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?

I'm not in the UK, but I imagine things aren't so different there - I see lots of kids out playing sport early on Saturday mornings, so it can't be that hard to "drag kids out of bed again".

A once a week Park Run might not do much to overcome the damage of sitting all day the rest of the week, but it's better than nothing and it's getting a bit of fresh air and spending time together - and might just lead on to more activity.

Yes but what is the cause and effect? I think naturally slimmer people are more likely to take up running. They say you can’t outrun a bad diet and weight loss is 80% food choices.

i say this as a keen parkrunner who struggles with weight. But I am not the average size there. Exercise definitely helps me to be more healthy but I don’t think it helps me be any slimmer.

We're the fattest country in Europe

Yes but interestingly we have one of the lowest rates of smoking in Europe too so I do wonder if there’s a link. I know correlation doesn’t equal causation but I do wonder if the obesity rates have risen as our smoking rates have dropped as smoking is known to be an appetite suppressant. Europe being slimmer might not entirely be down to their attitude towards diet & exercise.

Europe being slimmer might not entirely be down to their attitude towards diet & exercise.

As a 'European' with lots of family in my home EU country, I can tell you that it absolutely IS down to attitudes towards food and exercise. Ultra processed foods and fast foods in general are frowned upon and people generally enjoy cooking from scratch.

Nobody I know ow there smokes.

Well ‘Europe’ is a big place and it varies a lot from country to country. I’ve lived in 4 difference European countries and they don’t all have one single attitude to diet, health, UPFs etc.

Pedestrianise all towns?
All TV&Wifi networks disabled from 3-6pm?
A mandatory 1 hour per day on a static bike which powers the local grid?

Exceptions/alternatives for the unable of course.

If you disabled all the WiFi networks from 3-6, what would the millions of people who don’t finish work until after 3pm do?! DH works from home and is usually still logged on and working at 6.

oh yes - me too!
6-9 then

How will the kids do their homework?

And how will I FaceTime my family abroad?

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel @Lalupalina

before 6 or after 9, or at the weekend

Poverty is an issue - when you can't afford to fill your time / your children's time with interesting activities, you are more likely to turn to comforting food "treats" as that's more affordable.
Time-poor too can be an issue if there's little time for exercise. I know I was in great shape when furloughed but now I'm up at 5am to commute, I struggle to do any.

The weather must make a difference too - it's much less appealing to just be outside and active when it's dull or rainy so much of the time.
We have very poor facilities where I live. The parks are dull, the couple of swimming pools that exist are also just utilitarian unlike some that are an hour away. There aren't many nice places to walk unless you travel half an hour.
So actually I think the best solution would be to invest in society for generally better quality of life. Affordable decent food, fun activities, nice environment, greater sense of community, shorter working hours. And better weather would also help!

I agree. In France for example, over the past decade there seems to have been an explosion in McDonalds/KFC/Burger King outlets. 15 years ago you’d see barely any UPFs in supermarkets there, now they’re catching up with us. It will be interesting to see if it impacts their obesity rates over the coming years.

it’s all about upf the constant supply of addictive food everywhere. I actively try to avoid it for my family but I probably still eat about 25% and my kids probablu eat 50% I make sure their breakfast and dinner is non upf but most other foods they have everywhere else will be upf. And that is a family that are aware. Many kids will be 80%

the government have told us we need to exercise to lose weight and that is a lie as it makes little difference. It’s about what we eat.
Exercise is good for us but it won’t make a huge difference to weight

Most community sports clubs I have known/been involved with have various access schemes to assist kids from low income families to participate in said sport (second hand kit, boots, equipment, subsidised fees or free etc).

it’s all about upf the constant supply of addictive food everywhere. I actively try to avoid it for my family but I probably still eat about 25% and my kids probablu eat 50% I make sure their breakfast and dinner is non upf but most other foods they have everywhere else will be upf. And that is a family that are aware. Many kids will be 80%

Sorry but this does read a bit like you have very little agency in the grand scheme of things.

the government have told us we need to exercise to lose weight and that is a lie as it makes little difference. It’s about what we eat.
Exercise is good for us but it won’t make a huge difference to weight

1. It's not a lie.
2. It does make a difference.

It's absolutely scary how often I see this trotted out on Mumsnet 🤦‍♀️ People are now so divorced from what food is that they actively deny the importance of exercise and an active lifestyle.

Food is fuel; I have to eat more to fuel my exercise. I literally carry packets of sugary gel with me in order to refuel when running and cycling! I often see cyclists demolishing multipacks of pastries en route and they are rail thin.

People are overweight because they are taking in more fuel than they burn off. Even the most cursory thought given to this reveals that, logically speaking, burning off the excess fuel will help in maintaining a healthy weight.

😂😂😂😂

What about things like the national grid? NHS? Transport hubs? Tv and radio? The government? Shopping?

Turn off the WiFi for 3 hours every afternoon. The country would fall apart!😂😂

It would, wouldn't it. We are well and truly dependent now.

Scrub that idea

Would people say there is even any hope of improving obesity rates and reversing our journey down this path? Has any country ever been successful in doing this?

No country has ever done it from where we are now but if you read the article I linked about Japan they actively turned round a situation where rates had risen and were continuing to rise.

It sounds like interventions were effective

I’m not sure the U.K. electorate would accept the same

Maybe the population wouldn't accept it, nevertheless smoking rates were eventually brought down against all the odds and those of us who can remember the 90s remember how deeply unpopular some of the measures were! I wonder what motivates the government's inaction on the obesity issue when compared with smoking? Why was (and is there) there such a decisive drive to reduce smoking that isn't seemingly applicable to obesity 🤔

the government have told us we need to exercise to lose weight and that is a lie as it makes little difference. It’s about what we eat.
Exercise is good for us but it won’t make a huge difference to weight

It's not a lie, it's both.
'Activity' might be a better word. Going to the gym and then treating yourself to a latte and muffin after will cause you to gain weight. Consistently doing some form of activity that involves being active but then not overeating you should stay steady or lose.

I'm small and 63 so my daily calorie requirement if I'm sedentary is very low. So to lose a bit of weight sustainably I need to think about the when and the what as well as how much I'm eating but I need to be active too. On a sedentary day with no walk or other 'exercise' (desk job wfh) my Apple Watch estimates I use about 1600 cals. Whereas if I do a ~8km walk (I work part time, that's obviously not possible for many to fit in) then the watch estimates about 2000 cals - 25% more, of course that makes a difference- provided I don't eat more. And there are many other health benefits to being active, obviously.

It’s that ‘provided I don’t eat more’ that is the problem. Exercise makes you hungrier and less active for the rest of the day. If your body is ‘trying’ to gain weight then it can reduce the number of calories used by your metabolism.

Yes, if you track calories used vs calories consumed then you can count exercise as part of that equation but not everyone can live like that and your body’s homeostasis mechanisms will be working against you.

That 400 calories used in the 8K walk can be counterbalanced with an unhealthy snack eaten in less than a minute in a moment of weakness which may be more likely to happen due to the exercise.

Exercise is really good for us and should be encouraged by the government but that alone will not solve the obesity crisis.