Researchers Call for Sugar Tax, as Global Obesity Tops 1.5 Billion

17 Mar 2014 --- Obesity is recognized as a major public health concern, as rates increase in all corners of the world. Figures suggest that approximately 1.5 billion adults were overweight in 2008, a figure that is likely to have increased. Obesity is a major threat to health as it increases morbidity, disability and premature death and has a number of co-morbidities including cancer and cardiovascular disease.

The 12th International Congress on Obesity (ICO), held this year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has been opened by the Malaysian Minister of Health, Datuk Seri Dr. S. Subramaniam.

The congress will bring together obesity experts from all around the world to share and discuss the latest research on different aspects of obesity, new innovative preventive and treatment strategies, global alliances to reduce the prevalence of obesity and its associated burden of disease and provide a platform to get insight from the world’s leading obesity specialists. ICO is the official congress of the World Obesity Federation (formerly IASO) and this year is co-hosted by the Malaysian Association for the Study of Obesity (MASO).

Some of the latest research to be presented at the first day included a study that found that a 20% tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in South Africa would reduce the number of obese men in the country by over 80,000 and the number of obese women by 140,000, according to research using statistical modelling methods. Adults aged 20-39 years old would benefit the most, losing twice as much weight as adults aged over 60. A potential tax would send a strong message as part of a multifaceted strategy to address obesity. Responsible governments must to do whatever is required to protect the health of their citizens. Lennert Veerman, Senior Research Fellow at the School of Population Health, The University of Queensland says “Taxing sugar-sweetened drinks in South Africa and reduce the number of South Africans suffering from obesity by over 200,000; taxing such drinks could well be part of a package of policy interventions that reduces obesity and prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

Other studies presented there included one that found that dieting for two weeks every month may increase your weight loss. Being on an on-off diet may be more effective than persisting with a continuous diet, according to an Australian research team. Thirty-six obese men took part in an experiment in which half of them were required to eat a weight-reducing diet for 16 weeks, and the other half were put on a weight-reducing diet for two weeks and then a weight-maintaining diet for two weeks, continued over a period of 30 weeks. The latter, on-off dieting men lost significantly more body weight and body fat than the continuously dieting men. The authors suggest that the interruptions to the dieting helped to reduce the compensatory metabolic responses which can occur during continuous dieting.

Prof Nuala Byrne, Bond Institute of Health Sciences and Medicine “Given that long term weight loss success is a challenge we are interested to find ways to overcome the biological and behavioural impediments to losing weight. The results from our current study are encouraging as they suggest providing "rest periods" during a dieting intervention can overcome some of the compensatory biological factors which reduce weight loss efficiency during continuous dieting.”

Maternal obesity is a well-recognised risk factor for preeclampsia during pregnancy, but new research has now shown that losing weight before becoming pregnant can substantially reduce the risk. In a study of nearly 8000 US mothers with repeated pregnancies, The researchers examine the risk of preeclampsia in the second pregnancy according to whether the mother had been overweight before the first pregnancy, the second pregnancy, or neither or both. Fourteen percent of never-overweight mothers developed preeclampsia, but the figure rose to 28% among mothers who were overweight in both pregnancies. It was 17% among those who were overweight the first pregnancy but had normal weight in the second pregnancy, indicating that their weight loss had reduced the risk significantly.

Speaking about the findings, Xiazhong Wen, a Professor at the State University of New York, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences said "Our novel findings support the importance women to maintain or get to a healthy weight prior to pregnancy, although further experimental evidence is needed. Health care professionals and family members need to be better informed and equipped to support at risk women who are preparing for pregnancy."

