British government decides we're too fat; releases guidelines
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*Insert snide remark about how is that working out in America* lol
http://uk.businessinsider.com/ameri...ears-diet-food-eating-increase-science-2017-6
Anyway, you don't seem to be 100% right
https://www.livestrong.com/article/347737-the-average-american-daily-caloric-intake/
Good on 'em. I wish the US would do more. In my experience, the UK portion size is pretty close or at the US size and there's so much filler (millions of fries as a side). Shame they can't widen the roads and put in dedicated bike lanes. Biking seems really popular here and encouraging it would be a proactive step.
Having been to the states a bunch, portion sizes aren't even close, the US sizing is ridiculously larger than here in the UK.
The USA has an awful weight problem. That doesn't mean the science for those calorie numbers is wrong. Adults don't need as many calories in developed countries as the UK government recommends.
I think sugar should be a controlled substance is the actual best way to fight the obesity epidemic. Take it out of the food supply and regulate it like alcohol.
The problem isn't food it's how you're taught to have a relationship on food, also cheap ready meal options being cheaper than food you have to cook yourself
make it hard for short of cash and time parents to event introduce any form of real love of cooking to their kids,
just outlawing stuff doesn't fix the problem. People still die of alcohol poisoning, drug over doses.
Schools and parents should do more to proactively teach kids and adults a like how to really cook.
It's also all well and good pricks like Jamie Oliver lording around getting things banned, but it isn't helping the true issues that affect the UK and US and that's quality of life.
You can make a choice, others can't when it comes to subsidizing your hospital bill and medications.
"Don't let anyone dictate your life", I guess we should ignore all those other warnings and bits of advice too like don't use lead paint, don't smoke in a park full of children and don't throw trash into the water reservoirs because of convenience.
Regulation is something the government does on a daily basis in every other regard.
Let's do what Japan is doing.
you can't complain about this when you can buy a pack of 39 jaffa cakes for £1.69
There's a major problem with unhealthy foods in this country. It's much cheaper to buy junk food in large quantities than healthy food in smaller quantities.
There's a major problem with unhealthy foods in this country. It's much cheaper to buy junk food in large quantities than healthy food in smaller quantities.
1600 calories a day? Just silly. The country does have an increasing obesity problem and it has nothing to do with guidelines. It's just much easier to buy junk food than healthy food - if I want a healthy hot fast food meal I have literally no options in my city.
Another problem is the current system traffic lights system as it does not include the carb count on the front; foods low in sugar but high in carbs get all green lights on the front of the packet.
Another problem is the current system traffic lights system as it does not include the carb count on the front; foods low in sugar but high in carbs get all green lights on the front of the packet.
With how many obese people are around these days, you are obviously, objectively wrong there.
The problem I imagine is the same as in other countries.
I go to get my lunch, walk into pretty much any shop and all you can see when you walk in is chocolate, sweets, crisps everywhere. Fruit can be hard to find, salads, healthy stuff is generally at the bottom of shelving, etc. There also always seems to be "Get 2 for £1" or similar on chocolate and various other snacks.
I just walked into the corner shop near my work and there's a mountain of huge Jaffa Cake boxes on offer in your face as soon as you walk in.
I like eating that kind of stuff as much as anyone in moderation, but it's no wonder we're a country of fatties when it's shoved in people's faces so much.
Who can resist ultra cheap Jaffa Cakes? no one, that's who.
I go to get my lunch, walk into pretty much any shop and all you can see when you walk in is chocolate, sweets, crisps everywhere. Fruit can be hard to find, salads, healthy stuff is generally at the bottom of shelving, etc. There also always seems to be "Get 2 for £1" or similar on chocolate and various other snacks.
I just walked into the corner shop near my work and there's a mountain of huge Jaffa Cake boxes on offer in your face as soon as you walk in.
I like eating that kind of stuff as much as anyone in moderation, but it's no wonder we're a country of fatties when it's shoved in people's faces so much.
Who can resist ultra cheap Jaffa Cakes? no one, that's who.
I'm doing my best thank you very much. I didn't even click buy when confirming the price.
I never understood calories or portion control until my late 20s. Once I did, I controlled my weight immediately and with little difficulty - it was revelatory. So I totally support movements like this. With the figures the way they are, they have to do something, right?
