Britain's Fat Fight

PenguinMum

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I usually get the knife stuck halfway through and end up waving it around lice a medieval torture implement until I slam it down on the chopping board. But I agree swede is yummy.
Lol Me too! I dont thnk my boys will evergo to that trouble.
I have long been irritated by WHSmith's chocolate factory-looking till area and the fact the cashiers ask you if you'd like some discounted chocolates with your book - erm no. They might as well ask 'do you want fries with that?' - though I guess the McDonald's vouchers given with your receipt is nearly the same thing!

The programme reminded me a lot of Jamie Oliver's previous crusades - so I felt a lot of deja vu watching it.

I found it interesting when the doctor explained how processed food - not junk food as such, but ready meals based on old-fashioned classics, like cottage pie, were going to be worse for you than home cooked food from an energy consumption point of view - many people might avoid the sweets and chocolates but live off these.

I hope they delve more into Hugh's own weight gain reasons besides his wine consumption - I mean if anyone has got good access to lovely fresh vegetables then it's him - he grows them on his farm and yet he still has battled the bulge![/QUOTE
I also thought his take was similar to Jamie’s crusade years ago. I am cynical about HFW and all these celebrity chefs though they mean well they do love a bit of screen time. As I said earlier I was more interested in that woman who challengd him in the launch who then agreed (reluctantly) to join him in his quest. He must have been quietly thrilled about that because her local knowledge of everyday challenges will make his job easier.
I was sceptical of the parents shock at the size of the cereal portions. I find it hard to believe that the amount of those small biscuit cereals in that little girls bowl were her usual portion or does she leave more tha half in the bowl and walk away? Thats another programme! Surely if you use the same cereal bowls you need only weigh once because you get a good indication of where it comes to in the bowl after that. It would have been different if concerns were over second helpings. Why are the letting their young children have free rein to portion sizes.
 
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PenguinMum

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I also thought his take was similar to Jamie’s crusade years ago. I am cynical about HFW and all these celebrity chefs though they mean well they do love a bit of screen time. As I said earlier I was more interested in that woman who challengd him in the launch who then agreed (reluctantly) to join him in his quest. He must have been quietly thrilled about that because her local knowledge of everyday challenges will make his job easier.
I was sceptical of the parents shock at the size of the cereal portions. I find it hard to believe that the amount of those small biscuit cereals in that little girls bowl were her usual portion or does she leave more tha half in the bowl and walk away? Thats another programme! Surely if you use the same cereal bowls you need only weigh once because you get a good indication of where it comes to in the bowl after that. It would have been different if concerns were over second helpings. Why are the letting their young children have free rein to portion sizes.[/QUOTE]
 

PenguinMum

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You reckon ...or was it all a set up and she wanted to "be on the telly".
Maybe I'm just an old cynic...
I wondered that .....bet she wont get paid as handsomely as HFW but she does have more personality!
 

eggs11

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You reckon ...or was it all a set up and she wanted to "be on the telly".
Maybe I'm just an old cynic...
I also believe that it was set-up, it massively follows the formula of Jamie's one about home cooking about 10 years ago, with him recruiting local women to show him 'what's what'.

I'm worried that they are using the 'chocolate salad drawer' guy as an example - going to do the usual low fat/low calorie diet/loads of exercise 'fix' on him and show his transformation - but what they won't show is that he'll find it unsustainable in the longterm as he'll get hungry and put it back on. But we shall see...
 
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Guzzler

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Sorry everyone, but my first thought every time I see HFW is "First Fatten your Pig". I think he was genuinely surprised at the lack of fresh food in that local shopping area and by the lack of interest at the school gates. This is because he has no experience of communities outside of his own. More power to his elbow, though, when it comes to changing the practises of Big Food (be that by the strength of his argument or by sheer bad publicity for certain brand owners).
 
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Sue192

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I usually get the knife stuck halfway through and end up waving it around lice a medieval torture implement until I slam it down on the chopping board. But I agree swede is yummy.
Me too! I had that battle with butternut squash - my language would make an RSM blush - until I found out if you prick the skin and zap it in the microwave for 2-3 mins (and let cool!) the skin comes off easier. So, although I fail to understand why people can't peel a spud and pod fresh peas for example, I'm eternally grateful that b/nut squash cubes and lasagne sheets are ready-prepared, hypocritical though that may be.

This is because he has no experience of communities outside of his own.
That may be the case, but even down here, with an abundance of local producers of veg and fruit, many organic, there is still a lack of being able to buy it in supermarkets. To be fair, Morrisons does have their wonky veg range, some UK/locally-produced, some not, but I see very few people purchasing it and it's good value (I do - a bag of avos for £1.56 for instance). However, when HFW opened his shop in Axminster he charged £20 for a free-range chicken. They didn't sell so he hadn't done his homework in his own community!

