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Separate family meals breed obesity
– Reported, 07 September 2012
An absence of family dinners and an obsession with fast food have led to a culture of obesity in Britain that has given it the highest proportion of overweight poor people in Europe, a study has concluded.
An analysis published in The Lancet found that 29 per cent of poorly educated women in England and 27 per cent of men are obese.
It gives England the fattest proportion of people in Europe from this background more than twice as many as Italy, Portugal, Spain and Ireland.
Britains culture of fast food, poor diet and lack of family dinners, particularly among people on lower incomes, was to blame, said experts.
The report showed wide health inequalities across Europe and warned that these would increase due to the economic climate.
Britain also has one of the higher rates of child poverty with 21 per cent of children living in households earning less than 60 per cent of the average income. This is higher than in some Eastern European countries including Hungary and Estonia.
Prof Peter Goldblatt, of the Institute of Health Equity at University College London, said: Britains obesity problem is well documented, but the worse off you are, the more likely you are to be obese.
One in eight children entering school in the most deprived areas is obese, compared to one in 16 in the richest.
The difference increases through secondary school into adulthood.
He said Britain had a culture of obesity. In southern Europe, in particular, there is less fast food and more family dinners. They also have a generally healthy diet, containing a lot of fruit and vegetables.
The review of previous research commissioned by the World Health Organisation warned that health inequalities result in significant social and economic costs and will worsen unless the issue is made a main priority of governments.
Prof Sir Michael Marmot, who led the study, said: Taking action to reduce inequities in the social determinants of health would both improve the prospects for health and bring wider social and political benefits that enable people to achieve their capabilities.
Central to the reports recommendations is recognising that health is largely determined by social factors including employment, education and welfare systems.
Prof Marmot said: While health ministers clearly have an important role in ensuring access to high quality health services, they must also take a leadership role in advancing the case that health is an outcome of policies pursued in other areas.
A high-fat diet could damage the hypothalamus, the brain region that controls energy and appetite and could explain why overweight people struggle to slim down, said researchers at the British Science Festival.
Changes in the brain due to eating too much saturated fat and sugar may cause people to burn less energy, leading to obesity, and limit their control of their appetite, said scientists at Aberdeen University who conducted a study on mice.
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