Bulging Brits losing battle with bangers

By Jeffrey Stinson, USA TODAY

LONDON — The "fat American" used to be the joke in Europe. The "fat Brit" could soon be getting laughs, too.

A nation that once was slim — despite a fondness for beer, fried fish and chips, and bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes) — is swelling at the waistline, having adopted American fast-food tastes and eating habits, health professionals and researchers say.

Americans are still the heavyweight champs of the Western world, leading all but a few South Pacific island nations, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in obesity rates, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

"We've been doing our best to catch up," said Neville Rigby, policy director of the International Obesity Task Force, a London think tank. "(Americans) just got a head start."

Twenty-three percent of British adults are considered obese by Britain's Department of Health. By comparison, a third of the USA's adult population is obese, or at least 30 pounds over a "healthy weight," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In England — along with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, part of Britain — adult obesity has spiked. The percentage of obese men jumped to 23.1% in 2005 from 13.2% in 1993, Britain's Health Department said. Rates for women in England shot to 24.8% from 16.4% during the same period.

Hardly a day goes by without one of the country's newspapers highlighting new evidence of bulging Britons or offering solutions.

Last Friday, the national tabloid The Sun announced the arrival of the heaviest mixed-sex twins ever born in Britain; it dubbed the infants "Twincredibles." Last week also brought news that:

• The rate of adult obesity is higher in Britain than in any country in Europe, according to the Health Department. In England alone, it said, obesity in children under age 11 had jumped 50% in the past decade.

• Six out of 10 British men, half of women and a quarter of all children in the country will be obese by 2050 if trends continue, the government's Office for Science warned. The ill-health effects could cost the nation $90 billion a year.

Rigby said government policymakers can no longer ignore what doctors, health activists and others have been warning: British girths are growing, especially in children.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government said last week that it is considering sending formal notices to parents of children deemed overweight after required weigh-ins at school.

"We've got an obesity epidemic in teenagers," said Colin Waine, chairman of the British doctors' group National Obesity Forum. The girth gap between Britons and Americans could close in a decade, Waine said, adding that Britain is 10 years late tackling the problem.

Last fall, the British government imposed nationwide school lunch standards to improve nutrition.

The guidelines followed a two-year campaign by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, known as the Naked Chef because of his insistence on stripping foods to their bare essentials. He said British schools should replace fatty, processed and junk foods with wholesome meals that include vegetables and fruit.

"Fast food has had its impact," Rigby said. "People do much more eating on the go now. They eat on the street. They eat on the Tube," as the London subway is known.

The British public eats food packed with fat, salt and sugar, often washing it down with sugary soft drinks, he said.

Separately, several studies have noted alarming weight gains in Britain's cats and dogs. A study released in August by the University of Edinburgh in Scotland warned of a higher incidence of diabetes in cats, the result of poor diets.

In humans, knocking down obesity rates will take a generation or two, Waine and others say. That's why attacking the problem in the young is important.

TV commercials for foods high in fat, salt or sugar are gradually being forced off programs aimed at children and teens. By January 2009, such ads will be banned, says the Office of Communications, the independent body that oversees British broadcasting.

The British Heart Foundation wants more: cooking classes in schools so children are taught to make nutritious meals. It also is urging improved food labels, and more bicycle lanes and walkways.

Here's some comfort for heavy Brits: They aren't the only ones becoming more like Americans. The number of obese people worldwide, now 400 million, will climb to 700 million by 2015, WHO said.

Obesity is rising around the globe, Waine said. "They're catching up, too," he said.

http://www.usatoday.com/n...rits_N.htm

Cuz it's fun?

Separately, several studies have noted alarming weight gains in Britain's cats and dogs. A study released in August by the University of Edinburgh in Scotland warned of a higher incidence of diabetes in cats, the result of poor diets.

I have to say after living in both places...

Hey they have been eating shit food long before I got here.

I am not and never have been obese and I am American...
imagine that??

It is called moderation

Hey they have been eating shit food long before I got here.

I am not and never have been obese and I am American...
imagine that??

It is called moderation

shanti0608 said:

Its okay shanti I think people are just rying to find excuses for not putting the fork down

shanti0608 said:

lol does mcdonalds taste the same as it does here at home?

Christopher said:

I have only had Mc Donald's here once at the store and it was nasty..worse than in the US I think.
Though the smell of Mc Donald's makes me want to

shanti0608 said:

i dont mind it cause it always smells like fries.the nastiest thing they ever had on the menu is the mcrib sandwhich..it just looks so very wrong

Christopher said:

I feel guilty after eating McDonalds. I sometimes have a real craving for the McNuggets though.

Christopher said:

I feel guilty after eating McDonalds. I sometimes have a real craving for the McNuggets though.

JDInteractive said:

have you tried KFC popcorn chicken?

ZombieKitten said:

I haven't no. I'm seriously put off by KFC as the last two times it has been absolutely disgusting. I generally don't like fast food altogether. Im more for an Indian take-away type of guy.

JDInteractive said:

we tried it once and it was nice so we had it again - it's easy for the kids to eat, they are hopeless at holding burgers

I would take Indian any day, for breakfast even

ZombieKitten said:

I haven't no. I'm seriously put off by KFC as the last two times it has been absolutely disgusting. I generally don't like fast food altogether. Im more for an Indian take-away type of guy.

JDInteractive said:

how do you feel about chinese?

ZombieKitten said:

Have they just not got burger holding hands?!

Christopher said:

Out of Thai, Indian and Chinese it's my least favourite. We do have a lovely Take-Away called Wok Wonder here though that cook lovely and fresh food. I nearly wrote them a letter of praise.

JDInteractive said:

it's just not in the genes!

ZombieKitten said:

I think you need to buy them some burger mits!

JDInteractive said:

ZombieKitten said:

Are those for real?! She could be a goalkeeper in those! Why has she got two sets of gloves on too?!