Irish men rank first in Europe for BMI

Irish Stones

According to this page

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/ireland-s-obesity-rate-among-world-s-worst-1.2594266

Irish men rank first in Europe for BMI, Irish women rank third.
It's interesting to see that 20% of the obese people in the world live in six English-speaking countries.
Do you think it is linked to a genetic issue, or a cultural (and diets) tradition?

AtomicHorror

Irish Stones wrote: »

According to this page

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/ireland-s-obesity-rate-among-world-s-worst-1.2594266

Irish men rank first in Europe for BMI, Irish women rank third.
It's interesting to see that 20% of the obese people in the world live in six English-speaking countries.
Do you think it is linked to a genetic issue, or a cultural (and diets) tradition?

Contrast this to the Journal.ie headline: Irish women set to become the second most obese in Europe

Stay classy, Journal

http://www.thejournal.ie/obesity-ireland-women-2691969-Apr2016/

Bongalongherb

That's another April fools joke I'd say.

Sonics2k

Bongalongherb wrote: »

That's another April fools joke I'd say.

The sad thing is that it's not. This is all true.

MightyMandarin

Irish Stones wrote: »

Do you think it is linked to a genetic issue, or a cultural (and diets) tradition?

It's 100% down to our traditonal diet and lack of people playing sport past their 20's and 30's.

It's somewhat down to our societal habits but at the end of the day people are in control of themselves and should stop eating their way to an early death.

Ken.

MightyMandarin wrote: »

It's 100% down to our traditonal diet and lack of people playing sport past their 20's and 30's.

It's somewhat down to our societal habits but at the end of the day people are in control of themselves and should stop eating their way to an early death.

I'd rather die fat and happy rather than skinny and miserable.

GLaDOS

We're no. 1!

Bongalongherb

This thread is making me hungry.

irelandrover

ken wrote: »

I'd rather die fat and happy rather than skinny and miserable.

If only it were possible to be skinny and happy.

murpho999

ken wrote: »

I'd rather die fat and happy rather than skinny and miserable.

Why are normal weight people called 'skinny' and what makes you think they are miserable?

I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of fat people are deep down unhappy but just won't admit it.

Coffee Fulled Runner

Don't just accept this as your faith.18 months ago I weighed nearly 100kg. Through hard work and a good diet I'm now 75kg. It can be done lads and you will feel so much better physically and mentally.

SEPT 23 1989

It makes up for our tumble down the European drinking league table

FlowerPower1

ken wrote: »

I'd rather die fat and happy rather than skinny and miserable.

I think I'd rather be healthy and content.

Ken.

I was speaking of myself. I wasn't casting aspersions on anyone else.

Wibbs

i'd reckon genetics have a fair bit to do with it, but diet on top of that is a huge influence. Irish people tend towards being "solidly built" and broader in a very general way(ditto for our island neighbours). If you go further south in Europe, say Italy, yes you will most certainly see stocky men and women, but you also see more delicately built smaller men and women too. As a mate of mine commented when clothes shopping in that neck of the woods; "jesus the clothes sizes here make me feel like a heifer" and she most certainly isn't. Can depend on age too. I remember reading a Europe wide women's clothes sizes survey and your average Spaniard at 20 was a good few sizes smaller than your average English woman, but by 40 they were the same size.

BlibBlab

ken wrote: »

I'd rather die fat and happy rather than skinny and miserable.

This is unlikely though, bigger chance fat people will live out their last days barely functional.

munster87

I've always been on a slippery slope when it comes to weight. I'm a little over 180 lbs now whereas 29 years ago I was around 8 lbs. I'm going to start a carb free diet soon though to get me back to my former figure

jobbridge4life

BlibBlab wrote: »

This is unlikely though, bigger chance fat people will live out their last days barely functional.

Calm down Gwyneth. They're fat not suffering from some devastating disease.

Bongalongherb

Coffee Fulled Runner wrote: »

Don't just accept this as your faith.18 months again I weighed nearly 100kg. Through hard work and a good diet I'm now 75kg. It can be done lads and you will feel so much better physically and mentally.

