Thirdly, it is the lack of exercise that people take which is also having a dramatic affect on obesity. Exercise can burn off calories and if people don’t take exercise then they find it more difficult to retain a normal and steady weight. It was revealed in a recent survey that only a third of men and around a quarter of women achieve the Department of Health’s recommended target of 30 minutes physical activity which should be taken 5 times a week. Studies have also shown that the amount of walking and cycling has fallen dramatically over the last few decades, while the number of cars has doubled in 30 years, resulting in people being reluctant to walk anywhere. Children are also becoming far more inactive both in and out of school and a fifth of boys and girls undertake less than 30 minutes activity a day and instead sit in front of the televisions or their computers for hours at a time. Television viewing has doubled since the 1960s, while physical activity has diminished from daily life.
Government Obesity Report Website (2006)
The affects of family life on obesity
In more recent years it has been acknowledged that we live in an environment that stimulates obesity and for many the problems of being overweight or obese stem from modern day family home life. Much of the problem is down to the fact that many families bring up their children with unhealthy eating habits and some even go as far as encouraging their children to lounge around, doing very little activity and participating in activities such as watching television and playing computer games, instead of taking regular exercise or active leisure pursuits.
In over 60 years family life has altered dramatically and modern day living is having a detrimental affect on Britain becoming a nation of overweight people. During and after the Second World War most families had a well balanced diet, with regular family meals and snacking between meals was unheard of. They also participated in regular amounts of exercise and fresh air, whereas these days a child rarely plays outside or partakes in active children’s games. It was also revealed in recent research that despite the problems of food shortages during the post-war period a child’s nutrition in the 1950s was far more superior to the average diets of today’s children.
The researchers discovered that 1950s children:
- Ate more bread and milk which increases fibre and calcium intake
- Drank very few soft drinks, deriving less of their energy from sugar
- They got vitamin C from vegetables rather than juices and drinks
- They ate more red meat, giving them more iron
- Had more fat in their diet
BBC News Website (2006)
Whereas today foods and meals are produced for quick and easy consumption, which causes far more food to be consumed than is actually needed. Family meals in the 50’s involved socialization and conversation which allowed time for them to digest foods properly which in contrast to today’s casual snacking whilst watching television which does not offer the delays that help satisfy our hunger.
Now days most Mothers opt for pre-packed foods which tend to be high in calories and low in micronutrients, minerals and fibre and consequently to satisfy our hunger we tend to eat greater quantities. Many argue that these days it is far too easy to fill our supermarket trolleys with pre-packed foods because, firstly the supermarkets position these pre-packed foods in key areas of the store, therefore making it easier to purchase and secondly the pictures on the packaging are tempting and appetizing, whereas fresh meat counter can look uninviting and for many the site of raw meat can be off putting.
The other major problem is that less people are willing to spend time cooking meals and don’t understand the nutritional benefits of foods which go into good healthy meals. In another survey done in 1997 it was reported that, 36% of 11 to 15 year olds thought ‘good cooking’ consisted of making sandwiches and a further 31% thought making toast was a healthy option. In Britain today most people either have never learned to cook or cannot be bothered to cook, which has resulted in losing the ability to know and manage what goes into our meals. Despite the amount of cooking programmes on television, many people admit that they don’t know how to cook and within the least well-educated sector of the population deep-fried cooking and making toast and sandwiches is still the preferred option of cooking. This has resulted in overweight and obesity developing within families as young parents rarely prepare a balanced family meal.
Royal literary and Scientific institute website (2006)
Most overweight or obese children become overweight or obese adults and it has also been proved that overweight and obese adults are more likely to bring up overweight or obese children and if this continues, the UK obesity problem will spiral out of control. Some research has shown that obesity can run in families, but it is difficult to prove just how much is due to inherited genes. Many families eat the same foods, have the same habits and tend to think alike when it comes to weight issues. All of these factors can contribute to weight gain and it is difficult to figure out if people are born with a tendency to be obese or overweight or have learnt bad eating and exercise habits. Although many state that in most cases, weight problems arise from a combination of habits and genetic factors
Bupa Website (2006)
Conclusion
Therefore it should be a matter of urgency that we look at ways of changing modern day family life which will help prevent the spiralling obesity problem. This could be done by re-educated people to understand the benefits of healthy eating and regular exercise. It is clear that with the rise in obesity rates and the inevitable increases in heart disease and diabetes, the Government needs to intervene quickly, even if they see it as a way to prevent the NHS being burdened with these problems.
Education on diet and exercise is important and more could be done through both schools and the workplace. Some have even suggested that there could be incentives financed by taxing high fat, high sugar and high salt foods.
Perhaps another solution is to educate young mothers about the best foods to give to their children. It has become a regular site to see a mother pushing a buggy with the infant eating a pie/pasty or sweets. This is often not the child's choice but the mother's decision to feed their children such foods, therefore better information and advice should be given to new mothers through clubs and societies such as mother and toddler groups.
Educating older parents is also important and advice should be given on how they could control the weight of their children, through healthy eating rather than controlling calories. Guidelines could be given on how they could encourage their children to eat more fruit with limitations on eating crisps and sweets which should only be offered as a rare treat, rather than everyday foods. Parents should also be encouraged to teach their children to recognise when they are full or hungry and teach them not to use food as a way of easing boredom.
Although it may be difficult to persuade parents to establish a pattern of sitting down for family meals on a regular basis, rather than eating whilst watching television and limiting the amount of time spent sitting watching TV or playing on a computer and instead participate in alternative activities, such as joining a clubs or going swimming. However the government could promote regular exercise and more active holidays with family activities like walking and cycling by running a national media campaign to promote local sports clubs and activities and family pursuit holidays.
UCL Institute for Child Health Website (2006)
But perhaps the wider challenge will be to educate the whole family to buy the right foods and ones which contain the right nutritional benefits and teach parents ways of controlling their children’s food intake.
Many claim that a lot of foods which are filled with fat, salt and sugar often state they are healthy options foods and although the European published a proposal to regulate food labeling which make misleading claims of being nutritious and health benefits.
National Consumer Council Website (2006)
Some major food manufacturers have added their own labels which they hope will help mothers to decide which foods are the best to buy. Part of their plan will be to put the labels on the front of the packaging which will tell shoppers how many calories and how much fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt a serving of each product contains. However the labels will not be colour-coded and won’t tell consumers at a glance whether the products fall under government definitions of high, medium or low in salt, fat or sugar.
Guardian Unlimited Website (2006)
Therefore this essay has demonstrated that although overweight and obesity problems have accelerated due to modern family life, this in itself has been partly due to media advertising, poor food labelling and supermarket positioning of foods. Therefore to conquer the weight problems which start due to the family environment, all three areas of media, food labelling and re-educating parents should be addressed.
References
BBC News Website (accessed 20th February 2006)
Bupa Website (accessed 20th February 2006)
Economic & Social Research Council Website (accessed 21st February 2006)
Government Obesity Report (accessed 20th February 2006)
Guardian Unlimited Website (accessed 10th March 2006)
National Consumer Council Website
(Accesses 3rd March 2006)
UCL Institute for Child Health Website (2006) (accessed 10th March 2006)
Royal literary and Scientific institute Website (accessed 10th March 2006)
Weight Loss Resources Website (accessed 20th March 2006)
