Category Archives: Obesity

Teasing children about weight increases risk of self-stigma as adults, study finds

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Research reveals ‘long-lasting effects’ caused by pressure from parents, families, bullies and the media

Parents who tease their children about their weight are putting them at greater risk of feeling bad about their bodies decades later, regardless of whether they grow up to have obesity or not, a groundbreaking study has found.

Thirteen-year-olds who felt pressure from family members to shed pounds and endured weight-based teasing showed higher levels of internalised weight stigma when they turned 31, according to research by the University of Bristol published on Tuesday in the Lancet Regional Health Europe journal.

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Overweight girls ‘more likely to see GP about musculoskeletal problems’

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Study finds reception-age girls with obesity 67% more likely to see doctor about musculoskeletal issues than those at healthy weight

Girls aged between four and 11 who are overweight or obese are more likely to see a GP at least once about musculoskeletal problems than their healthy weight peers, research suggests.

Pupils in reception year who had a body mass index considered overweight were 24% more likely to see a doctor at least once for a musculoskeletal issue while their peers who were living with obesity were 67% more likely to do so than girls with a healthy weight, the study found.

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Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: ministers doing ‘next to nothing’ to tackle obesity

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Celebrity chef clashes with health secretary over what he calls government’s lack of obesity strategy

The celebrity chef and Green party supporter Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has clashed with the UK health secretary, Victoria Atkins, over what he says is the government’s failure to tackle the obesity crisis.

Fearnley-Whittingstall challenged Atkins during a live discussion on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, accusing ministers of doing “next to nothing” to tackle obesity in England.

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Health of England’s children at risk from policy inaction on obesity, report finds

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Exclusive: Officially commissioned research lays out effects of shelving anti-obesity pledges

Children in England are at risk of diabetes, heart disease and other serious health problems because ministers have shelved anti-obesity policies until 2025, according to a damning report commissioned by the government.

The independent report says that ultra-processed foods (UPF) and products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) have become “normalised” in children’s diets, with poorer parents powerless to curb them.

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England heads for obesity disaster as minister frets about nanny state

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Government has shelved policies that could have helped to change landscape weighted in favour of unhealthy food options

Less than three weeks into her new role as health secretary, Victoria Atkins left health campaigners aghast when she suggested her approach to tackling obesity would largely focus on dietary advice.

Obesity is a devastating public health problem harming millions of people in the UK that will never be resolved by tips on what to eat and what to avoid. Two in three adults are overweight or obese and the problem costs £100bn a year.

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Number of Australian children skipping fruit and vegetables on the rise, survey finds

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Marketing of processed foods and sugary drinks plays significant role in influencing children’s diets, expert says

Public health advocates are calling for action to curb obesity after fewer Australian children were found to be eating fruit and vegetables.

The number of children eating the recommended amount of fruit has dropped substantially, according to the results of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ National Health Survey, down by 9% (73% to 64%) in the five years to 2022.

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Genetic data on 500,000 volunteers in UK to be released for scientific study

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UK BioBank offers up biggest ever cache of whole-genome sequences for medical research

A new era of medical discoveries, treatments and cures is on the horizon, researchers say, following the announcement that an unprecedented trove of genetic information is to be made available to scientists.

Health researchers from around the world can now apply to study the whole genomes of half a million people enrolled in UK Biobank, a biomedical research project that has compiled detailed health and lifestyle records on individuals since it began 20 years ago.

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Firms earn £53bn a year from UK smoking, excess drinking and junk food – study

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Harmful habits are worsening public health, says report, as groups urge crackdown on ‘irresponsible’ industries

Firms are earning £52.7bn a year from UK sales of tobacco, junk food and excessive alcohol, and their consumption is contributing to Britain’s rising tide of illness, a report says.

The figures prompted a coalition of health, medical and children’s organisations to demand an urgent crackdown on “the irresponsible behaviour of health-harming industries”.

NHS hospitals admit 2.5 million patients a year for treatment of diseases directly linked to being overweight (1.02 million), drinking (980,000) or smoking (506,000).

About 459,000 people cannot work because they are too ill to do so as a result of their smoking (289,000), alcohol consumption (99,000) or being morbidly obese, with a body mass index over 40 (70,000).

People who smoke or drink at harmful levels are more likely to be jobless and earn less than those who do not – a “wage penalty” for their unhealthy lifestyles.

That wage penalty, together with unemployment and lost productivity due to smoking, drinking and obesity, costs the UK £31bn a year.

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Australian food industry ‘hijacks’ strategies designed to tackle public health crises, conference hears

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Experts in public health say that commercial interests engage in practices harmful to health and the environment

It’s a “risky business” for the government to work with the food industry to tackle health crises like obesity, an international public health conference has been told, with effective food packaging labels already jeopardised.

Dr Dori Patay, a researcher with the Menzies Centre in Sydney, said despite ample evidence of the harmful influence of the food industry on health policy, governments increasingly regard the food industry as “partners” in addressing chronic diseases.

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Ozempic overdoses: data reveals Australians sent to emergency after misuse of diabetes drug

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Exclusive: NSW poisons information centre received more than 120 calls related to the diabetes drug in a year, 83% of them about medication errors

Patients have been referred to hospital emergency departments after unintentionally taking a higher dose of Ozempic than prescribed, data obtained by Guardian Australia has revealed.

