Abstract
Obesity has been tagged by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the new crisis
in public health because of increasing evidence that the condition easily leads to a
arthritis, etc. An enormous amount of scientific research has been done on obesity
but there is as yet no consensus on what constitutes obesity, what are its exact causes
and contributory factors, and how exactly does obesity deteriorate into serious
medical cases. The only point of agreement seems to be that a determined and
concentrated effort needs to be undertaken to arrest the growing number of lives that
have been wasted by obesity, which also causes an enormous drain on a nation’s
steps can be taken. This dissertation set out to do just that: provide a clearer grasp of
the causes of obesity and the extent to which the problem has degenerated to guide
For the purpose of this paper, UK was made the focus of the study because of
increasing concern that obesity has reached unwieldy proportions in this country,
especially among children. In fact, childhood obesity is now the object of a Public
Service Agreement that the British government usually reserves for problems with
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CONTENTS PAGE
1. Introduction
2. Rationale
2.a. Aim
2.b. Objectives
3. Methodology
4. Literature Review
4.c. Obesity in UK
6. Influencing Factors
6.a. Diet
6.b. Nutrition
9. Reference List
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1. Introduction
The 2002 Health Survey for England made a disturbing declaration that over half of
the UK population was overweight or obese. In the same year, the National Office of
Statistics (NOS) came up with a more detailed report, blowing up the problem by
saying that obesity was affecting children more than adults. The NOS revealed that
22 percent of all boys and 28 percent of all girls in the 2-15 age bracket were either
overweight or obese. The study raised the same alarm by asserting that about 1
million of all obese persons in UK were less than 16 years old, indicating a steady and
rapid yearly increase in the prevalence rate for childhood obesity in the country. This
and obese adults are highly vulnerable to a range of ailments that include heart
disease, diabetes, arthritis and certain strains of cancer. Since the future of a nation
lies in the hands of its children, what future awaits a nation with a disease-prone
citizenry?
This upward trend in the prevalence rate of obesity started as early as the 1970s with
the release of a number of government studies, notably the 1974-94 National Study of
Health and Growth and the 1995 Health Survey for England. Between 1984 and
1994, the reports noted a doubling in the prevalence of obesity among British
children, from 0.6 percent to 1.7 percent in boys and from 1.3 percent to 2.6 percent
in girls. Among adults, the prevalence rate rose from 6 percent in 1980 to 17 percent
measuring a person’s body mass index (BMI), or the body weight according to height,
rate of growth, sex and age. Among boys, they are obese if 25 percent of body weight
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is fat, while it is 32 percent in girls. Based on the BMI measurement of the general
population in the succeeding 10-year period (DoH, 2004; POST, 2003; RCP, 2003;
Comptroller & Auditor General, 2006), there is a steady and worrisome increase in
the number of obese persons in UK. This calls for an organized and concentrated
multi-sector action, which requires a thorough and definitive study beforehand to see
2. Rationale
According to the WHO (WHO, 2002) obesity may have assumed the proportions of a
because it holds the distinction of being the country where the first obesity-related
case of type-2 diabetes was reported (NHS, 2002). This is an indication that obesity
has become a runaway problem in UK, which is supported by recent public health
bulletins expressing due alarm over the situation. It is necessary then that an
attempt must be made to assess the overall picture so that it can be properly
warranted, and what particular strategies are appropriate. This can only be
and media on the supposed increase of obesity cases in UK; by seeking to determine
the magnitude and extent of the problem in the UK context; by underscoring the
social and psychological factors that brought about and contributed to the situation;
that have been tested for government adoption to mitigate the problem. A close
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examination of these factors may give stakeholders an idea of where to start attacking
2.a. Aim
The principal aim of this dissertation is to determine how deleterious has been the
effects of media advertising and programming, physical activity and diet and nutrition
on the overall health and fitness of the British population as regards to obesity. In
putting up these trends for closer inspection, the aim of the dissertation is to ascertain
the extent of their influence on public health so that they serve as basis for the
2.b. Objectives
number of obese persons in UK, such as improper diet and nutrition, the
unhealthy habits.
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3) Identify the factors that contributed to the unwieldy increase of obese children
obesity and identify the measures that can be undertaken to reverse the upward
3. Methodology
Research for this paper has leaned heavily on the observation method, which used the
quantitative conduct of research was given preference over the qualitative approach,
which employs the direct communication method, because of the universality and
The study also takes on the characteristics of both the descriptive and causal research
strategies, which were useful in helping meet the varied requirements of this research.
characteristics and scope of the problem, while the causal research determines which
factors or variables are causing a particular behaviour. We believe both methods are
useful to this paper as it focuses on the problem of childhood obesity and the
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telephone interviews with the use of surveys and questionnaires. Its scope of
coverage, however, is narrow and is carried out to reveal only specific data. Therefore
this method would be of little use to this study anyway. On the other hand with the
observation method used for this research, which was carried out with a wide variety
of tools to bear on an equally large range of study related to obesity, the research
panned out to gather data from all possible sources which include books, trade
journals, websites, government studies, papers from seminars and other institutional
publications, to give us the widest choice of perspective on the subject area. Since
comparisons between theories and evolving concepts and therefore validate our theory
that the problem encompasses the whole range of human behaviour, food intake,
according to Curwin (1996, p.46) can come from within or outside the organisation.
External secondary data are those collected from research involving textbooks,
journal articles and reports, while internal secondary data comes from organisation-
initiated surveys, annual reports and service feedback. The overall advantage of
organisation cannot collect on its own. By using the observation method of research
to collect secondary data from what others have written and expressed on obesity, this
writer was able to pin down the theories and findings to fill in the gaps and make
comparisons on what has been done and what still needs to be done to address the
problem of obesity. The theories and findings include: girls are more prone to obesity
than boys; obesity is more prevalent in children than adults; obesity leads to life
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threatening diseases; and obesity is influenced by diet, nutrition, media and physical
researcher also gained valuable insights and understanding of the problem by focusing
attention on its broader implications. In a study that hews as close as possible to the
descriptive and causal type of research, the researcher can pinpoint the specific
techniques used in intervention and prevention programs and specify which of these
elements have a high or low efficiency ratings. It also allows the researcher to
determine which behaviours, habits and activities are contributing to both child and
adult obesity.
There is a more practical reason for choosing the observation method of research in
this project over the direct communication approach. Obesity is a condition that no
one can be proud about, such that no person would ever relish being called ‘fatso’ to
his/her face no matter how overweight he/she is. Experience confirms what the
literature suggests that obesity threatens one’s pride and self-image, which often leads
to self-pity and depression, because society tends to exclude and discriminate against
overweight persons. The 2000 poverty and social exclusion survey in UK, for
example, noted that overweight workers receive less income and occupy lower job
the workplace. RCP (2003) found that obese women especially are often depressed
women who lose interest in studies and are discriminated at work. For this reason, the
research would give no useful insight because obese persons are expected to clam up
if personally interviewed about their weight problem. The researcher believes this is
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the most suitable research design and method for this paper to achieve its aim and
objectives.
The research method was constructed such that the reference materials selected for
this paper separately address the issues discussed in sections four and six, which
include the main factors, diet and nutrition, physical activity, media and advertising.
One of the more important issues, for example, is whether the measurement for body
mass index is appropriate for both children and adults. The resource materials and
Epstein, et al. (2000) – the authors claim that BMI is the universal standard for
obesity measurement long accepted as accurate for both children and adults. This
contention is supported by both the authors’ use of primary research and outside
references dealing with the same subject, which reached an acceptable number of over
50 works. The authors are psychologists by profession, which indicate that they have
no bias for the blanket acceptance of the BMI measurement since their main interest is
the relationship between behaviour and obesity. They used the primary research
method on obese persons seeking their professional service by measuring the patients’
BMI and then employed the secondary research method by reviewing the works of
Royal College of Physicians (2003) – the RCP research team suggests that the BMI
measurements may not be applicable to children because they grow faster during
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puberty. Therefore, the RCP calls for the development of a new measurement system
Comptroller and Auditor General (2006) – these UK agencies agree that the BMI
reached epidemic proportions in UK. No less than 30 references were used by each of
those three agencies in supporting the argument that childhood obesity is a cause for
alarm in UK. Also most of the references used by these agencies were based on
obesity.
For the research linking obesity to such diseases as hypertension, diabetes, asthma and
cancer, the sources used for this paper include those of the UK- based POST (2003),
Social Issues Research Centre (2005) and Issue Briefs on-line. Separate works were
also scanned to establish the influence of diet and nutrition, physical activity, media
and advertisement on childhood obesity. WHO (2003), Luce (2005) and McLaren
(2006) found strong links between childhood obesity and unhealthy diet, mainly the
high intake of energy-dense food, while BUPA (2004) and WHO (2003) believe the
lack of nutritional value in children’s food intake worsens the problem. For this
reason, the above-named agencies suggest that the nutrition standards in all schools be
examined and that early breastfeeding must be encouraged based on studies that
breastfed babies are less prone to obesity. The main references to support the claim
that lack of physical activity causes obesity were Issue Briefs (2006), DoH (2004) and
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All these experts and agencies present their views with the suitable clinical and
empirical evidence, such that they may have influenced in to UK authorities into
3.c. Sample
To help collect data on the larger perspective of obesity, data was gathered from non-
UK studies that include those of James, et al. (2006); Steinbeck (undated); Luce
(2005); Issue Briefs (2005); Epstein, et al. (2000); and WHO (2003) mainly to see
how other countries are coping with the same problem. These reports are useful to
this research in many ways. For example James, et al., (2006) set global strategies for
treatment for both childhood and adult obesity, Luce (2005) links the fast food culture
with childhood obesity, Issue Briefs of the US-based Henry J. Kaiser Family
Foundation attaches importance to the role of media in childhood obesity, and the
WHO (2003) report blames improper diet and nutrition as the cause of obesity that
excluded since there are enough materials on the same subject that are based on the
UK context. Among these are BUPA (2004), Livingstone (2002), Bredbenner (2002),
Lyness (2005), Mclaren (2006), Social Issues Research Centre (2005) and POST
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(2003), which are also more recent. Luce, for one argues persuasively that media
advertisements exert a great influence on UK children’s choice and POST (2003) puts
a large part of the blame on advertisers for promoting food high in fat, sugar and salt
content.
