Obesity and Junk food
May 30, 2008
On March 10 2004, the so-called “Cheeseburger Bill,” a ban on lawsuits blaming the food industry for obesity and other health-related effects of eating too much junk food, passed the House of Representatives. Along with 20 similar state measures, the federal legislation is a deliberate, pre-emptive strike aimed at fending off an imaginary onslaught of litigation. Orchestrating the effort is a powerful cadre of food companies determined not to be victimized by policy battles similar to those waged successfully against the tobacco industry.
Around 10 per cent of UK children now diagnosed as overweight, and between 2 and 3 per cent as obese. Doctors are struggling to see what can be done to shift an entire generation’s eating habits. Exercise is crucial. Fewer than 5 per cent of children walk or cycle to school, compared with 80 per cent 20 years ago. And many schools are blamed for adding to the problem by selling off playing fields, having no proper sports halls and doing too little to offer healthy lunches.
It’s tragic when children as young as 10 have to take medication and test their blood sugar every few hours. Allowing the GMA and its members to shape health policy is like letting a fox dressed in feathers into the henhouse. The government must protect health policy from such glaring conflicts of interest. The leaders in Washington must stand up to big campaign donors, including the food corporations that profit at the expense of people’s health and the environment. Teens also have few healthy choices at school.
According to the research, many middle schools and high schools offer more unhealthy foods than nutritious foods. Many people believe schools carry a substantial burden of responsibility — just behind parents and individuals — when it comes to addressing childhood obesity.
One of the authors of the study, Dr Michael Booth, says the findings show over eating is causing weight gain. “The problem with overweight isn’t so much that kids are inactive and need to do more exercise,” he said. “Most already are quite active but the problem is primarily that they’re simply eating too many calories and primarily through junk foods.” Dr Booth says researchers found fitness levels had significantly improved since the 1997 results.
The percentage of obese young people is higher in groups that fall at the lower end of the socio-economic scale, indicating a clear link between obesity and poverty. Although this might initially seem strange, as one would expect the richer social groups to have more of a tendency toward weight gain, the reality is that healthy food is expensive and junk food is cheap. There are clearly established links between overweight, obesity and food that is high in fat or sugar or is very heavily processed. In addition, junk food is advertised on TV with alarming frequency and available on every street corner.
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