For those of you who have me on insta, this is an elaboration of my caption from the other day. For those who don’t – this is my thoughts (elaborated from the caption, summarised from the essays inside my head) on the government obestity policy. I have NO training, just personal experience, and a lot of time spent reading about issues so close to my heart. I will link some actual, educated, professionals too at the bottom of this.
Spolier alerty… I’m not a fan, here’s a relevant petition.
What is the obesity policy?
In brief: label more things with calories, ban adverts for certain foods before a certain time and expand some NHS services.
What are the positives?
Well, there are some! Is obesity a problem… I mean, yes, or the effect depending on how you look at it. I am in no way disputing that it is positive that the government is recognising an area that a proportion of the public need help is with weight management and nutrition.
A ban on pre-watershed advertising on certain products COULD be an alright idea…. If done well. However, the MAJOR caveat to this is… if by banning certain products from advertising simply reinforces ‘diet culture’ this isn’t great. Advertisement plays a huge role in how we perceive ourselves and others. Guilting people into buying no-carb noodles (just eat the DAMN noodles, carbs are GREAT for you) is not better than advertising Maltesers (for example).
Stopping offers on higher sugar items etc could be good if more offers are placed on fruit/veg or staples that people need such as pasta. Again, this needs to be done carefully though without demonising some foods.
The government is looking consult each of the four nations on the traffic light system (you know, those green red and ambers on the side of food packets). This seems like a smart plan, after all, they don’t help you to understand what nutrients and other benefits food can offer. There’s also not a lot of people doing mental maths all day to work out whether they’ve been in the “correct” traffic light range (and if you are… you probably have a disordered relationship with food, sorry).
Doesn’t sound too bad, so what’s the issue?
Most “obese” people don’t want to be obese. The issue is not the lack of a desire to be ‘healthy’, it’s education. There’s not enough easily accessible reliable education, and far too much “nutritional information” that is provided by companies biased to encourage you to consume their products. So called superfoods rise and fall in popularity, often without most individuals even understanding whether there’s any evidence behind such trends. I’ve been lucky, through sport I have contact with a lot of nutritionists and have a greater understanding of health, portions, vitamins etc than most people. I recognise that I am hugely privileged to have this knowledge… and I am very conscious that I have only scraped the tip of the iceberg. This level of education to most people however, is unaffordable, unachievable with time constraints, and people are simply not aware of the magnitude and importance of the facts.
So, there’s a lack of factual information, and who steps in to fill this educational void? Pseudo-nutritionists, influencers, columnists and talk-show hosts! Sometimes trained in the field, mostly not, they spout harmful opinions, often without knowing it. The people selling diet teas are most likely not taking them. Some people claim fasting works, great for them, but it should not be promoted widely by non-experts, especially to under 18s. It can be very harmful to some people. There is also NOTHING wrong with carbohydrates – they’re essential, especially to females (menstrual cycle and all). Also bear in mind that it is SO easy to mislead with photos. Good lighting, angles and a camera does a world of good. Don’t believe anything you see on the Gram, basically.
There are so many companies and individuals promoting fad diets. Most don’t work, definitely not in the long term (look at any of the nutritionists’ pages I mention below). If you’re serious about health, a nutritionist is key (and expensive, which is an issue that maybe could have been addressed by the gov instead perhaps?).
Talking of professionals, I was surprised to see no mention of dieticians, which have had bursary cuts. These are people trained to help those with food/nutrition related issues fix them. I saw a dietician because of my seriously restrictive eating, and people often associate dieticians with anorexic people but they can help at all ends of the spectrum. School pupils often moan “why don’t we learn more at school that’s useful in the real world”. Nutrition. Money. Consent. Healthy relationships. Mental health. Privilege. Diversity. These are all things that could be addressed, but given that this post is about the obesity policy, why not bring in dieticians for assemblies, Q & As, tutor periods?
That leads me to mental health. Physical and mental health are so linked that in many ways it is ridiculous we don’t just call it “health”. Many physical symptoms can arise because of mental problems, and vice versa. There was not one single symptom. The best way to fight crime is not to arrest people… it’s to work with communities and stop the motivation for crime arising. Make nutrition the same. Help people to look after their mental health, educate them (again) about mental health, physical health, and nutrition. Teach a man to fish and feed him for life and all that.
Food deserts – so, this may come as a surprise to those of you with cars, but a lot of people don’t have easy access to a supermarket (aka a food desert). In some places there are free buses to supermarkets (mostly for people not working due to age or health). These are great schemes, but there are not that widespread and are often hugely inconvenient for people with full time jobs. Trips to a big supermarket can often mean one or two bus journeys which might be an hour of travel (one-way) which also limits how much food you can buy to how much you can carry. Therefore, if you are in this position, it’s a lot easier to get more of your food from corner stores. These often have much smaller varieties, which decreases the nutritional value, and due to the nature of canned food often contains higher proportions of sugars and saturates that the gov is banning certain adverts because of (sugars and saturates can be good too, it all depends on the types and quantities, I know, v complicated, e d u c a t i o n would help). Variety is the spice of life, and also the best way to ensure you’re getting a range of vitamins, nutrients etc, but smaller stores often simply don’t have this range to choose from, even if people could afford it.