Literature Review
particular field and should provide the reader with a statement of the major questions
and issues related to the field under study. On that note, this literature review is
preceded by a discussion of the questions and issues surrounding obesity, such as the
applicability to children of the BMI measurements for obesity. The first part of the
review emphasizes that inaccurate data sometimes come from research based on
exaggeration and professional lapses, as may be gleaned from the reports of WHO
and Social Issues Research Centre. The second part examines the medical diseases
related to obesity, through the studies of the Royal College of Physicians (2003),
Parliamentary Office Of Science and Technology (2003), BUPA (2005) and Epstein,
et al. (2000). The third part synthesises the papers of WHO and Issue Briefs (online)
on how obesity became a public health issue in many parts of the world. For the
fourth and fifth subsection, the review focuses on the extent of the problem in UK,
which led to its being set as target of a Public Service Agreement. The last part will
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The dissertation examined the available literature on obesity, choosing the materials
possible measures to prevent obesity and reduce its prevalence. It also evaluated the
validity of the arguments raised by those who dismiss the problem of obesity as
something similar to making an issue of ugliness in some people. The fact is there is
even some disagreement on the accuracy of the current measurement standards for
obesity, which apply for both children and adults. This is usually done by measuring
the body mass index (BMI), which is arrived at by comparing one’s weight with his
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height and dividing the weight in kilograms by the height in metres. According to
Epstein, et al. (2000) if the result of the calculation exceeds certain limits, one is
obese or overweight. This is considered to be fairly accurate for adults whose height
stays put after 18 years of age. In children, however, the BMI measurement is
suspect because their weight-to-height ratio changes in the normal growth process.
RCP (2003) noted that during puberty, children’s weight doubles and their height
increases by 20 percent. Moreover, the BMI method does not distinguish if the body
Partly because of these doubts about the applicability of the BMI measurement to
children, warnings have been aired against rushing into complex and costly measures
to reduce the incidence of obesity, which call for changing the eating habits, lifestyles
and attitudes of people. Some baseline data on obesity, as it were, were set based on
exaggeration and hype. SIRC (2005) observed that in the US, for example, the Centre
for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention had ran into severe criticism when it set
figures on obesity-related deaths that many found too high. The CDC was later
In a report titled “Childhood Obesity: The New Crisis in Public Health,” the WHO
(2003) came up with findings that set the tone for many of the subsequent studies on
• The relationship between parent and child fatness may be stronger between
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• When both parents are obese, the likelihood of their children being obese is 80
• Babies who are heavier than most become obese in their growing up years.
• In most western countries, the largest number of obese persons comes from
One research aspect of obesity where there is little disagreement relates to life
threatening diseases to which obese persons are highly vulnerable. According to RCP
(2003), the greatest risk is posed by coronary artery disease consisting of increased
blood pressure, adverse lipid profiles, change in the left ventricular mass and
diabetes is not just a simple childhood disease as previously suspected but is strongly
linked with obesity. In UK, the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology
(2003) found strong evidence that diabetes is closely associated with obesity, with
women 12 times more prone to it than men. The National Audit Office (NAO) for its
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part estimated that 250,000 cases of type-2 diabetes occurred in 1998 as a direct result
of obesity.
The most common of the obesity-related diseases, however, is coronary heart disease.
In 1998, NAO attributed to obesity about 28,000 incidents of stroke and 750,000
cases of hypertension throughout UK. The simple explanation is that cholesterol from
too much consumption of fatty food clings and clogs the coronary vessels to block the
circulation of blood and oxygen. As for the risks of cancer, POST (2003) noted that
the existing literature is less clear but evidence is beginning to trickle in that obesity
increases the risk of colon cancer three times among both men and women.
According to BUPA (2004) another type of cancer associated with obesity is bowel
cancer.
physiological disease. Lyness (2005) points out that like obesity, depression is also
linked to diet, particularly to reduced levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Epstein, et al,
(2000) support this view, saying that obese children have increased psychological
problems, which can influence eating or weight control. Obesity causes distress
because of the jokes that their appearance draw from others, such that obese children
lose self-confidence and self-esteem leading to isolation and depression. RCP (2003)
also maintains that since obese persons often suffer from depression, they lose interest
in studies and in improving their lives. Therefore, they need the same medical
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When the WHO released its 2003 Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and
Health indicating that obesity was spreading throughout the world because of the
wrong kind of diet and lifestyles, many disputed this view contending that obesity is
production and supply. In deference to this argument, obesity was yanked out as a
pour in that obesity contributes to the rising diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood
levels in middle and low-income countries (James, et al., 2006), with obesity affecting
disease burden of the world but non-communicable diseases like heart disease, cancer
and mental disorders, all of which are suspected complications of obesity. This is
pressure, increased blood cholesterol levels, poor intakes of fruits and vegetables,
physical inactivity, excess weight from too much sugar, fat and salt in the typical diet,
worldwide, which holds true for low, middle and high-income countries.
researchers around the world agree that the prevalence of obesity is on the upswing.
