Failing the Nation’s Children in Obesity Battle

By Imago Group
Monday 12 February, 2007

A recently published major research paper, tracking childhood obesity levels over the last century, has led its author, internationally respected health and fitness expert Prof Kevin Norton of Sport Knowledge Australia (SKA), to conclude that recent measures to combat obesity are having no measurable impact.

SYDNEY – Based upon his recent research commissioned by Sport Knowledge Australia (SKA), Prof Kevin Norton, says that an array of strategies and programmes designed to stem the rate of obesity in Australian children have failed.

Prof Norton has called for a simplified approach to childhood obesity and drastically increased government funding levels, “The one and only area where we know that we can reach and influence most of our children is in schools,” says Prof Norton.

“Dietary advice has gone largely ignored and our power to influence what children eat has limitations.

“Organisations and parental engagement are a driving force in physical activity and sport participation but there are barriers such as cost and competing sedentary leisure-time interests.

“We have to be smarter in addressing this issue and school-based, innovative, fun, fitness programmes have enormous long-term potential to counter the ill-effects of obesity. Research shows that even if people are obese, if they are fit, the risks of illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease are dramatically reduced.

“Right now all levels of government are doing little more than tinkering in terms of the financial resources available to tackle the problem. Tens of millions of dollars is a lot of money but when spent addressing this issue it is minuscule and is not having any measurable impact on the obesity crisis.

“We need to spend closer to $1 billion to make positive change.

“Sadly, the attitude is comparable to Al Gore’s ‘inconvenient truth’. The government and community are simply not facing up to the devastation that childhood obesity will cause, and is causing.

“There is a certain apathy which has us feeling re-assured by increased longevity. What is being entirely missed is that even though we are living longer, more and more years of our lives are spent with disabilities and chronic illness.

“As a scientist I have participated in numerous summits and conferences in an effort to pull key scientific minds, politicians, bureaucrats, doctors and community leaders together to develop and implement a solution. Time and time again, we miss the point and unlike the ice-caps, the ice-creams are getting bigger.”

Please click here to download a copy of Prof Norton’s full article titled, “Descriptive Epidemiology of Childhood Overweight and Obesity in Australia: 1901-2003”

Please click here to download the fact sheet.

ABOUT SKA: Launched in June 2005 with a Federal Government grant, SKA is jointly owned by the University of Sydney, University of Technology, Sydney and the Sydney Olympic Park Authority. SKA assists the continued global growth of the sports industry, helping more communities around the world to benefit from Australia’s strong sporting culture. Since its launch, SKA has delivered sport management programmes at the prestigious Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, run facility management courses in China and various seminars and courses in Australia on topics as diverse as player valuation strategies, genetic doping in sport, player welfare, executive sport management, elite sport coaching, major event management and facility management.

ATTENTION EDITORS AND PRODUCERS: Prof Kevin Norton is available for interview by contacting – The Imago Group - Jenny Muir Tel: +61 2 9331 7222 / Mobile 0415 401 200.