Three health charities have launched a new campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of the ‘spare tyre’, or the area of fat around the waist.
A survey of 2,085 people showed that 97% of people were unaware that there is a link between an over-large waistline and heart disease, although nearly three quarters of those surveyed said they had noticed their own waistlines expanding.
The survey also showed that people generally overestimated the point at which an expanding waistline becomes a risk to health. For women, measurements over over 31.5 inches are a cause for concern, while for men this is 37 inches.
Though a series of studies have been done showing that waist size can be a key indicator of someone’s risk factor for developing a host of diseases, including cancer and diabetes, it is clear that the message has not yet filtered through to the wider public.
Diabetes UK, the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research are now working together to try to change this. They are hoping to persuade food manufacturers to label food as standard with the ‘traffic light’ labelling system.
They have also launched a series of viral adverts, featuring a rather unpleasant character called ‘Fat’ who apparently enjoys messing with the lives of the overweight (the little evil eyes are particularly disturbing and seems to be modelled on Ross Kemp). Anyone needing a little extra motivation with their diet can see it here