Following the announcement of the UK government obesity strategy, Dr Shaobo Zhou, Senior Lecturer in Nutritional Science at the University of Bedfordshire, believes that what is actually needed to tackle obesity is to improve the knowledge of nutrition with the general public:
"The government’s strategy to tackle obesity doesn’t go far enough and in order to make it successful we need to improve the public’s knowledge of nutrition. The government should invest more in nutrition education, specifically tailored to the younger generation as soon as they start school age and among local communities.
Dr Zhou feels that policies which have the legal power to force the food industry to develop and produce healthier foods by modifying current products that are high in sugar, saturated fats and salt should be enforced.
“Over two thirds of UK adults are overweight. This problem has been around for over two decades and it has been difficult to eradicate despite a number of policies previously introduced by the government. For example, advertising bans have already been in place and exposure to high fat, salt, and sugar adverts on TV to children have fallen by 70% over the last 15 years. However, this hasn’t reduced levels of obesity. This is because such policies have not addressed the root cause of obesity: the lack of nutritional knowledge.”
Dr Zhou also added that highlighting calories on restaurant menus is a good way to keep people on their toes when it comes to making their food choice. “As a nutritionist, I believe the best way for people to actually make these good food choices is to improve their knowledge of nutrition and food overall so that they can make informed decisions and most importantly have a balanced diet,” he said. Giving an example he explained that not all high energy foods are junk, and we may require high energy foods as fuel for certain activities, such as sports or carrying out a heavy workload. In order to stay healthy and maintain a good body weight, we need to understand how energy balance works, for our age and physical attributes. “All of this can only be achieved by having a good knowledge of nutrition,” he said.
