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 agree with StillSquiffy - it tends to be the same in Belgium, also the main meal at lunchtime.

I am not exactly small of arse myself but I was shocked (on a recent visit to by GPs in Leeds) at the sheer size of some of the people in the supermarket. Young people too, in their 20/30s - and lots of them. It occurred to me that you rarely see really fat people here - the land of frites mayonnaise and chocolate.

Apart from all the things already mentioned, I would say that evening dinner being usually the biggest meal of the day may also have something to do with that.

I am Spanish and when I moved to the UK I could not believe that people would eat just a sandwich for lunch, being used to a 2 course lunch or at least a nice big one course lunch. I tended to bring bigger lunches to work, but when I didn't have time I also bought a sandwich or something similar which resulted in my arriving home absolutely starving and buying something for the way in the train or raiding the fridge before I started cooking dinner because I was too impatient to wait for dinner to be ready.

This coupled with the fact that a lot of people arrive home quite late and not only do they not have the time or inclination to cook, but the don't have the time to burn any of their evening meal before going to bed so your body puts it all into storage "for a rainy day".

Go to a restaurant. What size is the steak minimum? 8oz.
Whats the recommended daily amount of steak? 3oz.

There's another massive problem in a nutshell. We think a portion size should be a lot bigger than it actually is. People think they are eating less than they actually are.

Very easy to end up eating more than you should, especially if you are a women, since men are supposed to eat more than men anyway. Add to that the British mentality of eating everything on your plate and you have a recipe for disaster.

"British mentality of eating everything on your plate"???????.
We have that mentality also in italy. And i am sure it is also in spain, france, greece, japan, etc!
I agree with you on portions. When i go tothose "supposed to be italian" restaurants like zizzi, pizza express, i am shocked at the size of a plate of pasta. In italy a family of four shares that amount.

It's not the steak that makes you fat though - it's the chips you get with it.

Being half German with a mother from near the Swiss border, I do live a lifestyle like the Swiss people you mention, which may be why I have slim, active children and ditto husband. Sadly it doesn't work for me, though, although the lifestyle stops me being superobese. I don't have any health problems like high BP or blood sugar issues though, as the consultant ran an awful lot of screening tests, and it was clear that I am in tip top condition apart from osteoarthritis and thyroid, so I would be very miffed if I had to pay extra for healthcare given this.

I do get alarmed when I go to charity shops and Aldi/Lidl, however, as I see some very large people in there and I come over all fattist. Perhaps then I feel less self-conscious about being a bit large of arse myself.

It's all very frustrating.

Queenstromba, I think you completely missed the point. If you think that 8oz is the norm, then you are eating too much. The issue with the chips is not that they are on your plate, its the amount on your plate.

You can eat chips and not get fat. Amazingly.

I have recently lost nearly 2stone after baby no3 following slimming world diet.

I tried various diets but always lost the disipline so going to class each week been huge motivater for me.

I think its worked more for me as they syns system allows to make really think what I wanted to spend my syns on and allowed me treats in moderation.

A few things that did shock me I guess.

we always consider fresh fruit juice as healthy yet its full of natural sugars so should be used in moderation.

Same with olive oil which i now use as a treat and sparingly.

I have cut down my booze consumption to around 3-4drinks a week included in my syns.

The healthy options has limited my carbs used to eat huge bowls special k and lots of bread and now restrict myself to much less.

I wasent eating as much fruit and veg and working on that.

Eating brekkie has stopped me snacking so much.

I admit I do emotional eat when down.
I catch myself snacking when bored.

sometimes I over indulge on ice cream and choc the secret shame of being on sofa watching tv with spoon and tub of haagan daz straight from freezer.:(.

Me and hubby have done dominoes 2 for 1tuesdays only valid on med/large pizzas and usually end up eating most of it!

All you can eat restaurants like pizza hut

What annoyed me is freinds/family telling me im not big and its normal after kids to be bigger.