How on earth did we get to this stage of not wanting to cook or not knowing how to? @Guzzler highlighted one problem, the lack of cookery lessons in schools (or domestic science as it was in my day) but it is a hugely complex situation - I rather doubt that we will ever get back to how it should be as there are, surely, far too many reasons to be addressed and solved.
 

Guzzler

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Me too! I had that battle with butternut squash - my language would make an RSM blush - until I found out if you prick the skin and zap it in the microwave for 2-3 mins (and let cool!) the skin comes off easier. So, although I fail to understand why people can't peel a spud and pod fresh peas for example, I'm eternally grateful that b/nut squash cubes and lasagne sheets are ready-prepared, hypocritical though that may be.


That may be the case, but even down here, with an abundance of local producers of veg and fruit, many organic, there is still a lack of being able to buy it in supermarkets. To be fair, Morrisons does have their wonky veg range, some UK/locally-produced, some not, but I see very few people purchasing it and it's good value (I do - a bag of avos for £1.56 for instance). However, when HFW opened his shop in Axminster he charged £20 for a free-range chicken. They didn't sell so he hadn't done his homework in his own community!

How on earth did we get to this stage of not wanting to cook or not knowing how to? @Guzzler highlighted one problem, the lack of cookery lessons in schools (or domestic science as it was in my day) but it is a hugely complex situation - I rather doubt that we will ever get back to how it should be as there are, surely, far too many reasons to be addressed and solved.

The rising ill health of the nation will need a multi pronged approach. Coming at first in terms of guidelines at the top to public perception through education and targetting the generational differences. At the rate it is going now it will take more than a couple of generations to put right. That is why I am in favour of government intervention when it comes to legislation on foodstuffs.
 
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eggs11

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Sorry everyone, but my first thought every time I see HFW is "First Fatten your Pig". I think he was genuinely surprised at the lack of fresh food in that local shopping area and by the lack of interest at the school gates. This is because he has no experience of communities outside of his own. More power to his elbow, though, when it comes to changing the practises of Big Food (be that by the strength of his argument or by sheer bad publicity for certain brand owners).
He's been here before, 10 years ago, with his free range chicken campaign - he spoke to local (west country) single mums about the affordability of free range chicken and he did come across as naive then. So I'm probably also an old cynic - but I think Hugh and the producers knew exactly what was likely to come up in this programme and where it would take them.

I just hope the public don't watch it and say - look at all those fizzy drinks and chocolate and lack of fresh veg available - no wonder people are getting fat - and not realise that their own carb heavy 'healthy' diets are equally part of the problem. I say this as someone who thought my own diet was reasonably healthy until my diagnosis.
 
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I think Hugh is a bit

He's been here before, 10 years ago, with his free range chicken campaign - he spoke to local (west country) single mums about the affordability of free range chicken and he did come across as naive then. So I'm probably also an old cynic - but I think Hugh and the producers knew exactly what was likely to come up in this programme and where it would take them.

I just hope the public don't watch it and say - look at all those fizzy drinks and chocolate and lack of fresh veg available - no wonder people are getting fat - and not realise that their own carb heavy 'healthy' diets are equally part of the problem. I say this as someone who thought my own diet was reasonably healthy until my diagnosis.

Well, I have a nasty suspicious mind and at one point I did ask myself why Newcastle? Why not an afluent part of Britain? Why not get a group of 'professionals' together like.... oooh I don't know... doctors, nurses, solicitors and MPs all diagnosed with T2 and try to educate those folks? You see why I am cynical about almost everything? Because you can sometimes see the cogs going around.
 
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donnellysdogs

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Me too! I had that battle with butternut squash - my language would make an RSM blush - until I found out if you prick the skin and zap it in the microwave for 2-3 mins (and let cool!) the skin comes off easier. So, although I fail to understand why people can't peel a spud and pod fresh peas for example, I'm eternally grateful that b/nut squash cubes and lasagne sheets are ready-prepared, hypocritical though that may be.


That may be the case, but even down here, with an abundance of local producers of veg and fruit, many organic, there is still a lack of being able to buy it in supermarkets. To be fair, Morrisons does have their wonky veg range, some UK/locally-produced, some not, but I see very few people purchasing it and it's good value (I do - a bag of avos for £1.56 for instance). However, when HFW opened his shop in Axminster he charged £20 for a free-range chicken. They didn't sell so he hadn't done his homework in his own community!

