Earlier today I had the pleasure to attend a conference on family weight management services within Stockton, led by More life and LBU (Leeds Beckett University)
For sometime now, obesity has been on my radar. Being of a fine figure myself I am well aware of the issues that come along with packing the extra pounds, but what amazes me is that there is many people out there who are unaware of the ever bulging crisis staring us in the face. We are becoming blind to the issues that is costing us, not just financially but on health grounds too.
1,000 children in Stockton are classed as severely obese, yet it doesn't make the headlines or the evening news, why ... because obesity has become an everyday issue. In Stockton the impact that obesity has on our economy is £201,000,000.00 - you don't need me to tell you that is a hell of a lot.
But trends are showing us that over the past decade we have become more obese and physically inactive. But we are not only to blame, it was very clear at the conference that our crisis is much to do with the inequalities and the high deprivation that our area is seeing. Lack of investment in key areas is also adding to the challenges that we face in tackling obesity.
What was interesting, to note is that where deprivation is high, so is the saturation of fast food takeaways and unhealthy lifestyle choices. Financial uncertainty has a major role to play in why areas such as ours are seeing an increase in obesity. Dr Mark Reilly, a key speaker at the conference pointed out that for unhealthy food it costs roughly 24p per 100 calories, with roughly 140p being spent on healthy food and drink for the same calories. This is no mistake, this is what we as a nation face and are powerless to do anything about it.
It is my opinion that the cost for healthy food needs to come in line and compete with those foods that are high in sugar, fat and salt. You can get an energy drink for £1 that contains 70g of sugar but to be able to get your hands on a healthy alternative you can expect to pay double that. Our government needs to act to ensure that the next generation are able to make their own lifestyle choices, not to be forced into taking what is available at the cost they can afford.
Other highlights from the conference included the underlying challenges evident with children who are obese as well as low academic attainment in children aged 5. Research has also shown that obesity plays a big part in unemployment with individuals being less likely to get their chosen career due to their size.
We also learnt about why it is important for General Practitioners to have an interest in obesity, Dr Chowla, a local GP listed the reasons why it is important for primary care to take an interest, doctors have access to a whole host of resources such as:
1) Exercise on Prescription
2) Self help books
3) Websites and Apps
4) Medication
5) Medical procedures
6) Lifestyle choices
7) Planned visits to see a health care worker
Dr Chowla, also want to make clear that there is a big difference between fitness and obesity. Some severely obese people have great fitness levels and some underweight people have not. It was also made clear the United Kingdom leads Europe's obesity league, ahead of Spain and Portugal.
Obviously this is a little long winded and thanks for getting this far in reading my post. We have a crisis on our hands that if we sit back and do nothing that crisis will be spiralling out of control and we will be unable to do anything about it. I believe we need to educate families and individuals more in areas such as healthy eating, physical activity and its importance and try and find the right balance for the 21st century. I will now go away and look at the National Obesity Management Strategy that has just come out and link that with a recent survey my partnership has conducted be drafting up a report on what the partnership response is and what can be done about it. Fingers crossed it will get taken seriously.
For sometime now, obesity has been on my radar. Being of a fine figure myself I am well aware of the issues that come along with packing the extra pounds, but what amazes me is that there is many people out there who are unaware of the ever bulging crisis staring us in the face. We are becoming blind to the issues that is costing us, not just financially but on health grounds too.
1,000 children in Stockton are classed as severely obese, yet it doesn't make the headlines or the evening news, why ... because obesity has become an everyday issue. In Stockton the impact that obesity has on our economy is £201,000,000.00 - you don't need me to tell you that is a hell of a lot.
But trends are showing us that over the past decade we have become more obese and physically inactive. But we are not only to blame, it was very clear at the conference that our crisis is much to do with the inequalities and the high deprivation that our area is seeing. Lack of investment in key areas is also adding to the challenges that we face in tackling obesity.
What was interesting, to note is that where deprivation is high, so is the saturation of fast food takeaways and unhealthy lifestyle choices. Financial uncertainty has a major role to play in why areas such as ours are seeing an increase in obesity. Dr Mark Reilly, a key speaker at the conference pointed out that for unhealthy food it costs roughly 24p per 100 calories, with roughly 140p being spent on healthy food and drink for the same calories. This is no mistake, this is what we as a nation face and are powerless to do anything about it.
It is my opinion that the cost for healthy food needs to come in line and compete with those foods that are high in sugar, fat and salt. You can get an energy drink for £1 that contains 70g of sugar but to be able to get your hands on a healthy alternative you can expect to pay double that. Our government needs to act to ensure that the next generation are able to make their own lifestyle choices, not to be forced into taking what is available at the cost they can afford.
Other highlights from the conference included the underlying challenges evident with children who are obese as well as low academic attainment in children aged 5. Research has also shown that obesity plays a big part in unemployment with individuals being less likely to get their chosen career due to their size.
We also learnt about why it is important for General Practitioners to have an interest in obesity, Dr Chowla, a local GP listed the reasons why it is important for primary care to take an interest, doctors have access to a whole host of resources such as:
1) Exercise on Prescription
2) Self help books
3) Websites and Apps
4) Medication
5) Medical procedures
6) Lifestyle choices
7) Planned visits to see a health care worker
Dr Chowla, also want to make clear that there is a big difference between fitness and obesity. Some severely obese people have great fitness levels and some underweight people have not. It was also made clear the United Kingdom leads Europe's obesity league, ahead of Spain and Portugal.
Obviously this is a little long winded and thanks for getting this far in reading my post. We have a crisis on our hands that if we sit back and do nothing that crisis will be spiralling out of control and we will be unable to do anything about it. I believe we need to educate families and individuals more in areas such as healthy eating, physical activity and its importance and try and find the right balance for the 21st century. I will now go away and look at the National Obesity Management Strategy that has just come out and link that with a recent survey my partnership has conducted be drafting up a report on what the partnership response is and what can be done about it. Fingers crossed it will get taken seriously.
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