Corporate responsibility in public health
BMJ 2010; 341 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c3758 (Published 14 July 2010) Cite this as: BMJ 2010;341:c3758
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I was glad to read this article as nutrition from food and
therefore food policy will be so important when it comes to
future health. Obesity has trebled over a twenty year
period (1).
There needs to be much more investment in how NHS GPs,
primary school teachers and dieticians are trained if we are
to combat an obesity epidemic. The NHS would also be wise
to consider costing personal trainers. There is not enough
emphasis on understanding the quality of fats and
carbohydrates, trace elements, or the exercise needs of the
individual based on ethnicity and body type. One size does
not fit all when it comes to diet and exercise.
As the authors say, some of the unhealthy elements are
latent. The excessive amount of salt in many leading
breakfast cereals for instance is apparently added purely
for reasons of taste.
The cultural norms of eating high calorie /low nutrient food
must be addressed. With all our knowledge as a society, for
the masses, refined carbohydrates and saturated fats are
still the order of the day. The average restaurant chain
or supermarket cafe, (that most people in the UK can afford
to eat at regularly, perhaps too regularly), serves sausage
and mash, spaghetti bolognese, fish and chips or pizza as a
childrens meal. This is something that may take many
years to change. Whilst these foods are clearly all right
eaten in moderation, many of my young patients live on a
diet of such food or more commonly fried chicken and chips
(tds) from those near ubiquitous chicken outlets in urban
London.
Telling children not to eat such foods is often futile. The
ones who feel unwell as a result of their 'fried chicken
habit' do make change and feel better.
The best way to kick start good habits may be to get
children at primary school to act as police when it come to
their parents. This way healthy eating and exercise become
fun, and at least for a few years eating carrots, sweet
potatoes and greens will not seem a chore, even though it
may be hard to order such foods when eating out.
I welcome change to ensure that everyone in the UK can have
access to cheap but nutritious food.
(1)National Prevalence of Obesity
Prevalence of obesity in Great Britain
K. L. Rennie 1 and S. A. Jebb 1
1 MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson laboratory,
Cambridge, UK Obesity Reviews
Volume 6 Issue 1, Pages 11 - 1
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
Change4Life: Good/Optimal Health is Your Responsibility
Good health or optimal health necessitates much effort, persistence
and willpower. Individuals have to be knowledgeable about health practices
but not only must they be knowledgeable, they have to be really determined
to stay health. Change4Life is hard. The acceptance of this could be
however the drive that gets created in many individuals’ minds and this
drive will help to elicit the response for maintaining good health at all
cost. Determination and hard work are very vital to maintain an optimum
level of health. Changing negative habits is challenging, so making health
a priority is the key. This however remains the choice of all individuals.
Good health or optimal health is essentially life’s master project in
and of itself. The process of maintaining good health can occupy a great
deal of time in avoidance and having awareness of the many treats that the
human body may experience. What is really required is a well-balanced
integrated program of preventive and curative medicine, designed to meet
the needs of an area at a given time, and for the programs to be flexible
means that changes have to be made as the needs change (Ndegwa, undated).
However, before an effective program can be made, there must be an
understanding of traditional background of the people to be served: their
economic situation, family structure, religion, interest and problems must
be known, but more so it should be recognized that changes which are
advocated may not make sense to them they cannot be expected to suddenly
change their whole outlook to accord with the ideas of modern medicine
(Ndegwa, undated).
Hence finding an effective program will take time to Change4Life.
Good health programs and services cannot be forced upon an unwilling
individual or community either, and healthcare workers should always keep
this in mind. Nonetheless a consistent promotion of good health or optimal
health will eventually achieve the desired outcomes and individuals will
gain confidence and acceptance of preventative and curative services.
Good health is a major resource for social, economic and personal
development and an important dimension of quality of life and as a result
political, economic, social, cultural, environmental, behavioral and
biological factors can all favor health or be harmful to it (Ottawa
Charter, 1986). Health promotion action aims at making these conditions
favorable through advocacy for health (Ottawa Charter, 1986). Knowledge,
values, perceptions and motivation are causes of positive or/and negative
behavior. The impact of health education must bring about a change in
lifestyle behaviors through promotion and prevention of health. This will
cement physiological and psychological changes. The community must be
educated about health problems affecting them and methods of preventing
and controlling these health problems. Nonetheless at the end of it all
individuals have to choose to take responsibility for their own health.
The choice to Change4Life is your responsibility.
References:
1.Ndegwa, D. (undated) Good Health Practices. Retrieved August 8,
2010 form http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Ndegwa
2.The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion Document (1986) produced by
the World Health Organization.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests