AROUND 60% of Staffordshire residents are overweight or obese – and a public health report has said this figure could increase to 75% by 2050.
The rise in excess weight in recent decades means around one in four of of the county’s children are classed as overweight by reception class age, while more than one in ten are obese, figures presented to a Staffordshire County Council scrutiny committee meeting revealed.
Members heard about measures being taken to tackle the issue – and they spoke of the importance of education, as well as raising concerns about the location of takeaways near schools.
Dr Richard Harling, director of public health for Staffordshire, said:
“These are broad estimates, but for younger children aged five to 11, we’re looking at around 6,000 who are overweight and 5,000 who are obese. Older children – 11-18 – those numbers are higher, so about 11,000 overweight and 17,000 obese.
“When we get into adulthood, we’re looking at 280,000 adults in Staffordshire who are overweight and 190,000 who are obese.
“There is a clear correlation between deprivation and obesity which is, on the whole, those wards that are more deprived do tend to have higher rates of overweight and obesity, and that applies to both childhood and adulthood.
“The health impact is profound. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of a whole range of serious medical conditions – diabetes, heart disease, strokes and many cancers – it also has impacts on mobility and mental health as well. The more overweight or obese someone is, the greater their individual risk.
“The economic impact is also profound – the total cost of overweight and obesity to society is estimated at somewhere around £100billion per year. A lot of those costs fall on individuals, it’s the cost of early onset of ill-health and death and the cost to family and friends of looking after them.
“There’s a cost to the NHS estimated at about £20billion per year.”
Dr Harling highlighted the availability of high-calorie fast food – and he added that opportunities for physical activity were less than there would have been 50 years ago.
“In that context, the rise in overweight and obesity seen in the UK and other developed countries isn’t particularly surprising.
“The question is what do we about it. We need to look at a balance between individual action and personal responsibility and changing that cultural and economic environment in which people work.”
Staffordshire County Council is working with partners including the NHS and voluntary sector to tackle issues around excess weight through the Better Health Staffordshire collective, the committee heard.
Committee member Cllr Jill Hood said:
“I’m a school governor and I understand the pressures that are on families – the time constraints and economic constraints. I was talking to a family the other day and the mother worked two jobs so it was quicker for her to pick the child up from school, dash to McDonalds and then onto her other job.
“The economy is definitely driving obesity. We nned to find a way to relieve pressure on families working two or three jobs with young children, juggling their time and not having time to plan meals.
“It was great at Christmas when we went into every single supermarket and sprouts were 5p, but how many families took advantage of that because of time constraints?
“Schools education is the key to reducing obesity.”
At that meeting (on January 26th) I pointed out that in 1980 Mrs Thatcher’s government released councils from the need to conform to “prescribed nutritional standards”.
I also quoted from a World in Action broadcast on 14 April 1986: “The proportion of obese children is increasing…” but sugar manufacturers and other big businesses have always managed to deter governments from taking the right action, (see the 1984 NACNE report.)
Pointing out this problem (known over four decades ago) I asked what we can do and Dr Harling said that more publicity was needed.
Lichfield District Council’s Health Scrtutiny Task Group is in the process of doing just that.
I would doubt that even if they were giving sprouts away it would help the obesity problem. With families needing the income from working mothers, due to the cost of living, there is not much chance of home prepared meals. Lean meats are almost unaffordable for most now as is much more in the shopping basket. Fast food providers promise healthier foods (remember the salad initiative) but this only lasts until the new mega meals come along.
There is no easy answers to this. Cultural and economic considerations will be difficult to change.
Exercise is no answer to high calorie intake…..most towns have a surfeit of fast food fueling stations!
Could do worse than look at France. On holiday there, it was noticeable how slim people were in general compared to the UK. They also have great food.
Education and example are sadly lacking. If corporations can get rich from exploiting dumb obesity then that’s exactly what they’ll do.
Let’s try and help this. Let’s give planning permission to open KFC, Pepes chicken, new McDonald’s on Eastern Ave.
Hmmmm
Is there an argument that “fast food” is habitual ?
I come from an era that pre-dates fast food so have no psychological “need” to consume it, not having sensed it during a developmental stage. Memory can play tricks, but I suspect that I’ve only entered such outlets less than a total of 10 times in my life. F & C do feature but probably 3 times a year and only as a take home option.
Regularly collecting litter discarded from passing vehicles also generates a pathological unwillingness to add to the bottom line of the fast food industry.