Is this true?

[cblantfanclub]

Just read in the paper that Sarah Ferguson has been to Burnley. Her mission - to help with our obesity problem.

I quote from the report "75 per cent of Burnley’s residents are overweight or obese, making the town the 10th fattest place in the UK."

I always thought it was a bit tight in the Longside upper as the seats were on the small side now I know why it's a squeeze.

[Rowls]

75% seems high but it's easy to imagine obesity rates in Burnley are above average.

[Rowls]

FWIW Tamworth used to have the honour of being the UK's "Fattest Town".

[Rowls]

FWIW Tamworth used to have the honour of being the UK's "Fattest Town".

The obesity rate when we "won" this award was 30.7% so the 75% rate might refer to being overweight rather than obese.

[Burnley1989]

Just read in the paper that Sarah Ferguson has been to Burnley. Her mission - to help with our obesity problem.

I quote from the report "75 per cent of Burnley’s residents are overweight or obese, making the town the 10th fattest place in the UK."

I always thought it was a bit tight in the Longside upper as the seats were on the small side now I know why it's a squeeze.

I’d honestly say more than 75% of my friends and family are overweight so probably true

[Rowls]

Yeah, the 75% figure refers to "overweight AND obese". Not that it makes it any better, mind.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/britains-obe ... %20England.

^^^^ This article is quoting Burnley as having 73.4% either overweight or obese.

Affluent areas are slimmer. What does this tell us, we might wonder?

[Rowls]

Some good news for "people of size" though - free airline tickets!

https://nypost.com/2023/12/13/news/sout ... ze-policy/

[claretfern]

Sarah Ferguson was on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday. Mentioned that she was visiting a School in Padiham and calling, amongst other places, at "the Burnley Football ground"

[FCBurnley]

Most people are overweight but obese and morbidly obese is the time to worry

[Quickenthetempo]

The biggest difference between poor people and those with money, is access to decent food.

Pies and other fatty foods are cheap and always on offer in supermarkets.

Add to that, how few people exercise when they become adults. It's not that surprising.

[dsr]

The biggest difference between poor people and those with money, is access to decent food.

Pies and other fatty foods are cheap and always on offer in supermarkets.

Add to that, how few people exercise when they become adults. It's not that surprising.

When a chicken costs as much as £4 at Sainsbury and the potatoes and carrots to go with it add another £2, and you only get half a dozen meals out of it, it's no wonder only the rich can afford it.

How much are the pies that the poor people buy?

[Inchy]

It’s easy to believe

You don’t have to be that big to be classified as overweight

I do BMIs at work everyday and loads of people who look alright but are classified as overweight

I know BMI isn’t the best, but unless you’re a body builder it’s a good tool

I’m told often I look too skinny but my BMI is 21.2 which puts me almost in the middle of healthy weight

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Might need to change the lyrics then

“It’s full of tts, fatties and clarets…”

[Rowls]

It’s easy to believe

You don’t have to be that big to be classified as overweight

I do BMIs at work everyday and loads of people who look alright but are classified as overweight

I know BMI isn’t the best, but unless you’re a body builder it’s a good tool

I’m told often I look too skinny but my BMI is 21.2 which puts me almost in the middle of healthy weight

Good post Inchy. Just because everybody else might happen to be fatter and in worse health than ourselves, doesn't mean we might not be overweight or in bad shape ourselves.

We've become blind to fatness and gluttony because it's everywhere.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

I have to lose 7 stone to slip into what they decided was the heathy weight category on the BMI scale

I’d look like a beanpole

[Rowls]

I have to lose 7 stone to slip into what they decided was the heathy weight category on the BMI scale

I’d look like a beanpole

You'll be healthier and you'll be happier. Go for it.

[Ptangyangkipperbang]

When a chicken costs as much as £4 at Sainsbury and the potatoes and carrots to go with it add another £2, and you only get half a dozen meals out of it, it's no wonder only the rich can afford it.

How much are the pies that the poor people buy?

