Uk Obesity epidemic discuss

dids01

There a programme on radio 2 in the uk at the moment discussing how the Uk has now got an obesity epidemic what are your thoughts on it.

By the way I'm overweight but have taken steps to address this with the help of MFP and am making right choices so that I can be in the normal range and also want to set a good example for my children. I want them to grow up fit and healthy but not be afraid of food everything in moderation.

Have a great day xx

Gail3260

Hi.....I saw something about it on breakfast TV.

How much of the problem is that people don't know how to shop for and cook fresh food? So many seem to go for ready meals or processed foods. If parents do that, then how are their kids going to learn healhty habits?

My mum taught me how to cook and I'm trying to pass it on to my kids......teenage boys......not the most enthusiastic students!!!

CARNAT22

I would agree that there is a problem with obesity in the UK for sure.

The main issues (IMO) that need to be addressed are:

PE is no longer compulsory in secondary schools - this needs to be changed
Kids spend too much time indoors watching TV and playing computer games
Activities such as swimming / ice-skating / tennis etc are too expensive
Fast food is too cheap and too accessible
Healthy food can be expensive
Parents are getting fatter and lazier and passing these bad habits onto thier kids
Parents have poor education with it comes to food so aren't able to teach ther children about nutrition
People drive a lot more now in the UK than they did 20 years ago

So basically we have quit a lot of issues to tackle here in the UK.

dmpizza

I am an American. I know my opinion is unpopular, but I think all this started when it became "socially illegal" to tell a girl she had gained weight.

looby1968

For me, I'd love to see something similar to Home Economics on the curriculum from Primary school. I volunteer with a colleague at a school and we implement a 'Let's Get Cooking' programme, which encourages children to cook reasonably healthily. They do the preparation, cooking and washing up! It's great and the children love it.

My children do know how to cook and follow a recipe but that's because I've done that at home.

Neither of my teens do any kind of meaningful 'cooking' at High School - Food Tech is a waste of time! Both of them have cooked nothing more taxing than flapjack!!!!!

LouiseXXX

sandislim

I don't know what they are saying on radio 2 but it is obvious why this is happening. All we have to do is look at the fattest country on earth Nauru http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/04/the-fattest-place-on-earth_n_804361.html

They basically stopped farming and fishing and have replaced all their fresh food (fish/vegetables) with processed food from america. Everything is in a tin or a packet. Their favourite drinks are full of sugar.

Eating fresh food and being active is the answer. Yet Nauru isn't changing much, all they've done is added an exercise regime - exercise alone will not work.

PandaPop87

There a programme on radio 2 in the uk at the moment discussing how the Uk has now got an obesity epidemic what are your thoughts on it.

I'm listening to the same programme - I heard a lady come on saying she was a size 18-20 and that instead of bullying obese people (as had been suggested before her appearance), that people should be more supportive for people trying to be successful in weight loss.

I totally agree with this, since being on MFP it's been a lot easier for me to keep going - before now I gave up after a couple of weeks. I was planning on stopping for a few weeks due to family issues but I couldn't keep away!!

Heidi1987

I would agree that there is a problem with obesity in the UK for sure.

The main issues (IMO) that need to be addressed are:

PE is no longer compulsory in secondary schools - this needs to be changed
Kids spend too much time indoors watching TV and playing computer games
Activities such as swimming / ice-skating / tennis etc are too expensive
Fast food is too cheap and too accessible
Healthy food can be expensive
Parents are getting fatter and lazier and passing these bad habits onto thier kids
Parents have poor education with it comes to food so aren't able to teach ther children about nutrition
People drive a lot more now in the UK than they did 20 years ago

So basically we have quit a lot of issues to tackle here in the UK.

I agree, so many people dont know how to read food lables, and what to look for in their food. people need educating on how to have a healthy and active lifestyle.

dids01

I think that this is a great site to help it makes you accountable but only if you log everything even if I go over I log it to see what I have done.

