What Would You do to Combat Obesity in the UK?
Ask a Question
Its just a personal idea and wondered if you have your own ideas . Do you think to help with the obesity crisis in the country that there should be a limit on the amount of take aways are allowed to be open in the area ? I ask as I looked at how many Curry houses ,Chineses ,Chip shops , Mcdonalds and other places to eat there are within 3 miles of my front door and I was shocked to see we have 31 and I only live in a town of just under 100,000 in the local area .
What would you do to make a difference as there seems to be the old reasoning of increasing taxes but it just feels old news and would be interested in what people would do to help the health of the nation improve.
It could have changed but I seem to remember perhaps a few years ago that when they worked out what most people were getting their calories from it wasn't takeaways which were more of an occasional treat for most people but snacks and other high calorie foods either in the workplace or at home. Some chocolate bars can contain as many calories as a normal meal i.e. 300-400 calories.
I would of thought subsidies for unprocessed natural food and higher taxation for processed food would be a good start. Making it more difficult for people to do small journeys in cars, perhaps charging for parking at retail parks but offering free secure parking for bicycles.
Maybe allowing higher power ebikes for heavier people. The speed assist would still be the same up to 25km/h but their would be more/torque power to assist heavier people. The current 250W limit makes it harder for heavier people to go up hills. Personally I don't see the point of limiting wattage of ebikes the assist speed should be the limit not the power.
I think its important that obesity isn't overplayed though, alcohol, drugs, smoking all have greater ramifications to society with the first two causing greater health issues and wider issues in society including crime. There are other areas that could reap more rewards to our society if we improved them. Mental health is a huge issue and more directly related to alcohol and drugs.
Poverty is a big player in obesity too B
Families that cannot afford the better quality foods tend to go for the processed meals that are full of fat , salt and sugar , or alternatively takeaways , that are also
Add that to the above examples you have given and you have a toxic mix , heart attack material
No I don't at people will eat what they want when they wants same as all of us and I don't think poverty plays at part if you can afford mc ds you can afford fruit and veg
I agree with you. It’s all down to personal choice and whether they are mobile or not.
Leannexxx I agree. Many fruit & veg is on offers in all supermarkets every week. With good meal planning & using these offers it doesn't have to be any more expensive to eat healthy food.
Glitterandgold I'm gonna be honest my daughter won't eat anything apart from pasta drives me mad but doctors said give her what she will eat she's healthy
Leannexxx I wouldn't worry too much. I think most kids at some point are picky eaters. I can remember the battles I had as a kid with my parents & grandma at eating times. My son was the same too, he would only eat a few things & they had to not be touching each other. He soon grew out of it. He's an adult now & is a health & fitness fanatic & built like a machine. Just keep up trying to encourage new foods. 
Local Authorities grant licences for fast food shops and restaurants so can control the number in an area. They often prefer to see any business in a premises rather than an empty shop though.
I think we have become much less active as well as consuming more calories. We drive everywhere, our children play on computer games instead of outdoors, many schools don’t take children swimming anymore....
There could be incentives for children dependent on the level of activity they achieve in a week or month.
Rather than repeat again what I have already said I hope you don't mind if I refer you to my thoughts on my year old topic. I don't think this can ever be talked about too much but sadly one size doesn't fit all. I take the point about bikes but at my age I would be a danger to all around me wobbling along on a bike!
I think it will be a combination of all of these ideas, but it will require a real change in mindset for most people. Until we see a shift away from regarding food as a treat, nothing much will change. How often do we see ads for horrid calorie laden cakes, milkshakes etc and we are told we deserve a treat like this? Someone I know goes to Slimming World. Each week after she has been weighed she allows herself a big meal to reward her weight loss. It’s ridiculous.
Grannyclock my sister goes slimming world and it drives me mad that she's paying someone to weight her everything they do she can do herself
Same with many who have the gastric band type ops. They lose loads of weight because they can't eat much food. However, once recovered they still eat an unhealthy diet of chips, pizzas, cake, etc and will often put some of the weight back on with their calorie laden diet, so still unhealthy and prone to food associated illnesses.
I think pricing of food is a big issue too. I'm not slim, not obese, but we eat moderately healthy. Few years back I was pregnant doing an apprenticeship being paid £3.50 and my partner was on a low wage, it was so much cheaper to buy pasta for most nights 30p a bag, big bag of jacket potatoes, bread and beans (mostly carbs!) Than it would have been to cook healthier meals. I know people say they can cook healthy dirt cheap, but we were only 18 so the cheaper carbs were easier for us around our busy jobs. Speed of cooking and price of foods definitely comes in to it! I couldn't have afforded takeaway back then
Bring back basic cookery lessons in schools. A major problem today is people don't know how to cook. I personally know one family where the mum has no idea, when she does try dad and kids won't eat it so they get a take-away. If the kids do eat 'in' it's pasta with a jar of sauce. She does buy bananas!
lilyflower what's wrong with pasta and a jar of sauce that's the only thing my daughter will eat might not be much but as least she's not hungry
Don’t think it’s necessarily cooking skills thou, just think it’s time issues really, people are always on the go in and out, and rarely have time to cook a meal even if they do most of the family are not there to eat it , so it’s just convenient to pick up takeaway food whenever.
