A leading nutritionist has attacked the government for its obsession with obesity, claiming the evidence base linking obesity with ill health and early death is non-existent.
The FSA cites National Audit Office figures showing obesity causes 18 million sick days and 30,000 deaths every year as justification for its satfat, reformulation and consumer education campaigns.
However, in an exclusive interview with The Grocer, former head of the Bradford University Food Policy Unit Dr Verner Wheelock, who has helped develop official nutritional labelling policy, said these figures "do not always reflect the most recent scientific investigations".
"The government's approach to combating obesity is becoming increasingly absurd and, despite its dire predictions, obesity is not getting worse," he claimed. "In any event, it is also a fact that people who are overweight often have better health and life expectancy than those who are a normal weight."
He cited a US study by Katherine Flegal of the Center for Disease Control, which found overweight people (BMI 25 to 30) had a longer life expectancy than those of normal weight (BMI 20 to 25). Follow-up studies suggested overweight people had a lower incidence of heart disease, respiratory problems and dementia than those of normal weight, he added.
"Weight is not important except at extremes. Diets don't work and 'weight cycling' is positively bad for health," he said.
Dr Wheelock concluded that while individual diet did relate to health, trying to devise guidelines for the whole UK population was "fraught with difficulty" due to differences in genetics and consumption patterns. He suggested a better focus would be to concentrate on boosting physical activity.
A study of more than 50,000 people for the British Journal of Sports Medicine found low cardio-respiratory fitness was a factor in 16% of deaths, compared with under 3% for obesity.
Letters p22
The FSA cites National Audit Office figures showing obesity causes 18 million sick days and 30,000 deaths every year as justification for its satfat, reformulation and consumer education campaigns.
However, in an exclusive interview with The Grocer, former head of the Bradford University Food Policy Unit Dr Verner Wheelock, who has helped develop official nutritional labelling policy, said these figures "do not always reflect the most recent scientific investigations".
"The government's approach to combating obesity is becoming increasingly absurd and, despite its dire predictions, obesity is not getting worse," he claimed. "In any event, it is also a fact that people who are overweight often have better health and life expectancy than those who are a normal weight."
He cited a US study by Katherine Flegal of the Center for Disease Control, which found overweight people (BMI 25 to 30) had a longer life expectancy than those of normal weight (BMI 20 to 25). Follow-up studies suggested overweight people had a lower incidence of heart disease, respiratory problems and dementia than those of normal weight, he added.
"Weight is not important except at extremes. Diets don't work and 'weight cycling' is positively bad for health," he said.
Dr Wheelock concluded that while individual diet did relate to health, trying to devise guidelines for the whole UK population was "fraught with difficulty" due to differences in genetics and consumption patterns. He suggested a better focus would be to concentrate on boosting physical activity.
A study of more than 50,000 people for the British Journal of Sports Medicine found low cardio-respiratory fitness was a factor in 16% of deaths, compared with under 3% for obesity.
Letters p22
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