Thanks and join us next week!
Cheers to all who took part, nice to hear your thoughts, as well as a few positive stories of good initiatives already running to tackle obesity. If you have any final remarks or thoughts on the structure of our weekly debate, drop me an email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
Thanks
A view from a parent of two
We got in an interesting comment via our form from a 32-year-old parent of two children, based in Scotland. They offer a hopeful picture of how to engage kids in healthy eating:
All our main meals are cooked with fresh ingredients so we know what’s going in. Kids are involved in the cooking (and growing food) so they learn to enjoy food. Sweet/sugary treats are not forbidden but are limited, usually as a treat with lunch or after school on a Friday. My kids are young enough that I don’t have to worry about them eating junk food unless we give them it, they don’t get fizzy juice and the diluting juice they do get is sugar free. We don’t eat takeaways or prepacked food. Biggest issue is breakfast cereals, even Wheetabix has added sugar these days!
They also talked about a great initiative their school is involved in:
Our school does a Wednesday wander where all the kids (preschool to p7) all walk, run, skip etc a mile every Wednesday. The kids love it!
All the schools in the local area grow their own fruit and veg and do basic cooking with the ingredients they’ve grown. We also have a new community growing area that’s trying to get families out growing and cooking their own food.
That’s something to be hopeful for and a nice note to end on.
Updated
Should we focus on exercise over sugar taxes?
10 minutes left!
Hey everyone, we have 10 minutes left – so make sure you get in any last-minute ideas and points. Cheers
Polly Toynbee: The Tories must tackle the real cause of obesity – inequality
This article from Polly Toynbee just launched. She says fat is a class issue. Most of the seriously obese are poor. The answer? She argues it’s offering a diet of self-esteem, good jobs and social status.
A view from someone who has 'been obese most of their life'
Chris, 58 from Gloucestershire
The government has a responsibility to its citizens but not to the point of controlling what we eat. It’s our choice: we have to accept the consequences of our actions and not rely on the state to tell us what to do. Advertising is everywhere and it has been for the past 100 years. So, every time we see an advert for Coca Cola, do we go out and buy one? It’s our choice ultimately.
I have lost seven stone since September 2015 through mindful eating. I know what I eat, how many calories I am consuming, and how much sugar I digest. We have to think about what we eat and why and ultimately learn self-control.
Lessons from elsewhere when it comes to a sugar tax
I asked readers below the line whether they felt any other countries had succeeded with levying products. Here’s the response I got.
Debatable. Have any food taxes been proven to have caused any significant improvement in public health? The Danish tried a fat tax, it was scrapped a year or two later as I think people simply went across or ordered from the borders and stocked up. I could be wrong but I don't think it did their economy any favours either.
Mexico, although probably not a fair comparison with the U.K., appeared to have some success in reducing consumption but this seems to be creeping back up and doesn't appear to significantly be altering calorie intake. The end result will be calls for more taxes and higher rates.
Would love to hear more on this in the comments.
Tackling childhood obesity: the power of Pokémon Go
A view from doctor Mahiben Maruthappu, co-founder of Revere Care and advisor to the NHS, submitted through our form.
My thoughts on what we could do to prevent child obesity. Like a blast from the past, Pokémon Go has swept smartphone users off their couches, across streets, hunting for virtual creatures night and day. At first glance it seems illogical. But the success of Pokémon Go is a great illustrator of what technology can do to help people stay fit and get healthy – across all ages.
A few years ago, wearable pedometers were launched by Fitbit and Jawbone, allowing not only serious athletes, but also those suffering from illness and health problems to measure their efforts, from time spent walking or running, to steps taken and calories burnt.It was even suggested that these gadgets encouraged people to exercise more.
Updated
The sugar tax is voluntary, not compulsory - which weakens it
Views on government plans from our health editor Sarah Boseley:
The tax on sugary soft drinks is, of course, welcomed by health experts, although it does not come in for two more years. Reformulation of products to reduce sugar by 20% is a sound aspiration, but as with the “responsibility deal” the Cameron government made with the food industry, it is voluntary. Ironically, says Prof Graham McGregor, the cardiologist who heads Action on Sugar, the industry wanted mandatory reformulation, to remove any competitive disadvantage.
