Shocked yesterday at just how many people are overweight?

[Whatevskev]

And I know I’ll get loads of bashing but I’m not judging- myself and all my family may well be included in this observation

The day before I’d been watching a documentary about the 40s and was struck by how slim the vast majority of people were. We got chatting as a group and I remembered there was only one child at school who was considered to be overweight (this is the 80s) so I got a photo out and realised by today’s standard he wouldn’t stand out at all.

Then yesterday walking around town I started actually noticing and it struck me that only about 1 in 10 people if that would be classed as properly slim and how normalised carrying extra weight is. Many people who would have been maybe a size 12 so ‘slim’ are actually carrying so much more body fat than our ancestors.

Once I looked it was striking.
No blame on anyone- society makes it almost impossible to maintain a lower weight unless you have iron will with all the food availability and snacking culture and calorie laden drinks and meals.

And we definitely have reset in our heads what is slim and what is ‘normal’.

How on earth do we reverse this is a society or is it just going to rise exponentially?

Avoid Lincolns WH Smith.Blocking the way in or out is up to 4 very pushy sales chugger. They try very hard to get mugs to sign up for a so called deaf soc...Very much hands on people guiding them in. Complaints fall on deaf ears. Recomend not shoppinf there?

I attended a high school open evening last week and was saddened to see how many of the 10/11 year olds and their younger siblings were very overweight. When I was at school there was usually one fat child in the whole school. Now it's the norm to the point my normal weight 10 year old is called small and skinny and bullied for it. She's physically active, eats a fairly balanced diet and is healthy. Her class mates are either slightly heavier or about twice the size. My eldest is even slimmer and my ds is one of the slimmest in his class. Extensive hormone treatments, chronic health issues and a lack of willpower with chocolate mean I am pushing my limits and could do with losing a stone. Now ds is at school, I'm on a mission to lose it but am already very active and have the same diet as the dc. Perimenopause is not my friend but I'll get there.

I often wonder if it's fear of saying "no" to children that results in so many snacks and big portion sizes. There seems to be a downward trend in discipline and diet and exercise seems to be part of it. "Oh Anna didn't want to walk to school today so we came in the car." is a very typical attitude.

Most fat people (I'm an ex-obese person) eat far too much food and don't move enough because they are uncomfortably heavy. The path to being slim is the mind. I also think it helps enormously to have been a thin child, thin adult, so you have the memory of a thin self which you miss and want to get back to. I feel very sorry for fat children. Their parents should be done for neglect.

I often wonder if it's fear of saying "no" to children that results in so many snacks

Yes and to silence or bribe children, it's lazy parenting in that scenario.

Give them a bag of crisps to shut them up, an ice cream if they are good or chocolate to do as they are they asked. Shameful really if done regularly.

I was obese (18 stone) 15 years ago and was in the minority, now I'd probably feel right at home. I've noticed a lot of the younger ones are a lot fatter and all their mates too, so of course they'll feel fine and 'normal' hanging round with all their fat friends. So no incentive to lose weight.

My friend's daughter has decided to stay far cus 'lifes too short to diet'

Not shocking really. We werent designed to be turning down food.

This is a big big problem in the UK, especially compared to other countries in Europe. Part of it is junk food is cheaper than healthy food, many poorer people will usually be overweight. And there is so much convenient options available to us now but not always the best. The brutal truth is ( I am slightly overweight too) that being overweight can affect your prospects for jobs, career and what people think. And the amount of bigger children there are now so its seen as normal. There are many factors that contribute to this though, parents can be so busy and its easy to order a deliveroo or just eat, or eat a bar of chocolate or crisps in front of the TV. Education around healthy eating is not the best in the UK too and people are not as active as 30 years ago.

I hate exercise, there's nothing more boring to me, I've never experienced the endorphin high, or if I have, it's been so weak as to be unnoticeable.

Absolutely. I 100% agree. Exercise is boring. I have experienced a bit of that endorphin high and it's ok. Enjoyable enough when it happens but not really enough to keep me going back. It's why I put 'exercise' in quotation marks when I write about skating. Yes, it's objectively one of the absolute best exercises there is both aerobically and anaerobically, but it's not an exercise, it's play. You strap wheels to your feet and you experience something that feels like flight. You play at flying for a few hours, only stopping because you eventually have to never really because you want to. Obviously I'm sure I get the exercise endorphin release from skating but that's not what makes me happy. I can fly, I can spin, I can zip around, weave in and out, I can cover miles in minutes. I go up ramps so fast that the momentum throws me in the air and I really fly for a few seconds and then I land and play at flying once more. My body can do all of these super things that I used to only think were imaginary. It makes me happy because it's some sort of actual real life magic. And then, bonus, after a few months you're super fit.

