Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Whilst I have been a vocal supporter in Parliament of the need to tackle childhood obesity, I am by no means a shining example. My childhood was fuelled by sugar and E numbers that had me running around convinced that one day I would be a professional cricketer, or the next Gary Lineker, inspired by whatever sport happened to be on the telly. The year was 1986 and politicians hadn?t given a second thought to Frosties.
Listening to Andy Burnham this weekend (over my bowl of Frosties), it occurred to me that, whilst I ate additives that would probably strip paint and enough sugar to power a small town, I was never overweight.
Politicians are missing the point on childhood obesity. The problem cannot be attributed to diet alone. When I was young, housing estates were not the sprawling concrete jungles that they often are now, but afforded their residents access to green open space. Such open space is vital for young families, especially as gardens get smaller. It would be easy to tweak our planning framework to ensure access to safe, accessible open space so that children can have the kind of active outdoor lifestyle that my generation took for granted.
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/01/solve-childhood-obesity-with-nudging-not-nannying/
Listening to Andy Burnham this weekend (over my bowl of Frosties), it occurred to me that, whilst I ate additives that would probably strip paint and enough sugar to power a small town, I was never overweight.
Politicians are missing the point on childhood obesity. The problem cannot be attributed to diet alone. When I was young, housing estates were not the sprawling concrete jungles that they often are now, but afforded their residents access to green open space. Such open space is vital for young families, especially as gardens get smaller. It would be easy to tweak our planning framework to ensure access to safe, accessible open space so that children can have the kind of active outdoor lifestyle that my generation took for granted.
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/01/solve-childhood-obesity-with-nudging-not-nannying/