Britain's Fat Fight (HFW)

[Tigresswoods]

First of all, I love Hugh, we've watched him from the start of River Cottage. Second I think a programme on obesity & raising awareness etc is a good thing.

However AIBU to feel like we've seen it all before? I'm sure I've watched almost exactly that programme with Jamie & Tom Kerridge & probably someone else too?

[SoupDragon]

With the sugary cereal thing, I hadn’t really twigged that the RDA shown on packets of cereals marketed at children was the adult RDA.

[MoonriseKingdom]

The thing that really irritates me is that in my local Morrison’s the cereal aisle has an area with all the chocolatey cereals labelled ‘kids cereals’.

[HapDay]

I don't believe that poor people can't afford to eat well. Fruit and veg isn't expensive. I've been poor. Really really poor and it was a hell of a lot cheaper for us to cook proper meals than it was to eat rubbish

I grew up in the area of Newcastle shown last night and the problem is that fruit and veg IS expensive in the shops that are available there. There are no major supermarkets around and bus fares are extortionate. It costs £1.70 to get to the nearest Aldi. There is no bus that will take you direct to the nearest Lidl. The walk will take around 30-40 mins and that will feel like more if you have fruit and veg in your bag. If you don't have a car, you have next to no choice but to opt for the very limited products on offer. I don't think that corner shop was offering red peppers or kale, do you?

People DO need to take responsibility for what they eat but local government have to realise that their policies have helped exacerbate the situation.

[Dumbledoresgirl]

I thought it was a very interesting programme but I confess I have not watched all the celebrity chefs who came before him making the same sort of programme. I didn't think he came across as a pompous patronising twat either. I thought he was extremely sympathetic and non judgemental when faced with an obese man and his kitchen stuffed with crisps and chocolate. Outside of a supermarket (and WHSmiths ) I don't think I have ever seen so many crisps and chocolate in one place.

The obesity problem in this country is horrendous. Good on him for trying to do something about it.

[SoupDragon]

I agree, it’s not that they can’t afford the food as such, it’s availability and how much they can spend at once. I can jump in my car and go to
Aldi without a second thought about how much it will cost me to get there. I’m not sure how much the bus fare is but it would certainly take a chunk out of a meagre budget.

[DangerEgg]

I watched it and enjoyed it. The crisp and chocolate hoarders has me aghast, as did whsmiths / whsugar. I wonder what their corporate responsibility statement says?

Even if the overweight have no wish to change their ways for themselves, they should think about the health of their children.

[notacooldad]

I wonder what their corporate responsibility statement says?
HFW showed the corporate responsibility statement in the programme and was shocked at how the statement didn't match up to the reality of their stores.

[AbsintheFriends]

It did make me think imagine if the world was designed with our best interests in mind instead of how much money companies could make.

Agree with all of Cherrypi's post, but especially this bit ^.

Whether we've seen it all before or not, the ongoing need for such a programme was brought home to me when I went onto the BBC page linked to it. In my age group and area 64% of women are overweight or obese. For my husband it's 78%. That has pretty significant implications for the NHS.

Many of the causes of this lie beyond the control of individuals, so exposing the interests behind it can only be a good thing.

[PickwickThePlockingDodo]

If you don't have a car, you have next to no choice but to opt for the very limited products on offer.

I don't buy it. You can get a supermarket delivery for £1, so why can't they stock up on fruit and veg and good stuff in their weekly/fortnightly online shop?
It is not to do with being poor, surely buying takeaways all the time would be more expensive anyway. It's a way of life, that needs to be challenged.

And when they assumed the cereal was healthy because there was a bloody skateboarding squirrel on the packet 🤦‍♀️

I know, as if

[SoupDragon]

You can get a supermarket delivery for £1

They also have a minimum order which some people may not be able to meet. And fresh fruit and vegetables don’t necessarily last a full fortnight.

[LARLARLAND]

If a minimum order cost is the issue, maybe they could share the delivery with a friend. There are loads of fruits and vegetables that keep really well. Most freeze well too if the householder had access to a freezer.

[notacooldad]

One of my colleagues was doing a healthy eating sessions with families that we work with. The family is from a similar estate with a Heron store.
On line was mentioned and yes there is a minimum spend however this family has no teamed up with a neighbour to reach the minimum spend.
My colleague also uses books like Jamie's Ministry of food from his 'pass it on campaign' to help families think beyond a takeaway tea..
It's all small steps and we are not going to change a town or city overnight never mind a country!

