Obesity - The National Issue That We Need To Tackle

Tackling obesity is one of the greatest long-term health challenges this country faces. Almost two-thirds of adults are above a healthy weight, with half of these considered to be in the category of obesity. This is more than just an older age issue though, as currently there are 1 in 3 children leaving primary school who are considered to be overweight.

There are many health-related issues that obesity is linked to, spanning from all sorts from mental health issues to reduced life expectancy. It is a risk factor for a range of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, at least 12 kinds of cancer, liver and respiratory disease.

The national obesity pandemic is being recognised by the government though, which is seeing a number of laws coming into affect in the near future in an attempt to reduce the amount of overweight people in our country. It is thought that tackling obesity is currently one of the biggest strains on the NHS as well, making it even more crucial to try and combat the issue. Below is a list of the new laws that are being put in place to help tackle the crisis;

• Ban on TV and online adverts for food high in fat, sugar and salt before 9pm
• End of deals like ‘buy one get one free’ on unhealthy food high in salt, sugar and fat
• Calories to be displayed on menus to help people make healthier choices when eating out – while alcoholic drinks could soon have to list hidden ‘liquid calories’
• New campaign to help people lose weight, get active and eat better after COVID-19 ‘wake-up call’

The best way to tackle obesity is a combination of exercise and healthy eating. Now this doesn’t mean every minute of the day you’ve got to be doing some sort of working out such as running or lifting weights, but it is a good idea to incorporate a number of different exercises into your week. A good start would be to start walking. Now is the best time to do this as well, considering we’re at the nicest time of the year and will hopefully see a few weeks of dry and warm weather. This is also a measurable exercise, as you can measure how far you’ve walked and how long it took you, as well as considering how you feel and how tired you are during and afterwards. 

Healthy eating is just as important as working out though, as the body will naturally burn 2000/2500 (as an average for each gender), which is explained in more depth by the Daily Calorie Intake, linked beforehand to the NHS’ website. Marry this theory up with a low calorie diet and you should be losing weight, which is due to a calorie deficit – which is probably the most important thing when it comes to losing weight, and can be read about in more detail in our Calorie Deficit Explained Blog. This then means that as long as you are consuming less calories in your food and drink compared to what you are burning off, you should be able to lose weight and improve your fitness.

Why not have a look at our weekly meals plans, which can be personally picked by yourself or cater made by our experienced team of nutritionally clued up and trained chefs to help you reach your goal. We also have plans available if you’d like to build muscle as opposed to simply lose weight – so there really is something for everyone on our website, including healthy sweet treats!