VIASANO, a Community-Based Programme (CBP) implemented in Belgium, shows promise for effectively reducing childhood obesity over time, with results of a 22% decrease in the prevalence of childhood overweight in its two pilot towns Mouscron and Marche-en-Famenne. This encouraging result reinforces the legitimacy of the EPODE methodology upon which this programme is based. Similarly this encouraging result comes in reinforcement of the FLVS study, a long-term intervention pilot programme that demonstrated a reduction in obesity prevalence. This study was conducted between 1992 and 2004 and also had at its origins, the EPODE methodology. In addition to VIASANO, the EPODE methodology has now been adapted in more than 10 CBPs across the globe. "These results are encouraging and show that the EPODE methodology that notably consists of mobilising local actors surrounding families is effective. Of course, these results must be validated over a longer period." said Professor Jan Vinck from Hasselt University, Belgium. Dr. Jean-Michel Borys, General Secretary of EPODE International Network, added "With more than 20 years of experience, the EPODE Methodology has proved its effectiveness at reducing childhood overweight and obesity with a key example being the South Australian Programme named OPAL ".

It’s time to tackle the corner store. Where people get their food significantly determines their diet and affects their risk for obesity. In a computational modelling study that analysed the potential effects of changing the types of available foods, as well as prices and promotions in corner stores and carry-outs/take-outs, scientists from the Johns Hopkins Global Centre on Childhood Obesity estimated that childhood obesity would significantly decrease if corner stores offered better food choices. Take-out restaurant food had less impact according to their model, but improving both sources together proved the most effective, leading to a decline in child BMI by an average 3.9 centile points over a 5-year period. “To change the food environment requires policy changes,” commented Ms. Yeeli Mui, who carried out the research as part of her postdoctoral research at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “This is an example of how agent-based modelling can offer an interactive and visual platform for sharing important findings such as these, and for engaging stakeholders about the potential impact of a program or policy to improve food access.” Ms Yeeli Mui presented this research at the International Congress on Obesity, the official congress of the World Obesity Federation (formerly IASO).

A cross-sectional survey of over 16,000 children across Europe has found that 63% of the parents of overweight children describe their child as ‘proper weight’, and some express their concern about their child becoming underweight. The tendency to underestimate their child’s weight is greatest in Southern European countries.

Dr Staffan Marild, a researcher in the Department of Pediatrics at Gotenburg University and who carried out the research said “our findings are concerning as parents do not recognise common weight-deviations in children. Repeated growth monitoring of children in health care and identify weight deviations, will raise parents awareness, and give them a possibility to act against threats to their children’s health”.

The level of physical fitness among girls is more important than waist circumference or the amount of body fat in determining arterial stiffness, a predictor of cardiovascular disease, according to a survey of 171 obese adolescents in the London area, UK. The link between fitness and arterial stiffness was not significant among the boys investigated. Professor Viner, Institute of Child Health at UCL says “The findings confirm a growing understanding that fitness and obesity may have different impacts on cardiovascular risk.” These findings were presented at the 12th International Congress on Obesity (ICO), held in Kuala Lumpur this week.

Participants involved in a community intervention designed around the Jamie Oliver ‘Ministry of Food’ programme in Australia report positive benefits, in terms of learning cooking skills and appreciating eating together as a family. According to Jessica Herbert, Ph D candidate at Deakin Population Health SRC, Faculty of Health “These qualitative findings highlight that Jamie’s Ministry of Food Australia program provides participants’ with greater confidence and enjoyment of cooking and this translated to more positive shared experiences of both preparing meals at home and eating together as a family”

A survey of 200 Malaysian children found that unhealthy food products advertised on television were more likely to be recognised (91%) and the children said they found such foods more attractive (67%), wanted to buy them (59%) and liked the brand (72%). Brand recognition levels were highest among children who watched the most television. Prof Dr Tilakavati Karupaiah, who carried out the research, said "Childhood obesity has become a public health problem and food environment plays a major role in this development. Children's TV viewing hours therefore should be moderated by parents."

A survey of over 200 children aged 9-14 years in Kuala Lumpur has found that a high BMI was more common among those children who slept least. Low level of sleep was defined as less than 8 hours per night for children over 10 years old and less than 9 hours per night for younger children. The children who slept least were 15% more likely to have a high BMI and 30% more likely to have a high waist circumference.