Mon Dec 31, 2012, 07:54 PM

alp227 (20,446 posts)

UK needs its own Michelle Obama to tackle obesity, say doctors

Last edited Tue Jan 1, 2013, 02:14 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

Source: The Guardian

High-profile leadership, perhaps by a member of the royal family who could take on a similar role to that played by Michelle Obama in the US, is needed to solve the obesity crisis in the UK, according to one of the authors of a report published on Tuesday.

The report from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) finds that too little is being done for adults who are severely overweight. NHS services are "extremely patchy", it says, even though a quarter of all adults are obese and it is estimated that by 2050 most of the population will be.

Professor John Wass, chair of the working party that produced the report, says there is a real need for leadership. The report calls for a senior figure in government who will take charge of obesity issues across all departments – from education to health, to agriculture and work and pensions.

Wass says we could learn from the US, where Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York, and Michelle Obama in the White House have been leading a successful fight against obesity. He said: "I think we could have a senior figure in London, rather like the mayor of New York, who has led on having smaller measures of Coca-Cola in cups and other things. Michelle Obama has had a huge effect on obesity and getting things labelled.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jan/01/uk-needs-michelle-obama-obesity

So will Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (not Princess, corrected) be the British Michelle Obama? I thought Jamie Oliver (the TV chef) already was. Stay tuned though.

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12 replies	Author	Time	Post
UK needs its own Michelle Obama to tackle obesity, say doctors (Original post)	alp227	Dec 2012	OP
Kate doesn't eat enough to do it, nice to see foreigners recognize	JI7	Dec 2012	#1
Jamie took on school lunches. UK lunch ladies were a tough group	bigbrother05	Dec 2012	#2
i think Michelle's way has been a bit more effective because she makes it more enjoyable	JI7	Dec 2012	#3
If the time table for global warming is correct, the time table for the UKs obesity problem is not	bloomington-lib	Dec 2012	#4
Who ?	dipsydoodle	Dec 2012	#5
They'll have to wait until she stops throwing up at the thought of food.	hedda_foil	Dec 2012	#6
I'm not too sure she'd be a good role model anyway.	dipsydoodle	Jan 2013	#8
Cut A Couple of Fighter Jets Next Time	QUALAR	Dec 2012	#7
I should think Zara Phillips would be a better choice	SemperEadem	Jan 2013	#9
Perhaps Princess Beatrice of York	MrsMatt	Jan 2013	#10
I thought of her, too	obamanut2012	Jan 2013	#12
Jamie Oliver tried, and had some success	obamanut2012	Jan 2013	#11

Response to alp227 (Original post)

Mon Dec 31, 2012, 07:56 PM

JI7 (40,086 posts)

1. Kate doesn't eat enough to do it, nice to see foreigners recognize

the good that many americans do when we have our own attacking them for it.

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Response to alp227 (Original post)

Mon Dec 31, 2012, 08:02 PM

bigbrother05 (3,843 posts)

2. Jamie took on school lunches. UK lunch ladies were a tough group

Tried doing something similar in US, but not much traction. Funny accent didn't help when trying to win over entrenched school boards.

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Response to bigbrother05 (Reply #2)

Mon Dec 31, 2012, 08:05 PM

JI7 (40,086 posts)

3. i think Michelle's way has been a bit more effective because she makes it more enjoyable

Jamie Oliver focused too much on how gross something is like those nuggets but even then the kids still wanted to eat them.

i think they really need to get parents involved in this though. if parents can get kids to eat healther at home and kids get used to those foods they will eat them at school.

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Response to alp227 (Original post)

Mon Dec 31, 2012, 08:14 PM

bloomington-lib (803 posts)

4. If the time table for global warming is correct, the time table for the UKs obesity problem is not

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Response to alp227 (Original post)

Mon Dec 31, 2012, 08:37 PM

dipsydoodle (32,636 posts)

5. Who ?

Catherine is the Dutchess of Cambridge.

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Response to dipsydoodle (Reply #5)

Mon Dec 31, 2012, 11:25 PM

hedda_foil (7,335 posts)

6. They'll have to wait until she stops throwing up at the thought of food.

Maybe after the baby is born. She's the perfect choice.

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Response to hedda_foil (Reply #6)

Tue Jan 1, 2013, 05:49 AM

dipsydoodle (32,636 posts)

8. I'm not too sure she'd be a good role model anyway.

She's catwalk thin and almost the opposite extreme to someone who is obese. There's a happy healthy medium somewhere.

There' a side issue to this too. Whereas there is no credible link to mental health issues actually causing obesity there may be a link to obesity itself leading to mental health issues. Some details here http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2009/jan/14/obesity-mental-health-myth

Comparative national obesity figures here : http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity

The US is projected to hit 50% by 2030.

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Response to alp227 (Original post)

Mon Dec 31, 2012, 11:46 PM

QUALAR (104 posts)

7. Cut A Couple of Fighter Jets Next Time

Let's hope the UK doesn't take the money from their food stamp program like we did to pay for the program. An outrageous proposal by the Obama Administration.

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Response to alp227 (Original post)

Tue Jan 1, 2013, 07:10 AM

SemperEadem (7,997 posts)