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problems, sleeping difficulties and depression. Two studies, one in the US and one in
UK, agree that there is a strong correlation between childhood obesity and educational
attainment and income levels in women. RCP (2003) acknowledged that obese boys
may sometime grow into normal-weight adults but obese girls almost always become
obese women, and obese women are highly susceptible to depression, which is known
4d) Obesity in UK
There is still some debate on whether obesity has reached epidemic proportions in
UK. In 2005, international obesity task Force chairman Phillip James told the
European Union Conference on Obesity Strategy that obesity in UK took off in the
1980s and “looks as if it was accelerating in the last 5 to 10 years.” The House of
Commons Committee on Health and the Royal College of Physicians echoed this
view. “If the rapid acceleration in childhood obesity in the last decade is taken into
account,” the RCP predicted, “the prevalence will be in excess of 50 percent.” This
was contradicted by other official surveys. For example, the Health Survey for
England discounted an epidemic in general weight gain among British children since
an epidemic would have raised the average weight to greater levels. This particular
survey pointed to the average weight taken separately of children aged 3-14 and all
15-year-olds. The average weight of boys 3 to 14 years old was 31.0 kilograms in
2003, which actually decreased from 32.0 kilograms in 1995 for the same age group,
while the change in average weight between 1995 and 2003 was from 32.2 kilograms
to 32.4 kilograms such that the change was found insignificant. Among 15-year-old
boys, the average weight was 58.8kg in 1995 and had increased to 60.7 kg in 2003,
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while the figure for girls in the same age group was 58.5 kg, which went up slightly to
58.9kg. This data on the average weight gains of children and young adults indicate a
slight change over a 10-year spread, which do not amount to an epidemic (SIRC,
2005). The Social Issues Research Centre also took exception to findings that it is
the children that are most threatened by obesity, pointing out that it is in the older
generation where the problem is more evident. SIRC studies purport to show that
women aged 35 and above dominated the obese groups in many parts of UK and that
there were more obese persons among senior citizens between 65 and 74 years old
than children.
For these reasons, the Health Survey for England cautioned against exaggerating the
numbers, since the educational, medical and financial resources that are channelled
for the purpose may be diverted from where the problem really lies. Despite such
doubts about the real magnitude of the problem, everyone seems to agree that
something needs to be done about obesity. For this reason, the Department of Health
launched the Social Marketing Programme to draw from all the scientific work
already done on the subject and apply the data on effecting a behavioural change
among the citizenry with the use of accepted marketing principles. As its initial
undertaking, a Childhood Obesity Project Team was organised in 2005 with the
assigned task of reviewing the whole body of literature towards providing a better
understanding of the likely causes and effects of obesity, and then developing a cost-
team later came up with a white paper called “Choosing Health: Making Healthier
Choice Easier,” which set forth the government commitment to stem the tide of
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2010.
The BBC News (2006) reported that obesity levels in UK have more than doubled in
the past 20 years. In the report titled “Child Obesity Doubles in Decade, BBC” noted
that children as young as 2 and 3 years old are being classified as obese or
overweight.
1984-1994
Children
20
15
Boys
10
Girls
(Values in percentage for childhood obesity: boy from 0.6% to 1.7% and girls
Adults
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20
15
Women
10
Men
(Values in percentage for adult obesity: women from 6% to 17% and men from 8% to
21%)
According to Reilly & Dorosty, (1999) the 2003 Health Survey for England
established these interesting facts about childhood and adult obesity in UK:
1) The prevalence of obesity in 2 to 11 year old children has grown from 9.6
households in which the heads of family are wage earners, while 12.4
This indicates that more obese children come from low and middle-
income families.
the more affluent fifth of the population, and 16.2 percent in the most
4) Obese parents beget obese children, and obese children are most likely to
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5) Children from Asian ethnics are four times more likely to become obese
than whites.
7) Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, type-2 diabetes and
Comptroller & Auditor General (2006), POST (2003), Reilly & Dorosty (1999) and
RCP (2003) say there is an epidemic because view that childhood obesity in UK has
reached alarming proportions seems to outnumber the opinion that says it is still
manageable. For this reason, obesity has been identified as the target of a Public
Service Agreement (PSA). This in effect recognizes obesity as a serious public health
issue representing a growing threat to children’s health and a drain on the National
Health Service (NHS) resources. After the anti-obesity PSA was incorporated in the
government’s 2004 Treasury Spending Programme, all the funding and activities
coordinated at the national, regional and local levels for greater efficiency. The long-
term goal of the PSA on obesity is to bring down the yearly increase in overweight
children below 11-years-old through the Department of Health, Education and Skills
(DES) and Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DMCS). Other departments
are given important roles in the programme, as well as their local offices, health
authorities, the Primary Care Trusts and schools. To be assigned as a PSA in UK,
the government must be assured that the handling and flow of any project or activity
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are predictable and manageable so that the resources and efforts do not go to waste.
The main concern of government is that if the arrangements for the delivery of
services are unclear, the resources may get lost. The Comptroller & Auditor General
(2006) noted that since a PSA involves a wider range of organisations of various
disciplines and expertise, there is a need for a better understanding of the issues to
make the programme more organized and efficient. In a joint study, the Comptroller
and Auditor General observed that the PSA on obesity especially requires a more
thorough and careful study because it calls for a multi-faceted approach. In addition,
it was noted that there is a shortage of evidence on what works for obesity and what
the authorities involved in the PSA against obesity were obliged to familiarize
themselves with the problem by using more reliable data. The goals of the PSA are:
1) increase average fruit and vegetable consumption to at least five portions a day, 2)
reduce the average intake of saturated fat from 14.3 percent to 11 percent, 3) maintain
the current declining trend in total fat intake at 35 percent, 4) reduce the average
intake of added sugar from the current 16-17 percent to 11 percent, 5) increase to 1
percent yearly the number of children meeting the physical activity recommendations
of the Chief Medical Officer, and 6) increase the initiation and duration of
assured that all these will be carried out through such intervention and prevention
programmes as school meals, school sports, children’s play, healthy schools, national
obesity awareness campaigns, simple labelling of packaged food, helping people lose
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Under the PSA, teams of experts have been organised to compose the Primary Care
Trusts (PCTs) in the national, regional and local levels, whose first order of business
is to clear the air on obesity measurement. It was acknowledged that the current
measurement method is less accurate for children and so the PCTs were assigned to
devise new weighing and measuring systems with a greater degree of efficiency. This
was deemed essential in guiding decisions on where exactly to place resources and
support of the PSA, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is also
The two key programmes under the PSA are called Extended Schools and Sure Start.