I'm not fat, just broad-shouldered with arms like tree-trunks but the belly is a bit out and my breasts have sagged slightly, a simple couple of weeks to tone up the breasts and I'm happy. I used to be a very skinny guy but I always felt more comfortable after eating 20 chickenballs putting a bit of weight on.

munster87

Heard people chatting about Nutella lip balm yesterday.

Irish Stones

Irish Stones wrote: »

Irish men rank first in Europe for BMI

I love the RTÉ interpretation, which was clearly written by a regular contributor to After Hours, of this story:

Irish women second most obese in Europe by 2025

Kev_2012

BMI is a load of bollocks.

I'm 6 foot and around 185/190 lbs and according to BMI I am over weight.

I play rugby and soccer all the time and go to the gym etc.

BMI is probably only useful if you don't exercise.

HOWEVER, a lot Irish people have f*cking diabolical diets and attitudes to exercise.

In Limerick for example, if you want to go get some take out food, about 75% of places are kebab/pizza places! There is 6 of these alone in the Cornmarket!

We need more education earlier on in life about diet and exercise and make it fun or enjoyable for them. (Don't make a kid play soccer if they prefer running or something, give them options!)

In Canada, I noticed that people would say, for example : "Oh you really gotta try sushi, it's the best!".

Here, if you get a pizza with anything other than meat on it, then you are a weirdo. (Don't get me wrong, I used to do that too :P)

I find that Irish people make fun of others who don't eat the same as or drink the same as them. That's a massive issue, and it all starts with learning from a young age.

Wibbs

Bongalongherb wrote: »

my breasts have sagged slightly

Fair enough.

I used to be a very skinny guy

This is just me mid you, but my take would be if you're a bloke with bewbs large enough to notice they're saggy, to the ryvita and gymnasium you should take.

biko

"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"

Irishcrx

ken wrote: »

I'd rather die fat and happy rather than skinny and miserable.

Haha I'd rather be lean and fit and live on past when your fat and dead tbh.

SarahMollie

We've come from being the skinniest in western Europe (granted, half starved) to where we are today.

I wonder if there is an element of the Irish psyche that causes us to want to take advantage in times of plenty, given where we've come from?

Also, there is far too much convenience in our diets these days. If you go to other countries, you don't see the same proliferation of Spar/Centra/Londis type stores on every corner, making that casual bar of chocolate/can of coke/packet of crisps ever so easy to devour without thinking while waiting for the bus.

Also, far too many people lack fundamental cooking skills. I say a modernized version of home economics should be taught to all 2nd level students, and not only available in girls schools as is often the case.

Did anyone see the programme on chicken production on RTE the other evening? It had a particular focus on the Irish Classic, the Chicken Fillet Roll, and how it can be made so cheaply. Turns out the chicken "fillet" is made with reconstituted chicken innards, and then bulked out with filling agents and flavorings, and that a bread roll contains as much as 4/5 slices of bread. Disgusting.

FlowerPower1

I don't it's one thing, it's a huge range of things that is making us fatter and fatter. Both parents working, less home cooking, more disposable income, fast food and takeaways everywhere, too much salt/sugar/processed food in our diets, every celebration/special occasion is now an excuse to gorge ourselves on copious amounts of junk. The list does on. I do think we need to cop on a bit as a nation. I really despair when I read that 1 in 4 toddlers are now obese. That's just pure abuse to me.

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

BlibBlab

Wibbs wrote: »

i'd reckon genetics have a fair bit to do with it, but diet on top of that is a huge influence. Irish people tend towards being "solidly built" and broader in a very general way(ditto for our island neighbours). If you go further south in Europe, say Italy, yes you will most certainly see stocky men and women, but you also see more delicately built smaller men and women too. As a mate of mine commented when clothes shopping in that neck of the woods; "jesus the clothes sizes here make me feel like a heifer" and she most certainly isn't. Can depend on age too. I remember reading a Europe wide women's clothes sizes survey and your average Spaniard at 20 was a good few sizes smaller than your average English woman, but by 40 they were the same size.

