FIGHTING the obesity epidemic could bankrupt the NHS, the Government has been warned.

The National Obesity Forum has called on the Government to confront the food industry about the problem and to factor in obesity when developing new transport policies.

The warnings come as the Foresight report predicts half the UK population will be obese within 25 years.

Wales’ chief medical officer, Dr Tony Jewell, will list obesity as one of his top five priorities in his annual report, to be published this month.

He said, “There is an obesity epidemic happening at the moment and it hasn’t peaked yet.

“We have to make healthier choices easier choices and that applies to transport policy and encouraging people to do more exercise.”

And consumer groups last night again called on the Government to introduce a 9pm watershed for junk food advertising, in a bid to address children’s appetites for calorie-laden foods.

Speaking at its fifth annual conference, the chairman of the National Obesity Forum Dr Colin Waine said despite warnings to successive governments in the past three decades, there has been no really effective joined-up action to combat the epidemic. He said the financial cost would have “huge implications”.

“It could bankrupt the NHS,” Dr Waine added.

He said, “It may need government to confront the food industry . . . it also means governments rethinking environments to plan them around the pedestrian, not the motor car.

“It does require a large amount of political courage to do it.

“Even with the generous funding we have had, the problem is escalating so quickly we are not just going to get an epidemic of obesity, we are going to have an epidemic of type 2 diabetes.”

The financial implications come not only from the cost of treating associated health problems – such as diabetes and heart disease – but from investing in equipment. It emerged yesterday that a 28-stone dummy has been created to help emergency services train staff how to safely lift and move extremely obese people. It is thought to be the largest and heaviest in the world and was made by Corwen-based firm Ruth Lee Fire and Rescue Equipment.

It needs six people to lift it.

It is estimated around 9% of the NHS budget in Wales is already spent on treating diabetes. The International Diabetes Federation believes cases of the disease are likely to rise by 28% by 2030.

Wales is already starting to see overweight children being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a condition which was previously only diagnosed in the over 40s.

Roger Williams, the Liberal Democrats’ Welsh affairs spokesperson and MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, last night accused the Government of fuelling the problem of child obesity by cutting lottery funding for the Sports Council for Wales.

By 2012, government changes to the National Lottery funding will have cut £100m in lottery funds from the council’s budget.

He said, “If tackling child obesity in Wales was really a government priority, Labour would have ensured an increasing level of grassroots sports funding.”

The Welsh Consumer Council and Which? last night said the introduction of a 9pm watershed on junk food advertising must be a priority for the Government.


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