Friday 16 May 2008

How fat is Yorkshire?

It seems to be the year for celebrities coming to Yorkshire telling us how to lose weight. First there was Jamie going to Rotherham for his new tv series Ministry of Food. Now it seems Sarah Ferguson has been hanging out in Hull for the last six months trying to help a family lose weight. I'm starting to get quite scared to go to the chippy, in case Gillian McKeith's in there, hiding behind the vinegar and waiting to pounce.

It made me wonder, anyway. Is Yorkshire that much fatter than everyone else? Or have they just come here because Yorkshire folk are plain speaking and salt of the earth and have accents that come over well on tv?

Well, it turns out that Hull is the fattest place in England. Not the rest of Yorkshire - apart from Middlesbrough at number 10, none of the other fattest towns is in the region (though 6 are in Lancashire, so there). However, according to the Yorkshire and Humber Public Health Observatory, which measures these things (presumably from a tower, with a telescope), we are basically fatter than most of the country, as well as doing less exercise and eating fewer fruit and vegetables.

Interestingly, though, it seems from this report that though Yorkshire adults should lay off the roast pork and crackling, Yorkshire and Humberside children actually have the lowest rate of obesity of any of the regions. The reason is obvious. We keep them thin, so they can fit into all the little crevices when we send them down the mines.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any change you can post a home made Yorkshire pud recipe on your blog? Thanks!!

Unknown said...

I really do wonder where these facts come from with regards how they know where fatest. I mean, do they really know!? Jamie no marathon runner himself and i certainly wouldnt worry about Gillan Mckeith after her horrendous showing in the jungle! My moto is eat as much of and whatever you want but you have to balance it with the equal amount of exercise for example if you eat a full joint of pork and all the crackling, then you need to complete a triathalon in an hour. Good article though. Have a look at my blog http://thehogandapple.blogspot.com/which explains who i am. Id be really interested in posting a guest blog on your site about a contemporary pig roast recipe with hints and tips. Cheers

Nigel said...

I believe that a certain amount, and certain types of animal fat has to be good for our bodies, surely. As long as it's the right kind of fat, and food is cooked through properly. Steak should be well done, pork has to have crackling, in other words a degree of the harder fats are cooked out of the meat, or reduced during the cooking process.
Why else in a world of low fat diets are we now seeing the introction of Omega oils ( derived from animal fats) being introduced into milk and other foods to supplement our low fat diets ?

Nature had already put these oils and fats in there... just a thought.