Jump to content

Normalising Obesity


Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, Maximus Decimus said:

This isn't true. As I mentioned earlier, in Orwell's Road to Wigan Pier the working classes were criticised for their unhealthy eating. In it he talks about middle class writers proving that they eat healthily off a small wage. 

He states of course that it misses the point. They eat unhealthily for a variety of different reasons, as they do today. So much of eating is psychological. 

The working classes may well have been criticised for their unhealthy eating but there wasn't an obesity problem in Orwell's day.  The post of mine you replied to wasn't talking about poverty and unhealthy eating but poverty being a reason for obesity.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 341
  • Created
  • Last Reply
35 minutes ago, Saintslass said:

Yes, that makes sense.  So what might be the solution?  Saying it's ok to be fat certainly isn't a solution in my book (and I speak as someone who lost 2.5 stone last year - so I know what it feels like to feel ashamed of my weight and all that comes with it).  How can healthy food be made more cheaply?  Do we export too much of our own produce meaning that supply shortage increases cost/imports are more costly?  Do we not make enough healthy easy to prepare food for people who are too busy/disinclined to cook from scratch (which is the best way IMO)?

I don't know, I may be wrong, but I'll type anyway. We've been told by those who want us to buy their products for decades that convenience is king, that we don't have enough time. Somethings must have happened between rationing 50's and the greed is good 80's that meant people ate too much, no matter what the level of society. Perhaps even the last decade of down turn and mass production means people get as much of what they can and the NHS will pick up the pieces (it can't, new big beds, bid ambulances). Even "health foods" can have high sugar (ie smoothie) so even the supposed better choices are flawed, the continued rise of WW / SW can be geared towards failure long term. People do listen, but the marketing budgets for the "bad" foods is tens times more than that of "good" food (neither exist really but we have an idea for simplicity).

In summary, I think people prefer short cuts and automatically listen to the products/messages that are louder and more frequent. Fat shaming won't work, neither will softly softly, neither will the harsh truth of meat production for example. What may help is the continued reduction of hidden sugars and the increasing fibre intake and the Lidl/Aldi approach of having fewer choices available, selling more "wonky" fruit and vegetables (pure volume). Getting kids cooking in schools again.

What typing this tripe has done has made me think about my diet more; porridge, eggs, tinned beans and less processed foods, less meat and more offal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, hindle xiii said:

Another thought, low fat foods from the 80s usually means more sugar. Scientific evidence is changing, people have had mixed messages for a while.

People also used to smoke like chimneys so ate less but died of lung cancer.

We should bring smoking back. It'll reduce obesity.

There. Solved it. We can lock the thread now.

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I don't like the new Cancer Research campaign against obesity, maybe because its aimed at me!  

D-h_KEvW4AAMrDN.jpg

I know how harmful it is.  Walking past a poster like that would be pretty embarrassing.  (though I'd walk faster, so that's an extra calorie or 2).  

With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Bedford Roughyed said:

I don't like the new Cancer Research campaign against obesity, maybe because its aimed at me!  

D-h_KEvW4AAMrDN.jpg

I know how harmful it is.  Walking past a poster like that would be pretty embarrassing.  (though I'd walk faster, so that's an extra calorie or 2).  

It will be right, post Brexit when the famine kicks in along with the disease and pestilence there will be no obese people, only weak and malnourished zombies wandering about. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 28/04/2019 at 16:28, hindle xiii said:

Another thought, low fat foods from the 80s usually means more sugar. Scientific evidence is changing, people have had mixed messages for a while.

To add with this I work with a guy who can not/will not see that putting a tin of tomatoes on to heat with some italian herbs in it whilst frying his mince, then adding it to the tomatoes frying an onion and maybe a pepper in the oil that came out the mince and adding them  (without oil) as well all in the time it takes his pasta to cook will make him a far healthier (and cheaper) mince/pasta dish than buying a Dolmio sauce with all it's added salt&sugar

I was taught to make a white sauce at primary school when about 10 (the dinner ladies used to take a group of 4 yr 6's each week and cook something with them - with me it was macaroni cheese with bacon and tomatoes on top) - he refuses to consider that as a way to make a white sauce for lasagne - you need the white Dolmio for that

My mum did a self build house about 15 years ago, when they were buying the 14 kitchens for the scheme they had a guy come out from the kitchen co - she commented on the "fiddly handles that would get dirty" and he said "oh - you cook with ingredients - how rare"

Those are the kind of reasons we have issues - if people are never taught to cook by either a school or parents then they can't pass those skills on to their children and we have generation brought up thinking that cooking "with ingredients" is a faff, hard, poncy, "for chefs" and instead reaching for the jars/packets of sauce / ready meals with all the things they contain to aid preservation and convenience

 

As an aside said guy does not eat red meat (he uses Turkey mince) and is a bit of an eco warrior - he hates me pointing out every xmas that he can use a dead cow xmas pudding (beef suet) or dead Orangutan (vege suet is palm oil)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Private Baldrick said:

Jeez, how big was the house?????

