90% of adults will be overweight by 2030

mike65 · 23-11-2013 12:14PM

When I was at school in the 70s and early 80s our year (about 50 pupils in total) had no one who could be considered fat just a couple who were 'comfortable' I'd say the typical Leaving Year now would sink a boat.

smurgen · 23-11-2013 12:19PM

Dean0088 wrote: »

I have to agree with this. There's definitely been a huge improvement. I just hope the attitude is to 'feel good' not to look good. Hitting 30 or 40 is no excuse to not go for a run three times a week.

Despite the upswing in gym going, I think it's just creating a two-tier split. There's guys who are really fit and capable. Then there's guys with tyres around their bellies who get out of breath after a few flights of stairs.

Well just because you're a bit fat doesn't mean you're unfit. I've a bit of a gut and I'm as fit as a fiddle.Im 6 3 and I weight 16 stone,I can run ten miles in 1 hour 15. I'm a lot fitter than my thinner friends,especially those that smoke.

Fukuyama · 23-11-2013 12:24PM

smurgen wrote: »

Well just because you're a bit fat doesn't mean you're unfit. I've a bit of a gut and I'm as fit as a fiddle.Im 6 3 and I weight 16 stone,I can run ten miles in 1 hour 15. I'm a lot fitter than my thinner friends,especially those that smoke.

A bit of fat is fine. Assuming this isn't Paul O' Connell I'm talking too, your BMI probably isn't higher than the low 20s. And if you really wanted to, you could be at 13% body fat in a few months with a BMI in the healthy range. Your heart will thank you for it, particularly as the years clock up.

What I'm talking about is people that live a sedated lifestyle are rapidly becoming a drain on society. It's also a poor reflection on our society's perception of self improvement, achievement and dedication.

Fukuyama · 23-11-2013 12:31PM

mike65 wrote: »

When I was at school in the 70s and early 80s our year (about 50 pupils in total) had no one who could be considered fat just a couple who were 'comfortable' I'd say the typical Leaving Year now would sink a boat.

I'm not that long out of school. In my year, there were quite a few people who were HUGE. Mostly a result of not getting good food at home (ready meals, chippers, dominoes, no veg etc...)

However, I've bumped into them a few years later and they're all fit as fiddles, going to the gym. Lads in particular tend to hit 16/17, say "fcuk this" and hit the gym, hard. Puberty and a desire for wimmenz tends to help.

The real problem lies with people who stop playing sports once they go to college / get a job. A lot of them see 3 sausage rolls for a euro in SPAR as breakfast, Subway as lunch and a Goodfellas pizza for dinner as a healthy lifestyle choice. They normally slam a red bull, a Snapple and a 'vitamin water' during the day too for a sugar kick along with a Snickers and a couple of biscuits.

By the time they're 25, they look more like the fat kids they used to bully in school.

_Redzer_ · 23-11-2013 12:37PM

Dean0088 wrote: »

I'm not that long out of school. In my year, there were quite a few people who were HUGE. Mostly a result of not getting good food at home (ready meals, chippers, dominoes, no veg etc...)

However, I've bumped into them a few years later and they're all fit as fiddles, going to the gym. Lads in particular tend to hit 16/17, say "fcuk this" and hit the gym, hard. Puberty and a desire for wimmenz tends to help.

The real problem lies with people who stop playing sports once they go to college / get a job. A lot of them see 3 sausage rolls for a euro in SPAR as breakfast, Subway as lunch and a Goodfellas pizza for dinner as a healthy lifestyle choice. They normally slam a red bull, a Snapple and a 'vitamin water' during the day too for a sugar kick along with a Snickers and a couple of biscuits.

By the time they're 25, they look more like the fat kids they used to bully in school.

Even those lads that have regained their health it's too late, the damage has already been done to their epigenes.
If you start smoking or are obese before the age of 12, your epigenes become affected and the chance of your children being obese rises sharply to 20-30%.

Fair play for them for getting back into shape again, but the old saying "fat parents breed fat children" is true, and not just because they might pass on their diets, they pass on a susceptibility to obesity too.

