Obesity An 'International Scourge'

Conference Warns Of Global Fat Pandemic's Consequences

(AP)  The world is in the grip of a fat pandemic that threatens to overwhelm every country's health system with diseases such as diabetes and heart disease and shorten the life span of future generations, experts at an international conference warned on Sunday.

"Obesity is an international scourge," Prof. Paul Zimmet, the chairman of the meeting of more than 2,500 experts and health officials, told delegates in a speech opening the International Congress on Obesity. "This insidious, creeping pandemic of obesity is now engulfing the entire world."

"It's as big a threat as global warming and bird flu," said Zimmet, an Australian expert on diabetes.

Other experts at the conference said the cost of treating health problems related to being overweight was immeasurable on a global scale, but was estimated at billions of dollars a year in countries such as Australia, Britain and the United States.

"We are not dealing with a scientific or medical problem, we're dealing with an enormous economic problem that, it is already accepted, is going to overwhelm every medical system in the world," said Prof. Philip James, the chairman of a global task force set up by medical organizations that deal with weight-related problems.

He said governments had been forced to confront rising obesity rates because of the expense of treating related health issues.

Among the most worrying problems is skyrocketing rates of obesity among children, which made them much more prone to chronic diseases as they grow older and could shave years of their lives, experts said.

The children in this generation may be the first in history to die before their parents because of health problems related to weight, Prof. Kate Steinbeck, an expert in children's health at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, said in a statement.

The World Health Organization says more than 1 billion adults around the world are overweight and 300 million of them are obese, putting them at much higher risk of diseases such as diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure, stroke and some forms of cancer.

There are now more overweight people in the world than people who are undernourished, who number about 600 million, Zimmet said.

People in wealthy countries were leading the world in overeating and not doing enough physical activity, but those in developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America were fast learning the bad habits, delegates said.

But the traditional way of dealing with the issue — focusing on getting individuals to adjust their diet and exercise — had failed, and a more multifaceted response involving governments, business and community groups is needed, they said.

Experts also said governments should impose bans on junk food advertising aimed directly at children, although they acknowledged such restrictions were unlikely to come about soon because the food industry would lobby hard against them.

"There is going to be a political bun fight over this for some time, but of course we shouldn't advertise junk food to children that makes them fat," said Prof. Boyd Swinburn, a member of an international task force on combatting obesity.

Leaders of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, an umbrella group for medical organizations dealing with weight-related and children's health issues, on Sunday approved backing such advertising bans as official policy, its president, Prof. Claude Bouchard, announced.

One in four children in Australia is overweight or obese, said Steinbeck. Half of Australia's adult women are overweight, and two thirds of men, she said. The rates were among the highest in the world, with the United States worse, she said, without giving figures for the U.S.

Modern life has created an environment that is counterproductive to staying a healthy weight, experts said, including neighborhoods that were increasingly being built with not enough public space for residents to exercise, said Prof. Louise Baur, a child health expert at the University of Sydney.

The conference will hear research and papers from almost 400 experts before wrapping up on Friday.

[suzanneja]

Please. So if everyone in the world gets skinny, all of these diseases will be wiped out? Yeah, ok. Instead of blaming the public for the lack of proper medical care available, the blame should be placed on the the medical community for not producing better medications which are more readily available to everyone, not just the rich, and for not doing more research to find cures. The health care costs are rising because of greed, not fat people. This is more B.S. to try to find a way to control society. Governments figure smoking is banned just about everywhere, why not control what people eat too? What's next? Putting cameras in our homes to monitor our activities? These "health" views are political at best and are a blatant form of discrimination.

[wanker33]

Spoken like a true fatty...

[yorkrose]

The problem of obesity is not a government conspiracy, it is the direct result of individuals shoving too much food into their mouths. A measure of personal accountability and restraint is needed to 'fix' this problem, not a pill.
It is not the fault of the medical community, the fast food companies, nor the government that so many people are overweight. Fat people need to eat less and exercise more. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that taxing your system with excess work and baggage will result in breakdowns in the machine.
So often the best cure for a problem is to avoid the activities that can cause it's development.

