Who is Making Me Fat?

SuzyK

Silver Member
Hi

I was chanel surfing last night on the TV and I caught the end of a programme that was discussing, who is making us fat?

They mentioned BOGOF, for things such as crisps etc and also The Sugar Bureau.

I didn't realise how much sugar is being added to our food.

They also mentioned that parts of the NHS is sponsored by Burger King.

My diet is low carb so my sugar intake now is right down, but what about our children?

I recently found out if a child eats a petit filous each day that is equal to a 2 kg bag of sugar each year! I thought it was a healthy option for them!!!

I know it is a case of modration and we are not forced to eat the unhealthy foods but they make is so difficult to work out what is good for us and what is not.

I just wondred how others felt about this as it has certainly made me think.
 
i definately think that supermarkets have something to do with it.being a student i rely on these bogof offers to get me thru on a budget add on all the alcohol and hardly any exercise and thats where i am now.the bogof offers should be on fruit and veg not treats to encourage us all to eat healthier.
 
We as individuals are responsible for making ourselves fat. We are not forced to buy BOGOF or eat crisps etc, we have become a culture were we have to blame somebody for our actions instead of taking responsiblity for ourselves.

Aldi have offers on fruit & veg and I think Morrisons have now joined this 'price war'. Just because you buy BOGOF doesn't mean you have to eat everything all at once, it's a saving.

I bought BOGOF Morrison's own bran sticks yesterday! So it might appear BOGOF's are just on unhealthy foods, but really they're not.

I always check 'healthy low fat' foods for sugar, I also check breakfast cereals for sugar & sodium. I found cereal bars are the worst for adding sugar when you really think they are healthy.

But you would expect yoghurts to be a healthy option.

Interesting thread, I'm keen to know other peoples views.
 
Hi
I, like Happy Holidays, also think we have become a culture where we need to blame others for our inabilities. unfortunately that is what happens when you live in a 'nanny' state.

I have to admit though, I had not realised that yoghurt had added sugar in it and also thought they were the healthy alternative. I'm really into cooking my own food from scratch, so not so aware of all the added extra's etc. but then even in bread there is added salt and sugar. When I'm cooking I tend to leave all salt out especially if the kids are eating what I've made and the same goes with sugar.

I think I'll have to start looking into all the labels of the food that I do buy.

As to the BOGOF offers. I think they are good, but you can still buy 24packs of crisps for £1.99 (or whatever it is) and get the second 24pack free. That'll last forever in my house, yet if you buy the BOGOF on fruit or veg, you can buy a punnet of strawberries for £2.99 and get the second free, but that'll last 3 days in my house, not 3 weeks like the crisps!! Fruit and veg prices need to be lower.....

xx
 
I think we can all make a decision about what we buy and what we put in our own gobs. It's like - hmm trying to lose weight, won't even buy the BOGOF biscuits because I can't even eat them so what's the point?!

However, also agree about the point made regarding fruit and veg prices. I'm always on a really tight budget and after each shop I go through my shopping list to check I'm not spending too much money on things (I'm an Asda Smart Price girl!) Looking through the list last week, the most expensive thing on it? A packet of grapes! Ridiculous - they're only for snacks!

We definitely need BOGOFs to be on healthier foods, the only problem is that fruit and veg is expensive to produce so our farmers would lose out in the long run. Maybe BOGOFs on stuff like wholemeal pasta, reduced sugar/salt baked beans and decent cereals would be the way forward!
 
I think it is our fault, obviously we're the ones buying. But I think it's much easier to be fat now because we're not aware of what's in our food, whereas a few years ago, we didn't really have to worry about that. It's just an awareness campaign at the minute that we need really. It's also just a matter of convenience nowadays.
 
As to the BOGOF offers. I think they are good, but you can still buy 24packs of crisps for £1.99 (or whatever it is) and get the second 24pack free. That'll last forever in my house, yet if you buy the BOGOF on fruit or veg, you can buy a punnet of strawberries for £2.99 and get the second free, but that'll last 3 days in my house, not 3 weeks like the crisps!! Fruit and veg prices need to be lower.....

xx

Totally agree with you on that one.

