Sponsored by
The fat of the land... heavyweight war begins to reduce the obesity epidemic
MARIE Cole has always been a frustrated dancer, but four years after joining the Movers and Shakers dance class all that has changed.
The group for over-50s has become part of the Get Doncaster Dancing programme launched by health chiefs to combat the town's rising rates of obesity. Children, people with disabilities, the elderly and even pregnant women are all involved.
But for Marie, 59, and her friends who attend the weekly sessions, the group is much more than a fitness workout – it offers mental stimulation, a chance to take on new challenges and to socialise. The only problem they have is a shortage of men.
Marie froze on her debut at the class but now she says: "The world is my oyster... I'm a different person. It's made me fit in body, mind and soul. It really is a joy."
Her friend Joyce Boundy, 70, was a founder member of the group 11 years ago. "I'd just finished working and sat down and said, 'I don't know what I'm going to do with myself'," she says. "My daughter brought me this leaflet about dance for the over-50s. Every week is different. We've done a performance in a really rough pub in Sheffield and touring companies have worked with us.
"When you retire it is a shock, but I've come here and things have gone on from there. It's been absolutely brilliant."
The thriving group will be among the activities showcased today at the local launch of the Change4Life initiative. The programme is the cornerstone of the Government's response to the shocking scale of the obesity epidemic as it aims to "kickstart a lifestyle revolution" by helping people "eat well, move more and live longer".
Yorkshire will soon have the most obese population in England. Already 71 per cent of men and 62 per cent of women are overweight or obese and there are 14,000 morbidly obese children in the region. Almost a quarter of four to five-year-olds are overweight or obese, rising to almost one in three children aged 10 to 11. It is predicted that 28 per cent of girls aged 11-15 will be obese by 2010, with a further 16 per cent overweight.
Nationally, two-thirds of men and 40 per cent of women will be obese by 2050 if trends continue. The estimated costs to the NHS will soar from 1bn in 2007 to 6.5bn. The link between obesity and illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer is well established. But research shows many people do not know the risks and underestimate the amount they eat and exercise. Public health campaigns in the past have been woefully funded and tended to preach to the converted, but Change4Life is designed to reach other parents and children
through new avenues.
NHS staff, teachers, health charities, Government agencies and, controversially, big business including Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Kellogg's, Mars, Nestl and PepsiCo are taking part, alongside some of the major supermarkets, as part of a national movement involving 12,000 grassroot organisations in the biggest-ever public health campaign.
People will be given free access to health clubs and leisure centres; corner shops will be helped to display more fruit and vegetables; and cycling will be promoted to families.
The Government has already come under fire for reacting too slowly to the obesity crisis and the campaign, backed most notably so far by TV advertisements featuring a cartoon Stone Age family, has attracted criticism, with the Lancet medical journal claiming the involvement of companies producing fatty and sugary foods "beggared belief".
Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, wishes the campaign well but believes it is too little, too late and backed with "derisory" funding. He also raises doubts about the involvement of the major food groups.
"The real fear I have is that the industry will use the partnership to further its own aims," he said. It was "disgraceful" that no action had been taken to target big business, he added.
"Limits should be put in place for the amount of salt, fat and sugar in products so that every parent buying food knows that it's going to be healthy."
Fast food should not be advertised before 9pm and portion sizes reduced. Better monitoring of children's growth was also needed so that preventative action could be taken to stop youngsters putting on weight. "What we have seen so far is a lot of words and not much success," he said.
Health Secretary Alan Johnson is bullish about the programme. He told the Yorkshire Post that obesity was the biggest public health challenge facing the country.
"If we do nothing, we risk future generations of children growing up with a shorter life-expectancy than their parents, not to mention the huge financial costs to the NHS and the economy," he said. "But the answer is not necessarily simple. The Government cannot prescribe how much exercise people do, or march into people's homes and scrutinise what's on the table at dinnertime. We're trying to create a movement – something which no Government, certainly in my lifetime, has achieved."
He said the campaign was based on the best advice to get messages across to the right audience.
"It carries simple messages, helping people to make small changes which will make a difference. We have not set out to get everyone to be an Olympic athlete," he added.
Businesses could reach families on the back of cereal packets and the like in a way that traditional public health messages could not.
"We own the Change4Life brand and they have all signed up to strict rules. If they abuse them then they will not be a part of it," he said. "We have to get these messages across consistently, rather than being up against organisations that will try to challenge and compete with them. It makes sense to get them all on board."
Among the grassroots projects which Mr Johnson hopes will make a difference are plans to target thousands of rugby league fans. Tailor-made obesity and smoking advice will be among the lifestyle-related issues tackled at Leeds Rhinos home matches beginning next month. Personal health advice, a roving health check service and free MOT-type health checks will also be available.
Alan White, the world's first professor of men's health at Leeds Metropolitan University, said many men failed to access care due to work or social pressures. Their delays in seeking treatment could have serious consequences.
Figures show women are more likely to suffer skin cancer but more men die of it. Prof White said: "If men are not accessing services because they're not going to where you are, then you've got to go to where they are. We will be providing a range of activities that we know that many men need but for many reasons they don't have the opportunity or the inclination to access."
In Rotherham, 3.5m is being spent over the next three years in action to tackle child obesity, including sending children to a so-called fat camp run by Carnegie Weight Management in Leeds.
Jamal and Jeneisha Holroyd-Bruce were among 38 children who attended the six-week residential course last summer, taking part in a range of activities and learning about healthy eating. Both lost around 20lb.
Their mother Jenny, 35, said both had been bullied about their weight. "They've always been active but they're just built differently. It's not through lack of exercise – they're not
children that sit and watch the TV," she said.
She immediately noticed the difference when they returned – particularly in their confidence. Jamal was now playing football twice a week, both went to dance classes and they went swimming as a family as often as possible.
"Of course, you can only do so much and money only goes so far," she said. "They do have chips and McDonald's and things like that, but I have cut it down. Because
we are so busy, sometimes it is difficult."
But overall it was important to make sure they exercised. "If you can go to a camp, it is well worth doing not just for the weight loss but for making friends. Some kids have never had proper close relationships because of their weight and it gives them a bond," she added.
For more information, go to www.nhs.uk/change4life
Change4life's advice on staying healthy and active
Change4Life's easiest eight behaviour changes for families.
1. Sugar Swaps: The programme has tips on swapping sugary snacks and drinks for ones lower in sugar.
2. Meal Times: It is important for kids to have regular, proper meals as part of a routine.
3. Me-Sized Meals: Ensure kids get just the right amount for their age – not too little and not too much.
4. Snack Check: Keep a careful eye on how many snacks the kids are having.
5. Five a Day: Tips on giving your kids five portions of fruit and vegetables a day – for kids, one portion is roughly a handful.
6. Cut Back Fat: Fat-busting tips on how to tell where fat is lurking.
7. 60 Active Minutes: Tips for giving kids at least 60 minutes of activity a day. But it doesn't have to be sport.
8. Up and About: Tips to get kids spending less time sitting down doing nothing and up and about being active so their bodies burn off enough fat.
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds lose Ward to Palace: Is there anyone they can afford now?
- Sheffield Wednesday leaving it late to hijack Leeds United over Ward
- As Snodgrass dithers over Leeds, Warnock throws a lifeline
- Ball is in Leeds United’s court over contract - Snodgrass
- Police turning blind eye to Asian voter fraud, says MP
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
