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Post by Seymour Beaver on Apr 7, 2021 17:20:42 GMT
I'm sure there's some truth in all of the reasons put forward for why people are overeight. Time, convenience, cheap junk food, education etc.
However the same reasons also prevail in all other western european countries as well. So the question is why are we more suceptible to it than any of the others?
Do we just have an inherent additional layer of indolence that gives us the edge?
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on Apr 7, 2021 17:39:44 GMT
I'm sure there's some truth in all of the reasons put forward for why people are overeight. Time, convenience, cheap junk food, education etc. However the same reasons also prevail in all other western european countries as well. So the question is why are we more suceptible to it than any of the others? Do we just have an inherent additional layer of indolence that gives us the edge? A couple of reasons perhaps. Historically we don't have a particularly healthy approach to cuisine in this country. That's changing, but for a long time our food was basically mocked (still is, to be honest). Also, much more than any other European country we follow the USA in pretty much all that it does, especially societally, so it's perhaps not surprising that we're almost as fat as they are.
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Post by partickpotter on Apr 7, 2021 18:03:32 GMT
I'm sure there's some truth in all of the reasons put forward for why people are overeight. Time, convenience, cheap junk food, education etc. However the same reasons also prevail in all other western european countries as well. So the question is why are we more suceptible to it than any of the others? Do we just have an inherent additional layer of indolence that gives us the edge? A couple of reasons perhaps. Historically we don't have a particularly healthy approach to cuisine in this country. That's changing, but for a long time our food was basically mocked (still is, to be honest). Also, much more than any other European country we follow the USA in pretty much all that it does, especially societally, so it's perhaps not surprising that we're almost as fat as they are. We have a unique drinking culture too...
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Post by Dave the Rave on Apr 7, 2021 18:05:47 GMT
I still very much think lack of intelligence plays a huge part.
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Post by Seymour Beaver on Apr 7, 2021 18:06:46 GMT
I'm sure there's some truth in all of the reasons put forward for why people are overeight. Time, convenience, cheap junk food, education etc. However the same reasons also prevail in all other western european countries as well. So the question is why are we more suceptible to it than any of the others? Do we just have an inherent additional layer of indolence that gives us the edge? A couple of reasons perhaps. Historically we don't have a particularly healthy approach to cuisine in this country. That's changing, but for a long time our food was basically mocked (still is, to be honest). Also, much more than any other European country we follow the USA in pretty much all that it does, especially societally, so it's perhaps not surprising that we're almost as fat as they are. Can buy the American fixation. Not sure about our food being traditionally unhealthy. The old wartime diet of boiled beef and carrots was far from unhealthy - though bloody tasteless mind. Possibly for that reason we've prioritised quantity over quality - right back to the 70's Berni Inns sold themselves on massive portions and today I'm not sure where else rejoices in it's 'all you can eat all day buffet for £9.95" Once people start to become fat then it normalises it. I might be fat but if I'm still not as fat as half the people in my class/office/lecture group then in my head I'm thin and if anyone's got a problem they have before I have. I therefore don't own my obesity and accordingly do nowt about it. As I posted a couple of days ago - I think the problem is rooted in our psyche.
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Post by duckling on Apr 7, 2021 19:14:08 GMT
A couple of reasons perhaps. Historically we don't have a particularly healthy approach to cuisine in this country. That's changing, but for a long time our food was basically mocked (still is, to be honest). Also, much more than any other European country we follow the USA in pretty much all that it does, especially societally, so it's perhaps not surprising that we're almost as fat as they are. How do you explain why Icelandics are even fatter than Brits? I don't know anything about Icelandic culture.
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on Apr 7, 2021 19:19:30 GMT
A couple of reasons perhaps. Historically we don't have a particularly healthy approach to cuisine in this country. That's changing, but for a long time our food was basically mocked (still is, to be honest). Also, much more than any other European country we follow the USA in pretty much all that it does, especially societally, so it's perhaps not surprising that we're almost as fat as they are. How do you explain why Icelandics are even fatter than Brits? I don't know anything about Icelandic culture. Dunno, Iceland and Malta are the only two countries worse than us. Iceland might have something to do with a historic (genetic?) need to produce fat reserves to combat the climate, but it's a complete guess. Malta I have no idea.