Ole Rodrigo · 23-11-2013 01:00PM

Obesity is a complex problem, it's much to do with income inequality, poor housing planning, poor transport infrastructure as it is dietary discipline.

Your number one priority with food is calories. After that its quality. If you put people in difficult enough circumstances, quality is a luxury they will put off to a later date. For example most of the jobs we are creating are deskbound that people have to drive to. Not an issue of itself, but could be part of someones particular circumstances that leads to weight gain. The issues we need to tackle are those that allow making good choices easier. We can start with taking the food industry to task over added sugar. Sweden has become the first country to advocate a high fat low carb diet to manage weight and protect against disease. We would do well to follow suit, especially since we have such a strong natural food industry in Ireland.

Anyone who says serious weight problems are the sole responsibility of the individual is naive.

Fukuyama · 23-11-2013 01:07PM

ror_74 wrote: »

Anyone who says serious weight problems are the sole responsibility of the individual is naive.

This kind of stuff pi55es me off. Anyone with half a functioning brain knows that even food packaged with pictures of green fields and blue skies is bad for you. Simply turning over the packet will reveal as much.

Poverty is the old excuse but it simply doesn't hold true. I know there are multi-packs of crisps and cheap processed food available in supermarkets. However, it's easy to cook a nutritious meal with veg and meat that costs the same - or even less if you shop smart.

Responsibility for your body starts with you. If everyone took this attitude, CocaCola and all the other companies that make packaged poison would adapt.

Driving to work, office jobs and so on are all reasons why people are turning into barely mobile fat sacks. But they're not an excuse.

(This, of course, doesn't apply to young children under 16).

Legs.Eleven · 23-11-2013 01:17PM

Mint Aero wrote: »

More fat men than fat women?

Discredits everything

Yet women are the only ones who seem to get it in the neck here on Boards.

smurgen wrote: »

Well just because you're a bit fat doesn't mean you're unfit. I've a bit of a gut and I'm as fit as a fiddle.Im 6 3 and I weight 16 stone,I can run ten miles in 1 hour 15. I'm a lot fitter than my thinner friends,especially those that smoke.

And just because you're slim doesn't mean you're healthy either. Spoke to a very slim woman in her late 40s the other days. Her diet? 30 fags a day, a mass produced sandwich, cups of tea and a few sweets but looking at her you could be fooled into thinking she was a healthy woman (if a bit slim).

Ole Rodrigo · 23-11-2013 01:24PM

Dean0088 wrote: »

This kind of stuff pi55es me off. Anyone with half a functioning brain knows that even food packaged with pictures of green fields and blue skies is bad for you. Simply turning over the packet will reveal as much.

Poverty is the old excuse but it simply doesn't hold true. I know there are multi-packs of crisps and cheap processed food available in supermarkets. However, it's easy to cook a nutritious meal with veg and meat that costs the same - or even less if you shop smart.

Responsibility for your body starts with you. If everyone took this attitude, CocaCola and all the other companies that make packaged poison would adapt.

Driving to work, office jobs and so on are all reasons why people are turning into barely mobile fat sacks. But they're not an excuse.

(This, of course, doesn't apply to young children under 16).

I said its part of the reason. I said personal responsibility is not the full picture. Have you a full time job that you have to drive to ? Do you have to put in extra hours so that you wont be fired when the hatchet comes again ? Do you have kids that need to be collected from school and fed ? If so, you probably realise there arent enough hours in the day to cook every single meal you eat. So you rely on processed food.

Anybody who understands anything about food knows there is no such thing as unhealthy foods ( this is why junk food is not illegal ) - only an unhealthy diet. If you are just out of school then you have no idea of the pressures of career, mortage debt and family put on your time. So maybe you should preface your remarks by speaking for teenagers who live under the generosity of their parents, and have no real world experience worth mentioning.

Fukuyama · 23-11-2013 01:24PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Yet women are the only ones who seem to get it in the neck here on Boards.

