Why are nearly 25% of British women obese?

[twitterer]

On the news this morning we are told that British women are the fatest in Europe, why? Of course it is down to eating too much and exercising too little. But other populations don't suffer so badly. I wonder if there is more (healthy) pressure from society, men, employers and others to be healthy

Agree cmfc - I am a 36 c in a bra because I have a large rib cage ( nowt about me is dainty - large feet, hands, wrists etc ) - my substantially overweight friend could not believe this as it is the same chest circumference as her and yet I am visibly slim....but in her case she has a small 'well covered' frame, whilst I have a large frame with no back fat etc (ribs show)

MyChildDoesntNeedSleep, that article you linked to is interesting. In it it states:

The NHS advises that a waist measurement above 32″ for women can lead to increased risk of heart disease. Diabetes UK says a waist measurement over 31.5″ could put you at increased risk of type 2 diabetes. However, a woman with that waist measurement could easily be wearing a size 14 in most UK High Street stores and reassuring herself that she?s even wearing a size smaller than the UK average. That can?t be unhealthy, right?

Body size shouldn?t be a political battleground. The increased risk of heart disease and diabetes is a simple fact, as is the increased risk of stroke, arthritis and Cancer. Celebrating overweight celebrities, like Beth Ditto (shown here on the cover of LOVE magazine) isn?t about promoting a more realistic image of women. It?s about making yourself feel better. If the average woman in the UK has a waist measurement of 34″ then that means the average woman is slowly killing herself, and all the while blaming magazines for promoting an unrealistic body image.

gah!!! &#8243 = inches. Stupid c&p!

Just wanted to say as someones who done atkins in the past.

now lost weight on sw plan but it still allows me carbs

I follow extra easy plan and

potatoes, rice, pasta is free so can eat unlimited amounts providing its combined with 1/3 veg on my plate.

however bread is restricted to

2 small 400g slices whomeal=1healthy option
the normal 800g is 1 option per slice!

2weetabix is 1 option but other cereals i like special k red berries are syns and measure out 28g portion which is quite measly so rarly bother.

2alpen light bars-1healthy option.

only suppost to have 1healthy option a day
as im breastfeeding im allowed extra so have 3-4options and still manage to lose weight.

found this

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanity_sizing

so shops have changed their sizes which throws our perception of how big we are.

I think its just more common to be bigger these days

All the couture are smaller sizes.
All models and people within fashion seem to be skinny.

Acting and comedy possible to be bigger but wont always get the lead role.
Was reading article with heidi klun, jlo and gwneth paltrow few months back and they all say they watch what they eat and work out 5-6days a week.
That with getting older qand having kids they have to work harder at it they not flukes of nature.

NICEyNice hating yourself for being overweight doesn't usually help you to lose any weight. A society that mocks the overwieght doesn't help people lose weight either.

NICEyNice hating yourself for being overweight doesn't usually help you to lose any weight. A society that mocks the overwieght doesn't help people lose weight either.

No, but neither does being in denial about just how big we are.

Or putting it down to bone structure.

EssentialFattyAcid, the point is not about mocking the overweight.

The point is about promoting and celebrating overweight women being deeply morally questionable. We hear all the time about how we celebrating anorexia in the media and yet this is acceptable and encouraged? How does that work?

I'm surprised at the recommendations of the plan you posted, Griff, and with apologies for highlighting your post I think that's part of the problem.

Our diets are meant to be mostly plants. A healthy plate should ideally be at least 3/4 veg not 1/3 and 1 small slice of bread is PLENTY. It's also more filling to eat this way, rather than bulking out meals with stodge and sugar. I think it's also about thinking outside the box and planning ahead. So, we're conditioned to think that a (convenient but calorie-dense) sandwich is our only lunch option when instead you could have an ENORMOUS salad with all sorts of veg, some chicken, fish or pulses on top, a little sprinkle of cheese (no need for dressing really but a little oil and vinegar goes a long way) and a bowl of vegetable soup for the same calories and feel satisfied for longer.

