One of the questions that come to mind when thinking about obesity is, what does it actually mean to be obese? The NHS defines "obese", 'as a term used to describe a person who is overweight with a lot of body fat'. The method that is used to determine whether an individual is obese is called the BMI (body mass index), and it suggests whether a person is a healthy weight for their height. The only flaw of the BMI is that it does not always work at determining whether someone is obese or not, especially for people who are particularly muscular without excess fat, and this is because muscle weighs more than fat causing their BMI to be high. Therefore another method can be used in addition to the BMI and it is the measurement of waist circumference.
It can be caused by having a large calorie intake that is not balanced out with the participation in physical activity. This is the excess amount of energy gained from the calories that are not burned off and is therefore stored in the body as fat. As well as poor diet/lifestyle choices such as eating large amounts of processed or fast foods, especially in society today where fast food restaurants are situated on practically every neighbouring street or town. Eating out a lot, consuming too many sugary drinks or too much alcohol. Sometimes genetics or medical reasons could also be the cause. Obesity can cause serious complications with someone's health, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes or different types of cancer. It can affect one's mental health and overall quality of life.
The three main targets of the obesity strategy for Dartford, Swanley and Gravesham are the maintenance of healthy weight and prevention of overweight, maintenance and treatment of overweight and prevention of obesity and treatment of obesity. These targets would be achieved by 'ensuring all school children undertake the recommended 5x30 minutes of weekly exercise at moderate to vigorous integrity and ensure the minimum of 2 hours within the school curriculum','Develop and agree local protocols and pathways in Dartford, Gravesend and Swanley for treating adult obesity, including pharmacological treatments and surgery','raising public awareness' etc. Other options include providing healthier foods in school canteens and subscribing to schemes that promote a healthier lifestyle such as Change4Life or getting apps that are able to count the sugar content of certain products. Sugar taxing has also been suggested but has not taken effect as of yet.
Some of these links go into more depth:
https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/documents/s1164/Obesitystrategyfinal%20version.pdf
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/obesity/
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/mp-brands-childhood-obesity-figures-49303/
Princess Nwafor
Dartford Grammar School for Girls
