Data collected for the Health Survey for England between 1993 and 2004 first indicated that by 2020 the percentage of boys, under the age of 12, suffering from obesity would be as high as 20% and for girls 14%. However data collected for the same survey between 2000 and 2007 shows these percentages fall by 7% and 4% respectively.

While there is no doubt that this is a mighty step in the right direction to tackling childhood obesity, Lead researcher Professor Klim McPherson has said “prevalence and current trends of excess weight are still unacceptably high and these figures should not be taken as an argument for complacency.”

With that in mind is it the recent boom in programmes such as ‘Supersize vs Superskinny’ and ‘you are what you eat’ along with celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver with his series ‘Jamie’s school dinners’ raising the issue of children’s diets to new highs that has led to these encouraging predictions, or can it be more attributed to actions taken by, schools and bodies such as The House of Commons Health Committee? Whose recent report calls on the government to tackle the obesogenic environments, at the highest levels.

It is not enough to simply educate, educate, educate, when there are so many other factors that can not be resolved by simply ‘knowing the answer’. The time it takes to get around a supermarket, once you have read and compared the back of (conservatively) 20 items, does not in anyway reflect that education alone helps you to make these important lifestyle choices. Gillian Merron (The Minister for Public Health) said that government initiatives, along with work by the NHS and schools has had a positive impact, but added “We’ll only turn the tide on obesity for good if everyone – government, families and industry – play their part.”

It’s important to realize that while the rate of increase has dropped, the rate of obesity among children still continues to rise, so going forward what is the answer? Ultimately obesity cannot be addressed by a single etiology, but what is our focus for the future, environmental factors, lifestyle preferences, cultural environment, government initiatives or the media?

For more information:

• Government