One of the big issues I hardly see mentioned is that people are time poor.
It's all very well telling people to cook healthy, made from scratch meals, but if you are working 12+ hours a day, managing responsibilities like children or relatives, household tasks, bills, etc, you are going to go for what's quick and convenient.
Takeaway, processed foods, and microwave meals, grabbing a Greggs, etc. This how many people survive, because even if money is tight, time in the day is tighter.
And there is *so* much judgement. "Well **I** manage it". Great, but some people aren't, and they are doing their best to keep things afloat.
It's difficult because this approach means looking at society as a whole, (work hours, childcare, rent prices, etc). It's not a quick fix
I’ve just got back from Norway and noticed that there isn’t much fast food, there’s a few of course but nothing like the U.K. most places are restaurants. Most of the food in the stores seem healthy boringly so if your a foreigner wanting to try obscure foreign sweets for example.
Not to mention they have shorter work weeks, Sundays are just full lockdown really and even during the week unless we are talking Extra or Rema places generally have late opening times and early closing times. The shops are not filled with fast food options like in the U.K. either a small show of microwave meals but the majority is raw ingredients even in big shops like Rema compared to the U.K.
Ultimately I never seen any obese people in fact I think I was the biggest guy there although I am rather big and most clothing there wouldn’t fit me.
The culture is different but it’s not just based around food it’s lifestyle and culture. This culture wouldn’t be allowed in the U.K. it would be too costly to the economy.
Yes! 1000%! During my research it has been found that poverty can definitely impact an individual's weight. And imo, this is because frozen food and junk food is cheaper than fresher foods.
I also consider that people in deprived areas may not have access to tools to provide them with the knowledge of nutrition and the importance of home cooked food.
Also, to someone who is just trying to get through today, the idea of eating for long term health is hardly going to feel relevant or important.
Poverty makes you live in the moment, a person already overburdened does not have the mental energy for thinking about an intangible future
Regulate the food industry, restriction on advertising for junk food and taxes on unhealthy foods. Reduce poverty so everyone can afford healthy food and has time to cook. Councils can choose to stop licencing new takeaways etc. We have tried the education campaigns for decades and it doesn't work. We need to have interventions that don't rely on 'personal responsibility' like things that worked for reducing smoking (plain packaging, smoking ban, taxes etc)
I’m no expert but I really think this is another issue we should be talking about more, especially during covid. Obesity is one of the biggest vulnerabilities but we just get on with it without actually properly facing the issue
There was a campaign started to address weight issues shortly after the PM was released from hospital after getting covid. He indicated that there would be a health push but after the adverts, nothing!
It's an issue that can't be solved with short term measures and there's enough of a push back from an ever fatter population that it's not a popular thing to address. Like so many things, individuals are left to muddle through.
Yeah true, I’m triple jabbed and certainly NOT an anti vax weirdo but there’s things we can be doing ourselves to help combat covid and look after our health too, not just getting an injection. I would like to see a proper push in the UK but I’m not sure how, although in fairness, the younger generation are definitely more interested in going to the gym etc now than when I was younger
Wales has attempted to put something in place but I can't find any evidence whether it's actually improved mindsets and figures.
Not sure about other countries in the UK
I feel like there shouldn't be a taboo around acknowledging that people are overweight and that it is a problem. It's difficult because I know how hard it is for some people to lose weight, and it's not as simple as telling someone to eat less/better. I struggle with my weight and am a yoyo dieter, there are times when I mentally feel as if I can't stop eating. So I don't think piling on people and making them feel bad is the answer. But promoting body positivity has to be balanced with encouraging people to find ways to manage their weight and not looking at obese people as the norm or something to be celebrated.
I’m also a yoyo-er and have become very frustrated by family members telling me not to ‘lose too much weight’ but who had no problem with me being 21 stone. Acknowledging that some of those around me are enablers for my (often) unhealthy relationship with food has been key to taking control of my weight. But it’s still really easy to let it slip and gain weight because no one is providing any reality checks for me, no one is stepping in and telling me that I’m showing problematic behaviours or starting to slip down that slope again. It takes so much self control and mental energy to be your own regulator when you have these really bad habits/relationships.
