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Doctors hit out at Government’s obesity strategy as they launch campaign to tackle Britain’s junk food problem

Doctors have hit out at the Coalition’s obesity strategy today as they launched a campaign to tackle Britain’s junk food problem.

The body that represents every doctor in the country said there was a ‘huge crisis waiting to happen’ because measures to tackle the fat problem are failing.

A quarter of women (24 per cent) and just over a fifth of men (22 per cent) in the UK are now classed as obese – the highest in Europe.

By 2030, experts predict that the problem will have ballooned – with 48 per cent of men and 43 per cent of women obese.

The three-month investigation by the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges will look at the action individuals can take – as well as the impact of advertising and sponsorship.

They are demanding a ban on McDonalds advertising at major sporting events like the Olympics and want the Government to consider bringing in a ‘fat tax’ on the most unhealthy foods.

They also want fast food free zones around schools to be brought in.

The campaign will be chaired by Professor Terence Stephenson, vice-chairman of the AoMRC and president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

He said the campaign would see medical professionals coming together in an unprecedented way.

Our starting point is the collective desire to ensure the healthcare profession is doing all it can to detect, treat, manage – and ultimately prevent – obesity.‘It is unprecedented that the medical royal colleges and faculties have come together on such a high-profile public health issue.’In an apparent attack on the Coalition, he said that current strategies to tackle obesity were not working.
He added: ‘We recognise the huge crisis waiting to happen and believe that current strategies to reduce obesity are failing to have a significant impact.’He added: ‘Speaking with one voice we have a more of a chance of preventing generation after generation falling victim to obesity-related illnesses and death.’One in three children are overweight or obese by the age of nine.

The campaign will seek the views of healthcare professionals, local authorities, education providers, charities, campaign groups and the public, in the form of written and oral evidence.

It’s first report will be published later this year and will offer recommendations for how the medical profession, individuals, organisations and the government can reduce obesity levels.

Professor Sir Neil Douglas, chairman of the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges, said: ‘This won’t be just another report that sits on the shelf and gathers dust; it will form the bedrock of our ongoing campaigning activity.

‘We are absolutely determined to push for whatever changes need to happen to make real progress in tackling – which is why we’re casting the net wide to get input from a range of organisations and individuals.

The Academy of Royal Medical Colleges represents all surgeons, psychiatrists, paediatricians and GPs.

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