What should the government do to reduce obesity at the societal level?

[waistchallenge]

We're the fattest country in Europe and the upshot is what you see here: people posting threads in desperation about their weight loss struggles. I think we can probably all agree it would be easier to never have gotten overweight in the first place and to never have had to go through these weight loss efforts and experiences.

Apart from the sugar tax, I cannot see that the government has done much, if anything, to reduce obesity in this country; it's higher than ever.

I'm asking here because we all have experience of this to be on here, what-if anything- should the government do to reduce obesity in this country? What would have helped you? Or is it all just ultimately a question of personal responsibility?

Reduce financial and social stress on lower income families.

Make cycling safer.

Make driving more expensive and difficult.

Basically everything that enrages large numbers of right wing voters.

I was over weight as a kid. Had a busy working single mother/lots of convenience food, lived in poverty (not severe, but we had less than most). Always finished a meal, but was quite picky when younger.

In my teens (90's) lost a lot of weight. Household doing better economically. Felt lots of pressure to be thin. Ate better because I learned to cook for myself and started to exercise.

Have gained weight again late 30's and 40's. Sedentary job, stress ++, very time poor as we are a household that works FT. Exercise, but not enough. Too busy to eat the way I would like to. Think I use food as a bit of a hobby as I love cooking, but also eating its no longer fuel, but a source of entertainment. This happens when you are too time poor or don't have much money to spend on entertainment. Food becomes a cheap 'event'

For me lack of time is a barrier and busy, stressful life. Some families it is not enough income. School dinners which some rely on are fucking awful too, which doesn't give kids the best start.

I think there are lots of factors behind this. Fear of strangers, increased cars on roads, kids at activities so not free to play. But also culture. We just don’t trust kids will be safe to play independently.

British children aren't worth it though.

I started a thread a while ago asking if all children got free,
really high quality UPF free school meals would it actually cost the state
less? I even focused on the money and long term savings to the state by having
healthier children rather than child health. Big outcry from significant
percentage of posters 'we can't afford it' 'why should i pay for other peoples
children'. School meals are much better in so many countries so they all manage
and think their children are worth the money and effort.

Improve public transport so it's viable, subsidise council gyms so exercise is accessible, improve sports provision in schools. Subsidise village "exercise" options.

Reduce cost of living so people have time to do something other than work and sleep.

Improve the safety of outside spaces.

Fund the NHS so mental health provision is actually available when needed, also physical health so people can keep being active rather than wait 6 months for physio for what was then relatively minor but has become worse!

If you look at France Germany and Italy there is a lot more grassroots sporting infrastructure than there is in England.

Increase nhs / doctor related fees for those overweight on a gradual scale. People would sort them selves out pretty quick to reduce costs. The problem with Britain is everyone wants everything for free plus benefit hand outs. How about some personal responsibility. You allow yourself to become a burden on society, you pay for it. Harsh but fair imo.

two full time working parents is a factor. Families eat UPFs because they are quick and easy. And minimal washing up.

A lot of our problems in society could be eased or cured if people were able to afford to work fewer days/ hours.

Also, look at how much we spend on health compared to our neigbours. It's not just British children who aren't worth the money, British adults aren't either.

You only have to look at America and then Europe to see that the logic that free healthcare causes obesity and if you made people pay they would get thin doesn’t stand up for a minute.

two full time working parents is a factor. Families eat UPFs because they are quick and easy. And minimal washing up

I'm not convinced by this.
I was born in the 60s. Both my parents worked. Dh is from a different county from me, both his parents worked.
My friend's at school had two parents working. Most worked at the car factory but I remember when I was in junior school being impressed that my best friend's mum was an art teacher and her dad a doctor. It seemed glamours!
None of us was fat. Looking back at photos of school photos in the 70s and 80s there wasn't many, if any,fat kids.
I remember one girl in high school because it was unusual.

I work with secondary school age children and many are really fat, not a bit chubby which they often lose but fat.
I think it's the constant snacking energy drinks beige foods, ice cream bars everywhere are major contributers to the obesity problem. Fast food places such as McDonald's are a problem as a lot of young people use these places to hang out as its cheap and( to many children) tasty food and they don't often get moved on.

There are so many threads to this issue, I doubt it will be solved.

One thing I do think odd and unfair through, you pay for asthma medication but not diabetes medication, when most diabetes is caused by lifestyle and can be cured by it. I sure they have their reasons for this though.

Yes, waist measuring at work is probably not going to fly here….

I thought what was interesting about that article was the fact that Japan hasn’t always been thin, they turned it round through government intervention, and also, it’s clear that the way in which they are culturally different is not merely that they have more self control and a healthier traditional diet, it’s that they are more willing to accept major intervention from the state. We are so obsessed with the free market here, framed as personal responsibility, and it’s not working out that well for us health wise, to the point where there are detrimental economic consequences.