[notacooldad]

X post!!
Shared delivery won't work for everyone of course but it could be an option to be explored.

[PickwickThePlockingDodo]

They also have a minimum order which some people may not be able to meet. And fresh fruit and vegetables don’t necessarily last a full fortnight.

Can't afford a minimum order of £40 and yet can afford Gregg's and takeaways everyday, hmm, yeah ok.

They could do an online shop every month or more. Frozen fruit & vegetables, even tinned fruit/veg would be better than a Dominos pizza ffs.

I still think it isn't the money, it's to do with lack of education and a culture of can't be bothered to cook, go and get a kebab instead.

Surely the real poor people would be the thin ones anyway? The ones that go without to feed their kids.

[LARLARLAND]

I can knock up a nice curry using tinned potatoes, tinned spinach, tinned tomatoes and chickpeas. Onions can be stored for ages.

[Eolian]

I don't understand why people are saying that even though we've seen it all before, people should continue making these programmes because the message hasn't got through. If the message hasn't got through, it's not going to get through. Even most of the people who like watching this stuff don't like changing their habits. There is no lack of information about ways to lose weight. But it's a hard slog and people don't want to do it. HF-W isn't going to change that with yet another programme.

[LARLARLAND]

Given how much obesity is costing the UK I think we need to carry on trying to get the message through to people.

[SoupDragon]

Can't afford a minimum order of £40 and yet can afford Gregg's and takeaways everyday, hmm, yeah ok.

Does Greggs require you to have £40 all at once?

[HelenaDove]

." In my age group and area 64% of women are overweight or obese. For my husband it's 78%. "


Hmm And yet slimming clubs are mainly aimed at women rather than men.

And then theres the bikini body diet............the little black dress diet etc.

[SoupDragon]

If the message hasn't got through, it's not going to get through.

Yeah, let’s just give up and let people eat themselves to death.

If it gets the message through to X more people, that’s X healthier people.

[N2986]

It is not the cheaper option to eat healthily. You can buy a pack of biscuits for example, for 30p! Price that up against apples or bananas for a healthy snack!

The cost of decent meat is extortionate. There's no local butcher near me to get nice cheap cuts from. The cost of going to the gym is extortionate for those in a low income bracket and, Frankly, they may live in an area where it's not safe to go for a run after the kids are in bed!

Do you all really think people live in a world where they pop to their neighbours and say "I'm so poor I can't afford an online shop, shall we split it?". Some people don't even have debit cards to buy online fgs.

Obesity is a huge issue in this country and won't be fixed by sweeping generalisations about the poor and fast food.

And can you blame lower income people, whose incomes are slowly getting smaller, for wanting some form of indulgence when they get in from a long working day. They probably don't want to eat chickpeas, lentils and vegetables.

I was once absolutely broke and, trust me, eating a varied diet was the last of my worries.

[HelenaDove]

It can be hard Eolian But apparently its wrong to say that.

according to another well known forum.

[Battleax]

It was interesting that they were talking about the type of shops on the estate being a problem. There was a Heron supermarket and a shop selling a bit of rubbish fruit and veg. The proper butchers and greengrocers were long gone. I have said this before but we need more greengrocers in the UK.

But this has been a known issue in food poverty analysis for two or three decades. It’s interesting to you because you haven’t heard it before, but it’s completely old hat to those who should be doing something about it. Meanwhile another generation has grown up and the poor food culture amongst the poorest has been perpetuated.

Poor people aren’t idiots. I do think a large proportion of the very poorest are probably seriously depressed. I don’t blame them.

[LARLARLAND]

They don't have to spilt the cost with a neighbour N2986. It could be a friend or a family member.

I don't blame people for eating unhealthy food but given the strain on the NHS, we all have to take collective responsibility and say for god's sake lay off the pizzas and eat something nutritious once in a while.

[HelenaDove]

N29 the cost of a decent sports bra is extortionate as well And you cant wear a bloody Poundland one like some twat suggested you do on here if you are busty.

It was on a thread here a couple of years ago so 32HH me went and bought one just for shits and giggles.

i tried it on in front of DH and told him why i was doing it He said "are some of the posters on the website you spend time on really that fucking thick" His words not mine.