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Get people on bikes to combat obesity says new report

Calls for government to ‘disincentivise’ driving

It’s hardly revolutionary, but a study commissioned by consultants McKinsey and Company has emphasised the important role played by physical activity in combating obesity. The report recommends that government authorities redesign tariffs, pedestrianisation and parking laws to ‘disincentivise driving’.

Overcoming obesity: An initial economic analysis addresses a critical global issue with nearly 30 per cent of the world’s population classified as being overweight or obese according to the authors – they estimate its economic impact at $2 trillion a year. Furthermore, it is suggested that if current trends continue, almost half of the world’s adult population will be overweight or obese by 2030.

The report is an attempt to evaluate the components of a potential strategy and looks at 44 different ‘interventions’ which might help address the problem. The report emphasises that obesity is a complex, cultural issue with no single intervention likely to have an enormous impact on its own. “A systemic, sustained portfolio of initiatives, delivered at scale, is needed to address the health burden.”

Being an economic study, cost is one of the major concerns. However, almost all of the interventions identified are considered cost-effective thanks to savings on healthcare costs and higher productivity. The authors estimate that a cohesive approach could save the NHS around £770m a year.

A recurring theme is of the need to change the environment and societal norms in an effort to make healthy behaviour easier. This might mean reducing food portion sizes or altering marketing practices, but it might also involve altering infrastructure to encourage active travel, such as walking and cycling.

"Government authorities [have to] redesign urban planning to facilitate and encourage cycling," says the report. While this ranks below several other interventions in terms of the estimated impact, the authors emphasise that they are only measuring this in terms of an individual’s BMI. They are also keen to point out that “cycling improves cardiovascular and mental health and reduces carbon emissions,” as being additional benefits.

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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caaad10 | 9 years ago
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'Obesity' is a flawed generalisation of body mass - going by the standard BMI calculations I'm overweight, I can only assume because of my athletic build. Having been generally active for decades I started on an intensive cycle training program (6 days/ week) over 2 years ago and have 'lost' somewhere in the region of 1KG (currently 178cm/ 84kg). My diet hasn't changed, apart from a reduction in alcohol....

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Chris James replied to caaad10 | 9 years ago
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caaad10 wrote:

'Obesity' is a flawed generalisation of body mass - going by the standard BMI calculations I'm overweight, I can only assume because of my athletic build.

They have to use some easy measure. At a population level BMI is a good indicator. A lot of people complain about BMI being useless for athletes, but BMI levels have increased as activity levels have plummeted, so not everyone can blame their weight on being sporty!

I only know that the more exercise I do, the more weight I lose, even if I keep stuffing my face with rubbish. If I stopped drinking beer I would waste away....

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Dressmaking Cyclist | 9 years ago
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There is more to it than "just" food and exercise when it comes to losing weight. I put on a lot of weight when my thyroid packed up (I guess I would be one of those fatties dismissed as blaming glands - even if it is the gland that controls your metabolism...), and it's taken a long time to learn how I can lose it. If you restrict calories too much (or use a lot more that you take in), your body can go into starvation mode and the weight loss stops. In my perverse body, starvation mode can be so efficient I can put on weight if I get the balance wrong when restricting calories! I've had to up the calorie intake as I've lost weight to keep up the weight loss (more active needs more calories) but that's counterintuitive, and goes against the common wisdom. Surely I should lose more weight if I'm doing more and sticking at an arbitrary number of calories? It's not that simple! The advise given to "dieters" is contradictory, misleading, and often is aimed at those losing a couple of pounds - and that doesn't work if you're obese. The press tell you can get a beach body in few weeks - if you're obese, you can't. You try, end up feeling like you've failed, and you give up. Losing weigh (and I'm talking stones not pounds here) is a long-term project - a lifestyle change - and that's more than a calories in and calories out balance. There are fairly big psychological changes that needs to be made too.

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Pub bike replied to Dressmaking Cyclist | 9 years ago
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Dressmaking Cyclist wrote:

There is more to it than "just" food and exercise when it comes to losing weight. I put on a lot of weight when my thyroid packed up (I guess I would be one of those fatties dismissed as blaming glands - even if it is the gland that controls your metabolism...),

The proportion of adults that were overweight in the UK including obese in 2012 was 66.6% among men and 57.2% among women.
Source: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13648/Obes-phys-acti-diet-eng-2014-...

