Young people face some of the highest impact from unhealthy environments, despite being least responsible for causing them. Today (Monday 4 March) is world obesity day, which makes it the perfect opportunity to examine some of our thoughts about the factors influencing overweight and obesity in children and young people and these three resources are a perfect place to start:
- WATCH Dr Chris Van Tulleken on the Diary of a CEO podcast. The Ultra Processed People author addresses loads of important topics but his take on how children should eat is particularly refreshing: “Food isn't just stuff we put in to build our bodies food binds us to the people around us food is part of our community and our food culture in the UK is ultra processed food.” Our takeaway? Change the food system so our kids can participate fully in society without worrying about their health. ?
- READ the Fuel Us, Don't Fool Us report from Bite Back 2030. The youth-led activist group are taking on junk food advertising and their latest report analyses how much the top ten food companies operating in the UK profit from?unhealthy products, revealing,?for example, that seven of the top 10 food manufacturers currently use?child-appealing tactics on packaging for unhealthy food. ?
- LISTEN to real teens' experiences of life with overweight and obesity on the ECPO Voices of Youth in Obesity podcast, to understand what is really important to young people.
- 1.9 billion people around the world will be living with obesity in 2035. That is almost 1 in 4 people.
- Childhood obesity will increase by over 100% from 2020 to 2035.
- In Northern Ireland children in the most deprived areas are almost twice as likely to live with obesity than those in the least deprived areas
- Living with overweight or obesity accounts for 80-85% of a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
