This could be an interesting listen (airs at 8pm GMT or is available as a podcast from the link below)
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Radio 4's The Investigation
Britons are getting bigger and it's a crisis on the same level as climate change, says the government. Within 15 years most of us will be overweight, with our life expectancy cut by 13 years. Scary stuff, but do all the facts about this "ticking time bomb" really add up?
It's headline grabbing-stuff. The obesity epidemic in Britain is now a crisis on a scale with climate change, says Health Secretary Alan Johnson.
It will lead to the first cut in life expectancy in the UK for 200 years. "Children are likely to die before their parents," says Dr Colin Waine, chair of the National Obesity Forum.
There's just one problem with this claim - official forecasts show it's not true. The government-commissioned Foresight report released last month looked at the future trends of obesity and found an increase will have surprisingly little impact on life expectancy. In fact it predicted Britons will live significantly longer. So what is the truth about the obesity epidemic?
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PODCAST LINK - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/fileon4/
------
Radio 4's The Investigation
Britons are getting bigger and it's a crisis on the same level as climate change, says the government. Within 15 years most of us will be overweight, with our life expectancy cut by 13 years. Scary stuff, but do all the facts about this "ticking time bomb" really add up?
It's headline grabbing-stuff. The obesity epidemic in Britain is now a crisis on a scale with climate change, says Health Secretary Alan Johnson.
It will lead to the first cut in life expectancy in the UK for 200 years. "Children are likely to die before their parents," says Dr Colin Waine, chair of the National Obesity Forum.
There's just one problem with this claim - official forecasts show it's not true. The government-commissioned Foresight report released last month looked at the future trends of obesity and found an increase will have surprisingly little impact on life expectancy. In fact it predicted Britons will live significantly longer. So what is the truth about the obesity epidemic?
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PODCAST LINK - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/fileon4/
