Has Ireland become fat like the US and UK?

XplaygirlX

Just curious as to weather Ireland has become like the US and UK considering weight gain. Like with so many talk aways amd people [especially children] not getting enough exercise and stayin in all day playing video games etc... And also not to mention the meals/food that today's society or Irish people eat. So, what are everyone's opinions on this topic? Or is it to controversial? If would be nice to hear peoples opinions though

Herb Powell

We were catching up apparenlty, but we have a long way to go, especially compared with the US.

Though last I read, obesity in children was back on the decrease. So nah.

KingBrian2

Yes fatness is everywhere.

The Moldy Gowl

Ireland is a ****ing inanimate ****ing object.
But due to coastal erosion it is losing mass.

tomwaterford

KingBrian2 wrote: »

Yes fatness is everywhere.

Including the mirror :,(

kneemos

I'm getting fatter.

Mr.Carter

Definitely...I watched a kid about 10 devour a jumbo-breakfast roll and carry a 1.5 litre of Coke as he walked into a local school one morning, and what he going to do for the next 6hrs...nothing but sit down. Tis sad but crap food is cheaper and more available than health food.

darkpagandeath

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/ireland-set-to-be-most-obese-country-in-europe-who-says-1.2201731

I thought Ireland was the Fattest country in the EU already. Well we nearly are.

lazeedaisy

Depends who you ask,

Why not watch Ray D'arcy, he will be quick to tell you

Fleawuss

I'm eating some All Blacks with a nice Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Very fattening.

tomwaterford

lazeedaisy wrote: »

Depends who you ask,

Why not watch Ray D'arcy, he will be quick to tell you

Last I saw of Ray darcy he was on a truly bizarre programe on rte with people and dogs....please say I'm not the only one to have seen that

Hande hoche!

Really regretting the Chinese takeaway now.

Azalea

Bound to have become fatter I'd say, because of significantly increased portion sizes.
There's less physical activity with more cars on the road, but on the other hand, running has become hugely popular. I don't think physical activity is as much of a concern when it comes to weight, as diet. Exercise is more for other aspects of wellbeing. Only very extreme exercise can combat excessive calorie consumption
.

We're not at US scooter-requiring levels though.

Hande hoche!

Hatless wrote: »

Bound to have become fatter I'd say, because of significantly increased portion sizes.
There's less physical activity with more cars on the road, but on the other hand, running has become hugely popular. I don't think physical activity is as much of a concern when it comes to weight, as diet. Exercise is more for other aspects of wellbeing. Only very extreme exercise can combat excessive calorie consumption
.

We're not at US scooter-requiring levels though.

That's a good point, the reduction in calorie expenditure is less important than the increase in calorie consumption in terms of obesity rates.

Letree

I just noticed 4 good looking girls today that i haven't seen in a while and all of them had put on a fair bit of weight.

blackbird 49

Yes, I seen a child in tesco about 2 weeks ago aged no more than 4 could of being younger but with the amount of fat couldn't really tell, what I presume was her mother and grandmother were with her, could really tell who where her role models, they weren't thin either, very sad to see

strelok

it's ok, we'll just sweat it all off when the climate heats up even further

Rackstar

Letree wrote: »

I just noticed 4 good looking girls today that i haven't seen in a while and all of them had put on a fair bit of weight.

You still would though, wouldn't you?

catbear

One of the most depressing sights I ever witnessed was in a canary island airport where the obvious obesity of the queue for the flight to Ireland compared to the flight to Germany was my "**** we're really fat" moment and that was almost ten years ago!
We have a problem and we're in denial about it.
Loads of my friends in their 40s have developed type 2 diabetes and they continue on consuming as if they have no say in the matter. There is definitely a willful self neglect at play.

We need more fat threads, it's just not discussed enough.

strelok

Candie wrote: »

We need more fat threads, it's just not discussed enough.

feel free not to post in any of them

Anita Blow

As it stands in Ireland:
- 42% of men & 30% of women are obese (IE- Have a BMI >30. Does not include those who are overweight with a BMI 25-29.9)
For men that's a 400% increase from the 10% rate in 1990.
- In children, 19% of 9 year olds are overweight and a further 7% are obese. Same figures for 3 year olds

strelok

strelok wrote: »

feel free not to post in any of them

Will do, thanks.

Lia_lia

Whenever I go to other countries (well, except the US and UK ) I do tend to notice how slim everyone is. Maybe if it was hotter we would be slimmer. That doesn't work for America really though!

