Obesity

[Gaz]

22 minutes ago, Dee Man said:

Not sure number1 is anymore prevalent than it was in years gone by. There were always stories going round at primary school every so often about a suspicious looking car going around outside the school with a dodgy looking guy in it or a van bundling kids away. The headmaster would read out a warning at assembly for everyone to be vigilant on their way home, making the solo journey once you had split from your mates utterly terrifying. Anytime you saw a van or a yellow/red/blue car or whatever the vague description of the day was, you'd be checking out the driver to see if he was shifty and looking in your direction to see if you had to get your sprint on. 

I think the only difference nowadays is that there is a name for these child predators. 

Nah, I'd disagree with that. 24-hour rolling news coverage wasn't a thing back then, so there wasn't a need for media companies to over-sensationalise to fill airtime. Again, this is anecdotal, but me and my mates were out playing football from lunchtime to dinner time and then again until nighttime. That doesn't happen to the same extent.

I'd also add as an addendum to my earlier list:

6) The increasing immersiveness of video games, and the (supposed) viability of being a professional gamer. I have taught pupils who spend every free minute playing FIFA or Fortnite because they are convinced they are going to make it in the world of e-sports. Similar for YouTubers.

[Dee Man]

2 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

Not sure how old you are, but I think we were a lot freer when I was a kid. Used to spend the whole summer playing down Grangemouth docks when there were still cargo boats coming in, cadging fags off sailors and building rafts. Never got buggered or drowned once, thankfully. In my experience parents are much more paranoid now, given the minuscule chances of stranger abductions etc, which are just as rare now as they were then. We were also on alert for predators, teachers as well as strangers, running away scared but giggling about the absurd creep.

You and Gaz may well be right about paranoid parents nowadays but I can't say I've ever noticed it. Any parents I know are desperate to get their kids off the computers and out the doors. 

[Dee Man]

Just now, Gaz said:

Nah, I'd disagree with that. 24-hour rolling news coverage wasn't a thing back then, so there wasn't a need for media companies to over-sensationalise to fill airtime. Again, this is anecdotal, but me and my mates were out playing football from lunchtime to dinner time and then again until nighttime. That doesn't happen to the same extent.

I'd also add as an addendum to my earlier list:

6) The increasing immersiveness of video games, and the (supposed) viability of being a professional gamer. I have taught pupils who spend every free minute playing FIFA or Fortnite because they are convinced they are going to make it in the world of e-sports. Similar for YouTubers.

I'd say your two points are inextricably linked there - kids aren't outdoors all the time due to being on their consoles so much.

At a guess I'd say the number one reason for childhood obesity is lack of exercise due to so much time spent on PlayStations and Xboxs. 

[Ross.]

Somewhat of a running joke here, but generally speaking whenever you see someone who is obese in Switzerland, there is a high chance they are British, American or German. I think diet plays a huge part. The Swiss don't have the same drinking culture, and are far more likely to cook at home than to get a takeaway. I have generally always been quite active throughout my adult life, whether working in jobs that require a lot of physical effort, playing football, going to the gym or running, but my diet was fairly abysmal. When I moved here, the only thing that really changed was my diet. I bevvy a lot less and eat far more fresh produce and home cooked meals. Net result was that I lost around 2 stone within 6 months of getting here. That has changed a bit as my exercise habits have changed, but I have consistently carried a fair bit less timber than I ever did when I was living in Scotland.

[Slacker]

3 hours ago, ICTChris said:

Are you obese and will you be slimming down due to the pandemic?

I put weight on throughout lockdown that officially gave me an 'obese' BMI reading, through not exercising at all and eating whenever and whatever I wanted. Have been cutting out alcohol and junk food this month (plus I just had a nasty case of cold sores that made it hard to eat for a while) and now I have a BMI of 28.7 - so now back to 'overweight'. Hoping to drop another stone and a half in the  next few months. Once I'm committed to losing weight I actually find it quite easy to do, but for some reason finding the motivation to actually do it can be difficult. 

Good luck to any fellow fatties. 

[Dons_1988]

Worth pointing out that BMI is a very limited measure and should be taken with a pinch of salt (insert diet joke here). Not sure why it gets used so often in these discussions. Not that I'm saying there isn't an obesity problem, there clearly is. But due to my build (Not the tallest but fairly broad) my BMI is always higher than average for my height and tend to get branded overweight even when I'm pretty thin.

 

 

[Northboy]

For some the sheer availability of food is a factor these days. Town centres are full of shops, cafes and snack bars opening early where you can grab a 'hearty' breakfast on your way to work and stock up on snacks for through the day then maybe repeat at lunchtime. Then there's always someone who will bring in Friday treats, birthday treats, somebody leaving treats etc. Twenty years ago these type of eating patterns didn't exist the same extent.

[Guest JTS98]

3 hours ago, Dons_1988 said:

Office life is dreadful for physical health.

Despite the fact it's sedentary by it's very nature, the amount of shite people eat out of boredom (cake being the highlight of a lot of people's day) encourages it. Add in commuting time and people are left to squeeze 45 minutes at the gym into what's left of their evening, and often decide they can't be arsed to.

 

Aye. That’s a lot of the focus of the article. Exercising is seen as an add on to life rather than physical activity being an integral part of the day. 

Its hard to fit in/be bothered to exercise. This is a challenge of the modern job. 

