GOVERNMENT MUST TACKLE TICKING TIMEBOMB OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Written by Ross Finnie on Mon 25th Jan 2010

Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson Ross Finnie has written to the Scottish Government asking them to look at new ways to tackle the ticking time-bomb of childhood obesity.

Researchers in England are trialling a plate weighing device that tracks how quickly children eat and warns them if they're eating too fast, a habit which experts have linked to weight gain.

Commenting, Mr Finnie said:

"Childhood obesity is a ticking timebomb. Recent figures show that a fifth of P1 children are overweight and eight per cent are obese.

"The Government's top priorities should be supporting children to get more active and eat a better diet. But in addition to sorting out the mess they've made of the two hour P.E target, Ministers might want to consider thinking 'outside the box'.

"English researchers believe that this plate weighing device can help children battle obesity. While it won't be the single magic bullet to solve childhood obesity, this innovative thinking needs to be considered."

Ends.

Notes to Editors:

More information about the plate weighing device can be found here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8440193.stm

The text of Mr Finnie's letter to the Health Secretary is below:

Dear Nicola,

I write to enquire as to whether the Scottish Government is aware of work that has been done on measuring the speed at which young people eat and the link to young people with obesity being better able to lose weight. .

While Liberal Democrats are clear that the top priorities must be supporting children to get more active - by ensuring that every school child receives two hours of PE per week - and tackling poor diets, we are also interested in pursuing other innovative approaches to this problem.

I was, therefore, interested in a recent article about a plate weighing device which can track how quickly an individual eats a meal and warns them if they are eating too fast; a habit which experts have linked to weight gain. It has been reported in the BMJ that a trial has shown promising results in terms of the children involved weighing less after 12 months. While such developments cannot be expected to provide a single magic bullet, the seriousness of the current situation facing Scotland surely warrants consideration of this kind of research innovation.

I'd be grateful if you could tell me whether the Scottish Government Health Directorate is involved in monitoring and/or supporting similar research with a view to piloting this kind of inventive product in Scotland.

Yours sincerely

Ross Finnie

Scottish Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson