it looks like they’re going to lose the battle.

The Welsh Assembly Government with the UK Department of Health is putting their talk into action with a concerted effort to fight growing levels of obesity in the region. Their Change4Life programme is basically an educational campaign which will involve parents filling in questionnaires about their and their children’s lifestyles and eating habits. They will then be able to get regular advice about what they should be doing to be more healthy. 

The Change4Life scheme which has already been rolled out in England is designed to change eating habits for the younger generation and at Ukmedix News we hope and wish the campaign success. Unfortunately however common sense tells us that despite all the good intentions of the UK government it’s not going to work, and here is why!

The Welsh Assembly will be spending £280,000 in a year to promote and implement the program which is a fraction of the advertising budgets that fast food operators in Wales spend every month. The relentless advertising and targeting of children by fast food restaurants is one of the largest contributors to the obesity crisis in the UK and unless the UK government is prepared to legislate to stop this advertising it looks like they’re going to lose the battle.

It is true that the UK government has already spent £75m over the last 3 years on the Change4Life project throughout the UK but most of this was administrative costs. The Change4Life project is basically a whole lot of weight loss tips which are extremely important and useful but just giving people advice without creating the environment for healthy eating is a waste of time.

Ukmedix News has argued that legislation to protect children from predatory advertising would be far more effective in reducing childhood obesity statistics than any other initiative. Fast food restaurants know this and that is why they spend millions on targeting children when they are young because they see them as a long term investment. Eating habits are formed when very young and the fast food companies know that if they get the children hooked before they become teenagers they will have them as customers for years and years.

Come on health officers in the UK it’s time to wake up and to get real!