Press Release - Tackling Obesity in England
15 February 2001
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told
Parliament today that the prevalence of obesity in England had
tripled over the last 20 years and continues to rise. Most adults
in England are now overweight, and one in five is obese.
Producing the first authoritative estimates of the costs and
consequences of obesity in England, Sir John estimated that obesity
accounted for 18 million days of sickness absence and 30,000
premature deaths in 1998. On average, each person whose death could
be attributed to obesity lost nine years of life. Treating obesity
costs the NHS at least £½ billion a year. The wider costs to the
economy in lower productivity and lost output could be a further £2
billion each year.
Sir John recommends that greater effort is placed on
establishing an evidence based approach to the problem to enable
the NHS to adopt a more consistent approach to the management of
obesity. Continued and more extensive joint working across
government is also needed, both nationally and locally, to promote
long term changes in lifestyles.
NAO research identified wide variation in the way general
practices manage overweight and obese patients, and uncertainty
about which treatment and referral options are the most effective.
Sir John recommends that the Department of Health leads work to
clarify the responsibilities of primary care teams for identifying
people at risk from excess weight, and to develop and disseminate
guidelines on effective treatment programmes.
Sir John identifies substantial and valuable cross-Governmental
work to tackle obesity through encouraging physical activity and
better diet in schools and the population generally. But the
departments involved need to build on their successful joint
working to date and involve other national and local partners to
develop and implement cohesive approaches aimed at preventing more
people from becoming obese. Key recommendations are that:
- a high priority must be given to implementing the nutrition
initiatives included in the NHS Plan to improve the balance of the
diet;
- the Department of Health should lead the development of a
cross-government strategy, including the Department for Culture,
Media and Sport, to promote the health benefits of physical
activity (in particular sport and active forms of travel, such as
walking and cycling);
- the Department for Education and Employment should continue to
reinforce the importance of physical activity and encourage more
physical activity in schools; and
- there should be strengthened guidance to schools to help them
weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of participating in
commercial sponsorship schemes that might promote behaviours
contrary to key messages on healthy eating.
Sir John commented:
"Nearly two thirds of men and over half of women in
England are now overweight or obese. And the problem here is
increasing faster than in most other European countries. If
prevalence continues to rise at the current rate, more than one in
four adults will be obese by 2010. This would significantly
increase the incidence of associated diseases, such as coronary
heart disease, and would cost the economy over £3.5 billion a year
by that date.
"There are no easy solutions to the problem but progress
is possible. There is scope to do more to promote healthier
lifestyles and improve NHS services for the increasing number of
people whose health is at risk from excess weight."
Notes for Editors
The five key government departments whose work on diet and
physical activity was examined by the National Audit Office were
the Department of Health, Food Standards Agency, Department for
Education and Employment, Department of the Environment , Transport
and the Regions, and Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website at http://www.nao.org.uk/ Hard
copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the head
of the National Audit Office employing some 750 staff. He and the
NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 13/01
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