Yes, the whole report is a load of bureaucratic taxpayer funded gobbledygook that will do about as much for reducing childhood obesity as the truancy campaign did (at exorbitant cost) to reduce truancy (i.e. the problem got worse).
At least it keeps the sort of idiots who write this stuff off the streets where they could cause real harm (although I admit it's an expensive way to do this).
The Times graphic you referred to is, incidentally lifted directly from the report (albeit somebody has coloured it in with crayons).
But let's be clear about obesity (and here I disagree with Crippen again) - it is more a symptom than a cause. Although obesity itself is a risk factor in poor health, it is not a particularly large risk factor. It is the lifestyle factors that usually cause it that are the real risks, i.e. lack of exercise and a deficient diet (as opposed to simply too much diet). It is possible to be fit, have a healthy diet but be obese because you eat too much. This isn't ideal, but it puts you at far less risk than a couch potato who exists on crisps and chocolate but is no more obese. So Crippen's advice to "eat less" really misses the most important points. He should really say, exercise more and see a nutritionist, not "eat less", as following this advice will do only a very limited amount to improve health.
Unfortunately, doctors aren't trained in nutrition or exercise, so they aren't experts in this area.
Simple solution - make every piece of paper in Whitehall about child obesity be carried desk-to-desk by a plump child...
Commenting by HaloScan