The first provides a range of services and activities on child and healthcare, social
services and cultural, sporting and play activities, while the second increases the
School Meals Programme, for which 220 million pound sterling has been allotted for
2005-2008, schools have been prevailed upon to follow a revised nutritional standard
for school meals. The new nutritional standards were set by legislation passed in
2006, which reduce the fat, salt and sugar contents and increase fruit and vegetables in
the meals consumed by children in school. There is also a School Fruit and Vegetable
Scheme, which provides free pieces of fruit or vegetable each day to children aged 4-
6 in nurseries.
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Health and nutrition experts advise against withholding food from obese children to
make them lose weight because this can actually harm the normal growth process.
BUPA (2004) advised that if children need to be put on a diet, this should be done
with medical supervision, particularly teenage girls who are vulnerable to such eating
disorders as anorexia nervosa and bulimia if they go without food for prolonged
periods. Unlike adults, there are no drugs considered effective in treating weight
problems in children. The simple solution to child obesity that this research gleaned
from the literature is three-pronged: 1) eat a healthy, balanced diet, 2) make changes
in the fast food-oriented eating habits, and 3) increase physical activity. BUPA
(2004) believes this task relatively easy based on evidence showing that it is much
easier to change a child’s eating habits and physical activity than those of adults.
Although the reasons and causes for obesity have been identified (among them:
genetics, unhealthy diet and nutrition, sedentary lifestyle), there is still a lack of
measures presented by experts. The best that health authorities can do is issue a set
of guidelines for healthy living (Golan, et al., 1998); RCP 2003), which often consists
of the following:
4) Limit the consumption of food high in sugar like sweets and chocolate.
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computer games.
9) Eat regular meals and snacks and avoid the habit of “grazing.”
10) Keep out of the house the kind of food that children should
avoid.
A multi-pronged strategy, the National Health Service (NHS) suggests, may help
prevent obesity among school children, especially girls. This was shown in a
Schools involving 636 children aged 7-11. The subjects were feed the modified
school meals, taught healthier eating proper habits and told to undergo PE and
playground activities. After one year of this regimen, there were no significant
changes in BMI scores, but there were encouraging changes in eating behaviour,
behaviour and impart dietary education are also expected to yield beneficial effects.
Another RCT that relied heavily on physical activity and excluded other intervention
measures was called “Dance for Health,” which conducted aerobic classes for 43
overweight children aged 10-13 for 12 weeks at a frequency of three classes weekly.
The result: not much change in BMI and heartbeat rates for both boys and girls. A
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long-lasting and more intensified programme of this kind, however, may be useful, as
aerobics. In the first 12 months of the programme, there were no significant changes
but upon completion of the two-year study, a noticeable reduction in weight was
a range of policies to improve the average diet and levels of physical activity in the
early years, at home, school and the community. The reason is that not all population
studies show consistent links between dietary fat intakes and body weight in children
and young adults (RCP, 2003). In the US, for example, studies noted an increase in
the prevalence of obesity even when the proportion of energy derived by children
from fatty foods had fallen. This shows that the overall amount is less important than
Much of the blame for obesity used to be heaped on genetics and medical problems,
but as the number of obese children with normal parents grew and obesity occurs in
children without a history of any particular childhood disease, research turned its
attention to other possible causes. Among the primary causes frequently identified
are the increasing trend towards a lifestyle of unhealthy diet and lack of physical
activity brought on by the “new media” which has children sitting for hours before the
video screen. Livingstone (2002) observed that this phenomenon provided British a
video access, such that media use has become the major preoccupation of children.
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Children are the first and foremost users of new media in the family. BUPA (2004)
suggested that as exercise ceases to be part of people’s daily routine and the national
links of obesity with diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancer, osteoarthritis and social
and psychological distress among British adults. On diabetes, the National Audit
Office (NAO) reported that 250,000 cases of type-2 adult diabetes in 1998 were
these sufferers were obese women. NAO also cited 28,000 instances of heart attack
and 750,000 cases of hypertension that were traced to obesity. The NAO report was
less clear on the risk of obese persons to cancer but it suggested that obesity increases
the risk of cancer three times among both men and women, especially colon cancer.
On osteoarthritis, no figures were available but it was propounded that because of the
excess weight, arthritis develops quickly on the leg joints of an obese person. As for
social and psychological consequences, obesity has been inextricably linked to low
self-image and depression, with obese persons the frequent objects of discrimination
and prejudice.
