This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/25/overweight-diet-obesity-adviser-susan-jupp

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Tell overweight people to diet, says obesity adviser Tell overweight people to diet, says obesity adviser
(about 5 hours later)
People who are overweight may have to resign themselves to a lifetime of strategic dieting with the aim of once every five years losing at least 5% of their bodyweight, according to the government's chief obesity adviser.People who are overweight may have to resign themselves to a lifetime of strategic dieting with the aim of once every five years losing at least 5% of their bodyweight, according to the government's chief obesity adviser.
Susan Jebb, professor of diet and population health at Oxford University and chair of the government's responsibility deal with the food and drinks industry, says we need to do more to help people by changing the food environment, including removing tempting fattening foods from prominent positions in supermarkets. Susan Jebb, professor of diet and population health at Oxford University and chair of the government's responsibility deal with the food and drinks industry, says more needs to be done to help people by changing the food environment, including removing fattening foods from prominent positions in supermarkets.
But on an individual level, the two-thirds of the population who are overweight need to be told so by their GPs and encouraged to attempt to lose some of it for the sake of their health. On an individual level, the two-thirds of people who are overweight need to be encouraged by GPs to try to lose weight for the sake of their health, Jebb said.
"I think maybe we are a bit too reticent about telling them that maybe they should go on a diet. We have no qualms in telling people who are smokers that they ought to stop smoking, but we are reticent abut telling people to go on a diet. Part of the reticence comes out of the sense that many diets fail or, more accurately, many people who try to diet fail. But many people who try to give up smoking fail. It doesn't mean they shouldn't have another go," said Jebb in an interview for a book, The Shape We're In, published on Thursday by Guardian Faber. "I think maybe we are a bit too reticent about telling them that maybe they should go on a diet. We have no qualms in telling people who are smokers that they ought to stop smoking, but we are reticent abut telling people to go on a diet.
People who lose weight during a 12-week diet do not put it all back on in the following 12 weeks, according to Jebb. It is a gradual process over some years. "Part of the reticence comes out of the sense that many diets fail or, more accurately, many people who try to diet fail. But many people who try to give up smoking fail. It doesn't mean they shouldn't have another go," said Jebb in an interview for a book, The Shape We're In.
"If you think of obesity as a chronic relapsing condition, you could say well maybe every five years you have to diet for 12 weeks – I'm not sure that feels so untenable a position when you think of what we are ask people with other chronic diseases to do, whether they are injecting insulin multiple times a day to control their diabetes or whatever. Say, every five years you have to have a really concerted effort to lose 5% of your bodyweight. The book is published on Thursday by Guardian Faber, a day after nutrition experts held a briefing on the impact of sugar on health and obesity levels at the Science Media Centre in London, where they said families should put a jug of water on the table at mealtimes and stop buying colas and lemonade for their children.
"Maybe that's the price we've got to pay, which is not to say I'm condoning fasting, bingeing, dieting, regain – of course I'm not. Nobody sets out to lose weight and intends to put it back on. I'm just trying to manage people's expectations," she said. Sugar-sweetened drinks, including sports drinks which are extremely high in sugar, are a major contributor to the obesity epidemic and a particular problem for children, who consume more of them than adults, say experts.
Tom Sanders, professor of nutrition and dietetics at Kings College London, said: "If you put a jug of water on the table, people drink more water," he said. "We should make water universally available. You can have a small glass of fruit juice at breakfast, but just put water on the family dinner table – not pop."
Jebb said the best approach is for parents to keep sugary drinks off the meal table. "Choose something else - drink water. Once they have been weaned, they should be drinking water," she said.
According to Jebb, people who lose weight during a 12-week diet do not put it all back on in the following 12 weeks. It is a gradual process over some years.
She said: "If you think of obesity as a chronic relapsing condition, you could say well maybe every five years you have to diet for 12 weeks – I'm not sure that feels so untenable a position when you think of what we ask people with other chronic diseases to do, whether they are injecting insulin multiple times a day to control their diabetes or whatever. Say, every five years you have to have a really concerted effort to lose 5% of your bodyweight.
