---

Combating Obesity

Not only the scale of the problem—the hon. Member for North-East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) set out the statistics well—but the speed and trajectory at which it is becoming a major disaster for Britain and the wider world are shocking. My friend Dr. David Haslam of the National Obesity Forum spoke of a time bomb; he said that there is no obesity time bomb because it has already exploded and that we are now suffering its aftermath. We are dealing with the effects of a disaster. We have already heard about the effects of obesity, including the huge increase in diabetes. An obese person has approximately 30 times the risk of diabetes compared with somebody of normal weight. As we all know, diabetes can significantly shorten life; it causes heart disease, strokes and vascular problems, not to mention the damage to eyes, nerves and kidneys. It is a multi-system disorder, which can cause significant problems. Type 2 diabetes is almost exclusively related to obesity. It is unusual to find somebody who is not obese with type 2 diabetes—the link is that great. We have also heard about the link between obesity and cancer. Several cancers are directly related to obesity, as are heart disease and degenerative diseases such as arthritis. Obesity shortens life and causes misery. It has been estimated that obesity can knock nine years off life. I do not exaggerate when I say that, if the trend continues, a generation of young people will pre-decease their parents. That would be the first time in the civilised world that a generation had pre-deceased its parents through non-war-related effects. The position is that serious. We have heard about the reasons for the increase in obesity. We eat far more refined food, which, almost by definition, is more calorie-dense than non-refined food. For example, a bag of crisps has a far higher calorie density than a pile of mashed potato. People experience more problems because they eat more processed food. One of the big debates about obesity is whether calorie intake, lack of exercise or a combination of both causes it. The obvious answer is that it is a combination of both. However, a misleading statement that we often hear from several quarters is that people are not eating more than they did. People say that because they completely ignore food that is eaten outside the home.