With obesity a growing concern among health professionals across the country, the results of a survey by Norwich Union announced today, show that many parents are still in denial about the impact of obesity on their own children.
With obesity a growing concern among health professionals across the country, the results of a survey by Norwich Union announced today, show that many parents are still in denial about the impact of obesity on their own children.
Published statistics show that over 30 per cent of children in the UK are overweight and almost 12 per cent can be classified as obese. Yet the Norwich Union survey shows that just 14 per cent of parents view their own children as overweight.
According to Barbie Clarke, director of Kids and Youth, the specialist research firm that conducted the survey for Norwich Union: “This shows that parents are still in complete denial about obesity and its impact on their offspring. It is clear from Norwich Union’s investigation that parents are only beginning to recognise that their children are overweight by the time they have already joined the ranks of the obese.
“Over the past ten years, while children, on average, are consuming fewer calories in their food, levels of exercise have decreased even faster, leading to a dramatic rise in levels of obesity among children.
“There is a long way to go in educating parents about the role of exercise and how they can encourage their children and others to maintain a healthy level of activity in today’s increasingly in-door in-car society,” he says.
“With just 14 per cent of parents judging their children overweight, this means that parents are only acknowledging obesity as ‘overweight’. We are still way behind some of our European counterparts in recognising this issue,” he added.
“With Government estimates of more than Ł3.6 billion for the cost of obesity by 2010 far outstripping the projected total investment in sport, we will be spending more money on tackling obesity and its associated problems than we will be investing in encouraging a healthy lifestyle and helping find a larger pool of active youngsters, from which our 2012 Olympic champions will come,” said Dearbhla McCullough a sports psychologist from Roehampton, University of Surrey.
“It seems that parents are so worried about eating disorders that were prevalent ten years ago, that the problem has gone to the other extreme. We know that children are eating fewer calories than ever, so the answer lies in their levels of inactivity.”
David Czerwinski, head of sponsorship for Norwich Union who commissioned the research, concludes: “It’s clear that parents need to take on the responsibility of encouraging their kids to lead a more active lifestyle. There are plenty of opportunities for them to do this even outside school hours in safe environments, and with UK Athletics’ grassroots athletics schemes that run all year round such as Norwich Union star:track, kids can have the fun they crave as well as become fitter. We will also be extending our pledge throughout this summer to facilitate safe access to all manner of sporting and active opportunities for children.”
-ends-
Press office contacts:
Stuart Wareman - Total Sponsorship - 020 7803 2306
Suzie Dias – Total Sponsorship - 020 7803 2416 (suzie@totalsponsorship.com)
Louise Goffee - Norwich Union - 08703 66 68 70
Notes to editors
- Norwich Union is the UK’s largest insurer. It is a leading provider of life, pensions and investment products and one of the leading IFA providers. IFAs provide around 70% of the company’s long- term savings business.
- Norwich Union has strategic alliances with building societies and other leading UK brand names including Tesco Personal Finance and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
- Norwich Union’s news releases and a selection of images are available from Aviva's internet press centre at www.aviva.com/media.