Fighting Obesity!

Experts agree that the causes of the obesity epidemic are environmental, related to living in surroundings that allow easy access to food and little need for exercise. To date most approaches to obesity have focused on changing the behaviour of individuals—on diet and exercise—and cumulatively these have had little or no impact on the increasing prevalence of obesity.

The report by the health committee is the first to describe a comprehensive and integrated strategy that emphasises the environmental contributors to the obesity problem. Unlike policies in the United States, which promote individual rather than state responsibility for the obesity problem, the strategy in the United Kingdom specifically states that the solution does not lie with the individual or doctor's office.

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The United Kingdom report recommends measures including the simpler labelling of food with red, yellow, and green symbols categorising healthfulness and banning vending machines and school sponsorships by companies associated with unhealthy foods, and better access to programmes to treat obesity. The report was critical of the British government, essentially describing current initiatives to tackle obesity as much talk but little action. Both this report by the health committee and the World Health Organization's recent global strategy on diet, physical activity, and health have implicated the marketing of junk foods as an important cause of obesity, but they propose different solutions.

WHO called for immediate bans on the advertising of unhealthy foods to children and restrictions on sugar content. The recommendations were criticised for not being evidence based allowing officials of the food industry to stall the plan. A remarkable feature of the health committee's report is its call for the voluntary participation of the food industry in anti-obesity initiatives.

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The plan represents a willingness of the government to take corporate executives at their word, at least temporarily, to believe they are interested in the health of consumers. Members of the health committee state rightly that an approach using incentives instead of legislated restrictions may produce results faster and yield more creative solutions.

5 Ways To Fight Obesity And Being Overweight!

The report's recommendations are necessary and sensible but are not based on evidence of effectiveness. The only interventions that are well supported by research are surgery for the morbidly obese; drugs; and multicomponent weight loss programmes consisting of diet, exercise, and behaviour therapy. The lack of evidence does not condone inaction or delay. On the contrary, we must create the evidence. Adopted policies need to be tested scientifically, in well designed controlled studies, in order to evaluate and document the usefulness of each tactic.

The many recommendations made by the health committee are idealistic and expensive. Funding limitations will require us to choose among proposals.

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Thus finding the most successful and cost effective policies will be crucial. As suggested in the report, when each initiative is implemented, a parallel process of evaluating its impact must be put into place. Much research on obesity is hampered by our inability to measure food intake and energy expenditure accurately.

Inevitably the interest of the government and the public to support health will collide with the food industry's desire for profit if not immediately then soon. When such conflicts arise, the winning argument will be the one that can prove with hard evidence that their strategy works to combat obesity and promote health. See also News p By contrast, Rhode argues, strategies such as public education, greater access to parks, and physical education programs are less controversial and likely more effective.

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Public awareness is paramount, she says. One way to spotlight the obesity issue is through high-profile awareness campaigns subsidized through additional taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages. These taxes, she says, can both raise revenue and deter the consumption of sugary products.

Rhode says that polling data suggests these taxes are politically acceptable if citizens know that the funds raised are used for obesity prevention. Another possibility is a creative use of zoning regulations, Rhode says. New zoning could restrict the location of fast-food restaurants near schools while encouraging the location of healthy food retailers in underserved neighborhoods.

She calls for additional rules on food and beverage packaging and marketing practices. For example, calorie disclosure requirements could be expanded to include more establishments. They could also use color-coding systems that are better noticed by people, especially children, she says. In addition to physical problems such as heart disease and diabetes, obesity and being overweight are also associated with higher risks of psychological problems, including depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

Stigmatization and prejudice are other problems, Rhode notes, as discrimination against overweight people is widespread in employment, education, and health care. Taxpayers finance nearly half of all medical costs associated with obesity through Medicare and Medicaid.