I can’t explain " what appears to be a biased focus on women in this posted topic " beyond the suggestion that " it’s probably a media tactic to place the focus on women rather than men " !



I did ( # 5 ) explain the ORIGINAL article, which had a well balanced mix of over 140 international authors. Members may not have the time or inclination to read such articles. I would prefer to do so rather than reading what the media CLAIM was said .


The original article made clear that MEN have a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity than women in " developed " ( sic ) countries, whereas the opposite is true in " developing " ( sic ) countries.


For Forum members’ benefit, I extracted the statistics for the Philippines and the UK, and included the authors’ OWN reasons for caution in interpretation .



I also can’t explain why or how the UK NHS could be responsible for this epidemic of overweight / obesity. Over 1.7 million are employed by the NHS. A similar proportion of them are overweight / obese as the general population. Perhaps we SHOULD set a better example to encourage others - what I already do !


" Sacking all overweight and obese workers " would not cure the epidemic - even if it were possible ! As for running the NHS, please don’t underestimate the difficulty – also, just how hard it can be for ANYONE ( either sex ) to lose weight .


Knowing health complications of overweight / obesity can be treated for free on the NHS - could only be ONE possible reason for the high rates in the UK. In fact NICE ( National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ) has suggested the cost of state-funding slimming classes, run by firms such as Weight Watchers and Slimming World, would be outweighed (!) by potential savings to the NHS.


The NHS costs less than 10% of GDP. Total health spending in the USA is 17% of THEIR GDP. No other country spends as much on pills and procedures . Yet they have a bigger problem than the UK – 29% boys and 71% men ; 29.7% girls and 61.9% women, overweight and obese !


Most illness are the result of lifestyle choices, unavoidable environmental factors and genetics. The consequences of overweight /obesity may cost a similar amount to those of smoking - and are becoming unaffordable . I wouldn’t like to try refusing treatment of illness because lifestyle choices may have contributed !


If you’re in the minority with a healthy BMI and lifestyle, then please don’t judge, count your blessings, and try to help others achieve that goal .