Was going to say something similar a good healthy meal will cost far less than pizzas pies and takeaways

[yTib]

When a chicken costs as much as £4 at Sainsbury and the potatoes and carrots to go with it add another £2, and you only get half a dozen meals out of it, it's no wonder only the rich can afford it.

How much are the pies that the poor people buy?

perhaps the poor aren't quite as enlightened, or sanctimonious, as you.

[Venkys4eva]

The biggest difference between poor people and those with money, is access to decent food.

Pies and other fatty foods are cheap and always on offer in supermarkets.

Add to that, how few people exercise when they become adults. It's not that surprising.

Rubbish! Being fat is a lifestyle choice.

[Inchy]

I have to lose 7 stone to slip into what they decided was the heathy weight category on the BMI scale

I’d look like a beanpole

As I say BMI isn’t perfect, but as a tool to capture the vast majority of the population it’s the best we have.

It’s also worth noting you can be slim but unhealthy.

I was briefly 15 stone after always being one of those lucky bastards that could eat what they want and get away with it. When I was 27 it caught up with me and I decided to do something about it at 30. I was so unfit. I dieted (starved) and lost 3 stone very quickly but with no exercise. I was at a healthy weight but was still out of breath after a flight of stairs. I then decided to get a road bike after attempting to run a few times (running is not fun when unfit but cycling is a lot easier). I became obsessed with cycling and got quite fit. Then my second child come along and I didn’t have the time to cycle so I decided to try running again, which was a lot easier now already fit. I’m 36 now and the fittest I’ve ever been, running 50-70 miles a week and also doing some cardio in the gym.

I eat **** loads but can get away with it. I also drink too much alcohol but exercise offsets any potential liver damage (to a point).

It’s about balance but it’s so easy to just do nothing and be unfit. I can’t imagine going back to that now. It’s also brilliant for my mental health. I often really don’t fancy going out at 6am for a run, but I’ve never finished a run/cycle/gym session feeling worse than before I started

[ElectroClaret]

I always thought it was a bit tight in the Longside upper as the seats were on the small side now I know why it's a squeeze.

The seats in the Longside upper are like luxury armchairs compared to the seats in the upstairs away end at QPR.

They're tiny, wonder how they cope.

[Inchy]

Rubbish! Being fat is a lifestyle choice.

Rubbish! It’s far easier and cheaper to buy crap. Particularly if you lack the time and education to cook healthy meals

[yTib]

i think venkys was being a bit tongue in cheek there.

a la one particular ex home secretary.

[taio]

Rubbish! It’s far easier and cheaper to buy crap. Particularly if you lack the time and education to cook healthy meals

Endless options to buy cheaper food that's healthy and easy to cook.

[Rowls]

Rubbish! It’s far easier and cheaper to buy crap. Particularly if you lack the time and education to cook healthy meals

It's easier to buy crap but it is certainly NOT cheaper.

It's about making the right decisions and having the right skills.

[dougcollins]

Rubbish! Being fat is a lifestyle choice.

Hi Suella, I wondered where you were.

[dougcollins]

The seats in the Longside upper are like luxury armchairs compared to the seats in the upstairs away end at QPR.

They're tiny, wonder how they cope.

Just about the only place worse than Everton.

[Inchy]

It's easier to buy crap but it is certainly NOT cheaper.

It's about making the right decisions and having the right skills.

I think it depends.

You can buy 20 crap frozen sausage for a couple of quid. Bag of oven chips for a quid. That’s 10 meals

Now you could buy healthy for a similar price but to add flavour with fresh herbs and a little bit of this and that which most proper recipes need it takes a lot of foresight.

I eat healthy most days and it’s definitely more of a faff than when I just ate crap

[GodIsADeeJay81]

You'll be healthier and you'll be happier. Go for it.

My issue is snacking whilst out working in the car all day
I’m going back onto a moped now the tendon in my arm is sorted so I’ll lose weight easy enough

I’m not going to lose 7 stone, but I’ll shift half that I suspect

[Rowls]

Rubbish! Being fat is a lifestyle choice.

