Too much food for thought

Campaigning to end obesity for over 20 years now, here are some excerpts from the interview with the  Chairman of the National Obesity Forum, Tam Fry 

• Tell me about yourself and about your organisation 'The National Obesity Forum'.

My name is Tam Fry. I'm the chairman of the National Obesity Forum and have been so since 2016. The forum itself was founded in 2000 when a number of very concerned doctors were concerned about the rise of obesity, and they wanted to do whatever they could. And what we have now changed in a sense, from being that is to more of a campaigning group, basically to tell government that it is time to get serious about obesity. So, whereas maybe ten years ago I was doing just regular sort of spokesperson work, I'm now leading the drive to get the government to do something sensible.

• So what is obesity and are there any types or groups?

Obesity comes four groups. First of all, is normal weight. Secondly, is overweight. Thirdly, at BMI of 30 is simple obesity. But there are two extra slots for obesity. One BMI of 35, which means that you are concerningly overweight and probably have comorbidities as well. And then if you arrive at a BMI of 40, you are truly morbidly obese and need urgent attention.

• Can you tell me about the history of obesity in the UK?

I'm 85 now and when I was a young man, there was no such thing as obesity. Everybody was pretty much a normal, healthy BMI. There were exceptions, of course. Then after the war, particularly the 1960s, technology took over and we started to have labor saving devices. And the moment we started that, people then spent less energy in cleaning the house and doing the normal chores and had more time to relax. Watching television in front of the goggle-box, if you will, snacking all the time. So, it's been at the beginning a gradual increase, but certainly then the advent of fast-food joints came in around the eighties and nineties and that's where it started to take off. And it's been progressing ever since and there has been no idea that it will decrease.

• What sicknesses follow once you’re obese?

The sicknesses following obesity, are particularly concerning. Diabetes, is rising more rapidly than obesity. And that is very serious indeed, because with obesity, you can do things to reduce it quite simply by eating less food, etc., But added to diabetes is heart problems and cancers. Let's say obesity has been really allied to about 13 different cancers. And that, of course, is very serious. But in all, people have reckoned that there may be up to 20 or 30 diseases which obesity triggers. So, the really important thing is that we recognise that if you get to a BMI of 30, you've got to the point where these other problems start to arise. That is a hugely good reminder for everybody to keep as slim as possible.

• Why do you think the government policies are failing and how can we reverse this trend of obesity?

In 1992, the British government decided that it would have a public health policy. This had never been done before and it of course was tied to a number of things. But obesity was one of the issues which they wanted to address, and they set themselves a target to reduce obesity by the year 2000 to an acceptable level, which they thought was about six or 7%. But they failed from the outset to put in any measures that would actually tackle that. They said basically obesity is not a disease, it's your fault and that the individual, has really got to do something about it. And that was the wrong approach because in fact, the whole of society was starting to structure itself into what we call an obesogenic environment, whereby the main concern is outside the power of the individual to overcome and particularly we know all about fast food chains. They are really the major problem in the spread of obesity because people are finding the cost of living, particularly now very difficult to handle. And they will find that they can go into a fast-food shop and instantly get a very cheap filling food. But in no way is it nutritious. Simply it's stuffed with ingredients which actually predispose towards fatness. And unless they take the action of burning it off or eating less, they are going to get bigger. And that was the main trigger in the probably mid-1990s.

• What are the major flaws in the current food policy, especially with the document that had been leaked out and it did not really cater to obesity at all?

The real problem is that governments are terrified of industry. The industry has a huge hold on governments. In the year 2000, the very famous professor of nutrition, Philip James, wrote a document for the Labor Government saying this are the things that should be done and the Government thought that it was too radical and they thought it was too radical because industry had told them that it was too radical and that if it was implemented, they would take their manufacturing elsewhere, there would be unemployment and civil unrest. And industry uses every excuse not to change its habits. And that has got to be done. And for 20 years now, governments have refused to do it. We have, however, you just mentioned it, the one exception of taxing. And in 2018, basically by himself, he was very much frowned on by the rest of Downing Street. The chancellor, George Osborne, implemented a levy on industry, and the purpose of that was to say to industry, I'm going to tax you, I'm going to levy you, but I'm going to give you some time to solve your problems out. And industry took the hint and said, well, if the Chancellor wants us to remove sugar, we will do that in order to escape the levy. So, they took all the sugar out of drinks and thereby saved probably about 35% of the sugar being consumed and therefore lessening, if you will, the chance of obesity. But that's the only example that I have of government really understanding that government has a responsibility of directing the nation as opposed to bowing in front of the food industry.

*Click the image to play promo*