Comments on: Beware the phoney fat wars http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/01/12/beware-the-phoney-fat-wars/ now with extra source Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:20:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Dr. Elizabeth Denney-Wilson http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/01/12/beware-the-phoney-fat-wars/#comment-24015 Dr. Elizabeth Denney-Wilson Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000 #comment-24015 Thanks Melissa for drawing my (holiday-brain) attention to the review from Tim Olds and indeed the comments following the Australian editorial. As a "dill" who has been paid to "do a study" in the past I'd like to make a couple of comments. I agree with boyd Swinburn that it is almost certainly the case that similar socioeconomic disparities in the prevalence of overweight as are seen in adults are evident in children. The data from the SPANS 2004 study suggested a trend toward greater prevalence of overweight in the lowest socioeconomic quintile and other research done by Jenny O'Dea and others has found evidence of a socioeconomic gradient as well. In the US a gradient is clear. Targeted interventions are clearly needed in certain social and ethnic groups.<br /><br />My second point is that even if the prevalence of overweight has levelled off at 24%, that still equals almost one quarter of children with excess weight and a very high likelihood of carrying that excess weight into adulthood and developing chronic disease. My PhD research found that among 15 year old boys, even the overweight (ie not obese) were significantly more likely to have risk factors for type 2 diabetes, CVD and fatty liver. Not all of the overweight boys had risk factors, but all but 1 obese boy had risk factors, and several had 3 or more.<br /><br />Lets not forget that in Australia over half of adults are overweight or obese-and the prevalence of childhood overweight was low when they were kids ergo most of them must have been lean as children! Without targeted interventions to prevent weight gain we could be looking at even bigger numbers of overweight adults as this generation of children reaches adulthood.<br /><br />A "levelling off" at 24% is too high, and suggesting the problem is done and dusted is public health madness. Thanks Melissa for drawing my (holiday-brain) attention to the review from Tim Olds and indeed the comments following the Australian editorial. As a “dill” who has been paid to “do a study” in the past I’d like to make a couple of comments. I agree with boyd Swinburn that it is almost certainly the case that similar socioeconomic disparities in the prevalence of overweight as are seen in adults are evident in children. The data from the SPANS 2004 study suggested a trend toward greater prevalence of overweight in the lowest socioeconomic quintile and other research done by Jenny O’Dea and others has found evidence of a socioeconomic gradient as well. In the US a gradient is clear. Targeted interventions are clearly needed in certain social and ethnic groups.

My second point is that even if the prevalence of overweight has levelled off at 24%, that still equals almost one quarter of children with excess weight and a very high likelihood of carrying that excess weight into adulthood and developing chronic disease. My PhD research found that among 15 year old boys, even the overweight (ie not obese) were significantly more likely to have risk factors for type 2 diabetes, CVD and fatty liver. Not all of the overweight boys had risk factors, but all but 1 obese boy had risk factors, and several had 3 or more.

Lets not forget that in Australia over half of adults are overweight or obese-and the prevalence of childhood overweight was low when they were kids ergo most of them must have been lean as children! Without targeted interventions to prevent weight gain we could be looking at even bigger numbers of overweight adults as this generation of children reaches adulthood.

A “levelling off” at 24% is too high, and suggesting the problem is done and dusted is public health madness.

]]> By: Ev http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/01/12/beware-the-phoney-fat-wars/#comment-24016 Ev Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000 #comment-24016 Th Oz's stance on a number of things has been constantly baffling to me. My question on reading this, and their stance on Global Warming is, "what can they gain by taking this stance?". I guess with GW it's all about appeasing big business advertisers, but here I see no motive. I don't believe it was an honest mistake, but it's a poor indicator of the intelligence of the editor if it was a mistake. Th Oz’s stance on a number of things has been constantly baffling to me. My question on reading this, and their stance on Global Warming is, “what can they gain by taking this stance?”. I guess with GW it’s all about appeasing big business advertisers, but here I see no motive. I don’t believe it was an honest mistake, but it’s a poor indicator of the intelligence of the editor if it was a mistake.

]]> By: roger gestetner http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/01/12/beware-the-phoney-fat-wars/#comment-24017 roger gestetner Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000 #comment-24017 so what do you expect? anything that could possibly preserve newscorp's advertising base is going to get a good run, no matter how much reality needs to be warped. if you need any further evidence, calculate the weekly worth of the alcohol industry spend across all newscorp publications and it suddenly becomes clear why the Oz gives a free plug to the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia every time it makes one of its brain-damaged statements about the federal government's war on binge drinking by young people. so what do you expect? anything that could possibly preserve newscorp’s advertising base is going to get a good run, no matter how much reality needs to be warped. if you need any further evidence, calculate the weekly worth of the alcohol industry spend across all newscorp publications and it suddenly becomes clear why the Oz gives a free plug to the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia every time it makes one of its brain-damaged statements about the federal government’s war on binge drinking by young people.

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