'obesity Crisis' Exaggerated: Academic
Illawarra Mercury
Friday January 26, 2007
ACADEMICS from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom met at the University of Wollongong yesterday to discuss alternative approaches to childhood health issues, particularly a perceived national obsession with body weight.
Professor Jan Wright from the University's Faculty of Education rejected the notion of there being an "obesity crisis" in Australia, suggesting taxpayer money being directed at the issue could be better spent elsewhere."Australia has been preoccupied with the body for some time, and it is a topic that has become very appealing to the media," Prof Wright said."But it is unhealthy for children and can have a negative impact on their emotional wellbeing. Family income and ethnicity are much stronger indicators of health than weight."Prof Wright said children should not have to think of their food and exercise simply in terms of calories consumed and burned.Dr Michael Gard, a fellow education academic who co-authored with Prof Wright a book on contemporary attitudes to body shape, said obesity was not the "drop everything crisis" it had been made out to be.Dr Gard said a lot of money had been spent making people feel more guilty."We need a sense of perspective on this. We certainly don't think it's a good idea for children to get more anxious about what they eat or how big they are." Prof Wright said the answer lay in a holistic approach to the issue, with greater dialogue between scientists and social scientists.Government activityIN 2006 the Queensland Government convened an obesity summit, with Premier Peter Beattie pledging $21 million over three years to help Queenslanders "improve their eating and exercise habits".- This followed a NSW Childhood Obesity Summit in 2002 which brought together health experts, parliamentary representatives, parents and teachers.- In 2005 the Federal Government announced funding of $3 million for a national nutrition data initiative.
© 2007 Illawarra Mercury