Why are we so fat?

AyeGer

Sugary foods, a lot of food we eat is loaded with sugar. Particularly breakfast cereals and some bread. On top of that we eat lots of sugary snacks. Processed ham is another big one here, along with all the other processed convenience foods we consume.
Our weather probably leads to people walking less.

jackboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122760985#Comment_122760985

BMI is an approximation which is good for most people but not for everyone. 16 stone is very heavy. If you have a big belly then yes you may be obese.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122759349#Comment_122759349

That's more a class thing. Sea swimming in Dublin anyway is a very middle class woman pursuit and they tend to look after themselves better. You don't see as many fat people in Cornelscourt as you do in Northside shopping centre.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122760756#Comment_122760756

They should have been out jogging in Hurricane Milton. 😆

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122760116#Comment_122760116

Shíteing on about something nearly 200 years ago and dressing it up as a valid reason why people who never saw a hungry day in their lives stuff their faces with chicken fillet rolls.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122760985#Comment_122760985

Is 12 stone 7 really so tiny even for a tall and broad man?

And I thought BMI gave a minimum and maximum figure. For example, I'm a 5ft 5" woman and my recommended BMI is between eight stone (never gonna happen!) and 10.5 stone.

Marty Bird

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122760363#Comment_122760363

I did. Weather is just excuse, I run in all sorts of weather. The hotter the better but I like the crisp runs too and the ran never bothers me.

Jay Pentatonic

Overall, getting pissed wouldn't be as socially acceptable in France or Spain as it is here. Plus, the same type of takeaways or hangover food don’t seem as prominent there either. The calories all add up over time.

Loads of other factors that people have highlighted definitely play a role, but having such high alcohol consumption as a cultural norm is likely one of the biggest culprits.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122761085#Comment_122761085

I said it's an excuse a couple of times. But it is one of the reasons for people being sedentary. Excuse or not.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122761092#Comment_122761092

Yeah our alcohol consumption has dropped but we still drink way too much. Binge drinking especially.

Royale with Cheese

I was very thin when I was younger, filled out a bit in my 30s and then started putting on a little too much weight as I neared 40. I've gone through a couple of spells of just cutting out the junk and beer and the weight falls off pretty quickly, then reappears when I get lax. As pointed out already here, it not rocket science.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122761071#Comment_122761071

I agree, but you could respond without the hostility, seeing as Maria wasn't hostile to you. She said one thing - she wasn't shiteing on.

ledwithhedwith

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122758778#Comment_122758778

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122758778#Comment_122758778

you expect guys like you that cant cook to bring the average cooking skills down? I’d expect the same …

Sunny Disposition

BMI is tough but fair, I suppose. I lost just over two stone this year, and am just at the edge of it now. It's hard to lose more weight though, my diet is very good now, and I exercise three times a week, no alcohol or fizzy drinks. But my weight still remains borderline excessive.

I think a lot of people are in a form of denial about their weight. They just don't see it as exceptional, and can't get their head around it being too high even though the scales tells them it is.

I guess that's the reason there is so much obesity, people get used to a high weight and barely even realise there's any issue.

Obestiy really took off in the 1990s, wasn't really a big (excuse the pun) issue prior to that. Irish people used to laugh at Americans who we thought were massive.

what_traffic

Myriad of reasons.

We have stopped moving. Many people go for "walks" now but 50 years barely anybody did because they were doing it practically all of the time for everyday tasks.

We allow machines to do a huge amount of tasks for us.

Late to the "wealth party" that most other Northern European Countries experienced a generation ahead of us.

Our Gov Bureaucracy look to the USA/UK/AUS for "Cut and Paste" policies rather than Northern European Countries who are in the EU and are a similar size to us population wise.

So basically we are a bit of shambolic mess and our National waistlines show that in all its girthy gloriousness and the knock on effects will be seen for a long time especially on the Cancer side.

WesternZulu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122759349#Comment_122759349

You mentioned you live in a wealthy area; obesity is caused by poverty far more than accessibility to an outdoor lifestyle.

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122761183#Comment_122761183

I'm sick to the back teeth of Irish victim mentality, blaming everything from "the Brits", to Vikings, the Famine, Cromwell etc for our own learned helplessness.

BrianD3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122760610#Comment_122760610

That BRI seems flawed and no better than BMI. Plugging in measurements for Frank Zane and Arnold Schwarzenegger during their pro bodybuilding careers gives them bodyfat of around 12-15%. Also Arnold was "out of the healthy" zone in terms of roundness. The fat bastard must not have been training hard enough or taking enough anabolic steroids.

Hooked

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122761077#Comment_122761077

12 stone 7 is my "never gonna happen" weight. LOL My ideal weight for my frame is prob 14 stone 7 pounds. I'll be happy at 15, which according to the BMI is still "overweight" (28.1). My work colleague is the picture of health. Same height and weight as I am now (105kg). He's in the gym every morning and trains in BJJ. Is he obese? Is he FOOOK!