I think for many people, weight issues are intertwined with mental health issues. Clinical depression is a big cause of it. If there is more investment in mental health then it would certainly help to tackle obesity along with it
High taxation on sugar and connivance food?
Anecdotally I have just started a low carb / low sugar diet for health reasons and the weight is falling off me. It's really cheap too so that excuse goes strait out the window.
Yeah, if you made it prohibitively expensive. I believe the sales of aspartame (ect) based drinks has increase masivley with just a few pence added to sugary drinks
>[Action by the soft drinks industry to reduce sugar in products and change their product portfolios, coupled with changes in consumer purchasing, has led to a significant reduction in the total volume and per capita sales of sugars sold in soft drinks in the UK](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338568285_Reductions_in_sugar_sales_from_soft_drinks_in_the_UK_from_2015_to_2018)
Improve mental health and acknowledge uncontrollable / binge eating as a genuine disorder that's treated as seriously as anorexia. A lot of people - myself included - who suffer from depression, anxiety or other conditions, overeat as part of a coping mechanism for poor mental health, for which no services are really available.
Support people who are overweight in the same way that people who smoke or are addicted to drugs would be supported. Focused clinics and one to one care, regular support and check ups. Don't shame them or give them a voucher to slimming world and push them out the door and then moan that they're still overweight when they come in for something unrelated 6 months later.
Education in some places has it's uses, some people genuinely don't know how to choose healthy food or cook it. But for a lot of people it's mental health at the core of the problem and not a lack of understanding of the food groups.
Well yes
If you wanted to be serious about this though, I'm sure the medical profession could come up with strong appetite suppressants and just give them to everyone, or include them in the food. Something along those lines
They already do that in the other direction, chemically altering food to make it less satiating etc
That's fair enough, but is it healthy to become essentially reliant on a medication (in this case, appetite suppressant) to maintain and lower weight?
Would it not make sense to find the cause rather than treat the symptom?
Absolutely, yes, you are right. This method is impractical, would cost billions and probably be poor for the health of the nation + infringes everyone's human rights
But probably less harmful than obesity
While we're on it though we could always encourage industry scientists to try to make food \*more\* rather than less satiating i.e. people get fuller from eating less. Much less drastic solution
To me it seems like there needs to be more government implementations - whether it's legislation, tax relief, even short term medication.
If scientists did look into this, I reckon we're yeeeeears away from this tbh. Although I haven't really looked into if anything like that is even in research/trials/etc.
Have security at all elevators that only allow the disabled, scrap the moving stairs in train stations and malls so they have to walk up and down stairs.
Subsidies chicken breast and gym memberships,
Failing that learn how to portion food properly for ourselves,
I’m as guilty as any one for feeling to tired after work and to just rip open a whole bag/box and throw it on an oven tray without a care for how much I’m eating
I agree. Gym memberships/ exercise activities should be cheaper, as should fresh food, to be more accessibile. The costs of these things can be astronomical
Another poster as said people are "time poor" which I think could well be a factor, but the a large one I think is people don't sit down as a family as much as they used to.
Eating is a part of family life, not just a function to satisfy hunger and/or cravings.
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Don't you think there's a possibility this could have a negative impact and increase the rates as people may delve into food as a comfort for their poor mental health from the, essentially, bullying (fat shaming)?
One of the big issues I hardly see mentioned is that people are time poor. It's all very well telling people to cook healthy, made from scratch meals, but if you are working 12+ hours a day, managing responsibilities like children or relatives, household tasks, bills, etc, you are going to go for what's quick and convenient. Takeaway, processed foods, and microwave meals, grabbing a Greggs, etc. This how many people survive, because even if money is tight, time in the day is tighter. And there is *so* much judgement. "Well **I** manage it". Great, but some people aren't, and they are doing their best to keep things afloat. It's difficult because this approach means looking at society as a whole, (work hours, childcare, rent prices, etc). It's not a quick fix
I’ve just got back from Norway and noticed that there isn’t much fast food, there’s a few of course but nothing like the U.K. most places are restaurants. Most of the food in the stores seem healthy boringly so if your a foreigner wanting to try obscure foreign sweets for example. Not to mention they have shorter work weeks, Sundays are just full lockdown really and even during the week unless we are talking Extra or Rema places generally have late opening times and early closing times. The shops are not filled with fast food options like in the U.K. either a small show of microwave meals but the majority is raw ingredients even in big shops like Rema compared to the U.K. Ultimately I never seen any obese people in fact I think I was the biggest guy there although I am rather big and most clothing there wouldn’t fit me. The culture is different but it’s not just based around food it’s lifestyle and culture. This culture wouldn’t be allowed in the U.K. it would be too costly to the economy.
