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Why we’ll all be fat, sooner or later

Posted in General, Mel Varley, Latest reporters' blogs October 19th, 2007 by Melinda Varley

Everyone has probably seen the array of shock headlines this week that 50 per cent of us will be obese by 2050. Are these shock tactics going to work?

Some campaigners have said that the government has not done enough and individuals can no longer be held responsible for obesity.

But the largest ever UK study into obesity, backed by government and compiled by 250 experts, said excess weight was now the norm in our “obesogenic” society.

How can a government that is calling excess weight the norm ever help us? And if Number 10 won’t, perhaps we will just have to exercise some self control.

To say that individuals can’t be held responsible for their own obese state is nonsense. Late last year campaigners turned to Ofcom and blamed marketing for the state of our sizable children. As a result, there are very strict rules on ‘junk food’ advertising.

When are we going to stop blaming someone else for our own food choices? Marketers have gone to great lengths to advertise their products as healthier or nutritious or all natural. 

Food advertising had actually gone down way before Ofcom introduced its regulations on HFSS advertisers. Also, many food manufacturers have changed their ingredients to make them healthier.

The food labeling debate has also had an impact on producers who don’t want to blatantly tell their consumers what they are eating is high in fat or salt or sugar, or all three.

The point is, all these government restrictions may not have a direct effect on the public but it is making food producers and marketers wake up and do something about the state of the food we eat. The government shouldn’t give up but it also shouldn’t be the only body to be addressing the issue - who is really to blame for our bulging waistlines?