The BMI 'mesaure' is all wrong!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122761035#Comment_122761035

Anecdotal I know, but Wilton Shopping Centre Cork is in a middle-class area (Bishopstown) and I was wandering around it for ages recently, waiting for a phone upgrade - the obesity was crazy. I think it's rich areas moreso than middle-class ones where there are no weight problems.

Spanish Eyes

Snacking all the live long day + milky sugary Costa type coffees

Alcohol

Sugar

Portion sizes and composition of grub

Sedentary lifestyle.

I'm prone to all the above (apart from alcohol as I don't drink) so I know…..

However, rather than make my life a misery I use the 16/8 method, where I consume within an 8 hour window and just have tea/coffee or water for the rest of the time. It has worked wonders and I deny myself nothing! I also get out for a couple of km walk every day (unless it's hammering down with rain/wind, I'm not a masochist).

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122761277#Comment_122761277

Im going to disagree with that 50 years ago wealth or lack of had nothing to do with weight.

Which means modern lifestyles must have something to do with it.

The famine did cause epidimlogical changes, which may have caused genetic changes one theory is that it may have lead to an increase in schizophrenia in the Irish population.

It's not the hard to extrapolate from that that there may have been other genetic changes as well.

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058377586/why-are-we-so-fat

Bad diet, inactivity. That's it. There's no conundrum here as to why anyone gains weight.

Although when I look around me, I tend not to see too many obese people I have to say, so I'm not too sure how that map is getting its data. And BMI is a very inaccurate measurement.

Tell me how

There's a phrase that 'You get fit in the gym, you lose weight in the kitchen'.

Absolutely, food choice and volume are the most significant factors in the levels of obesity that exist within a society. And the level of activity makes a significant impact also, but less so.

Processed and sugar/fat rich foods are the primary causes I feel, but also our culture around food probably has evolved in to something that isn't great. Calorie heavy drink options, having 'something sweet' and grabbing fast food options for breakfast lunch all are very common behaviours right now. The deli counters in pretty much every service station in the country play a big part in our weight gain also.

But being active shouldn't be ignored also, I live in a European city and everyone probably does 200-300 of calorie burning physical activity such as walking/cycling every day which isn't a lot, but if you eat the same and don't do it, it's up to 2lb of weight gained per month so you can see how that adds up a lot. Where I live, they eat a lot of bread and cheese (going by space devoted to them in shops) but the people generally appear very slim/fit.

CliffHangeroner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122761115#Comment_122761115

Seriously? I don't think iv'e never drunk more than 5-6 pints in one night out and that was very rare indeed. Now i'd have maybe 3 at a push. I can't understand how anyone could be even still standing after more than 10 pints.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122761300#Comment_122761300

You're sick of everyone and everything Irish (except yourself).

Sunny Disposition

A lot of people reject BMI and tell themselves they know more than the leading scientists and doctors, but objectively there has to be a very good chance that you are wrong. BMI isn't perfect, everyone knows that, but if you're not a professional rugby player or very exceptional for some other reason, it's probably quite a good measurement.

People don't accept it, because so much of the population is overweight now that it has become unremarkable.

Thelonious Monk

There was some country pop singer called Morgan Wallen playing in the Point a few weeks ago and I was jogging through the area and it was astonishing to see how overweight the mostly female attendees were. They mostly seemed to be from the North where country is popular I believe but it was actually pretty sad to see that many people very overweight.

It's 100% down to the type and amount of food people eat though and the whole deli/fry/chipper/takeaway culture we have here would be very hard to get away from now. Irish cuisine means chicken fillet rolls and spice bags and massive fry ups, nuff said.

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122761304#Comment_122761304

Of course it doesn't ping that Arnold or Zane are "Healthy" despite their fitness. BMI as flawed as it is, and BRI still flawed but far better aren't designed to accommodate the outliers. The are designed to give the best approximation of condition for the 80-85% who aren't athletes, let alone the 0.5-1% of professional athletes.

Does the fact that BMI or BRI mislabel the low body fat or high muscle mass of a bodybuilder affect how either's score relates to the general population? No, not really but where BMI is being used for treatment decisions? It's replacement by BRI is leading to better decision making. BRI is a better tool for assessing and treating 90% of people, no tool is perfect and I have no doubt at all that there are better options than 1 size fits all approach to treatment decisions made using either tool.

That said, in a normal healthcare system full of busy doctors and nurses? None have the time for individual measurements, full metabolic testing and tailored treatment. BRI & BMI are tools that allow medical professionals to quickly tailor decisions and recommendations that fit 90% of their patients without issue and TBH? 9 out of the remaining 10% without needing too much tweaking either.

Neither are perfect tools, but the literature to date would support the notion that BRI is less bad than BMI.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122761363#Comment_122761363

have you tried cocaine? very popular in ireland. that'll get you to the 10+ pints bracket no problem.