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The Myth That Poverty Is The Main Cause Obesity

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There's been a lot of articles in the press recently pointing out that obesity - particularly among children - is a growing problem in the UK and is putting a huge strain on the NHS. I agree that you see a hell of a lot more fatter people, especially kids, than we ever saw when I was growing up in the '60's, but there seems to be a view that there's a link between poverty and obesity - because "poor people can't afford to eat healthily or to feed their children healthy foods". I don't think that this is true at all. I think that one of the biggest contributors towards obesity is that kids don't run around as much as we did when we were kids - they don't play out as much, they don't walk to school, but I don't agree that people on low incomes can't afford to eat healthy food. Quite the contrary - I think it can actually be cheaper to eat healthily than to eat takeaway  junk food and fatty, sugary "ready meals".  Vegetables can be very cheap - especially if you buy "wonky" veg from supermarkets. Tinned and frozen veg, like tinned tomatoes and baked beans and big bags of frozen veg are cheap too.   Pulses and grains, flour, rice, pasta, wholemeal bread and pitta breads are also quite cheap -  and if you want to add meat and fish to meals, then low-fat mince and tinned fish, like pilchards and sardines, go a long way when mixed with plenty of veg, herbs, etc. There's any number and varieties  of healthy soups, stews, risottos, curries, pies, sandwiches, etc that can be made from the above ingredients. 

 

I reckon we get fat because we're lazy - too lazy to exercise much or  to shop and cook properly - not because we're on low incomes!

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38 minutes ago, FIRETHORN1 said:

There's been a lot of articles in the press recently pointing out that obesity - particularly among children - is a growing problem in the UK and is putting a huge strain on the NHS. I agree that you see a hell of a lot more fatter people, especially kids, than we ever saw when I was growing up in the '60's, but there seems to be a view that there's a link between poverty and obesity - because "poor people can't afford to eat healthily or to feed their children healthy foods". I don't think that this is true at all. I think that one of the biggest contributors towards obesity is that kids don't run around as much as we did when we were kids - they don't play out as much, they don't walk to school, but I don't agree that people on low incomes can't afford to eat healthy food. Quite the contrary - I think it can actually be cheaper to eat healthily than to eat takeaway  junk food and fatty, sugary "ready meals".  Vegetables can be very cheap - especially if you buy "wonky" veg from supermarkets. Tinned and frozen veg, like tinned tomatoes and baked beans and big bags of frozen veg are cheap too.   Pulses and grains, flour, rice, pasta, wholemeal bread and pitta breads are also quite cheap -  and if you want to add meat and fish to meals, then low-fat mince and tinned fish, like pilchards and sardines, go a long way when mixed with plenty of veg, herbs, etc. There's any number and varieties  of healthy soups, stews, risottos, curries, pies, sandwiches, etc that can be made from the above ingredients. 

 

I reckon we get fat because we're lazy - too lazy to exercise much or  to shop and cook properly - not because we're on low incomes!

The last line says it all really.

 

Angel1

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2 hours ago, FIRETHORN1 said:

There's been a lot of articles in the press recently pointing out that obesity - particularly among children - is a growing problem in the UK and is putting a huge strain on the NHS. I agree that you see a hell of a lot more fatter people, especially kids, than we ever saw when I was growing up in the '60's, but there seems to be a view that there's a link between poverty and obesity - because "poor people can't afford to eat healthily or to feed their children healthy foods". I don't think that this is true at all. I think that one of the biggest contributors towards obesity is that kids don't run around as much as we did when we were kids - they don't play out as much, they don't walk to school, but I don't agree that people on low incomes can't afford to eat healthy food. Quite the contrary - I think it can actually be cheaper to eat healthily than to eat takeaway  junk food and fatty, sugary "ready meals".  Vegetables can be very cheap - especially if you buy "wonky" veg from supermarkets. Tinned and frozen veg, like tinned tomatoes and baked beans and big bags of frozen veg are cheap too.   Pulses and grains, flour, rice, pasta, wholemeal bread and pitta breads are also quite cheap -  and if you want to add meat and fish to meals, then low-fat mince and tinned fish, like pilchards and sardines, go a long way when mixed with plenty of veg, herbs, etc. There's any number and varieties  of healthy soups, stews, risottos, curries, pies, sandwiches, etc that can be made from the above ingredients. 

 

I reckon we get fat because we're lazy - too lazy to exercise much or  to shop and cook properly - not because we're on low incomes!

Could you provide us with some then please?

Edited by Mister Gee

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2 hours ago, FIRETHORN1 said:

I reckon we get fat because we're lazy - too lazy to exercise much or  to shop and cook properly - not because we're on low incomes!

Are kids lazy?

 

They are at the start of their lives, they like to run around, so why more fat kids?

 

Maybe its the 'poor' parents that are lazy? Giving their kids convenience food and not making sure that their kids exercise.