And just because you're slim doesn't mean you're healthy either. Spoke to a very slim woman in her late 40s the other days. Her diet? 30 fags a day, a mass produced sandwich, cups of tea and a few sweets but looking at her you could be fooled into thinking she was a healthy woman (if a bit slim).

Indeed. But it's important that such cases aren't used to justify any level of fatness.

Also, I know who I'd rather sit next to on a long plane or coach journey.

Legs.Eleven · 23-11-2013 01:32PM

Dean0088 wrote: »

Indeed. But it's important that such cases aren't used to justify any level of fatness.

Also, I know who I'd rather sit next to on a long plane or coach journey.

I agree but there's also a very simplistic view that slim = healthy, which is also dangerous. The amount of slim, chain-smoking women I know here shocks me. Lung cancer is the biggest killer among women here in Spain. Only a percent or 2 behind us on the obesity stakes too, which is surprising.

Fukuyama · 23-11-2013 01:35PM

ror_74 wrote: »

I said its part of the reason. I said personal responsibility is not the full picture. Have you a full time job that you have to drive to ? Do you have to put in extra hours so that you wont be fired when the hatchet comes again ? Do you have kids that need to be collected from school and fed ? If so, you probably realise there arent enough hours in the day to cook every single meal you eat. So you rely on processed food.

Anybody who understands anything about food knows there is no such thing as unhealthy foods ( this is why junk food is not illegal ) - only an unhealthy diet. If you are just out of school then you have no idea of the pressures of career, mortage debt and family put on your time. So maybe you should preface your remarks by speaking for teenagers who live under the generosity of their parents, and have no real world experience worth mentioning.

I don't have kids or a full time job. I'm a fulltime student with a part time job. I cycle in a massive triangle across Dublin each day. I also run and do calisthenics three times a week. This morning I did not want to get up and go out for a run - it was freezing. But I did it and I feel fantastic.

Operation Transformation showed us that people with busy schedules, pressing jobs etc... can make positive changes in their lives. You're basically saying that your boss is the reason you're unhealthy. Give your kids a role model ffs.

You're second point about there being no "unhealthy" food is laughable. I just went into the kitchen and had a look at the back of some of the packets in there (other people's food).

Ingredients like:

Maldodextrin
Extracts
Gum Stabilizers
E numbers all over the place

All this food has pictures of fresh ingredients on the front but it's the kind of stuff that militaries won't even put in ration packs it's so toxic. We now have food that can be stored for years without developing rancidity. Ask yourself if that's healthy to consume.

You just keep on keeping on with your "as part of a 'balanced' diet" crap. That little marketing gem will see you into your 60s where you won't be able to play with your grandkids. If you want to stick your fingers in your ears and claim "poor me! I have a job, a house and a family" go right ahead. See your kids as your jailers. And don't bother taking twenty minutes to make up a few chicken/egg salads to bring into work throughout the week.

kowloon · 23-11-2013 01:44PM

I've only so much time on the Earth, I'm not going to waste it doing exercise when I could be eating. Muscles are for beasts of burden. Now fetch me another stick of butter wrapped in bacon before I kill you with my mind!

Fukuyama · 23-11-2013 01:44PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

I agree but there's also a very simplistic view that slim = healthy, which is also dangerous. The amount of slim, chain-smoking women I know here shocks me. Lung cancer is the biggest killer among women here in Spain. Only a percent or 2 behind us on the obesity stakes too, which is surprising.

100% agree with you. Ask them to run for a bus and see how fit or healthy they are.

However, in the US, there's a whole new level of Group Think going on among fat people when it comes to thin (or normal) people. Women in particular are demonized for being thin and healthy.

http://thisisthinprivilege.tumblr.com/

Anyone who chain smokes their way to a low body fat % is kidding themselves. They might look better in a skirt but they're dying inside. But obesity is presenting huge problems which, I feel, far exceed those of delusional people starving themselves.

foxyboxer · 23-11-2013 01:46PM

There's a magic bullet cure all for Western diseases.

It's called Running.

