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

I think tirdeness has something to do with it, my friends and myself all eat a lot more when we are tired - don't we have the highest working hours in Europe, more difficulty with childcare, poorer/more fragmented extended family relationships/social networks than our European peers? All things that if not in place can add to work loads, contribute to tiredness. There's nothing like a sugar fix to push you through and keep you going. Also how many 'pick me ups' can you have on the run,(and for 60p say, lot cheaper than a manicure!) while you are still multi tasking and juggling several other things - how many of us eat at our desks rather than taking a lunch break?
When we look at what little family time we often have, who wants to spend it cooking from scratch, who has time to plan healthy prepared lunches to take with the next day?
These are my musings.....

readily available tempting food everywhere! and not much of a culture anymore of eating together and/or taking time to prepare at least 1 meal a day. Easier to live off several snacks than have 3 good meals. Difficult with so much temptation to say no and think to yourself that being a bit hungry is ok and it will mean you will enjoy your dinner/lunch all the more. My French cousin lived here for 6 months and put on over 2 stones!

Thank you binfull.

Concerned I have the smae musings.. but would counter some of them in my mind with the fact that this lack of time and choosing to do other things instead of cook from scratch is a culture thing for the UK rather than a forgone conclusion.
For example "When we look at what little family time we often have, who wants to spend it cooking from scratch, who has time to plan healthy prepared lunches to take with the next day?" A lot of my partner's family are Italian and the women spend a good few hours of an evening making pasta all together, they make and freeze lasagne and have a great time, the children help too (won't get in to what on earth the men are doing during these times!)

I cook from scrtach every night and my DD sits in the kitchen doing her homework and we chat, I would say this is a fun use of time and means we all have a healthy dinner. There will be people who literally DO NOT have the time but as I say, there are people who say they don't have the time, but happily spend 2 hours watching TV. If you want to do that instead of cook that is your choice of course, we all have different priorities.

I eat at my desk but I pack a lunch which is healthy so again, not really a reason to put on weight.

All the slim people I know eat less and when they do eat it is generally healthy food. They don't all take active exercise. In fact most of them don't. But i don't buy in to this "I'm fat because of my genes, I eat like a bird but I put on weight" You only have to look and children in the 3rd world to know this isn't true.

I can't remember the figures but I read somewhere that in the UK we spend the smallest portion of our income on food. The french spend a very high portion.

How many people "can't afford" fresh fruit and vegetables, organic food and good quality wine... but have a cupboards full of DVDs, cigarettes, beers, and eat take aways and go to the cinema & take package holidays etc. I know that sounds naive as there are many people who can't afford any of that, and for them it seems easier to reach for the 2 for 1 value burgers, but I do think over all we don't value good food highly enough as a nation.

I also think that it is taboo to be slim these days - my friends, family and collegues regularly tell me I'm "skin and bone" and tell others not to hug me too hard in case I break - I am a 21 BMI.
Would they say such things about a fat person..?

I agree unacceptable the 'curvy' lobby has swung our perceptions in the other direction. We've totally lost all perspective of what a healthy size should be.

For us as a nation to get a grip on our eating there needs to be a total overhaul of language and attitude.

There needs to be a separation of aesthetics, fashion and health, as clearly we cannot be trusted to think healthily slim = attractive.

Clothes sizing needs to be exact: a pint is a pint, a metre is a metre, so a 12 should be comprised of a certain set of measurements.

At the moment it seems that BMI ratings are the most reliable gauge of weight versus health, so we need to stop using euphemisms like 'big boned' and use the scientifically devised terms. I am 'obese' in the chart, I can't say I'm 'overweight', that means something else.

Also if you eat junk food you feel tired. If you open a can of sardines and cook a baked potato in the microwave and peel a few carrots (which I really don't think is much harder than cooking a ready meal) you won't feel as tired. In other words it's a vicious circle.

Ahhh I love the ends of threads when all the frothing is over and the reasoned opinions come out!

So I agree almost entirely with the last dozen or so posts except that I think if we really want to solve this problem we need to address just how hard it is for some people to lose weight.

It really doesnt matter if it is easy for some to stay at a healthy weight all their lives. If we take as an assumption the fact that hardly anyone wants to be so heavy they have health problems, are uncomfortable and get rudeness from random strangers then we have to accept that a lot of people are trying hard and failing to lose weight.

I think you can see the same thing when you look at smoking. A lot of people are trying to quit with varying success and I think it is generally accepted that some people find it very hard and that there is variability in how hard it is (that depends on your lifestyle and also I would imagine on your brain chemistry and propensity to addiction). A lot has been done to help people quit smoking and it begins by acknowledging that it can be a difficult thing to do.

So by saying that you dont buy the idea that people eat different amounts for the same weight gain or that if one person can lose a stone easily then everyone can, you are trivialising the problem to a point that is very unhelpful in terms of addressing it.

There are a lot of healthy weight people that dont have to think about what they are eating because their brains tell them when they are full and have high enough blood sugar etc correctly and so they dont gain weight. There are likewise a lot of people for which this set point is in the wrong place. If they dont watch what they eat then they gain weight slowly over the course of months and years. If they increase their exercise level they are likely to simply eat more to compensate.