I agree lilyflower bring back home economics and basic cookery for all pupils. My grandson cooks at school and I used to teach him when he spent the day with me.
Most people should surely be able to follow a simple recipe. Shepherd's pie, Bolognese, roast chicken with mash and veg if you can't manage roast potatoes. It won't be long before families eat ready made food all the time, it is certainly going that way.
Lynibis they stopped doing that because family's couldn't afford the ingredients the school I went to we had to pay £3 for the ingredients but yeah they should bring it back but all school are bothered bout is grades that doesn't teach kids how to be independent Different for me i had to grow up fast as I left school at 13 to look after my mum
lilyflower give the kids a chance by teaching them how to make healthy delicious food it’s a no brainier
Mick82 I agree there are lots of simple dishes to make but I also think there's 'missing generations' that don't know how to cook, if your mum/dad couldn't cook she couldn't show you how. A problem with cooking in school now is it's not basic cooking, this is a choice subject Food Technology at GCSE/A/A2 level and none of it was everyday eating. Packaging/temperature control/HACCP. My son followed this route and had to develop a chocolate dessert for a Diabetic, every two weeks it had to be something different and then given to his 4 diabetic testers to mark on taste/value/consistency/presentation. Not what I'd call learning to cook a suitable family meal.
Leannexxx Didn't say there was anything wrong with it, said that was what they got as an alternative to a take away.
Don't be telling me what to do.
If I want a takeaway, I'll have a takeaway.
It's all down to the individual and not the food outlets.
And the useless parents should stop pandering to their kids when they ask for a Happy Meal 5 times a week.
I'm paying a fortune for Club Orange pop which is imported from Ireland. All the Tango/Fanta etc contains artificial sweeteners which I can't drink. Jamie Oliver best not cross my path.
Leannexxx Unfortunately, since the sugar tax was introduced, the majority of pops have lowered the sugar and put artificial sweeteners in them.
At the moment, I'm stuck with Pepsi (won't drink racist Coca-Cola) and Fentimans. Also get the San Pellegrino 'Classic' in the skinny cans, but they're quite expensive as well.
it fantastic 
They should start with no fast food tv adds. They moan about betting ads but there are two many fast food ads. I’ve lost 7 stone in past 2 years and that’s through being disciplined I only have chippy one every 3/4 months that’s my only takeaway. They call it fast food but should be called easy food as makes people lazy getting takeaway 2much and easy 2 put weight on
In days of old people tended to grow a lot of their own produce. Food was scarcer and was valued far more than it is today. (Indeed, the quality of the food was probably far fattier in some ways - but you rarely found anyone overweight) This, accompanied by people getting a lot more exercise on a regular basis - without the help of gyms, children playing outside in all weathers etc. Parents should insist that children have several hours away from 'technology' on a daily basis and that time should be used for something active.
tumblespots technology is a babysitter I know I do it myself but we are out everyday doing something
Leannexxx We don't do as much as we should but we do exercise with the dogs now and again!
We all know what we should & shouldn't be eating to be healthy. We know if we over eat / don't move we get fat. Our choice if we do or don't. I say that as someone slightly over weight. I try to eat healthy nutritious diet & workout several times a week now, but I haven't always & I got fat. It doesn't matter how many take-aways there are in an area, if someone wants to eat it...they will. Frankly it's about self control or lack of in the individual.
Surely children who prefer to sit indoors on a PlayStation or X box etc are more prone to obesity? It’s the 6 weeks holidays and I haven’t seen hardly any children out playing,ok a long time ago when I was a child we went out in the morning and came in when the lights come on.I understand it’s not as safe as it used to be but still the easiness of sitting indoors ordering take aways while playing on your game is ridiculous
no i don't believe limiting someone's eating choices is the best way, maybe there should be work done with fast food joints to find different ways they can include healthier options or different ways of cooking the food, a cheeky takeaway is fine but some use fast food as more of a convenience.
Well stopping places selling extra large portions or needless excessive amounts of food would be a start to combat obesity ,
Cafe in Cardiff is selling an 8000 calorie breakfast about three times the daily recommended calorie intake for a man
8,000 calorie feast
eight rashers of bacon, eight sausages, eight fried eggs, six hash browns, six slices of black pudding, a pound of mushrooms, a pound of fried potatoes, a huge omelette, tomatoes , baked beans, three vanilla pancakes, four slices of buttered bread and another four slices of fried bread or toast.
Education in school would be a good start because most of education is useless that we learned.
Whilst in school, teach the importance of good nutrition and how to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Other than that, it's up to the individual to control what and how much of something goes into their body.
Join for free to get genuine deals, money saving advice and help from our friendly community
Chief Bargain Hunter