View from a former teacher
We’ve got some thoughts in via our form from a retired primary teacher.
Matilda, north Wales said:
When it was announced that school meals had to be healthier, the school cook in my school noticed that Reception children ate the pasta/rice based meals she introduced whereas older children turned up their noses – in other words, start as young as possible to introduce healthy food (Which of course many nurseries do). Stop free school meals to all in England, I think studies have showed it doesn’t do anything for obesity regulation and the money could be better targeted.
What do you think? Share views
Will the sugar tax hit the poorest hardest?
It’s a point that’s been raised a few times below the line.
People will still buy that Mars Bar at 11am for a snack if it costs 90p instead of 80p. The difference the sugar tax will make is that those who are already struggling financially will now struggle even more. When the time comes to pay the rent or pay a utility bill it will be even harder, and the risk of falling into debt more likely.
A reading list on the topic ...
A sugar tax: for and against
For
Concentrated extrinsic sugars are a poison.
Ideally they should be banned, but realistically I think there should be a sugar tax on all concentrated sugars, on fructose and 'modified maize' and not just on 'sugar' itself. And not just in drinks, in everything.
Sugar is particularly pernicious, IMO, where it is put into savoury foods to improve what producers call 'mouth feel' and then often accompanied by loads of extra salt to counteract the sweetness.
Because it isn't just that sugar makes you fat and rots your teeth and makes you crave more sugar, it also messes up your metabolism and can lead to Type2 diabetes even if you don't overeat.
Against
So what are manufacturers supposed to put into foods? They are being told to take out everything that makes food taste good - fat, salt and now sugar. In addition for the past 40ish years we have been telling them that fat is the demon, use as much sugar as you like just make everything low fat. Now we are saying take the sugar out too. They could use sweetners, but apparently they cause (insert long list of diseases/conditions). Oh, and they have to make everything affordable and shelf stable for a month. Manufacturers can't change the formulation of foods overnight - well not and hope to actually sell any of it!
The obesity problem isn't down to sugary drinks - it is down to modern lifestyles and a sugar tax will simply make the weekly shop more expensive it simply won't address the real causes.
It’s not a sugar issue, it’s a fructose issue
After Robert Lustig presentation it should have been game over for fructose.
The debate issues start precisely with call it a "sugar" problem.
Its not a "sugar" issue.
Its a Fructose issue.
Fructose gets metabolized in the liver just like alcohol does.
No one would drink 90 pounds of alcohol yet people eat 90 pounds of sugar with no warning label in the containers.
Fructose should be as tight regulated as alcohol and that's it.
Everytime someone stops eating sugar the liver responds by getting well.
Even before I started LCHF and intermittent fasting I quit on Sugar. The results: my ALT and AST enzymes went from over 100 to 11 and 12, respectively.
Body fat doesn't come from dietary fat: body fat comes from dietary sugar.
Updated
What should we be focusing on to tackle childhood obesity?
Some interesting views on the real reasons for our obesity crisis and how to solve it.
Education.
The parents are probably a write-off, but get it into the next generation's heads that driving everywhere, eating shit food and guzzing sugary drinks leads to serious health problems.
Don't just say 'oh, you could die a few years younger'. Show them the chronic illnesses, the heart attack and stroke victims and such.
I'd argue it worked for smoking (but then that was obviously combined with escalating taxes on ciggies).
No, parental responsibility is still required, and still ignored by the kinds of people who think legislation should be the panacea for all societal ills.
I think we're getting worse because of this attitude of asking government to take control of our decisions.
They're children - parents decide what they eat, not the children themselves. I have zero respect for anyone whining otherwise like saying no to your kids is a hardship.
Just not good enough. So much more to do and quickly - the incidence of obesity in general, never mind childhood, is indeed a national disgrace.
