Me
:rolleyes:
The problem with these books like âWheat Bellyâ is a quick google search will show just as much research and expert opinion discrediting the lad who wrote it.
Was recently in the Netherlands where they seem to eat a diet of 80% bread and not a fatty in sight. And the birds are all rigs. Not a âwheat bellyâ in sight.
They eat bread to beat the band in France and thereâs not near the amount of morbid obesity there is here. So whatâs the secret?
Spain the same. Fresh bread? They buy it every morning. Canât be just that though.
Bread, dairy, sugar, fast food etc etc etc. :rolleyes:
They stay slimmer because they know when to step the fuck away from the table. No secret really.
Is it because these continentals havenât discovered the greatest food known to man, garlic cheese chips, yet
Do all the stats show that the levels of obesity are definitely higher here than in France Spain Italy etc?. Not sayin theyre not but thereâs a lot of fat cunts in those countries too.
What age roughly would ye lads be that say you donât eat bread and spuds because they are bad for ya? In my case I eat loads of spuds and bread and am still lean enough. Probably because I have a naturally skinny enough build and play a bit of sport I suppose.
Anyone who doesnât eat spuds is not a son of Erin.
Niamh Horan, the insufferable cow, has a ridiculous rant in the Indo about obesity but she is right in a way in what she is saying. All talk from a fat man in charge of our nationâs health and no action. Fat tax will never work tho⌠Education, education, educationâŚ
or MSG loaded chineese take outs 3 times a week , as well as bloating you get the added bonus of malaise, lack of energy and a strong craving for more
I think people have poor diets and eat crap but not sure Ireland is particularly bad or unusual though compared to other Western European countries in terms of overweight people. Statistics based on BMI are pointless. Would be interested to see what they say people should weigh at various heights and what is overweight/obese. You donât see US style units over here in any noticeable numbers.
Disagree. We have a mad number of fat children and in general much less fit looking people in general than continental Europe. Hit a bar or club area and count how many fat chicks you see compared to continental Europe. Even look at how many not too fat but could probably stand to lose a few pounds type people we have compared to Europe. Irish girls in particular would prefer spend ridiculous amounts on hair and make up than make an effort at keeping fit.
Yeah maybe. My completely unscientific view from travelling and people watching in airports, cities is we are average. Saw lots of chubby women in London last week. Germans often overweight too or maybe âbig bonedâ.
Airports arenât always a good judge of a country. Havenât been in germany too much so not sure. I do reckon we are far worse than most European countries though. Especially the massive level of people who arenât really fat but are carrying a bit of love handles or pant melons.
Not wishing to burst your bubble @glasagusban and I know the evidence of your eyes would be far more compelling than statistics, but for what itâs worth here are the latest WHO stats on obesity for females plus 15 years. Irish ladies are virtually mal nourished
And here are the stats for Irish men. Not quite as trim as the ladies but nothing to be ashamed of.
The best way to view the links is to click sort and then view on a single page
[quote=âFagan ODowd, post: 849178, member: 706â]Not wishing to burst your bubble @glasagusban and I know the evidence of your eyes would be far more compelling than statistics, but for what itâs worth here are the latest WHO stats on obesity for females plus 15 years. Irish ladies are virtually mal nourished
And here are the stats for Irish men. Not quite as trim as the ladies but nothing to be ashamed of.
The best way to view the links is to click sort and then view on a single page[/quote]
Interesting Fagan. Never would have thought we were as well ranked. Would be interested to see a comparison of countries in a lower age group though.
However, ill thank you to stop clouding the issue with facts.
[SIZE=5]We spend more on fast food than 19 other European countries â but is fast food the main cause of obesity or are chains such as McDonaldâs easy scapegoats? [/SIZE]
We like our chips. And burgers, kebabs, snack boxes and whatever youâre having yourself. Irish people spent more money per head on fast food than 19 other European countries in 2012, according to market research firm Euromonitor International.
Defining fast food as food bought from counter service for immediate consumption, it calculated that we spent a whopping âŹ322 per head on this food, compared with the next-most enthusiastic fast-food aficionados in Finland, who spent âŹ294.50. The UK came next at âŹ278.80.
