80% off middle aged Britons are overweight, inactive or drink too much !

Ooh..another thread?..--writes off another few hours--

@Anya

I'm sure you're right. I've researched this in the past, but couldn't be bothered to look for the information again. I thought I remembered that weight tends to drop with the most elderly, but I was obviously wrong. I'm pretty sure the pattern is slightly different for men and women. I do know that there's a strong correlation with socio-economic status.

The reason I've looked this up in the past is that people often start off by criticising the young for eating fast food, when that's not quite true. Young people might be storing up problems for the future, but they're least likely to be overweight.

Presumably what happens is that people overeat slightly throughout their lives. Even a half a kilo rise per year from the age of 20 means that an 80 year old could be 30 kilos overweight!

Some of us are still Spring chickens - being in the 40 - 60 age range!

We went to a party the other evening and one of the guests was an ex professional footballer. He was huge with rolls of fat. I was quite shocked as I hadn't seem him for a while.

My OH has put on weight but this is because of arthritis making it difficult for him to walk. He finds it very frustrating.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Reported

D- stem - remember the magic tea that Sam Fox promoted.
Just eat real food.

No excuses especially from me - eat less, walk more, stand up regularly, have just an occasional treat.

anya, an old lady I know doesn't like going to see her GP because he tells her she is obese. She seems to think it is totally unreasonable of him to mention it and that he is just saying it to hurt her feelings!

That was in answer to your does anyone tell it straight question.

In this lady's case, it does rather look as if he's wasting his breath.

I like to think that the fault is evolution. We no longer have to chase animals for our food, so don't use up calories. (OK, I know that's not really true but it's a good excuse).

Our GP told my friend that women after the menopause either put on weight or lose it.

Muscle can turn to fat when the person becomes less active as in the case of the footballer.

My SIL swam competitively and has never lost her large shoulders which seemed to turn from muscle to fat(ish) even when the rest of her was slim.

The fault is that we eat too many calories.

Muscle 'burns up' more calories than fat, so loss of muscle means fewer calories are needed.

Physiologically speaking muscle cannot actually turn to fat Jalima but I know what you mean.

Oh right!
but - something happens
I don't know quite what

Our GP told my friend that women after the menopause either put on weight or lose it.

Or as a friend of mine puts it, you widen or you wizen. I'm still deciding which to go for

Yes Jalima they lose muscle and gain fat.

Maggie that's a bit like a French friend of mine who says you have a choice between your hips and your face.

Re Jalima's post,("Our GP told my friend that women after the menopause either put on weight or lose it") I wonder which is the worse. Putting on a bit of weight or getting thin.

Anya I know a very obese diabetic who adjusts her insulin to her food intake rather than the other way round.

I think the obesity "crisis" has a lot to do with the rise in the availabilty of of ready meals which are usually high in fats and the rise in the size of food portions.
Supermarkets promote "snacking" products etc.

I have more or less managed to keep my weight stable over Christmas. Thanks to the 5:2 diet. I have not followed it slavishly over the holiday but I can still benefit from missing out on a small meal when I know there is a "feast" to come. I lost about a stone on the 5:2 diet about three years ago. I could say I use it as the "I CBA to cook a meal tonight so OH will have to sort himself out tonight" diet.

bells I think the important thing after menopause and beyond is maintaining muscle mass and strength through moderate, enjoyable exercise and adequate protein intake. This has been shown to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and maintaining muscle strength helps to prevent falls in older people, which are often the precuror to loss of mobility and independence.

This would be a much more valuable message for women particularly, than nagging people for being slightly overweight.

Jane I don't think being slightly overweight is the issue though.

I agree that maintaining muscle mass is the way forward and that getting that message across is very valuable. In fact just waking into town and back, as I do most days (4,200 steps! ) I noticed how many fit older women there are. There's one, who must be in her 80s, who often overtakes me on the hill but it's those who can't or won't get out and move who are the real issue.

Not all overweight people are unfit and not all slim people are fit.

I don't think slight overweight is the issue either Anya but I think the Government message implies it and it is too simplistic. As you say people with a BMI over the 'standard' range can have a high muscle mass and be very fit.

I know too a 5 year old boy whose school health report included the information to his parents that he was obese. I don't know what criteria are used to measure obesity in children, but no reasonable person would describe this little boy as obese - even 'stocky' would be an exaggeration. It's not helpful to issue parents with such warnings when the response is likely to be to ignore it on the grounds that it's a load of rubbish.

I looked this up once, jane. They don't use the same criteria for children. I seem to remember it's more to do with averages.

My son was 10 and half pounds when he was born and was above the 98th centile for weight. I was nagged all the time by health visitors about his weight, until I got a bit shirty. By the time he started primary school, he was taller than any of the other children and still heavier, but by then height was taken into account and he became 'normal'.

He's 6'4 now and of average build. I try to keep a non-obtrusive eye on him, because he has a higher than average risk of developing diabetes, given his family history.

I agree ja. Wore my fitbit for the first time in ages this morning when I walked into town and back. 9941 miles!!!

It's gone wrong, hasn't it?