National nutrition council is needed to tackle childhood obesity
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《英国医生杂志》
A national obesity institute should be set up to coordinate measures by different agencies to reduce the growing epidemic of obesity in children, the BMA has recommended in an action plan published this week.
Parents and children should have a better understanding of the benefits of healthy living, says the BMA
Credit: IMAGE SOURCE/REX
The report says that a key step in reducing obesity in children is to establish a national obesity institute or nutrition council to improve collaboration among the different stakeholder groups to reduce the problem effectively. It also calls on the government to mount a "sustained and consistent" public education campaign to improve parents' and children's understanding of the benefits of healthy living.
The report was developed by the BMA's Board of Science after the association's annual representative meeting in 2004 decided that nutrition and exercise in childhood should be reviewed in the light of the major increases in childhood obesity over the past few years. Figures for 2002 showed that in the United Kingdom 22% of boys and 28% of girls aged between 2 and 15 years were overweight or obese.
Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's head of science and ethics, said: "If we can reduce childhood obesity, we have a good chance of reducing adult obesity as well, because eating and exercise habits from early life tend to continue." She said that the growing recognition of the long term health implications of obesity means that healthcare professionals should be involved in addressing the problem, together with other agencies.
The report says that existing primary care health professionals may not be well placed to meet the needs of obese children. It recommends that obesity management should be included in health service planning, with improved provision of staff time and motivational skills. Funding should be allocated to establish and sustain training programmes for professionals involved in the care of obese children, including specialist school nurses, health visitors, and GPs. This funding should be complemented by resources to allow children from any region in the United Kingdom to gain access to specialist regional obesity services.
Clearer guidance and advice should be developed on the most effective ways of losing weight and maintaining weight loss, the report advises. It also calls for UK-wide surveillance of factors that lead to childhood obesity, developed by the public health observatories.
The report also recommends measures for schools, including provision of food that conforms to nutritional guidelines and using the curriculum to reinforce messages about healthy eating. It says that nutrient and compositional standards for school meals should be mandatory. Maximum or minimum levels for fat, sugar, salt, vitamins, and minerals should be set. To ensure compliance, the profile of health in regular inspections of schools by the Office for Standards in Education should be raised.
It further recommends greater government funding of sport and recreation facilities in schools and communities and a ban on the advertising of unhealthy foodstuffs, including inappropriate sponsorship programmes, targeted at school children. The report says that the Food Standards Agency should develop new standards in nutritional content, food labelling, and food marketing and promotion for adoption by the food industry.(Susan Mayor)
Parents and children should have a better understanding of the benefits of healthy living, says the BMA
Credit: IMAGE SOURCE/REX
The report says that a key step in reducing obesity in children is to establish a national obesity institute or nutrition council to improve collaboration among the different stakeholder groups to reduce the problem effectively. It also calls on the government to mount a "sustained and consistent" public education campaign to improve parents' and children's understanding of the benefits of healthy living.
The report was developed by the BMA's Board of Science after the association's annual representative meeting in 2004 decided that nutrition and exercise in childhood should be reviewed in the light of the major increases in childhood obesity over the past few years. Figures for 2002 showed that in the United Kingdom 22% of boys and 28% of girls aged between 2 and 15 years were overweight or obese.
Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's head of science and ethics, said: "If we can reduce childhood obesity, we have a good chance of reducing adult obesity as well, because eating and exercise habits from early life tend to continue." She said that the growing recognition of the long term health implications of obesity means that healthcare professionals should be involved in addressing the problem, together with other agencies.
The report says that existing primary care health professionals may not be well placed to meet the needs of obese children. It recommends that obesity management should be included in health service planning, with improved provision of staff time and motivational skills. Funding should be allocated to establish and sustain training programmes for professionals involved in the care of obese children, including specialist school nurses, health visitors, and GPs. This funding should be complemented by resources to allow children from any region in the United Kingdom to gain access to specialist regional obesity services.
Clearer guidance and advice should be developed on the most effective ways of losing weight and maintaining weight loss, the report advises. It also calls for UK-wide surveillance of factors that lead to childhood obesity, developed by the public health observatories.
The report also recommends measures for schools, including provision of food that conforms to nutritional guidelines and using the curriculum to reinforce messages about healthy eating. It says that nutrient and compositional standards for school meals should be mandatory. Maximum or minimum levels for fat, sugar, salt, vitamins, and minerals should be set. To ensure compliance, the profile of health in regular inspections of schools by the Office for Standards in Education should be raised.
It further recommends greater government funding of sport and recreation facilities in schools and communities and a ban on the advertising of unhealthy foodstuffs, including inappropriate sponsorship programmes, targeted at school children. The report says that the Food Standards Agency should develop new standards in nutritional content, food labelling, and food marketing and promotion for adoption by the food industry.(Susan Mayor)