Obesity crisis looming, says top scientist

Unless obesity is tackled with the same ferocity as climate change the world is heading for a global health crisis, a top scientist has warned.

Professor Philip James called on world leaders to start taking direct action in the battle against the bulge and stop blaming individuals before it’s too late.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Prof James said governments needed to work more closely with the food industry to stop the epidemic spiralling out of control.

It is already very high, with already 2.3 billion adults in the world overweight. Almost 300 million of these are clinically obese – a figure expected to more than double in just seven years.

And Prof James, who is the chairman of the International Obesity TaskForce, said we have to act quickly to avoid the horrendous health problems this would cause.

He said: “We need to prioritise world agricultural production to make the best use of our limited resources, to increase the supply of locally sourced fresh foods particularly fruit and vegetables.

“Climate change will inevitably impact on agricultural production everywhere, affecting both water supply and the variety and quality of crops that can be grown in different parts of the world.

“Much of the present high calorie density food production has a massive carbon footprint and requires wasteful amounts of energy and water.

“If we are to feed the world eight billion people in just 20 years’ time with a healthy diet, we need to deliver a rescue plan for the planet not just to address global warming, but to ensure we have sufficient healthy food to feed everyone.”

He said the onus is on governments to come up with solutions.

He said: “Blaming individuals for their personal vulnerability to weight gain is no longer acceptable in a world where the majority is already overweight and obesity is rising everywhere.

“It is naïve of ill-informed politicians and food industry executives to place the onus on individuals making ‘healthier choices’ while the environment in which we live is the overwhelming factor amplifying the epidemic.

He also called for stricter rules on marketing and food labelling.

He added: “Consumers should no longer have to put up with clever marketing manipulations to confuse them even further with guideline daily amounts that are largely inappropriate.

“The traffic lights approach [used in the UK] seems to be the one many parts of the food industry fear most and perhaps for good reason because it warns consumers when what they are getting is mostly a junk food combination of fattening ingredients of little nutritional value.”

Source: Fox News

Pic: http://www.xenia.com.br