I just think they need to be clearer about what a calorie actually IS when they give out guidelines like this. That was the thing I always struggled with. 'Only eat 2,500 calories a day!' 'Okay, sure, but... why?' And the answer is that the calorie is a measure of energy and eating 3,500 above or below your total daily energy expenditure over a period of time will cause you to lose or gain a pound of fat. I genuinely had no idea what the difference between a calorie and a vitamin was for the longest time. It was all just 'nutritional info' to me, it didn't mean anything. Once I knew the TDEE vs calories relationship and was able to practice CICO, literally everything changed.
Anyway, it's nice to not be overweight any more. Hopefully the trends reverse and more people get to enjoy the feeling of going from overweight or obese your whole life to normal weight.
I just think they need to be clearer about what a calorie actually IS when they give out guidelines like this. That was the thing I always struggled with. 'Only eat 2,500 calories a day!' 'Okay, sure, but... why?' And the answer is that the calorie is a measure of energy and eating 3,500 above or below your total daily energy expenditure over a period of time will cause you to lose or gain a pound of fat. I genuinely had no idea what the difference between a calorie and a vitamin was for the longest time. It was all just 'nutritional info' to me, it didn't mean anything. Once I knew the TDEE vs calories relationship and was able to practice CICO, literally everything changed.
Anyway, it's nice to not be overweight any more. Hopefully the trends reverse and more people get to enjoy the feeling of going from overweight or obese your whole life to normal weight.
This won't work. The Western world has a toxic food landscape. Environment trumps self discipline.
Not to say that people cannot lose weight, but those that do are usually very vigilant about it. I need to weight myself daily, stay active, go to the gym, and avoid tons of daily food temptations daily just to maintain my ideal weight. Luckily it's habitual by now, but I can easily gain 10 pounds if I'm not vigilant.
Not everyone can do this. Look at the US, the land of gyms and a gazillion diet books and we keep getting fatter and fatter as an aggregate.
Not to say that people cannot lose weight, but those that do are usually very vigilant about it. I need to weight myself daily, stay active, go to the gym, and avoid tons of daily food temptations daily just to maintain my ideal weight. Luckily it's habitual by now, but I can easily gain 10 pounds if I'm not vigilant.
Not everyone can do this. Look at the US, the land of gyms and a gazillion diet books and we keep getting fatter and fatter as an aggregate.
It's partly a class issue.
Healthier alternatives can cost up to three times as much in the supermarkets.
The upper middle class types you might see in central London would be able to eat healthier
Honestly if I wander into a supermarket to get lunch and there's a sign saying "hey, try not to go over 600 calories for your lunch" then I might make more of an effort to fit what I grab for lunch into that calorie budget. So not a bad idea.
Lower the price of vegetables and healthier food somehow and wildly raise the price of things like pot noodles and rustlers and people will get thinner.
yeah, this is entirely environmental. instead of setting out useless 'guidelines' that nobody will follow if they're even aware of, encourage businesses to stock healthier food and help them make it cheaper. i'd always go for a healthy option if it's available but sometimes with the amount of money i have and what is within a mile of where i stay, it just isn't.
yeah, this is entirely environmental. instead of setting out useless 'guidelines' that nobody will follow if they're even aware of, encourage businesses to stock healthier food and help them make it cheaper. i'd always go for a healthy option if it's available but sometimes with the amount of money i have and what is within a mile of where i stay, it just isn't.
Jamie Oliver can fuck off with his "dodgy jubblies" or whatever health slop he was trying to feed those poor kids. Greggs for life.
Vegetables are super cheap, I never understand this complaint. You can get a 1KG bag of Carrots for 45p in Lidl.
As someone who visited the UK from the US from 2009 onwards on a yearly basis, it'd certainly say that people in the UK have gotten more chunky over the years. Quite apparent on the middle aged population. The beer belly is a common trend. Especially when you move out of London.
nobody wants a bag of frozen carrots is the problem. you don't just 'eat a bag of carrots', you need multiple vegetables - potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, corn, whatever etc - and probably some kind of piece of meat or vegetarian equivalent before you've actually got a meal. this will add up to about £10 super quickly so when it's that or fuck it, £1 pizza, yeah people go for the pizza.
I see what you're saying, but I was referring to fresh carrots, just for posterity.
As said, the problem is snacking rather than the portions of meals you can get from places. They should just the dangers of snacking more aware to the public as most people don't think about how many calories they're taking in when they're grazing delicious biscuits and crisps. Now, off to Tesco to get me a 100 Jaffa Cakes box for £3.50.