Re cooking in school I agree I'm a teacher and not enough is done to show how to cook, my children 13 and 10 both like to help and I think that they are life skills that need to be taught, by parents and schools.

Processed foods are a thing of the past in our house and both love eathing healthily.

I know that there is no short term solution to this problem but feel that more education will help.

Good luck in all your journeys Take care
Di xx

hemlock2010

I am an American. I know my opinion is unpopular, but I think all this started when it became "socially illegal" to tell a girl she had gained weight.

I went to school with a whole bunch of people like you, and sadly, their kind concern for my body shape did not help me learn to manage emotional eating and depression in the way they probably hoped it would. I'm sure all their comments were meant in the most helpful possible spirit, as no doubt yours would be. I hope you have lots of people in your life who do that for you--after all, the obesity epidemic is occurring across ages and sexes, so it's not just girls who need to be told when they've gained weight. Let's lay it on the line for everybody.

CARNAT22

For me, I'd love to see something similar to Home Economics on the curriculum from Primary school. I volunteer with a colleague at a school and we implement a 'Let's Get Cooking' programme, which encourages children to cook reasonably healthily. They do the preparation, cooking and washing up! It's great and the children love it.

My children do know how to cook and follow a recipe but that's because I've done that at home.

Neither of my teens do any kind of meaningful 'cooking' at High School - Food Tech is a waste of time! Both of them have cooked nothing more taxing than flapjack!!!!!

LouiseXXX

I 100% agree - make all kids have a 2 hourly weekly lesson (alternative terms if not every term) dedicated solely to learning about nutrition and health. Kids would be taught the basics about healthy choices, cooking, regular exercise and then hopefully they can home and educate their fat parents.

Sorry but it a huge bug bear of mine. I was fat because I over-ate which was totally within my control - it is not fair to inflict those unhealthy choices on young kids... And kids can only eat what their parents feed them!

Fat kids normally have fat parents!

climbingpanda

Working in a secondary school myself some of what I see is quite scary! PE is compulsory at our school up to the end of year 11, but ... quite a lot of the girls (mainly) just stand on the sidelines because they don't want to get hot and sweaty and mess up their hair.

There are still a few kids who are really into sport and being active, but it is truly sad to talk to students who do NOTHING outside of school. They play on computers and "talk" to their friends via various IM services instead. They have accused me of lying about what I did when I was at school as there's no way that somebody could play several sports and an instrument and do well at school ...

There is little to no shame amongst the girls as to how they dress and what they look like. In order to build esteem their parents constantly tell them that their beautiful and look good in their micro mini skirts that don't do up properly and too tight shirts ... we then have to deal with the backlash when somebody is a little too brutally honest with them (like ski instructors on winter sports trips...)

We have health sessions in PSHE/Citizenship days and I was very scared by the number of students who could identify common fruits and vegetables (12/13 year olds) and those who despite having taken food technology couldn't make a boiled egg and toast ...

I don't know what the solution is, but I hate seeing 11 year olds who can't go on school trips as they are too heavy and unfit (according to both them and their parents) to participate. Or that they have permission to use the lift as they can't cope with the stairs.

OK, not going to get started on the educational system as a whole as I'm trying to be enthusiastic about going back to school next week!

kyle4jem

I would agree that there is a problem with obesity in the UK for sure.

The main issues (IMO) that need to be addressed are:

PE is no longer compulsory in secondary schools - this needs to be changed

Agree... but with less sadistic PE teachers than I had at my school. Also find fun activities and not just contact sports.

Kids spend too much time indoors watching TV and playing computer games

We just used to have TV when I was a kid, but nowadays kids spend hours online and playing video games and often parents enourage this than playing out in the street with other friends to keep them "safe" from perverts or gangs :frown:

Activities such as swimming / ice-skating / tennis etc are too expensive

That's if you a lucky enough to live in or near a town with such facilities.

Fast food is too cheap and too accessible

Too many McDonalds drive thrus. And in Birmingham they even have a drive-thru chipper!!!

