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?

[trilbydoll]

Rubbish food is cheap, much cheaper to eat oven meals than what I would call real food, especially if you're not a good cook or don't have much spare time / kitchen space for cooking.

And related to the spare time, if you spend 8 hours in front of a computer then you have to do exercise separately.

[Lovemusic33]

I notice this too when walking around town, I also notice how every other shop is now a coffee shop, cafe or fast food place, more people are walking around with food or drink in their hands (never saw this in the 80’s/90’s).

I work hard to maintain a healthy weight but it’s really hard when everything and everyone is so food focused, there’s so much temptation. People are busier so it’s easier to buy a take away or a microwave meal, less time to exercise as people are working longer hours. There’s many reasons why people are now bigger .

I worry that I’m overweight but when I look around it seems I’m quite small (size 10/12), but looking around and seeing this just makes me think “fuck it, I will have that burger or cake as I’m not as big as all these people” (not a good way to think).

[SnappedandFartedagain]

Vanity clothing sizes don't help, as it skews people's idea of what size they actually are.

My mum was a size 10 and consistent 7 stone her entire adult life. I was sorting out my loft the other week and found some of her old clothes I hadn't had the heart to throw away. Her old size 10s didn't even go over my thighs. I reckon they would be labelled a size 4 nowadays. I was really surprised.

[NumberblockNo1]

Theres also a difference in convenience food avaialble. Citys have places like Leon, people can afford M and S salads etc for convenience. Here its entirely chips/takeaways etc. Cheaper retaurants are often "chips and" .

When you are dealing with poverty and perhaps health/social issues you need tk feed children quickly and cheaply. Iceland turkey shapes, chips and beans is cheap and quick. Frozen pizza is cheap and easy....

When life is overwhelming the multiple stages required to prepare a meal from scratch in a kitchen that may be too small and with all the stress in your head of coping can seem really hard. And clearing up all the mess rather than just recycling a box.
Its an executive function issue - and ahen in a state of overwhelm its tough.

Its v different to cooking in a large clean kitchen in a calm ordered house with enough space for everything and kids happily playing etc.

I wish there was an easy way to explain to those who dont really get it. There needs to be so much more support.

I heard Jack Monroe speak at a festival about some of the work she was doing with care leavers around cooking and she really is impressive. She has a lot to say about the politics around poverty that would be worth listening to in termw of hearing from someone thats lived it.

[AnotherMonickerChange]

I don't fit into a size 12 when I'm at the lowest weight I can reach. It's just the way I'm built. I start my gym regime tomorrow, I'm needing to lose six stone. I started school in the eighties and I can remember there being two overweight kids in my infants, think there was one in my primary, and there were less overweight kids in my year at secondary than we had houses.

It really has changed.

I struggled to stay a decent weight, most of my life, and that was when I was super active and sporty. Genes do play a part in it, but whether someone is predisposed to the chub or not, our current lifestyle habits are crap compared to years ago.

[Reversiblesequinsforadults]

I have put on 2 stone in the last year. I am 3 stone overweight. I am fat. I find it surprising the number of people who say, "oh you're not fat" when I discuss this with them. It's such a loaded word. Because I can fit into aeroplane seats I'm still normal. No I'm fat.
Saying that, shaming is counterproductive. Eating is emotional for me as it is for most people and I have put on weight because I have had shit to deal with in the last year. I know in my head that eating well, doing exercise and drinking less will help me to cope with the shit but if someone said to me, "do you really need that biscuit?" when I am having a hard day, I go "fuck off" (in my head) and have 3. It's lower priority than the other things in my life.
PS. I've been taking Agnus castus for PMS which has started to work, so I'm feeling happier and so have managed to lose 4 pounds this week. (Shameless boast)

[EssentialHummus]

people spoute lies saying processed food is cheaper, it really isn’t, it’s just a case of people not knowing what to make with cheap food. You can make a home made squash soup for about £1.20 that will feed four people.

Well, yes, if they have a kitchen, pots, pans, utensils, money on the electric meter and the headspace to look up and follow a recipe - and there's the link to poverty again.

[BlackberryNettles]

My BMI is 20 (size 10/12 depending), I'm a healthy weight but could lose some if I wanted, but I'm pretty sure if I wanted to be as slim as my 1940s counterpart that my BMI would be underweight.

[sleepyhead]

It's at least partly an externalisation of the epidemic of poor mental health in this and other wealthy countries.

We self-soothe with food, sugar, alcohol, cigarettes.

[thatoldpinkumbrella]

I hate this "fat shaming" expression. So you are not allowed to notice that someone is fat, to state that being fat is unhealthy - and costly - and that it's becoming an real issue.

Instead of increasing the waist line of school trousers - have you seen the SIZE of children's clothes in this country?! It's embarrassing, instead of vanity sizing for women so yesterday size 20 is a size 12 today..
instead of brushing off the problem, why aren't we doing something?

Why are schools finishing at 3pm, when the kids could be doing 2 hours of exercise everyday? I am not expecting the teachers to work longer hours, but for the government to change the school day and put systems in place. Even if it means giving an hour of outdoor free every day.

If you are wealthy, and available, your kids can go to clubs and all sorts after school. That should be part of the school day.

And it goes on.

[DoctorAllcome]

I agree we tend to see average as normal, when if the average is overweight...which it is in the US, then everyone who is normal weight begins to appear skinny.
It doesn’t really hit home except for when I come back to the US after a business trip to China or India. You notice it immediately that people are slimmer...and coming back you then notice wow we are pretty big in the US.
Just like people being underweight from food rationing in wars or shortages due to famine, being overweight is also a public health issue. I don’t think it’s fat shaming to say that having too high a body weight for long term health is a concern. Just like it isn’t skinny shaming to be concerned about underweight and malnourished people.

