Obesity

[stripee]

Any ideas on why we are all getting overweight in Britain? I have seen some outstanding large teenagers lately, this doesn't seem a healthy start to adult life Other countries peoples look a lot slimmer. Are we eating too much processed food and not excercising enough, or are we consuming more food generally?

[honeybee]

It's all these illicit snacks we've been eating

I think it's symptomatic of a lot of things in society. Just look at all the choice of food these days in supermarkets and fast food everywhere, people not cooking proper meals anymore from scratch-people not having time. Children going to school, coming home and doing homework then watching tv, playing on the computer. It doesn't feel safe to let kids out anymore. We drive everywhere. Most towns, inner city areas don't have decent recreational areas. There's pressure on kids and they comfort eat, most corner shops are just full of junk food. Lazy parents or parents who just don't have time to do stuff with their kids.

[naturelover]

yes honeybee i think your right,the kids of today are not burning their fat off anymore,we all eat junk food now and again and the kids are in front of the telly or a computer,so what they eat just sits there,when i was a kid i would walk the dog,play rounders,catch,off ground touch,in fact there were lots of outdoor games,now there is nothing but i can understand why, you cant let your kids out to play now, so they are safer in front of the tv or computer,mind you thats where the crisps,chocolate,goodies of all sorts come out ,thats why they are over weight,you cant blame the parants you have to blame the society that we live in today,very bad if you want my opinion.

[SweetRocket]

It’s simply a matter of greed and the lack of willpower to stop over-eating. The temptation is all out there to see, just take a walk around Morrisons and every which way you turn there are trolleys stacked high with cakes, biscuits and a load of other junk food. I have two friends who can’t resist this rubbish and stack their trolleys with it and as a result one of them has serious obesity problems.
She has spent a fortune on diet clubs but she can’t see where she is going so wrong, she is now on blood pressure tablets which in turn made her hair fall out, is never out of the doctors surgery with one complaint after another. I mean all of that would turn me off my food not the opposite.
My motto has always been eat whatever food you want but less of it!

I must say most of the kids in my road get lots of exercise just out playing in the street but when I venture out I do see the most amazing sights of some people struggling just to walk because they are so fat.

[Paul mabbott]

We're not all overweight and we shouldn't confuse big teenagers with overweight ones - to an extent children who are better fed do grow bigger - it's the relationship of weight (or just body fat) to height that is indicative of obesity.

But yes, as usual, I blame it on the motor car - youngsters don't walk anywhere or take any exercise (unless they're transported to the gym or tennis club) and they do eat a load of rubbish. I think children have always had the inclination to eat sweets and cakes ... and chips with everything but didn't do it to excess in the past for two reasons: they didn't have much money to buy those sort of things and because parents provided "proper" meals ....

[Boddie]

Paul. Have you had a bad experience with a motor car?

[stripee]

Yes, I'm wondering about young ones who are on the way to being clinically obese, not just that have grown taller but are a healthy weight. Is there cooking in schools anymore (have lost touch with subjects taught)?

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Boddie

Paul. Have you had a bad experience with a motor car?

Never had a good one!

It's true that car use is a major cause of so many problems (most obviously pollution and habitat destruction) but there are so many things in which, cars are not the actual cause, but allows and encourages bad things - obesity being one of them. Poor people once didn't get fat because they had to walk everywhere!

[christina]

I feel that people are not eating the right foods nowadays...fast food, takeaways and processed foods, we are partial to a sticky bun now and again too! Ever seen the programme "You are what you eat"? Most of the people who take part eat what I call "grey foods". Gillian "McWhat's her name" piles the week's food on a table and its just bland, the only colour is from the "pop" they drink! They never eat vegetables, fruit or anything natural. The best way to avoid becoming obese is to eat what grows naturally...lots of veg and fruit, including meat (for those who eat it) and nuts. The processed stuff should really be eaten in moderation. Takeaways perhaps should be treated as a "treat" eaten now and again. Its not just the young who are getting bigger, its right across the board. But there are those who do have medical problems which cause obesity and I exclude those from my comments.

Exercise: we (and I include myself, being middle aged and having stopped work for just over a year, have had to start some gentle exercise and something to "tuck" in my tummy, remove the additional blubber from my hips bum and thighs lol) seldom take exercise, no more PE in schools, or very little, parents driving kids to school and back, taxis are cheap so instead of walking a mile we take a taxi. A takeaway instead of a good healthy and nutritious meal or even dinner then a couple of hours later a takeaway (I exclude myself from this one lol).

If one takes a look around the local high street one could eat a different takeaway meal every night and put on the pounds without any trouble lol. AND I haven't included any alcohol which adds pounds to the body.

I decided that our (hubby and me) diet wasn't particular good (which did include lots of veggies and healthy foods but also crisps, chocolate and cake!), even though we seldom have takeaways etc, that I have started to juice again, ensuring that we at least get a good healthy whack of vitamins and minerals and all the other good stuff which our bodies need, also a few pints of water per day.

Hope I havent offended anyone, just my point of view.

PS my motto has always been "eat to live" not "live to eat". AND going on a dieters will almost certainly end up overweight because I feel that diets mess up the metabolism (proud to say I've never been on a diet in my life).

PPS spend a few days with a friend (love her to bits and hope she doesnt come on WAB) and plates were piled high with food, then a takeaway followed later, hadn't digested one meal when along came the next (never dared refuse her food)...felt like a beached whale...PHEW!

[badger426]

I live in a town with a population of 5000. We have 3 chinese takeaways, 3 chippies,2 kebab shops, 1 indian (soon to be 2), 2 pizza outlets, and 3pastry/pies/etc. The chippies even open on Sunday which says a lot about the general diet of our town. We always cook fresh in our house.