New obesity guidelines unveiled

Wide-ranging new guidelines designed to tackle the growing problem of obesity in the UK have been published today by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice).

The proposals focus on fostering a healthier lifestyle among healthy individuals, as well as those who are obese or overweight, as the primary means of treatment and prevention.

Encouraging greater physical activity in every area of human life is at the centre of the proposals.

Local authorities will be asked to provide spaces for exercise outdoors and make workplaces more conducive to physical movement through altered building layouts and catering arrangements.

Doctors will be asked to emphasise the importance of maintaining a healthy weight through regular exercise and diet through eating fruit and vegetables, rather than prescribing drugs as an initial treatment for overweight and obese patients.

“Obesity is the most serious threat to the future health of our nation,” Professor Jim McEwen of the University of Glasgow, who chaired the group which prepared the proposals, said.

“For the first time we have brought together all the people that can help solve the obesity problem – not just health professionals, but also local councils, employers and schools – to produce a piece of work that sets out the steps we must take as a nation in order to tackle the obesity epidemic.”

The British Medical Association (BMA) responded cautiously to Nice’s proposals, saying that measures to tackle Britain’s “obesity epidemic” had to be “properly resourced” to succeed.

“Obesity has so many different causes that it cannot be tackled by guidelines alone. A joined-up approach is essential,” Dr Vivienne Nathanson, head of science and ethics at the BMA, said.