There should be limits on % of sugar in foods. There is too much. Could be brought down gradually so we become accustomed to it.
All this feet dragging, though, as with everything, is excruciating.
Updated
Seven 'healthy' foods with high levels of sugar
Some surprising sugar foods here:
Lots of debate this morning!
There’s been a lot of different views on this today being shared over Twitter.
Exercise not only benefits general health, it also increases self esteem - an overlooked but important factor. #ObesityStrategy
— Theresa@EmpowerYou (@terriempower) August 18, 2016
I think it is a cynical sop. It's been downgraded from strategy to 'plan' - lets food industry off the hook https://t.co/nesUQj97zJ
— jackie schneider (@jackieschneider) August 18, 2016
They can come up with any #ObesityStrategy but until junk food is taxed out of existence and quality of groceries improved it won't work.
— Alexander Nekrassov (@StirringTrouble) August 18, 2016
I think education is the best #ObesityStrategy. I stopped drinking normal soft drinks when I found out how much sugar was in them. Educate.
— Matthew Livall (@Matthaeus1865) August 18, 2016
I'd rather see a government #ExerciseStrategy than an #ObesityStrategy to be honest with you...
— Nick Spalding (@NickSpalding) August 18, 2016
How do you manage your child’s intake of junk food? Should promotions of junk food in supermarkets, such as buy one get one free offers be banned? Do you think the government’s obesity strategy is enough? Or perhaps you know of some interesting initiatives to tackle childhood obesity where you live?
You can share your thoughts – anonymously, if you prefer – using the link below. We’ll use a selection of responses in the debate.
We’re also keen to hear from health experts, and parents or teachers about their specific experiences too.
Welcome to the debate
The government has announced its plans to tackle childhood obesity, and some people are less than impressed. Medical experts and campaigners criticised the strategy – centred on the sugar tax – as “weak and embarrassing”.
The strategy relies on voluntary action by the food and drink industry, which has undertaken to reduce by 20% the amount of sugar in products such as cereals, desserts, yoghurts and sweets. It’s been made clear to manufacturers that reducing sugar in their products means they will escape the sugar tax, not due to come in for two years.
So, what do you think of these plans? The money the government make from it will go to fund breakfast clubs and sport (giving students an extra 30 minutes a day of physical activity).
Alex Renton wrote about the benefits of a sugar tax in March, saying: “Hundreds of millions will flow (if Osborne keeps his promise) into children’s sports, neatly answering those who still believe, against the evidence, that the best way to address the excess calories modern children eat is through exercise.”
However, critics complain that this should go hand in hand with other measures proposed by Public Health England: banning price-cutting promotions of junk food in supermarkets and restricting advertising of unhealthy food.
What’s more, others feel that the sugar tax in its current form is an ineffective measure. The British Medical Association said: “Although the government proposes targets for food companies to reduce the level of sugar in their products, the fact that these are voluntary and not backed up by regulation, renders them pointless. Targets are also needed to reduce levels of saturated fat and salt in products – these must be backed up by regulation.”
The British Soft Drinks Association is also unhappy the sugary drinks levy is going ahead. “Given the economic uncertainty our country now faces, we’re disappointed the government wishes to proceed with a measure which analysis suggests will cause thousands of job losses and yet fail to have a meaningful impact on levels of obesity,” said Gavin Partington, its director general. He added that manufacturers were already cutting the sugar content of their drinks.
What do you think? Share your views with us by joining our debate here from 12pm-2pm.
I think too much damage has already been done for a sugar tax to be effective now, so many people are just too used to eating sugary food for almost every meal of the day, it's pretty addictive stuff and I think most people will just respond angrily to a sugar tax.
I know there have been a couple of advertising campaigns aimed at children in recent years, maybe they haven't had the desired effect, but I think that encouraging people to live a more active lifestyle in general is the best thing to do.
Sugar is an issue though, no matter how you look at it, it's not rare for British children to have several decayed teeth pulled out at an early age now so something has to be done.