Im 5,4 and was 10stone 5 when started my target for my height is 8stone 4 im 6lb away from target :).

Even when I lost half a stone people were like ohh you can stop now.

I want to feel happy and confident in my body shape.
set good example for my daughters.
I think if you unhappy and overeater can be linked to depression.

I did read the book french women dont get fat and was very interesting.

Noticed in other countries I been too and this is fact take an international chain like maccy ds their portion sizes in denmark and france much smaller than uk version and think americas even bigger!

When I go on holiday in past spain/france/greece we mostly self catered.

when Ii go to supermarket most of them relativly small they dont really have a

huge range of biscuits/choc and crsips and if they do its limited/expensive.
They dont really have huge frozen food section or ready meals so typical meal I do when we self cater is dried pasta and pasta sauce .

When we go out for meals on hols it generally is less carbs.
we try chose authentic restaurants rather than usual touristy places and noticed they do like their long lunches it really is hard in uk if you work to eat earlier in the day.

I do walk nearly everywhere as dont drive.
3kids keep me busy
I do run occasionally
cant afford gym membership right now.

I mostly cook from scratch I love cooking but even I have my im so tired night with once a week doing breaded fish/chicken with chips, maybe readymeal or pizza once a fortnight.
I do try and batch cook and freeze healthy meals for tired nights.
I also try and keep freezer well stocked with frozen veg which is nutritious and cheap. I also rummage round reduced section often finding salad stuff.

I dont think its money. its about making the effort.
im trying harder to get kids eat different things
easy to get stuck in a rut.

Theres so many cooking shows on uk you would think it would of had an impact with

jamie oliver
hugh ar river cottage
nigella
rick stein.
heston
gordon ramsey

The worst show by far with fat families on sky the greed of the people on there does shock me same with super fat v superskinny but then surly they extreme not representative of uk as whole?

It's not the chips with the steak that makes you fat - it's the mayonnaise that goes with them

Since my late teenage years, I've always been on the larger side, until just before I fell pregnant with DS when I got a personal trainer and hit the gym - lost 2 stone and felt so much better about myself. Having had DS, I ended up heavier than when I gave birth (due to comfort eating through tiredness/ breastfeeding etc). Now pregnant again with DD and will have to go on the mother of all exercise routines/ walk everywhere after she arrives. But I'm prepared to do that because I know I need to. At my first antenatal appt, my BMI was just over 30, so I'm obese and I know it's bad for me and the children. What worries me is that when I talk to other people about this (friends/rellies etc), the stock response is "but you're not fat". Although I'm taller than average and broad so hide my weight reasonably well, I am quite clearly not managing my weight. I've asked whether people are just being polite, and they seem genuinely shocked when I tell them my BMI. We need to get out of the mindset where being a size 16 isn't that big of a deal. I'm fat, help and encourage me to diet, don't tell me I don't need to! :o

There is definitely something about our culture that encourages over eating. In the last 7 years, I've had 6 au pairs come & stay with me & other than one, I am still in touch with all of the others.
They all arrived in the UK slim, they packed on the pounds whilst in the UK. They returned to their home country & lost the weight again. They came from the following countries: Poland, France, Czech Republic (x2), Italy & Spain.
I find it hard to analyze exactly what it is in the UK that encourages us to eat too much. I imagine it is multiple factors. Both the French & the Czech au pairs were of the view that we are much more "excessive" as a nation than some other nationalities. So, when we go out on a Friday night - we drink too much, when we sit down to Sunday lunch, we eat too much, when we go shopping, we buy too much.
I don't know if that is true, because being English I don't have a comparison to make. But it is an interesting thought.

Griff, well done, keep up the good work x

There's been a massive change in people's diets since I was a kid. Some of this is a good thing (more choice of fruit and veg, for example) but some of it has been disastrous. Lots of fizzy drinks, for a start. Lots of junk food, easily available in supermarkets and chains such as MacD's and KFC. Cheaper food - a box of chocolates used to be a rare treat, now you can get one for a couple of quid. Bigger portions when you eat out. An enormous chocolate muffin with your Starbucks latte instead of a bit of sponge cake with a cup of tea.

