The Rise of Obesity in our Children

The Health Select Committee reported that cases of clinical obesity in children have tripled in the last 20 years. Committee chairman David Hinchliffe called for the FA to pull out of the McDonalds sponsorship deal, saying “As a leading sporting organisation, it ought to be setting an example” and that “We should disconnect this kind of high-energy product from sporting activity”. The FA responded by saying that they will not pull out and a spokesman for McDonald’s said that they aim to recruit more coaches so that “more young people can have football training”.

So this sounds like a good thing, with part of the problem being that children are no longer required to do as much compulsory exercise at school and choosing TV and computer games as the main leisure activity over “old-fashioned” outdoor activities. But this is just the start and the government has launched a £2million campaign aimed at helping tackle the problem through diet and food education such as the £44million National School Fruit Scheme. Nearly one million four to six year olds now receive a free daily piece of fruit, but this does not tackle the enormous influence on children that advertising has and the social pressure that they are under to eat sweets and crisps rather than healthier alternatives.

If companies like McDonald’s are associated with such a social leader as the FA, it will be difficult to help children make informed decisions about their food choices. Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said “our ambition should be to educate children towards leading a healthy lifestyle, not to force feed them with fruit and fibre. We need to be wary about sending mixed messages as the manufacturers of crisps and chocolates attempt to become more child and school-friendly”.

She also warned against the negative psychology aspect of ramming the message down their throats; we all know how more resistant a child can become if told to do something. There is a need for healthy food to reclaim its place as part of everyday life and not the exception. The National Healthy School Standard run by the Health Development Agency has been successful in implementing nutrition lessons, offering healthy snack options and promoting physical activity in an out of schools. They also acknowledge that this will go a long way to preventing the future health problems that are currently on the increase in adults such as heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis.

But as well as the McDonald’s campaign, children are up against advertising assault from other angles. It was reported in The Times Education Supplement last month that Peter Hain, The Leader of the Commons, attacked sports minister Richard Caborn for backing a scheme by Cadbury, the chocolate manufacturer. The controversial scheme encourages children to swap chocolate wrappers for school sports equipment and was described during the debate on BBC Question Time as “pretty indefensible”; 5,440 wrappers were needed to get one football net. The statement from Cadbury was that “the scheme was last year and it’s now reached the end of its natural lifespan”.

With differing schemes about, children are being pulled in all directions around the subject of food and it is no wonder that eating disorders in both girls and boys are on the increase.

The Consumer’s Association (CA) has been on the case and was successful in their campaign to “help” McDonald’s abandon their super-size portions. They recognise that simply reducing portions is only the start though and issued the following health warning to the government; “Our food is killing us – we eat too much of the wrong type of foods and we are now suffering the health consequences with almost a quarter of people in the UK obese”. They also state that “8.5 per cent of six year olds and 15 per cent of 15 year olds are already obese and unless drastic action is taken, we are facing what the Chief Medical Officer has described as a health time-bomb. New research by CA shows seven in ten consumers think the government should be doing more”. The CA calls for restrictive advertising on all foods high in fat, sugar and salt during children’s viewing times and a supermarket labelling scheme that clearly states these amounts on foods.

Much consumer reaction to the CA statement criticised them for saying that it is the government’s responsibility and instead pointed the finger squarely at parents to educate their children in healthy eating and to lead by example. The best way forward is of course always education and this should filter down from home life and parents. The problem here is an ever-dwindling knowledge of healthy eating amongst the adult population and the reliance on convenience foods at home as well as school.

Total Being Opinion

It is a sorry state of affairs when we get to the point where we have to be reminded what food is and how to have a healthy relationship with it. We are always saddened by the fact that many people seem more threatened by food in its natural state such as pulses or seeds than they are by wholly unnatural “foods” like many of the children’s cereals on the market or a breakfast bar “low in fat” (but loaded with sugar, dried milk products and additives). We do not want to play the dictatorial finger-wagging nutritionist with the image of taking away all life’s pleasures. On the contrary, life and by extension, food, should be enjoyed to the full and this means revisiting your relationship with the very thing which nourishes you.

Humans have an affinity to sugar which lead them to ripening fruit that contains precious nutrients and fibre, which are absolutely necessary for our health. In our quest for instant gratification, we learnt to extract the mere attraction and discard the part that allows our bodies to deal with the sugar and protect us from its damage. The sweet palette is the product of an over-industrialised world and that very refining has blurred our senses. Re-educating yourself and your taste buds can be done, it is best achieved slowly and gradually with the guidance of a nutritionist who can also help you to choose the right supplements to break the cycle of cravings and get out of the “highs and lows” of blood sugar imbalance.

Children learn from their parents and difficult as it is to get them to eat anything sometimes, if you are reaching for the biscuits rather than an apple, then of course they will. A strange bi-product of our culture is that we expect children to have to eat “children’s” foods, bizarrely at a time when they need nutrients to grow, they are catered for with more processed meals than adults. What would be strange about a child eating a smaller portion of a healthy adult’s meal? The simple meat and two veg. attitudes of our parents and grandparents is starting to make sense. Oh, and the other thing, move away from that sofa and out into the world to get some exercise, it’s what your body wants.

References

1. Arnold M. Chocolate Wars. Times Education Supplement.