Give children smaller plates at mealtimes to restrict their food and cut obesity, says top health official
- Public Health England chief Duncan Selbie gives stark warning to parents
- The number of people with diabetes could treble in 20 years, he says
- He also hints at measures to tackle smoking in the home in front of children
Give your children their dinner on smaller plates to stop them from getting too fat, a top public official has said.
Duncan Selbie, head of Public Health England, warned that unless young people ate less and exercised more millions would suffer from poor health adults.
More than a third of schoolchildren in year six now rank as overweight, according to official statistics, and the number of people with diabetes in Britain could treble in the next 20 years, warned Mr Selbie.
Scale-busting: A health chief says giving children smaller plates at mealtimes would help to tackle obesity
He told the Daily Telegraph he learned a simple example of how to stop children getting fat from a Manchester mother who had been raised on the idea that one should always clear one's plate.
'The child (her son) was overweight at school, and it was a definite problem,' he said.
'The prescription was that they brought them smaller plates. The child was back on track: he went on to be ahead of the class.'
Just last month official figures showed nearly one in 10 four to five-year-olds starting school in England were obese, rising to almost one in five among youngsters getting ready to start secondary.
The growing obesity crisis among the nation's children has led to school uniform suppliers stocking XXXXXXXXL trousers with 50 inch waistlines to meet demand.
Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said this week that their research shows that in the next 15-20 years 50 per cent of the entire UK population will be overweight.
He said: 'It really is an an appalling situation we find ourselves in and very disturbing that we are seeing school uniforms going up to waist sizes of 50 inches.
'Unfortunately, a significant amount of adults do not eat properly and this is passed down to their children.
'Something drastic needs to be done to combat this.'
'Adults don't eat properly and pass this on to their children': Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said this week that research
shows that in the next 15-20 years 50 per cent of the UK population will be overweight
The Health and Social Care Information Centre said 45.1million prescription items - including insulin, anti-diabetic drugs and monitoring devices for the condition - were handed out to patients in England last year.
That is a more than 50 per cent rise on the number prescribed in 2005/6.
In a wide-ranging interview Mr Selbie also told the Telegraph minimum pricing for alcohol should be introduced and more fizzy drinks should be made sugar-free.
He praised the bans introduced on smoking in public places and in cars with children on board, but added that it is likely smoking in the home in front of children will be looked at next.
Referring to the rise in cases of tuberculosis, Mr Selbie said it was because the UK is such an 'open nation'.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk
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