Diet is the main one for me. Look at the affects on immigrants to the US. Our diets are full of processed food and sugar and less and less people are cooking at home. Look at that RTE program the other night which said a chicken roll contained 1000 calories, and that's just for lunch. Combine that with people moving far less than they used to and you get to where we are. I don't understand why there isn't a massive push to reverse the trend

Bongalongherb

Wibbs wrote: »

Fair enough.

This is just me mid you, but my take would be if you're a bloke with bewbs large enough to notice they're saggy, to the ryvita and gymnasium you should take.

Not at all, they're not drooping too much but they are not as hard and stiff like they used to be. I have the weights here in the house so it's just a matter of getting back into them to firm the chest up again. I think I'll do that starting monday, should only take 4 weeks to get them pecked again.

There again, maybe 4 months.

Esel

munster87 wrote: »

I've always been on a slippery slope when it comes to weight. I'm a little over 180 lbs now whereas 29 years ago I was around 8 lbs. I'm going to start a carb free diet soon though to get me back to my former figure

8 lbs is a good weight for a baby.

lawlolawl

Irish people are by and large lazy as fook and will only eat right and exercise if they have something like a wedding coming up or if it's the beginning of the year and they are "doing Operation Transformation"

Plus, the boom-time mentality of 'excess in everything' never fully went away during the recession and it is already starting to come back with a bang.

munster87

Esel wrote: »

8 lbs is a good weight for a baby.

Thanks. I had been working out for over 10 hours

FlowerPower1

Esel wrote: »

8 lbs is a good weight for a baby.

It's funny because I'm pregnant at the minute and had my anamoly scan last week. The midwife was giving out that babies are just getting bigger and bigger with more complications than she's ever seen in her career, obviously making her job more difficult.

RDM_83 again

I wonder has anybody checked if there is a correlation between working hours and levels of obesity, definitely seems like this to me (for peoples from European stock anyway).

Also its literally all to do with class here and in the UK, in my carriage on the tube today into the city doubt there was a person under 40 that was overweight.

For those crying sexism on some of the focus on women, if your looking at overweightness and a rise in BMI the female figure is both more worrying and more interesting socially.
There is a significant and likely rising minority with the current muscle culture trend of men who are likely "bmi overweight" due to carrying a lot of muscle, the same can't be said for the vast vast majority of women.
Socially its interesting too, men are presumed to be less judged on physical appearance than women, if this effect is as socially corrosive as many commentators say surely female levels of obesity should be far lower.

SEPT 23 1989

I am still using stones and ounces so i'm grand

Bongalongherb

lawlolawl wrote: »

Irish people are by and large lazy as fook and will only eat right and exercise if they have something like a wedding coming up or if it's the beginning of the year and they are "doing Operation Transformation"

Plus, the boom-time mentality of 'excess in everything' never fully went away during the recession and it is already starting to come back with a bang.

But there is another thing though with putting on the flab, and that is beer. I eat reasonably healthily myself but I have a fetish with beer and that really does put the pounds on after time. So just because you might see an over-weight guy walking up the road doesn't mean he eats the country dry.

One More Toy

We win! Well done lads couldn't have done it without you

lawlolawl

Bongalongherb wrote: »

But there is another thing though with putting on the flab, and that is beer. I eat reasonably healthily myself but I have a fetish with beer and that really does put the pounds on after time. So just because you might see an over-weight guy walking up the road doesn't mean he eats the country dry.

That's part of the 'excess in everything'.

"De few pints" as a weekly or bi-weekly occurrence is pretty much the norm for a lot of Irish adults.

fuzzby100

In general the irish diet is dreadful and it appears that a lot of people don't care what they eat. Just take a look in shopping trolleys /baskets, people shopping in convenience stores particularly at the deli counters. What is more worrying is the fact that many young people seem to be heading the same direction. What's the answer is really hard to say - more education in schools, educating parents, sugar taxes etc, etc. One thing is for sure if we keep going the way we are now, the health service wont be able to cope and resources will be tied up on otherwise preventable medical conditions.

kevohmsford

God I'd love a Pop-Tart.

fuzzby100

Have two.

maudgonner

Esel wrote: »

8 lbs is a good weight for a baby.

Small turkey though.

Broken Hearted Road

I think something else that plays a part is a long, busy and hectic schedule.

