Some time ago I had dinner with my ex-boyfriend’s family and his friends. But by the end of the meal, the only thing I could taste was my own embarrassment.
Across from me, a member of the group who was on medication for type 2 diabetes insisted on devouring the last piece of cake.
This human had himself contracted a disease caused by his own gluttony – and yet he continued to work.
As he lifted the cake to enjoy another bite, our eyes met for a moment — and I think we both knew in that look that his determination was no stiffer than the sponge between his fingers.
This week Henry Dimbleby – No10’s former food czar – highlighted an eye-catching solution to Britain’s ever-expanding waistline.
UK news presenter Nana Akua (pictured) says the UK’s solution to ‘widening waists’ must be to accept that it’s ‘our fault’ if we get fat
Look to Japan, he said. There, strict labor laws allow companies to wrap a tape measure around the bellies of their chubby workers and send the fattest to weight-management classes.
You think I’m joking? No – this is a serious problem. Diabetes affects four million Britons and costs the NHS a full 10 per cent of its budget thanks to hideous complications from heart attacks to strokes.
Hardly anyone in Japan is fat. But our streets are full of overweight people.
So what are we doing about it here?
Well, this week the NHS announced the results of a landmark study – showing that a radical three-month ‘soup and shake’ eating plan can permanently reverse type 2 diabetes. Patients who ate just 800 calories for three months and then maintained the weight remained symptom-free five years later and no longer needed medication.
Who would have thought – eating less is good for you?
Both the Japanese and NHS approaches point to a simple truth. If you get fat, it’s your own fault – and you can do something about it.
This is hardly a revelation and it is hard to believe that some people need to be told this.
The columnist says the UK too often takes a ‘victim’ and ‘buck pass’ approach to obesity (file image).
But over the past few years, we’ve heard time and time again that when someone plunges into obesity and diabetes, it’s somehow others’ fault.
We live in a culture that mixes victimhood with blame, where adults are all too often allowed to avoid the consequences of their own actions or face the need for change—even when the damage they’re doing to themselves is obvious is.
Some try to justify their consumption of sugary and fatty junk by saying that “healthy” foods are too expensive, which is nonsense. A nutritious home-cooked meal is a lot cheaper than a high-calorie take-out meal.
Others insist they are victims of medical conditions – that they suffer from an addiction that is beyond their control. The other classic card to getting out of prison is one’s genes – blame the family!
In my line of work, running my own business as a fitness trainer and wellness coach for over ten years, I’ve heard every excuse. A penny for her and I’d have Gary Lineker’s scholarship.
Nana says celebrities like Lizzo, pictured last year, promoting “fat acceptance” are misguided
Here’s a simple fact: Dieting takes willpower — and too many people aren’t willing to put in the effort.
That’s the crux of the matter. While our society may enjoy a limitless calorie supply – Dimbleby called us a nation of “bun-eating fats” – there is a chronic lack of self-control.
But the nonsense is being promoted by weight loss bloggers like Asher Larmie, aka “The Fat Doctor.” You are a tall person – but this implies that many fat people are in this condition due to genetics and social inequality.
LBC radio’s Nick Ferrari laughed as loud as I did when he heard this pseudo-scientific nonsense when he had Larmie on his show last week.
“You are not fat because you eat and how much exercise you do,” claimed this supposed doctor. “That’s the line everyone is led to believe.”
Equally misguided is obese pop star Lizzo, who under the guise of body positivity promotes what some call “fat acceptance.”
She’s wrong. Fat isn’t “fabulous” – it’s a health hazard.
Covid showed us that: obesity was one of the biggest risk factors for dying from the disease, after the elderly. The severely overweight people are also at greatly disproportionate risk of developing all manner of health problems, from cancer to dementia.
The pandemic should have led to more people taking personal responsibility again. Even with small changes in our life, great results can be achieved and even type 2 diabetes can even be reversed. And if we’re not up to the task, don’t be surprised if one day your boss comes up to you with a measuring tape.
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