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10 hours ago, FIRETHORN1 said:

There's been a lot of articles in the press recently pointing out that obesity - particularly among children - is a growing problem in the UK and is putting a huge strain on the NHS. I agree that you see a hell of a lot more fatter people, especially kids, than we ever saw when I was growing up in the '60's, but there seems to be a view that there's a link between poverty and obesity - because "poor people can't afford to eat healthily or to feed their children healthy foods". I don't think that this is true at all. I think that one of the biggest contributors towards obesity is that kids don't run around as much as we did when we were kids - they don't play out as much, they don't walk to school, but I don't agree that people on low incomes can't afford to eat healthy food. Quite the contrary - I think it can actually be cheaper to eat healthily than to eat takeaway  junk food and fatty, sugary "ready meals".  Vegetables can be very cheap - especially if you buy "wonky" veg from supermarkets. Tinned and frozen veg, like tinned tomatoes and baked beans and big bags of frozen veg are cheap too.   Pulses and grains, flour, rice, pasta, wholemeal bread and pitta breads are also quite cheap -  and if you want to add meat and fish to meals, then low-fat mince and tinned fish, like pilchards and sardines, go a long way when mixed with plenty of veg, herbs, etc. There's any number and varieties  of healthy soups, stews, risottos, curries, pies, sandwiches, etc that can be made from the above ingredients. 

 

I reckon we get fat because we're lazy - too lazy to exercise much or  to shop and cook properly - not because we're on low incomes!

Are you a scientist, or just a reader of tabloid newspapers?

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11 hours ago, Mister Gee said:

Could you provide us with some then please?

Your Google broke?

 

"obesity children" brought up plenty of recent news stories.

 

One in three Norfolk children finishing primary school 'unhealthily overweight'

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/health/nhs-digital-says-one-third-norfolk-children-overweight-by-year-six-1-6334013

 

SEVERE OBESITY AMONG CHILDREN AGED 10 TO 11 HITS RECORD HIGH

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/obesity-children-severe-primary-school-overweight-public-health-england-a9151526.html

 

Childhood Obesity Is Rising 'Shockingly Fast' — Even In Poor Countries

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/10/17/770905500/childhood-obesity-is-rising-shockingly-fast-even-in-poor-countries?t=1571735159907

 

Severe obesity among children aged 10 to 11 at record high

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/10/severe-obesity-among-children-aged-10-to-11-record-high-england

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Surely its a combination of lots of factors.  Lack of knowledge of how to cook fresh food, accessibility to cheap fast food and ready meals, allowing children too many sugary foods and drinks (tooth decay in children is also worrying), allied with lack of exercise won't help children develop healthy lifestyles.   Although I think modern technology is fantastic, it can be too easy to allow unlimited use.  Children are kept occupied, and it can often be a battle to get them to do other things.  

 

Some schools have signed up to the Daily Mile which I think is a great idea, especially where there's a lack of children's play areas or children in homes without gardens  https://thedailymile.co.uk/for-schools/

 

 

 

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BBC Radio 4 at 16 00 this afternoon Born in Bradford reports on the largest medical study ever attempted on health and lifestyles.

Today's programme focuses on Type II diabetes in children and the links with obesity, also tooth decay.

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humans are lazy.  Exercise used to be built into our lives, it was either our job, or transport,  or both.

 

we've been very clever, and invented cars, then we built our towns and cities and lives around them. Cars have made our streets more dangerous, who'd let their kids cycle to school?  Kids get driven everywhere. Car parks take up huge amounts of space, meaning the distance between destinations has increased. making walking less practical. so we walk less.

 

Exercise is now something that you have to choose to do. you have to find time, and make it happen. so it doesn't.

 

The solution : more walking and cycling for transport, less driving. Your teenager wants to visit a friend, they live 3 miles away. right now, that's a drive. 4 journeys in fact, to drop them off, and pick them up. Or, it's an easy 20mins by bike. We've built-in the driving option as the default. 

how do we make this happen? : cycle routes, / low traffic neighbourhoods* / school streets, etc.

 

not only is this good for our health, but it's also a money saver  less money spent mitigating health problems caused by inactivity, less money spent desperately trying to accommodate a growing number of cars in a finite space.

 

(*filters, bollards, etc. that turn rat-runs into quiet cul-de-sacs)

 

 

Edited by ads36

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1 hour ago, Ms Macbeth said:

Surely its a combination of lots of factors.  Lack of knowledge of how to cook fresh food, accessibility to cheap fast food and ready meals, allowing children too many sugary foods and drinks, allied with lack of exercise won't help children develop healthy lifestyles.   

But which of those are directly linked with poverty?

Perhaps at a push accessibility to fast food and ready meals but even then I can't think of many places where fruit and veg aren't also available in the same area.

 

As @FIRETHORN1 said, it's more down to lazyness than anything.

 

I find it very hard to believe that in this day and age people don't know the basics of a healthy diet, it's just not possible.

Much more likely is that they have been taught, but chose to ignore or couldn't be bothered to listen.

 

The same goes for cooking a healthy meal, it's not rocket science and it's there is an absolute mountain of information available on how and what to do, if people aren't doing it then it's down to choice.

No-one gets fat by accident.

Edited by geared

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16 minutes ago, geared said:

No-one gets fat by accident.

An extremely good slogan!

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