Comments on: Tessa Richards: Schools and health—could do better http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2012/06/13/tessa-richards-schools-and-heath-could-do-better/ Just another blogs.bmj.com weblog Sun, 10 Feb 2013 15:13:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Jacky Chambers http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2012/06/13/tessa-richards-schools-and-heath-could-do-better/#comment-15869 Jacky Chambers Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:06:00 +0000 http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/?p=17918#comment-15869 Yes, obesity is now a serious global public health problem with tragic consequences for young people. This pandemic was predicted more than 30 years ago by Caroline Walker, a public health nutritionist who campaigned vigorously to change the food served to children and young people in our schools and by the food industry – and now has major costs and consequences for the health service including maternity care. Just to clarify the facts I gave on Type 2 diabetes and gastric banding in children. In 2004 around 1400 children were treated for Type 2 diabetes and in 2012, a 14 year old child in Birmingham was offered a gastric band procedure by a private weight loss firm, even though this procedure is not recommended in NICE guidance. 

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2012/02/29/children-as-young-as-14-offered-gastric-band-surgery-by-birmingham-weight-loss-company-97319-30426542/
http://www.nice.org.uk/usingguidance/commissioningguides/bariatric/SpecifyingABariatricSurgicalService.jsp

What we need are internationally agreed policy measures to regulate the food and catering industry if we are to tackle this global problem.  
Dr Jacky Chambers OBE
 

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