Action call on obesity epidemic
Thursday February 19th, 2015
The world has been slow to tackle a spreading epidemic of obesity, it was claimed today.
In
some countries children are stunted by poor nutrition but still piling
on weight, according to a report in The Lancet.
Experts called for governments to break the "vicious cycle" of supply and demand for unhealthy foods.
They claim that civil society could force governments to take action, calling for the food industry to be kept away from shaping food policy.
Writing in the journal, Dr Christina Roberto, from the Harvard School of Public Health, USA, said today: “Our understanding of obesity must be completely reframed if we are to halt and reverse the global obesity epidemic.
"On one hand, we need to acknowledge that individuals bear some responsibility for their health, and on the other hand recognise that today’s food environments exploit people’s biological (e.g. innate preference for sweetened foods), psychological (e.g. marketing techniques), and social and economic (e.g. convenience and cost) vulnerabilities, making it easier for them to eat unhealthy foods.
“It’s time to realise that this vicious cycle of supply and demand for unhealthy foods can be broken with ‘smart food policies’ by governments alongside joint efforts from industry and civil society to create healthier food systems.”
* A second study in Lancet Global Health says worldwide consumption of healthy foods has improved in the last 20 years.
But this has been outpaced by the consumption of even more unhealthy substances, such as processed meat and sweetened drinks.
Researchers studied diet quality in 187 countries, warning that many people in the wealthiest countries have the unhealthiest diets.
Researcher Dr Fumiaki Imamura, from the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, UK, said: “By 2020, projections indicate that non-communicable diseases will account for 75% of all deaths. Improving diet has a crucial role to play in reducing this burden."
The Lancet 19 February 2015
Lancet Global Health 19 February 2015 [abstract]
Tags: Diet & Food | Fitness | UK News | World Health
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