Just a few days ago, a group of specialists who call themselves Action on Sugar suggested to the UK government a special seven-point plan meant to discourage children from consuming soft drinks and foods with high levels of sugar. The Department of Health admitted the problem and promised to consider those recommendations.

It definitely should as the group's report says one in five of 10-11 year old Britons suffer from obesity, blaming the catastrophic situation on the additional amounts of fat and sugar found in the popular highly processed junk foods. Talking about obesity, whether it touches children or adults, isn't easy, but in order to fight the rapid spread of the condition over the British population, we need to consider the phenomenon from multiple perspectives.

Children Obesity

Today it's hard to imagine a child who would choose a salad over a hamburger with french fries. It is, however, our job as parents to pick the right food – we should never underestimate the impact of bad nutrition on the future health of our kids. What are the consequences of obesity in children? This is perhaps best explained by Professor Graham MacGregor, chairman of Action on Sugar, who warns: “Obesity in children leads to the premature development of cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart attacks and heart failure, which are the commonest cause of death and disability in the UK.”

But that's not all. Obesity promotes the future development of Type II Diabetes, which is responsible for many health complications – from the the risk of cardiovascular diseases and blindness to renal dialysis and amputation of the lower limbs. These problems are really expensive to manage, and it's more likely than not that the ensuing costs will affect the NHS, especially if the rapid increase in obesity and Type II Diabetes is not stopped immediately.

What Professor MacGregor claims we need is a radical change in the food environment. "The UK requires the implementation of this coherent strategy, starting by setting incremental sugar reduction targets for soft drinks this summer. No delays, no excuses," he says.

The group's cardiologist and science director, Dr Aseem Malhotra, points out the fault of the media in creating a tantalizing image of junk food. "It is really quite shameful that the food industry continues to spend billions in junk food advertising targeting children, the most vulnerable members of society. They even manage to associate sugary products with sport,” he said.

Action on Sugar particularly targeted the fact that big sports event are often sponsored by companies that produce processed foods. "Physical activity has a multitude of benefits but a child doing an hour of PE every day would be putting all to waste if they ended up gorging on a burger and chips and a packet of crisps washed down with a sugary drink. One has to run half a marathon to burn off those calories. It's time to bust the myth of physical activity and obesity and dissociate junk food and sport," added Dr. Malhotra. (Source: theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/22/sugar-tax-childhood-obesity-soft-drinks-junk-food).

Among the group's suggestions to change the alimentary environment in the UK that they claim will benefit the future generations of Britons, we find, for instance:

1. Reducing the amount of added sugars by 40% until 2020
2. Banning all forms of targeted advertising of processed foods and drinks to children
3. Banning junk food sports events sponsorships
4. Reducing fat by 15% in ultra-processed foods by 2020
5. Making processed foods and sweetened soft drinks less available and reduce the portion sizes
6. Introducing a sugar tax to discourage drinking of soft drinks
7. Moving the responsibility for nutrition from the Department of Health to an independent agency

Adult Obesity

Nearly one third of the world's population is obese – among them many citizens of the UK. Children obesity is something everyone is concerned about, adult obesity – slightly less so, maybe due to the fact that adults are theoretically responsible about the choices they make, including their nutrition. The situation, however, calls for an intervention – according to the Global Burden of Disease study, published recently in the Lancet medical journal, 67% of men and 57% of women are either overweight or obese. (Source: thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)60460-8/abstract).

Dr Christopher Murray, the director of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in Seattle and co-founder of the Global Burden of Disease study says: "In the last three decades, not one country has achieved success in reducing obesity rates, and we expect obesity to rise steadily as incomes rise in low- and middle-income countries in particular, unless urgent steps are taken to address this public health crisis." Action on Sugar might be one of those steps, but it's a small one and it targets only children.

When talking about adults, we must also consider those that fit into the category between childhood and adulthood – the teenagers. The Lancet study showed that more girls under 20 years of age are obese in the UK than in any other country in Western Europe – the striking figure of 29.9% should be enough to get us worried.

Public Health England member, Professor John Newton confirms our worries. "The challenge of obesity is at the heart of current debate about the health of the nation and we are working closely with local authorities, the NHS and the voluntary and community sector to tackle this complex issue,” he said. (Source: telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10860902/Obesity-among-British-girls-highest-in-western-Europe.html).

The issue is indeed a complex one and, when we consider the situations and costs generated by the escalation of obesity – with hospitals having to buy special equipment to handle their obese patients, for instance (Source: telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10901487/Hospitals-buy-special-fridges-to-store-overweight-bodies-as-obesity-crisis-escalates.html) – the problem becomes a pressing one.

Strategies of fighting obesity must be adapted to their targets – children, teenagers and adult men and women will require different measures and forms of support. Education should make a part of every effort directed at children and teenagers, women might benefit most from targeted support groups and collective weight programs. What about men?

The Male Perspective

Truth be told, there are more obese men than women in the UK. Why is that so? Professor Alison Avenell from the Health Services Research unit at the University of Aberdeen explains: "More men than women are overweight or obese in the UK. But men are less likely to see their weight as a problem and engage with weight-loss services, even though obesity increases the risk of many serious illnesses. This could be because dieting and weight-loss programmes are perceived as being feminine activities.”

A recent study conducted by researchers from the universities of Aberdeen, Stirling and Bournemouth found that, in their fight with obesity, men benefit most from a humorous and 'business-like' approach. This, and the support of other men seem to be key in creating the right psychological environment for substantial and long-lasting weight loss.

The study also found out that, while less men enroll to weight programs, once they do, they are more persistent than women. Researchers further suggest that for maximum efficiency weight programs need to be tailored according to gender.

Professor Avenell added: "While more research is needed into the effectiveness of new approaches to engage men with weight-loss, our findings suggest that men should be offered the opportunity to attend weight loss programmes that are different to programmes which are mainly attended by women." (Source: bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-27815394)

Whether it's men or women, teenagers or children, the subject of obesity is an important one. Tackling this problem in the right way with long-term targeted social campaigns and the creation of appropriate food cultures and fashions, the UK government might be able ensure that the increase in obesity will lose its power and that the British population with live longer and healthier lives.