We're the fattest in Europe and going to stay that way.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

What we need to do is bring back the boyos who were calling us the richest country in the world there a while back! Was that the Economist magazine that was spouting that tripe?

Can the minister of health focus some of his energies on tacking obesity now and leave the smokers alone for a while so please.

In my school they only sold different forms of sugar, coke, jellies, bars ect. This would be a good place to start.

I was reading the Cork forum earlier and the hostility shown towards the new bike lane system being introduced was striking to me.

All most people have to do is be more mindful of what and how much they eat and use their bodies more. You don't need to only eat leek soup and hit the gym 7 days per week to not be obese.

I am the last person to 'bash Ireland' on here or in real life but we have serious problems with obesity and alcohol in this country.

Maybe we should introduce food rationing?

CrabRevolution

I typed "Fattest country in europe" into google there. The fourth result was a Czech website claiming the Czech Republic was the fattest, the fifth result was a .co.uk site saying Britain was the fattest.Then we have this Irish thread here saying Ireland is fattest....

Seems to be a bit of an international trend for claiming you are the fattest country. Doesnt seem these lists all agree much either, I looked at 2, one of which had Germany as the 20th fattest in Europe, but another had Germany as the 9th fattest in the whole world.

Its 4 years old, but there's interesting stats on this article, which puts Ireland at 3rd fattest: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/04/which-europeans-are-fattest-laziest-and-drink-most-in-charts/

I doubt it has changed markedly since, but seemingly in 2010 we had the highest number of active 11 and 15 year old boys, and second highest number of 11 and 15 year old girls. And for all the complaining about alcohol problems, we have a below average level of teenage drunkeness here.

catallus wrote: »

Maybe we should introduce food rationing?

Fat tax on cheap junk foods would be a better solution.

Santa Cruz

Deleted User wrote: »

http://scienceblog.com/72312/most-europeans-to-be-fatties-by-2030/

So apparently we're the fattest in Europe and by 2030 84% of women and 90% of men are projected to be overweight or obese. Can I use this as evidence in future when I say that we Irish aren't a very attractive bunch? :P

Go Ireland. Top of the League. It will make up for missing Eurovision every year

Santa Cruz

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

I think we might need a Dáil committee to look into this further.

Mary Lou McDonald. O Reilly and other "skinny Minnies" could serve some use on it

ryan101 wrote: »

Fat tax on cheap junk foods would be a better solution.

Nonsense! If the availability of any food was curtailed then you'll see the rolls of human largesse shrink!

RandomName2

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

Its the latest fad thing to believe everyone is intolerant of gluten, and the staples of European diets for thousands of years are somehow evil.

Lol

catallus wrote: »

Nonsense! If the availability of any food was curtailed then you'll see the rolls of human largesse shrink!

Calm down, I think you've been eating too much junk and processed foods.

BlatentCheek

catallus wrote: »

Nonsense! If the availability of any food was curtailed then you'll see the rolls of human largesse shrink!

You'd also see an increase in food poverty, Including among disadvantaged children.

But how cares about starving knacker kids if it means you don't have to see fat people anymore?

Food Poverty me hole!

It is those "disadvantaged" children that are the porkiest of the the bunch!

BlatentCheek

catallus wrote: »

Food Poverty me hole!

It is those "disadvantaged" children that are the porkiest of the the bunch!

I believe as a group they have the worst obesity stats and the worst malnutrition stats at the same time. Your suggestion would solve one problem and make the other much worse.

You sound like a lovely person.

BlatentCheek wrote: »

You'd also see an increase in food poverty, Including among disadvantaged children.

But how cares about starving knacker kids if it means you don't have to see fat people anymore?

In first world counties, people from low incomes are the fattest, because one of few things in life they can afford large amounts of is junk food.

BlatentCheek

ryan101 wrote: »

In first world counties, people from low incomes are the fattest, because one of few things in life they can afford large amounts of is junk food.

Which is why your suggestion of increased tax on junk foods makes perfect sense but a wider curtailment of peoples access to all types of food does not.

BlatentCheek wrote: »

Which is why your suggestion of increased tax on junk foods makes perfect sense but a wider curtailment of peoples access to all types of food does not.

I didn't claim the latter

Bring in a fat tax. They've something like that in Japan. Realistically an obese person is going to cost the country more and I've no desire to see us turn out like the USA. It's good airlines demand now that larger people have to buy two seats, I was stuck on a flight back from Spain once with a guy who was overflowing his one, I felt like retching. Can't see how people let themselves go that much.

Regardless of who's the fattest nation, we do have an issue in Ireland with weight.

And I agree with the disadvantaged part. People always say "o America, the only place where poor people can be obese" but all they can genuinely afford is the crap food. Doesn't matter how much exercise you do, if you're eating crap, thats what you'll get out. Still, exercise will go a long way! Kids stuck indoors will turn into tubs no matter how much celery theyre eating.

