UEA nutrition expert says aiding children must be central to fight against obesity
New research shows the number of people living with obesity has surpassed one billion
Last updated 1st Mar 2024
An expert in nutrition from Norfolk University of East Anglia is telling us it's vital that preventative work is rolled out to tackle obesity in children.
It's as new research shows that the number of people living with obesity has surpassed one billion, with nearly 17 million living with the disease in the UK (8 million women, 7.4 million men, 760,000 boys and 590,000 girls).
"As a country we are getting much heavier"
Professor Ailsa Welch is from Norwich Medical School:
"I think this partly comes from the fact that we're all now far less active than we were 30 odd years ago.
"There' are a lot of reasons behind that and I think being in lockdown during Covid helped nobody.
"There are also a lot more foods available now and there's also lots of Ultra-Processed Foods about - like crisps and biscuits.
"We can all try to cut down on the fats that come from ready-made foods, as they are less good for us.
"Less sugar where we can is also good because a lot of confectionery foods contain it and there's not a lot of micronutrients in them.
"We do know that when children become overweight that follows through to when they're a teenager and adult. As a country we are getting much heavier.
"There are two things that we can do now - one is trying to be more active and the other is watching how we eat, with our diets being full of fruit and vegetables where possible."
"It's putting pressure on our NHS"
Ailsa continued saying obesity can lead to things like diabetes: "It takes time and money to sort diseases from obesity out.
"Once you've had a heart-attack it can be quite scary. Having obesity also causes difficulties walking and makes arthritis and back-pain more likely. We also now know that being over-weight makes the probability of having some cancers more likely.
"A lot of people have one condition and that leads to you having a few more as well, this is called having 'multiple-long-term conditions'.
"So, you might have diabetes and high-blood pressure which means you have to take a range of pills to control that. That's a nuisance for people and it's putting pressure on our NHS as well."
Data showed that globally, obesity rates among children and adolescents quadrupled from 1990 to 2022, while rates among adults more than doubled.
Meanwhile, the study also revealed over the same period, rates of underweight dropped among children and adolescents and more than halved among adults worldwide.
This makes obesity the most common form of malnutrition in many countries, the researchers said.
"Vital we significantly improve the availability of healthy, nutritious foods"
Senior author Professor Majid Ezzati, of Imperial College London, said:
"It is very concerning that the epidemic of obesity that was evident among adults in much of the world in 1990 is now mirrored in school-aged children and adolescents.
"At the same time, hundreds of millions are still affected by undernutrition, particularly in some of the poorest parts of the world.
"To successfully tackle both forms of malnutrition it is vital we significantly improve the availability and affordability of healthy, nutritious foods."
In the UK, the obesity rate among adults increased from 13.8% in 1990 to 28.3% in 2022 for women and 10.7% to 26.9% in 2022 for men.
For children and adolescents, the rate jumped from 4.7% in 1990 to 10.1% in 2022 for girls and 4.3% to 12.4% in 2022 for boys.
Meanwhile globally, the obesity rate more than doubled in women, nearly tripled in men, and more than quadrupled in girls and boys, from 1990 to 2022.
Places with the highest prevalence of obesity include Tonga, American Samoa, Polynesia and Micronesia, Cook Islands and Niue.
"It requires the co-operation of the private sector"
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organisation, said:
"This new study highlights the importance of preventing and managing obesity from early life to adulthood, through diet, physical activity and adequate care, as needed.
"Getting back on track to meet the global targets for curbing obesity will take the work of governments and communities, supported by evidence-based policies from WHO and national public health agencies.
"Importantly, it requires the co-operation of the private sector, which must be accountable for the health impacts of their products."
What's the Government doing to tackle this?
The Department of Health say they're taking a range of actions to encourage healthier eating - such as introducing the introduction of a new tax on soft drinks.