Does exercise help combat teenage obesity - Essay Example

At present there is a considerable level of media interest surrounding obesity as obesity is found to be as one of the largest health problems afflicting United Kingdom, and a growing concern, particularly among our children and teenagers (Clinton & Smith, 1999). The obesity epidemic is spreading to all the developed countries in varied degrees, with the prevalence reaching more than 25% in certain states of the United States and 20% in Australia. It is alarming news that in UK, about 46% of men and 32% of women are overweight (a body mass index of 25-30 kg/m2), and an additional 17% of men and 21% of women are obese (a body mass index of more than 30 kg/m2).

Deirdre Hutton, who co-chairs the European Food Safety Authority opines that as many as 8.5% of 6 year olds and 15% of 15 year olds are clinically obese. Obesity is becoming an increasing problem all over the world, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has termed obesity a global epidemic. The number of obese people in the UK is rising at a high rate, especially among young adults. Since 1980, the total number of obese adults in the United Kingdom has almost tripled. This has been termed as the ‘obesity epidemic’.

According to Liam Donaldson, England’s chief medical officer, “The direct cost of obesity to the NHS is £0.5bn ($0.9bn; €0.7bn), while the indirect cost to the UK economy is at least £2bn”. This reporting reflects and confirms the fact that obesity is of course a threat and its medical, social and economic consequences are negative. More so, today’s reality of increasing levels of child obesity and the need to address the problem is high on the agenda of the political and medical world.