Obesity linked to poverty

99p for a burger! Yes that's cheap, for empty calories with no food value whatsoever! All convenience food works out far more expensive and far lower in nutrition than home cooked meals! The root cause of the problem is lack of education and motivation, it's too easy to shove a tray of nuggets and chips in the oven or send out for a takeaway! I worked when my children were growing up but we always had proper home cooked meals, it just takes planning and organising. It obviously worked because they both have families of their own, they both work and guess what? ........they all eat good wholesome homeooked meals!

I think that's all anyone can do; guess.
Not condemn, not make blanket statements.

It is complex.
Even studies conclude that.

Fitecracker Porridge, BranFlakes, Weetabix and Shredded Wheat aren't basic cereals. Apart from the fortification, they're all (with the exception of some porridge) refined carbs. The body needs more than that.

Rosalyn69

Junk food isn’t cheap. But it is easy.
As for cereal and toast for breakfast / I was appalled to be offered only that in hospital. Just carbs.
More exercise?

I agree. That's all I was offered for breakfast in hospital, even though they were notified I'm diabetic. They couldn't even provide me with an egg or an unsweetened yoghurt.

Weird, because I was bombarded with leaflets about healthy eating.

So why is there a strong correlation between obesity and areas of high depravation?

Considering that approximately two thirds of over 65s are overweigh or obese (and I'm assuming most people on GN are over 65 or approaching that age) what are you doing to reduce your weight?

3nanny6

They should never have done away with all the local fruit and veg shops, the good quality butchers, the local bakery all on the doorstep, and reasonable costs as well.

It was all turned into small little supermarkets and they did not have very good meat and veg either. Now it seems all the children are growing up obese.
All this in the name of modern times who can be blamed for all that.

Who's "they", as in the people who got rid of little shops?

MissAdventure

So, what about the biggest section of obese society?
Those in the 65 to 74 age bracket?

What is the reason for that, does anyone think?

It would be interesting to know.

For once, I'm being a GN smuggo because I'm one of the third who isn't overweight or obese, which sometimes surprises me because I'm not skinny and could do with some fat removal round my middle.

I'm in the fatty camp, but I know my reasons.
I'm greedy.
I have no willpower.
I am a food junkie.

GrannyLaine

3nanny6 I don't think 'blame' comes into it nor does it help anyone. What IS important is to work out how the nation as a whole can be helped to better health. If nothing else, the mortality from Covid is showing us what a negative impact obesity and diabetes has on our ability to survive. The NHS will simply not be able to cope if rates of Type 2 diabetes (with all its attendant co-morbidity) continue to escalate as they have been doing.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that all Type2 diabetes is caused by obesity. I've never been obese (and only ever slightly overweight for a few months) but I developed T2 diabetes in my thirties. Hopefully, the pandemic will spur researchers on to finding some of the real causes of diabetes rather than lazily linking it with obesity. The trouble is that there needs to be a financial reward for scientists to find the root cause(s).

MissAdventure

I'm in the fatty camp, but I know my reasons.
I'm greedy.
I have no willpower.
I am a food junkie.

Well, you're honest too!

Growstuff ; firstly to your post of 15.12 you are correct most GNs are probably 65 and approaching that age.
I have had a weight issue all my life and from the age of 15 when I took steps to lose weight all I came up against from family was how ill I looked did I have problems or else they would bring food in case I had no money. When I say I try to keep weight off it is true and actually I am not highly obese so to keep weight at a bay I try to eat healthily and also exercise daily.

Your post of 15.14 asks who are they? in regard of the shops.
When younger there was two greengrocers a good butcher also the local bakery that made fresh bread and rolls on site. This was the local parade of shops without the need to go into town. I was a young mum and did not know how to cook but soon learnt and could budget money and use fresh food to make meals. Two supermarkets on that parade opened up and had frozen meals etc limited fresh vegetables and packed meat. First one greengrocer closed as he was losing all his trade and soon after the butcher closed as losing trade also, and awhile after the other greengrocer closed. To me that was the beginning of the end as then I needed to travel on the bus to get fresh food. I do not think the government gave help to those businesses back then and even now many small businesses do not get help.
Is it any wonder that some mums stock up on frozen food and feed their families that way, which is often chips burghers and piazza which certainly is not very nutritious.
Going now as time for some outdoor exercise.

Growstuff I made no mistake. Of course I'm aware of other causes of impaired glucose tolerance, but morbid obesity WILL lead to type 2 diabetes. The point I was making was that unless the root causes of obesity are addressed, there will come a point where an ailing NHS will struggle to cope with the consequences.