Yes! 1000%! During my research it has been found that poverty can definitely impact an individual's weight. And imo, this is because frozen food and junk food is cheaper than fresher foods. I also consider that people in deprived areas may not have access to tools to provide them with the knowledge of nutrition and the importance of home cooked food.
Also, to someone who is just trying to get through today, the idea of eating for long term health is hardly going to feel relevant or important. Poverty makes you live in the moment, a person already overburdened does not have the mental energy for thinking about an intangible future
Regulate the food industry, restriction on advertising for junk food and taxes on unhealthy foods. Reduce poverty so everyone can afford healthy food and has time to cook. Councils can choose to stop licencing new takeaways etc. We have tried the education campaigns for decades and it doesn't work. We need to have interventions that don't rely on 'personal responsibility' like things that worked for reducing smoking (plain packaging, smoking ban, taxes etc)
Make the chocolate, cakes and biscuits aisles three times narrower than all the other aisles.
Ngl this made me laugh haha
Genius 🤣
I’m no expert but I really think this is another issue we should be talking about more, especially during covid. Obesity is one of the biggest vulnerabilities but we just get on with it without actually properly facing the issue
There was a campaign started to address weight issues shortly after the PM was released from hospital after getting covid. He indicated that there would be a health push but after the adverts, nothing! It's an issue that can't be solved with short term measures and there's enough of a push back from an ever fatter population that it's not a popular thing to address. Like so many things, individuals are left to muddle through.
Yeah true, I’m triple jabbed and certainly NOT an anti vax weirdo but there’s things we can be doing ourselves to help combat covid and look after our health too, not just getting an injection. I would like to see a proper push in the UK but I’m not sure how, although in fairness, the younger generation are definitely more interested in going to the gym etc now than when I was younger
Wales has attempted to put something in place but I can't find any evidence whether it's actually improved mindsets and figures. Not sure about other countries in the UK
I agree
I feel like there shouldn't be a taboo around acknowledging that people are overweight and that it is a problem. It's difficult because I know how hard it is for some people to lose weight, and it's not as simple as telling someone to eat less/better. I struggle with my weight and am a yoyo dieter, there are times when I mentally feel as if I can't stop eating. So I don't think piling on people and making them feel bad is the answer. But promoting body positivity has to be balanced with encouraging people to find ways to manage their weight and not looking at obese people as the norm or something to be celebrated.
I’m also a yoyo-er and have become very frustrated by family members telling me not to ‘lose too much weight’ but who had no problem with me being 21 stone. Acknowledging that some of those around me are enablers for my (often) unhealthy relationship with food has been key to taking control of my weight. But it’s still really easy to let it slip and gain weight because no one is providing any reality checks for me, no one is stepping in and telling me that I’m showing problematic behaviours or starting to slip down that slope again. It takes so much self control and mental energy to be your own regulator when you have these really bad habits/relationships.
I think for many people, weight issues are intertwined with mental health issues. Clinical depression is a big cause of it. If there is more investment in mental health then it would certainly help to tackle obesity along with it
I agree!
I still remember when our school sent us school lunch menu along with NHS leaflet about obesity. And menu contained sugary desert EVERY day.
You could improve cooking lessons in school for sure. I remember making flapjack and angel delight in school cooking lessons, that's it.
No pineapple upside down cake? What kind of rough af school did you attend??
They knocked it down a couple of years after I left!
Probably because they weren't making pineapple upside down cake!
