Nearly ALL Irish adults likely to be overweight by 2030

sideswipe

interesting article and even more interesting opinions expressed in the comments section-

http://www.thejournal.ie/who-obesity-ireland-2086191-May2015/

The consensus seems to be article is BS because there are more people than ever exercising- the gyms are full and there is more of them. There are more cyclists on the road and joggers runners everywhere with multiple races every week.

Personally I believe the WHO predictions- brought my daughter swimming a while back and there was a school group there, so many of the kids were overweight it was actually shocking.

ThisRegard

Problem with people saying it's bull**** is that it's adults they see doing all the exercise. The problem, I think, is going to be kids bringing their childhood obesity into adulthood with them.

durtybit

sideswipe wrote: »

interesting article and even more interesting opinions expressed in the comments section-

http://www.thejournal.ie/who-obesity-ireland-2086191-May2015/

The consensus seems to be article is BS because there are more people than ever exercising- the gyms are full and there is more of them. There are more cyclists on the road and joggers runners everywhere with multiple races every week.

Personally I believe the WHO predictions- brought my daughter swimming a while back and there was a school group there, so many of the kids were overweight it was actually shocking.

Can't predict the weather for the next month but can predict we all will be fat kants by 2030 .. great

PaulieC

It's also down to how "overweight" is defined. If you lower the threshold down to ridiculous levels, then of course 90% of people will be.

That said, there are a serious amount of tubbies out there.

Tefral

Im not surprised. Food education in this country is a joke.

They still have the food pyramid!

tunney

sideswipe wrote: »

interesting article and even more interesting opinions expressed in the comments section-

http://www.thejournal.ie/who-obesity-ireland-2086191-May2015/

The consensus seems to be article is BS because there are more people than ever exercising- the gyms are full and there is more of them. There are more cyclists on the road and joggers runners everywhere with multiple races every week.

Personally I believe the WHO predictions- brought my daughter swimming a while back and there was a school group there, so many of the kids were overweight it was actually shocking.

Exercise, or lack there of, is NOT the main contributing factor of obesity. Over consumption of calories is.

sideswipe

PaulieC wrote: »

It's also down to how "overweight" is defined. If you lower the threshold down to ridiculous levels, then of course 90% of people will be.

That said, there are a serious amount of tubbies out there.

Agreed the BMI model is flawed alright. I heard recently that people with the longest lifespan are generally not the ones in the optimum BMI range but rather the ones classified with slightly above optimum BMI.

sideswipe

tunney wrote: »

Exercise, or lack there of, is NOT the main contributing factor of obesity. Over consumption of calories is.

Totally agree- but what is the answer? Diets don't work, long term anyway.
Kids education had to be invested in, the focus being on good nutrition. Watched a documentary recently called Fedup
well worth a look.

eviltwin

tunney wrote: »

Exercise, or lack there of, is NOT the main contributing factor of obesity. Over consumption of calories is.

This. And part of the problem is people over estimating the impact of exercise. Its unreal how many people think a gentle half hours walk means they can have a guilt free takeaway.

Portion control is another aspect of it.

Anita Blow

sideswipe wrote: »

Agreed the BMI model is flawed alright. I heard recently that people with the longest lifespan are generally not the ones in the optimum BMI range but rather the ones classified with slightly above optimum BMI.

BMI is a perfectly acceptable measure for the general population. It only loses accuracy when you're talking about people with lots of muscle mass. Either way it correlates well with waist circumference measures.

The reason for the meteoric rise in obesity is down to a combo of bad diet and lack of exercise. It's not just portion control, it's the type of food we eat. Food in Ireland tends to be sugar-laden which results in leptin and insulin resistance and that accelerates weight gain.
You may see many people exercising, but very few people are doing it with the frequency and intensity required. About 7% of adults who report walking as their main form of exercise are actually achieving the 150 mins/week of moderate intensity exercise that they're meant to be. Kids should be getting 60 mins a day but they rarely do because of videogames/tvs/parent attitudes towards safety playing outside. The evidence shows that the attitudes toward exercise and eating developed during childhood years stick for life and are very hard to change in adulthood.

Source: I'm a Physio

Mr_Muffin

Parents really must restrain from giving their children the wrong foods - if there's one stage in a persons life where the shouldn't be overweight its when they are a child. Children are just to active. I know plenty of parents with overweight children and they just seem to keep on getting bigger, it's really unfair on the child seeming as there main source of food is what their parents choose to give them.

I'm not saying it's easy, we all know how children are and fast food/sweets are everywhere. With vending machines in the swimming pools and schools and cheap junk available everywhere at home is the one place they should be getting a decent meal.

hardCopy

sideswipe wrote: »

Totally agree- but what is the answer? Diets don't work, long term anyway.
Kids education had to be invested in, the focus being on good nutrition. Watched a documentary recently called Fedup
well worth a look.

eviltwin wrote: »

This. And part of the problem is people over estimating the impact of exercise. Its unreal how many people think a gentle half hours walk means they can have a guilt free takeaway.

