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tions carried out by research workers and insurance companies
all over the country. Results are tabulated and appear as desirable
weights for particular heights at maturity and beyond. Even these
are subject to variation according to the type of skeletal frame
genetically inherited.
Identification of the population at risk is a prerequisite to any
preventive programme. Somewhat unexpectedly the problem
turns out to be one mainly concerning the older women in the
lowest social class and young children.
Because obesity is indissolubly linked with food and its assimilation
we need to look more closely at our views on nutritional
standards and how best they can be achieved without precipitating
overweight problems. Are we right to encourage a greater
intake by children and young adults of the "protective" foods
such as butter, cream, cheese, eggs, etc., or should their place
in the diet be strictly regulated?
During life, the average person eats about 30 tons of food at
a cost of approximately £6,000 but pays little attention to its
nutritional content. Yet nutritional knowledge is not only a matter
of health but, particularly in the poorer sections of the community,
it should form part of a family's economic policy of
getting "value for money". Unhappily palates, those most variable
and deceiving of senses, are the usual arbiters in food selection.
Prevention of obesity is difficult for, in a relatively affluent
society, over-eating is usual and even stimulated by high pressure
salesmanship exerted via the well known advertising mediums.
An intrinsic difficulty in the relief from obesity lies in the fact
that it demands a modification by the individual of habits from
which some satisfaction is derived. Naturally, this change is more
easily accomplished at the earlier ages when habits are flexible
and the problem is not so great. To be effective, preventive efforts
must begin at the ante-natal clinic and continue through school
to adulthood.
Adherence to an appropriate balanced diet is essential for successful
weight control but, with children, this needs parental
understanding, support and encouragement. Young children learn
eating habits from their parents who, in general, have little knowledge
of and scant regard for the dietetic values of food and to
many of whom a balanced diet seems beyond comprehension.
Over-indulgent grand-parents and well intentioned neighbours are
also factors to be reckoned with in the struggle for a suitable
regimen.
Is there a treatment for obesity?
Informed opinion is inclined to the view that, today,