Editorial: No let-up in the need to fight the flab
IN A dramatic twist in the tale of the world鈥檚 obesity epidemic, it appears that childhood obesity levels have stopped rising in many rich nations around the world. Some claim it is proof that healthy-eating campaigns are working, while others are concerned that the data hides discrepancies between rich and poor compatriots.
Together with a research review that shows the stabilisation of childhood obesity rates, or even their decrease, in 15 countries worldwide over the past decade (see map), new data also showing obesity levelling off was presented at the in Stockholm, Sweden, last month.
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However, the claimed plateau is no excuse to relax the battle against obesity, says at the University of Copenhagen鈥檚 Institute of Preventive Medicine in Denmark, who co-authored the review. 鈥淭he most important message is that the obesity epidemic is not reversing,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e never had so many obese people in the world, so the plateauing should not be a soothing message.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檝e never had so many obese people in the world, so the plateauing should not be a soothing message鈥�
Still, it will be for some: Rokholm has found that levels of obesity are actually decreasing in some countries, most notably in Japan. Boys are getting marginally lighter in Denmark, too, with the proportion of overweight and obese girls declining slightly in England, from 20.5 per cent in 2002 to 19.4 per cent in 2007.
These figures should not be taken at face value, though, argues Tim Cole at University College London. He says the overall flattening trend hides the true picture. Cole鈥檚 analysis of 5-to-10-year-olds in England found that overall there was indeed a levelling off, but that rates between rich and poor were diverging. 鈥淚f you separate out the data, you see that trends are still upwards in lower socioeconomic groups, but down in higher socioeconomic groups, so they balance each other out to give the overall plateau,鈥� he says (International Journal of Obesity, ).
Cole worries that rates will eventually stabilise in richer children but will continue to rise in poorer children to the point where overall rates in England will start rising again.
Some countries appear to have been more successful. In France, for example, rates have stabilised in both rich and poor children, although rates in the poorer children lagged about three years behind their wealthier peers. This success is being attributed to an aggressive anti-obesity drive that kicked off in 2001. 鈥淲e think our National Nutrition and Health Programme was very helpful,鈥� says at the Centre for Research in Human Nutrition in Paris.
In the US too, health professionals are seeing their nation鈥檚 stabilisation as evidence that health messages are getting through, although a recent report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey 鈥� entitled 鈥�F as in Fat鈥� 鈥� noted that one-third of American children aged 10 to 17 are obese or overweight. 鈥淚 hope we鈥檙e turning a corner, but I鈥檇 prefer to see us getting leaner,鈥� says , director of the RWJF鈥檚 Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity in Little Rock, Arkansas. Thompson also said that, as in England, obesity rates are disproportionately high in economically disadvantaged and some ethnic groups, so these groups are being targeted with extra resources.
So while it is good news for some, it is also clear that deeper analysis is needed and that the battle against obesity is far from won.