How on earth did we get to this stage of not wanting to cook or not knowing how to? @Guzzler highlighted one problem, the lack of cookery lessons in schools (or domestic science as it was in my day) but it is a hugely complex situation - I rather doubt that we will ever get back to how it should be as there are, surely, far too many reasons to be addressed and solved.

I just slice butternut in half. Then quartes and roast.. then flesh comes off really, really easy.
The skins then go back in to further roast, then the dog and I will wrestle over the skins.... I shouldnt have them... but omg the skins are delicious roasted!! Only buy organic and dont have more than one bnut a week as its got high vitamins in it and dont want my dog or I to have too much...
 
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AdamJames

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The one thing HFW / "the show" unquestionably got right is the way it treated the obesity problem mainly as a 'food environment' problem. We are born into a bad food environment and unless we are very lucky, educated on nutrition early on in life, and are always-vigilant, we are likely to become obese or at least develop food-related health problems.

So rather than blaming people for being obese, we should applaud obese people if they can somehow break lifetime habits and turn their health around, all to the continuing background of the bad food environment they live in.
 

eggs11

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The one thing HFW / "the show" unquestionably got right is the way it treated the obesity problem mainly as a 'food environment' problem. We are born into a bad food environment and unless we are very lucky, educated on nutrition early on in life, and are always-vigilant, we are likely to become obese or at least develop food-related health problems.

So rather than blaming people for being obese, we should applaud obese people if they can somehow break lifetime habits and turn their health around, all to the continuing background of the bad food environment they live in.
True. The next episode looked interesting where they were going to talk about 'healthy' smoothies and their sugar content. Will be interesting to see what they talk about next.
 
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bulkbiker

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The one thing HFW / "the show" unquestionably got right is the way it treated the obesity problem mainly as a 'food environment' problem. We are born into a bad food environment and unless we are very lucky, educated on nutrition early on in life, and are always-vigilant, we are likely to become obese or at least develop food-related health problems.

So rather than blaming people for being obese, we should applaud obese people if they can somehow break lifetime habits and turn their health around, all to the continuing background of the bad food environment they live in.
I just hope he doesn't go too far down the eat less move more route.. the trailer for next week didn't look particularly encouraging on that front.
Also I checked out his website for newcastle can.. some pretty horrendous advice and very fat phobic.. which is a shame.
 

AdamJames

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I just hope he doesn't go too far down the eat less move more route.. the trailer for next week didn't look particularly encouraging on that front.
Also I checked out his website for newcastle can.. some pretty horrendous advice and very fat phobic.. which is a shame.

I hadn't thought to check the website.

I don't think that the 'fat is good' science has really begun to filter into mainstream medical guidance. I wouldn't expect a public campaign, endorsed by members of local government in Newcastle, to promote fat. Can you imagine if HFW sat in that meeting around the table and said "let's get Newcastle eating a 90% fat diet". They'd be terrified.

At least his main initial line of attack was sugar. And moving more and eating less can be a good start, I'd say it's likely to improve rather than worsen the health of an obese person if it's done sensibly.
 

AdamJames

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And it is being done sensibly in that he isn't saying "eat less of what you currently eat", he's saying eat healthier stuff.
 

eggs11

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I just hope he doesn't go too far down the eat less move more route.. the trailer for next week didn't look particularly encouraging on that front.
Also I checked out his website for newcastle can.. some pretty horrendous advice and very fat phobic.. which is a shame.
I just took a quick look and Hugh himself actually talks about starchy carbs and cutting them down (unfortunately he mentions replacing them with fruit for snacks) which I wasn't expecting but there are lots of condradictions in the rest of the healthy eating advice - eg. don't eat rice cakes as snacks as not filling - then soon after - air-dried popcorn is a good snack.

Just wondering - as it's set in Newcastle - will they pay a visit to Prof Roy Taylor to talk about visceral fat?
 

AdamJames

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Just wondering - as it's set in Newcastle - will they pay a visit to Prof Roy Taylor to talk about visceral fat?

I wondered that! I could swear one of his helpers in the background when he was doing the megaphone thing on the street looked the spitting image of Roy Taylor. I thought maybe HFW had roped him into the campaign then was about to turn around and interview him. Probably just some other old codger though who looks a bit like him :)
 
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Diakat

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Next week they talk to Prof Valabhiji
 
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Sue192

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I just slice butternut in half. Then quartes and roast.. then flesh comes off really, really easy.
The skins then go back in to further roast, then the dog and I will wrestle over the skins.... I shouldnt have them... but omg the skins are delicious roasted!! Only buy organic and dont have more than one bnut a week as its got high vitamins in it and dont want my dog or I to have too much...
I have one which has been sitting on the kitchen counter for ages. I have just got to try the roasted skins, so thanks for the tips and no dog to have to share them with! :)