Thyroid problems are relatively rare in comparison: 0.8-5% of the population have some kind of thyroid problem in Canada for example.
Source: http://www.thyroid.ca/know_the_facts.php

For most people the problem is simply a mismatch between food intake and exercise. The NHS is very clear that "Obesity is generally caused by eating too much and moving too little.”
Source: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Obesity/Pages/Causes.aspx

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Dressmaking Cyclist replied to Pub bike | 9 years ago
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I never disputed the mechanics of weight loss. I do dispute the oversimplification of the solution. If it were that simple, why would anyone ever get overweight in the first place, let alone obese? I put on weight because I have hypothyroidism - as you've been trawling for stats, you know it's the gland that governs your metabolism and one of the key indicators of a problem is weight gain.
However, as the weight went on, people's attitudes towards me changed - you get dismissed as a fattie - glands don't cause the problem, food does; all the rhetoric being bandied about on here. I lived on under 1000 calories per day and still put on weight - half the recommended daily calories to be healthy. I thought I was eating healthily - low fat, lots of fruit, etc. but still the weight went on (possibly caused in part by the fact that low fat diets tend to be high in sugar).
I know this only affects a small percentage of the population - and 5 to 7 times as many women as men, but the change in attitude towards a "fattie" can also cause problems. I started to be bullied at work by a manager and lost all self confidence and self worth. Vicious circle - I might as well have that extra G&T in the evening! Who cares? It doesn't matter - I might as well fulfil the stereotype.
I eventually got out of the situation (redundancy - I didn't have the confidence to apply elsewhere). Once I'd stopped being used as a verbal punchbag for 8-10 hours a day, I realised I didn't need the padding to protect me, and the weight started to come off. That improved my confidence, and I could start to make the lifestyle changes needed for proper and permanent weight loss - like getting on my bike. Like I said - there can be more to weight loss that the simple food in/energy out, and the psychological factors involved in obesity may need to be better address. I ride a bike to help me deal with the stress, and to put the petty bullies I find out of my mind. The fact it helps me burn calories is just an added bonus. My problem may have been caused by a gland failing, but all people see is the fattie so I know what that feels like. Again - not saying all cases, but there's rarely a magic bullet, but telling fatties that there is, could just be adding to the problem. I've been there. I am still there - just with less padding, and the benefit of hindsight.

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Pub bike replied to Dressmaking Cyclist | 9 years ago
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Dressmaking Cyclist wrote:

If it were that simple, why would anyone ever get overweight in the first place, let alone obese?

A plentiful supply of cheap, sugary, and fatty food, and sedentary lifestyles:
http://authoritynutrition.com/12-graphs-that-show-why-people-get-fat/

combined with an inability of some people to recognise when they are gaining weight
http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jwh.2011.2982

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Wolfshade | 9 years ago
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It is really simple.

Don't put in what you aren't using.

You wouldn't put 50l of fuel in your car each week if you were only using 40l. It may take a few months but eventually you will just be spilling the fuel accross the floor. The body is similiar, though instead of it just refusing it, it is hard wired to deal with the lack of abundant food and so will store all excess as fat. Great for those days when your hunter gathering skills leave you without a meal for 2-3 days, not so good when if your hunter gathering skills fail you call dial-a-food.

What alot of people aren't savvy about is how much they eat and those "hidden" calories in beer etc. I know that if I over indulge one day then I should cut back the next few, but the occassional indulgence has become a regular part of people's diet.

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Pub bike | 9 years ago
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Stating/restating the obvious again probably: Excess calories over and above what you need leads to weight gain. Similarly insufficient calories leads to weight loss. You’ll lose/gain quicker if the difference is bigger, so exercising will speed up the weight loss whilst under-eating.

If you use an activity tracker, or just a sports watch, and link it to a calorie counter app (and fill it in daily with what you eat) then it is straightforward to find out excess calories/undereating, and work out what to change. Some apps will also forecast your weight some weeks into the future.

I used this technique on tour recently and managed not to lose as much weight (2kg) as on similar previous tours (5kg).

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pants | 9 years ago
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I wonder how much did it cost the taxpayers' money for the research company to come up with this.

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Pub bike replied to pants | 9 years ago
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pants wrote:

I wonder how much did it cost the taxpayers' money for the research company to come up with this.

Nothing directly, yet - McKinsey commissioned it themselves. Indirectly? That depends on how much government work they’ve done recently, or are planning to do  1

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Brooess | 9 years ago
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On a positive note, it's getting harder and harder for the government to ignore the pro-cycling argument. More and more quantifiable benefits of mass cycling participation are being proven by reports like this.
What's on our side is that the UK state is seriously skint and looking so for probably a generation, so anything which helps save money or deal with the problems which are costing the state money (obesity, mental health, pollution, improving public transport etc) will be looked at seriously.
As cycling is a) very cheap and mainly funded by Joe Public (we buy our own bikes) and b) helps to solve a multitude of these problems, so hopefully now government will begin to put some proper funding and support into changing UK driving culture and promote cycling as the massive societal benefit which it clearly is...

