Figures released yesterday by the National Child Measurement programme are deeply disturbing.  The fact that 22.9% of children in year one in primary school are overweight or obese surely indicates that measuring the BMI of children should begin much earlier.

 

Alan Johnson has stated that  the Department of Health [DH] will provide extra funds so that the NHS can commission weight management services but expanding QOLYs will not help to fight the growing obesity epidemic.  Instead the DH will support the commissioning of more weight management services by providing extra funding over the next three years.   “ You don't have to incentivise GPs to look after obese patients “, he said, “ lots of GPs will say that it makes no difference whether obesity is incentivised or not.”.  The DH has also stated that “ GPs are not making full use of the clinical care pathway, nor their BMI registers “ and will evaluate and, if needed, update the existing clinical care pathway for the management of weight problems.

 

Department of Children, Schools and Families  11^th December 2007 [Tam Fry]

NOF cannot but express its profound disappointment that the Children’s Plan virtually ignored childhood obesity.  Whilst agreeing that obesity is one of the most serious challenges for children from all backgrounds and is linked to a number of poor outcomes [p33], the Plans affords only two paragraphs in its 169 pages to the issue.  The UK will apparently have to wait till sometime in the Spring before it can examine a Department of Health [DH] Obesity Action Plan/Child Health Strategy.  Even then there will be no assurance that what is published will work. The NOF October Annual Conference voted overwhelmingly that, on present evidence, the DH was incapable of tackling obesity and NOF has welcomed the new Department of Children, Schools and Families [DCSF] as being more likely to get things done.   For how many years the DH told  the UK been told that HMG/DH is “ about “ to produce its solutions – whilst the number of children who are overweight keeps growing?  With every day that passes without any cross-government joined-up thinking, the NOF becomes more dubious that even the new 2020 target to reduce overweight/obesity to their 2000 levels might be attainable.

Department of Health  16 November 2007 [Tam Fry]

NOF broadly welcomes the publication of the Health and Social Care Bill but the welcome does not stretch to complete acceptance of two of its proposals – the health in pregnancy grant and the legislative cover for performance management and routine feedback to parents as part of the National Child Measurement Programme [NCMP].

NOF welcomes the £37.5m funding announced to boost active travel: £30m going to the Active Travel Consortium [ATC], and £7.5m to the Travelling to School Project. 

NOF welcomes the Prime Minister’s announcement that all schoolchildren should be given the chance to do five hours of sport each week but ensuring that the “ chance “ becomes a reality is vital if the childhood obesity epidemic is to be halted.  Linking his measure to the 2012 Olympics obviously catches the headlines but the provision of 1hr of sport per day within an extended school curriculum will be pretty hollow if the initiative fades once the gold medals have been packed away.  The £600 already invested in school sport together with this addition £100m is a good beginning but more must be found if the failure to establish school sport in the long-term is not to render the announcement as just another sound-byte for the media.

The NOF congratulates Alan Johnson on his appointment as Secretary of State for Health and particularly welcomes his commitment to restoring the faith of NHS staff in the future of the NHS. NOF will be responding to the call to participate in his review of the NHS, one of whosze challenges in the next 10 years will be spent in yackling obesity.  NOF fears the forthcoming Foresight Report on Obesity [schedduled for October publication] which is likely to show that obesity is forever escalating.