Healthy food can be expensive

It needn't be, but so few of us use veg from markets or greengrocer and butcher meat from the butcher. Eating healthily does cost TIME and that's something that a lot of people don't always have especially if managing work, family, home, etc

Parents are getting fatter and lazier and passing these bad habits onto thier kids

It can be a vicious cycle and one that is not always so straightforward to break and repair :frown:

Parents have poor education with it comes to food so aren't able to teach ther children about nutrition

Maybe, Home Economics... or whatever it's now called... should be compulsory up to GCSE level (along with arithmetic and managing a household budget). Certainly a lot more useful than Media Studies or Sociology. :laugh:

People drive a lot more now in the UK than they did 20 years ago

The UK doesn't have the best nor the cheapest system of public transport, so inevitably folk will take the car everywhere, even on a journey that would take 10mins to walk to!

So basically we have quit a lot of issues to tackle here in the UK.

Indeed we do... and sadly things aren't going to change overnight.

We have become victims of our own success and slaves to convenience.

I started to get really fat when I moved back to the UK, adopted a sedentary lifestyle and relied almost 100% on conveniece foods, pre-processed junk and take-aways.

When I lived in the Netherlands, I cooked eveything from fresh, cycled everywhere everyday and while I still ate fries with mayo, lots of dairy and bread, I was burning all the calories I consumed (as long as I didn't go on a chocolate binge which did happen now and again :noway: :laugh: ) So it's no wonder I ended up the lad-*kitten* that I am today.

Now I know I'm in control over my cravings and don't suffer dillusional hunger pangs any more, I am able to start having a normal relationship with food (albeit with a slight case of OCD on the use of the kitchen scales :laugh: )

unsuspectingfish

I was just reading an Independent article on this subject. Sounds to me like the UK is starting to develop all the same problems that the US has.

goron59

From what I gathered from the news this morning, a lot of people were calling for a tax on unhealthy food.

I don't agree with this. There is no such thing as unhealthy food really, it's how much you eat, how often, what else you eat and of course how much of a active life you lead.

All we'll end with is fatter and poorer people.

If the intent is stop people becoming inactive/obese, and you want to do it financially, charge fatter people more for a seat on a bus or train or plane. Have max width rules for cinema seats.

I don't agree with this either, but if you're going to do something, at least give people an incentive to make their lives better and not just tax them to within an inch of their lives.

Loonymoon

A lot of it is lazyness, not being bothered and taking the easy option and I am very guilty of this myself. Within 5 mins walk of our house there are 3 takeaway shops selling indian, kebabs, pizza and burgers and it is so easy just to get a takeaway rather than bother to cook. I admit I do eat a lot of takeaways.

My other half is very guilty of this too and he doesn't seem that bothered by it, though I am.

Part of the problem is that we both work full time and have part time businesses on the side, he's a DJ and therefore does get a bit of exercise lugging all the gear around etc. I help him with DJing and also have a photography business too which takes up some of my spare time. Between that and also me doing 2 dance classes and 3 zumba classes a week, when I am at home I just want to collapse and do nothing so going shopping, cooking and even tidying up gets left... consequently our house is always a tip and we eat way more takeaways than we should.


I actually do enjoy cooking when I have the time etc, but mostly I just want to relax when I'm at home! Not really sure what the solution is, just trying to be more organised with food I suppose, at least swapping takeaways for decent meals that are easy and quick to cook - Tesco just add range is quite good for that. But if we don't organise the shopping and the fridge is empty it then follows another load of takeaways will happen...!!

gidgeclev

The BBC website had an interesting quote from a doctor who said that obesity was a perfectly normal human response to an abnormal situation.

this is why it is so hard to lose weight. we are programmed to eat as much as possible when food is available in case there is nothing tomorrow. Being surrounded constantly by food and having the money to buy whatever we want makes staying at a reasonable weight a real test of will power every single day for most people.

