£275m anti-obesity UK 'lifestyle revolution'

by LotusFlower | January 2, 2009 at 02:05 am

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The British Government is to launch a £275m campaign to halt the country's growing obesity problem that according to some predictions will see 90% of todays children being overweight or obese by 2050.

The new ad campaign is part of the Government's wider anti-obesity strategy called Change4Life.

Some critics have already aired worries about the real efficacy of the proposed campaign because of its co-sponsorship by some big manufacturers of sugary unhealthy foods such as PepsiCo.

The campaign looks to key into people's New Year resolution mode by launching the campaign now right at the start of a new year with a Saatchi made ad pushing the message "Eat well, Move More and Live Longer."

The government is launching a £275m marketing campaign to tackle the obesity crisis with a TV ad that aims to kick start a "lifestyle revolution" and be on the scale of Make Poverty History and Comic Relief.

The TV ad, which breaks tomorrow, was timed to coincide with health-related new year pledges made in the wake of festive over-indulgence.

The Department of Health's Change4Life campaign, which includes £75m of goverment marketing over three years and a pledge of £200m in services and marketing support from a 33-strong coalition of companies, aims to reverse the forecast that by 2050 up to 90% of today's children will be overweight or obese.

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mark rushworth (not verified)

at 04:25 on January 2nd, 2009

with the UK being second only to japan in measurements of the average working week when are we supposed to find time to excersize. i spend 8-11 hours a day at work with 2 hours travel time there and back... what we need is a workplace initiative that encourages you NOT to work your lunch hour and not to make you work over unpaid.

Paschen

at 04:43 on January 2nd, 2009

How come Japanese are not Obese? For large majority any way. They do make the time and they watch what they eat and drink. Britons could do the same.

LotusFlower

at 04:49 on January 2nd, 2009

Paschen I think that your point is valid too - what we do with our 'free time' is in our hands and often we decide to flop in front of the TV - beeter work conditions might make us feel more alive though when we get home.

LotusFlower

at 04:54 on January 2nd, 2009

Hi Paschen - I think that Japn has an obesity problem developing too:

Outside Japan, the country is known for a high reliance on low-fat fish and seaweed dishes. But meat and high-fat foods feature ever more prominently on Japanese tables. While per capita calorie intake is stable, animal fat and protein consumption has grown fourfold over the last 50 years.

As a result, obesity and other dietary complaints have become major public health problems. At risk is one of Japan's proudest accomplishments, its longtime position at the top of global longevity tables.

According to the Health Ministry, the rate of obesity in Japanese people over age 20 is increasing in every age group except women ages 20 to 29 and 40 to 59. Men have gained most of the country's extra weight, but obesity in children also has risen significantly, from 18.9 percent in 1988 to 24.3 percent in 2005, according to a survey.

Paschen

at 05:16 on January 2nd, 2009

Yes some of that is correct, However the trend is reversing and Has not affected the population over all. Meaning it never took the proportions that it took in Britain or the US and Canada. Do not forget that Obesity here is seem as some thing rather bad, associated with a lot of bad images, Japanese for the most part make sure not to be obese. Now What Japanese call obese north american would call average. Perceptions and cultural differences.

sara star

at 09:58 on January 2nd, 2009

I think they have less processed foods too, and maybe that is changing too.

pokoroto

at 08:31 on January 2nd, 2009

Genetics is one factor but culture and lifestyle are probably more important.

I'm not sure about England but in North America parents are proud of how big their kids are. When they send their kids off to school they hope their kid in the biggest in class but Japanese parents hope their kid is good at math.

An over looked factor is the lack of central heating and air-conditioning in Japan. People sweat when it is hot and shiver when it is cold; the body's nature temperature controls burns off a lot of calories.

LotusFlower

at 04:48 on January 2nd, 2009

Couldn't agree more on the work/home life balance points Mark. Also interesting are healthier work conditions and practices for example the PSHEE & Citizenship Advisory Service in Leicester City now advocates that many meetings that have traditionally taken place in office spaces could be undertaken whilst walking outside - especially discursive / ideas type meetings.

Sitting in an office space around a table serves no real advantage to the discussion process. However some people are so programmed that meeting means 'office' or 'meeting room' and find it hard to cognitively engage with the idea of a walk and talk meeting.

sara star

at 10:06 on January 2nd, 2009

Processed food intentionally has additives added to make us more hungry, so we crave and eat the food more. White sugar is also put into almost every food. I think this contributes greatly to obesity. I think the Japanese use the natural sweetener Stevia, which has no calories, and is not addictive.

Diet companies are a big business and big money. Diets don't work. They screw up your natural instincts. Science has proven that when one is deprived of anything, the craving gets bigger, and eventually the person ends up binging.

I believe in natural eating... Eating whole foods, and not depriving oneself. There is a good book out on that, can't remember the name off hand.

sara star

at 10:13 on January 2nd, 2009

Why would unhealthy food manufacturer's such as Pepsi sponser this? Kelloggs is full of sugar and GMO's too.

mudricky

at 10:16 on January 2nd, 2009

I posted a story about McDonlands in the UK, it's about their chief marketing officer acknowledging McDonalnds contains a lot of salt and fat- You can view it here

Amy Judd

at 10:51 on January 2nd, 2009

Seems a bit suspicious that is sponsored by companies like Pepsi - why would they want to be involved? I can't believe that some figures put the obesity rate at 90% by 2050 - that's shocking and really tragic.

dowdinsk

at 10:59 on January 2nd, 2009

London 2012 Olympics Tier 1 sponsors include Coca Cola & MacDonalds, and now this initiative sponsored by Pepsico. We're all supposed to get off our couches, get involved in sports participation and start eating healthy, locally produced organic food. Allegedly!

(In the meantime they've already shifted the goalposts on the Olympics spin, they're now aiming to increase existing sports participation, previously they were making great claims of creating new participation.)

michelle neubert (not verified)

at 21:23 on January 4th, 2009

There are artificial FOOD FILLERS in ice cream and breads like phosphates and melamine, which are chemical and not natural. McDonald's uses a 'plasticizer' to make their fries a 'golden' color and crisp texture. I don't think it's as much about exercise as the additives to our foods. This isn't even counting the triple calorie sweetener, high corn frutose, especially in sodas. Even the diet sodas have carcenogenic, chemical sweeteners.

Rule of thumb: if it wasn't eaten and made 100 years ago, don't eat now. The recipe, not the original cookie that's 100 years ago.

Elaine Kirk (not verified)

at 15:12 on January 6th, 2009

This campaign has generated a multitude of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority it states in a cartoon style ad aired frequently throughout the day and aimed at children that fat causes heart disease, diabetes and cancer now children are highly susceptible to messages given in adverts so we now in the uk have 20,000 children with type 1 auto immune type 1 diabetes mellitus (which is not caused by diet, it is what it says , an auto immune disease that requires multiple daily injections to maintain life) these children are now subject to public misconceptions about their disease, and playground taunts. Every other sufferer of non preventable diabetes be it type 1, many cases of type 2 ,MODY etc have been wrongly labelled by their own government as suffering a self inflicted condition.

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