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Older generations are much more likely to take responsibility for their weight than younger people, research shows.
Experts say a “blitz spirit” and a sense of “stoicism” make older people who gain weight more likely to blame themselves.
But the study of nearly 15,000 obese people found that younger people are more likely to blame the “toxic environment” of takeout and delivery apps for their weight problems.
Among baby boomers, with an average age of 70, the majority felt that losing weight was a matter of personal responsibility – a view shared by the minority of millennials.
Experts said the older generation had been taught to be much more ‘self-reliant’ and urged GPs to provide more help to elderly patients who want to lose weight.
(Stock Image) Older generations are much more likely to take responsibility for their weight than younger people, research shows
Their life experience made them less likely to seek advice, but once they got it, older people were more likely to follow it, the study found.
Younger people were wrong to absolve themselves of personal responsibility with such attitudes that fueled record obesity rates, she added.
Lead author Dr. Dror Dicker, Tel Aviv University co-chair of the Obesity Management Task Force, said: ‘The perception among the elderly is that obesity is a lifestyle choice, not a disease. Younger generations accept that the environment and culture of fast food are partly to blame.
“When it comes to weight loss barriers, older people are much more motivated to lose weight than young people.
‘The main motivation for older patients is their health, not their appearance. While younger patients want to look thinner and fit into a smaller clothing size, the elderly are concerned about obesity-related diseases. They want to feel better physically and look more energetic.’
Obesity rates have almost doubled in the last three decades, with 26 per cent of adults in England now obese – compared to 14 per cent in 1991. In addition, 38 per cent are overweight.
Many obesity experts have attributed the rise to an increasingly obesogenic environment and the rise of fast food and convenience foods.
But the new research also suggests a major shift in attitudes about dieting.
While 58 percent of those over 65 thought weight loss was their sole responsibility, only 40 percent of younger respondents — with an average age of 41 — thought so.
The international study, which involved 14,502 obese people, led by researchers at the Rabin Medical Center in Israel, also involved experts from the University of Leeds, as well as scientists from Saudi Arabia and Australia.
Older people were much less comfortable than younger people asking for help, the study found – it took an average of nine years to discuss weight with a health professional, compared with five years for younger people.
Only 12 per cent of those over 65 had raised the issue – nearly half of the 22 per cent found among those in the younger group, according to findings presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Dublin.
But once given advice by a health professional, the older group was more likely to follow it than younger people. Overall, 63 percent of the older age group used diet methods recommended by a doctor, compared to 51 percent of the younger generations.
Professor Jason Halford, president of the European Association for the Study of Obesity, said each generation’s different life experiences influenced their obesity rates.
Older people grew up on a different diet than subsequent generations and tended to gain weight later in life, usually around age 48.
“Their experiences are very different, it’s not just about intergenerational attitudes,” he said.
‘They think it’s more their responsibility – they have a different worldview, are more self-reliant and stoic.
“It’s a little bit about blitzspirit about self-reliance.”
Meanwhile, the younger people may have had weight problems for most of their lives and “struggle with the toxic environment.”
(Stock Image) Among baby boomers, with an average age of 70, the majority thought losing weight was a matter of personal responsibility – a view shared by the minority of millennials
They were less likely to take advice from professionals and often got their health messages from “YouTube and TikTok.”
He added: ‘There are certainly several generations where older people don’t see weight as something they would go to a doctor for and prefer to manage their weight themselves.
“Older generations also put more trust in the doctor and do what is recommended, while younger people may feel more comfortable asking for advice, but they won’t necessarily take it.”
In men, obesity rates are highest in the 55 to 64 age group, with 33 per cent obesity, according to NHS Digital’s latest health survey for England. In women, rates peak among those aged 65 to 74, with 32 percent obesity.
Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said health professionals should take note of the findings – and for more to encourage “baby boomers” to shape up.
He said: ‘Children growing up in the 1950s and 1960s when the NHS was relatively new were taught to be self-reliant when it comes to health. If you ever went to your doctor you did as he said because the doctors knew best and that mentality may still persist.”
“Two generations later, society had changed radically,” he added, saying, “Millennials began to think that weight loss was not their responsibility and the idea continues to contribute to the current epidemic.”