Fatter than ever
Obesity is rising at an alarming rate, not only in Europe but also in every other ‘developed’ country in the world. Already obesity accounts for 2,500 deaths in Ireland every year, according to the Slán Report 2003. One in eight Irish people are obese and every second person is overweight.
Rather than diminishing, the epidemic is expected to continue to rise. Obesity in Europe as a whole is five times more common now than it was after the second world war, and statistics indicate that the number of obese is doubling every 10 years and becoming increasingly prevalent among younger people with as many as 1 in 4 affected in some countries.
A parallel increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes has occurred. Although there are powerful genetic factors in some cases, the overwhelming influence for 99% of the population is environmental.
It is universally recognised that obesity is primarily diet induced, the result of a sustained excess of energy-dense food, high in fat and refined carbohydrates, as well as an insufficient intake of vegetables and fruit. Constant snacking has become a way of life, particularly in urban areas. This problem is exacerbated by increasingly sedentary lifestyles and changing environments which in reality curtail and discourage physical activity.
What to do? Already it is estimated that 8% of overall health budgets in the EU is spent on obesity related problems, the most significant of which include hypertension, type 2 diabetes, gall bladder disease, certain types of cancer, and psycho-social problems.
Obesity also increases the risk of dyslipidaemia, insulin resistance, breathlessness, sleep apnoea, asthma, impaired fertility, lower back pain, etc.
Time for action. Former Health Minister Michael Martin set up a Task Force in February 2004 - it’s time for radical thinking. Education is a key factor.
1. Maternal nutrition has a major impact on the unborn child.
2. Breast feeding reduces the risk of obesity (Scandinavian countries have demonstrated how to dramatically increase breast feeding rates.)
3. Marketing of fast foods and sugar-laden drinks, particularly to children, needs to be banned, or at least curtailed.
4. Vending machines selling soft drinks and fast food and confectionery should be banned in schools.
5. Teaching adults and children cooking skills should be a priority.
6. Fast food outlets should be required to supply comprehensive food and meat labelling.
7. Follow the Finnish approach which trebled national vegetable consumption over a 20-year period.
8. Encourage organic food production on a larger scale, develop local food links.
9. There is a dramatic reduction in the number of adults walking or cycling to school or work for a variety of obvious reasons. A network of cycle tracks and foot paths in tandem with a public awareness campaign, would provide enormous benefits. Both school and workplace would need to provide facilities. Pioneering work in these areas has also been done in Scandinavia, Spain and the Netherlands.
10. Last, but not least, do an ad campaign to show how dumb and uncool it is to shove any kind of old rubbish into yourself, after all, in the worlds of Lady Eve Balfour ‘Our food should be our medicine’.
So perhaps its time for the Departments of Agriculture and Health to work hand in hand for the sake of the health of the nation. Clever television and billboard advertising to make people connect the food they eat with how they feel - ‘If you are what you eat I’m fast and cheap’, a slogan seen on the T-shirt of a very large lady.