I'm not so arrogant to think that everyone can experience that joy from the same thing that I enjoy. (A huge amount of people could though, it's objectively fantastic and accidentally getting abs is pretty ace too.) But there is an activity, play that makes you happy while accidentally making you fit, out there for most of us. You either have to be open to finding it or not.

I agree with pp mentioning our ‘treat’ mentality. Every sandwich has mayo in it, every biscuit, chocolate, salads have croutons, every tea of coffee stop needs a brownie. I feel like we need a dietary reset but whilst so many big businesses make a fortune from these foods it’s not going to happen sadly.

Everytime I come back to the UK (Scotland especially) I am shocked by the obesity and how overweight the population are. Tv adverts are overwhelmingly about junk food and it's far cheaper to buy processed food that fresh. In fact, it's quite difficult to find fresh food except in large department stores 'fresh' sections that are only reachable by car. Glasgow is the worst I've seen and it's very sad, especially the children.

@Anerak which other UK cities do you visit regularly?

@Anerak, All the supermarkets have fresh fruit and vegetables. Those small convenience places also have the basics.
Yes its cheaper by far to eat processed food as opposed to loads of fruit and veg/lean meat or substitutes. Plus you have to know how to cook it all as well.

I live in a small town in the UK and even the tiny convenience shops near me have a fruit and veg selection

Not knowing how to cook is an excuse that belongs in the 1980s.

The internet is awash with really easy step-by-step tutorials.

Anyone who wants to learn how to cook can do so instantly.

Also to the person saying a microwave burger (I've never heard of that before) is only a pound.

You get a 4 pack of quarter pounders at Aldi for about £2.30, which would feed your meat for 4 days and then a bit of broccoli and a couple of carrots, potatoes it works out the same if not marginally cheaper over the 4 days. I got a broccoli for 23p yesterday !!!

If you have no oven, there are plenty of ways, if you have the time, to eat better than microwave burgers on a budget.

In fact, it's quite difficult to find fresh food except in large department stores 'fresh' sections that are only reachable by car.

Sorry, but I don't think this is true at all. I love in a tiny village in rural Bedfordshire with one shop. Even it has a fresh fruit and veg section. It's not difficult to buy fresh fruit and veg at all.

37WorraLiberty - I agree. And surprise, surprise cooking healthy low fat / sugar / salt food is cheaper than anyone thinks.
But it does take some effort and planning. Maybe that is key general sticking point?

I'd say well over half the nurses/staff/doctors at our local main hospital are seriously overweight. Not good at all seeing as they should know the health implications.

^^ This! When my mum was in hospital over the summer, I couldn't believe how many nurses and HCAs couldn't actaully fit into their uniforms.

I’m from NI originally and was the rare overweight teen in the 80s -basically inactivity and eating too much. Everyone else was slim. Now I live in a mc area of London and am horrified when I return at how much larger everyone is, and how treat food is everywhere. When we were growing up, meals out were rare and most meals were meat and two veg, lunch was soup etc. Now, there’s much more variety, masses of traybakes (not just at Presbyterian coffee mornings) and sweets and crisps everywhere. I gain weight every time I go home.

I live in France and people are getting fatter here too now. When I moved here 18 years ago the crisp shelf in the local supermarket was less than one metre wide, now it's at least 4 metres and people's waistlines have increased too. Far too much industrial food and snacking.
But it's nothing compared to the UK. And clothes sizes make me laugh - my daughter bought some pants in Primark size 38 and they were twice the size of a size 38 French brand. A size 12 in the UK is not slim any more.
The portion sizes in UK pubs and restaurants is obscene, as is chips with nearly everything. Shops offering food 24 hours a day is tempting, so I can understand a lot of willpower is required not to give in. Once you get over 40 you don't need to eat much, not necessarily 3 meals a day or even two, and not necessarily a hot meal. Exercise should be a discipline you do to look after your body even if you find it boring.
Regardless of height any woman who weighs over 60kgs and doesn't have the body muscle percentage of a body builder is overweight.

Re nurses and HCAs, their metabolism is up against it. Shift work and stress both make a body more inclined to store fat

@TatianaLarina

My weight has crept up recently. My BMI got to 25.2 at the beginning of September. It’s now dropped to 24.8 but I’ll be happier when my BMI is back down to 22 so I’ve got another 14lbs to lose. It might be age, might be due to a few life changes but I’m fixing it.

The thing is, although I was slightly into the overweight range, I didn’t feel fat and that is because even at slightly overweight 57% of other women are fatter than me. We have definitely normalised being overweight/ obese.

@MadameForest

Regardless of height any woman who weighs more than 60kgs is overweight?

Care to cite any medical articles supporting this as it’s very different from the NHS BMI guidelines.

@Mackerz
No it was a flippant comment and my opinion.Obviously the BMI guidelines are right but for me at 5'8 apparently up to 70kgs is 'healthy' but it certainly isn't attractive.