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on Apr 7, 2021 19:24:00 GMT
A couple of reasons perhaps. Historically we don't have a particularly healthy approach to cuisine in this country. That's changing, but for a long time our food was basically mocked (still is, to be honest). Also, much more than any other European country we follow the USA in pretty much all that it does, especially societally, so it's perhaps not surprising that we're almost as fat as they are. Can buy the American fixation. Not sure about our food being traditionally unhealthy. The old wartime diet of boiled beef and carrots was far from unhealthy - though bloody tasteless mind. Possibly for that reason we've prioritised quantity over quality - right back to the 70's Berni Inns sold themselves on massive portions and today I'm not sure where else rejoices in it's 'all you can eat all day buffet for £9.95" Once people start to become fat then it normalises it. I might be fat but if I'm still not as fat as half the people in my class/office/lecture group then in my head I'm thin and if anyone's got a problem they have before I have. I therefore don't own my obesity and accordingly do nowt about it. As I posted a couple of days ago - I think the problem is rooted in our psyche. Quite possibly. I'm on about post war for the unhealthy stuff, but the boiled beef and carrots type stuff is definitely the reason for the awful reputation, cuisine-wise! You don't see many fat people in old documentary footage of that era, it's true, although that's partly due to quantity as well as quality. You're definitely right about normalising a degree of fatness.
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Post by metalhead on Apr 7, 2021 19:39:00 GMT
How do you explain why Icelandics are even fatter than Brits? I don't know anything about Icelandic culture. Dunno, Iceland and Malta are the only two countries worse than us. Iceland might have something to do with a historic (genetic?) need to produce fat reserves to combat the climate, but it's a complete guess. Malta I have no idea. Malta is full of fat ex-pats.
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Post by dirtclod on Apr 7, 2021 23:07:57 GMT
I'll step up and take my share of the blame: It's us blasted Americans! We sent you McDonald's and KFC.
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Post by longdistancekiddie on Apr 7, 2021 23:17:35 GMT
Yeah, the US influences, shite fast food, reality programmes, fashions etc etc.
Wait till the US genetically modified food gets in, there will be more fatties waddling around
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Post by duckling on Apr 8, 2021 4:41:24 GMT
And nurses, about 2/3 of them are obese, but then 2/3 of the population is so it's just a reflection of that, presumably. When I went to the doctor yesterday, the person who took my blood pressure was so fat she could barely fit in the door. The presence of some fat medical professionals can be a good thing though. An obese GP doctor said that she has a disproportionate number of obese patients. When they see her for the initial appointment, it's often the first time in many years that they've been to a GP for an annual check because they were always ashamed to go due to their weight, knowing that they would likely be chided for it. They only felt comfortable going to her because she can relate to being obese. You can say that an obese doctor sets a bad example, but surely it's worse from a public health perspective for obese patients to be so worried about being fat shamed that they avoid seeking any medical care.
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Post by duckling on Apr 8, 2021 5:11:35 GMT
As to what causes obesity, it's very complex and differs by person.
Some people are born into obese families that overfeed them from the beginning. Habits and preferences you learn early in life are very hard to break.
Mental health problems can lead to unhealthy weight-related behaviors on both ends of the scale. Yet while society practically glorifies anorexia, it shames overeating.
Victims of childhood sexual abuse have a higher rate of obesity. It's their way of coping with their trauma. Some hope that it will make them unattractive so they won't be sexually targeted.
Some medical conditions can cause massive weight gain. Cushing's syndrome is one of them.
Likewise some medications. I have never been obese according to the BMI scale, which is problematic as I explained in an earlier post, but I got overweight very quickly when taking quetiapine for bipolar disorder. It's been proven to both increase appetite and slow metabolism. I gained about a stone in less than a month and still felt hungry all the time. I stopped it cold turkey because I got so upset about the weight gain. Luckily I was able to find another drug that worked. For some people, quetiapine may be the only drug that controls their bipolar symptoms.
Many antihistamines cause weight gain. One doctor wanted to prescribe cyproheptadine as all other antihistamines had failed. I refused when I learned that it's also prescribed to induce weight gain in people who have lost their appetite, such as HIV patients and anorexics.
And yes, there are people who are lazy, in denial, and/or have bought into the bullshit that obesity isn't a health risk.
Those factors are only the tip of the iceberg. There are also loads of sociocultural factors like reference groups, the degree to which exercise is built into your daily life not as a separate activity but as part of your job and living environment, the effort required to obtain healthy food, and so on.
Obesity is really difficult to combat because the causes are so complex.
