Obesity is overtaking smoking as the biggest risk to health in Wales experts have warned.
The problem with overweight children could also mean this generation will not live as long as their parents according to wales’ chief medical officer. It comes as the nation’s first strategy to combat obesity is launched. The health minister wants to create an environment where it is normal and easy to eat well and be active.
A consultation ‘Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales’ sets out the ambitions to reduce obesity over the next 10 years while recognising that nowhere has managed to successfully stop it in its tracks. It wants the end the stigma of talking about being overweight to make it natural to talk to GPs.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) regards obesity as one of the most serious global public health challenges for the 21st century. In wales over a quarter of four to five-year-olds are overweight or obese; looking at adults six in ten adults are overweight and one in four obese. The UK have one of the highest levels of obesity in the UK. Obesity is the leading cause of several major conditions including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. There are also links with orthopaedic problems, poor mental health and depression.
Children who are overweight or obese are at greater risk of poor health in adolescence as well as in adulthood. 80% of people who are obese aged four to five remain obese into adulthood. Overweight children develop illnesses and conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Diabetes UK reported that 6,836 people under the age of 25 have Type 2 diabetes in England and Wales, which includes around 1,500 people under the age of 19 being treated for the illness. There is also risk of psychological harm of childhood obesity which includes bullying and discrimination by peers; this can deteriorate into low self-esteem, anxiety and depression.
Illnesses that are associated with obesity project costs will cost the Welsh NHS more than £465 million per year by 2050.
Obesity can be caused by many things such as cheap fast food, decline in the need or desire to be physical active. There is no quick fix for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is a personal challenge for everyone. Wales wants to create the right conditions can help people to support healthy choices. This will include educating and creating a better overview on healthy eating. The Stay Well in Wales survey found that 70% of the Welsh public agree that advertising of unhealthy foods to children should be banned. 88% agree that schools should teach children about how to live a healthy life.
Public Health Wales
Evidence shows that the built and natural environment (buildings, places, streets, routes, land, watercourses, natural habitats) and the activities undertaken in these (living, working, learning, playing, shopping, travelling, moving) can support an individual’s physical and mental well-being. The presence of specific characteristics such as having access to green open spaces, healthy food, opportunities to be active and many more factors help to promote and have a positive impact of a healthy lifestyle where obesity is limited.
There is evidence that investing in well-designed trails leading to workplaces, schools, recreational centres and social places with pavements and safe crossings can support walking and cycling; this will increase the levels of physical activity among all age groups.
Wales also would like to lower the levels of air pollution, exposure to air pollution negatively impacts on health and well-being increasing the risk of disease from stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and both chronic and acute respiratory diseases. They will improve air quality by having more greenery such as trees, hedges and open spaces; with their active walking and cycling plan they will be able to lower the amount of vehicles on the road which reduces emissions.
The strategy to tackle obesity problems in Wales are:
- Limiting the use of advertising and promotion of unhealthy foods in public places – from bus stops to sports events
- Incentivising healthier food purchasing – and regulating price promotion and discounting for unhealthy foods
- Stimulating an increase in healthier food outlets – this could include using planning regulations and tax breaks
- Banning sales of energy drinks to under 16s from all shops
- Creating “healthy weight environments” in new building projects for housing, schools and hospitals – as well transport projects like the South Wales Metro and increasing sports provision and good quality green space close to towns and cities
- Maximising healthy food opportunities in schools, nurseries, colleges and workplaces
Dr Frank Atherton, chief medical officer for Wales, said: “If we think about preventable disease, only smoking exceeds obesity and being overweight at the moment but it’s catching up. We need to think about the next generation and there’s a real risk that if we don’t get serious, they will live shorter lives than their parents.”