Yes, its a very rough guide people need to figure out there own calorie requirements.
I think they've already got a head start on reducing portion sizes...
Bloody 'ell mates
Humanity is treating the obesity epidemic like a joke, instead of the seismic shift it really is.
90% of Humans have ceased burning calories in physically intensive jobs and 90% of humans have stopped eating home-cooked food.
I'm hungry now. Cooking will take me an hour easy! fast food wins. It wins the vast, vast majority of the time.
We humans like to think with grit and discipline and hard work we can just exercise good judgement and eat healthy for the rest of our lives. We're only obese because we like to "sin".
This is bullshit. There should be healthy, low-calorie AND DELICIOUS food options everywhere. Eating unhealthy should be harder and more expensive than eating healthy. Most importantly, healthy food needs to be DELICIOUS. This is easy to do when using fresh ingredients and spices.
This requires an enormous amount of political and economic capital, and the approval of the vas majority of the population. The majority of food companies, which have been optimizing for profit instead of health will need to recalibrate everything and potentially go bankrupt if they don't pivot correctly.
Maybe we should make a huge database with each restaurant you eat being financially responsible for part of the bill of any weight-caused ailments, depending on the health rating of the food you ate. Kind of like bars should be held responsible if their patrons drive home drunk. (are they held responsible for this?)
The main thing is that these kind of companies externalize costs and they shouldn't be allowed to. We should ultimately factor in the total cost to humanity of everything a company does to make capitalism optimize for general human happiness, not the enrichment of a few.
90% of Humans have ceased burning calories in physically intensive jobs and 90% of humans have stopped eating home-cooked food.
I'm hungry now. Cooking will take me an hour easy! fast food wins. It wins the vast, vast majority of the time.
We humans like to think with grit and discipline and hard work we can just exercise good judgement and eat healthy for the rest of our lives. We're only obese because we like to "sin".
This is bullshit. There should be healthy, low-calorie AND DELICIOUS food options everywhere. Eating unhealthy should be harder and more expensive than eating healthy. Most importantly, healthy food needs to be DELICIOUS. This is easy to do when using fresh ingredients and spices.
This requires an enormous amount of political and economic capital, and the approval of the vas majority of the population. The majority of food companies, which have been optimizing for profit instead of health will need to recalibrate everything and potentially go bankrupt if they don't pivot correctly.
Maybe we should make a huge database with each restaurant you eat being financially responsible for part of the bill of any weight-caused ailments, depending on the health rating of the food you ate. Kind of like bars should be held responsible if their patrons drive home drunk. (are they held responsible for this?)
The main thing is that these kind of companies externalize costs and they shouldn't be allowed to. We should ultimately factor in the total cost to humanity of everything a company does to make capitalism optimize for general human happiness, not the enrichment of a few.
But remember, don't you dare spend too much on a valentines meal there, as I will have an absolute fit at you and not pay for the meal.
;)
I'm having a KFC bucket tonight with hot wings. sooo that's that.
Honestly I'm not sure how crappy the weather gets over there, but I think it plays a big part. People here in Toronto tend to be super active when the summe/spring comes and put on weight during the winter. Well that's what happens to me personally. I'm in good shape but There's only so much you can do to stay active during the winter especially if your not going to the gym
I'm a 6'4 33 year old male who works a desk job. My BMR is right about 2200 calories. 2000 calories as a recommendation for sedentary men when the majority of the population is overweight is perfect.
OP
OP
I'm like a foot shorter than you and eat twice as much as you.
...now I feel bad.
You burn 4000 calories a DAY ??? You know that's exceptional, right? We're talking athlete territory here. Maybe 1% or 2% of the population burn as many calories as you do.
The rest of us lazy fucks are lucky to burn half of that. So the world right now is great for you, and sucks for 98% of us.
With eminent domain, the government takes from the few (and compensates them what it decides is fair) for the benefit of the many. This is normal and necessary, otherwise, how would we get interstate highways?
In this case, you would sacrifice for the benefit of the many. I'm not going to pretend it's fair, but it is the best thing to do for humanity, right? You should take one for the team. Good news is that the government is subsidizing your food. You pay more for food now, less in taxes later for your obese compatriots medical bills. And you live in a country with more attractive people to boot.
Really, it's a win/win!
Doesn't pretty much every supermarket branch do a 'meal deal' thing, including Boots, etc.