The Royal College of Physicians blames obesity on three major factors: decrease in
Among the specifics are: 1) transport policies that encourage driving instead of
the need for dietary changes or to address issues of health inequality, 4) loss of school
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playing fields, 5) less walking because of greater use of cars, escalators and lifts, and
6) increased time spend on TV, computer games, Internet surfing and telephones.
The NAO projection is that by 2010, 1 out of every 4 adults will be obese. This
translates to a cost of some 3.6-billion pound sterling for the National Health Service
6. Influencing Factors
In the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, the heaviest
emphasis was placed on the contribution of excess fat, sugar and salt on the world’s
dietary health problems. Tagging obesity as the new crisis in public health, WHO
consumption of more energy food than necessary (WHO, 2003). Other studies place
the excessive use of media higher on the list of causes. These include the surveys of
6.a. Diet
According to POST (2003), the WHO/FAO expert group has turned up with
“convincing” evidence that high intake of energy-dense food accounts for much of the
obesity problem in UK. This came about because of the extensive marketing of fast
foods and high intakes of sugar-sweetened drinks and large-portion meals. POST
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frequency, periodic eating binge and less intake of fibre, which comes mostly from
fruits and vegetables. This finding was contested by a National Food Survey (NFS),
which argued that the average energy intake in UK has actually gone down since the
1970s, indicating that dietary factors have nothing to do with the growing number of
obese Britons. Other health and consumer groups expressed disappointment at the
stocking the home larder with confectionery, alcoholic drinks and TV dinner and the
What and when people eat appears to be the deciding factors in child obesity. The
“what” has been identified as high-fat foods like chocolate, biscuits, cakes and crisps,
fried food, fizzy drinks high in sugar, and ice cream and donuts. The “when” includes
eating in-between meals, eating while watching TV or doing homework, eating out of
habit even when not hungry, and eating out as part of a weekly routine.
A healthy balanced diet, BUPA (2004) suggests, will go a long way in combating
obesity but the problem is that most British children are gorging on unhealthy and
fattening foods. For example, starchy foods rich in complex carbohydrates like
potatoes, rice and chapatti are no longer part of the regular diet. So are fresh fruits,
crusty bread and crackers, grilled or baked food, frozen yoghurt, freshly squeezed
juices, bagels and dried or tinned fruits in natural juice. Instead, both children and
adults are stuffing themselves with high-fat foods like chocolate, biscuits, cakes and
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To prevent childhood obesity, BUPA (2004) advises British parents to encourage their
children into changing their dietary habits through the following activities: 1) set an
example with their own eating habits, 2) prepare meals and snacks on appointed times
with no in-between eating, 3) don’t let children eat while watching TV or doing
homework, 4) let the children eat when hungry rather than out of habit, 5) teach the
children to chew slowly and savour food, which is more filling and less prone to
overeating, 6) keep high-fat and high-sugar snacks out of the house, 6) don’t make
fast-food outings part of a weekly routine, 7) involve the children in food preparation
so they are aware of what they are eating, 8) don’t use food to comfort a child, which
can reinforce the idea that food is a source of comfort, and 9) instead of a fast-food
outing to reward, let us say, a good report card, buy a gift or bring to child to the
cinema.
6.b. Nutrition
Studies (RCP, 2003; Comptroller & Auditor General, 2006; Reilly & Dorosty, 1999;
POST, 2003) show that the prevalence of obesity is increasing in UK because of the
prevalence of unhealthy and less nutritious food in the average Briton’s diet. RCP
(2003) said the British are consuming less of the foodstuff that makes up a healthy
and balanced diet, which consist of starchy foods like bread, potatoes, pasta, rice and
chapatti that are rich in complex carbohydrates; fresh fruits, crusty bread and
crackers; grilled or baked food; fresh juices with water and sugar substitutes; low-
sugar cereal and milk; dried or tinned fruit in natural juice; frozen yoghurt and bagels.
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According to POST (2003), the high glycaemic index (GI) in the diet of the average
Briton is suspected as a prime cause of obesity in the country. Foodstuff with high
GI content includes potatoes, bread, soft drinks, cakes and biscuits. When the body
absorbs high amounts of GI, it causes a sharp increase in blood glucose levels to
stimulate hunger and overeating in teenagers. This has also been linked to flab, heart
Foods are either high or low in energy density. Fatty and fried foods are energy-
dense, with more than twice as much energy content as that derived from the same
high-energy density but low satiety measure encourage snacking and increased energy
intakes, but those with low energy but high satiety reduce overall energy intake. The
food with high density but low satiety measure is the fatty and fried ones, while the
low-density food with high satiety measure are foods like boiled potatoes and fruits.
WHO (2003) pointed to studies suggesting that there are protective effects of early
breastfeeding against obesity and the future risk of type-2 diabetes, but the evidence
remains inconclusive and requires further study. Initial findings show that the
weight, smoking while pregnant, etc. Nonetheless, this idea has been incorporated in
the UK prevention and management programme for obesity on the “Healthy Start”
campaign and the National School Fruit Scheme. The first encourages breastfeeding
based on the theory that breast milk gives children a good start towards a healthy life,
while the second activity provides one free piece of fruit a day to 4 and 6-year-old
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school children. Studies consistently show that infants breastfed even for a brief
period are less susceptible to obesity when they grow up. On the other hand, an
eating pattern at home that always includes fruits and vegetables is likely to be a habit
that children will later stick to. Both programmes are emphasised in a new nutrition
standard made compulsory for school lunches in the whole of UK (BUPA, 2004).
