Obesity 'worse than drinking or smoking'
By Celia Hall, Medical Editor
Last Updated: 2:35am GMT 13/12/2006
Obesity is more damaging to health than smoking, heavy drinking or poverty, a Government agency said yesterday as it launched guidance on how an increasingly fat nation can get back into shape.
Obesity costs the nation more than £3 billion a year
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) said the prevalence of overweightness and obesity in England had trebled in 25 years with a third of women and nearly half of men overweight.
In total, 24 million adults are overweight or obese. Among children, 16 per cent are obese compared with 11 per cent in 1995. A fifth of all children is expected to be obese within four years.
Nice added that the obesity epidemic costs the nation between £3.3 billion and £3.7 billion a year in health and economic costs.
"Obesity is the most serious threat to the future health of our nation," said Prof Peter Littlejohns, the director of clinical and public health at Nice.
advertisement"The risks of obesity are as serious as smoking and urgent action is needed to tackle it. For the first time, we have bought together all the people who can help solve the obesity problem, not just health professionals but local councils, employers and schools to produce a piece of work that sets out the steps we must take," he said.
The guidance recommends a combination of diet and exercise for the overweight, with professional help to find a programme which is enjoyable and easy to follow.
Dr Ken Snider, the director of public health for County Durham, said the epidemic led to decreased quality of life, bullying at school, shortened life span and significant economic cost. "It is more harmful than smoking, heavy drinking or poverty," he said.
American public health research has shown that for every 100 obese men and women, compared with people of normal weight, there would be 50 extra chronic diseases compared with about 20 among those who had ever smoked, nearly 60 among people living in poverty and a similar number for drinkers.
The wide-ranging guidance sets out best practice for nursery schools, schools and employers. It has advice for doctors, local authorities, planners, parents and members of the public.
It encourages the use of slimming drugs, Xenical (orlistat) or Reductil (sibutramine) when diets fail, including prescribing drugs to children.
Surgery to restrict the amount of food the stomach can contain may be considered when other weight loss methods have failed.
Employers, schools and local authorities will be encouraged to look at meals and canteen policies and ways of encouraging children and adults to be more active by making it easier and safer to cycle or walk to work.
Parents are encouraged to take part in physical activities with their children and to eat with them.
Dieters should aim to cut calories by 600 a day and are advised to join slimming clubs. Very low-calorie diets are only recommended for periods of 12 weeks.
Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the head of science and ethics at the British Medical Association said: "We are in the midst of an obesity epidemic and while these guidelines are welcome, they must be properly resourced if they are to have any impact.
"Obesity has so many different causes that it cannot be tackled by guidelines alone. The Government must work with food manufacturers and advertisers to help people improve their diets. People need to be given more opportunities to take regular exercise. What we should aim for is a society where all of us can make healthy choices."
Obesity 'worse than drinking or smoking'
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