"You don't stop running because you get old or ill, you get old and ill because you stop running"

Irish Guitarist · 23-11-2013 01:48PM

I keep hearing these statistics about how everyone is getting fatter but, apart from on television, I don't actually see any more overweight people now than I ever have. In my 37 years on the planet I've seen only three or four people in real life that were even remotely comparable to those people I've seen on television that can barely move. And one of those people is about fifteen years older than me and has been the same weight for as long as I can remember.

Ole Rodrigo · 23-11-2013 01:52PM

I put in about 300k per week on the bike myself so I dont have any issues with weight, however I can empathise with those who do. Every week I eat food that contains those ingredients. I'm not unhealthy by any measure I can assure you.

You have no understanding on this subject, so I'll bow out now and wish you all the best.

TomoBhoy · 23-11-2013 01:57PM

foxyboxer wrote: »

There's a magic bullet cure all for Western diseases.

It's called Running.

"You don't stop running because you get old or ill, you get old and ill because you stop running"

Can running cure Cancer ? A good mate of mine had a stroke in his mid 40's never smoked rarely drank is very healthy ran played 5 a side, I'm sick of this crap when it comes to people, genetics play a major part in peoples lives, I've known families decimated by cancer/strokes/heart problems, its had feck all to do with their day to day diet.

smurgen · 23-11-2013 02:02PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Yet women are the only ones who seem to get it in the neck here on Boards.

And just because you're slim doesn't mean you're healthy either. Spoke to a very slim woman in her late 40s the other days. Her diet? 30 fags a day, a mass produced sandwich, cups of tea and a few sweets but looking at her you could be fooled into thinking she was a healthy woman (if a bit slim).

The thing is and I don't mean to piss you off bit this is from my observations is that women seem to be much more into the aesthetic illusion of fitness than actually being fit. For a lot of women is seems being thin is the goal. It's not good enough for me to look good. I head to the gym exercise because I was to feel stronger and fitter,the fact that I may look a bit better is just an added bonus.
When I was in college I put on some weight on purpose to start playing rugby,I was fitter and stronger than I ever was,in particular I built up my legs. I went up to about 17 stone and never felt better or more confident. Thing was I noticed attention from women dropped off big time. Prior to this I broke my arm and re-broke two days after I got my cast off. Due to not going to the gym and not eating a lot I went down to like 14 st and felt weak but surprisingly enough I was beating the women off with a stick.

Legs.Eleven · 23-11-2013 02:03PM

Dean0088 wrote: »

100% agree with you. Ask them to run for a bus and see how fit or healthy they are.

However, in the US, there's a whole new level of Group Think going on among fat people when it comes to thin (or normal) people. Women in particular are demonized for being thin and healthy.

http://thisisthinprivilege.tumblr.com/

Anyone who chain smokes their way to a low body fat % is kidding themselves. They might look better in a skirt but they're dying inside. But obesity is presenting huge problems which, I feel, far exceed those of delusional people starving themselves.

True.

Women are demonised full stop about their weight be they slim or fat. Every single thread related to weight on Boards has ALWAYS been a discussion exclusively about women. I've absolutely no doubt that this thread will descend into another one. Even the few comments about how men are starting to take care of themselves on this thread (no mention of women) even if the stats say otherwise is a tell tale sign of what's to come although hopefully I'm proven wrong and a reasonably balanced and mature discussion can be had for once.

Legs.Eleven · 23-11-2013 02:07PM

smurgen wrote: »

The thing is and I don't mean to piss you off bit this is from my observations is that women seem to be much more into the aesthetic illusion of fitness than actually being fit. For a lot of women is seems being thin is the goal. It's not good enough for me to look good. I head to the gym exercise because I was to feel stronger and fitter,the fact that I may look a bit better is just an added bonus.
When I was in college I put on some weight on purpose to start playing rugby,I was fitter and stronger than I ever was,in particular I built up my legs. I went up to about 17 stone and never felt better or more confident. Thing was I noticed attention from women dropped off big time. Prior to this I broke my arm and re-broke two days after I got my cast off. Due to not going to the gym and not eating a lot I went down to like 14 st and felt weak but surprisingly enough I was beating the women off with a stick.

