I know; I am shameless; blaming New Labour for obesity is a stretch, but I couldn't resist. The fact is that since New Labour were elected in 1997, the proportion of overweight or obese adults has increased. With adult men, the proportion has increased from 62.1 percent to 65.1 percent, while for women, it has increased from 52.5 percent to 56.4 percent.This chart also proves something that I have always suspected; that there are more fat men than women in the UK.
However, the really scary thing is the growing obesity problem among children.
For both girls and boys, the proportion of obese children is up about 5 percent over the decade.More recently, there appears to be a slight reduction in obesity rates, both for adults and children, suggesting that it is a problem with a solution. So if you are a few pounds heavier than you want to be, stop reading this blog, switch off the computer right now and go for a walk around the park.
11 comments:
New Labour makes you fat. You are awful, Alice.
30% obesity in children? Holy mackeral! That's awful.
I think the reason that people might be getting fatter could be down to the increased quantities of genetically modified industrial gloop in British diets. For example, when I first went to the States in 1997, I had never come across corn syrup (glucose-fructose syrup), but over the last 12 years it seems to have replaced sugar in nearly all major brands from Kellogg's corn flakes to HP sauce.
1) As far as I know, the recommended value of what BMI you "ought" to be is bollocks. It's already established, I've read, that the "overweight" outlive the "obese", "healthy" and "underweight", which would certainly give one pause at what can possibly be meant by "healthy". And now it seems that the "overweight" are saner, in the sense of being less prone to depression.
(http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/9/14)
2) Rick, why do you think that glucose-fructose mixture is less healthy than sucrose, which consists of weakly bridged molecules of fructose and glucose?
As a measure, BMI is skewed against taller people. There are more tall men. Therefore, more men have high BMI figures. It's an artefact, not a measurement.
"Rick, why do you think that glucose-fructose mixture is less healthy than sucrose, which consists of weakly bridged molecules of fructose and glucose?"
I work on the assumption that no processed foods are particularly good for you - including sugar. However, the fact that the manufacture of glucose-fructose syrup requires a highly technical process involving genetically modified enzymes makes it something I try to avoid. Plus there are studies which link it to obesity and diabetes. I suspect that the quantities that are being unknowingly consumed are at least half the problem as well.
The biggest problem among the young is that they are glued to tellys or 'puters instead of running around. The build up of fat is what happens when you eat more calories than you burn off. And near where I live the birds are chuffing huge, so I don't believe the men are fatter anyway.
Ignoring the silly arguments about people who are scared by genes in food.
There is a link between obesity and overconsumption caused by using credit/debt for consumption rather than investment purposes.
Not that shameless IMHO, Nu Labour are all about growth, no pun intended.
The only why for the food industry to sell more, is for us to eat more.
Labours approach is very bad for mental health too. The food industry spends millions to make us desire unhealthy food. Labour bullies us with very scary adverts about health, threaten to take away our kids, restrict health care etc, while we are exposed to adverts 24/7 to eat that 'tasty' food. A recipe for some nasty anxiety and/or food disorders I think.
Just look at the government: from the faecally-fingered fat Scot PM, to the ever-bigger Jacqui Smith, the other big bottomed, multi-chin cabinet women, the pot-bellied men: they are all look physically sick. The government sets a bad example and the nation follows. I have also noticed that Brits are not only fatter because of New Labour, but also rudder and more violent. It's a toxic philosophy all round.
Anon at 10:34.
Its because they are pigs. You forget that it was the pigs which took over Manor Farm. I hope they don't all succumb to Swine Flu now...
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