And people don't walk as much any more, esp. kids. A lot of people drive their kids to school, either because the school is further away or because they have to drive to work afterwards. Kids don't play outside because inside is warmer and more comfortable and full of attractions like X-boxes.

Loads of contributing factors, really.

I am convinced that unhealthy foods should be banned - cheap ready meals, rubbish snacks, etc. Or taxed so heavily that no one can afford to buy them.

Has anyone mentioned smoking?

I grew up in the US but haven't lived there for 20 years. People are much fatter now than they were when I was growing up, judging by things like the number of stores selling 'women's size' clothing which is clearly a growing market.

I think the US and the UK may share many problems.

Some of it is self-control, sure. But when I go back to the US and see just so many heavy people (I think still more than here) I can't help thinking there must be something more to it.

There was always fast food available in the US, maybe even worse quality than now, and yet peoples weight has exploded. There has to be an additional explanation.

Some of it could be down to people smoking less -isn't it an appetite supressant? Maybe???

I think it is also down to less home cooking and also what is GOING INTO the foods that people are buying as a replacement.

Someday I am going to sit down and read Fast Food Nation which I think throws up some theories on this.

The culture of 'low fat foods eat as much as you like' has to contribute too...

One word: carbohydrates
It is very possible to eat happily and tastily taking in an average of less than 12g of carbs a day. You will be slim. You don't HAVE to have bread, potatoes, pasta, sweet things.
I have been overweight, underweight and just right (now). It's the carbs, pure and simple.

Just to answer the OP:
because the cheaper food on offer in the supermarket is overprocessed, unhealthy and too plentiful.
because exercise is promoted in a desperately tacky way (the dvds, the clothing - ye gods!, the 'all girls together in a room dancing' ffs) thereby putting many people off.
because we have far too much sedentary time either sitting on the sofa or sitting at a desk.
because we don't work our bodies hard enough - all labour is saved.
because we drink too much alcohol as a matter of course.
because there is little incentive to be slim.

I dont tend to agree about the good foods/bad foods thing - I think you can actually eat what you like as long as the portion size is right and you are active enough.

Harping on about good and bad foods just leads to some being treats and having emotion attached to them.

Drinking is a big thing too.

I am a size 10 and am sick of people telling me I dont eat enough or that I'm too slim when my BMI is in the 'normal' range - it's that skewed perspective we have.

I dont agree that it has changed that much since the 80s either - we were brought up on findus crispy pancakes and oven chips and weren't overweight but then we were chucked out of the house after school for 2 hours to play - that doesnt happen now.

'we were brought up on findus crispy pancakes and oven chips and weren't overweight ' of course we weren?t overweight - the food was too gross to eat.

Also people drove loads 20, 30, 40+ years ago too in the US.

Plus had plenty of money to buy what they wanted fromt eh grocery store (maybe mroe than now.)

And maybe drank more alcohol.

It is an interesting question, the explosive weight gain.

I appreciate some of the issue might be different here.

ahh come now belgo, try a lovely steakhouse steak or maybe a chicken kiev...served with boiled potatoes and peas. Followed by some angel delight. Butterscotch of course.

School meals were too disgusting to eat though - so thats one meal down a day for our whole childhood .

totally agree with Lady Harriet that if you give up smoking then you take up eating. Without a doubt there is a direct link between the two

I think people expect to be able to eat the nice foods that are available and heavily advertised.

I am in the middle of my healthy weight range, but in my late 40s I can see that although I am really quite active, I do not use a huge amount of calories these days. I see people in front of me in queues etc with huge amounts of fattening food that I could not even think about consuming on a regular basis without putting on a lot of weight.

Somehow we seem to expect to treat ourselves in a way that I suspect our parents and grandparents did not.