The obesity statistics in the United Kingdom make for pretty depressing reading. One in every five men in this country is now categorised as obese and one in four women. That amounts to nearly 15 million people with compromised health and lifestyle with the number increasing as each year passes. It is estimated that nearly 30,000 people in this country die prematurely each year from obesity related conditions. These are preventable deaths and yet it does not seem that much is being done about it.
Junk food and fast food outlets have become the target of much criticism. This was exemplified in the Morgan Spurlock 2004 documentary Super Size Me but absolutely no mention was made of the individuals’ personal responsibility to eat sensibly. We all know what constitutes a healthy diet but most people seem to just ignore their inner voice telling them to walk passed the crisps and the biscuits aisle at the supermarket.
The Government is constantly trying out new schemes to get people to eat a healthier diet. Obese children in Rotherham are being sent to a special residential fit club for six weeks in the summer holidays. There they are engaged in physical activities and classes to help them lose their excess weight and to keep it off.
38 eight to sixteen year olds are on the summer scheme. These children are all categorised as medically obese and are considered as having tried all other methods of losing weight. It is not just the children who will be targeted however; their parents have to become involved in the process as well.
When the course is finished there are check-up sessions every week to make sure that all the things that the children have learnt during their six weeks at the fit camp are being put into practise in the family home.
Call me cynical but I am prepared to bet that this latest Government scheme will fail like all other schemes have failed. I agree that this issue needs to be tackled at an early age and the scheme is right in that approach but I just know that when the assessor is not around they will be back on the chips and turkey twizlers because it is cheap and easy and the kids prefer it.