My Dad (who has lived in France for 20+ years) is always saying how French people are "turning into Americans" and are getting much fatter. So it's not just here.

How Soon Is Now

Letree wrote: »

I just noticed 4 good looking girls today that i haven't seen in a while and all of them had put on a fair bit of weight.

Any pics?

BMJD

I really don't believe those reports that claim we are a load of fat bastards. They seem to equate a slight beer belly on us with those enormous fat blubber monsters that are all over the US. Take a walk pretty much anywhere in the US and you will see morbidly obese people everywhere, over here it's nowhere near as common. In the UK, they aren't too far behind the Americans either, especially in poorer areas.

uch

I'd be more concerned about inactivity, some fat people are really fit, myself included, but sitting in front of a games console all day is more of a problem IMO

whatismyname

Fatness? Yeah it's become a massive problem

Junkyard Tom

Yo Momma so fat she affect the tides.

Mr.Carter

How many say this? I'm just big boned
https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/775361/365199.jpg

uch

Mr.Carter wrote: »

How many say this? I'm just big boned
https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/775361/365199.jpg

I've a big Bone but I'm still fat

4zn76tysfajdxp

Mr.Carter wrote: »

I watched a kid about 10 devour a jumbo-breakfast roll and carry a 1.5 litre of Coke as he walked into a local school one morning, and what he going to do for the next 6hrs...

Fart.

Wibbs

Meh, IMH this idea of the growing fatness is very much a localised scary meme we buy into. Yes, people are getting fatter in the west, but to the degree we require little motorised scooters to get around? Not so much. Unless; Merica. Even there the "threat" is overblown. Makes for good copy in the media mind you.

Take Europe. The Spanish have the fattest kids at the moment, yet they're apparently skinner than we are. Well they have the highest rates of anorexia and bulimia in the EU last time I looked. I did read an interesting stat looking at women's weight across age groups in Europe. Yes your Italian/Spanish/French woman at 20 is on average skinnier than the average Irish/British woman at that age, but fast forward to 30 or 40 and the weight results match up. Or put it another way, you'll get less of a shock if you marry an Irish woman as the years pass. And that's before we look at the men. Men across Europe are likely in general to be more obese as far as the measurements go.

Tarzana2

eminemlover wrote: »

Just curious as to weather Ireland has become like the US and UK considering weight gain. Like with so many talk aways amd people [especially children] not getting enough exercise and stayin in all day playing video games etc... And also not to mention the meals/food that today's society or Irish people eat. So, what are everyone's opinions on this topic? Or is it to controversial? If would be nice to hear peoples opinions though

Definitely not controversial, par for the course on AH. :pac:

We're nowhere close to the US and thank fook for that.

howdoyouknow

eminemlover wrote: »

Just curious as to weather Ireland has become like the US and UK considering weight gain. Like with so many talk aways amd people [especially children] not getting enough exercise and stayin in all day playing video games etc... And also not to mention the meals/food that today's society or Irish people eat. So, what are everyone's opinions on this topic? Or is it to controversial? If would be nice to hear peoples opinions though

Yes yeah aye and all other words of agreement with the opening post title

Tarzana2

Mr.Carter wrote: »

Tis sad but crap food is cheaper and more available than health food.

Oh no you di'int!!!! You will be eaten alive for making that statement on AH.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Lia_lia wrote: »

Whenever I go to other countries (well, except the US and UK ) I do tend to notice how slim everyone is. Maybe if it was hotter we would be slimmer. That doesn't work for America really though!

My Dad (who has lived in France for 20+ years) is always saying how French people are "turning into Americans" and are getting much fatter. So it's not just here.

Generally speaking, the Irish (along with the UK and US) live more sedantary lifestlyes. Lots of driving and long hours at work, whereas the continentals walk and cycle a lot more and take more time off work. That, for me, is the big difference.

Tarzana2

darkpagandeath wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/ireland-set-to-be-most-obese-country-in-europe-who-says-1.2201731

I thought Ireland was the Fattest country in the EU already. Well we nearly are.

From the article:

In 2030, the proportion of obese and overweight men in Ireland is projected to rise to 89 per cent with a corresponding 85 per cent of women falling into this category.

That seems unlikely. Hard to it seriously.

garrixfan

Not really, everyone and their mother seems to be part of the #irishfitfam movement these days. I rarely notice fat people tbh

Tarzana2

BMJD wrote: »

I really don't believe those reports that claim we are a load of fat bastards. They seem to equate a slight beer belly on us with those enormous fat blubber monsters that are all over the US. Take a walk pretty much anywhere in the US and you will see morbidly obese people everywhere, over here it's nowhere near as common. In the UK, they aren't too far behind the Americans either, especially in poorer areas.

