Childhood obesity needs action
In brief
· Obesity in children has reached epidemic proportions. The intense marketing of unhealthy food and drinks to children contributes to the problem.
· Children need better protection from unhealthy food marketing, and a large proportion of people we surveyed think the government should help.
Childhood obesity — the alarming facts
· Between 1985 and 1997, the prevalence of obesity trebled among young Australians, and numbers have continued to increase at an alarming rate.
· It’s been estimated that one in five Australian children are overweight or obese. Recently published figures from NSW suggest it could be as many as one in four.
· Obese children have a 25–50% chance of remaining obese in adulthood, putting them at greater risk of developing chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease — conditions that place a substantial burden on the health system as well as on the individuals affected.
· Dire predictions have been made that today’s children might be the first generation to die at an earlier age than their parents.
· Probably the most immediate consequence of being overweight, as perceived by the children themselves, is social discrimination, associated with poor self-esteem and depression.
03.What causes obesity?
In simple terms, overweight and obesity are the result of an energy imbalance, where more energy (kilojoules) is taken in than is used up. Anything that affects what children are eating or how much exercise they’re getting can potentially add to this imbalance.
Our obesogenic environment
One of the reasons why the obesity problem has reached epidemic proportions is the so-called ‘obesogenic’ (or ‘obesity-promoting’) environment we’re living in, which has come about as a result of technological, social, economic and environmental changes.
Many factors have been suggested as contributing to this obesogenic environment, including:
· The increasing use of motor vehicles.
· Increased time spent on a computer playing games and surfing the internet.
· The lack of safe playing areas and other safety concerns.
· Changes in family structure and work patterns so that parents are busier and may have less time to spend with their families and on meal preparation.
· Easy access to kilojoule-laden foods and drinks.
· The frequent promotion of these sorts of foods through television, the internet and other media