Reiver wrote: »

Bring in a fat tax. They've something like that in Japan. Realistically an obese person is going to cost the country more and I've no desire to see us turn out like the USA.

As well as the junk food tax, I'd also like to see fresh local healthy food subsided, killing two birds with one stone.
Carrot and stick always works better than stick only.

Taxing junk food just takes money out of the pockets of the poor. No matter the cost, convenient food is the root cause of obesity. Therefore the actual restriction on the availability of food is necessary to actually do anything about the problem, but nobody seems to be interested in that kind of bollocks, they just want to punish people through tax.

As for the point that it would lead to malnourishment in poor children; that is obvious nonsense, that would be caused by parental abuse, rather than non-availability of food.

ryan101 wrote: »

As well as the junk food tax, I'd also like to see fresh local healthy food subsided, killing two birds with one stone.
Carrot and stick always works better than stick only.

Fair point, we want to encourage them to be healthy, not just chase them around the place with sticks! Though that might help with weight loss.....

Some sort of show like the running man perhaps? Lots of fat people are released into a national park and some of the nation's finest athletes compete in hunting them. It could be the next big cash cow for RTE.

It does piss me off how expensive some of the healthier stuff is. Glad to be back home and eating stuff we grow in the garden, least I know whats in that!

maguic24

Reiver wrote: »

Bring in a fat tax. They've something like that in Japan. Realistically an obese person is going to cost the country more and I've no desire to see us turn out like the USA. It's good airlines demand now that larger people have to buy two seats, I was stuck on a flight back from Spain once with a guy who was overflowing his one, I felt like retching. Can't see how people let themselves go that much.

Regardless of who's the fattest nation, we do have an issue in Ireland with weight.

And I agree with the disadvantaged part. People always say "o America, the only place where poor people can be obese" but all they can genuinely afford is the crap food. Doesn't matter how much exercise you do, if you're eating crap, thats what you'll get out. Still, exercise will go a long way! Kids stuck indoors will turn into tubs no matter how much celery theyre eating.

Really, is this the case now? I have never been asked what my weight was when booking a flight. I also travel with Ryanair a lot and the seats are narrow as fudge. Could not see an obese person fitting into the seats on the some of the Ryanair flights I was on. Sardines in a sardines can is an understatement.

I was in New york for a week on holidays and it was, in fairness, very expensive to purchase healthy food out. Takeaways and rubbish was next to nothing. I'm not sure what it's like in the supermarkets but trying to eat out and stay healthy...you'd be skint in no time.

Lou.m

They need to require all school children to do two hrs of sports or something a day and educate parents.

Reiver wrote: »

Fair point, we want to encourage them to be healthy, not just chase them around the place with sticks! Though that might help with weight loss.....

Some sort of show like the running man perhaps? Lots of fat people are released into a national park and some of the nation's finest athletes compete in hunting them. It could be the next big cash cow for RTE.

It does piss me off how expensive some of the healthier stuff is. Glad to be back home and eating stuff we grow in the garden, least I know whats in that!

A fat tax for junk food, and a subsidy for local fresh healthy food would also help support local jobs.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/japan/091109/fat-japan-youre-breaking-the-law

This is interesting. Apparently the Japanese actually tax the individual who's overweight! Not sure if its working though or if its just a method to milk some more money.

Crikey, imagine that here! How quick would we be out of recession?

MRnotlob606

I don't really think this will happen, Many Irish people are taken proactive decisions to lose weight by taken up sports , going to the gym and walking, etc. I think the obesity thing may be just be a certain trend and times change we will learn how to stay healthy

suicide_circus

The Danes scrapped their fat tax after a year
http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21566664-danish-government-rescinds-its-unwieldy-fat-tax-fat-chance

maguic24

MRnotlob606 wrote: »

I don't really think this will happen, Many Irish people are taken proactive decisions to lose weight by taken up sports , going to the gym and walking, etc. I think the obesity thing may be just be a certain trend and times change we will learn how to stay healthy

I don't know...a lot of us are becoming very similar to the humans off Wall-e, it's frightening! Especially in urban areas and mega-cities.

suicide_circus wrote: »

The Danes scrapped their fat tax after a year
http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21566664-danish-government-rescinds-its-unwieldy-fat-tax-fat-chance

Poorly implemented it seems to have been and doctors criticized it.

I don't want a nanny state though, people have the right to be tubs if they want. I just don't want to end up paying for them.

One good thing about the recession, more people are using the outdoors. Way more people cycle and are active now.

Mental health goes hand in hand too with obesity. A short term pleasure to help forget/blot out/get a break from other long term problems in life.