Doctors Call For Junk Food Advertising Ban – On Top Of Soft Drink Tax
Doctors are calling for drastic action to be taken in order to tackle rates of obesity in the UK as the NHS comes under increased pressure and deaths from obesity-related illnesses increase.
In the last couple of weeks a campaign by Sustain has hit the headlines. The campaign, backed by more than 60 public health organisations and charities, including the British Dental Health Foundation, calls for a tax on fizzy drinks in order to reduce sugar consumption and tackle rates of decay and obesity.
Now the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges, which represents more than 200,000 doctors, has called for an advertising ban on junk food before the watershed to try and reduce child obesity, which is an increasingly alarming problem in the UK. The organisation is also appealing for there to be new legislation which prevents fast food outlets from opening near schools.
According to the most recent NHS data one third of children and two thirds of adults are overweight and the figures are increasing year on year. Figures also show that the NHS is already spending £5.1 billion every year on caring for patients who suffer from obesity-related illnesses.
The Academy has described obesity as the “greatest public health crisis facing Great Britain” and said action must be taken to prevent the situation from getting worse. With population figures on the rise, increased immigration and an ageing population, the NHS is already under intense pressure and there simply will not be enough money available to cater for everyone in the future if the trend continues.
Professor Terence Stephenson, an expert in child health and chair of the academy, said it is “no exaggeration” to say that obesity is the “biggest crisis facing the UK today” and urged people, the government and health experts to stop making excuses and actually tackle the problem.
The calls from medical experts come as Tamworth is named the fattest town in the UK. According to statistics one in three people living in Tamworth are obese and experts say the situation is so bad that people are using mobility scooters to get around and many refuse to accept that they have a weight problem.
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