[coprolite]

2 hours ago, Dons_1988 said:

Worth pointing out that BMI is a very limited measure and should be taken with a pinch of salt (insert diet joke here). Not sure why it gets used so often in these discussions. Not that I'm saying there isn't an obesity problem, there clearly is. But due to my build (Not the tallest but fairly broad) my BMI is always higher than average for my height and tend to get branded overweight even when I'm pretty thin.

 

 

Big bones

[itzdrk]

3 hours ago, Jacksgranda said:

Christians?

FTFY

[ScottR96]

2 hours ago, Slacker said:

I put weight on throughout lockdown that officially gave me an 'obese' BMI reading, through not exercising at all and eating whenever and whatever I wanted. Have been cutting out alcohol and junk food this month (plus I just had a nasty case of cold sores that made it hard to eat for a while) and now I have a BMI of 28.7 - so now back to 'overweight'. Hoping to drop another stone and a half in the  next few months. Once I'm committed to losing weight I actually find it quite easy to do, but for some reason finding the motivation to actually do it can be difficult. 

Good luck to any fellow fatties. 

I used the lockdown to my advantage and decided to lose weight. I was absolutely enormous. Frankly, I was never going to get a better opportunity than them closing the pubs/restaurants and working from home meant I wasn’t tempted by fast food for lunch. Also started walking daily which helped too. Think I’ve shifted about 3 and a half stone. Like yourself, once I got into it I found it to be a piece of piss. 

[ICTJohnboy]

3 hours ago, Dee Man said:

Not sure number1 is anymore prevalent than it was in years gone by. There were always stories going round at primary school every so often about a suspicious looking car going around outside the school with a dodgy looking guy in it or a van bundling kids away. The headmaster would read out a warning at assembly for everyone to be vigilant on their way home, making the solo journey once you had split from your mates utterly terrifying. Anytime you saw a van or a yellow/red/blue car or whatever the vague description of the day was, you'd be checking out the driver to see if he was shifty and looking in your direction to see if you had to get your sprint on. 

I think the only difference nowadays is that there is a name for these child predators. 

 

Reminds me about the Glasgow guy who was out looking up and down the street for his weans an' that.

Eventually he spots them - 2 boys, one was dragging a chair behind him and the other one pushing a settee. 

"Where did youse get these from?" he shouts at his boys. "A man gave us them" replied the older boy. He gets a belt across the ear from his dad and an explanation..... "What have I telt youse boys about taking suites aff strangers"..! 

[Dee Man]

29 minutes ago, ICTJohnboy said:

 

Reminds me about the Glasgow guy who was out looking up and down the street for his weans an' that.

Eventually he spots them - 2 boys, one was dragging a chair behind him and the other one pushing a settee. 

"Where did youse get these from?" he shouts at his boys. "A man gave us them" replied the older boy. He gets a belt across the ear from his dad and an explanation..... "What have I telt youse boys about taking suites aff strangers"..! 

 

[Jacksgranda]

2 hours ago, Northboy said:

For some the sheer availability of food is a factor these days. Town centres are full of shops, cafes and snack bars opening early where you can grab a 'hearty' breakfast on your way to work and stock up on snacks for through the day then maybe repeat at lunchtime. Then there's always someone who will bring in Friday treats, birthday treats, somebody leaving treats etc. Twenty years ago these type of eating patterns didn't exist the same extent.

Really?

[TheScarf]

Fat people are disgusting.

[coprolite]

10 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

Fat people are disgusting.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/aug/30/demoted-dismissed-weight-size-ceiling-work-discrimination

https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2015/05/the-effects-of-weight-related-bullying

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.wholekitchensink.com/my-experience-with-childhood-obesity/&ved=2ahUKEwjov5e2tvXqAhUTnVwKHfvdBXo4FBAWMAJ6BAgHEAE&usg=AOvVaw2a54GU7jys4sDpIglIbfXE

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/fat-shaming-kids-may-make-them-even-more-overweight-2019-05-30&ved=2ahUKEwiUlpKYtvXqAhVMQEEAHalTCXk4ChAWMAV6BAgDEAE&usg=AOvVaw12N9n9lUN7r2xN2jjCZE3P

 

https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/feelings-overweight.html

https://www.webmd.com/parenting/raising-fit-kids/weight/talk-obesity-bullying

[throbber]

4 hours ago, TheScarf said:

Fat people are disgusting.

This is a good part of the problem tbh. Fat people have their problems like everyone else does but they are the ones who show it most on the outside for all to see and when society decides that they are disgusting then that will lead to more insecurities and in some cases the only way to feel better about themselves is to eat more. 

[Theroadlesstravelled]

5 hours ago, TheScarf said:

people are disgusting.

 

[engelbert_humperdink]

6 hours ago, ICTJohnboy said:

 

Reminds me about the Glasgow guy who was out looking up and down the street for his weans an' that.

Eventually he spots them - 2 boys, one was dragging a chair behind him and the other one pushing a settee. 

"Where did youse get these from?" he shouts at his boys. "A man gave us them" replied the older boy. He gets a belt across the ear from his dad and an explanation..... "What have I telt youse boys about taking suites aff strangers"..! 

Is that you Norm macdonald 

[Academically Deficient]

Heard some boffins discuss this on the radio. UK, USA and Canada, when compared with other countries, are fatter for historical and cultural reasons apparently.

We share several characteristics that are not shared with France, Spain, Italy, Korea etc.

We industrialised early with massive knock on consequences which include:

We eat much faster

We eat alone 

We eat in front of the telly

We value being full up 

We prefer cheap food over quality.

In summary, we've been conditioned to see food as a way of fuelling ourselves for hard physical labour in a time conscious world, even though many of us sit on our arses all day.