Published on 12, July, 2020
The NHS estimates that almost a third of adults in the UK are obese, and that one in five children aged 10 to 11 are obese. That's a lot of people eating way too much fast and doing little to no exercise (we're all sitting on our big fat behinds way too much). What makes people overweight? Are we more likely to be obese if we're autistic? BBC journalist Michael Buerk announced recently that fat people should be allowed to drop dead and no longer trouble the NHS with their chubby troubles. He said, "The obese will die a decade earlier than the rest of us; see it as a selfless sacrifice in the fight against demographic imbalance, overpopulation and climate change.'" (Michael Buerk)
It's more complicated than people being greedy and lazy. Most obese people have an unhealthy relationship with food due to trauma and/or emotional issues, and society's obsession with food and weight adds fuel to the fire. As someone who has lived with an eating disorder since they were 13, I know that society's relationship with food is messed up.
The worldwide prevalence of obesity nearly tripled between 1975 and 2016, Giraffe. And while there has always been a tiny minority of people with psychological problems in relation to food, trauma and/or emotional issues do not account for the absolute explosion in obesity in modern times. That's a theme popularised by the health media (and sadly used by the overweight and obese to justify overeating). Past generations had much more to contend with emotionally and physically than us, but obesity was relatively rare. It's all to do with our sedentary modern lifestyles (we are 50% less active than our ancestors) married with a diet of fast food and drinks that are high in saturated fats and trans fats—and yes, a higher rate of greed and gluttony. We're doing so much less and having more time to fill our faces with rubbish.