Obesity could be as big a crisis as climate change unless
Britons start to lose weight soon, UK Health Secretary Alan Johnson
warned yesterday.
He said tackling obesity was a long-term central plank of
government policy, but all segments of society must play their
part.
Johnson has asked the Food Standards Agency to look at the use
of trans fats and their contribution to increased cholesterol and
the subsequent risk of coronary heart disease.
The investigation will look at what the food industry can do to
reduce the use of trans fats, a type of unsaturated fat.
The government will also launch a program under which selected
London doctors will give advice and support on physical activity to
men and women who lead sedentary lifestyles.
"For the first time, we are clear about the magnitude of the
problem: We are facing a potential crisis on the scale of climate
change, and it is in everybody's interest to turn things round," he
said.
A government-commissioned report by Foresight, being published
next week, predicts that 60 percent of men and 40 percent of women
could be clinically obese by 2050. In 2005, a report showed that
21.2 percent of men and 21.5 percent of women were classified as
obese.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily October 15, 2007)