I am basically buying on my own and the berries if I want to take up on the Asda 2 for £3 offer ends up mouldy before I have finished them.
 
I think that we're ultimately making ourselves fat, because we're the ones making the choices and not checking what we're eating.
The bogofs definitely don't help because they're always on the "bad stuff", the offers on fruit and veg when there are some aren't as good as the offers on junk.
I think the main problem is an awareness thing, it's easy to grab something because it's convenient without thinking about what's in it, especially because what you expect to be a healthy choice isn't always because there's stuff hidden in it to make it taste better!
I remember watching something on telly a while ago (no idea what or when) but it turned out that Bran Flakes (I think, or something similar that you would think to be a healthy breakfast cereal) actually had more sugar in than cocoa pops - or it might have been frosties!!! I think on the same programme there was a comparison of special k cereal bars, that are marketed as a healthy option, which turned out to be worse gram for gram than the cocoa pops ones too.
I bet there's loads of other similar things too.
 
I think that we're ultimately making ourselves fat, because we're the ones making the choices and not checking what we're eating.
The bogofs definitely don't help because they're always on the "bad stuff", the offers on fruit and veg when there are some aren't as good as the offers on junk.
I think the main problem is an awareness thing, it's easy to grab something because it's convenient without thinking about what's in it, especially because what you expect to be a healthy choice isn't always because there's stuff hidden in it to make it taste better!
I remember watching something on telly a while ago (no idea what or when) but it turned out that Bran Flakes (I think, or something similar that you would think to be a healthy breakfast cereal) actually had more sugar in than cocoa pops - or it might have been frosties!!! I think on the same programme there was a comparison of special k cereal bars, that are marketed as a healthy option, which turned out to be worse gram for gram than the cocoa pops ones too.
I bet there's loads of other similar things too.

yeah i saw that too :0, scary!! bran flakes had more sugar than crunchy nut was it? something like that - i'll stick to the porridge:)

ultimately though its clever advertising by the multi-national companies that hinder us being healthy. they spend millions trying to get us to part with our cash. saw a programme on that too:) we have to be strong to fight the temptation i guess
 
Hi

I agree that fruit and veg should be cheaper, although I am sure if they sourced locally the farmers would not be too affected because the savings would be on transposrt and we all know how expensive diesel and fuel is these days.

Also if it spent less time being transported would it not last longer?

My main concern is the way we are being encouraged towards these so called healthy options, and when you read what is actually in them they are far from healthy.

When I am shopping by myself I can look at what are in the foods but when I have the kids with me I don't have the time.

Hubby does alot of our shopping and he does not have any weight concerns so I can't expect him to read what is in every single item that he picks up.

It is very much down to clever advertising, but can they carry on like this?

The goverment / heath service etc is trying to get us to be a healthier nation but how are they really helping?????
 
The govt. although they want us to be a healthier nation and stop the drain of resources on the NHS, by us Obese patients, actually aren't doing anything to help. They make loads of dosh from the advertising people who ultimately want us to eat all the wrong food. How long did it take before cigarettes were banned in public places??, but then alcohol, we all know how bad it is for us, but because the govt makes loads in revenue as yet, not a lot is being done about binge drinking etc. I believe it's the same with unhealthy foods. 'They' moan about the state we are all in and that things have got to get better before we all die of heart disease and diabetes alot younger, but if they made the healthy options cheaper we, the consumer could afford to buy better. I don't believe in a nanny state which unfortunately we are becoming or are, but at the end of the day, everything comes down to money. If the right food was cheaper, we'd buy it - end of as we would have no choice. I wouldn't buy packs of biscuits, crisps etc all the time, if a pack cost me £5, so I would spend more on my fruit - and buy the biscuits as a treat - something they were meant for.

Sorry for the rant, but I get so annoyed at the price of fruit and veg and the price of biscuits etc..something has to give....not sure what?! Maybe you are right SuzyK - locally sourced food would help, and not to eat fruit out of season.....

xx
 
You're right, I went to the market yesterday and filled a small tote bag with fruit and veg and it cost me 6.50! Christ. I'm sure I could've filled two bags with crisps and biccies easily. So annoying lol. But to think of the rate at which I used to eat biscuits and crisps, it probably evens out really. It's not like we binge on fruit and veg.
 
