National Obesity Awareness Week 2015 encourages small changes now for long-term gains

Monday saw the beginning of National Obesity Awareness Week 2015, a campaign that aims to take back control of the nation’s spiralling obesity crisis, and, as many of us will have ‘weight loss’ as one of our New Year’s resolutions, there is no better time to act than now.

Alarmingly, around 25% of adults are deemed to be obese. According to NHS Choices, a BMI of 30 to 39.9 means you are considered obese, and the government claims that unless the problem is tackled, 60% of men, 50% of women and 24% of children will be obese by the year 2050.

Clearly, obesity is an incredibly serious problem that needs fighting. It effects not only our personal health – increasing the risk of problems including heart attacks, stroke, cancer, type 2 diabetes and arthritis – but can have a detrimental impact to society.

McKinsey and Company produced a report last year documenting the country’s various yearly outgoings, with their economic analysis estimating that the fight against obesity is costing the UK even more than tackling armed violence, war and terrorism. According to their calculations, the problem of obesity costs the UK in excess of £46.5bn ($73bn) a year, in comparison to the £43bn ($67bn) it costs the country due to armed violence, war and terrorism. The biggest social cost to the country though – and by some distance – remains smoking, with the impact from smoking costing a staggering £57bn ($86bn) in 2012.

On a global scale, armed violence, war and terrorism is costing the economy $2.1 trillion a year, and obesity isn’t too far behind, at $2 trillion, with the following social burden being alcoholism, costing $1.4 trillion.

Unfortunately, obesity appears to be a growing problem. Almost a quarter of children are considered to be obese upon leaving primary school, in addition to the one in four adults also obese. Over 12,000 hospital appointments are made each year because of health issues associated with obesity, placing further pressure on an already stretched NHS budget.

However, this is where National Obesity Awareness Week comes into play, aiming to promote the various methods how the government, businesses and us as individuals can implement positive steps to boost our health, with the information and resources from the campaign enabling a long-term positive change. This doesn’t mean people have to make astronomical alterations, but smaller, manageable and sustainable changes that can be kept up beyond National Obesity Awareness Week – this might be cutting down on sugar in your diet, reducing alcohol intake, or increasing the amount of exercise you do.


The campaign encourages everyone to get involved, whether it is events, activities and promotions taking place around the country, or people can even organise their own event with the online supporters’ pack.

The National Obesity Awareness Week website is also full of fantastic, useful information, such as exercise tips to help successful weight loss, an explanation of calories and the number of calories expended in an hour of doing various exercise such as running or swimming, why low-fat diets don’t always work for those trying to lose weight, healthier cooking recipes, a breakdown of the vitamins and minerals we need in our diets and their purposes, how to stay active during pregnancy and much more.


So, whatever it is you decide to do to take part, why don’t we all commit to making 2015 the year we take action with manageable and sustainable changes to turn the obesity crisis around before it is too late.

Medical Specialists® Pharmacy can also help those trying to lose weight, with our fantastic range of obesity treatments such as Xenical and Orlistat. Used in conjunction with a balanced diet and exercise, these treatments are very effective and can help people regain their confidence to enjoy a happier and healthier 2015!

Quadruple rise in childhood obesity hospital admissions

Alarming NHS figures show that the number of children requiring hospital treatment for obesity-related conditions has increased more than four-fold in less than ten years.

The analysis, conducted by researchers at Imperial College London, comprised of a study of NHS hospital admission statistics for obesity between 2000 and 2009 in England and Wales. The research team, led by Dr Sonia Saxena, looked at statistics where either obesity the main cause for the admission or together with a condition that had worsened due to obesity.

They discovered a sharp rise in the number of five to 19-year-olds admitted to hospital with obesity related conditions, increasing from 872 to 3,806, with almost 21,000 patients aged five to 19 being treated for such problems in that period. Reporting their findings in the journal Public Library of Science ONE, the team also state that admissions were more common in girls than boys.

Girls accounted for 55% of the cases, as well as comprising of three-quarters of the patients who had underwent bariatric weight loss surgery, where the stomach is reduced in size. Also known as gastric surgery, bariatric operations carry a number of risks and can cost thousands of pounds for somebody who decides they do not want to join an ever-growing NHS waiting list for such operations – after meeting strict criteria of course.

Dr Sonia Saxena says: “This is one of the first studies to show health problems linked to obesity are affecting children. The figures are alarming. This is no longer a ticking obesity time bomb – it has exploded. It is no longer obese adults that should be the sole focus of our concerns. It’s clear that rising obesity levels are causing more medical problems in children. The burden of obesity is usually thought to have its serious consequences in adulthood, but we now see it manifesting earlier, in childhood.”

Tam Fry, a member of the National Obesity Forum and chairman of the Child Growth Foundation charity, added: “I’m not surprised by this leap, and I won’t be surprised if in five years we’re taking about another significant rise. When it comes to obesity we have taken our eyes off children to such an extent that they are now completely unmonitored and left to get on with it. The medical profession is not really paying too much attention to them. A lot of these young people are completely unaware that piling on the pounds will not only make them fat but give rise to these other conditions. We’ve got a substantial number of our children going into their secondary school life ill-equipped to know what the consequences of fatness and obesity are. We need a thorough reappraisal of the way we allow the food industry to get away with stuffing unhealthy levels of fat and sugar into their food. We need to ban fizzy drinks and sugar-laden drinks entirely. We need to take really radical steps.”

Obesity has long been connected to a wide range of serious health problems during childhood and increases the risk of developing conditions such as type-2 diabetes, asthma and can result in interrupted sleep due to breathing difficulties.

Government figures show that about 30% of children between the ages of 2 and 15 years old are classified as overweight and around a fifth are classified as obese. Worryingly, the number of overweight or obese children is expected to double by 2050.

Doctors and health experts have stressed the need for urgent government action to ease a nationwide obesity crisis, such as severely limiting access to junk food.

Professor Mitch Blair of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, commented: “The UK already has the highest rate of childhood obesity in western Europe, estimated to cost the NHS £4.2billion a year. This, coupled with these latest statistics, further emphasises the need for urgent action. The fast paced nature and rising cost of day-to-day living means parents are often left with little option but to feed their family quick and easy food which is often extremely unhealthy. This, and the fact children favour video games or watching television over playing outside, is a recipe for disaster. We need to look seriously at how fast food is marketed at children and consider banning junk food prior to the 9pm watershed, limiting the number of fast food outlets near schools and making sure children are taught the importance of a healthy, balanced diet.”