In total, we spent âŹ1.44 billion in outlets selling fast food in 2012. Euromonitor predicts this will increase to âŹ1.5 billion by 2017. Thatâs a whole lot of cheeseburgers, taco fries and spicy chicken wraps.
[SIZE=6] Fast food nations - per capita ⏠spend in 2012 [/SIZE]
322-Ireland
294.5-Finland
278.8-UK
268.9-Iceland
260.5-Sweden
222.2-Norway
176.3-Monaco
169.5-Switzerland
169.1-Netherlands
156-Austria
151.4-France
134.3-Germany
129.7-Luxembourg
126.8-Denmark
107-Liechtenstein
97.7-Greece
95-Andorra
82.5-Belgium
66-Spain
60.6-Italy
The figures wouldnât surprise David OâLaoghaire. He does weekend security work at fast-food outlets and sees many of the same faces every Saturday night. âIâm no slim Jim myself, but when I look at some people I do think, you could do with not eating here so much,â he says. âBut I also see other women coming in every Saturday night and they have hourglass figures, not a pick on them. So you see all sorts.â
He usually eats at the restaurant before going home. âGenerally itâs a snack box, chicken and chips, occasionally a sausage thrown in there for luck too.â
He forgoes fizzy drinks for water. âItâs not the greatest thing to be doing, eating that late at night, but the hunger is kicking in by that stage and Iâve generally a 30- to 40-minute drive ahead of me.â
âA treat at the end of the weekâ
Martin Lavery, who lives in Dundalk, gets a takeaway every Saturday night. âIt could be a Chinese, pizza or the chip shop. Itâs a treat at the end of the week.â
Is he concerned about the calorie content of the meals? âNo, it wouldnât bother me, to be honest. Itâs just once a week.â
You might assume that McDonaldâs has the biggest share of our fast-food market. Not so. The Musgrave Group, which includes SuperValu, Centra and most recently Superquinn, held a 14.2 per cent share of the fast-food market in Ireland in 2012, according to Euromonitor. All those sausage rolls, wedges and rolls that people queue up to buy at lunch hour meant sales in its hot-food and sandwich counters easily dwarfed the fast-food giants. Spar and Londis had the next-biggest shares.
Abrakebabra was the first fast-food chain to appear on the list, in fourth place, commanding a market share of 3.8 per cent. There are just 35 Abrakebabra outlets, but the group owns 150 stores in total, including OâBriens, Chick King and the Bagel Factory outlets, all of which fall into the fast-food category.
Subway comes next, followed by Supermacâs. The latter chain, with a 2.9 per cent market share, is the biggest indigenous fast-food chain. McDonaldâs comes next with a 2.5 per cent market share.
Who is buying it?
So who is buying all this fast food? Itâs 1.30pm on a sunny Thursday and the lunchtime rush is in full swing on Dublinâs OâConnell Street. There are several fast-food outlets on the street, including Burger King, McDonaldâs and Supermacâs, so itâs as good a place as any to check out the customers.
McDonaldâs is by far the busiest outlet, with 22 people ordering, waiting for food or scanning the menu. The age group is from late teens to early 30s, and just one toddler is spotted. McDonaldâs says the Big Mac is its most popular item in Ireland and this is borne out by the trays of food that pass by. This outlet also has a cafe selling drinks and bakery products, but the main demand is for hot food at this time.
McDonaldâs has 84 restaurants in the State. Asked if we have different tastes to our European neighbours, the company says Irish consumers have âvery discerning tastesâ and are particularly interested in locally sourced food. It says demand has grown in areas such as wraps, salads, coffee and breakfast, and it has added Flahavanâs porridge to its breakfast menu.
Burger King is the quietest of the three outlets on the day we call, with eight people hovering around the till area. Almost every tray seems to contain a burger. It has just introduced a new crinkle-cut chip, which it says has 30 per cent less fat than its competitorsâ fries.
