New Obesity Guidelines
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued new guidelines on treating obesity and preventing people becoming overweight.
 The risks of obesity are as serious as smoking and urgent action is needed to tackle it. |
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Prof Peter Littlejohns, director of clinical and public health at NICE |
The report is the first of its kind from NICE and focuses on the prevention and treatment of obesity in adults and children and will be sent to NHS professionals, schools, local authorities, employers and town planners. The report includes recommendations to parents, teachers, local authorities and employers.
If follows a Department of Health report published in August predicted a third of adults and a fifth of all children under 15 will be obese by 2010.
Nice said there was a need "for urgent action" to stem the rising tide of obesity. In total, 24 million adults are overweight or obese. Among children, 16 per cent are obese compared with 11 per cent in 1995. A fifth of all children is expected to be obese within four years.
"Obesity is the most serious threat to the future health of our nation," said Prof Peter Littlejohns, the director of clinical and public health at Nice.
"The risks of obesity are as serious as smoking and urgent action is needed to tackle it. For the first time, we have bought together all the people who can help solve the obesity problem, not just health professionals but local councils, employers and schools to produce a piece of work that sets out the steps we must take," he said.
Guideline Highlights
The guidelines offer suggestions on how health professionals can advise parents on cooking, healthy eating, meal planning and food shopping.
One of the most controversial aspects of the new policy is its approval of offering anti-obesity drugs and surgery to children. A spokeswoman for Nice said this be a last resort, and, as such, would be very rare, but confirmed doctors would now have formalised guidelines on when authorisation could be given.
NHS
Local authotities and Partners
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Create safe places for people to walk and cycle and children to play
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Ensure buildings and spaces are designed to encourage people to be more physically active, for example by making it easy to take the stairs instead of the lift
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Make streets cleaner and safer, through traffic calming measures, pedestrian crossings, cycle routes, lighting and walking scheme
Nurseries and other childcare facilities
Schools
Workplaces
Workplaces should provide opportunities for staff to eat a healthy diet and be physically active, through
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healthy choices in restaurants (and vending machines)
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provision of showers and secure cycle parking
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out-of hours social activities.
Adults
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Should follow diets aimed at losing no more than 0.5-1kg a week
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Should do at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical exercise, five times a week
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Should be offered surgery as a first-line option if their BMI is 50 or above, and as last resort if patients have a BMI of above 40 and have failed to maintain weight loss for at least six months.
Children
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Can be offered surgery if their BMI is 40 and above, or between 35 and 40 with other significan disease such as diabetes or high blood pressure, and they have achieved or nearly achieved puberty
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Can be given sibutramine or orlisat but only if there are other physical problems and once diets, exercise programmes and behavioural approaches have been started. Would only apply to children under 12 in exceptional circumstances
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Should do at least 60 minutes of moderate activity a day
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