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Tinternet_tim | 9 years ago
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The cake hole is bigger than the bum hole.
Cram too much in and live a sedate life and you'll get fat.
Too many people don't take responsibility for themselves and will blame everything but their own actions.
Yes, life is busy and work gets in the way. But how about cycle to and from work - commuting and exercise done for the day. If that's not possible drive half and cycle half. Still too difficult, ok, park as far away from the office and walk to your desk/working environment.
Take a walk at lunch. Go for a short 20min jog at lunch.

I've been cycling for a few years now and it's changed my life. I actually eat more as I've bearnt off calories and need the extra food.
Over the last few weeks I've had to drive as I've had a bad cold I can't shift. I'm not as hungry and I listen to my body and eat when I need to not just as a routine.

What I am saying is, Yes, in my experience food is the main cause. Loads at work barely get off their arse all day and the only time they do is to eat large quantities of food or full fat coke. I also don't have much time in the working day but I find time a lunch to walk to the. Shops for some food.

Eat less, make the right choice of food and do a little bit of exercise and the weight will follow.

Stop blaming everyone/everything but yourself
Take responsibility for yourself, it's not up to everyone else to do it for you.
I also know there are a very few exceptions to this where certain conditions or medications can cause weight gain. But these are the exception and not the norm for what becoming an extremely embarrassing situation we as humans are getting ourselves in to as a species!
The Film Wall-e summed it up perfectly!

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Tinternet_tim | 9 years ago
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The cake hole is bigger than the bum hole.
Cram too much in and live a sedate life and you'll get fat.
Too many people don't take responsibility for themselves and will blame everything but their own actions.
Yes, life is busy and work gets in the way. But how about cycle to and from work - commuting and exercise done for the day. If that's not possible drive half and cycle half. Still too difficult, ok, park as far away from the office and walk to your desk/working environment.
Take a walk at lunch. Go for a short 20min jog at lunch.

I've been cycling for a few years now and it's changed my life. I actually eat more as I've bearnt off calories and need the extra food.
Over the last few weeks I've had to drive as I've had a bad cold I can't shift. I'm not as hungry and I listen to my body and eat when I need to not just as a routine.

What I am saying is, Yes, in my experience food is the main cause. Loads at work barely get off their arse all day and the only time they do is to eat large quantities of food or full fat coke. I also don't have much time in the working day but I find time a lunch to walk to the. Shops for some food.

Eat less, make the right choice of food and do a little bit of exercise and the weight will follow.

Stop blaming everyone/everything but yourself
Take responsibility for yourself, it's not up to everyone else to do it for you.
I also know there are a very few exceptions to this where certain conditions or medications can cause weight gain. But these are the exception and not the norm for what becoming an extremely embarrassing situation we as humans are getting ourselves in to as a species!
The Film Wall-e summed it up perfectly!

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parksey | 9 years ago
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I suppose I was exactly the sort of person this study is all about; sedentary job/lifestyle and driving everywhere, plus years of eating crap, drinking and smoking had me at 20 stone and, I'm not embarrassed to admit, in potential difficulty as far as the longer-term consequences of obesity are concerned.

A change of job made walking, and quickly then cycling, to work a viable option, with the bike soon becoming a weekend hobby too. That saw me start shedding the weight, a good 3 stone lost at a constant rate over about 9 months.

BUT, I then hit a wall and the weight loss tailed off for several months, despite cycling more than I ever had been, as I was still eating a lot of rubbish, and the weekend alcohol intake was still on the high side...

Only recently have I started paying much more attention to my diet, and am cutting out a lot of the fatty, sugary or carb-heavy stuff, and the alcohol, with a view to having a 500 calorie deficit per day. And it's working. Another half stone lost in the last month has me down to 16 stone (and continuing to fall), and that's without doing anything like the mileage on the bike I'd been doing earlier in the autumn.

For me, time on the bike was a massive kick start, but it's equally about what you're eating, particularly if you're looking to lose a lot of weight.

It can't be forgotten that you also need the will to get off your backside and actually do something about it in the first place, which could be the biggest hurdle for many.

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sooper6 | 9 years ago
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Of course the ideal is a balance of both, exercise combined with healthy eating is what is recommended by doctors.
Even being fit, but a little overweight is better than being just overweight.
There is some evidence cycling can reduce depression which is a factor in some peoples overeating.
For me cycling encourages me to eat more sensibly as I have become much more aware of my weight. Whether the constant reminder when cycling up hills or just being around more people that maintain a healthy weight. I still struggle as its all to easy to justify some cake after a long ride.

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musicalmarc | 9 years ago
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sedentary lifestyles are also a major factor. Lots of people now have jobs which require little physical effort. They also mention changing food portion sizes, food formulation and availability of high calorie foods in the study.

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Leviathan | 9 years ago
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Agreed, the thing that make you fat are.
1. Eating too much

7. Not exercising enough

10. Eating the wrong things.

If you can climb Everest eating chocolate and walk across the Antarctic eating Lard, or win Olympic gold eating pizza it proves its not the foods fault. We don't teach people that hunger is important feedback and one of your bodies senses. Too many people today are afraid of hunger or just bored.

