Should the government take a firmer stance on obesity?
It’s Obesity Awareness Week – a campaign that aims to help improve the nation’s health by raising awareness and encouraging people to eat more healthily and be more physically active.
Obesity is now considered a public health crisis – nearly two-thirds of adults in England (that’s 63%) are classed as overweight or obese.
It’s not simply a problem with adults – research shows younger generations are becoming obese at earlier ages and staying that way into adulthood.
28% of children aged 2 to 15 are overweight or obese.
In the UK, we spend more each year on the treatment of obesity and diabetes than we do on the police, fire service and judicial system combined.
It costs wider society £27 billion, and to the NHS it represents a £6.1 billion burden treating overweight and obesity related ill-health.
The obesity epidemic isn’t simply a personal problem – it’s the cause of a compound number of factors that include nutritional misinformation, ready access to cheap processed foods and a growing workforce that spends eight hours a day sitting behind a desk.
How to tackle obesity is a complex question. Despite the fact that a huge chunk of society is currently overweight, the messages around obesity can be shaming, damaging and unhelpful.
Many people are now calling on the government to take a firmer stance on obesity to help manage the cost. Either through better educational programs, tougher legislation on sugar, and better support for those who need to lose weight.
Others believe the huge emphasis on obesity is unnecessary – like smoking and drinking, people should be made aware of the risks and free to make their own decisions.
What do you think? Should the government take a firmer stance on obesity? Or is the choice to lose weight personal and one that should be left to the individual?
What are your views?
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When I look back to my parents lifestyle and compare it with people of today, it's not difficult to see why people are overweight. Far more money to spend on food they shouldn't be eating, and far more time to be driving around in cars instead of walking.
Many that do walk don't walk far enough or fast enough to burn off any calories, slow sluggish and lethargic. You see it everywhere. People seem to ignore the fact they are putting on weight before doing something about it. By then it's made more difficult.
Ministers know in their heart of hearts that they may just serve one term in a cabinet position, so if they backslide for their term in office, it will then be the problem for the next holder of the poison chalice.
Wake up, it is costing the NHS so much money in caring for the obese and subsequent health problems, the national debt could be wiped off quickly, if they could get a grip, and tackle the food!? manufacturers.
We should all still be able to have our treats. I try to balance so, for example, if I have a big cream make, counter it with a salad with little or no carbs
For many years now, any accumulated brake dust on the wheels of my car is cleaned off very quickly by an application of Coca Cola [ I certainly would not drink the stuff ], with the proviso that it is washed off at once with clean water.
Looking through the results of the poll so far it really looks like a chicken and egg situation, so much for a free vote !!!
However the actual composition of the food or snacks, could be regulated by the government ie., less salt/fat content.
But see my previous observation. They might just tickle the problem, but that will be all they might perhaps/possibly/maybe do something.
by over-eating, laziness and a lack of will power. I feel sorry for obese people with a 'genuine' medical problem though. I don't really know what the best answer is, but why for goodness sake can't extremely overweight people see the damage they are doing to themselves when they look in the mirror.......... and do something about ??
Why only tickle?? Because the government do not wish to antagonise this industry [ or banks] because when an MP loses their seat at the next election, yes you have guessed correctly ! A seat on the board of a food company { or bank ] will be given to certain individuals as a reward for being lenient towards them.
As adults, we have to take some responsibility for our health and snacks are just that, a small amount of food eaten between meals. That would include things like fruit. Not all snacks are unhealthy and some people have to go long periods without a meal and snacks can help. There will always be people who don't understand the term 'moderation' and maybe in order to account for these, we should ensure the government legislates against such things as alcohol as well!
Many people, particularly young parents, are short of both time and money these days. This makes it difficult or even impossible for them to afford healthy foods and make time for exercise for themselves and their children.
If healthy living was made cheaper and more easily accessible then everybody would have the possibility of a healthy lifestyle choice.
In my opinion, we have to look realistically at ordinary people's lives and make change as easy as possible if we want it to happen.
Perhaps they should spend less time looking at phones, tV, games etc and be a bit more active then they would benefit.
Legal requirement that all workers take one hour's lunch break daily and facility for exercise during this time.
Cheaper fresh and healthy foods.
Provision for safe bicycling.
Free gym/swimming access.
We should not be relying on governments to curb our appetites. Instead it should be done through education, cutting the costs for swimming pools and providing safe areas for children to play outside. Overweight children become overweight adults.
Being overweight is not easy...not a path chosen by choice.
Many factors can cause a person to be overweight just think on that.
We need more prepared foods as more people are going into employment rather than stay at home having the time to cook, or physical impaired people need this. And to use recyclable plastic only.
As with the matter of plastic packaging, the State is wanting to tackle the wrong end of the stick. They will take the cowards way out and beat consumers over the head when, if intervention is going to happen, going to battle with Big Pharma, Big Farma and Big Food. Require of them that their processed food stuffs be of a substantially higher nutritional value, not laced with sugar and salt and excess fat. Greatly reduce advertising of these products and break the cult of MacDonalds.
Parallel to this greatly increase the supply of fresh foodstuffs in supermarkets.
I think we only have this obesity crisis because of a massive excess in the choice of foods available to us. There is now an over supply. A sizeable proportion of us older folk have the sense of self control but younger people, such as my step grand children, will eat anything in fashion, provided it's not home prepared and cooked. At the moment they're not obese, but it must be said, they're working hard to change that.
This might just be a possible cure for some.