Researchers call for urgent action to tackle obesity epidemic

There is an urgent need for new dietary approaches and treatments to tackle the global health crisis of obesity in children and adults say experts. There is an urgent need for new dietary approaches and treatments to tackle the global health crisis of obesity in children and adults say Imperial experts. The worldwide prevalence of obesity has nearly tripled between 1975 and 2016 and experts say that more needs to be done to make healthy, nutritious food more available at home and school, especially in poor families and communities. Regulations and taxes to protect children from unhealthy foods are also needed Professors Majid Ezzati, from the School of Public Health, and Tricia Tan, Consultant in metabolic medicine, endocrinology and diabetes at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, presented their research on obesity at the recent Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC) seminar. In a packed lecture theatre at Hammersmith Hospital, Professor Ezzati outlined that the number of obese children and adolescents (aged 5 to 19 years) worldwide has risen tenfold in the past four decades. If current trends continue, more children and adolescents will be obese than moderately or severely underweight by 2022. Obese children are at risk of serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes, stroke and certain types of cancers including breast cancer.