Problem of Obesity in the UK - Essay Example

According to the American National Institute of Health, obesity is defined as "an excess of body fat that frequently results in a significant impairment of health." Clinically, its definition is based on the ratio between the Body Mass Index (BMI) and the square of body's height in meters. The International Association for the Study of Obesity defines obesity as having a "Body Mass Index (BMI) of around 30 or above.". In the United Kingdom anyone with a BMI of above 30 is categorized as obese. It is considered as one of the major health problems in the world affecting people from every age and socioeconomic groups. (Obesity Focused (2001) According to the obesity society, an estimated 200 million adults and 18 million under the age of five were obese in 1995. It also estimates that over 300 million individuals are currently obese in the world (WHO, 2004). In the United Kingdom, about 46% of men and 32% of women are overweight (with a BMI of 25-30) while an amazing 17% of men and 21% of women are obese. It also reports that, in the developing world alone, currently more than 115 million individuals are obese. Obesity is majorly attributed to poor eating habits, unchecked lifestyles, insufficient sleep, smoking, use of medication, pregnancy, family history, among other factors. Its health risks cannot be undermined as it causes a wide range of diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancers. Other risks include mechanical disabilities like varicose veins, metabolic disorders like Gall stones, and even decreased life expectancy. It is also likely to cause a number of psychological and social problems within an individual. For example, an obese person may suffer from low self esteem since people normally perceive obesity as unattractiveness. The hospitality industry is a diverse global industry with a wide range of service industries. These include the hotel industry, the food service industry, and tourism. Obesity is mainly blamed on the overall lifestyle of an individual. The hospitality industry mainly is concerned with the improving the living standard of individuals. Therefore, it is prudent to claim that the hospitality industry, through mainly the food, hotel and the beverages industry, may be a contributing factor to obesity in an individual. According to Marlene B. of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, obesity is majorly associated with unhealthy eating and low levels of physical activity. "She claims that the increase in obesity in the United Kingdom can be blamed to the numbers of "quick service restaurants" which have sprung up in the urban centers and which cook foods which have high saturated fat and high sugar content. She also notes that the youth are the ones who are majorly affected by this trend as the restaurants mostly carter for the youth. (Obesity focus, 2004) Research by Yale University professor Kelly Brownell showed that fast food did contribute significantly to the amount of calorie taken in a day thereby increasing the risk for obesity. The food industry's major shift to provision of high energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars but low in vitamins and minerals can also be blamed for the increased cases of obesity. This has led to energy imbalance as the calories consumed are not used hence they accumulate as fat. The industry is also blamed for not providing sufficient information about the contents of foods they provide to the public. A group of obesity activists in the United Kingdom is claiming that the menu should be labeled with information that would help individuals control their choices of food, thereby enabling them to limit or avoid those foods that would increase the chances of them being obese. This they propose, is to be done by making it mandatory for restaurants to include in their menus a data showing the calorie count of respective foods. They claim that this would enlighten consumers as they order meals. Most people in the society do not understand effects of the foods they eat (Diet Physical Activity, 2008). It has contributed to the increased levels obesity through its marketing strategies. The food advertisement used by companies certainly contributes to the levels of obesity in the United Kingdom. On an article "Do food ads make kids fat" which appeared on, The Times (December 20,2006), aggressive marketing increased the kind of spending children had on fast foods hence contributing significantly to the amount of junk food taken. It demands that food marketing to children should be banned. The information of calories in given types of foods should be made available in all fast food restaurants and schools. The industry has also contributed to obesity through its distribution strategies. Research has shown that a lot of money is put into the distribution of fast food. With this kind of aggressive distribution, fast foods reach a large number of people. This leads to unplanned, uninformed buying of food leading to an increased number of cases of people with obesity. There is therefore need to limit the distribution of foods, especially to children who have no power to discriminate on which foods they need and which ones they don't need. There have been calls to regulate the number of sodas going into the British schools. This however met opposition with many critics claiming that sodas did not contribute to the obesity of children in. The industry has also been blamed for funding research and organizations which mislead the public about the kind of foods these companies' presents to the market. It largely emphasizes on the freedom of the consumer by claiming that every consumer has a right to choose what is best for him/her as opposed to there being restrictions. It claims that "there is no good or bad food." The group was founded and is funded by the Food and Beverage industry to protect it from probable obesity litigation, (like the ones that has faced the tobacco industry) as well as cow disease and the genetically modified foods. The arguments are not correct since, not every consumer is adequately informed on the type of food that is healthy and secondly not all foods are healthy. (Citizens for Ethics, 2004). These campaigns also claim that it is not one type of food that may lead to obesity but it is largely the pattern of eating; that is the amount of foods eaten, and the speed and duration of eating also count. The creation of the organization is criticized in that its formation coincided with when a lot of pressure was being put on the fast food industry on its role and contribution to the increased obesity cases in America. According to Excite UK, the consumer protection is largely controversial since it claims to be a non profit organization and yet there are substantial claims of funding from food and beverages companies. The industry is also accused with its advertising strategies. The publicity attained from advertisement has made fast food an integral part of every society. In the report by the guardian titled "Revealed: How Food firms target children" it showed that the food industry largely targeted children by deploying "viral marketing" and "underground communication." The report further says that, these companies have increasingly marketed their products to the children without the suspicion of their parents. The report titled quotes a British advertising agency, Leo Burnett as having admitted that their effective marketing to the company Kellogg's Real Fruit Winders had " entered the world of kids in a way never before." (The Guardian 2004). In the report titled Broadcasting bad health: Why Marketing to Children needs to be controlled," it is reported that the alarming increase in the number of obese children has to be blamed on the amount