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?

Well if this thread has taught me anything, it's that the average MN poster seems to have very high expectations of a government. And a very low sense of personal accountability.

Yes, it seems like people are looking for excuses and justifying their weight gain rather than taking personal accountability for their own health.

If you say I’ll wait for the gov to fix it you don’t have to

Yes it can be hard but it really comes down to doing the hard part

There was a poster on here who wore a size 22 and said her weight was normal and people said she looked slim.

And that's the problem.

As a society we should call out unhealthy obesity rather than make obese people feel better and less guilty about their unhealthy weight!

Why can't GPs tell obese patients that they are obese and therefore unhealthy?

Why do we have to call overweight people as 'a person with obesity'?

When I went to the well woman clinic last year they had no issues about telling me to lose some fat (5ft 9in tall and weighing in at 11stone).

Children enjoy park run - why wouldn’t they want to go. Make exercise fun! Might then encourage family exercise during the week.

The children (and families) who enjoy park run enjoy park run. I can't imagine donning my compressive sports bra, driving to the park (most people won't have one easily accessible) and then running on hard paths that knackered my hips.
We did lots of other things with dd while she was growing up - hillwalking, cycling, watersports - but such activities are only cheap/accessible/remotely feasible if you live in the right place and most people don't.

But Zara are a business and if they decide that there’s enough demand for them in the below size 16 category, then that’s who they will cater for.
I’m not saying whether it’s right or wrong, but they will have reasons for their sizing decisions.

As I said earlier, @thenightsky, in my experience it is nigh impossible to see a GP without weight being mentioned. Everything is blamed on it, and I firmly believe that doctors rarely look past my weight to see if my condition might not be weight related.

I think I could go with symptoms of something serious and utterly unconnected to my weight, and it could easily be overlooked because the only thing wrong with a fat person is their weight.

Hmm, but isn’t your BMI within the healthy range? According to the NHS calculator it would be just below 23?

I wonder if Japan has an issue at the other end with people with disordered eating? Be interesting if there’s a catch to their attitudes?

@inamarina bmi is a very rough calculation though, the lady in the clinic could probably make a better judgement than bmi by looking at body shape.

There’s loads of park runs and it’s a great initiative. It’s just one example.

Yes, exactly. They jump on weight as the very first thing, that's my point. Its like you describe your symptoms and their first thought is 'quick, quick, find a way to blame the patient's weight'. Even when I'm not that fat.

So saying GP's aren't allowed to mention obesity isn't correct. Its the first damn thing they do mention!

I don’t believe for a moment that people fail to get the message they need to lose weight because they are told ‘you have obesity’ rather than ‘you are obese.’

Tbh these things are usually evidence based and I would not be surprised if there was evidence that the former made people feel more empowered to do something about it than the more shaming latter version. It doesn’t mean anyone is holding back on telling them they have a problem.

Overweight means you have a bmi between 25 and 30. Obese means your bmi is over 30. So if someone tells an overweight person they are a person with obesity they are incorrect.

Fat people know they're fat

We're fat not stupid.

Advertised in our local leisure centre is body conditioning for those with chronic conditions. Hot chocolate, biscuits, tea and coffee included for afterwards 🙄

There is a lot of cake at parkrun…….

I read a Facebook post the other day which seemed quite braggy about how the whole family made it to parkrun. They were celebrating afterwards with a fry up in the local cafe.

It’s the culture - everyone feeling happy and like you have achieved something? Celebrate with cake, coffee and a breakfast bap. It is was in the afternoons it would probably be alcohol too.

Not at ours.

The one we went to, you got a bottle of water and a banana!

Our local one is run from a car park that has a huge commercial cafe. Lots of fried breakfasts and cake consumed afterwards.

I'd like to bet the average Parkrunner is still slimmer and healthier than the average non Parkrunner though.

God, the number of children I've seen crying round Parkrun because they don't want to do it! Mine included.