Portion control is another aspect of it.

Even intensive exercise can be ineffective or unsustainable. Plenty of exercise junkies are only one off-season or injury away from re-inflating. Plenty more still who have no problem cycling 100s of kilometres but still can't shift the weight.

Responsible food choices have to be made every day. Education about good nutrition is crucial but it's only a first step. I think a psychological approach is needed for a lot of people to change their behaviours.

sideswipe

Mr_Muffin wrote: »

Parents really must restrain from giving there children the wrong foods - if there's one stage in a persons life where the shouldn't be overweight its when they are a child. Children are just to active. I know plenty of parents with overweight children and they just seem to keep on getting bigger, it's really unfair on the child seeming as there main source of food is what their parents choose to give them.

I'm not saying it's easy, we all know how children are and fast food/sweets are everywhere. With vending machines in the swimming pools and schools and cheap junk available everywhere at home is the one place they should be getting a decent meal.

This reminds me of a conversation I had with my 72 year old mother about my 5 year olds eating habits- I told my daughter she couldn't have x treat because it was only junk. My daughter asked why (she's 5 and why is her favourite word:) ) I told her it was full of sugar and eating too much junk food make us unhealthy and fat. My mother winced, pulled me aside and said I shouldn't use the 'fat' word as it could give her an eating disorder.
I thought a lot about the conversation later on- the conclusion I came to is there are more dangers from not making kids aware of the dangers and effects of eating junk from a young age than there are from giving them a complex.

Inventive User Name

It's horrid annoying when BMI is quoted, the common response (as mentioned in the comments) is ''in that case, Brian O'Driscoll (or whatever rugby player you can come with) would be obese!''. Yes, but are you seriously making a comparison between an elite athlete and the average overweight person on the street?

libelula

Not exactly the PC answer, but personally I think allowing a child to be obese is not a huge distance from child abuse.
Giving kids food and junk, and allowing them to be inactive is a well known long-term health damager. It's just not acceptable behaviour from their primary care-givers.

average_runner

sideswipe wrote: »

Totally agree- but what is the answer? Diets don't work, long term anyway.
Kids education had to be invested in, the focus being on good nutrition. Watched a documentary recently called Fedup
well worth a look.

Educate yourself is what works, learn to cook from scratch with spices etc.

Remember veg should dominate your plate, excluding potato

SF12

I'm not normally found here - but I've been bombarded by the "you will all be fat by 2030" headlines this morning too.
I do agree, I think they're right. For many reasons. I'm also the mother of a small baby, and trying to find my way in the morass of conflicting information about food. We do loads of fruit and veg and meat, all homemade and she's a decent eater but I feel this is the easy part at this age....
I think it's about education, but it's also changing habits. We don't have to open the fridge every time we walk past it. We don't/shouldn't sit in front of a TV with the packet of biscuits/bag of supersize crisps etc, because they will all be eaten. We don't need to snack all day long. It's a bad habit we have got into (by "we" I'm talking about people we know and us as a nation).
I really think we have got to the stage where we need to start banning vending machines in schools/hospitals and some sports areas, and give serious consideration to having a "no fast-food" zone around schools. And I know there are people who will be mortally offended by that, but what we are doing now is clearly not working. I see kids at a pool, having done a 45 minute swimming lesson and they go straight out of the changing room and are given a "treat" from the vending machine of an (adult sized) energy drink, or a Mars Bar etc. Why on earth would you do that??? The whole "well done, you did exercise, let's have a reward" thought process is ridiculous.
As I've heard in recent years,healthy eating isn't "being on a diet" it's just the way you should eat. I'm no saint, but I do my best to stick to that.

tunney

sideswipe wrote: »

Totally agree- but what is the answer? Diets don't work, long term anyway.
Kids education had to be invested in, the focus being on good nutrition. Watched a documentary recently called Fedup
well worth a look.

Remove the catch all support of the health system.
Obsess? Hard luck, pay full whack for health care. Oh you can't? Oppppps, you're dead.

sideswipe

tunney wrote: »

Remove the catch all support of the health system.
Obsess? Hard luck, pay full whack for health care. Oh you can't? Oppppps, you're dead.

While I do kind of agree with you, this won't work.
I have spent a lot of time visiting my Dad in hospital the last 2 weeks and was shocked by the amount of people being wheeled around having had there lower limbs amputated- saw 5 different people. Thought there must have been a spate of land mines! Turns out its associated with type 2 diabetes and it's complications, scary stuff.

average_runner

tunney wrote: »

Remove the catch all support of the health system.
Obsess? Hard luck, pay full whack for health care. Oh you can't? Oppppps, you're dead.