A big part of this obesity issue isn't children, where historically the focus has been on school meals and whatnot. The problem is a large percentage of the population having very sedentary jobs and getting a meal deal as a convenient lunch option.
Those always include junk food and bottles of carbonated drinks, three items for £3.50 or whatever.
I'd say there's a good few million people buying these meal deals for their lunch five days a week. I think it's this kind of thing the government needs to be looking at, rather than just cutting down portion size etc. Meal deals should only cover healthy sandwiches, fruit, and water.
A big part of this obesity issue isn't children, where historically the focus has been on school meals and whatnot. The problem is a large percentage of the population having very sedentary jobs and getting a meal deal as a convenient lunch option.
Those always include junk food and bottles of carbonated drinks, three items for £3.50 or whatever.
I'd say there's a good few million people buying these meal deals for their lunch five days a week. I think it's this kind of thing the government needs to be looking at, rather than just cutting down portion size etc. Meal deals should only cover healthy sandwiches, fruit, and water.
6'2, 33 year old male myself and I need around 3600 calories to just maintain. I feel like 2500 for the majority of men is about right. Really tho it depends on you but 13-15g x bw is what stationary people should be aiming for.
Don't be. It is great to eat! I hover around 4000 if I want to put on mass.
OP
OP
Uh... Taxes aren't going to go down because people are less obese. That's the beauty of taxes - they always go up and basically never goes down.
I mean, I have nothing against subsidizing other people's medical bills - the NHS is the best thing our country has ever established - but there's no tangible benefit for anyone that isn't overweight when it comes to the government trying to control our meal sizes.
As for the calories, it really isn't that hard. If a 6'3" male office worker like Sulik above burns about 2200 calories a day, I just need to work twice as hard as he does.
That, uh... are you a professional athlete?
You should literally only be eating 4,000 calories a day if you're training for a top-tier professional athletic events and marathons etc. People who need to gather that many calories only do so because they need to expend them over serious exertion during serious long-term and/or high-impact events.
If you do, and if you drink enough water to not be wrecking your kidneys, then fair enough but... to do this is like the equivalent of doing an entire job. Just in terms of how much time and effort it would take you to eat all that and then burn it all off every 24 hours. Unless you're very overweight (I haven't been following the thread closely, don't mean any offense).
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There are many recipes where you can make dinner for 10 people with various dishes in an hour. There are many meals you can make quickly in under 20 minutes. Rice with stir fried veggies shouldn't take longer than 20 minutes. Every meal doesn't need to be that involved either. A sandwich with a piece of fruit and some nuts/berries takes what? 3 minutes to make?
or were you just trying to post what most people's mindset is when it comes to preparing food/versus buying out?
I'm thinking they weren't saying they burn 4000 per day but they burn enough off so the extra they eat doesn't become an issue.
How expensive do you guys think healthy eating is?
My 2500 calorie diet comes in at just under £3 per day and by all accounts would be considered much healthier than the average UK diet, and I live in London. Certain things like grains, oats, beans and lentils are insanely cheap and can form the basis of a pretty decent diet.
It's definitely a problem that junk can be had for insanely cheap prices, but it's definitely possible to make it work.
My 2500 calorie diet comes in at just under £3 per day and by all accounts would be considered much healthier than the average UK diet, and I live in London. Certain things like grains, oats, beans and lentils are insanely cheap and can form the basis of a pretty decent diet.
It's definitely a problem that junk can be had for insanely cheap prices, but it's definitely possible to make it work.
What? There absolutely is a tangible benefit. I'm not overweight but making the NHS function better, making my taxes go further, and ensuring the NHS stays alive (i.e. not buckled to the point of a total Tory kill-off) is absolutely a "tangible" benefit.
Obesity currently costs the NHS billions per year and that is only going to increase as historically obese people experience increasing health problems in the coming decades. They expect it to be 10 bn per year by 2050, and that's before you even factor in the wider societal impact which is multiple times larger. With lighter load on the NHS thanks to passing guidelines or regulation/legislation our taxes will go further and it's more likely the NHS will survive.
I'm genuinely curious how you're consuming that many calories and what you're doing to burn it all off? Assuming you mean that you're burning around 2000 extra calories a day to take you down to the rough 2000 calorie per day guideline, that's still a lot to burn, even if you are young.
Winny said they were 8 stone earlier IIRC. 4,000 calories a day and maintaining 8 stone? It would be interesting to hear how that is used up.