I agree with you and I often see health being sacrificed just to look good among women. I would put it down to the amount of pressure there is on women to look good in our society from both men and other women. Were judged on our appearance more harshly than men (although things are changing). You can see the vitriol directed at exclusively women with regards to their weight in AH even though this is a problem prevalent in both genders.

foxyboxer · 23-11-2013 02:08PM

TomoBhoy wrote: »

Can running cure Cancer ? A good mate of mine had a stroke in his mid 40's never smoked rarely drank is very healthy ran played 5 a side, I'm sick of this crap when it comes to people, genetics play a major part in peoples lives, I've known families decimated by cancer/strokes/heart problems, its had feck all to do with their day to day diet.

It can't prevent death either.
But I think it would certainly reduce the cancer risk if you are genetically predisposed to certain cancers.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 23-11-2013 02:11PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

True.

Women are demonised full stop about their weight be they slim or fat. Every single thread related to weight on Boards has ALWAYS been a discussion exclusively about women. I've absolutely no doubt that this thread will descend into another one. Even the few comments about how men are starting to take care of themselves on this thread (no mention of women) even if the stats say otherwise is a tell tale sign of what's to come although hopefully I'm proven wrong and a reasonably balanced and mature discussion can be had for once.

you mean men pay attention to and maybe even talk about women? and on a website that is overwhelmingly male this might become apparent?
I find that difficult to credit

Thomas D · 23-11-2013 02:12PM

Kids now are fat little pigs.

turbot · 23-11-2013 02:17PM

The reason for obesity growing is really simple:

There is a much higher markup (cost of food production excluding packaging --> retail sale price) on unhealthy food than healthy food

Sugar at wholesale costs less than 25c / kg.
That means the main ingredient in a mars bar (sugar) at 31g sugar (in a 50g bar) costs less than 0.8c. Probably, a whole mars bar costs 3c or less to make so when it is sold for 1 euro, there is a 3300+% markup.

I'm not supposed to know that at mega-wholesale prices, retailers can buy cans of cola (ultra cheap sugar syrup & water) for 10c each and maybe less.

Because of this, its more profitable for megacorps to sell packaged crap - i.e. flavoured sugar water - or packaged sugar - than organic brocolli. This markup funds ubiquitous advertising and availability and bribes distributors, media outlets & even vendors to supply stuff that is not health promoting.... making it hard to find proper healthy food without going out of your way (to a local market) because organic cucumber cant compete.

Very little of what is sold in Spar or Centra or Tesco is good for you at all. None of the things advertised everytime you go to the cinema are worth eating regularly. Many FMCG foods are addictive & habit forming & mislabeled & packaged to confuse your senses...

All the big FMCG companies vie to optimise their profits *not* the health of their customers.

If you wish to avoid this fate, you need to be very proactive in organising your life and sculpting your habits to eat well & exercise smart.

If they predict that even 75% of people will be overweight by 2030,then you need to aim to be in the top 10% of healthy people, so if you stick to this quite well, you're ok.

What has helped me loads to lose 2 stone & hover around 12 to 14% bodyfat & feel *way better*:
- Bulletproof Coffee / Bulletproof Intermittent fasting
- Buying almost all my food in the organic market
- Studying nutrition
- Doing high intensity interval training 2 to 3x a week
- Getting a good water filter
- Low carb, high fat, high protein diets with high quality food
- Creating habits that defend me against overeating

The slow poisoning of our population through the proliferation of unhealthy food is literally the slow genocide of our time.... and feeling healthy & superfit FEELS way better than sluggish & fat.

Maybe enough clear thinking & awareness can change this. I hope so. We have to try.

Huckster · 23-11-2013 02:18PM

Dean0088 wrote: »

Kids are ingesting what was a birthday party banquet in the 90s (coke, fizzy drinks, crisps, chocolate etc) every single day for lunch and dinner along with little snacks in between. And there's always a fat hamplanet of a parent waiting to take them off to Mcc D's for a Diabetes inducing happy meal.