The list of what gets you free prescriptions for life is pretty inconsistent. It's meant to be for permanent conditions, that once you're on them you're on the treatment it's for life - so, thyroxin not antibiotics. But there are anomalies - I think people fought for cystic fibrosis treatments to be added, they originally weren't because when the list was drawn up patients rarely survived far into adulthood. In the case of diabetes, I'd guess the exemption may have been aimed at T1 diabetics?

Instead of everyone getting het up on here and blaming poor people - maybe those with the bright ideas could do a degree in a health related subject and actually effect change? No?

I don't disagree. At the DC's primary, circa 2002 mains for school lunches were carby, badly thought out, badly prepared with cheap ingredients and generally unappetising but they were not UPF. The children did get proper plates and cutlery but the ethos was very much that children had to clear their plates rather than eat until full. Puddings were stodgy and probably were UPF.

What got my goat was that water was not available at the tables in case it got spilt and if it was spilt who did parents think would wipe it up as it wasn't the dinner ladies' job.

The cost of a school lunch was about £1.60? No free lunches then except fkr FSM and I maintain that when one pays, one can kick up a stink about quality, when one doesn't it becomes more difficult. I didn't bother and sent mine with packed lunches which were more expensive because they were healthy.

There was lots of yap from the head and teachers about health eating. Lots of quiet smiles from parents as the Head, head of infants, two senior teacher and half the TAs/dinner ladies were morbidly obese. Half the teaching staff were obese and hardly in a position to dictate what I fed to my children.

In 2003 ds transferred to the indy sector. School meals were far more civilised and comprised: choices from sensible options: salads, veggies, chops, chicken, casseroles, pastas, etc, with jellies, fruit, Yoghurt, home-made puddings. However £4.50 compares to £1.60. And delivered without dictat.

The issues are deep but the state can't control this by making things free for which we must be grateful.

Well type 1 diabetes is an auto immune disease so can’t be cured so I understand why that is free. Is medication for type 2 free too?

I think asthma patients should also have free meds. It doesn’t ever go away, does it?

Make driving more expensive and difficult.

Do you live in a big city well serviced with public transport???

My drive to work is approximately 22 miles, mostly motorway, and on a good day takes about 35 mins.

There are no direct buses or trains and cycling is not really an option.

If I were to take the train it would be about 10 min walk to my nearest station and I would have to travel in the opposite direction to get to the connection station, wait a while before heading to another connection station, another wait before the final train takes me to the town where my office is based, there is then about another 15 min walk to actually get to the office. In all it would take about two and a half hours and cost about £38 return. My car is about £8 return.

Why should I be penalised for getting to work in the fasted, cheapest and most convenient mode of transport?

Education. Starting with educating the NHS so they can give better advice. The NHS website advice is woefully behind modern day research into what makes us fat.

Tim Spector has also discussed the relationship between poor diet, poor gut health and poor mental health. If we fix one, we fix the others.

Exactly! If I drive to work it takes me 20 mins and I can drop my children at school first. To take public transport would take 1.5 hours and I would have to leave before breakfast club was open.

I meant more because you seem to lack understanding of the impact our culture and society on our choices.

Making driving more expensive won't work, making public transport effective, reliable and affordable could. It's 10p more expensive for me to drive to work but I can work for half an hour extra a day and make pick up if I drive (no pm wraparound at school) purely due to timings

Not at all, this isn’t correct. The opposite. I’ve cited culture and society a couple of times.

Reread if you’re unsure.

As I said in one of the first posts I’ve lived in four countries, three with similar obesity levels and one lower. Society and culture play a large role.

I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive. The government and the NHS can encourage people to take more personal responsibility.

A couple of years ago I was called to see my GP because I had high cholesterol and was pre-diabetic. The GP said “Don’t worry, we’ll start you on statins and metformin”. He didn’t even talk about my diet! I refused the drugs, and told him it was the kick up the backside I needed but I’d rather make some lifestyle changes than take drugs. I’m now 40lbs lighter and healthy.

It’s scandalous that we can eat ourselves towards an early death and the accepted solution is “You crack on, we’ll give you drugs to make it better”.

Yes, public transport is one thing where it really needs to be carrot rather than stick or you are just adding to everyone’s stress levels and eating up enormous amounts of free time. If a half hour journey turns into a 2 hour one, twice a day, you’re going to be precipitated into the group of extremely time poor people who are less likely to be able to cook from scratch and are less likely to find time for proper exercise. A 10 minute walk to the station at either end won’t make up for that.

Don’t get me started on what qualifies for free prescriptions. I have bi polar which is a lifelong condition needing medication, but doesn’t qualify me for free prescriptions. One of the bipolar medications wrecked my thyroid meaning I now need thyroxine so hey presto I get free prescriptions. That system is completely unfair and needs completely overhauling.