Laziness bad habits explain obesity crisis

Monday, 10 August 2009 12:00 AM

By Alex Stevenson

Britain has fallen into a "vicious circle of laziness" despite a £75 million government campaign to check rising obesity levels, according to a report out today.

Research from independent healthcare charity the Nuffield Trust revealed what it claims are staggering levels of laziness among modern Brits.

Ministers have repeatedly urged people to make the most of daily exercise opportunities. But 36 per cent of respondents said they would not bother running to catch a bus, 15 per cent said they would rather watch a boring TV programme than get up to change the channel and 52 per cent of dog-owners said they were too lazy to bother taking their pet for a walk.

"Ready-meals, remote controls and even internet shopping are all contributing to a dangerously lazy and idle Britain," the Nuffield Trust's medical director Sarah Dauncey warned.

"The nation has fallen into a vicious circle of laziness that we must put a stop to."

The government's blue-skies thinktank Foresight has warned that if no action is taken 60 per cent of men, 50 per cent of women and 25 per cent of children will be obese by 2050.

It has already spent millions on anti-obesity programmes, launching a cross-government strategy, Healthy Weight Healthy Lives, in January 2008. £372 million of funding was backed by a £75 million social marketing programme.

Judging by the results of today's survey, these efforts do not appear to have had much impact.

Two-thirds of parents said they were too tired to play with their children. It is "no wonder" one in six children are classified as obese before they start school, the report stated.

"People need to get fitter, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of their families, friends, and evidently their pets, too," Dr Dancey added.

"If we don't start to take control of this problem, a whole generation will become too unfit to perform even the most rudimentary of tasks."

The latest government figures suggest that in 2007 15.4 per cent of children aged two to ten in England were obese, an increase on 2006.

Overall obesity, which increases the risk of a range of diseases including type two diabetes, heart disease and nearly half of all cancers, costs the NHS an estimated £4.2 million at present. This bill is expected to double by 2050.

The Nuffield Trust survey's top ten laziest cities, judged by the percentage who said they did not get enough exercise, are:

1 - Glasgow (75 per cent)
2 - Birmingham (67 per cent)
3 - Southampton (67 per cent)
4 - London (66 per cent)
5 - Bristol (64 per cent)
6 - Leeds (62 per cent)
7 - Newcastle (62 per cent)
8 - Norwich (60 per cent)
9 - Manchester (59 per cent)
10 - Cardiff (42 per cent)

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• health
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• obesity
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• public health