I like this approach, but we have to enforce it in alot of other areas also

Goshen

Fatties gonna take ova da world!

Goshen

tunney wrote: »

Remove the catch all support of the health system.
Obsess? Hard luck, pay full whack for health care. Oh you can't? Oppppps, you're dead.

Obsess?

Goshen

Goshen wrote: »

Obsess?

I think I had that. Antibiotics sorted it.

walshb

Overweight, and probably a bit happier. Not following poxy diets and denying themselves food they love and crave.

menoscemo

average_runner wrote: »

Educate yourself is what works, learn to cook from scratch with spices etc.

Remember veg should dominate your plate, excluding potato

When did the humble spud get such a bad reputation? Seriously....
For centuries the Irish survived on a diet of Spuds, butter and milk and they were well known as the most healthy 'peasants' in Europe. Throw in the odd bit of fruit and possibly meat once in a while and it's a pretty compete diet. Now all the hipsters are having sweet potaotes flown all the way from China :rolleyes:

/Rant over...carry on

walshb

menoscemo wrote: »

When did the humble spud get such a bad reputation? Seriously....
For centuries the Irish survived on a diet of Spuds, butter and milk and they were well known as the most healthy 'peasants' in Europe. Throw in the odd bit of fruit and possibly meat once in a while and it's a pretty compete diet. Now all the hipsters are having sweet potaotes flown all the way from China :rolleyes:

Spot on. Spuds are a super food. Maybe it's how people are cooking and adding to the potato that is not all that good. Fried and loaded with butter etc. But on its own it's a great choice.

ThisRegard

walshb wrote: »

Overweight, and probably a bit happier. Not following poxy diets and denying themselves food they love and crave.

Thing is you don't have to be dieting in the first place, and can still enjoy food you love, as long as you exercise and eat within reason.

walshb

ThisRegard wrote: »

Thing is you don't have to be dieting in the first place, and can still enjoy food you love, as long as you exercise and eat within reason.

That's solid advice, but unfortunately many cannot adhere to it. I despise the word diet. Healthier, and smaller portion choices and better activity levels is all that is needed. Banning certain foods or groups for no valid reason also bugs me.

SpaceTime

It'll plateau at some point I think they're extrapolating a little too far

TFBubendorfer

SpaceTime wrote: »

It'll plateau at some point I think they're extrapolating a little too far

Yup. As always.

PucaMama

tunney wrote:

Remove the catch all support of the health system.
Obsess? Hard luck, pay full whack for health care. Oh you can't? Oppppps, you're dead.

Why stop at the overweight people?
Do you enjoy a drink? Oh well no healthcare for you so
Do you smoke? No healthcare for you so

tunney

PucaMama wrote: »

Why stop at the overweight people?
Do you enjoy a drink? Oh well no healthcare for you so
Do you smoke? No healthcare for you so

I agree completely. Sensible.

Chivito550

The article says 89% of Irish men will be overweight in 2030, then further down the page it says 49% and mentions obesity declining. I'm as against obesity as you'll find, and the denial of people is sickening, but to be fair, it's a poorly put together amateurish article.

rom

walshb wrote: »

That's solid advice, but unfortunately many cannot adhere to it. I despise the word diet. Healthier, and smaller portion choices and better activity levels is all that is needed. Banning certain foods or groups for no valid reason also bugs me.

+1

Banning something outright is silly. However if you make a choice to say only drink outside of home rather than having the beers or bottle of wine 2/3 nights a week at home it makes a big difference. Also you are not boycotting social occasions as a result. I was talking to a guy I work with who is good friends with the 2014 UTMB winner and he was saying that he has a small glass of red wine every night.

Was talking to another guy at work yesterday that is trying to get fit and he was saying his wife loves biscuits. My wife does too but there is a huge difference between having one and a packet.

You can still enjoy life without eating to excess (not clearing your plate everytime) , drinking to excess (leaving before the pub closes or leave the rest of the wine or beer for another day). Moderation is key not abstaining.

DarkJager

To the people suggesting that someone overweight should pay more for healthcare than them - unless you are personally going to hospitals and paying for them out of your pocket, shut the **** up.

hardCopy

Chivito550 wrote: »

The article says 89% of Irish men will be overweight in 2030, then further down the page it says 49% and mentions obesity declining. I'm as against obesity as you'll find, and the denial of people is sickening, but to be fair, it's a poorly put together amateurish article.

Obese and overweight are clinical terms for two different bands on the BMI scale. The article seems to use the term overweight to include both the Overweight and Obese categories, i.e. Obese as a subset of overweight people.

It should really read 40% will be overweight and 49% obese.

PucaMama

tunney wrote:

I agree completely. Sensible.