[hmsudul]

No single subject concerns me as much as obesity
and measures to slow it down and simply not
taking place. Fast food take-outs just like the
tabacco companies careonly for profit.
While we worry terrorism obesity is a silent
enemy and destructive in a way that will be
difficult to reverse. Recently in hospital cafe-
teria I was applled at what was served.
The local TV cajoles about eating FRENCH FRIED
TWINKIES and calls it the fried food fair in
between the old favorites cotton candy and corn dogs. Pizza commericals pay for TV programs but
when a local chef tried to get delis and coffee
shops to put veggie pizza on their menus the
rejection was quite clear.
I have suggested in my new book coming out in
NOvemember...We start a new organization called
Coalition for Cruelty Against Carrots with the
first agenda make veggies into MOVIE HEROES
such " Cauiflower KIds take on Hollywood" and
there's idea that would educate children about
the bad images that are created about veggies
like a president who hates brocolli. Yes.
Virgina, vegetables can realy taste good but those
who would permit such publicity are fast food
gaints who would never allow this to happen.
Incidently no other web is showing this story
and I know why.
consumer advocate for 30 years

[newsjeff-2009]

My comment on obesity is this: If countries who have this problem (including the U.S.) would focus more on creating jobs and opportunities for people(especially young people)it would help the problem. The attitude that Republican political leaders of this country give me (including President Bush and the GOP controlled house and senate) is that anyone who is a "unskilled manual labor type worker" deserves to be poor and unemployed, no matter how good or hard-working they are. People need to read their history books and realize that America and other countries,corporations, businesses, etc., was built by hard work,hard labor, skilled and unskilled manual labor. I believe that a better appreciation from the public on hard working people in heavy labor jobs would encourage people to get away from the TV and computer so much and out to work. Of course it would help if the GOP,Republican controlled government of the U.S. would appreciate the working class people a little more, and not bad mouth everyone that does not have a college degree and label all non-college graduates as "stupid,lazy,undeducated". It would be interesting to know if all political leaders made straight A averages in school and college.

[pgeraci3]

Instead of always focusing on the obese who are sucking the health industry dry, why not give lower cost health insurance rates to the non-obese since we aren't costing the health industry much and start raising the rates of the overweight.

[hermit22]

The question needs to be asked: Are people fat because they exist on "cheap" macaroni starches etc. because they can't afford fruits and vegetables and meat to the tune of a fortune?

Aside from that, may I suggest that if every overeating fat person hired the hungry homeless to EAT for them two serious problems would be solved.

[saberlee]

I am saddened by the rising obesity epidemic in this world, and I am often shocked by how little people know about nutrition and exercise. Then, there are those who know and don't care. However, while I support higher taxes on cigarettes (because secondhand smoke hurts other AND because we do not need cigarettes to live), I am deeply opposed to taxing foods the government does not feel are good for us.

I say that as someone who eats mostly raw vegetables every night and buys nothing that would be highly taxed. I think people have the right to figure out on their own what they should or should not be eating. Having the government tax sugary drinks or fattening foods is a very dangerous precedent to set.

People have to care to do something. So many young people start smoking and they know how bad it is. They are desensitized and think they are indestructible.

I'm all for many, many efforts to curb this problem, but not for the government taxing "the wrong foods." That won't stop anyone, anyway.

[moggie15]

I am an ex fatty, who has been slim for quite a few years by healthy eating, will power and exercise. What really bugs me about obesity is the way airlines charge for excess baggage and the restrictions they set. If instead, they made a person + luggage weight allowance, the rest of us would not be penalised because there were too many fatties on the plane. And yes, some fatties would be too heavy to travel at all, without luggage, but surely that would give them an incentive to lose weight. Many many people have agreed or said this to me independantly at airports. Lets have some fair play for those of us that are prepared to control ourselves and take responsibility for our health.

[dickblume]

Obese people have less of a hormone, which regulates appetite.
I have discovered a signal the body sends when it had enough food.
This signal comes BEFORE overweight people feel satisfied.
It is a distinct change in our breathing.
I have lost weight permanently for the first time since stopping to eat at that point.
Please check the website: www.breathingdiet.com

[dickblume]

Obese people have less of a hormone, which regulates appetite.
I have discovered a signal the body sends when it had enough food.
This signal comes BEFORE overweight people feel satisfied.
It is a distinct change in our breathing.
I have lost weight permanently for the first time since stopping to eat at that point.
Please check the website: breathingdiet.com

[lioness6565]

I say, to a degree, fast food restuarants ARE to blame, as well as, makers of sweetened cereal, candy, pop, etc. Because they aim their ads towards children. Look at the monster burger, or the breakfast sausage with pancake buns. Pizza chains are competing who can make more pizza for less such as that 5 for 5 deal. Dominos also has an ad for serving brownies with their pizza. No, they don't force people to eat their products, they just barrage us with their ads.

[dickblume]

I have discovered a signal the body sends when it had enough food.
Obese people eat too fast and distract themselves (TV, reading, talking) while they eat!
This makes it almost impossible to detect that signal.
This signal is a distinct change in our breathing.
I have lost weight permanently for the first time since slowing down my eating and stopping at that signal.

Please check the website: www.breathingdiet.com