As others have said, this is surely intended as satire. Whether is it or isn't a joke doesn't matter.

But consider what the "opposing" view might be?

"Being overweight is never your fault."

If "Being fat is a lifestyle choice" sounds blunt then "Being overweight is never your fault" sounds plain ridiculous.

If we mock one of these ideas, maybe we ought to mock the other for the sake of balance?

Obviously, it's a combination of factors and some of them are external or else there would never be so much variance in regional rates of fatness and obesity. However, if you accept personal responsibility for your own body it gives one of these polar ideas (but only one of them) much more power than the other.

Clearly, if you live in Burnley and are fat or obese then something external has contributed to this that wouldn't necessarily have been in play if you lived in Islington or Kensington. If you want to do something about losing weight and getting fitter, healthier and becoming happier then you can consider what factors are under your control and what you can do about them.

[Rowls]

My issue is snacking whilst out working in the car all day
I’m going back onto a moped now the tendon in my arm is sorted so I’ll lose weight easy enough

I’m not going to lose 7 stone, but I’ll shift half that I suspect

Good luck with it & all the best. If it's humanly possibly (and it is) then you can achieve it.

[Clovius Boofus]

Domestic Science/Home Economics should be made compulsory in all secondary schools.

[Rowls]

I think it depends.

You can buy 20 crap frozen sausage for a couple of quid. Bag of oven chips for a quid. That’s 10 meals

Now you could buy healthy for a similar price but to add flavour with fresh herbs and a little bit of this and that which most proper recipes need it takes a lot of foresight.

I eat healthy most days and it’s definitely more of a faff than when I just ate crap

There's nothing wrong with cheap sausages. Frozen chips ... I'm genuinely not sure. I wouldn't want them myself but only because I wouldn't be sure about the oil they've used on them. I don't like to eat processed oil or hyrdogenated fats - these ARE bad for you. If you're going to be sticking the oven on anyway to cook the oven chips, it really wouldn't be much difference to make potato wedges yourself drizzled with a bit of vegetable oil. It would take 20 seconds to cut the potato and drizzle the oil.

Yes, being able to cook does require you to have a few basic ingredients in stock like a selection of herbs and spices but this is a pittance. You don't need fresh herbs. Nobody but nobody needs a kitchen garden attached to their house to be able to cook.

And the only difference would be that you'd know what kind of fat your potatoes had on them. I seriously doubt oven chips are that bad for you.

All you have to do is add 2 or 3 veg to your sausage and chips meal and it's a balanced diet. I really don't see anything wrong with that as a meal.

As for cooking being "a faff" well this depends on how you view the task. Cooking is enjoyable and the better you get at it, the better your food tastes and the easier it becomes to be healthy. As a society, we need to reinstill that kind of idea into family eating habits and reintroduce family meals times and taking time to appreciate and value our food rather than stuffing crap down our throats in front of the telly.

[Elizabeth]

Just read in the paper that Sarah Ferguson has been to Burnley. Her mission - to help with our obesity problem.

I quote from the report "75 per cent of Burnley’s residents are overweight or obese, making the town the 10th fattest place in the UK."

I always thought it was a bit tight in the Longside upper as the seats were on the small side now I know why it's a squeeze.

To help with her obesity problems ?

[Rowls]

Domestic Science/Home Economics should be made compulsory in all secondary schools.

No. This is what families should be doing together.

[Clovius Boofus]

This is what families should be doing together.

Yes, I agree, but many aren't, though. Some families live off unhealthy ping-food and wouldn't know where to start when faced with a potato that required peeling.

[TheFamilyCat]

What exactly was she doing to help? Nicking a few chips from people's plates are barricading the entrance to Iceland?

[Rowls]

Yes, I agree, but many aren't, though. Some families live off unhealthy ping-food and wouldn't know where to start when faced with a potato that required peeling.

