Greed, rather than laziness, is the major cause of the obesity epidemic across the developed world, new Australian research has shown. The study has found that over the past 30 years, average calorific intake has increased by at least 500 calories a day, while exercise levels have changed little. Comparing data from the US from the 1970s and the early 2000s, it found that the diet of children contained 350 more calories, while adult diets rose by 500 calories.
Professor Boyd Swinburn, from Deakin University, Victoria, in Australia, which published the study, said the findings would be similar for other developed countries. He said: "This is a call to focus public health attention more on the energy intake side," he said. "There is no evidence that a marked reduction in physical activity has been a contributor to this epidemic."
The study found the average US child is 9lb heavier than a those born in the 1970s, while adults weighed 19lb more.
For the US population to return to 1970s levels children would have to cut their intake by about 350 calories a day – equal to a can of fizzy drink and a small portion of fries, and adults by about 500 calories – about the same as a burger. Alternatively children would have to walk an extra two and a half hours a day, and adults nearly two hours.
"Getting everybody to walk an extra two hours a day is not really a feasible option for countering the epidemic," Professor Swinburn said. "We need to limit our expectations of what an increase in physical activity can achieve." Health professionals said the findings, showed the need to tackle the availability and overpromotion of highly calorific foods!
Source: http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/person/boyd-swinburn
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