Obesity impacts countries across the globe, bringing with it a wave of problems that affect public services and society at large. No one doubts that action is needed: worldwide the rate of obesity has nearly doubled since 1980. Cities across the globe are taking different approaches to tackle the problem.
Steer clear of salt shakers in New York
In New York, 58% of adults and 40% of primary school children are overweight or obese, but Jenifer Clapp, director of the healthy eating initiative at the New York City Health Department, claims it has “some of the most innovative public health policies in the country”. It is the first US city to require chain restaurants to post warning levels next to menu items that contain high levels of sodium – a major risk factor for increased blood pressure and heart disease. The policy, due to come into effect on 1 December 2015, will see a salt shaker icon next to menu items containing more than an adult’s daily allowance of sodium.
The city’s health department is also targeting hospitals. Nearly 40 have committed to adopting the New York City food standards, evidence-based nutrition criteria that ensures employees, visitors, and patients have better access to healthy food. Clapp says a number have shifted their sugary drinks and made sure water is readily available; there’s more availability of fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains, and cafeterias have eliminated fried foods. As Clapp says: “It’s not brain surgery, but its making sure there’s a sense that food that can be comfort food can also be really healthy.”
Join Jamie Oliver in Brighton’s battle against sugar
Across the pond in the UK, Brighton and Hove has taken a slightly different approach, trying to limit people’s intake of another ingredient linked to obesity. The city is the first in Britain to introduce a voluntary sugar tax. The local council has partnered with chef Jamie Oliver, who introduced a 10p tax in his own restaurants, and is calling on eateries to impose a 10p surcharge on all sugary soft beverages, with the proceeds to be donated to charity.
Dr Tom Scanlan, Brighton and Hove director of public health, says: “I think you can argue the merits of what sort of effect this will have in terms of consumption. But what it does is raise awareness, get a lot of attention and get restaurants thinking about children when they’re doing their menus.”
Brighton’s sugar tax is part of a wider programme called Sugar Smart City aimed at further reducing childhood obesity. The city already ranks well compared to the rest of the UK – in 2013/14, 71.9% of children in Year 6 were classed as a healthy weight, up from 67.5% in 2007/8. Scanlan’s next step is to tackle sugary products offered in hospital vending machines. He says: “It’s ridiculous if you’re a diabetic, you’re sitting there in the waiting room and there’s a vending machine along the corridor offering you what got you in the problem in the first place.” He’s been in touch with hospitals in the area and says one chief executive has replied saying that he is willing to look into the problem.
Avoid Puerto Rico’s fat fines
In Puerto Rico, where more than 28% of children are considered obese, authorities are considering more drastic action. Legislators are debating a controversial bill that would fine parents of obese children up to US$800 if they don’t lose weight.
Squat for a free train ticket in Mexico City
In Mexico, the fattest nation on the planet, the government imposed a hefty tax on junk foods – those high in saturated fat, sugar and salt – of 8% in 2013. It also put one peso (4p) on the price of a litre of sugary drinks such as Coca-Cola, which, at the time, Mexicans consumed in vast quantities at a rate of 195 litres per person per year – the highest in the world.
As a result of the price increase, sales of Coca-Cola fell in 2014. According to the Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria (ASA), 52% of Mexicans said they had consumed less sugary drinks in the last year. And as of February 2015, there are now 30 motion-sensitive machines at subway stations throughout Mexico City that will dispense a free ticket to anyone who completes 10 squats.
Lose your weight in gold in Dubai
Incentive-driven approaches to encourage people to lose weight are nothing new. In 2013, Dubai introduced the your weight in gold initiative which gave gold coins to people who lost weight. The civic body gave out US$2.45m (£1.6m) worth of gold over two summers – 56kg of gold bullions - to over 10,000 winners who managed to lose 54 tonnes of weight. The municipality has confirmed that the scheme has now ended.
Get fit in Wolverhampton’s housing estates
Back in the UK, Wolverhampton city council is taking a new approach to tackling obesity. Almost 70% of adults are overweight or obese in the city, above the England average of 63.8%, and 42% of 10 to 11 year olds are overweight or obese compared to a national average of 33.5%. Faced with such figures, just over a year ago the council developed an action plan, targeting menus in fast food outlets, fitness in schools and the community, and providing good information to people so they know how to lose weight over five years.
The council is looking at how to design housing developments to encourage a more active lifestyle, with more cycling networks and marked walking circuits around estates, for example.
Richard Welch, head of healthier place service at Wolverhampton city council, says: “There’s no silver bullet, there’s no quick fix. We think that halting the rise [in obesity] would be a major achievement. It’s still on the increase, so in five years time, if it’s gone down, that will be some achievement. We think we can do it.
“Financially, obesity is termed a wicked problem. It’s in the hard-to-do box. It’s such a big agenda. You can’t just throw loads of money at it and say, ‘here’s 100 interventions’. It’s about policy change and investing in interventions that have a long lasting effect.”