"Maybe that's the price we've got to pay, which is not to say I condone fasting, bingeing, dieting, regain – of course I'm not. Nobody sets out to lose weight and intends to put it back on. I'm just trying to manage people's expectations."
Jebb co-authored a study for Weight Watchers which was influential in a government decision to allow GPs to refer overweight patients to slimming clubs on the NHS. She is also paid for articles and appearances on Rosemary Conley TV.Jebb co-authored a study for Weight Watchers which was influential in a government decision to allow GPs to refer overweight patients to slimming clubs on the NHS. She is also paid for articles and appearances on Rosemary Conley TV.
She believes people need more help to avoid the temptations of unhealthy food that is available everywhere and heavily marketed. "It seems to me that we have really got to look at the environment and make it easier for people either to make the healthy choice or – what we say less often is stop undermining their efforts by thrusting the unhealthy option into their line of sight," she said. But she also believes people need more help to avoid the temptations of unhealthy food that is available everywhere and heavily marketed. "It seems to me that we have really got to look at the environment and make it easier for people either to make the healthy choice or – what we say less often is stop undermining their efforts by thrusting the unhealthy option into their line of sight," she said.
What if the end-aisle displays, so attractive to shoppers, only ever contained healthy options instead of colas, lemonade and crisps, she said. Those sorts of interventions might be more acceptable to people, she thought, than food taxes.
"I absolutely see we need a mix of those population-level, policy-led, top-down efforts to change our environment and we need individuals to recognise that they are going to have to do something themselves too. For me it's a mixture of changing the environment and upskilling people to cope with the environment in which they find themselves.""I absolutely see we need a mix of those population-level, policy-led, top-down efforts to change our environment and we need individuals to recognise that they are going to have to do something themselves too. For me it's a mixture of changing the environment and upskilling people to cope with the environment in which they find themselves."
The responsibility deal, which encourages food and drink companies to pledge to reduce the salt, fat and calories in their products, has been much criticised because it is voluntary. Companies are selective in their pledges and some – particularly smaller ones – do not sign up at all. The responsibility deal, which encourages food and drink companies to pledge to reduce the salt, fat and calories in products, has been much criticised because it is voluntary. Companies are selective in their pledges and some – particularly smaller ones – do not sign up at all.
Jebb recognises the weaknesses of the deal. "Every single food product carries calories. We really need every single food company to be looking at every single food product in its portfolio and saying, is this as good as it could be?" she said. But she believes it is better than most initiatives elsewhere. "The responsibility deal probably isn't enough, but it is a great deal more than other countries. What gets me out of bed is knowing we are doing not a bad job and better than most." Jebb recognises the weaknesses of the deal. "Every single food product carries calories. We really need every single food company to be looking at every single food product in its portfolio and saying, is this as good as it could be?" she said. But she believes it is better than most initiatives elsewhere. "The responsibility deal probably isn't enough, but it is a great deal more than in other countries. What gets me out of bed is knowing we are doing not a bad job and better than most," she said.
On Wednesday, nutrition experts held a briefing on the impact of sugar on health and obesity levels at the Science Media Centre in London, where they said families should put a jug of water on the table at mealtimes and stop buying colas and lemonade for their children. New scientific guidance on carbohydrates in the diet, including sugar, is expected to be issued by the government's advisory committee on nutrition on Thursday.
Sugar-sweetened drinks, including sports drinks which are extremely high in sugar, are a major contributor to the obesity epidemic and a particular problem for children, who consume more of them than adults, say experts. The Shape We're In: How Junk Food and Diets Are Shortening Our Lives, by Sarah Boseley is published today by Guardian Faber at £12.99. To order a copy for £8.99, visit theguardian.com/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846
Tom Sanders, professor of nutrition and dietetics at Kings College London, said: "If you put a jug of water on the table, people drink more water," he said. "We should make water universally available. You can have a small glass of fruit juice at breakfast, but just put water on the family dinner table - not pop."
New scientific guidance on carbohydrates including sugar in the diet is expected to be issued by the government's advisory committee on nutrition on Thursday.