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Parents Key to Reducing Childhood Obesity
Excerpt
by Patricia
Reaney,
Reuters
Health
Parents are the best weapons to tackle
Britain's growing problem of childhood obesity, the government's
Health Development Agency (HDA) said.
About one in 10 six-years olds
are obese and the numbers are rising but a report by the HDA,
a national authority that aims to improve health, found that obesity
can be prevented and treated with an integrated approach involving
parents and schools.
"The research indicates that parents
can make a huge impact by changing the whole family's approach
to diet and by encouraging the family to become more active and
avoiding a couch potato lifestyle," Dame Yve Buckland, the chair
of the HDA, told a news conference to launch the report.
She said parents are not to blame
for what she described as a "national epidemic" and they can be
a major force in promoting healthy eating and fighting child-focused
food advertising.
"We pay at the checkouts. We fill
the lunch boxes," she added.
Since 1980, the prevalence of obesity
has nearly trebled in adults, according to Buckland. More than
21 percent of men and 23.5 percent of women and 15 percent of
15-year-olds in Britain are obese.
Obesity is linked to 31,000 deaths
across all ages each year. Rates of obesity are higher among the
poor and disadvantaged.
The report analyzed reviews of
diet, physical activity and behavioral approaches to tackling
the problem. Along with parents, it said schools also have a crucial
role to play in encouraging healthy eating and lifestyle.
By promoting physical activities,
sports and play, along with a diet consisting of plenty of fresh
fruits and vegetables, schools can reinforce healthy habits needed
to reduce the growing trends of obesity.
"The message is relatively simple
and clear -- a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle is the key
to understanding the nature of the problem," said Professor Mike
Kelly, the HDA's director of research and information.
But he added that more research
is needed into the best methods of prevention, in adults and children,
and how to maintain weight loss.
Reference
Source 89
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