whiskey9890

i have just listened to this also and i must say jeremy vine dissapointed me as usual by just getting two people on opposite sides to argue over each other neither person was a very good advocate for their point of view. i am also of the opinion that not enough is done in schools at secondary level especially to prevent this situation getting worse, but it does not just apply to food and pe, kids aren't taught life skills at all these days, bring back home ec etc, kids should be armed with the knowledge of basic life skills such as cooking, budgeting, basic diy such as changing a plug, hanging wallpaper putting up a shelf, all simple enough things if you know how but kids aren't being shown how. i know parents are responsible for teaching kids as well and so they should be but there should be better use of the school curriculum instead of the subjects such as humanities and media studies and the like.

CARNAT22

Agree that time is also a major factor - growing up My Mum was a stay at home Mum and she had time to go to the local butchers, greengrocers etc.. sadly I don't have that time!

My local butchers is closed when I walk past in on route to work and when I am on my way home. I am not left with much choice as to where I buy my meat?

Within a 10-15 minute walk of my house there is are 2 Macdonalds, a KFC, 3 independant chicken shops, 5 kebab shops, 2 fish & chip shops yet only one butchers and NO greengrocers (there are a few shops that sell fruit and veg though!!)

kyle4jem

From what I gathered from the news this morning, a lot of people were calling for a tax on unhealthy food.

I don't agree with this. There is no such thing as unhealthy food really, it's how much you eat, how often, what else you eat and of course how much of a active life you lead.

All we'll end with is fatter and poorer people.

The tax on fast food is just another hair-brained scheme, totally ill concieved and totally impractial to implement. However, one thing I would impement with immediate effect is a BAN on all Supersizing of fast-food meals.

If the Government wan't to tackle the obesity crises it needs to encourage folk to eat well and get some exercise and if that means a countrywide education programme, then so be it.

Leisure centres need to be made affordable for individuals and families and if need be, we need to get personal trainers on the NHS to kick us up the butt and make us see sense.

If the intent is stop people becoming inactive/obese, and you want to do it financially, charge fatter people more for a seat on a bus or train or plane. Have max width rules for cinema seats.

I don't agree with this either, but if you're going to do something, at least give people an incentive to make their lives better and not just tax them to within an inch of their lives.

That's not the way either... there is a time and place for TUOGH LOVE but that just gives business a licence to exploit the public even more than they do now and it could be fatal on a person's self-esteem.

Naturally, there's going to be a lot of resistance to "nanny state" intervention, but the UK needs something radical to help reverse the mindset that has become entrenched in the last generation or two.

helenoftroy1

The BBC website had an interesting quote from a doctor who said that obesity was a perfectly normal human response to an abnormal situation.

this is why it is so hard to lose weight. we are programmed to eat as much as possible when food is available in case there is nothing tomorrow. Being surrounded constantly by food and having the money to buy whatever we want makes staying at a reasonable weight a real test of will power every single day for most people.

This is an interesting viewpoint that I wouldn't have thought of but does make some sense. I have just listened to the radio show and I think people think it's easy to just stop eating and that will cure obesity but often people have underlying stress. People are working longer hours, way longer than European countries, they are constantly under pressure to just do the job let alone go higher up so get paid more for more time off. If people want more money in their job, they work longer and harder. People come home tired after their 50-60 hour working week and they turn to food as a comfort, often because as a child they may have been comforted (unknowingly) by their parents when upset. I think we need to start looking at individuals and why they are choosing to do this to themselves. People don't WANT to be fat, breathless, weak and near to death so putting a tax on food is not going to cure the WHYS. How many times do you see a parent copying their past by pushing a dummy into a childs mouth when they cry, or give them the sweets they crave just to get them to shut up. The end result is something is going into the mouth. This is just my opinion but I do think it is a very interesting topic and one that should have been alerted to years ago. Horse has bolted and it ain't running too far at the moment!

sexforjaffacakes

I live in Scotland, which is second only to America in obesity. Also the drugs capital of Europe, not even the party drugs, just because of all the heroin...and we have the UK's poorest city...yay. Lmao. We win. But nah our government do so much to try and get people to be healthy, I remember in primary 3 we had this brilliant month long healthy eating program at school where these people came in and we learned all about healthy food, and got to cook a new healthy recipe every day. I still remember the yummy veg soup and wholegrain pizza we made! We also got to mash up a banana and put it on our teachers face, as they were telling us about natural face masks :P
More schemes like this, CONSISTENT ones, like once or twice a year, would really help.

