Citerank: (15) 352388Advertising and marketing reinforce new eating patterns Marketing and advertising instil and reinforce new cultural norms about what (e.g. fast food) and how to eat (e.g. snacking), and how much (e.g. larger portions) to eat.555CD992, 352390Industrial way of life is obesogenicRapid societal changes—for example, in food production, motorised transport and work/home lifestyle patterns—have placed human physiology (which has evolved to cope with an under-supply of food and high energy expenditure) under new stresses, and revealed an underlying genetic tendency to accumulate and conserve energy (i.e. gain weight) in a high proportion of the population. In this sense, obesity can be construed as a normal physiological response to an abnormal environment.555CD992, 368175Targeting advertising at childrenAdvertising and other marketing approaches are targeted at children and other vulnerable groups.62C78C9A, 370364Portions have grown larger555CD992, 370365Unhealthier foods are engineered to be tastierFood scientists have become adept at understanding how our brains respond to, and react to, and crave tastes, smells and textures, and have become adept at engineering and processing foods to take advantage of that – largely by adding lots of salt, sugar and fat – and to make these foods almost irresistible to our brains.555CD992, 370366Ready-to-eat food is more readily availableReady-to-eat food is increasingly available in industrial societies 24-hours a day and in places where food wasn't traditionally available (such as pharmacies and petrol stations), as well as via the growing number of fast food restaurants and coffee shops.555CD992, 371727Growth in restaurants and dining outThe restaurant industry has almost doubled its share of every dollar spent on food in the United States over the last 60 years from 25% in 1955 to 47% today. Much of this growth reflects the expansion in fast food restaurants (a trend observed in other countries including the UK).648CC79C, 399889Industrial way of life is obesogenicRapid societal changes—for example, in food production, motorised transport and work/home lifestyle patterns—have placed human physiology (which has evolved to cope with an under-supply of food and high energy expenditure) under new stresses, and revealed an underlying genetic tendency to accumulate and conserve energy (i.e. gain weight) in a high proportion of the population. In this sense, obesity can be construed as a normal physiological response to an abnormal environment.555CD992, 399917Advertising and marketing reinforce new eating patterns Marketing and advertising instil and reinforce new cultural norms about what (e.g. fast food) and how to eat (e.g. snacking), and how much (e.g. larger portions) to eat.555CD992, 399918Unhealthy foods are cheaper and getting cheaper555CD992, 399919Portions have grown larger555CD992, 399920Unhealthier foods are engineered to be tastierFood scientists have become adept at understanding how our brains respond to, and react to, and crave tastes, smells and textures, and have become adept at engineering and processing foods to take advantage of that – largely by adding lots of salt, sugar and fat – and to make these foods almost irresistible to our brains.555CD992, 399921Ready-to-eat food is more readily availableReady-to-eat food is increasingly available in industrial societies 24-hours a day and in places where food wasn't traditionally available (such as pharmacies and petrol stations), as well as via the growing number of fast food restaurants and coffee shops.555CD992, 399945Targeting advertising at childrenAdvertising and other marketing approaches are targeted at children and other vulnerable groups.62C78C9A, 399947Growth in restaurants and dining outThe restaurant industry has almost doubled its share of every dollar spent on food in the United States over the last 60 years from 25% in 1955 to 47% today. Much of this growth reflects the expansion in fast food restaurants (a trend observed in other countries including the UK).648CC79C

The present report has been written to focus attention on the issue and to urge policy-makers to consider taking action before it is too late. Specifically, the report:

• reviews the measurement of obesity in young people and the need to agree on standardized methods for assessing children and adolescents, and to compare populations and monitor trends;

• reviews the global and regional trends in childhood obesity and overweight and the implications of these trends for understanding the factors that underlie childhood obesity;

• notes the increased risk of health problems that obese children and adolescents are likely to experience and examines the associated costs;

• considers the treatment and management options and their effectiveness for controlling childhood obesity;

• emphasizes the need for prevention as the only feasible solution for developed and developing countries alike.

