News and Opinion
There are stories relating to obesity breaking around the world every day. The stories below are those where journalists haver sought NOF opnion/quotes or summaries of research on which NOF may have a view. Where possible the source of the stories are identified by the newspaper banner or a URL in red.
NOF Opinion will always be identified in italics.
Obesity - " Call to Action "
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 20 October 2011
The National Obesity Forum, together with the Child Growth Foundation - the UK charity focussed on the prevention of chidhood obesity - has called for a second House of Commons Inquiry into Obesity following the publication of " Call to Action ", the Department of Health's strategy to accomplish a downward trend in obesity by 2020. It is seven years since the Select Committee published its seminal report on obesity - and comparatively little has been achieved to stem the epidemic since.
The NOF calls the government's strategy " hopeless ". Chairman Professor David Haslam told GP, the general practice weekly, that " Call to Action wouldn't make a single person thinner. It is meaningless to primary care and I almost completely object to it ". He also had some choice words for the " Dietary Recommendations for Energy " document released simultaneously with " Call to Action ". Commenting on the new recommendations - which increased the calorie count -he castigated the increase for being " really unhelpful ". " It gives out entirely the wrong message." he said. " People are going to think that they can eat that little bit more. If anything, that will add to the obesity problem!"
" Call to Action " whose chief message is that the UK should strive for a collective daily reduction of 5 billion calories as a " new national ambition ", has received flak from all quarters except, of course, the food and drink industry. Jamie Oliver's view that the document was " worthless, regurgitated, patronsing rubbish " was the opinion most quoted.