Right so, new policy is effective lets extend it
Have unprotected sex? No healthcare for you
Enjoy driving a nice fast car/motorbike? No healthcare for you.
Enjoy lots and lots of exercise? No healthcare for you ( I took care of a person who had serious heart issues due to over doing their sports
See where I'm going?

hardCopy

PucaMama wrote: »

Right so, new policy is effective lets extend it
Have unprotected sex? No healthcare for you
Enjoy driving a nice fast car/motorbike? No healthcare for you.
Enjoy lots and lots of exercise? No healthcare for you ( I took care of a person who had serious heart issues due to over doing their sports
See where I'm going?

What will probably happen if we move to a model of universal health insurance is that people will receive discounted insurance if they don't smoke, stay at a recommended weight, exercise regularly, drive a safe car etc.

BlatentCheek

Chivito550 wrote: »

The article says 89% of Irish men will be overweight in 2030, then further down the page it says 49% and mentions obesity declining. I'm as against obesity as you'll find, and the denial of people is sickening, but to be fair, it's a poorly put together amateurish article.

In The Journal? never!

For a more insightful view the issue this is worth a look, though I think he's a little blasé about being overweight himself:

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/there-are-worse-things-in-this-world-than-being-fat-says-irish-obesity-expert-1.2182656

walshb

rom wrote: »

+1
You can still enjoy life without eating to excess (not clearing your plate everytime) , drinking to excess (leaving before the pub closes or leave the rest of the wine or beer for another day). Moderation is key not abstaining.

A lot of people ban one or more foods from their diet (and become moany and whingey for it) and replace it with 'healthier' options, but continue to eat to excess and wonder how the scales is the same or going up? It's simple: Portion size. Get out and move and reduce your portion size. That is key.

rom

DarkJager wrote: »

To the people suggesting that someone overweight should pay more for healthcare than them - unless you are personally going to hospitals and paying for them out of your pocket, shut the **** up.

In a way you would be. If it was the case where everyone paid the same car insurance rather than the premium being set due to age and experience, NCB etc then we would all be paying probably 6-700 a year.

My house is in an area that is prone to flooding and subsidence as as a result I pay more even though I am about 30m above sea/river level. Its how all other insurance works.

PucaMama

at least then people might stop bitching about overweight people as it might finally hit home that it's really none of their business

hardCopy wrote:

What will probably happen if we move to a model of universal health insurance is that people will receive discounted insurance if they don't smoke, stay at a recommended weight, exercise regularly, drive a safe car etc.

walshb

We need to stop bitching and moaning and wasting time and money about anyone who is below 30 and above 25 on the BMI scale. Big deal. It's called life.

sideswipe

Chivito550 wrote: »

The article says 89% of Irish men will be overweight in 2030, then further down the page it says 49% and mentions obesity declining. I'm as against obesity as you'll find, and the denial of people is sickening, but to be fair, it's a poorly put together amateurish article.

Agreed it's not the best article and is probably more 'click bate' than anything else. But it is a very important debate.

tunney

DarkJager wrote: »

To the people suggesting that someone overweight should pay more for healthcare than them - unless you are personally going to hospitals and paying for them out of your pocket, shut the **** up.

But we do out of taxation.

People make a choice to live an unhealthy lifestyle. Let them fund the full cost and take theconsequences - rather than continuing the reverse darwinism that society appears to cherish above all else these days

average_runner

PucaMama wrote: »

Why stop at the overweight people?
Do you enjoy a drink? Oh well no healthcare for you so
Do you smoke? No healthcare for you so

Because drinking in moderation is no harm, smoking yes!

average_runner

DarkJager wrote: »

To the people suggesting that someone overweight should pay more for healthcare than them - unless you are personally going to hospitals and paying for them out of your pocket, shut the **** up.

But we are out of pocket because of them, as its our tax and health insurance that covers it. So go on a diet

sideswipe

SpaceTime wrote: »

It'll plateau at some point I think they're extrapolating a little too far

Probably, but if they are only 50% right there is still a huge problem.

PucaMama

average_runner wrote:

But we are out of pocket because of them, as its our tax and health insurance that covers it. So go on a diet

Don't talk bs. The tax will still be taken off you whether it's for an overweight persons healthcare or not. The only good in your comment is it doesn't have any of that faux concern for the health of overweight people.

Phoebas

tunney wrote: »

Exercise, or lack there of, is NOT the main contributing factor of obesity. Over consumption of calories is.

Still, a 10k run = c. a bottle of wine.

A bargain.

ThisRegard

PucaMama wrote: »

Don't talk bs. The tax will still be taken off you whether it's for an overweight persons healthcare or not. The only good in your comment is it doesn't have any of that faux concern for the health of overweight people.

It gets taken off you regardless, yes. But where it gets spent, particularly in health care, depends a lot on the health of the population.