Citerank: (19) 348770Tackling obesityMany policy interventions have been suggested to address the obesity crisis across multiple studies—and indeed many such measures have been implemented, and are being implemented, now. There's recognition too that these interventions need to be part of a coherent and comprehensive whole systems strategy [4]; with some grounds for optimism that such an approach has the potential to accomplish a significant reduction in the prevalence of obesity in the UK across the next decade. [2]565CA4D9, 351042Strategies of some companies are fuelling the obesity crisisSome companies and industries are fuelling the obesity crisis, through a variety of strategies that prioritise profitability and corporate brand value over public health, and, in the process, externalise significant costs.555CD992, 352528Subsidising the production of sugar and fatGovernments are subsidising production of fat and sugar compared with micronutrient-rich foods.555CD992, 352531Overseeing a decline in physical activitySuccessive governments have overseen a decline of physical activity (e.g. due to policies on transport, public spaces, and sports facilities).555CD992, 366559Encourage individuals and families to make healthier choices565CA4D9, 366896WHO's total budget is less than half the marketing budget of McDonaldsMcDonald’s and Coca-Cola’s marketing budgets are each twice the World Health Organization’s full-year budget.1198CE71, 366897Surgical and pharmaceutical solutions don't resolve societal problemsThere is a danger of searching for pharmaceutical or bariatric solutions; as technological solutions are unlikely to resolve societal problems – at best, they are a ‘sticking plaster’.13EF597B, 368179Production and marketing choices favour profit over diet optimisationDecisions made by many food and beverage companies tend to be shaped more by the immediate corporate financial interests of shareholders (and the associated interests of corporate officers) rather than the social goal of achieving optimal human diets; as reflected in, for example, the production and marketing a high volume of low-cost, highly processed foods that are rich in sugar, salt, and saturated fats.555CD992, 373987Genetic susceptibility to an obesogenic environmentRoughly 70 percent of obesity risk is genetically inherited; however, this genetic inheritance is best understood as a susceptibility to a fattening environment––i.e. in a healthy environment, genes alone do not usually cause obesity: in an unhealthy environment, genetically susceptible people become obese, while others remain lean because they are not genetically susceptible. [1]555CD992, 399546Tackling obesityMany policy interventions have been suggested to address the obesity crisis across multiple studies—and indeed many such measures have been implemented, and are being implemented, now. There's recognition too that these interventions need to be part of a coherent and comprehensive whole systems strategy [4]; with some grounds for optimism that such an approach has the potential to accomplish a significant reduction in the prevalence of obesity in the UK across the next decade. [2]565CA4D9, 399576Encourage individuals and families to make healthier choices565CA4D9, 399702Surgical and pharmaceutical solutions don't resolve societal problemsThere is a danger of searching for pharmaceutical or bariatric solutions; as technological solutions are unlikely to resolve societal problems – at best, they are a ‘sticking plaster’.13EF597B, 399888Strategies of some companies are fuelling the obesity crisisSome companies and industries are fuelling the obesity crisis, through a variety of strategies that prioritise profitability and corporate brand value over public health, and, in the process, externalise significant costs.555CD992, 399893Genetic susceptibility to an obesogenic environmentRoughly 70 percent of obesity risk is genetically inherited; however, this genetic inheritance is best understood as a susceptibility to a fattening environment––i.e. in a healthy environment, genes alone do not usually cause obesity: in an unhealthy environment, genetically susceptible people become obese, while others remain lean because they are not genetically susceptible. [1]555CD992, 399895Production and marketing choices favour profit over diet optimisationDecisions made by many food and beverage companies tend to be shaped more by the immediate corporate financial interests of shareholders (and the associated interests of corporate officers) rather than the social goal of achieving optimal human diets; as reflected in, for example, the production and marketing a high volume of low-cost, highly processed foods that are rich in sugar, salt, and saturated fats.555CD992, 399903Subsidising the production of sugar and fatGovernments are subsidising production of fat and sugar compared with micronutrient-rich foods.555CD992, 399904Overseeing a decline in physical activitySuccessive governments have overseen a decline of physical activity (e.g. due to policies on transport, public spaces, and sports facilities).555CD992, 399918Unhealthy foods are cheaper and getting cheaper555CD992, 399927WHO's total budget is less than half the marketing budget of McDonaldsMcDonald’s and Coca-Cola’s marketing budgets are each twice the World Health Organization’s full-year budget.1198CE71