16.04.11
Anti-obesity campaign launched by royal colleges
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) is launching a campaign to tackle the rising problem of obesity, which it calls “the single greatest public health threat in the UK”.
The campaign begins with a three-month evidence-gathering inquiry to compile the views of health care professionals, local authorities, charities, education providers and the public.
This aims to identify effective action to prevent or reduce the scale of obesity in the UK and will focus on individual action; such as diet, exercise or positive parenting, the environment; advertising, food labelling, clinical interventions, fiscal measures; taxation, minimum pricing, incentives and education.
Professor Terence Stephenson, vice-chair of the AoMRC and president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health is chairing the campaign’s steering group which comprises representatives from all 21 medical royal colleges and faculties.
The first report will be published later this year with practical recommendations to reduce obesity levels.
Professor Stephenson said: “Our starting point is the collective desire to ensure the healthcare profession is doing all it can to detect, treat, manage – and ultimately prevent – obesity.
“It is unprecedented that the medical royal colleges and faculties have come together on such a high profile public health issue. But we’ve done so because we recognise the huge crisis waiting to happen and believe that current strategies to reduce obesity are failing to have a significant impact.
“By speaking with one voice we have a more of a chance of preventing generation after generation falling victim to obesity-related illnesses and death.”
Professor Sir Neil Douglas, chair of the AoRMC, said: “This won’t be just another report that sits on the shelf and gathers dust; it will form the bedrock of our ongoing campaigning activity. We are absolutely determined to push for whatever changes need to happen to make real progress in tackling – which is why we’re casting the net wide to get input from a range of organisations and individuals.
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