So true. It's pretty much a daily sight for me on the Luas red line- from the mother who hand feeds her baby chocolates to the dad who filled his baby's bottle up with coke (just yesterday), some parents are being ridiculously stupid about how they feed their kids.

_Redzer_ · 23-11-2013 02:20PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Yet women are the only ones who seem to get it in the neck here on Boards.

And just because you're slim doesn't mean you're healthy either. Spoke to a very slim woman in her late 40s the other days. Her diet? 30 fags a day, a mass produced sandwich, cups of tea and a few sweets but looking at her you could be fooled into thinking she was a healthy woman (if a bit slim).

Not just that, slim people can be like toffees in that they could be slim on the outside, but fat on the inside.

If you're slim, but don't exercise, you're not guaranteed to be healthy. You could have high levels of visceral fat lining your organs which is the most dangerous type of fat in excess, and increases your chance of developing diabetes hugely -especially with age.

Healthy eating is very important, but exercise is king and everything else comes after. I see people eating healthily but still leading very inactive lives, and it's just not saving you as much as you'd think. You need a strong balance of healthy eating and exercise to be truly healthy and give yourself the best chance of avoiding diseases like cancer and diabetes.

Fukuyama · 23-11-2013 02:25PM

Huckster wrote: »

So true. It's pretty much a daily sight for me on the Luas red line- from the mother who hand feeds her baby chocolates to the dad who filled his baby's bottle up with coke (just yesterday), some parents are being ridiculously stupid about how they feed their kids.

I used to work in a petrol station for a few years.

Every day at 3pm the mothers would pick their kids up from school and stop into the garage on the way home. Each kid was given €2/3 to buy 'food' with. Given free reign, they optimized their cash to buy the cheap 20c chewy bars, cheap crisps and generic fizzy drinks we stocked.

5 days a week. That was their dinner. Kids are screwed with parents like that.

There are also parents who think a big pint of Dunnes Stores orange juice is healthy. :rolleyes:

Fukuyama · 23-11-2013 02:32PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

I agree with you and I often see health being sacrificed just to look good among women. I would put it down to the amount of pressure there is on women to look good in our society from both men and other women. Were judged on our appearance more harshly than men (although things are changing). You can see the vitriol directed at exclusively women with regards to their weight in AH even though this is a problem prevalent in both genders.

While I'd agree with you - I'd say most of the pressure comes from women themselves.

I mean, what comments that are made by men about overweight women seem to me to be returned in-kind by women towards men. Both men and women are visual creatures and make comments. Magazines and newspapers are filled with skinny female models. But they're also filled with blokes with 4% body fat and huge muscle density - something which simply cannot be sustained even by pro bodybuilders for anything longer than a 24 hour period. There are unrealistic expectations on both sides of the fence.

The most vile, disgusting comments I've heard about women have come from other women (normally uttered behind someones back).

It's odd. When a guy bulks up or loses weight he'll have a group of mates congratulating him. But if a girl sheds pounds (or commits the immortal sin of actually lifting weights) she's opening herself up to as many vile comments as she was when she was overweight. For every person admiring Michelle Obamas physique, there's four or five saying "she looks like a man".

If you can untangle that ball of yarn you're better than I.

Femme_Fatale · 23-11-2013 03:00PM

Wouldn't care about people being a bit pudgy tbh. It's not my business. Obesity yeh, that is serious, but flabbiness - seems a bit control freakish for people to get bothered by other people being flabby. Some people are concerned about health (I myself find a relaxed attitude to obesity atrocious) but some people just pretend to be bothered by people getting any bit overweight at all, so that they can have a go at them. Let's not kid ourselves.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

you mean men pay attention to and maybe even talk about women? and on a website that is overwhelmingly male this might become apparent?
I find that difficult to credit

It isn't necessary for discussions about women's bodyshapes to be cuntty though. And even though there's the "Women put most pressure on themselves" thing (which can be true) you don't see it from women to each other here on Boards, which is specifically where Legs is referring to.

90% of adults will be overweight by 2030

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