|
BY February, many of us who made a New Year
resolution to lose weight will already have fallen by the wayside -
ashamedly myself included.
But a report issued last week may give us the
kick-start we need. The report from three medical colleges gave the
dire warning that unless action is taken, a third of the population
will be obese by 2020.
The Royal College of Physicians, the Faculty of
Public Health and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
warned that if our unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles
continue, at least a third of adults, a fifth of boys and a third of
girls will be obese by 2020.
Whose fault is this? Are we all getting greedier
and lazier, or can we point the finger of blame elsewhere?
The rise in childhood obesity is particularly
worrying.
In 1990, 5% of children were obese, but by 2001
that figure had leapt to 16%.
Since having a baby of my own, I have my own
concerns about where the part of the problem lies. Parents are
waking up to the fact that they can try their best to provide
healthy meals for their children, but while food advertising aimed
at children remains so powerful, they are going to have an uphill
struggle on their hands.
Retailers have long known about the influence of
"pester power" - using children to pressurise their parents into
buying certain products.
There are now the stirrings of a backlash against
food advertising aimed at children. Food manufacturers are
increasingly finding themselves under scrutiny for making food with
dubious nutritional merit, and for their tactics in getting children
to want them.
The commercials for foods aimed at children, like
spreadable cheese, drinks and cereals are often promoting food with
high fat, salt and sugar contents, not to mention a cocktail of
additives that could send a three- year-old spinning into
hyperactivity for hours.
And it is big business. Food manufacturers spend
a whopping £400m a year on advertising, including TV commercials,
giveaway gimmicks and promotions linked to films and
celebrities.
Obesity causes some 30,000 deaths a year in the
UK, through problems such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
The report recommends that the food industry and
the Food Standards Agency should work together to produce and
promote healthier foods.
A Food Standards Agency report last September
concluded that food promotion to children does have an affect on
their food choices and behaviour.
Professor Steve Bloom of Imperial College London
is clear on what the solution should be.
He said, "We need to stop advertising food on
children's television."
There may be a more persuasive driver for food
manufacturers to change their ways - litigation.
A group of overweight Americans are suing several
US fast food giants accusing them of knowingly serving meals that
cause obesity and disease.
They claim that they misled customers by enticing
them with greasy, salty and sugary food.
It may seem laughable, but let's not forget that
cigarette firms were denying that smoking caused cancer only a few
decades ago.
But for the sake of our children's health, the
regulation of food advertising aimed at children should start
now.
Sheila Coleman is a partner in Coleman Roberts
Communications sheila.coleman@ntlworld.com | 
