Tougher action for UK fight against obesity
Obesity rate is still climbing in the UK just like the US and one of the causes to this problem is sugar and salt contents within soft drinks & food.
In 2010 Dr Majid Ezzati, chair of global environmental health at Imperial College London, and one of the lead authors of a report that said: “We have gone from a world 20 years ago where people weren't getting enough to eat to a world now where too much food and unhealthy food – even in developing countries – is making us sick.” Between 1990 and 2010 overall global life expectancy at birth rose by about five years. The ‘average’ boy born in 2010 can expect expect to live to 67.5 and the ‘average’ girl to 73.3.
With this in mind shadow health secretary Andy Burnham has highlighted this issue on BBC breakfast news this morning saying Mr Burnham told the BBC: "This is a problem we can't carry on ignoring. It is storing up great problems for the NHS in the future.
Mr Burnham also spoke of a 30% cap on sugar content in cereals which are aimed at children. Speaking of the latest NHS information published indicating one third of children are obese by the time they have left primary school.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the government was "making very good progress" in tackling obesity and that the government holds the right to legislate if sugar content and obesity related illness increases.
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