Britain Is Fatter than Europe

According to a recent study, Britain is the fattest country* in Europe with one in four people being obese - the fattest being located in Boston, Lincolnshire (Where I used to live).

However, it's not the people of Britain that are at fault for this, it's the Government. We're taught in schools from a very young age how to read, write and add. Going through to secondary school we're given inadequate sex education which is possibly the reason why so many teens are having babies these days, but the one thing we're not taught is nutrition.

Sure, we're brought up being told not to eat junk food, but ask a young child what they think junk food is and they'll probably tell you vegetables, simply because of the dislike in taste. The government should now be making it compulsory for every school to have a nutrition lesson once a week, possibly coinciding with P.E (Physical Education) so that when youngsters leave school they know very well what is right and wrong in the ways of eating and they can then make up their own mind about which path they wish to choose.

As I was growing up my parents would always tell me Mcdonalds was bad, but I never listened to them because they weren't telling me why it was bad. Sure, it's "fattening" is a pretty bog-standard answer, but I was never told what types of fat there are and what they can do to your body. I became over-weight and it was simply down to lack of education.

I'm healthy and fit now, but only because I put in the time and effort to learn for myself what is good for my body and what isn't. There are still thousands, if not millions, of young children who are growing up and leaving school not knowing what "Polyunsaturated fats" are or what "Fibre" actually does for your bowels, and as such, they're eating rubbish foods with no more health benefits than drugs (well).

It's about time the Government stepped up and listened to the likes of Jamie Oliver and others and began introducing nutrition classes in school - making them as equally as important as Maths, Science and English.

On another note, BMI scales. Anyone heard of this? BMI stands for Body Mass Index and works out a persons height and weight and tells them if they're overweight or not.

According to this article by the BBC, a gentleman of 6ft 2 in height who weighs around 15 stone is classed as overweight - and when you hear the term "overweight", you instantly think of "fat".

However, I have a friend who is of the same height and weight but he is clearly not fat. If I could post up a picture of him I would but he has muscles galore and not an inch of fat on him. Every part of his body is sculpt to perfection with 'cut' definition and rock solid pecks. He is a fitness instructor and spends 4 to 5 days a week down the gym. According to the BMI index, my friend is over-weight and thus is expected to die younger.

My view? What a load of bollocks! The government are once again failing to educate people about what is fat and what isn't. They refuse to scrap an absolutely pathetic and disgraceful system called the BMI chart for something much cheaper and more reliable - a mirror.

Next time you want to lose weight, throw your scales in the bin and forget visiting the doctor to find out if you're over-weight. Simply take a look in a mirror (a decent one, I know some that make you look fat) and decide for yourself. If you see lumps in the wrong places or your stomach sagging over your belt, then you know it's time to lose weight. If you can see some definition in your body then you're most probably fine - and if you can see more bone than muscle, then it's time to start eating more.






*I'm fed up with the media calling Britain or Great Britain a country, it is not a country but a geographical location made up of three countries; England, Scotland and Wales.