Stop All Obesity Studies And Act Now

Editor's Choice
Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Sports Medicine / Fitness
Article Date: 04 Jan 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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All obesity research, advice on diets, and food labeling should stop and the money saved should be used to create a reliable, integrated public transport network, says a letter in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), this week's issue.

How many more studies do we need to tell us that as a nation we are too fat? Nicole Lavery, a community adviser in Northern Ireland, wonders. Lavery believes we have now reached saturation point as far as studies on this subject go.

What is the point of telling people they need to cycle, walk, and swim more if the basic infrastructure is doing its best to stop people from cycling, walking and swimming?

Action is needed to force planners, developers, councils and local authorities to put an end to the present unsustainable, fat-making practices, such as building roads without cycle lanes, Lavery argues. This is much more important for preventing obesity than suggested health assessments, advice on diets, government guidelines and food labeling.

Lavery believes that the only way we will be able to tie our shoelaces and not need cardiopulmonary resuscitation by the age of 35 is to demand and build a functioning, cyclist and pedestrian centered, integrated public transport network.

Having seen how the UK government ha approached public transport during the last decades, Lavery believes there is "fat chance" that this will happen.

Letter: "Stop all further research - and act."
BMJ Volume 336, p 7
www.bmj.com

Written by - Christian Nordqvist
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