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Parents key to reducing overweight in children

London Zosia Kmietowicz

Parents have been identified as the key to reducing overweight and obesity in children by promoting healthier eating in the family and encouraging exercise.

The evidence based briefing on tackling obesity and overweight from the Health Development Agency, on which the finding is based, also pointed to schools as having an important role in preventing obesity, especially in girls.

Surveys show that obesity has nearly trebled in the United Kingdom since 1980 and continues to rise, with nearly two thirds of men and over half of women either overweight or obese. Among children, nearly 10% of 6 year olds and 15% of 15 year olds are estimated to be obese. However, obesity is unevenly distributed among the population, with a greater incidence among poorer and less educated people.

An estimated 30 000 people die each year in the United Kingdom as a result of obesity, mainly from complications of heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. An obese person loses an average of seven years of life compared with someone whose weight is healthy, and the yearly cost of obesity to the NHS is estimated to be £0.5bn ($0.8bn; €0.7bn) a year.

The briefing identified 13 systematic reviews and meta-analyses on lifestyle interventions to prevent and treat obesity and to maintain weight loss. It found the strongest evidence for treatments and less evidence that strategies to prevent obesity and maintain weight loss worked.

For adults, low calorie and low fat diets, increased physical activity, and the input of health professionals all help people to lose weight, says the briefing. To help children to lose weight, strategies should focus on educating parents on diet and exercise and involving schools to promote healthy eating and exercise and to modify school meals, tuck shops, and activities.

Dame Yve Buckland, chairwoman of the Health Development Agency, said: "Parents can make a huge impact on rising levels of childhood obesity. The good news is that the evidence shows that parents can successfully treat their child’s obesity by actively changing the whole family’s approach to diet and physical activity and by avoiding couch potato lifestyles. The myriad of child focused food advertising is a real challenge, but parents can fight back—it’s them paying at the checkout, not their children."

Melanie Johnson MP, minister for public health, said that the government recognised that obesity presented a huge challenge and required the attention of stakeholders both inside and outside the government. "That is why initiatives like the national school fruit scheme and the food in schools programme, which are about improving children’s diets and their understanding of healthy eating messages, are so crucial to tackling obesity. We also want to see much more progress from industry to reduce added levels of salt, fat, and sugar in processed foods."
 
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Really paramount topic.

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