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London 2012 will be 'unhealthy Games'
Sophie Goodchild, Health Editor17 Oct 2007
London's 2012 Olympics came under fire today as scientists behind a landmark report on obesity warned the Games will fuel the crisis.
The Foresight report warns obesity is more dangerous than smoking and will cut life expectancy by as much as 13 years - with 60 per cent of men and 50 per cent of women on course to be clinically obese by 2050.
Today Dr Susan Jebb, one of the advisers who wrote the report, warned the 2012 Olympics would be the "unhealthy" games which, not only failing to promote healthy eating, would actively encourage an unhealthy diet.
The leading scientist said the use of Coca-Cola and McDonald's as sponsors sends out the wrong message. Coca-Cola and McDonald's have a global Olympics sponsorship deal which excludes other rivals.
Ms Jebb, an expert on nutrition, also said more must be done to get people walking to the Games instead of using public transport.
But she said: 'The whole point of the Olympics is to promote health so what is going on? Precious little. There are massive opportunities for organisers to use their links with the food industry. I'd like to see them using at least diet drinks or water or orange juice otherwise we are going to end up with an 'unhealthy' Olympics."
Among Londoners, obesity rates are predicted to rise by more than a third with Ealing, Hammersmith and Kensington & Chelsea the "fat" hotspots.
However, the study says fat people are not solely responsible for the problem. Instead, it warns that modern life is to blame for the nation " sleepwalking" towards obesity. It also concludes that new appetite-suppressant drugs are not the answer.
The 250 experts involved in the research conclude that sweeping social changes are needed.
Sir David King, the Government's chief scientific adviser, who led the two-year Foresight study, said: "We must fight the current notion that the current obesity epidemic arises from individual over-indulgence or laziness alone." Foresight calls on town planners to "design" out obesity by encouraging people to walk more.
