Ministers under fire for failing to tackle obesity

Footballer Steven Gerrard and chef Jamie Oliver are among those supporting a campaign which calls on Prime Minister David Cameron to introduce a minimum of 24 hours of cooking skills lessons for school pupils aged four to 14.

They are among medics, teaching union bosses and nutritionists who have sent a letter to Mr Cameron ahead of the London Olympics, highlighting the Government’s pledge to use the games to encourage children and adults to lose weight and get active.

Yesterday, their intervention was welcomed by Dr Matt Capehorn, who runs the Rotherham Institute of Obesity (RIO), which helps overweight families, but he warned Ministers already knew the “shocking facts”.

“A quarter of children in Britain aged between four and five already have a weight problem and that has increased to a third by the time they reach secondary school age, the Government knows that,” he said. “Regrettably, we have now got to the stage where Ministers don’t listen to medical experts and it takes the likes of Jamie Oliver and Steven Gerrard to get the debate going again on what should be done.

“As far back as 2007, the Government commissioned the Foresight Report, which showed that obesity will be costing the NHS £50bn a year by 2050. They didn’t listen to the report and nothing has been done.

“Recently the Government spent £75m on the Change for Life campaign, and while any campaign is welcome, the amount spent is peanuts compared with the direct and indirect costs of obesity.

“Ministers should be investing many more millions in centres like mine, which can help the one in three people who are obese, and save money the NHS would be forced to spend treating them in decades to come.”

Dr Capehorn said cooking lessons formed part of his centre’s approach, but added evidence showed there were many factors which led to obesity, all of which required differing interventions.

In its letter, the group led by Oliver and Gerrard laments that the “pride” of hosting the Olympic Games has been “tainted by the shameful fact that Britain is officially the fattest nation in Europe”.

Teaching children through the National Curriculum how to prepare nutritious meals for themselves and their families would be an important step in tackling the rising obesity epidemic, they said.

Oliver has used both Rotherham and Bradford in previous healthy eating campaigns which have been filmed for television, but England footballer Gerrard is relatively new to the weight debate.

Dr Capehorn, a Rotherham GP, is also clinical director of the National Obesity Forum and Professor David Haslam, the Forum’s chairman, was also one of the letter’s signatories.

Prof Haslam said: “The Olympics provide a unique opportunity to reduce the burden of obesity which leads to diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other conditions, and ultimately premature death.

“However, sitting in front of the television, cheering our elite athletes on, while eating crisps and chocolates, drinking sugar-sweetened beverages is entirely counter-productive.”

Yesterday, a Department for Education spokesman said: “We know a healthy attitude towards food, developed early, is critical to the health of young people. We’ve asked the School Food Trust to draw up early years nutritional guidance. We are currently reviewing the National Curriculum and will make further announcements in due course.”