The Age: Tuesdays Editorial

From Tuesdays edition (5/9), a surprising counterpoint to last weeks
firestorm in Melbourne's media regarding the tragic death of James
Gould and the Hell Ride et al.

For those hiding under a rock or returning from overseas/intergalactic
travel, here's a round up of last weeks articles, please refer to the
recent cyclist incidents/road safety categories.

http://www.woj.com.au/category/cyclist-incidents/


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Age Editorial: Society needs to act on obesity epidemic
http://tinyurl.com/gg4nw
September 5, 2006

Sometimes the big picture is not obvious, or we refuse to see it until
it becomes impossible to ignore. We acknowledge some symptoms and focus
narrowly on those, or assert that "it's not our problem". Yet when a
problem takes on epidemic proportions it becomes everyone's problem.
Obesity is such a problem, but it is also a symptom of wider, "big
picture" problems. This picture is emerging from the 10th International
Conference on Obesity in Sydney this week.

Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the picture - apart from the scale
of the crisis - is how obesity ties in with so many other issues: urban
planning; petrol costs and alternative transport such as cycling; the
environment and climate change; infertility; economic productivity and
mental wellbeing (obesity is a major factor in sleep disorders).
Self-evidently, there are no simple "cures" for obesity.

Public awareness and, more to the point, parents' influence over their
children's habits are key factors, but simply promoting the virtues of
healthier eating and exercise won't turn the tide (it hasn't for
decades) unless other policies make it easier, even natural, to act on
these messages. The benefits of policies that restrict advertising of
junk food and soft drinks and ban sales in schools are likely to be
limited.

Monash University professor Paul Zimmet warned the conference that
people "live in their silos with their pet beliefs on fast food,
banning TV advertising or taxing junk foods". It is also important to
be wary of a censorious approach that attaches greater stigma to
obesity, as overweight children already suffer bullying and poor
self-esteem.

Victoria's chief health officer, Robert Hall, said last week: "What we
will have to do is a whole range of different programs that act
together." Public policy must, as Professor Zimmet argues, "acknowledge
how our lives and the environment have changed in the last two or three
decades". The costs of better planning, facilities and education are
considerable, but are much less than the combined long-term costs of
road deaths and injuries, the treatment of obesity and obesity-linked
conditions such as heart disease, cancers, diabetes and infertility
(obesity is increasing most quickly among women aged 20 to 35). These
costs total billions of dollars every year.

The debate about cycling in Melbourne presents a case study of the
interaction of public awareness, health and planning issues. The city
has grown around car-based transport, but high petrol prices, traffic
congestion, health consciousness and environmental concerns have
prompted many people to turn to cycling for recreation or commuting.
However, the increasing numbers of cars and bikes no longer co-exist
safely on the same road space. About one in 10 seriously injured road
users are cyclists, and about half of them are under 16. Little wonder
that mums' and dads' taxis transport children who would once have
cycled to school or to a friend's house.

Policies that make cycling safer would be more convenient for families
and healthier for a generation of children whose rate of increase in
obesity is the highest in the world. Adults could do with the exercise,
too. A recent Sports Medicine Australia survey found one in three do
little or no exercise at their desk-bound work, and three out of four
parents say their families do not play sport or do physical activity
together.

A healthy diet and exercise regime is an individual responsibility, up
to a point. Poor planning does not make healthy choices as easy as they
should be. Professor Zimmet noted the spread of "McMansion" developments
"without attention to sidewalks, bike paths, public transport corridors,
playing fields and friendly exercise areas, attractive and accessible to
people".

Melbourne City Council deserves praise for working on a far-sighted
alternative to a car-bound culture. Its plans include a European-style
network of bike lanes, separate from other traffic. Many suburbs are in
urgent need of similar vision that understands the need to limit urban
sprawl and enables people to get around without a car. Governments
cannot compel people to adopt healthier habits, but they can do more to
eliminate the obstacles.


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cfsmtb