The drug semaglutide, sold under the brand name Ozempic in Australia, is subsidised under the pharmaceutical benefits scheme for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

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UK public warned over dangers of fake weight loss medication pens

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Pre-filled injection devices claimed to hold Ozempic or Saxenda may contain other substances, regulator says

The UK medicines regulator has issued a public warning about fake and potentially harmful weight loss pens after seizing hundreds of devices sold by illegal traders.

The pens, with which the traders’ drugs are injected, are claimed to contain the medications Ozempic (semaglutide) or Saxenda (liraglutide), which are used for weight loss. However, these pens are thought to contain other substances.

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Children should get one healthy school meal a day, say EU experts

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Nutritious lunches should be seen as an effective way to address obesity, chronic illness and poverty, says coalition

Children across Europe must receive at least one nutritious school meal a day if governments want to tackle rising obesity rates, prevent chronic illnesses and reduce social inequalities, according to a coalition of experts.

Nearly a third of primary school-age children in Europe are either overweight or obese, while almost a quarter of children in the EU are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

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TGA investigating potential link between diabetes drug Ozempic and reports of gastro-intestinal side effects

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Drug has been used off-label for weight loss leading to a global shortage and usage may come with risks, experts say

Australia’s drug regulator is investigating new reports of potential gastro-intestinal side effects of diabetes turned weight-loss drug Ozempic.

Ozempic, is a drug prescribed as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, but has been widely used off-label for weight loss, causing worldwide shortages, including in Australia. The same drug, branded as Wegovy, is now approved for weight management in Australia, but is not currently available.

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Ultra-processed food raises risk of heart attack and stroke, two studies show

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Research presented to annual meeting of European Society of Cardiology prompts calls for action

Ultra-processed food significantly raises the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes, according to two studies that one expert says should serve as a wake-up call for governments worldwide.

Global consumption of heavily processed items such as cereals, protein bars, fizzy drinks, ready meals and fast food has soared in recent years. In the UK and US, well over half the average diet now consists of ultra-processed food (UPF). For some, especially people who are younger, poorer or from disadvantaged areas, a diet comprising as much as 80% UPF is typical.

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Overweight adults with high blood pressure a third more likely to die early, study finds

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Up to 31% of global population estimated to have metabolic syndrome due to three or more unhealthy traits

Millions of middle-aged adults who are overweight with even slightly raised blood pressure, cholesterol or glucose levels are about a third more likely to die early, research suggests.

They also face a 35% higher risk of heart attacks or strokes and will experience them two years earlier than their peers. The stark findings are being presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology, the world’s largest heart conference. They represent more evidence of the immediate dangers posed by the global obesity crisis.

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UK’s soaring liver cancer death rate blamed on alcohol and obesity

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Charity calls on government to do more to restrict unhealthy lifestyle choices

One of the country’s leading health charities is calling for urgent action to reduce the “carcinogenic effects” of cheap alcohol and unhealthy food after a 40% increase in deaths from liver cancer in a decade.

Liver cancer is now the fastest rising cause of cancer death in the UK, warns the British Liver Trust. Since the early 1970s, liver cancer mortality rates have more than tripled.

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Ban on two-for-one junk food deals to be delayed for two more years

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Rishi Sunak says he is suspending anti-obesity measure to avoid restricting consumer options during cost of living crisis

The government is to delay its planned ban on two-for-one junk food deals – a key anti-obesity measure – for another two years amid the cost of living crisis.

Rishi Sunak will shelve the expected measure targeting multi-buy promotions on products high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) to avoid restricting consumer options while prices remain high.

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UK food giant calls for higher fat, sugar and salt taxes

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Danone boss urges ministers to help people make healthy choices

One of the country’s biggest food firms has said ministers should consider taxing products high in fat, sugar or salt to combat the obesity crisis.

Danone UK & Ireland, which sells the Actimel yogurt drink brand, says government intervention is required to ensure consumers are offered healthier products. It says some food firms in the UK have not shown “enough appetite to change”.

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Half of children given ‘skinny jab’ no longer clinically obese, study finds

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Report says giving semaglutide once a week gave ‘historically unprecedented’ results

Nearly half of children who were assigned the “skinny jab” lost enough weight to no longer be classed as clinically obese, according to research.

The study, led by Dr Aaron Kelly, the co-director of the Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine at the University of Minnesota, looked at 201 adolescents who were classed as clinically obese.

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Small businesses offered tax breaks for going green in federal budget – as it happened

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Marles on Australians caught in Sudan conflict

Asked about Australians caught in Sudan and the conflict there, Richard Marles says “there are still options out of Port Sudan which is on the Red Sea, which is, I think it’s about 800km out of Khartoum” to leave “what is obviously a deteriorating situation”:

There are ferries there and there may be other options coming out of that. I mean, the important thing is this – Australians in Sudan, and there do remain a number of Australians in Sudan, really need to make sure that they register.

We will continue to work with friends and allies and do everything that we can within our power to provide options for Australians who want to leave. Because we understand how difficult this situation is now.

Ultimately, our ambition is to establish a production line with companies in this country which would provide for the manufacture of those long-range strike missiles and doing as much of that as possible in the next couple of years. We hope that we can begin with the assembly of the strike missiles that go in the Himars system. But we want to build on that so that we’re actually manufacturing the full suite of these weapons in Australia.

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