A giant rabbit is standing outside Supermacâs, advertising the chainâs milkshake range and offering free balloons. Inside, about 14 people are studying the massive menu board. It has a wide choice of food, including pizza, chicken, fish and burger products. There are at least eight varieties of fries, from coleslaw fries to the unusual combination of curry and cheese fries. The latter offering is growing in popularity, according to Supermacâs founder Pat McDonagh. Weâll take his word for it.
e says the chicken-breast sandwich has been the most popular item on the menu for the past four or five years. Supermacâs has 103 restaurants, including three in Northern Ireland, and McDonagh is planning to open one in Sydney.
McDonagh says Supermacâs has an older customer base than its rivals, and he notices an increased demand for fish during Lent. The higher age profile is evident on our visit to the OâConnell Street branch, where the age range extends to people in their 60s. The busiest Supermacâs outlet is still Eyre Square in Galway.
But what about the overweight elephant in the room â obesity? Not surprisingly, McDonagh doesnât accept the argument that fast food causes obesity. âI often say, âLook at our staffâ. Most of them eat the food every day when they are working and none of them are obese, because they are busy and they exercise. If you eat a lot of any type of food you are going to put on weight. There has to be a balance.â
Calories on menus
Supermacâs shows calories on its menus, but McDonagh doesnât think it has made much difference. âAt this time of year people are going on diets and are conscious of calories, but if people are out at night time and want to enjoy themselves, they wonât be thinking about calories.â
But Prof Mary Flynn, the Food Safety Authority of Irelandâs chief specialist in public health nutrition, believes calories on menus do make a difference.
Calories on menus became mandatory for many food businesses in the US in recent years, and she says studies show about 15 per cent of consumers use the information. âOf the 15 per cent who do use the information, they take about 100 calories less. So you are enabling 15 per cent of consumers to make a healthier choice.â
She says some people have no idea that they could be consuming almost their daily calorific needs in one meal, when drinks and desserts are included. âIf you ask people how many calories they need in a day, some people say, âOh, 8,000?â, and other people say 100,â she says.
Men need about 2,500 calories a day, while women need 2,000.
Last month, the World Health Organisation published a study that linked an increased number of fast-food purchases with an increased body mass index (BMI). A person with a BMI of more than 25 is overweight, and is obese if itâs more than 30. The study looked at 25 countries, including Ireland, and found that the average number of annual fast-food transactions per head rose from 26.61 to 32.76 between 1999 and 2008, while the average BMI rose from 25.8 to 26.4. Ireland was third only to Canada and Australia for the sharpest increase in fast-food transactions. The authors said governments could slow the rate of obesity by taking measures to counter fast-food consumption.
Subway, which provides calories on its menus, says 43 per cent of its product sales come from its low-fat range, and six of its 10 best-selling sandwiches are in the low-fat range. However, its best-selling sandwich between last May and September was the Italian BMT, which stands for Big Meaty Tasty and is clearly not a low-calorie product. It includes pepperoni, salami and ham, and a six-inch sub clocks in at 396 calories before sauces are added.
But Subway says Irish consumers have a greater preference for healthier options than consumers abroad. âWeâve also seen an increase in consumption of fresh salad items on our subs,â a spokesman says.
UCD professor of food and health Mike Gibney believes fast food is a convenient scapegoat for our obesity problem. âMcDonaldâs in particular is a popular whipping boy because itâs corporate. Itâs easy to blame.â
Gibney says there are many overweight judges, politicians and academics who do not eat fast food. âWe get overweight in different ways: eating out, booze, sandwiches, travel. So if you want to solve the problem you have to look at all of the causes and not pick the one thatâs popular and easy.â
He believes the obesity problem will only be solved by making public health part of a Haddington Road-style agreement and working with employers to improve healthy eating. He cites incentives such as offering staff time off to go to the gym, providing health checks and subsidising gym membership. âTackling smoking in pubs came from the environment of work. Thatâs how this could be solved.â
Flynn agrees that the obesity problem is far wider than fast-food consumption but believes putting calories on menus is an important tool in the battle of the bulge. Some 75 per cent of fast-food chains have added calories to their menus or are in the process of doing so. âAnd if 15 per cent of their consumers are reducing calories then, yes, it has to be worth it,â she says