Don't be a government statistic!

Take the time to read the labels... even if you're life is very busy!
We are responsible for ourselves and cannot blame anyone else if we're fat,
yes I know its difficult to know what's in certain foods, but after the first shopping trip of reading the small print you'll know what to buy!

when it comes to the price of fruit and veg I agree that things need to change,
write to the supermarkets, they usually send you a voucher!
 
verity1987, it's funny you mention the vouchers....my OH is brilliant with vouchers. If we buy anything and it's not completely how it should be, he phones the company and we receive vouchers. The other week we'd bought some yoghurt's for the kids it looked as if some of the pots were not as full as others. So he phoned and we got more vouchers than the yogs were worth, so could buy twice as many next time! He does it all the time. I'm waiting for his name to be black listed! Although in his defence he only does it if there is a genuine problem. He phoned the same company once, and the bloke on the end of the phone recognised his voice and name - very embarrassing, but it was genuine. He also phones if he likes something - you get vouchers that way too!!

xx
 
I think its due to the fact that convienience food is so much cheaper than healthier food such as fruit and vegetables. You hardly ever see any offers on fruit and vegetables!

Buy one get one frees on cakes and biscuits, £1.59 for a pack of four apples.
 
For diet managing you should take help from your doctor or trainer they will guide you properly, eat right food, exercise and drink water you must do all such activities so that it will be beneficial for you.
 
I see we are all of the mind that fruit and veg should be cheaper.

I paid £2.99 for a small punnet of raspberries this week and I made sure I walked down the crisps and biscuits aisle and I saw how much I could buy for £3 and I was even more shocked than I thought I would be.

There has to be a way to get better value on our heathly foods. Yes, some shops may do the odd deal here and there on healthy options or fruit and veg but I think most of us don't have the time to shop in all the different shops. Also we don't have all shops locally.

My local choice is Sainsburys, Tesco or ASDA and even then I couldn't go into all three as I would spend ages driving from one to the other.

I like the idea of getting some vouchers, who doesn't when it comes to saving money, but that is not going to help with our shopping every week.

I asked in one of the supermarkets a while ago if they had a list of low carb foods, as they have various lists of what doesn't contain this and that and they could not help me. I was told to look at the packaging. Well, I do that now but only since I started my diet. If I had known before how bad some foods were I may have avoided them and I certainly would not be offering them to my kids!!!
 
The only other way I can see people going shopping without seeing the 'special offers' and buying the cheaper food is to do the shopping online and get it delivered. Though it is a lot less active and you dont get to pick your own vegetables.
 
I agree that it is upto us whether we eat healthy or fatty foods ,but i do think the amount of bogofs and cheap deals on biscuits etc is ridiculous!!!! You can buy a pkt of biscuits for like 30-40p!!! When i want to buy fruit and its sooooo expensive,watermelons are £3 each as is raspberries,strawberrys,blueberries etc, if the govt want the nation to be healthy and stop draining the nhs then they should make fruit and veg alot cheaper than buying crap which will help the nhs in the long run.

It is upto us to eat healthy but what am i supposed to do,i have alot of friends etc over and need to buy treats for them,i cant run to the shops everytime a guest comes over!!Go to any shop and the chocolates etc are so cheap its ridiculous.i want to eat healthy and be slim so am losing weight and excercising but these kinda prices really piss me off.....lol

xx
 
The problem with online shopping shelz is that if thats how you're checking the nutritional info and ingredients given, it isn't always up to date with what's on the packaging, and that's if it's there at all. I'm guessing its because the recipe has changed at some point or even just the size of the "portion". If you've bought something before then it's not a problem, but I'm forever buying different things to try otherwise I get bored.
If you're only buying fruit and veg thats not an issue ;), but I won't buy it online anymore because it always seems to go off within a couple of days compared to the week+ the same things last when I buy them from the shop.

Online is probably best if you don't want to be sucked into the "special offers", but it's easy to miss good deals on things you would buy anyway if you know what I mean.

We can't win either way.
 
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