Of course eating the wrong sort of food or having the wrong sort of lifestyle exacerbates that problem and I'm sure much can be done to help by correcting those issues but to ignore the fact that people have genuinely different body/brain chemistry and metabolic activity and telling fat people they are just lazy, gluttons with no will power is inaccurate and not at all useful.

sleepwhenIdie
I agree about resistance training-having lean muscle does help you burn fat, and more to the point, keeps you strong and protects against osteoporosis.
And cutting the sugar will not only reduce belly fat but also control insulin levels and mood.
Oh and reg. JLo it was Barneys!

If anyone is really interested in some of the science behind what we are doing to ourselves when we eat all the very highly processed, sugary carb loaded foods we do today - then I would recommend The Diet Delusion by Gary Taubes. It is huge & very sciencey in parts, but an excellent read. Also shows that there are massive commecial reasons for keeping us plump. Although, to be honest, you only have to look at the cost of a box of SpecialK to work that one out!

MissHonkover why do you think people who complain about feeling sluggish with a BMI of 23+ are not contributing anything useful to the debate? They are telling you how they feel. Is that any less valid a viewpoint than any of the others expressed on this thread? I was one of those people and I do feel heavy and sluggish when I put on a few pounds and I immediately do something about it.

Perhaps researchers should spend their time looking at these sorts of people and finding out why they feel a small amount of weight go on and how they deal with it? Surely it is better to catch a weight gain and deal with it at a few pounds rather than a few stones? This is what French and Italian women tend to do as well. They keep a close eye on themselves and make small adjustments.

Surely people who have put on some weight but dealt with it have something to contribute to a thread on the causes of obesity?

Agree with honk.

But I do wish we could lose the fucking moral tone to this debate! It isn't immoral to be fat, it doesn't show moral deviency or a lack of moral fibre. You'd think it did reading this thread. Of course most people get fat because they eat too much and don't exercise. It's not rocket science to work that out but the reasons are much more complicated than that they are stupid, lazy or weak-willed. Our evolutionary history makes it inevitable that most people will get fatter in a society where you don't actually have to move much to get thngs done and keep warm, and where high calorie food is easily obtained. The whole situation is crazy! You have to make an effort to stay active and slim - because our society is geared to not doing so.

Just returning to his thread and wanted to reply to someone who told me to 'get a grip ffs' in response to me saying I thought that the statistic (in OP) was sadly true

I do think it's sad. As Xenia mentioned the nex generation of kids will die younger than their parents because of obesity. Obesity is single biggest health challenge we have ever faced in this country. More than cancer or smoking.
It starts when babies get too fat as babies (chubby babies are fine but some are huge and clearly being over fed). They then turn into fat toddlers and if this isn't addressed before the child starts school then they are likely to remain obese into adulthood. This has a permanent effect on their health regardless of whether they do then lose weight (in terms of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke, plus some cancers)
We have to act now to turn things around, and that means that adults must make changes to their diet and exercise in order to help their kids.

I know not ALL overweight children turn into obese adults and we have to be very careful not to give children a complex about their weight BUT we really have to do something now!!

For anyone out their trying to lose weight ( I still have about half a stone of post baby weight to go) keep going. It will be worth it

British people are particularly prone to thyroid disorders, it came over with the Vikings apparently.

Shouldn't the scandinavans be similarly fat then?

Apparently it is the particular genetic mix of Viking and Celt that causes it.

1. High cost of council run sporting facilities/course (£72 for a term swimming lessons for 1 child, exercise class at £6.50, family swimming at £14 - all plus £2-3 parking are too expensive despite being at the local leisure centre!!) Don't even go down the route of private sports clubs - £100/term is normal for martial arts, ballet classes etc
2. Lack of sport in school - if I could afford prep school I would send my boys if for no other reason that than sporting facilities. Our primary it's 2 half hour sessions in the halls whereas prep schools usually have 1+hours a day at the end of class time.
3. Lack of education about nutrition, cooking etc. Not just in school but busy parents don't have time/inclination to teach their children about a balanced diet, food choices, cooking.
4. Long hours culture - totally agree the British way of 'live to work' rather than the continental 'work to live' and this leads to less family meals (so more likely to have convenience foods plus more likely to let children get away with fads etc)
5. Cost of junk food - I would much rather take my family out for sushi or plate of but a bill of £40-50 for the family vs £15 at McD makes the choice less appealing
6. Becoming more Americanised with our car use - the number of parents who drive less than half a mile to school never ceases to amaze me!! And why hang around for a bus into town for £4.50 when you can step outside your door, hop in your car & park for less?

There are probably loads more....

According to the ME specialist that my SIL consulted, it is to do with a preponerance of dairy and wheat in our diet and Celtic/Viking ancestry. So anyone with fair-skin from N Europe is apparently more susceptible to ME/thyroid as the two are often linked. Not sure of the details TBH,....

WHAT???

Orm, I totally made that up!

Aha! Well you have a great and innate understanding of the endocrine system and it's diseases . Honest. Search for thyroid and N European and you will find that thyroid diseases are most common in women from N Europe. I don't know the name of SIL's specialist but I am sure she isn't the only one who has come to this conclusion.

I am all Viking.

Hully you is a witch.

If I cut out wheat and dairy will my thyroid go back to normal and will I win Rear of the Year then, instead of being a bit porky?

Ditto the anti-candida diet.

And most of us are O positive blood groups as well and they do not fare well on wheat and cereal based diets. Tis all true.