So just HOW should 'the government' tackle obesity etc...??

One inhibition to exercise is the belief that it costs money because you have to take up a sport or go to a gym or leisure centre and get hot sweaty and wear expensive body shape revealing clothing.

In fact there is one freely available exercise that can be done in ordinary clothing. It is known as 'walking'. No matter where you live, city, town or country you can plot some really interesting walks, exploring areas within a mile or so of your home or workplace. In cities and towns the architecture and streetscape can be an endless source of interest and you find all sorts of odd little shops and tradesmen you never knew existed.

Walking has always been my main form of exercise and it has been exercise for both mind and body

I have always been overweight, and over 30 years have lost and regained 2 stones at least 6 times.
I almost always eat good home cooked food, but probably too much of it. And I drink, not too much per the guidelines, but that's still 1500 calories s week.
The evidence is that this is normal- that 95% of dieters put back all the weight they lose within 2 years. It's very discouraging!
My GP acknowledges that obesity is a chronic problem, and doesn't offer any simple solutions.
So what should the government do? I think they should concentrate on getting sugar down in all processed food and drink, and encouraging people to move more.

In fact there is one freely available exercise that can be done in ordinary clothing. It is known as 'walking'.

When it's dark at 3/4pm in the winter, a lot of women feel much safer going to the gym after work then they would out walking.

Exercise also costs time and a 30 min blast at the gym before work is doable, but going for an exercisey walk when you work 8-8…

People who chose gyms might rely on gyms because they're accessible and quick, and a reasonably safe environment.

I'm fed up of people being talked down to about obesity (FYI both my BMI and my body fat % are in the ideal range, I do walk a lot but can see why it's an over simplistic "answer" for many). Yes people know that walking is free. But a woman was raped in my local park and guess what? Almost all of the comments on our local news page were victim blaming, e.g.: "well what did she expect walking in an isolated place alone, it's just common sense not to walk there alone if you're a woman"

Also, see my previous comment about the 7 day working week. I remember in my youth that families used to all go for a walk on sundays, if you went to any local walking spot you'ld bump into several families you knew: nowadays so many parents work on Sundays who aren't in emergency services , So many contracts are erratic shift patterns, so it's harder to have those healthy rituals/habits.

Another thing to bear in mind with modern working lives (0 hours contracts, all these extended opening hours, erratic shift patterns) is that you can't commit to any weekly activity. You can't sign up to a 6 weeks pilates course because your rota may end up making you miss 3 of them!

People used to have more regular hours, my mum worked hard, but she finished by 5/6 every evening. She could arrange with a friend to meet up for a walk every Tuesday evening for example. The exact same job title now not only goes on until 9/10pm some evenings, but also, that sector is now almost exclusively temporary contracts, so you have to constantly prove yourself by staying late.

So where before it was relatively easy to have a weekly walking - date with a friend for some exercise and gossip, now it's a case of people's diaries maybe only matching up for an evening when both are off once a month!

I used to enjoy a walk, but at the moment an arthritic foot is making it less than pleasurable. So I am considering re-joining a health club so that I can swim regularly. The low carb diet has taken 2.5 stone off me and I can wear clothes that I haven't got into for a good 5 - 6 years, but my muscle tone is poor and taking steroids for the past five years has left me with what looks like a 'beer belly' but, I promise you, is nothing of the kind!

Good on you losing all that weight Anno

I don't know if it is available in the UK Anno but round here a lot of people I know do aquagym (including cycling). They all seem to think that it really helps with arthritic limbs (an amazing number also seem to need to do an "aquaphobie" class first).

As has been said on this thread, exercise can be expensive. Many of us with 'urgency' problems can't take up walking unless there is a loo in the vicinity - and so many of those have now closed. This means that I don't take my GC out unless it's somewhere where there's a loo. Swimming in a public pool I find rather gross - the changing rooms especially but perhaps I'm too fussy. Gyms are out of the question for me but I do Pilates as I've said before. The GC do all sorts of activities and now one GD for whom exercise is an anathema is walking almost 2 miles a day to get to and from her new secondary school and not noticing it because she's chatting to friends. So there's a psychological aspect to it too.

Another point about gyms, is if you are recovering from an illness or injury and your "form" isn't very good, it's good to have an instructer to help you correct your postures so you don't do more harm than good

I do use yoga and pilates DVDs, but if I'm getting BACK to yoga after a baby or an injury, I don't use the DVDs because I need someone there to spot if I'm holding myself wrong so I don't do myself an injury.

I use gyms pretty heavily when I'm returning to exercise and building it back up - it's good to do it in a controlled environment with machines or instructers to keep you from forming bad injury causing habits.. but once I've built up my strenght I do more at home/out doors.

I've had an injury recently (not massively serious, but significant sprain) so I'm no going near my weigh/aerobics DVDs for now and will book into some instructer led yoga and pilates until I'm confident to do weight at home again.

I can't run - old injuries
I do walk a lot, but I find that just helps me maintain, it doesn't build back up strenght and fitness when I've lost it.

I'm another walker. I usually manage 10,000 a day, but I agree with those who say you have to make time for exercise.

Unless you have a physical job, getting those steps in IS difficult if you work long hours in a sedentary job.

Unfortunately our lifestyles depend heavily on cars now; perhaps the Govt should consider this before finger-wagging about "moving more".

When I talked of walking I was addressing the people who complain that they cannot exercise because they cannot afford to.

When working, I walked a mile and half to the station morning and evening and I would also walk at lunch time, if I could manage it, which I often couldn't. While I fully understand that many people have zero hours contracts, work shifts, etc etc and that makes exercise difficult, but if you really want to get out and walk, you can find the time.

I confess it has never bothered me to walk out after dark. if I worked late I would walk from the station at 10.00 or 11.00 at night when we lived in a town. I would however stick to well lit main roads and not take the short cuts down footpaths and beside the river which I would use in daylight. I would not do so in a rural area where roads are windy and unlit for fear of being run down.

I agree absolutely that walking is the cheapest, easiest exercise there is. But some people are always going to make excuses if they can. I find walking really easy most of the time, but I'm fortunate to live in a well-lit city which is flat and easy to walk around. I couldn't find an excuse even if I wanted to.

But not everyone's so lucky. I think many people-particularly women-are finding it difficult to make time for themselves. What with grandkids, work, chores and general life perhaps for some a commitment to exercise really IS a step too far-no pun intended- and perhaps, instead of nagging, the Govt should recognise these issues and actually suggest a workable solution. Consistency of information may be a good place to start.

But at the end of the day you can't make people do something they have no inclination to do. People need an incentive, and whilst for many of us being healthy, slimmer and fitter is enough of an incentive in itself, for many these rewards are simply not worth the effort.