The overweight are often viewed as second class citizens and in my view this is a much bigger problem than the idea that some people may possibly be in denial about being overweight - which I suspect is actually pretty damn rare.

EFA if overweight people are seen as second class citizens then that means that the majority of people in the UK are seen as second class citizens

How can that be?

25% of British women are obese, but remember a far greater proportion are simply overweight.

If you want to point score over definitions of overweight and obese thats your affair.

If you don't recognise the amount of discrimination against fat people I find that plain out of touch.

Do you think the high street clothing retailers are viewing people over size 16 as first class or second class citizens?

I think it's a culture in which crisps, chocolate and alcohol are the norm, and not an exception. I grew up abroad, and when I came here age 18, I had my first packet of crisps. I didn't think much of them, so I probably had another one several years later. However, many children here grow up thinking crisps and chocolate are every day foods. Unfortunately this is changing now in Southern Europe as well, and there are lots of obese children in Spain.

how funny

I can encircle the midpoint of my thigh in my hands without a gap; i do not have unfeasibly large hands!

the rest of me is in proportion too

I have had 2 children, so i have lost my rock hard defined abs- what is there is very slightly curved

I have no idea what exactly i weigh, but i fit clothes i have always worn at 10st. I am 5'6

I wear a 12-14 in most shops. According to some posters that makes me a mega biffer. I have no idea; i think i look non obese, my thighs do not touch unless i sit down, but i am sure some of you would look at me and feel sick at how fat i am

i honestly don't think i could assess my size in any reliable, valid way.

Mainstream Clothing manufacturers used to only make up to a 16, because it was rare to be bigger than this.
It's expensive to make up to 18, 20 and beyond. H and M does so, because they are a huge store and can afford to cater to this growing (no pun intended) market.

Why is it point scoring? It's fact. 33% of women are overweight and 24% are obese. So more than half of the women we see every day are not a healthy weight.

44% of men are overweight; 22% are obese.

If we're discriminating against fat people, then we're discriminating against the majority is all I'm saying.

MyChildDoesntNeedSleep do you think we are not as a society discriminating against fat people then?

Ok, even if they are 'second class citizens', which I don't totally buy into (though do accept there is discrimination going on), should we be trying to normalising it and saying its ok either? Cos thats what vanity sizing and celebrating curves Gok style does. Does this make tall people and petite people also second class citizens?

Are we being 'too sensitive' about this problem in the UK? How are other european countries treating this? Is it more or less socially acceptable?

I agree JustAnother.

My son says that his friends have crisps in their lunch every day. I find this really shocking. He could be making it up in a ploy to get me to buy crisps, I suppose

What people are strying to address is the discrimination against fat people and their reduced status in society. Fat people do know they are fat with very few exceptions. The fight is for equal treatment, status and respect regardless of weight.

I blame central heating. You don't need to go out and run around to warm up when you have central heating to do it all for you. There is very little incentive to use our bodies to do any work when other things will bear the burden. So.. we are a nation of lazy lumps and some of us get fat as a consequence.

If you really think that getting this 55% of the population just to admit they are fat is what is needed then I honestly despair.

EFA Tell me what you mean by discriminating against fat people and then I can answer your question.

How about we start with wage discrimination and bias against employing fat people?

link re employment discrimination

molly - I disagree about the fact that it is easy to be active with small children, although it is easy to kid yourself that you are working hard. I see loads of mums in our local playground who probably think they are being active because they are in the park with their kids but all they are doing is keeping an eye or chatting. It is not actually exercise keeping an eye on children.

I have managed maintain my weight by prioritising my exercise (I have a 12 mth and and 2 1/2 yr old), over my children for an hour. I walk to the local park every other day which is 25 mins away. The walk is too far for DS1 so he goes in the buggy - but I realise that I have chosen my exercise over my children's for that 50 minutes. I sometimes feel that what I do is wrong because DS1 doesn't really enjoy walking/running unless it is around a park.