It is reported that the government has spent £9.6 Billion in an attempt to combat obesity in the UK. Yes, you read that figure correctly. If you want a comparison the cost of the 1991 war against Saddam Hussein was less than four times that sum.
Despite the massive cash injection children are clearly not getting any slimmer. In fact they’re still getting bigger. Now the Public Health Minister has
produced a report showing that parents could play the main role in helping children lose weight, rather than a ban on advertising junk food.
I agree with the Minister about parents being the most important agents in any campaign against obesity but I’ve got to wonder exactly how a sum so enormous has been spent in a seemingly losing battle only to end up with a conclusion that parents shouldn’t pour saturated fats into their offspring.
Thanks to Pete Briffa who saw the story first on Samizdata