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Post by iancransonsknees on Apr 8, 2021 6:11:47 GMT
A couple of reasons perhaps. Historically we don't have a particularly healthy approach to cuisine in this country. That's changing, but for a long time our food was basically mocked (still is, to be honest). Also, much more than any other European country we follow the USA in pretty much all that it does, especially societally, so it's perhaps not surprising that we're almost as fat as they are. Can buy the American fixation. Not sure about our food being traditionally unhealthy. The old wartime diet of boiled beef and carrots was far from unhealthy - though bloody tasteless mind. Possibly for that reason we've prioritised quantity over quality - right back to the 70's Berni Inns sold themselves on massive portions and today I'm not sure where else rejoices in it's 'all you can eat all day buffet for £9.95" Once people start to become fat then it normalises it. I might be fat but if I'm still not as fat as half the people in my class/office/lecture group then in my head I'm thin and if anyone's got a problem they have before I have. I therefore don't own my obesity and accordingly do nowt about it. As I posted a couple of days ago - I think the problem is rooted in our psyche. Think about the success of all the "buffet" places locally, ridiculous really.
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on Apr 16, 2021 15:10:09 GMT
More heart deaths by obesity than smoking
"Obesity is now responsible for more heart deaths than smoking, a leading charity has warned as it urges the govt to press ahead with a ban on advertising junk food. Analysis by the British Heart Foundation reveals that around 31,000 deaths a year are caused by weight, more than the 28,000 caused by smoking. Obesity levels have doubled in the UK since the 90s, with two in three adults now overweight to obese. With Covid-19 and obesity, the country faces two epidemics at once". The charity urged the govt not to waver in introducing measures such as a 9pm watershed and clear restrictions on junk food advertising".
I think taxing it heavily or requiring producers to reduce sugar and fat in food would be much more effective, but that would probably annoy the nanny-state lobby.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2021 15:11:20 GMT
Cake?
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Post by Goonie on Apr 16, 2021 20:49:20 GMT
Not sure if anyone has posted this so apologies if so but I really didn't want to trawl through the preceding posts.
I think it was Norway (feel free to correct me) that decided to not heavily sponsor their Olympic team but instead chose to spend the money on building local community sports centres so local people could access them and so exercise cheaply and conveniently.
In short they sacrificed short lived national pride in medals for long-term individual fitness and health.
Perhaps we should follow that? Open air gyms and callisthenics parks would encourage people to train on their doorstep with minimal outlay allowing the poorest and potentially least healthy members of society to become fit.
If youths were encouraged to train in this way as part of their culture it could create a habit for life.
La Sierra goes too far, almost creating a military style approach in the 60s but the digital generation need more than any generation before it
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Post by metalhead on Apr 16, 2021 20:52:41 GMT
More heart deaths by obesity than smoking "Obesity is now responsible for more heart deaths than smoking, a leading charity has warned as it urges the govt to press ahead with a ban on advertising junk food. Analysis by the British Heart Foundation reveals that around 31,000 deaths a year are caused by weight, more than the 28,000 caused by smoking. Obesity levels have doubled in the UK since the 90s, with two in three adults now overweight to obese. With Covid-19 and obesity, the country faces two epidemics at once". The charity urged the govt not to waver in introducing measures such as a 9pm watershed and clear restrictions on junk food advertising". I think taxing it heavily or requiring producers to reduce sugar and fat in food would be much more effective, but that would probably annoy the nanny-state lobby. stop fat shaming.
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on Apr 17, 2021 7:16:29 GMT
More heart deaths by obesity than smoking "Obesity is now responsible for more heart deaths than smoking, a leading charity has warned as it urges the govt to press ahead with a ban on advertising junk food. Analysis by the British Heart Foundation reveals that around 31,000 deaths a year are caused by weight, more than the 28,000 caused by smoking. Obesity levels have doubled in the UK since the 90s, with two in three adults now overweight to obese. With Covid-19 and obesity, the country faces two epidemics at once". The charity urged the govt not to waver in introducing measures such as a 9pm watershed and clear restrictions on junk food advertising". I think taxing it heavily or requiring producers to reduce sugar and fat in food would be much more effective, but that would probably annoy the nanny-state lobby. stop fat shaming. You're right, people have a right to eat themselves enormous and drain the NHS, I should respect their freedom to choose to do that.
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Post by metalhead on Apr 17, 2021 11:07:35 GMT
You're right, people have a right to eat themselves enormous and drain the NHS, I should respect their freedom to choose to do that. Listen, it's not their fault they're addicted to McDonald's... Blame the torys, blame schools, blame uhh, anyone but them.
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Post by Pretty Little Boother on Apr 17, 2021 11:47:28 GMT
People should be allowed to opt out of the NHS.
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on Apr 17, 2021 12:09:42 GMT
People should be allowed to opt out of the NHS. They effectively do! I take it you mean paying NI towards it?