I think they've changed it now, but when I was at primary school we didn't have PE - We had use of the PE hall. This was usually for PE, and we had a rota with other schools where we got to use a PE teacher some weeks, but use of the PE hall didn't always mean actual PE - often we had to use our one hour time slot a week for drama!
On top of that, we only ever got a couple of months of swimming lessons. And we got the bus there, despite it being a 20 minute walk! The swimming lessons were rubbish too, as they didn't teach the non swimmers how to swim, just shoved arm bands on them and threw them in the shallow end. And this was for like 6 weeks. In the entire 7 years of primary school. If they started earlier and made it annual, maybe more kids would go swimming!

Then in Secondary school, although PE was compulsary 1st/2nd and 5th year, it was too easy to skive. I know because I did - and now I'm fat!
What doesn't help though with PE is that it can be very embarassing - especially the whole cliche of being picked last for sports. The best PE classes we had were swimming and the fitness gym, as we pretty much worked on our own. Also, I understand why a lot of girls skive due to hair etc, you get 50 mins of gym and ten mins to get ready for your next class - even if you're not that vain it's still quite tough to make yourself look halfway presentable in this time! Especially when you sweat as much as I do.

I think another reason we're such fatties is because of the way the higher education system works - in a lot of countries you need extra curricular to get into college/uni - here you just need the grades, which is good in one way but in other countries people will often take up sport to help with uni.
And of course, food in Scotland, is bigger, cheaper, greasier and a lot more deep fried than in England! My English friends don't believe how big our portions are compared to theirs!

Scotland:national dish, deep fried mars bar!

Also our drink and drugs culture - pretty much everyone these days drinks and smokes weed from like the age of 14, so they come home with the munchies and tan a maccy ds or chippy or whatever - again we have a lot more selection in our chippys than england.

Though one tiny excuse - IT'S SO ****ING WET UP HERE! ALL YOU WANNA DO IS STAY INSIDE AND EAT WARM FOOD!

LOL.
anyway.
ramblings.
over.

sexforjaffacakes

Also, in reply to the fat tax, why make unhealthy food more expensive?! A lot of people buy it because it's cheaper than healthier, if you make it more expensive people just won't be able to eat. Eg A mcdonalds is like 3 quid - one of those salad boxes from a supermarket is like a fiver, if they really wanna help people be healthy they should reduce the prices of healthy food!

jagoochie

also - we are all soooooooooooooooooooo busy
i know it may be seen as a poor excuse - but if you and your partner both work and are out of the house from 7am to 6pm and sometimes 9pm - and then want to work out to be fit - then cooking from scratch is the last thing alot of people want to do at the end of a long day travelling to and from a busy stressful job
i say give my man a payrise then i can stop working and then can cook healthy meals and be a housewife!
id love to do that
in todays age there is so much pressure to work and get good pay and be healthy and have children etc etc etc..... no wonder somethng gives!

BerryH

Part of the problem is the word "obesity" itself. Once we stopped using the word "fat" we medicalised the condition and looked for causes other than our own behaviour. It's no wonder people look instantly for a medical solution such as surgery or pills without first trying to eat less and move more.

jagoochie

Part of the problem is the word "obesity" itself. Once we stopped using the word "fat" we medicalised the condition and looked for causes other than our own behaviour. It's no wonder people look instantly for a medical solution such as surgery or pills without first trying to eat less and move more.

good point!

i guess if some one is called obese it is medical and they have a reason

if they get labbelled fat it isnt nice - so maybe that would motivate to do something about it

CARNAT22

Part of the problem is the word "obesity" itself. Once we stopped using the word "fat" we medicalised the condition and looked for causes other than our own behaviour. It's no wonder people look instantly for a medical solution such as surgery or pills without first trying to eat less and move more.