[Tighnabruaich]

What’s happened to clothes sizing that a 12 is seen as “big”?
All through my teens and 20s I was a 12 and that equated to 34-24-36. My friend was a super slim 10, which equates to 32-22-34.
But that was in the 70s.

[SoyDora]

So you are not allowed to notice that someone is fat, to state that being fat is unhealthy - and costly - and that it's becoming an real issue

Of course you’re allowed to say it. The point is that it has been proven not to help people lose weight. So better to put your efforts into things that could actually help, rather than just saying it.

[Tighnabruaich]

The friend’s size 10 equated to, not equates.

[BenWillbondsPants]

It's a very different world now.

When I was a teen in the early 80s, we used to hang around the record shops and we walked everywhere. There were literally no fast food places to go and even if there were, we didn't have the money to go to them anyway. We also didn't hang around inside playing computer games, as there weren't any so you went out.

Now, lots (not all, obvs) hang around McDonalds/Burger King etc and there's a Costa or similar on every street corner. Lots of teens seem to have access to more money now too and are much more sedentary generally.

[Shinyletsbebadguys]

I would add to some of the issues the increasing issues with Mental health as well. As stress increases due to a 24/7 culture I believe that not only does the stress increase cortisol levels that can affect weight gain , but we are also bombarded with the message that to manage stress is to have chocolate or wine or a comfort meal to make ourselves feel better.

I agree with the food packaging and marketing concept. I can say nothing I've just lost 5 stone so clearly was obese prior to doing that, I am well aware it was down to me and have offered no excuse. Saying that , Fat shaming is pointless, I had to decide for myself to make a change.

I do also feel it's extremely rare that people will fat shame for altruistic reasons however much they claim to be, it almost always turns out that it's because of low self esteem issues for themselves and needing to be superior.

However I agree with the sugar taxes and do believe that as marketing and big business have created this problem they have a responsibility to fix it (which they wont because of course they do not wish to reduce their billions)

Education I believe is effective however so much is based on outdated knowledge.

Whilst it is people's responsibility to make healthy choices recognition must be that they are up against sophisticated big corporate billions of marketing. As I said at the start , not just around basic food choices, but the message that all in our life is fixed by food, or chocolate or wine etc rather than dealing with the source of increasing mental health concerns and stress.

I speak from experience, part of my weight change (it really wasn't a diet but a lifestyle change) was a lot about realising food wasn't going to fix my stress levels , or home issues , but by God that was a tough lesson to learn. It's not easy.

[SimonJT]

@EssentialHummus For three years my food budget was around £12 a week. If someone doesn’t have the leccy to make soup they also don’t have enough to heat up a processed meal. If you don’t have a kitchen (I didn’t for about six months), you can still eat well cheaply.

As someone who has been there, you can do it if you want to.

[BlackberryNettles]

When I was underweight with my eating disorder in 2007-2009, I wore size 6 clothing. So, being a size 6 is not the ideal for a lot of people because I have to be underweight to fit them.

[thatoldpinkumbrella]

Of course you’re allowed to say it. The point is that it has been proven not to help people lose weight. So better to put your efforts into things that could actually help, rather than just saying it

well I have another one.

Ban these "plus size" "be proud of your curves" nonsense, ads and competitions. Stop promoting plus size, stop putting a severely obese woman on the front page of a magazine.

I am not advocating laughing at fat people like it was common in the past, but we have gone a step too far in the other direction by trying to make it "normal" and something to be proud of.

[MaybeitsMaybelline]

I agree with you. We had one, yes just one overweight girl in my entire year at school. She told me weighed ten stone. Age 15. She stands massively on school photos.

Ten stone is nothing today.

I left school in 1982. No one but poor Monica was fat.

[Moomin8]

I don't agree. Where I live, younger women aged 18-25 are nearly all tiny. And everyone else is more likely slim than obese.

[ichifanny]

People saying size 12 is overweight , someone may be slightly outside their ideal BMI at a size 12 but not to the point of being high risk of health problems . However I’d say it’s more harmful being underweight for a woman , moe risk of osteoporosis etc and bone density issues .
I’d say once women move into size 16/18 they are more likely to have health issues . I’ve been there and hormonal ,gastric, issues Started to crop up . It’s good to promote people staying slim but I think assuming everyone will be a size 8-10 is uNrealistic and Unnecessary .

[BlackberryNettles]

women so yesterday size 20 is a size 12 today..

That's a bit ott.

[LemonTT]

Whether the reference to smoking and drinking meant shaming is not the point. Being as overweight as most of the population are now is a public health issue. One that we all have a stake in just as we did in reducing the numbers of people who smoke and drink heavily.

We do need strategies to stop people unconsciously overeating and to ensure they eat health food. Public health messages notoriously play better and are more effective with middle classes but do have an impact on more socially deprived people. Anyway we can’t sweep it under the carpet because it hurts someone’s feelings to be told something they know to be true anyway.

A pp is right to point out that we now have calories on display for more fast food. But, it needs a context. Far too many people think they are able to consume 2000c+ as a woman and 3000c+ as a man per day. Given the increasingly sedentary lifestyles very few people can do this unless they are tall and active.

[Teddybear45]

In the 1940s women wore corsets and clothes were made to fit and suit the hourglass shape that created . If a woman who is a modern size 12 or 14 now wore a corset then she would likely find a 1940s size 12 fits perfectly with ample room. When I used to be a size 16 (big hips and bum) I often found a 1940s size 12 fit perfectly without a corset.

Indian women from certain countries were definitely fatter in the 1940s than later years - a combination of low height combined with low activity and limited rationing in post-war East Africa / India. Indian women born later tend to be taller and were a lot slimmer while young.