From Your Health Journal…..”A very good article from the Huffington Post written by Luke Dale-Harris entitled, Britain’s Obesity Epidemic: Are We Addicted to Sugar?. Over the past weeks, I have discussed how I am reading too many headlines that the United States is the ‘fat capital’ of the world. Yes, I know there is a problem with obesity in the states, but you would think it only existed in the US when you read some articles. Recently on this blog, I have posted similar articles that point to other countries having similar concerns – including Mexico, Australia, Britain, Canada, and Malta. Once again, finding this article today about the UK having obesity problems shows this is a world problem. The author of this article does a great job explaining Britain’s obesity problem. He writes, “Not only are we the heaviest drinkers and among the hardest drug users in Europe; we are now, apparently, also the fattest.” Please take the time to read this Huffington Post story (link provided below). I always support and promote their articles, and this one is a good one.”

From the article…..

Britain’s obesity problem is in the news at the moment, again. Not only are we the heaviest drinkers and among the hardest drug users in Europe; we are now, apparently, also the fattest. But today, for the first time, a campaign has been announced which looks to address the latter of these problems in the same context as the other two; overeating is a problem with its roots in social, cultural and economic causes, and its corollary in habit and addiction.

Unlike the previous, scattershot attempts by the health sector to approach the issue of obesity, this time we have a manifesto, an ultimatum and a series of terrifying statistics to help kick us into action. Already a quarter of British women and a third of under nine’s are clinically obese and by 2050 this figure is predicted to have risen to accommodate over half of all British citizens, a reality our NHS could not support. This must be the time when this epidemic starts to be tackled pragmatically; when policy replaces the empty rhetoric and class based condescension that has characterized the debate up until now.

The report released by the Academy of Medical Royal Collages (AMRC) calls for a series of measures to be put into place, “starting right now”, that will break the cycle of “generation after generation falling victim to obesity related illnesses and death”. These include mandatory food-based standards to be introduced in all UK hospitals, a limit on the number of fast food outlets situated near schools, colleges and other places children gather, and traffic light food labeling to show calorie counts.

It also proposes a series of measures that are familiar from past policies designed to quell our appetite for other harmful substances, notably alcohol and tobacco. A nine o’clock watershed for advertising of foods high in saturated fat, sugar and salt, a tax hike on sugary soft drinks that will increase their price by at least 20%, and increased intervention and advice from GPs to educate people on the dangers of over-eating.

To read the full article…..Click here