The 2000 National Diet and Nutrition Survey noted that children’s consumption of
fruits and vegetables has drastically fallen in the last 20 years, such that half of the
subjects covered in the survey had not eaten any fruit or vegetable in a given week.
This was supported by the Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey held in the same
year, which reported that 1 out of 10 children from poor families never include fresh
According to Caraher, et al., (2005), there is a growing trend of the sedentary lifestyle
among a generation that was known as the TV generation in the 1960s, as the video
generation in the 1980s, the Nintendo generation in the 1990s, and lately as the
Internet Age. Issue Briefs (2004) said there is an explosion in the modern world of
networks, video games, computer activities and Internet websites. All these kept
children away from sports and other outdoor activities that involve physical exertion.
and 22 percent of girls do less than 30 minutes of physical activity per day.
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activities that are essential to healthy living. For example, POST (2003) reported that
the number of people playing sports at school declined from 44 percent in 1994 to 33
percent in 1999. That same year, only 2 percent of high school students in UK cycled
Commission survey also estimated that young Britons between age 4 and 15 watch an
average of 2.5 hours of television daily, play computer for the same span of time, and
log on the Internet 10 times a month. The 2000 National Diet and Nutrition Survey,
for its part, revealed that 40 percent of school-age boys and 60 percent of girls fail to
meet the physical activity recommendation of at least 1 hour of moderate intensity per
RCP (2003) was more specific on the reasons for the diminishing physical activity of
British children. These include: 1) loss of school playgrounds to other real estate
purposes, 2) reduction of road space for walking or cycling to and from school, 3)
lessening amount of PE, school and home sports, and 4) greater use of cars, escalators
obesity prevention and management calls for the promotion of school sports and PE
students. PE was also made a compulsory subject in the national curriculum for
assigned the task of encouraging school children to organise cycling clubs and
walking groups.
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In the effort to increase children’s physical activity, BUPA (2004) encourages parents
to motivate their children in walking their way to school and stores instead of jumping
in a car. Children must also be taught how to ride a bicycle and swim. Other
recommended steps: involve the whole family in bike riding, swimming and outdoor
activities; encourage trips to the park for a game of cricket, Frisbee, etc.; reduce the
6.e. Advertising
According to BUPA (2004), television advertising has a direct influence on the eating
preferences and habits of British children. For this reason, the Office of
oriented channels and programmes. Among the foodstuff listed as junk were
chocolates, pizza, burgers and crisps. The move gained the support of British parents
who were found in a survey (Luce, 2005, p.281) to be of the unanimous view that TV
adverts are a strong influence over their children’s choice of food. Because of this
influence, children “tend to overeat and to eat quickly without paying attention to
what they are consuming (McLaren, 2006).” However, the advertising and
advertising and marketing industries, argued in a position paper that advertising, far
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from influencing children to eat unhealthy food, in fact encourages them to choose
one brand over another and that with or without a ban on junk food advertisements,
children will want them anyway. In effect, advertising is just one of many
influencing factors.
POST (2003) acknowledged that the large amount of TV advertisements put out by
the food service industry targets children and promotes processed food that are mostly
high in fat, sugar and salt. Consequently, the consumer and health groups in UK
agitate for regulatory measures, and a group called Food Aware is calling for a ban, as
a good start, on the advertising and marketing of fatty, sugary and salty foods in
force the food industry into reducing the fat content of its products, a tax system
called “fat tax” has been proposed on fatty foods. Moreover, a bill has passed first
reading at the House of Commons prohibiting food and drink advertisements during
warns that further regulation would harm this particular sector of the economy.
Instead the industry is proposing a new code of practice that would penalise
advertisers that discourage good dietary habits and encourage excessive consumption.
and increasing levels of physical activity would be more effective in addressing the
problem of childhood obesity. In this connection, the Food Standards Agency (FSA)
develop a framework for the most effective means of engaging children and their
families in the anti-obesity campaign and what sort of programmes, advice and
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between advertising and children obesity. The five areas of debate are: 1) the rights
of children and the place of advertising in a child’s life; 2) the impact of advertising
advertised foods targeting children; 4) the “pester power” influence of food adverts on
family food choices; and 5) striking a balance between the rights of the advertising
industry to promote products and ideas and the role of the state in protecting the
health of its citizens and vulnerable groups (Caraher, et al., 2005, p. 596-597).
There are three stages involved in the development of advertising literacy among
children based on a theory set by Roedder (1981): limited model, cued model and
strategic model. The limited model applies to children aged 6-8 when they have as
yet no capability to judge the intentions of advertisers. From age 8 to 12, children
enter the cued model stage when they acquire the knowledge to argue with advertising
claims but still unable to use this knowledge for their own good. The strategic model
stage comes after age 12 when children begin to demonstrate an advertising literacy
Epstein et, al (2000) postulates that once children get overweight, psychological and
physiological problems develop such that reversing the process becomes difficult.
This happens because children who get used to stuffing themselves to overfilling
begin to feel distressed when they eat less. For this reason, the writer of this paper
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agrees with the content of most of the readings that obese children need professional
and medical assistance to help them overcome the problem. The common findings
are that anti-obesity programmes yield better results if they involve not only health
professionals but also the parents of obese children and the schools they are attending.
