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Mayor urged to act on childhood obesity as Assembly shows true costs to London
Childhood obesity costs the capital £7.1 million a year to treat and this bill could reach almost £111 million each year if today’s youngsters remain obese into adulthood, the London Assembly warns today as it publishes new figures(April 14th)
Rates of childhood obesity are higher in London than any other English region. Across the capital one in five youngsters is obese, although rates vary widely between boroughs from 12 per cent in Richmond to 28 percent in Westminster.
Tipping the Scales, a report published by the Assembly’s Health and Public Services Committee, highlights an urgent need to tackle the problem as the true cost of obesity is revealed. Research commissioned by the Assembly also found adult obesity is currently costing London £883.6 million each year.
The report highlights that although the Mayor has said addressing childhood obesity is his number one health priority – and has introduced several initiatives to help tackle the issue like encouraging walking, cycling, food growing and sports participation - few are focused exclusively on obesity-reduction and they are not co-ordinated.
James Cleverly, Chair of the Health and Public Services Committee, said; “Childhood obesity is a major problem with serious health and economic consequences for London.
“We know now that treating childhood obesity already costs London millions of pounds, so something must be done to stop today’s young people becoming obese adults.”
The Committee believes the Mayor is uniquely placed to address the problem by using some important policy levers and funding over which he has control, and by influencing negotiations with major private companies and other organisations operating in the capital.
The report calls on the Mayor to work with partners to introduce a new London-wide obesity strategy by 2013 which will support co-ordinated actions to address the many reasons why a child becomes dangerously overweight.
It also asks him to reveal future spending plans for obesity-related programmes and recommends the proposed London Health Improvement Board should develop processes for evaluating obesity interventions and sharing good practice.
James Cleverly said: “There is a strong case for the Mayor to intervene on this issue and we want to see a new obesity strategy for the capital. This will ensure action is taken in a co-ordinated way to address the different factors that set children on a path which has such damaging implications for them and society as a whole.”
The Committee’s research also analysed the cost-effectiveness of a range of different obesity interventions. Multi-faceted programmes such as MEND and LEAPs which combined dietary advice and physical activity were the most cost-effective, while lifestyle counselling by GPs, TravelSmart schools and walking school bus programmes were the least effective.
See : GovToday
Childhood obesity costs the capital £7.1 million a year to treat and this bill could reach almost £111 million each year if today’s youngsters remain obese into adulthood, the London Assembly warns today as it publishes new figures(April 14th)
Rates of childhood obesity are higher in London than any other English region. Across the capital one in five youngsters is obese, although rates vary widely between boroughs from 12 per cent in Richmond to 28 percent in Westminster.
Tipping the Scales, a report published by the Assembly’s Health and Public Services Committee, highlights an urgent need to tackle the problem as the true cost of obesity is revealed. Research commissioned by the Assembly also found adult obesity is currently costing London £883.6 million each year.
The report highlights that although the Mayor has said addressing childhood obesity is his number one health priority – and has introduced several initiatives to help tackle the issue like encouraging walking, cycling, food growing and sports participation - few are focused exclusively on obesity-reduction and they are not co-ordinated.
James Cleverly, Chair of the Health and Public Services Committee, said; “Childhood obesity is a major problem with serious health and economic consequences for London.
“We know now that treating childhood obesity already costs London millions of pounds, so something must be done to stop today’s young people becoming obese adults.”
The Committee believes the Mayor is uniquely placed to address the problem by using some important policy levers and funding over which he has control, and by influencing negotiations with major private companies and other organisations operating in the capital.
The report calls on the Mayor to work with partners to introduce a new London-wide obesity strategy by 2013 which will support co-ordinated actions to address the many reasons why a child becomes dangerously overweight.
It also asks him to reveal future spending plans for obesity-related programmes and recommends the proposed London Health Improvement Board should develop processes for evaluating obesity interventions and sharing good practice.
James Cleverly said: “There is a strong case for the Mayor to intervene on this issue and we want to see a new obesity strategy for the capital. This will ensure action is taken in a co-ordinated way to address the different factors that set children on a path which has such damaging implications for them and society as a whole.”
The Committee’s research also analysed the cost-effectiveness of a range of different obesity interventions. Multi-faceted programmes such as MEND and LEAPs which combined dietary advice and physical activity were the most cost-effective, while lifestyle counselling by GPs, TravelSmart schools and walking school bus programmes were the least effective.
See : GovToday
