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?

There are vast numbers of overweight Europeans. I can only assume you are just not very well travelled.

Okay, I’ll call you old fashioned and a bit of a ghoul to be bothered by (and feel the need to cast aspersions) on what other people wear.

26% of adults are obese in England. 22% of children in year six are overweight or obese in England.

There is direct correlation with deprivation - that's just a fact.

Perception is skewed. There's also an issue with how to discuss weight issues, and parenting advice, sensitively; trying to talk to a parent about both is tricky.

Quite often, people try and smooth over it when they're talking about a child's weight 'ooh, it's just puppy fat/he's just big boned/he's growing' when actually, a good proportion of those children will continue to be overweight into adulthood and have a reduced healthy life expectancy.

Or they will be offered WLIs for free on the NHS and lose weight. We're now in a new era where we have multiple options to treat obesity - a chronic, relapsing disease. I see this as a fantastic achievement and one that will have a huge impact on public health.

Oh for goodness sake….. I have been to virtually every country in Europe. I did not say other European countries do not have fat people. In many or probably most European countries, people are on average slimmer than in the UK.

Which countries specifically are you referring to?

Are most teens overweight where you live?

16-24 have the smallest levels of obesity compared to it peaking for those 55-74.

Oh no, facts getting in the way of your judgement!

Were the other food outlets shut then, they do pies, hotdogs, pizza, beef burgers, hot dogs inc vegetarian ones and have two markies on level two

https://help.wembleystadium.com/support/solutions/articles/7000028416-food-and-drink-availability-locations-and-dietary-requirements

It's wonderful that those weight loss medicines are available but surely, when it comes to systemic issues like this, prevention is better than the cure?

For my children, I'd prefer them to have a good relationship with food in the first place rather than need to be medicated later on in life.

I completely agree but for the people who are so despised on MN - those of lower socioeconomic status - having treatments available to reduce health inequalities and improve long-term outcomes is a wonderful thing. I'd happily pay more tax to ensure these drugs are freely available on the NHS.

Most European countries - in particular Western Europe. It’s been in the news a lot over many years about how the UK obesity compares very unfavorably with the rest of Europe. Eg:

www.theguardian.com/society/2017/nov/10/uk-most-obese-country-in-western-europe-oecd-report-finds?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

I would rather investment go in earlier.

Focusing on socioeconomic, and health inequalities, let's evaluate all of those areas that fall within the 30% most deprived.

• Bolster local plans by banning convenience food shops and hot food take ours within 400 meters of schools.
• Ban advertising that promotes unhealthy lifestyle choices.
• Offer universal healthy free school meals to a wider range and cohort of children (preferably with salad or fruit bars at schools, so children can make healthy choices...)
• Invest in attractive green spaces that are actually focused on families (and have junior parkruns in all of them!)
• Make physical education a bigger part of the curriculum...
• Have some family-friendly exercises classes free at point of access.

I am just dreaming here, but I do believe some of those things are within the realms of possibility.

My friend came to visit me from Rotherham to London. He said, blimey, everyone is so thin here. He felt there was a real difference in the weight of the average person compared to where he lived.

I’m not sure it is a north south thing. I was struck when I went to Norfolk at how much bigger people were. Also, the food portion sizes were larger, but I didn’t mind as it was delicious.

I can't see any European data in that article and it's very old. Based on current data and my own observations, I would say the UK is not that different to countries like Germany in terms of obesity rates.

When I go back to London, I notice that people are much slimmer in general than we are here, in the sticks. I put that down to the fact that you walk a lot more in London - as, indeed, I did and was slimmer.

I like seeing the local young women in their fashionably revealing clothes, large as they are. Young flesh looks good, even when there's a lot of it. And I'm delighted they aren't crippled by shame, as they would have been in previous generations.

I've got to say it sounds as though your particular area has a massive outbreak of size fascism, OP, or it could simply be that your own unhealthy attitude colours your perceptions. Either way, I'd suggest easing up. Life's pleasanter when you don't fret about such things.

This is a weird one but I’d say Wembley is “originally” a football venue and with a few exceptions, you’d rarely go to any football ground in the uk and expect much beyond pie and chips. I agree the food sounds dismal but equally I wouldn’t turn up at a large stadium concert expecting anything apart from a large queue for crap expensive food so would eat elsewhere beforehand. There are loads of pubs and restaurants on the streets close to Wembley. The O2 is surrounded by a purpose built shopping centre and is a different vibe. I wouldn’t rely on either for a delightful culinary experience and catering is just not their main line of business.
Different issue to national obesity, I think.
There’s no doubt Brits are getting bigger, there’s also a partial element of no longer needing to hide away if your tummy isn’t completely flat - when I was a teen it would have been all covered in baggy T-shirts but there’s no shame on letting it all hang out nowadays. For good and bad.

I disagree, mostly.
It is certainly true all over Europe that higher BMI tends to be seen in lower income areas, same as in UK. But if you look at the distribution the UK is unhealthier.

among people I know, those who are the most shocked are North Americans living in Europe and who travel back to the USA.

"Fat" people like shorts in the heat too

Being slim and healthy is an effort. It's not easy. People choose the easy way for a huge variety of reasons. I've always been against body positivity if it promotes being overweight. If you're fat and happy that way good for you but you're likely going to cost the NHS much much more as you age and I won't celebrate that.

@PloddingAlong21
"Schools here seem to rush children to shovel their food down within 10/15 minutes, this will create habits later in life. "

You've hit the nail on the head here. I'm a fast eater and definitely first learned it at school, when we were rushed to finish after 40 minutes of queuing. It's taken me a long time to learn how to savour food, and I still default to quick eating if I'm not careful. The other part of the equation is growing up with an older brother who would scoff everything and serve himself seconds and third helpings, so if I wanted more of something, I also had to wolf it down. Not much you can do in a societal level to fix that latter problem though!

the article does start with saying the UK has the worst obesity in Western Europe. I don’t suppose it’s changed. I can’t honestly be bothered to look it up, but either way, we know it’s very bad.

We'll agree to disagree. As a doctor, I'm speaking about my own personal observations.

I don't disagree. I do think other countries are catching us up rapidly though. What we don't know yet is the impact of GPL1s and how much differences in access to those medications across Europe will impact. That will be very interesting.

If you are giving your opinion based on your personal experience, why is it relevant that you are a doctor?
I don't think you need to be a qualified doctor to observe overweight people.

True!