Yes, this is the problem.

We ought to be asking "why have we allowed this to happen?" and "HOW has this happened?"

And then immediately afterwards, we ask ourselves the even better question: How do we rectify the problem?

I understand entirely the reasons for your desire to have Home Economics taught in schools but I see it as the wrong solution. "Schools can teach this" is the equivalent of politicians who are constantly calling for the Army to be brought in to run things in the sense that yes, it could stick a workable plaster over the problem but it isn't using the correct tool for the job.

Just like it's not the Army's job to be, for example, (looks up the last thing the army were called to be doing that isn't their job) ... manning the streets during anti-Isreali marches (link at bottom) it isn't the school's job to be teaching people how to cook. That's a family's role.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics ... n-Met-Army

[bumba]

Don't forget all rugby players and body builders count as severely obese despite only having a few percent of body fat. It's not always a true reflection

[Rowls]

Don't forget all rugby players and body builders count as severely obese despite only having a few percent of body fat. It's not always a true reflection

Rugby players and body builders are excused.

I doubt that 73.4% of Burnley are rugby players and body builders.

[Jakubclaret]

Yes, I agree, but many aren't, though. Some families live off unhealthy ping-food and wouldn't know where to start when faced with a potato that required peeling.

Some people simply don't have the time to cook, it's not a necessarily a lifestyle choice more circumstantial.

[Elizabeth]

Don't forget all rugby players and body builders count as severely obese despite only having a few percent of body fat. It's not always a true reflection

That's a good point. To be on it I'd say that could be transformed into the current battle for survival.
Don't forget that we are resigned to relegation by a lot of observers despite having a squad that will only grow and improve.

[Rowls]

Some people simply don't have the time to cook, it's not a necessarily a lifestyle choice more circumstantial.

It's about what you prioritise. Everybody -and I mean EVERYBODY- can make the time to cook.

[Jakubclaret]

It's about what you prioritise. Everybody -and I mean EVERYBODY- can make the time to cook.

Not 7 days a week no chance for some people maybe batch cooking & storing in a chest freezer, some people do double shifts 16hrs they can't even prioritize sleep.

[Clovius Boofus]

Some people simply don't have the time to cook, it's not a necessarily a lifestyle choice more circumstantial.

Many of those, who require bariatric surgery, don't work.

[Clovius Boofus]

It's about what you prioritise. Everybody -and I mean EVERYBODY- can make the time to cook.

Yep. No excuses.

[Clovius Boofus]

My sister works 12-hour + shifts at Royal Blackburn - she batch cooks on one of her days off.

[Jakubclaret]

Many of those, who require bariatric surgery, don't work.

People are involved in different circumstances allowing free time, how can long distance HGV drivers cook meals, people snack on the go & even often skip meals, the myth of mon-fri 9-5 for some people is a laughable pipe dream, I think large doses of kenco could perhaps be on santas wish list for some people on this thread.

[Clovius Boofus]

Why are you being insulting? Can you not debate without resorting to sarc?

[bfccrazy]

We changed our diet completely after we had kids - we still have a take away now and again etc but 95% of our meals are fresh and home cooked.

The Mrs recently got a Sarah Rossi cookbook that has been brilliant and gives you shopping lists to make it easier (a weeks recipes that will reuse certain ingredient so you can easily shop them).

We didn't want the kids eating the stuff we ended up eating through our laziness so made the change and they have a great appetite and pallettes for it.

Amazes me when mates will say their kids will eat nothing but chips etc.... But then you realise that's mainly what they eat themselves. Got one mate who'll feed his kid 4/5 nugget happy meals a week because "she won't eat anything else"

We've a 2 year old daughter who's had grilled chicken and home made chips, minted lamb stew, salmon and pea orzo, tomato pasta.... And a chippy tea this week. All about variety and making the effort to try and cook something fresh and new..... Probably takes an extra 10/15 mins of actual cooking rather than throwing it in oven and watching telly for 20 mins that it would for just some chips.