LOl

 

No it was  deal where the council offered people who had a "right to buy" to give up that right in return for being given land with planning permission on a field at the end of a new estate being built - about 200 applied for 14 places and she got on as her partner (now husband) was a skilled roofer/brickie and she was an accounts clerk who knew how to deal with CIS payments - pretty much the entire of the scheme was taken by tradesmen(women) who had the skills to complete their houses to a really high standard. She kept track of everyone's input etc so they all put in equal effort/resources over the project, one of the other wives was a buyer for a construction firm which helped as well

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, SSoutherner said:

Those are the kind of reasons we have issues - if people are never taught to cook by either a school or parents then they can't pass those skills on to their children and we have generation brought up thinking that cooking "with ingredients" is a faff, hard, poncy, "for chefs" and instead reaching for the jars/packets of sauce / ready meals with all the things they contain to aid preservation and convenience

Yet as a counter point, cooking shows and cookbooks have never been as popular?  

With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Bedford Roughyed said:

Yet as a counter point, cooking shows and cookbooks have never been as popular?  

Yes but a lot of the time they use "poncy" expensive ingredients - they show cooked from scratch meals food as aspirational rather than the everyday norm.

 

The more useful cooking show I remember was a late night one shown in the 90's called "get stuffed" which was basically how to do student cooking on a budget (if you could cope with the presentation style)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3jJb9TgJcg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...most Bake-Off and Saturday Morning cooking progs  seem to be about cake!  Mmmmmmm! ?

 But as I told the doc only last week. I'm not overweight....I'm under tall.

Serious  point though. Being overweight has a negative effect on life expectancy, heart disease, diabetes etc.

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Bedford Roughyed said:

Yet as a counter point, cooking shows and cookbooks have never been as popular?  

Yes. But those are often event meals rather than day to day.

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, SSoutherner said:

Yes but a lot of the time they use "poncy" expensive ingredients - they show cooked from scratch meals food as aspirational rather than the everyday norm.

 

The more useful cooking show I remember was a late night one shown in the 90's called "get stuffed" which was basically how to do student cooking on a budget (if you could cope with the presentation style)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3jJb9TgJcg

Fair point.  I only watch cooking shows while waiting for my Just Eat order to appear!

With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, SSoutherner said:

And when you look at all those heavily butter based sauces and the amount of salt chefs add - not exactly healthy to eat every day

TBH I was thinking of the ones with Tom Kerridge and that gammon faced chancer from master chef. 

With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Bedford Roughyed said:

TBH I was thinking of the ones with Tom Kerridge and that gammon faced chancer from master chef. 

Ahh Tom Kerridge the fine example of a healthy middle aged guy - (he is a self confessed alcoholic who made it to 30 stone before changing his diet)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, JohnM said:

...most Bake-Off and Saturday Morning cooking progs  seem to be about cake!  Mmmmmmm! ?

 But as I told the doc only last week. I'm not overweight....I'm under tall.

Serious  point though. Being overweight has a negative effect on life expectancy, heart disease, diabetes etc.

 

 

 

 

 

I understand that the asian subcontinent heritage people have a predisposition towards diabetes exasperated due to the fact that what we think of as everyday indian food is/was originally banquet food and definately meant to be more rice/less sauce than we ever eat it over here. A lot of takeaway Chicken Tikka Massala and Korma's for example I find taste like puddings they have so much sugar in it (the worst I had was from Marple - it was like spiced treacle with chicken in)

 

As an aside I have realised if I can gain 4 inches to 6'6'' I will be a healthy weight for my height - so that is my goal for this year

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, JohnM said:

he did say most", not all. Most =  the majority. Majority = 50.1 % over 49.9%

Can't believe you didn't go for a 52 48 split...

With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, SSoutherner said:

As an aside I have realised if I can gain 4 inches to 6'6'' I will be a healthy weight for my height - so that is my goal for this year

Suits you

sure-2_black_patent_profile_2.jpg

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Boris looking to cut sugar, salt, alcohol and tobacco taxes. ? finding more ways to give back to his mates.

Rugby Union the only game in the world were the spectators handle the ball more than the players.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.