Obesity crisis - out of control?

[bounty hunter]

I have just come back from the Lincolnshire coast and was at Skegness on Sunday.  This seems to mainly attract day/weekend trippers from Nottingham, Sheffield, Chesterfield, Doncaster etc.  The number of very overweight people was simply staggering.  Well over half were very fat and one in five was massively over weight.  I'm no lightweight but...

I think there might be some relationship between the working-class areas that the people are coming from (Skegness is not a cultural oasis) and the high level of obesity, but the sheer scale of it took me aback.

Am I being unfairly critical?

[oldspice]

God Bounty, you're such a bloody snob!!

Yep, Skegness is the height of fat chav land. Many of the visitors come from nearby Boston, officially the fat capital of the UK.  Skegness is, of course, my closest seaside resort, but thankfully, the north Norfolk coast is also only about 50 miles away so we go there. The last time I went to Skegness, I was sick for a week.

[bounty hunter]

I didn't realise Boston was the fat capital of the UK, that would certainly explain a lot.  I'm not a snob, I am a social commentator.

[oldspice]

I was only joking! And my subsequent remarks should tell you who the REAL snob is!!

[paulham]

The residents of Boston? It's a part anagram isn't it?
To Snob: what fat Bostonians (?) do.

[bounty hunter]

I was only joking! And my subsequent remarks should tell you who the REAL snob is!!

OK, I can't tell when people are joking a lot of the time.

[bounty hunter]

"In developed countries, there is an inverse relationship between obesity and socioeconomic status. For example, among women from social class I (professional), the rate of obesity is 10.7 per cent, while in women from social class V (unskilled), one in four women is obese.

Major factors in the growth in obesity are thought to be decreasing levels of physical activity and more sedentary lifestyles, and the rise in our consumption of processed and “junk” food"

Source: ESRC - Society and Today

"Health Survey for England (HSE) data revealed that in 2006, 38% of adults in England were overweight and 24% were classified as obese.  67% of men and 56% of women were either overweight or obese in 2006.

29.7% of children aged 2 to 15 were classed as overweight or obese in 2006. Figures for boys and girls among this age group were 30.6% and 28.7% respectively.  17.3% of boys and 14.7% of girls were obese."

Source: Dept of health.

[drterror666]

Combat obesity, Jamie Oliver for President!

[smurfboy]

I think there might be some relationship between the working-class areas that the people are coming from (Skegness is not a cultural oasis) and the high level of obesity, but the sheer scale of it took me aback.

It's fairly simple - it's very easy to buy fatty, processed foods cheaply, and these are also easy to cook. If you're short on cash and time, it's a damn sight easier to get a couple of pizzas for a pound a throw from Iceland than it is to go to a farmer's market, buy everything fresh and prepare a meal from scratch.

[paulham]

"Mum's gone to Iceland on her mobility scooter"



It's their new strapline.

[bounty hunter]

Is that your Mum?

[loulou]

mobility scooters are dangerous.

[paulham]

Is that your Mum?

Yes it was taken when she was a young lady. She is 357 now.