I've been on the big size since my teens. I was a size 14 to 16 in secondary school. I'm now a size 20. So what changed for me? Work. I'm on the go from early morning til late evening and I'd be lucky if I'd be home at 8pm. When you're in home so late there's little time to yourself before before you fall into bed to do it all over again the next day. Weekends then are catching up with jobs around the house that should have been done all week. And that's weekends when I'm free. Some weekend I work.

I have an aunt who is obese too and she has similar busy and hectic schedule all week long.

A grocery shop for me, doesn't contain junk except for white bread for toast and sandwiches. Fast food and take away - I never go there. A lot of my diet consists of eggs - for breakfast and it's great for dinner too - like scrambled eggs for dinner. That's if I'm not too tired for dinner. There's definitely room for improvement in my diet like I enjoy a can of coke a day for a boost.

Minderbinder

FlowerPower1 wrote: »

It's funny because I'm pregnant at the minute and had my anamoly scan last week. The midwife was giving out that babies are just getting bigger and bigger with more complications than she's ever seen in her career, obviously making her job more difficult.

jaysus she's very comforting

conorhal

biko wrote: »

"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"

That skinny bitch Kate Moss has never tasted my Texas Red beer chilli.

waffleman

I'm fat coz I'm sad

I'm sad coz I'm fat


Majority of fatties wont change unless they are forced

A flat sugar tax is unfair - there should be the regular shop price and an obese price

double sounds about right

VisibleGorilla

Broken Hearted Road wrote: »

I think something else that plays a part is a long, busy and hectic schedule.

I've been on the big size since my teens. I was a size 14 to 16 in secondary school. I'm now a size 20. So what changed for me? Work. I'm on the go from early morning til late evening and I'd be lucky if I'd be home at 8pm. When you're in home so late there's little time to yourself before before you fall into bed to do it all over again the next day. Weekends then are catching up with jobs around the house that should have been done all week. And that's weekends when I'm free. Some weekend I work.

I have an aunt who is obese too and she has similar busy and hectic schedule all week long.

A grocery shop for me, doesn't contain junk except for white bread for toast and sandwiches. Fast food and take away - I never go there. A lot of my diet consists of eggs - for breakfast and it's great for dinner too - like scrambled eggs for dinner. That's if I'm not too tired for dinner. There's definitely room for improvement in my diet like I enjoy a can of coke a day for a boost.

This is simply making excuses for the excess amount of calories you eat on a daily basis to maintain a weight that has you at size 20.

It's pure and utter laziness, simple as that.

SarahMollie

VisibleGorilla wrote: »

This is simply making excuses for the excess amount of calories you eat on a daily basis to maintain a weight that has you at size 20.

It's pure and utter laziness, simple as that.

Little harsh. Its true of course that her diet is going wrong somewhere but I think its often lack of knowledge thats causing a real problem. There are lots of foods out there masquerading as healthy when in fact they're laced with sugar. Cereal bars, anyone?

@Broken Hearted Road - The white bread and can of coke stick out to me. White bread does nothing for you nutritionally and will only spike your sugar levels, which will make you crave more unhealthy choices. This is somewhere you could switch to a healthier alternative quite easily just by making a better choice at the supermarket.
The can of coke is another problem. I've a quick rule for myself - never drink your calories (obvious exception to this is alcohol, as I do like me some red wine or a vodka, soda and lime!). Routinely pouring sugar down your throat like this will lead to weightgain without question. It shouldn't be a daily habit.

VisibleGorilla

SarahMollie wrote: »

Little harsh. Its true of course that her diet is going wrong somewhere but I think its often lack of knowledge thats causing a real problem. There are lots of foods out there masquerading as healthy when in fact they're laced with sugar. Cereal bars, anyone?

Perhaps harsh but true. I've had periods of excess weight gain throughout my life and it was caused by nothing but my own laziness.

I'd agree lack of knowledge can cause it but we live in the information age, everything need to be known is at your fingertips for free.

Calories out > Calories in = Weight loss. Easy.

beach_walker

One More Toy wrote: »

We win! Well done lads couldn't have done it without you

Wahey! Who's heading to the chipper for lunch?