Cost. “But a banana is cheaper than a chocolate bar” UGH. This is not the point. Yes, sometimes a banana is cheaper than a chocolate bar, a pack of peppers can be cheaper than a packet of crisps. This is not what people mean when they bring up cost as an issue. Imagine you’re a working mum or dad trying to feed a family of 4. For a lot of people living under or near to the poverty line their primary concern is just trying to get as many calories as they can afford to into their bellies and stop them from going hungry. A Caesar salad is far less filling than a good old beans on toast. Food waste is a no-no if you’re struggling to put food on the table, so suddenly buying lots of fruit and veg becomes a risk.
Leisure centres are also really struggling financially in a lot of areas. There is concerns over how man pools and leisure centres won’t open again after this pandemic. They are incredibly important community support hubs, often offer childcare services, other support and of course a place to exercise alone or socially. Funding ways for people to lead healthy lifestyles is essential, and not something addressed in the plans.
Calorie counting. No smooth Segway for this jarring announcement. I read the government’s report, and then I reread it three times because I could not believe what I was reading. I read this and wondered if a single independent dietician, nutritionist or psychologist had been consulted. Calorie counting is sometimes a part of methods to a lose weight but absolutely should not be the focus (again, please see actual nutrition pages below). Calorie counting creates poor, potentially damaging, harmful and life-threatening habits. It is a generation of eating disorders waiting to happen. There is 1.2 million people in the UK with eating disorders, not to mention the millions that are recovering/recovered… but even then, constant calorie reminders is a trigger to worsen food, relapse. Please sign this petition. Thank you to Lily Pickard for starting it.
Fat fear/shaming. Would you rather be skinny and unhealthy or fat and healthy? If you even paused for a second, then that shows you what is wrong with the way we perceive body sizes. It’s damaging to ‘fat’ people and ‘skinny’ people and everyone in between. A skinny and larger individual could lead equally ‘unhealthy’ lifestyles, and I don’t need to explain which society would frown upon. I have had a rough ride, but I benefit from thin privilege. Now, before rolling your eyes, let me explain what it is and why it matters. Thin privilege is if you can walk into a shop and expect to see clothes that aren’t too small, to have adequately sized seats in public places and so on. It matters. It matters most of all in healthcare because any complaints about health to professionals are often linked back to weight. Now, sometimes this may be completely accurate. However, this also leads to dangerous incorrect diagnoses and inadequate care. It is also worth noting, again, that if the government really is serious about tackling obesity, it is the causes of obesity that need tackling. Fat shaming is damaging to larger people, but also to those that are thinner – through advertising, social media and celebrity culture we’re often lead to believe that “skinnier = happier” and “skinnier = healthier”. Neither of those are true. Trust me, I’ve tried it.
I’m almost done here, but first, BMI. BMI is a terrible indicator of adequate weights. I have previously been severely undereating, my body in a state and been classed as “ideal”. Some people could lose a worrying amount of weight and supposedly be overweight, or may show as “underweight” at their healthiest. From an athlete perspective, we generally have a higher proportion of muscle, making us heavier than most people of our height. I remember being the most athletic in my class in year 10, a “lanky” kid. I was also one of the people with the highest BMI. We had to take our measurements in biology and share them with the class. It put me off my lunch.
Mental health support needs to be better. Education needs to be better. People in poverty need help. Food bank reliance must end.
The government policy felt like a reactive grab for public support, rather than a proactive approach to fixing the problem. I was really hopeful about the original announcement… I am disappointed, angry and upset with the current suggestions. Other proactive solutions in other countries have been encouraging trainers in the office, improving cycle infrastructure… there was none of this, no education, no recognition of mental health.
Calorie counting and fat shaming are not the solution. Calorie counting and fat shaming cause eating disorders. If you agree, sign this petition.
Thank you to those who sought out discussion with me in the comments of my previous post or through Instagram DMs. I welcome any comments or thoughts you have around what I’ve said. Again, I’m no professional, just speaking from my own experience and what I’ve read.
Some instagram accounts who are super educational and who’s word you should take above mine:
@the_eating_disorder_therapist
@rachelannehobbs
@midlandsnutritionist
@r_mcgregor
@thenutritiontea
Aaand some super positive influences/ers:
@alexlight_ldn
@kenziebrenna
@munroebergdorf
@lucymountain
References:
Mental and physical health – Kings fund
Food deserts
Counting Calories Is Basically Pointless. So Why Are We Still Doing It? – Huff post (2020)
Eating Disorders in Sport: a Huge Bite to Swallow 