a nice salad at a Harry Styles gig.

Even at my heaviest I didn’t feel like an outlier because everyone around me was similar. Until I moved to a nicer bit of the country and people are slimmer. And it’s slightly easier to make better choices as there are options out and about, hosts offer better foods, social opportunities are often more active. It really matters who you are around - our relatives are mostly fat, so family events are a minefield of sitting, UPFs and booze. But local social events tend to be healthier. I really feel like obesity is somehow contagious.

Wembley stadium is piss poor for food choices. I don't even bother with the support acts as I'd rather eat my own picnic / go to nandos etc and eat something veggie and substantial before I start dancing for two hours and have a late trip home.

I do think that people with money have more opportunity do enjoyable leisure activities, while poorer people are more likely to get their quick, cheap, dopamine fix from food.

I was shocked at how crap and basic the food options are at Wembley arena. Food at other similar venues in London is generally quite good.

It stands out in certain contexts. I live in a relatively affluent area. But a town I sometimes visit is deprived with high level of overweight people and it does stand out to me as it’s different to my norm. In the deprived town near 50% of yr 6 are overweight or obese so it stands to reason they then become overweight teens/20s. Clothing choices accentuate it. Primark stretch clothes are popular, there’s a big primark in the deprived town. Brandy Melville you mentioned is very expensive and only in London.

I’ve been to Wembley several times as a vegan and have been able to have both falafel and a vegan hot dog. I just googled and the website says they still offer those options.

Lots overweight by me. It’s not even always about not knowing. It’s money and time in lots of cases.

Im overweight but my dc aren’t although older dd does no physical activity which is same for most of her friends. I’d say most late teen girls have given up all forms of exercise by this point round here apart from a few who go to the gym but that tends to be more in their 20s.

I can only give my experience but we love fruit and veg but most fruits doesn’t fill you up so stodgier and cheaper snacks are bought - mainly bread based products.

I do a lot of overtime as I’m a single parent and yet it’s mostly desk based which vastly reduces my step count and just time left over to exercise.
Life can feel pretty bleak sometimes (more so in winter tbf than summer for me) and having a drink of an evening or sweet treat feels like an affordable quick way to have a mood boost.

I have a gym membership and love hiking but overtime, kids and house jobs all take priority so exercise is often the one that gets cut.

I know these things above can be looked at as excuses but it’s the same for a lot of my friends as well. No money to get help in to free up time and most of us are all full time. Id say our kids look healthier than we do but whether or not they grow up to be healthier adults remains to be seen.

I’ll bite.

in a doctors surgery last week.

out of the 10 females in the room, 2 were a healthy weight. The rest were overweight / obese with one being substantially so.

one of the obese females was in her late teens, on her phone and complaining to her (overweight) mother that she was always tired all the time so needed to have her daily nap.

I think there’s a point to be made here @alwaysdream

everyone and their cat is opening up cake sheds and cookie huts that sell cookies the size of your head, cakes that could stop your arteries at 100 paces, fuck off burger vans and Mac & cheese trucks. The tv chefs on the morning shows just make unhealthy crap. The obesity crisis is well in swing and seemingly for good reason.

It’s an interesting observation. I used to live in London and it can be a bit of a bubble, people walk a lot to reach the tube etc. I remember I once took a work trip to one of the poorer south coast towns and the level of obesity was evident, reflection of poverty and limited opportunities. I’m in southern Scotland now in a coastal town where people are generally slim and healthy/active but again on a recent day trip to Edinburgh zoo the level of obesity was high. It’s a v hilly zoo and some families were struggling to walk up the hill to the top.

Nobody attack me pls, we should be able to say what we observe as it reflects the problems with our country which will impact society for decades. Poverty, limited food choices, lack of education, food ‘deserts’ and so on

My town is very affluent, and hardly anyone is very overweight. At my school, there are hundreds of slim parents, and probably less than ten who are overweight or lower end of obese, and not a single person would be classed as morbidly obese in my opinion. There are very very few overweight children, and of those that are, many I know to be ND, and obviously issues around food are often a trait.

The nearest city to us (more deprived area) is notably different. Not at all unusual to be overweight there.

I hope that weight loss treatments become more widely available on the NHS in future, so more people can benefit from them than just those that can afford it. As a pp mentioned up thread, currently WLI are just widening the divide in terms of health by postcode.