An observation on obesity here,
@pm133 . We went to Whitby last week, on the one warm sunny day there’s been recently. It was busy. The area round the harbour (near the car parks) was rammed with people sitting in cafes eating fish and chips, and most of them were overweight. We then walked up to the top of the cliff, where it was much less crowded and there were still people eating fish and chips, but in takeaway boxes that they’d bought down in the town, then walked up to the benches to eat. Most of these people were normal weight. So I have to conclude that exercise plays a part, and motivation plays a part in whether you take exercise or not. We fled the busy town because I hate crowded places and the smell of cheap frying oil, and I was motivated to walk up the steep hill to a quiet spot. Presumably for those whose main motivation was the pleasure of a plate of fish and chips, they missed out on the exercise.
When I was growing up, obesity was rare. But everyone used up more energy in their daily lives. Many people didn’t have cars, and walked or cycled to school or work, houses didn’t have central heating, I’m sure I burned up the odd few hundred calories just keeping warm. For the first few years away from home, I lugged my heavy washing to the laundrette down the road, and back. I carried my shopping to the bus stop and then to my house. People had to exercise because they didn’t have the choice. People didn’t buy snacks between meals because food was relatively expensive. Now they can choose whether to exercise, and some choose not to. Add to the mix that it has become the norm to eat on the go wherever you are, whereas I don’t remember anyone eating on buses or trains, and certainly not in the street when I was growing up in the 60s and 70s. I agree, portion sizes, the power of advertising for companies trying to maximise profit, more spending power for some consumers, and cheap junk food, have all played their part.
I have to add here, that I was one of the few overweight girls in my class at school, about 2 stones overweight, because I was unhappy and I comfort ate. I lost it when I left home and went to Uni. But what kept a lid on it for me, was that ordinary clothes shops only went up to a size 14 (which is the equivalelent of a 12 now, as sizes have got more generous) and I knew if I got any bigger my only option would be shop at Evans Outsizes, which was the only chain catering for larger sizes. Nowadays, people expect to find xxxl clothes as standard, and 2 stone overweight is accepted as the new normal, so no alarm bells ring.
Sorry, rant over, and I’ve gone way off topic!