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Post by metalhead on Apr 17, 2021 19:48:23 GMT
People should be allowed to opt out of the NHS. No chance.
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Post by mtrstudent on Apr 18, 2021 6:02:27 GMT
I'm sure there's some truth in all of the reasons put forward for why people are overeight. Time, convenience, cheap junk food, education etc. However the same reasons also prevail in all other western european countries as well. So the question is why are we more suceptible to it than any of the others? Do we just have an inherent additional layer of indolence that gives us the edge? My Italian ex said our guzzling fizzy drinks is a major difference. Her mates might have a can of coke with a meal instead of beer. Otherwise it's espresso or water. One mate at school drank 1-2 big bottles of Dr Pepper a day. That's like 1200+ calories of useless shit and it made him pile on the pounds.
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Post by wilcopotter on Apr 18, 2021 6:22:02 GMT
I'm sure there's some truth in all of the reasons put forward for why people are overeight. Time, convenience, cheap junk food, education etc. However the same reasons also prevail in all other western european countries as well. So the question is why are we more suceptible to it than any of the others? Do we just have an inherent additional layer of indolence that gives us the edge? My Italian ex said our guzzling fizzy drinks is a major difference. Her mates might have a can of coke with a meal instead of beer. Otherwise it's espresso or water. One mate at school drank 1-2 big bottles of Dr Pepper a day. That's like 1200+ calories of useless shit and it made him pile on the pounds. Growing up in the 70’s very few kids around were overweight. I think this was due to home cooking ( take away was really very occasional and expensive) and having parents that went through the scarcity of the war so meals weren’t the size they are now and (wrongly) kids did get mercilessly fat shamed. Fast forward to now attitudes have changed, more overweight kids being the norm, wider selection of foods available and more diverse, less time to cook as parents working more, cheap take awayetc It is going to become a bigger ( excuse the pun) problem for the country.
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Post by yyy on Apr 18, 2021 6:54:54 GMT
Maybe we work one of the longest hours in Europe so we look for easy food options, fast food
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Post by iancransonsknees on Apr 18, 2021 7:08:40 GMT
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Post by metalhead on Apr 18, 2021 7:19:11 GMT
I'm sure there's some truth in all of the reasons put forward for why people are overeight. Time, convenience, cheap junk food, education etc. However the same reasons also prevail in all other western european countries as well. So the question is why are we more suceptible to it than any of the others? Do we just have an inherent additional layer of indolence that gives us the edge? My Italian ex said our guzzling fizzy drinks is a major difference. Her mates might have a can of coke with a meal instead of beer. Otherwise it's espresso or water. One mate at school drank 1-2 big bottles of Dr Pepper a day. That's like 1200+ calories of useless shit and it made him pile on the pounds. Swap with diet. Problem solved. Be like 120 calories then.
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Post by maninasuitcase on Apr 18, 2021 11:08:57 GMT
My Italian ex said our guzzling fizzy drinks is a major difference. Her mates might have a can of coke with a meal instead of beer. Otherwise it's espresso or water. One mate at school drank 1-2 big bottles of Dr Pepper a day. That's like 1200+ calories of useless shit and it made him pile on the pounds. Growing up in the 70’s very few kids around were overweight. I think this was due to home cooking ( take away was really very occasional and expensive) and having parents that went through the scarcity of the war so meals weren’t the size they are now and (wrongly) kids did get mercilessly fat shamed. Fast forward to now attitudes have changed, more overweight kids being the norm, wider selection of foods available and more diverse, less time to cook as parents working more, cheap take awayetc It is going to become a bigger ( excuse the pun) problem for the country. Spot on about the 70s. I was bought up by my grandparents. Virtually every meal cooked made an additional meal the following day. Sunday roast, went into lobby or a pie. The remaining pie pastry made an apple pie or a jam tart. Nothing wasted. A takeaway back then was fish and chips on rare occasions. It also helped that i was encouraged to go out and play. I was lucky as the park was next to my grandparents house so i was always there running around, playing footie, etc. Fast forward to now and i have fallen into the trap of long work days and easy teas.
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Post by mtrstudent on Apr 18, 2021 20:02:40 GMT
My Italian ex said our guzzling fizzy drinks is a major difference. Her mates might have a can of coke with a meal instead of beer. Otherwise it's espresso or water. One mate at school drank 1-2 big bottles of Dr Pepper a day. That's like 1200+ calories of useless shit and it made him pile on the pounds. Swap with diet. Problem solved. Be like 120 calories then. You're not gonna get any argument from me on this one fella... School was a few years back for me and the ex mentioned this about 6 years ago. I think people are a bit more aware now?
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