Town halls warn that Britain is becoming the 'obesity capital of the world'

LGA press release - 15 August 2008

Social services will increasingly have to step in to deal with cases where the welfare of dangerously overweight children is put at risk if the UK’s obesity epidemic continues to grow, town hall leaders are warning today.

The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents over 400 councils in England and Wales, is calling for a national debate about the extent to which dangerous childhood obesity could be considered as a factor contributing to parental neglect.

Council social services have only become involved in isolated cases until now, where it has been judged that children’s health is being put at risk by their parents. However, the LGA is warning that as obesity increasingly becomes a problem, it is likely that local authorities will have to step in more and more to deal with the problem, normally through offering help and advice to parents and keeping the welfare of children under review.

It has been estimated that in England, by 2012 one million children will be obese, by 2025 around a quarter (24%) of boys will be obese.

The call comes as town halls set out eight main ways in which Britain’s obesity epidemic is having an expensive impact on local public services. The LGA will say that Britain is fast becoming the ‘obesity capital of the world’ and even more must be done to stop the nation’s waistline continuing to expand.

The eight main impacts, to be unveiled today are:

• Councils stepping in to deal with cases where the welfare of dangerously overweight children is put at risk
• The cost to social services of caring for house-bound people suffering from the range of conditions and illnesses that are the consequence of obesity, including arthritis, heart disease and diabetes
• Furniture in school classes, gyms and canteens are having to be made wider for larger children and to meet new standards
• Town halls widening crematoria furnaces to cater for spiralling numbers of stouter clients, costing tens of thousands of pounds
• Fire services being called in to winch obese members of the public out of dangerous buildings in emergencies such as fire
• Ambulances being re-equipped with extra-wide stretchers and winches for obese people
• Councils having to provide obese residents with adaptations to their houses and help with the provision of walking aids
• Fears that local public transport, including buses and trams, will be able to accommodate fewer passengers as people get bigger

Cllr David Rogers, LGA spokesperson on public health, said: “Councils are increasingly having to consider taking action where parents are putting children’s health in real danger. As the obesity epidemic grows these tricky cases will keep on cropping up.

“Councils would step in to deal with an under-nourished and neglected child so should a case with a morbidly obese child be different? If parents consistently place their children at risk through bad diet and lack of exercise is it right that a council should step in to keep the child's health under review?

“It is vital that councils, Primary Care Trusts and the NHS work with parents to ensure that children don’t end up dangerously overweight in the first place.

“There needs to be a national debate about the extent to which it is acceptable for local authorities to take action in cases where the welfare of children is in real jeopardy. The UK is fast becoming the obesity capital of the world and the effect of spiralling obesity amongst children is particularly worrying.

“The nation’s expanding waistline threatens to have a devastating impact on our public services. It’s a massive issue for public health but it also risks placing an unprecedented amount of pressure on council services.

”Obesity is increasingly costing the council taxpayer dear. It falls to social services to care for the house-bound obese adults, to invest money in encouraging people to be active and to replace school furniture that is just too small for larger pupils. Council equipment and infrastructure is having to be modified to deal with a population that is getting larger and larger.

“We need to eat better, exercise more and lead healthier lives in general and councils play a huge part in that. From providing children with free fruit and vegetables and planning towns and cities that encourage walking, to encouraging people to get into the gym and into sports, town halls are on the frontline of tackling obesity.”

• Liverpool City Council has given free leisure centre passes for all under 17 year olds which has led to a 60 percent increase in the number of youngsters using our facilities and fitted special kids gym equipment in leisure centres. 300 young people have been trained as health mates to mentor those at highest risk of being obese or overweight to change their diet/fitness regime. The Council has also proposed applying for a special by-law that would allow it to ban free toys being given out with children’s fast food meals.

•  Blackburn with Darwen Council has dropped all charges for its leisure centres as part of a £6m package of measures to tackle obesity.

• North Tyneside Council has been working with Northumbria University to find the best way of helping our children to eat well, and in turn, achieve their full potential at school. Their research, and other international research, has proven that giving a child a healthy breakfast is the best way of doing this. The council has introduced a scheme called Fuel4Kids to all primary aged children across North Tyneside, which provides: 
  - A free healthy breakfast in school each morning
  - A free fruit or vegetable snack for all pupils
  - Access to mid-morning milk for all pupils

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Adult and Children’s Social Services

Local government social services departments provide care for people who are house-bound, including those who are obese and people who suffer from illnesses obesity can cause. An estimated 4 million people will have diabetes by 2025.

Tower Hamlets, Cumbria and North Tyneside councils have all had to consider taking action against parents whose children have become dangerously overweight. The BBC has found that obesity has been a factor in at least 20 child protection cases in the last year.

School furniture

New standards for school furniture means that new sizes for larger furniture have had to be introduced. An estimate for a larger table and chair is around £30.

Crematoria furnaces

Standard coffins range from 16 to 20 inches. However, increasingly coffins anywhere up to 40 inches are being ordered to fit larger bodies.

Lewisham Council has ordered a special cremator from America, measuring 44ins in width. Lewisham's crematorium has taken coffins from as far away as the West Midlands and Gloucester.
 
A new furnace at Mintlyn Crematorium in Bawsey was recently installed by King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Council to accommodate coffins a metre wide. The furnace replacement was part of a £1.2m project to refurbish the crematorium.
 
Blackburn with Darwen Council takes bodies from all over East Lancashire. Plans have been put in place to install a 42-inch cremator in the next few years to deal with wider coffins. Bodies have been taken to Manchester in the past.

Fire services

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service has considered a fee to be charged on the police or hospitals if they are called in to move grossly overweight members of the public.

Incapacity benefit and worklessness

It is estimated that nearly 2,000 people are too fat to work. Around 2.7 million people are claiming £7.4bn in incapacity benefits because they suffer from depression, fatigue or other obesity-related problems.

Ambulances

New ambulances have been introduced across Wales, equipped to help ambulances deal with obese patients. The vehicles have been specially developed with an extra wide, strengthened stretcher and a winch.

Author: LGA Media Office
Contact: Nicholas Mann, 0207 664 3333