Very few people are morbidly obese. There are actually some obese people who aren't diabetic and some people of normal weight who do develop T2 diabetes. There is something else going on. There are some clues, but much more research needs doing, so that better treatments can be found.

I agree that obesity needs to be tackled but please don't stereotype T2 diabetics as fat, lazybones, who can't stop stuffing their faces with the wrong kind of food (whatever the "wrong" kind of food may be). Yes, there's a link to weight, but it really isn't the whole story. People tend to link obesity with some kind of weakness, so it can be hurtful to those affected.

The causes of obesity need to consider all sorts of social and psychological issues. I'm not the best person to know because I've never been obese and don't have an irrational relationship with food.

3nanny6 But who are "they" who have closed small shops? It's not some kind of undercover army. It's changing lifestyles and market forces.

As a full-time working single mother, I would never have had the time to browse small shops for my basic shopping and I don't see how they would have prevented obesity anyway.

Yes nobody would be going to small local shops that shut at 5. Most people are still at work.

I just find it strange that GNers blame young mothers, who can't cook and feed their children rubbish food, young people themselves who apparently eat junk food and drink sugary drinks all day, all sorts of lazy people (probably on benefits), yet GNers themselves are part of the biggest group of fatties of all.

It's not about "them". It's about "us".

When I lived in China my local supermarket (Tesco - I kid you not) had 2 floors. The first floor was real food. No processed / canned / packets. It was all fresh or dried (legumes etc).

Upstairs was the stuff that makes up most of Western supermarket. Junk food.

15:06growstuff

Fitecracker Porridge, BranFlakes, Weetabix and Shredded Wheat aren't basic cereals. Apart from the fortification, they're all (with the exception of some porridge) refined carbs. The body needs more than that.

You can buy supermarket own brands of these cereals. What do they get to eat for free at the breakfast club then do you know. My point is even the do called poor can serve up a breakfast.

What Should Be Included on a Breakfast Club Menu?
There are no strict requirements for the food you serve at your breakfast club, except that it should be healthy and well-considered. Choose to have a well-rounded range of healthy food options, including things like cereal, toast, porridge, fresh fruit, yoghurts, milk, and juice.

Cheap yogurts from Sainsburys 60p

I believe one of the causes of obesity and overweight is the car.

People drive everywhere and park as near to the place they are going as possible.

Many of us didn't have cars when I was young and used buses and our own feet to get around. I remember running to catch buses quite often in my teenage years.

Times have changed and the car has become very important in many lives so no walking to school or to the bus stop or to the shops and carrying shopping home.

Plenty of exercise was fitted naturally into the day.

Good point AGAA4- it's a combination of unhealthy diet and lack of exercise and too much time in front of the internet/ phone/ TV.
I really feel sorry for children these days who don't have access to the outdoor activities that I had in my childhood.
But we can't go back and somehow have to adjust to the new norms.

Breakfast clubs at school really get me, parents that can’t even give the children a piece of toast or a bowl of cornflakes before school.
That aside it’s lack of exercise for everybody along with high fat/sugar junk food, the reason it’s got so much sugar and salt is to make it edible.

3nanny6

They should never have done away with all the local fruit and veg shops, the good quality butchers, the local bakery all on the doorstep, and reasonable costs as well.

Aren't we all implicit when we stopped using the small shops?
Our local council certainly is responsible for encouraging out of town shopping centres,(some of which are themselves struggling now with the revolution in shopping) and our
High streets have all turned into ghost towns.
Here in the Scottish Borders we (a group of enthusiasts) are trying to buck the trend. We have bought a shop by selling community shares at £25 each.
to the tune of £150,000.
The shop has now been open and running for 3 years and is well supported . It has been an absolute godsend during lockdown. It sells everything you need, is in the town centre, so easily accessible and very friendly.
It also supports local growers and traders and helps to curb Food Miles.
Infact DH and I are shielding and have had everything delivered. We pay online. Luxury.

I was asked this morning by someone how we had done it to see if it was a model to copy.

It may not be the solution to child obesity but it is one way of reviving a sense of empowerment over how to live in this crazy world of ours.

My point is even the so called poor can serve up a breakfast

That's one of the most heartless and callous posts I've seen.

So, is anyone going to address the fact that the most overweight section of society is those in the 65 to 74 age bracket, then?
What are they doing wrong?