Obesity ‘a growing problem’

The lack of improvement in tackling the growing issue of obesity has been criticised by the former treasury advisor Sir Derek Wanless.

Following a new report into spending within the NHS, Sir Derek said that a lack of progress on the obesity issue is “a real worry”.

Speaking to the BBC, Sir Derek noted that lifestyle and diet improvements across the nation had taken more time to develop than had been thought and cited the rise in numbers of obese people as a primary concern.

“It’s a real worry because nobody is quite sure what it will mean for the cost of diseases like diabetes and then eventually heart disease and other cancers down the track,” Sir Derek said.

As author of the report, Sir Derek has called for improvements in areas where policy is weak, suggesting that the issue of unhealthy lifestyles needs to be tackled in a bid to improve the overall health of the nation.

In related news, a new scheme has been launched today with the aim of improving understanding of food and the food industry. The Year of Food and Farming project also hopes to improve the health of school children through better understanding of nutrition and where food comes from.