|
Parents
Key to Reducing Childhood Obesity
Parents are the best weapons to tackle Britain's growing
problem of childhood obesity, the government's Health Development
Agency (HDA) said.
About one in 10 six-years olds are obese and the numbers
are rising but a report by the HDA, a national authority
that aims to improve health, found that obesity can be prevented
and treated with an integrated approach involving parents
and schools.
"The research indicates that parents can make a huge
impact by changing the whole family's approach to diet and
by encouraging the family to become more active and avoiding
a couch potato lifestyle," Dame Yve Buckland, the chair
of the HDA, told a news conference to launch the report.
She said parents are not to blame for what she described
as a "national epidemic" and they can be a major
force in promoting healthy eating and fighting child-focused
food advertising.
"We pay at the checkouts. We fill the lunch boxes,"
she added.
Since 1980, the prevalence of obesity has nearly trebled
in adults, according to Buckland. More than 21 percent of
men and 23.5 percent of women and 15 percent of 15-year-olds
in Britain are obese.
Obesity is linked to 31,000 deaths across all ages each
year. Rates of obesity are higher among the poor and disadvantaged.
The report analyzed reviews of diet, physical activity and
behavioral approaches to tackling the problem. Along with
parents, it said schools also have a crucial role to play
in encouraging healthy eating and lifestyle.
By promoting physical activities, sports and play, along
with a diet consisting of plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables,
schools can reinforce healthy habits needed to reduce the
growing trends of obesity.
"The message is relatively simple and clear -- a healthy
balanced diet and lifestyle is the key to understanding
the nature of the problem," said Professor Mike Kelly,
the HDA's director of research and information.
But he added that more research is needed into the best
methods of prevention, in adults and children, and how to
maintain weight loss.
Article Source: Reuters Health
Article Author: Patricia Reaney
Net Reference 89
|