Well, obesity starts at lower weights than you'd think.

I'm not overweight, and I would only need to gain two stone to become obese, as I'm short.

But yeah, I still double take at the sight of morbidly obese people.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Tarzana2 wrote: »

From the article:



That seems unlikely. Hard to it seriously.

The definition is a bit unfair. Apparently, anything over 25% BMI is overweight and over 30% is obese.

To put that into persepective: if you're male and 5'9", you're overwieght at 12 stone 2; and obese at 14 stone 7.

Tarzana2

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

The definition is a bit unfair. Apparently, anything over 25% BMI is overweight and over 30% is obese.

To put that into persepective: if you're male and 5'9", you're overwieght at 12 stone 2; and obese at 14 stone 7.

I dunno, people say BMI isn't an accurate barometer, but IMO, unless you're a pro athlete, it's a fairly good indicator. Certainly is for me anyway. When it says I've entered the overweight category, I correspondingly certainly look a bit chubby. And when I was tipping into the obese BMI category, I definitely looked very overweight. People think obese is being morbidly obese but it starts way before that.

petrolcan

When my son was 18 months old he was classed as overweight. The 'charts' didn't take into account his height for age.

Fúck BMI.

Tarzana2

petrolcan wrote: »

When my son was 18 months old he was classed as overweight. The 'charts' didn't take into account his height for age.

Fúck BMI.

When you work it out for adults, they ask for your height. It's not perfect, but not way off like people make out.

KungPao

We are on our way. We drink way too much, eat too much rubbish, but we are not near the American levels yet. They are addicted to 'soda' and 'chips' and everything is full of corn syrup. Then they have scary portion sizes and are so blasé about being fat. Scary stuff.

And the 'less active' thing doesn't wash for me. I have been doing feck all exercise the last few months and have been losing weight. The magic trick? Drinking less alcohol and cutting out (well, 90% of it at least) takeaway rubbish. And pretty much giving up fizzy soft drinks.

Burning 200 calories is hard, hard work...work undone with one pint or a bag of crisps.

KungPao

I had a quick look at Walmart's site to maybe see why the US is so bad. This page is a default page showing the latest deals on "food". Good lord. ALL processed, high calorie garbage.

A similar page on Tesco or Aldi or whatever here would have deals on steak, veg, and some ****e of course, but way more balanced. Hopefully it stays that way.

garrixfan

KungPao wrote: »

I had a quick look at Walmart's site to maybe see why the US is so bad. This page is a default page showing the latest deals on "food". Good lord. ALL processed, high calorie garbage.

A similar page on Tesco or Aldi or whatever here would have deals on steak, veg, and some ****e of course, but way more balanced. Hopefully it stays that way.

Hahah yeh you literally cannot compare the two cultures, polar opposites, be a long long time until Ireland matched the US. You very very very very rarely see the tubs of lard that exist in the US in Ireland(or anywhere else in Europe..although apparently the Brits are getting there.

gormdubhgorm

I think Ireland is not as bad as the US but the problem is eh "growing".

The first level is a culture of what I call "fat acceptance" it can be seen in my discussions on the subject here on boards.ie. Then after the "fat acceptance" has reached it's zenith then Ireland will finally have reached US levels.

SeaDaily

A lot of people in this thread saying we aren't as bad as the US as if that's something to be proud of. I'd hope that we aren't as bad as the worst country in the world for obesity...

Tarzana2

gormdubhgorm wrote: »

The first level is a culture of what I call "fat acceptance" it can be seen in my discussions on the subject here on boards.ie.

Give some recent examples. Or hell, even older examples. And examples of actual fat acceptance, not just examples where people are suggesting to not be dicks to people who are overweight. Because that's not fat acceptance. That's just having a modicum of empathy.

Chain Smoker

I dunno, I'm in the US right now and everyone here in this super-affluent-clearly-an-exception-to-the-norm-but-bear-with-me area is scarily healthy and fitness obsessed. It's very much an issue which is absolutely huge in specific states (*cough*Mississippi*cough*) but not so much in others, huge differences depending on your income levels and such too...

That being said, there's obviously something of an agenda regarding food producers not wanting people to know what they're eating, I was fairly shocked by how little information there is on the packaging compared to in the EU.