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LinusLarrabee | 9 years ago
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food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food... FFS it's the FOOD that's causing obesity NOT lack of exercise!

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wycombewheeler replied to LinusLarrabee | 9 years ago
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LinusLarrabee wrote:

food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food... FFS it's the FOOD that's causing obesity NOT lack of exercise!

rubbish, I lost 3kg between February and Easter by reducing food intake. I lost a further 7kg between June and September by eating what I always had and cycling 100 (hilly) miles a week.

but if we get all the health conscious people cycling and then get them all killed on the roads, the average weight of the population will rise.

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Joeinpoole replied to wycombewheeler | 9 years ago
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wycombewheeler wrote:
LinusLarrabee wrote:

food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food... FFS it's the FOOD that's causing obesity NOT lack of exercise!

rubbish, I lost 3kg between February and Easter by reducing food intake. I lost a further 7kg between June and September by eating what I always had and cycling 100 (hilly) miles a week.

It's not 'rubbish'. Food and drink intake is generally accepted to be about 80% of maintaining good weight. You can easily lose weight without doing any exercise at all. You'll never lose weight however if you are stuffing yourself with more carbohydrates than you can expend.

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cqexbesd replied to LinusLarrabee | 9 years ago
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LinusLarrabee wrote:

FFS it's the FOOD that's causing obesity NOT lack of exercise!

I don't think its quite that simple. Obviously food does have a major part to play but if I may start with an anecdote. I have a pretty terrible diet. I write this as I finish off a(nother) block of chocolate. My partner eats much better than I do - smaller portions, less seconds, less dessert. When not injured they probably do more exercise than me as well. I am in the ideal weight range according to NHS guidelines and they are not.

There have been a number of studies showing that gut bacteria is a very important factor in obesity. Including scientists curing overweight mice with a faeces transplant from thin mice. A connection between early childhood antibiotics use and obesity has also been found - thought to be because antibiotics kill off the good bacteria as well as the bad.

I'm sure you can make anyone fat with the right diet (and insufficient exercise) but clearly its easier for some than others.

That brings me to the other important factor which is actually about food. It many parts of the world the food that is cheap, easily available and convenient tends to be the food that is worst for you. Eating well does take more time, effort and money.

I'm lucky that, apart from having biology that, up to now, forgives my chocolate habit, I also have a partner who isn't currently working full time and enjoys cooking. With the working hours I have, if I had to cook regularly as well, my diet would be much worse. Pasta sauces from jars (many surprisingly high in fats and oils), things I can reheat and frequent restaurants and takeaways. I know not everyone is as lucky as me.

Lifestyle is also an important factor. When I go cycle touring I not only get more exercise, I also eat much better. Much of my junk food eating is probably caused by stress, boredom and lack of sleep (which sums up, at various times, my working life) but not at all my cycling holidays. I also eat much earlier when touring, at least an hour before bed which has also been indicated as something that keeps weight off. Whilst I am working I mostly come home, shower, eat and go straight to bed.

I realise that has been a bit rambly but I'm off to bed now so I'm not going to edit. I hope that has at least indicated that there is more to obesity than food.

http://www.nih.gov/researchmatters/september2013/09162013obesity.htm

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hsiaolc replied to cqexbesd | 9 years ago
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cqexbesd wrote:
LinusLarrabee wrote:

FFS it's the FOOD that's causing obesity NOT lack of exercise!

I realise that has been a bit rambly but I'm off to bed now so I'm not going to edit. I hope that has at least indicated that there is more to obesity than food.

http://www.nih.gov/researchmatters/september2013/09162013obesity.htm

Food is the only factor.

No food you can't get fat.

All other factors are secondary.

IF you have no food no matter what lifestyle you have you can't get fat.

IF you have no food you can sit around all day and you still won't get fat.

Simple.

Limit the amount of food then it will lessen the problem for any lifestyle.

Not everyone has the will, the ability to exercise, control and other things that needs to lose weight.

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Joeinpoole replied to cqexbesd | 9 years ago
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cqexbesd wrote:

I realise that has been a bit rambly but I'm off to bed now so I'm not going to edit. I hope that has at least indicated that there is more to obesity than food.

No, it *is* just the food (and drink).

I thought I'd heard it all with the fatties who claim it is their 'metabolism' or their 'glands' or their 'hereditary', etc, etc. Now, according to you, they can also claim it's their 'gut bacteria' rather than all the food they stuff into their podgy mouths. Brilliant!

Unfortunately, *every* scientific study has pretty much proved that every fat person that claims to eat "nothing" ... and every thin person who claims to eat "everything all the time" ... are both talking bollocks. Invariably they are either fat or thin according to how much they eat and drink.

It turns out that the laws of physics ... really do work! Who'd have thought it?

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