'Tis very true.

Is it not a fact that there are very few verified medical reasons for someone to be hugely overweight?

I was fat because I ate too much, I ate the wrong things, I drank too much wine and did not take enough exercise. I got myself into the situation and there is no excuse for it.

jagoochie

i am not saying that there are no clinical reasons why people are obese (i work in medicine i know some medical conditions and medicines can cause weight gain) but i think too many people use it as an excuse

Judas_Queen

I was just reading an Independent article on this subject. Sounds to me like the UK is starting to develop all the same problems that the US has.

IMO this is because we (the government.. current AND previous..)spend so much time glued to the USA's backside following them round like a lost puppy that they start to develop policies in line with theirs...


not only that but the americanization (<< see what i did theere, i used a ZEE! ) resulting from SO MANY tv programmes, magazines, even books.. young (and old) people will pick up habits from these things! Especially when you watch a regular tv programme e.g. How I Met Your Mother, and they're constantly sat in a bar drinking beer, eating junk food (everyday and staying bizzarely skinny...) and sadly our susceptible brains only take in the fact that theyre having a good time and eating yummy, greasy food and swigging a few buds, and.. in time.. (a short time).. it becomes the norm!

Now i'm not blaming america, i don't like to generalise.. we have to take responsibility for ourselves, and OUR government needs to take responsibility for ITS PEOPLE (they wanted us so badly after all...) and introduce policies that will help this!

I went to a secondary school that gained sports college status, which.. was great! They got grants and the like and the facilities at the school now are amazing.. proper gym, astro turf, massive sports arena.. but I was never sporty, I only liked swimming really, but only used the pool 3 times in the 5 years I was there.... all football and rugby sadly! But they've had grants and funding taken away now.. so how can they carry on and improve the facilities and keep them up to date, safe and ultimiately USED without funding! Makes me MAD!

I'm lucky that where I live there is a whole variety of sports centres to go to, but not everyone has that, and the stinking government should cough up some of that cash we keep paying them and build some centres! BIG ONES that can cover large areas, with connections with public transport so people that live a little further can get there without paying £100 to get on 10 different buses!

thats all

Judas_Queen

there should be better use of the school curriculum instead of the subjects such as humanities and media studies and the like.

you are aware Humanities includes History and Geography.. and we need geologists so that we can predict things like the weather, earthquakes etc and know how to prepare ourselves.. and i think History is a very important subject..

however... couldn't agree MORE about media studies! i remember having to take a compulsory media studies module as part of my english gcse ooh about six/seven years ago now, and it was just an excuse to watch four/five movies and pretend to write something about them.. (i didn't like it much.. but know my teacher and classmates thought it was great, fob off education for thelma and louise!)

MrsT99

I was never overweight at school I walked and rode my bike a lot but 12 minute runs and the like had me dying at the end so I was never fit to the extent I'm feeling now. I hated PE passionately.

I got sooooooo red it was just embarrassing and I couldn't run properly (my feet used to kick outwards a bit but it got better over time and now don't feel so self conscious when jogging). I have no coordination in terms of almost anything involving a ball and I am a horrific dancer so don't really like that in public where it can be avoided (unless I've had a few drinks).

I would have much preferred things like aerobics, step classes etc. If those alternatives were at school starting everyone off at their own pace it would have been much more fun. Just more choice in the exercise done. I also agree I can understand girls not wanting to get all horrible - my redness if brought on would have never been stopped by next lessons so it was embarrassing.

I think building fitness slowly rather than just throwing the whole class into fitness tests would have helped. When we used to do the bleep test at my school we used to deliberately come out early and chat sitting on the sidelines and watch the boys.....