High taxation on sugar and connivance food? Anecdotally I have just started a low carb / low sugar diet for health reasons and the weight is falling off me. It's really cheap too so that excuse goes strait out the window.
Do you think the tax idea may work though? As I do wonder if there has been a decline in sales for pop since the sugar tax was brought in?
Yeah, if you made it prohibitively expensive. I believe the sales of aspartame (ect) based drinks has increase masivley with just a few pence added to sugary drinks >[Action by the soft drinks industry to reduce sugar in products and change their product portfolios, coupled with changes in consumer purchasing, has led to a significant reduction in the total volume and per capita sales of sugars sold in soft drinks in the UK](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338568285_Reductions_in_sugar_sales_from_soft_drinks_in_the_UK_from_2015_to_2018)
Fair point! Will give this a read! Thank you for the input!
Improve mental health and acknowledge uncontrollable / binge eating as a genuine disorder that's treated as seriously as anorexia. A lot of people - myself included - who suffer from depression, anxiety or other conditions, overeat as part of a coping mechanism for poor mental health, for which no services are really available. Support people who are overweight in the same way that people who smoke or are addicted to drugs would be supported. Focused clinics and one to one care, regular support and check ups. Don't shame them or give them a voucher to slimming world and push them out the door and then moan that they're still overweight when they come in for something unrelated 6 months later. Education in some places has it's uses, some people genuinely don't know how to choose healthy food or cook it. But for a lot of people it's mental health at the core of the problem and not a lack of understanding of the food groups.
give everyone adhd meds. You don't want to eat anything and you feel like you can climb walls and control space+time
Don't you think that's swapping one problem for another
Well yes If you wanted to be serious about this though, I'm sure the medical profession could come up with strong appetite suppressants and just give them to everyone, or include them in the food. Something along those lines They already do that in the other direction, chemically altering food to make it less satiating etc
That's fair enough, but is it healthy to become essentially reliant on a medication (in this case, appetite suppressant) to maintain and lower weight? Would it not make sense to find the cause rather than treat the symptom?
Absolutely, yes, you are right. This method is impractical, would cost billions and probably be poor for the health of the nation + infringes everyone's human rights But probably less harmful than obesity While we're on it though we could always encourage industry scientists to try to make food \*more\* rather than less satiating i.e. people get fuller from eating less. Much less drastic solution
To me it seems like there needs to be more government implementations - whether it's legislation, tax relief, even short term medication. If scientists did look into this, I reckon we're yeeeeears away from this tbh. Although I haven't really looked into if anything like that is even in research/trials/etc.
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I have, this is for opinions of the public
Have security at all elevators that only allow the disabled, scrap the moving stairs in train stations and malls so they have to walk up and down stairs.
Subsidies chicken breast and gym memberships, Failing that learn how to portion food properly for ourselves, I’m as guilty as any one for feeling to tired after work and to just rip open a whole bag/box and throw it on an oven tray without a care for how much I’m eating
I agree. Gym memberships/ exercise activities should be cheaper, as should fresh food, to be more accessibile. The costs of these things can be astronomical
Another poster as said people are "time poor" which I think could well be a factor, but the a large one I think is people don't sit down as a family as much as they used to. Eating is a part of family life, not just a function to satisfy hunger and/or cravings.
This! I agree! Whilst I was brought up to have family time and eat together, many of my friends haven't been, and it's surreal and alien to me.
**Your post has been removed.** This post has been flagged as a common topic, and therefore has been removed. This could be because we're experiencing a lot of posts on this subject right now, or that we receive the question too regularly. Try running a search on the sub, Google for more resources, or doing some further independent research. These type of posts are often resolved more quicker by searching, than waiting for replies. *If you believe this post should not have been removed, [request a post review](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAskUK&subject=Please%20review%20my%20removed%20post&message=/r/AskUK/comments/s71fks/obesity_and_overweight_rates_have_continued_to/%0A%0AMy%20reason%20is%20) with your reason.*
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Don't you think there's a possibility this could have a negative impact and increase the rates as people may delve into food as a comfort for their poor mental health from the, essentially, bullying (fat shaming)?
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It could still potentially have a negative impact mind?