of money spent by fast food companies on the fast food advertising directed, mainly, at the children. This has led to increased fast food consumption.The industry has also repeatedly claimed that dietary intake alone cannot be blamed for the increased number of people with obesity but the kind of lifestyle lived by people of this generation also has to be blamed. The industry has also been blamed with an aggressive expansion program in the United Kingdom (The Guardian, 2001). According to BBC news (April 20th 2002), the high increase in the levels of fast food consumption is largely as a result of increased number of fast food restaurants in the United Kingdom and an improvement in fast food marketing. Even though the industry has contributed significantly to the increase in cases of obesity in the country, in the past four years, the industry has shown an improved desire to save its face from constant criticism. The industry has also succeeded in sponsoring a number of weight reducing programs or weight loss programs. This would play a critical role in reducing obesity as they would encourage individuals to lose weight and thereby become fit. The industry has tried to take actions aimed at protecting children from over consumption of fast food. This has been realized through limiting children's access to snacks and soft drinks and limiting the amount of advertisement directed at children ,though critics claim that, in the case of the United Kingdom, this only came as a result of intense pressure from the government to protect the children population which was largely suffering from obesity related complications. There has been a major awareness campaign dubbed in the United Kingdom titled "the sugar policy and the role of agriculture policy in producing food environments". The industry has also come up with strategies to control obesity through education. It developed an education program dubbed "Healthy nutrition for healthy learning "which encouraged an increase in the intake of fruits and vegetables. It is also advocating for a decrease in the intake of saturated fats to unsaturated fats as well as a decrease in the amount of sugar taken. The industry has also come up with programs to improve the levels of activity of the population as obesity is largely attributed to inactive lifestyles. In the program, "How healthy are you" Supported by the Mc Donald's company, it claims that the industry has a critical role to play in the health and fitness of the people. Through the plan, though, it claims that, obesity cannot solely be blamed on the fast foods, but also largely on the inactive lifestyles of the people. "People have largely adopted a sedentary life and are no longer active." It also notes that there are other factors which causes obesity; like family history, smoking tendencies, age of the person, the kind of lifestyles of an individual among other things. The programme is also advocating for behavior modification therapy like restrictive use of alcohol and decreased exposure to depression which may increase the chances of one being obese. The industry has also come up with educational programs to educate the general public on the problems associated with obesity. This has largely been through organization of workshop aimed at coming up with practices that would help improve the lifestyles of the obese. According to Roundtable Obesity (2004), on 20th October 2004, The European Commission's Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection, largely funded by the food and beverages companies in Europe, organized a workshop dubbed " On The Best Practice" in the London. Its major role was to bring together "leading representatives of consumer organizations, NGOs. The European food industry, retailers, the advertising industry, the vending machines industries, the fast food industry, the World Health Organization, the academic community and the European Union Member states." The structured into "three sessions dedicated to; Consumer information and education, Advertising, promotion and Marketing and product development and product composition." This is a clear indication that even though the hospitality industry especially the food and beverage business has contributed to the obesity levels in Britain, it has become conscious of its activities' impact on the levels of obesity in the United Kingdom. The group has also come up with slogans to help fight obesity. For example in the United Kingdom, The Association Fleurbaiz-Lavantie, also funded by the food and beverage industry, formulated the slogan "Together, let's prevent childhood obesity." The German equivalent to this is a slogan is called "Platform Nutrition and Physical Activity" All these are some of the education approaches used by the industry to limit obesity. The role of celebrities in the control of obesity cannot be undermined. People tend to view celebrities as role models and hence they want to appear like them. The celebrities work around the clock to ensure they control their weights. The celebrities in Britain have come up with a program the "Celebrities diet" with the aim of encouraging people to participate in looking trim and fit. In programs such as "what is in the celebrities diet" the organization gives advice to the people through the media on how to control their food intake thus controlling obesity. It provides tips on weight loss strategies, recipes and other strategies on how to manage ones weight. The United Kingdom governments have also come up with legislations to help control the Obesity nightmare. Following the 2004 world health Organizations review of the food marketing structures to children, the UK government has adopted ought it bans in 2004 to direct advertising to children though critics say that this has not helped much due to the presence of non TV- advertising. According to foresight 2005 article titled "Tackling Obesities: Future Choices" as a result of media attention on obesity in schools, the UK legislature passed a legislation of diet and physical activity in 2005. It has also been shown that there is a correlation between the level of education and obesity. Those who are poorly educated have the tendency of being obese in comparison with those who are well educated. The government should therefore intervene by passing legislation making it mandatory for the junk food companies to inform consumers on the type of foods they make available. The government's has an elaborate action plan to review it 2007 legislature on the fast food advertisement directed towards children. The marketing towards children is also likely to be controlled by the government, with there being a possibility to increase taxes on the foods that have high levels of energy thereby likely to cause obesity. This would make these foods expensive leading to their avoidance. In the United Kingdom, there have been measures to check obesity. A 2004 report by the Royal College of Physicians titled "Storing up Problem" shed light on how to manage obesity and the impacts of obesity to the society. Evidently the hospitality industry is one of the major contributors to the increased levels of obesity in the United Kingdom and to a large extent the rest of the world. However has evidently tried to improve its Image by coming up measures to redeem its daunted face. Healthy diets and regular and adequate physical activity are however the major factors which would help in the promotion and maintenance of good health throughout the entire life of an individual. References 1. CBS News. (2002). Fast food linked to child obesity. Last retrieved from the World Wide Web on 12th April, 2008 at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/05/health/main591325.shtml. 2. Citizens for Ethics. 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