Baby Boomers sicker and frailer than previous generations

My uncle came from an east end family of 8 children. His father worked as a Covent Garden porter so brought unwanted fruit and vegetables home. My uncle said that is what kept them healthy in poverty. They were lucky. The majority were not. He and his siblings lived until their 80s and his mother even older. They grew up pre NHS in the early 20th century.
Over the last 5 years I have attended hosp appts regularly and am amazed at the number of very overweight nurses and the enormous waiting room chairs. Does no one mention this at reviews to overweight staff? If Baby Boomers spread from age 58 to 76 then some of these staff are. But sadly a lot are much younger. Are there incentives to staff in the NHS? There must be a drain on staff numbers due to ill health. And not a good example to patients who need to lose weight.

Helterskelter I totally agree I was at the hospital recently for routine tests and I couldn’t believe the amount of truly obese nurses who were working there Nearly all I saw were really really heavily overweight. It must be food, because they walk miles in a day

I spent 2 weeks in hospital earlier this year. Nearly every nurse and health care worker was seriously overweight. Nearly every visitor including the children was overweight and brought in loads of biscuits, sweets, cakes, high sugar drinks etc for their relatives.
DD is an anesthetist, she says overweight patients are the norm despite them presenting extra risks for every procedure she does as many are done by "feel" and that's much more difficult when faced with thick layers of fat. She's also dealing with co morbidities often unrelated to the condition being treated, caused by smoking, alcohol, poor diet and a lack of exercise.
We are living longer because we can treat more diseases with drugs and surgery not because we are healthier.

I hosted 30 friends on Sunday. We are all over 70, with several over 75. No one is overweight. With about 4 exceptions, we enjoy a glass or two of wine. Food is important, there are some excellent cooks . We all enjoy walking and some still run.
Four men in this friendship group have died from cancer in recent years. None of them were smokers or big drinkers, all followed the lifestyle we are encouraged to keep us healthy.

I agree about overweight nurses. When I signed up with a new GP surgery after my house move I was called in for an introductory health check. After all the usual tests I was given a talk about lifestyle. I’m a size 14/16, could do with losing half a stone but not really overweight, my main hobby is gardening/allotment and I walk my dog. I also used to teach food and nutrition!

Being advised to follow a Mediterranean diet by a nurse who could barely fit in her chair and must have been in the morbidly obese category bemused rather than angered me. Do they just assume that all elderly patients have no idea how to look after themselves?

Iam64 my friends are the same but I don't think we are typical and I think we tend to be friends with people who are like us. Unfortunately govt stats show the level of the problem we have in the UK.
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/update-to-the-obesity-profile-on-fingertips/obesity-profile-short-statistical-commentary-may-2024

I sat with a friend in the Cardiology waiting area of Papworth Hospital a year or so ago. We were stunned by the size of most of the staff who were coming in and out of the unit - uniforms straining. We all know that hospital staff are overworked, and probably need to quickly eat snacks etc. but this was a heart unit - none of the advice handed to patients had been taken up it seems.

It's a difficult one! 3 iif my grandparents were dead before 65, one from sepsis at 31 following a dental operation (no antibiotics), one from kidney and heart disease and one from heart failure, dying in her sleep at 61. She was obese. But probably all would have been saved today. Most of the men in my family for generations going back died of strokes and heart disease before 62, probably industrial as they worked in the steel industry. TB, another early killer could be cured today.
Women died of cancer and child birth, would probably have been saved today. It's really hard I think to compare previous generations.
Yes, our own mums and dads, a war generation lived to their nineties, and ate healthy diets due to better knowledge, medical care and walking and dancing everywhere. They seemed to be the peak, and I have tried to follow their example; I try to recall the portions my mother ate and copy her, though I must admit with less success!
Currently on a cruise, we are surrounded by obese people only a few years older or the same age as ourselves who are using mobility scooters, wheelchairs or are unable to walk without sticks. The quantity of food they eat and the amount of alcohol consumed is astonishing. I am assured by countless newspaper articles and overweight people themselves that their eating habits are not the issue, nor can they lose weight by eating less.
And also that of course people relax on holiday. The evidence of our own eyes does seem to tell a different story. This is not a two week problem.
Nowadays we are all told that you can be obese and healthy, again this doesn't seem to be born out here.
People in our village who exercise, eat well and have good medical care are slim and active. If they die it is from cancer at a later age. So just my observations really, of 2 completely different populations.
I do think that since schools stopped teaching cookery and nutrition there is less knowledge and understanding of healthy eating habits. People seem to lack understanding of portion control and what they need to eat.
That's another debate.

Baking a Victoria sponge never did much to teach me about cooking and nutrition.

There's a heavy influence on Science in today's GCSE Food and Nutrition course. A lot of it looks at healthy eating and the relationship between diet, nutrition and health. It's not for the want of educating people, it's the choices people make for various reasons.

Yes, the food and nutrition my grandson learnt st school was treated as a science subject.

So- MissAdventure I’m a scientist and didn’t know it 🧑‍🔬 ?
Hurrah !

Congratulations!
A scientist.
You must be very clever.

Science and maths are involved in cookery.
Lessons in Chemistry!

It also covered why someone may be less able to eat healthily and exercise, etc.

It'll be nice to think upcoming generations will understand those concepts.

MissAdventure

Yes, the food and nutrition my grandson learnt st school was treated as a science subject.

At my sons' boys school cooking and sewing were called "Bachelor Survival" and they were all told that they would need these skills in life.

MissAdventure

Baking a Victoria sponge never did much to teach me about cooking and nutrition.

I do remember my rock buns were aptly named. Presenting a salad beautifully was another highlight of cookery lessons at my grammar school in the 60s.

I never progressed much beyond fruit salad & cheesy potato pie. Me attempting a Victoria sponge would've left my domestic science teacher a nervous wreck!

Somehow my artistically presented salad and rock buns plus valdavi's fruit salad and cheesy potato pie probably wouldn't have set up a generation for healthy home cooked food. I learned a hell of a lot more watching and helping granny.