Monday 8th January marked the start of National Obesity Awareness Week here in the UK.
Obesity is defined as someone who is overweight and has a lot of body fat. It can sometimes be defined as someone who has the Body Mass Index of over 30, although this is a topic of hot debate as it’s not always reliable (Someone’s weight may go up due to a large amount of muscle, therefore meaning they aren’t actually obese and probably actually have a very small amount of body fat). While not 100% reliable, this can give people a good idea if they’re on the right track but a more accurate way is to measure a person’s waist circumference. Keeping your waist measurement less than half of your height has been found to give you a better chance of avoiding being overweight and increasing your life expectancy. In a survey of 300,000 people, this ratio was a better predictor on high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular problems.
Here in the UK, obesity is becoming the new smoking. We know sugary and fatty foods are bad for us and can lead to life limiting conditions, yet many of us refuse to do something about it. Branded as the most obese country in Western Europe with almost 27% of the population being classed as grossly overweight and forecasts estimating that over 50% of the country will be obese by 2050. The World Obesity Forum predicts that treating ill health caused by obesity in the UK will rise from £14 billion to £22 billion per year in 2025 and with Type 2 Diabetes already costing the NHS £9 billion, that figure doesn’t look far off.
This month, Public Health England launched their new Change4Life campaign to stop children snacking on junk by suggesting parents only allow 2 snacks a day, of which neither exceed more than 100 calories each. Each year, children are consuming almost 400 biscuits, over 120 cakes, about 100 portions of sweets and nearly 70 chocolate bars and on top of that, over 150 fizzy and sugary drinks. Their research shows that half of children’s sugar intake (currently around 7 cubes of sugar) comes from unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks and with half a million under 11’s found to obese, cutting down on snacks will hopefully lead the path for a healthier future.
Not only does it higher the chances of illnesses, but can also affect people’s mental health with depression and anxiety often linked with it. To ensure you’re doing everything you can to keep your weight down, we’ve come up with some suggestions of how to keep you fit:
- Find 30 minutes in your day for some exercise. Whether you get off the bus a few stops earlier or head to the gym after work, it all counts.
- Join a gym. Find a friend to go with to spur you on – you’ll be surprised how much it can help!
- Cut down on your treats. Save them for the weekend or find healthier alternatives.
- Make goals, but keep them realistic. Whether you have an event to go to and want to fit in your favourite outfit or have a beach holiday coming up – anything that will give you some drive to make the changes!
As adults, it’s our responsibility to educate ourselves and our friends and family about the risks of obesity. For more information about how you can keep yourself healthy, head to our website.
