UK, the “Fat Man” of Europe

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) has proposed a ten point action plan to combat the UK’s obesity crisis.  The British Dietetic Association (BDA) contributed to this work.

The BDA is the professional association for registered dieticians in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is the nation’s largest organisation of food and nutrition professionals.  The BDA is also an active trade union.

The recommendations make up part of a report that says that the UK is the ‘Fat Man’ of Europe and that two-thirds of adults are overweight (BMI over 25) and one-quarter of men and women are obese (BMI over 30).

In its ‘Measuring Up – The medical profession’s prescription for the Nation’s Obesity Crisis’ report, the AoMRC report recommends 10 key actions it believes must be taken to make real inroads into tackling the obesity crisis in the UK.

The recommendations fall into three areas: Actions to be taken by healthcare professions, changing the ‘obesogenic’ environment, and making the healthy choice the easy choice. These include investing £100m to increase provision of weight management services across the country; a ban on advertising foods high in saturated fats, sugar and salt before 9pm; and a piloted duty on all sugary soft drinks increased by 20%.

Speaking about the report, Chairman of the British Dietetic Association’s DOM (Dieticians in Obesity Management) UK, Linda Hindle said, “Obesity in the UK is an absolute epidemic, there is no question that the recommendations in this report are essential if we are to tackle this growing concern.”

“The British Dietetic Association worked hard in contributing to this report, but words alone will not combat obesity rates in this country.  Action across the board is what will make a difference.”