However, clinical experts are advised to see the parents and children separately on the
theory that children are better at long-term maintenance of ideal weight than parents
persons to eat less processed food and engage in more physical activity. Such a study
involved a clinical dietician with parents serving as agents of change and their obese
children as change agents (Golan, et al., 1998). In the 1-year study, the children aged
6-11 were split into an experimental group, who participated in the experiment under
the guidance of their parents, and a control group in which the children were on their
own. The dietician recorded the family’s eating patterns, activity routines and other
experimental group and 30 sessions for those in the control group. The result was that
weight reduction was higher at 14.6 percent in the experimental group and only 8.1
percent in the other group, which also recorded a 9 percent dropout rate. This gives
obesity the appearance of a psychological problem that the affected children cannot
handle on their own and need the support and guidance of parents.
The trials conducted so far to test the effectiveness of intervention measures are either
positive results. Test programmes in which parents acted as change agents, for
example, were found to have helped primary school children lose weight. One
school-based randomised controlled trial that employed video games and instructional
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tapes to effect changes in diet and physical activity found encouraging reduction in
the BMI, skin-fold thickness, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio among obese
one such strategy consisting of instruction, modified meals, PE, tuck shops and
playground activities were used in a trial involving obese in-school children aged 7-
11. After 1 year, no change in eating behaviour was observed among the subjects but
there was a noticeable increase in their vegetable consumption. This was seen as a
good start in the children’s way to healthier living. In effect, what the prevention
and intervention trials achieved was mostly point the obese children to the right
direction, which confirms that there is no magic cure for obesity. Although the
outcomes of these steps are generally uncertain, they are worth taking rather than
leaving the obese children alone, with society doing nothing at all.
There is some evidence that child obesity can be reduced by government initiatives
that give schools bigger roles in health improvement and multi-pronged school-based
programmes that promote physical activity and modification of diet and sedentary
behaviours. However, the NHS admits that for the most part, intervention measures
are still unreliable as to effectiveness since they have been conducted with small-size
samples, with high dropout rates, poor reporting and in settings different to UK
conditions. Therefore, this paper proposes that future research be conducted that
intends to generate better procedural quality. These studies must involve a larger
number of participants and held in appropriate settings, at longer duration and with
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Such future research can work around the initial findings that obesity management has
increase physical activity, decrease sedentary behaviours, and involve families in the
change process.
In UK itself, some sectors of the health community are calling for a closer look at
obesity. The routine claim is that there has been a rapid acceleration of childhood
obesity since the 1990s, but data on official surveys don’t bear this out. The Health
Survey for England 2003 disagrees with the basic findings of the House of Commons
committee on health and the International Obesity Task Force. This emphasises the
need for a better quality research using such tools as mentioned above – larger
It may also be worthwhile for future studies to test the effectiveness of weight-loss
drugs such as metformin, serum leptins, serum lipids, orlistat and sibutramine. Initial
studies by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) revealed that the BMI
scores of 29 obese young people aged 12 to 19 improved after use of metformin and
serum leptin for six months. Other areas worth looking into are the two curious
phenomena pinpointed by the WHO and other research groups as possible risk factors
of obesity, namely ethnicity and poverty. It was observed that the prevalence of
obesity is greater among people in the poorer sectors of society and the developing,
which is contrary to the popular wisdom that obesity is a sign of abundance and
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Reference List
Comptroller & Auditor General (2006). “Tackling Child Obesity – First Steps.”
Prepared jointly by the Audit Commission, Healthcare Commission &
National Audit Office, HC 801, session 28-2-06.
Epstein, L., Palluch, R., Gordy, C., Saelens, B. & Ernest, M. (2000). “Problem
Solving in the Treatment of Obesity.” Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, vol. 68, no.4.
Epstein, L., Wisniewski, L. & Weng, R. (1994). “Child and Parent Psychology
Problems Influence Child Weight Control.” Obesity Research 2.
Golan, M., et al. (1998). “Treatment for Childhood and Adolescent Obesity.”
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
James, W., Rigby, N., Leach, R.. Kumanyika, S., Lobstein, T. & Swinburn, B.
(2006). “Global Strategies to Prevent Childhood Obesity.” Global
Prevention Alliance, McGill Integration Health Challenge, Oct. 26-27,
2006.
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Livingstone, S. (2002). “Young People and the New Media.” London: Sage
Publications.
Luce, D.D. (2005). “Fast Food and Children and Adolescents: Implications
for Practitioners.” Clinical Paediatrics, Vol. 44, no. 5, pp. 279-288.
Lyness, D. (2005). “Who Can Help?” Available online accessed 5-11-06 at:
http://wwwkidshealth.org/teen/your mind/mental
health/depression.html
Social Issues Research Centre (2005). “Obesity and the Facts.” February
2005, Oxford, UK.
WHO (2003). “Childhood Obesity: The New Crisis in Public Health.” Geneva.
Wilson, P., O’Meara, S., Summerbell, C. & Kelly, S. (2003). “The Prevention
and Treatment of Childhood Obesity.” Quality and Safety Health Care,
available online accessed 28-12-06 at:
http://qshc.bmj.com/cqi/content/full/12/1/65
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