Obesity ‘to affect three generations’

OBESITY will continue to be a problem for at least the next three generations, a leading food scientist predicted yesterday.

Michael Gibney, Professor of Food and Health at UCD, told the annual conference of the Agricultural Science Association (ASA) in Trim that current approaches to preventing obesity have failed.

Obesity has a lower five- year cure rate than the worst cancer and 95% of ‘cured’ cases relapse within five years, he said.

Professor Gibney said the direct and indirect costs of obesity in the original 15 EU member states is €40 billion per annum.

“The age profile of the obese population is from five to 75. Even if an effective prevention was found in the morning, it would take until 2042 to halve the current problem,” he said.

Mr Gibney said drugs will have limited success in dealing with obesity but significant progress could be achieved using genetic testing. He predicted that “personalised nutrition” will become the big trend in the future, with individuals having their diets tailor-made to their own nutritional and health requirements.

“At present, dietary advice is aimed at the population as a whole but genetic testing will enable optimum personal diets to be prescribed. Recent surveys by UCD have shown that 75% of people would be willing to undergo genetic testing in order to optimise their diet,” said Mr Gibney, adding that food products will face massive regulation.

“Rigid scientific proof will have to be provided by food manufacturers for all health advantages claimed on the label,” he said.