Blobby Britain

It appears that Britain is the new European home of the "Fat Bastard" ..... we used to be able to laugh at the Americans, who for some decades were far and away the fattest nation on Earth ....


Fat American Children - Body Shamed?

 

..... but not anymore.

 

Every ambulance service in the UK has started buying specialist lifting equipment, which includes wider stretchers, more lifting gear and reinforcing existing vehicles.

Fat Children - Our Future?

 

Some have even bought specialist "bariatric" ambulances - costing up to £90,000 each - to ferry the most obese (these are especially designed so that double-width trolley stretchers for patients up to 50 stone (318kg) can be accommodated, and usually include hoists and inflatable lifting cushions).


A Common Sight On British Streets

Highest *BMIs in Western Europe for Men for 2008

1.  Ireland 27.7
2. Malta 27.7
3. Andorra 27.6
4. Spain 27.5
5. Cyprus 27.4
6. UK 27.4
7. Luxembourg 27.4
8. Germany 27.2

Highest BMIs in Western Europe for Women in 2008

1.  Israel 27.3
2. Malta 27.0
3. UK 26.9
4. Greenland 26.7
5. Ireland 26.6

Of course the next fifty years could see major food shortages and these fatties may simply 'disappear', but in the short term its now becoming a crisis, with large parts of the Western (and big parts of the Developing) world having to accommodate the tidal wave of fat, that is threatening to engulf all our services and infrastructure.

The examples listed below of the impact of fatties, are the thin end of a very large wedge.

• Several US airlines charge passengers for a second seat if they cannot fit into one.
• In 2009, Irish budget carrier Ryanair announced it was considering a "fat tax" on its largest customers.
• London's Royal Festival Hall had a £71m refit in 2004, and more than 100 seats were removed to give audience members extra room.
• The new Wembley stadium, which opened in 2007, offers seats that are 50cm wide and 80cm deep - 9cm wider and 16cm deeper than at the old Wembley.
• Some councils have spent thousands on wider furnaces, according to the Local Government Association. Grieving relatives have sometimes had to travel hundreds of miles to the few venues that can handle over-sized coffins.

Recent studies have produced figures that suggest that the proportion of men and women who are obese or overweight falls as the educational level rises ... which probably proves that over the last twenty years or so our education system has been producing more and more 'thick' people (in both senses of the word). Any look at the mainstream TV station ratings suggests that we now cater for a less well educated population and this seems to back up these figures.

There have been suggestions in the UK that we need a new national anthem (well for England, the others all have one), so with this story in mind and our impending fatness, can I suggest the old football terrace standby and universally recognised ditty "Who ate all the pies? Who ate all the pies? You fat bastard! You fat bastard! You ate all the pies!"


Fat Kid

 

*It should be noted that while a useful indicator, the BMI doesn't distinguish between fat and non-fat weight i.e muscular men fail BMI tests, or indicate where the fat is located i.e Waistline fat is particularly detrimental to cardio-metabolic health.