Michelle Bridges: “Our obesity crisis shouldn’t rest with the individual, but with all of us as a community.” Photo: Ellis Parrinder
Scored myself a tour of the Charles Perkins Centre, a research and education hub at the University of Sydney, the other day. And although I am constantly trumpeting and will continue to trumpet the “eat less and move more” mantra, I reckon this research facility could be the most important obesity initiative we’ve seen in this country. Because our obesity crisis isn’t simply the result of our eating more and moving less, it’s a perfect storm of circumstances that have combined to put the human race (in the Western world at least) in a foodscape that is unique in its history.
In the same way that a child being overweight isn’t the child’s issue but the family’s issue, our obesity crisis shouldn’t rest with the individual, but with all of us as a community. And our community is made up of lots of elements, all of which play a part in the looming “diabetes tsunami”.
It’s more complex than junk food fattening us up and TV remotes sitting us down. It’s about the design of our buildings and public spaces. It’s about how we grow, advertise and market our food. It’s about our mental health and its relationship to weight, nutrition and exercise. We can’t overlook the economics of food, its distribution and availability. Nor can we ignore the social dialogue around body image.
Chicken salad. Photo: Henryk Lobaczewski
As Professor Steve Simpson, the academic director of the Centre, says, “It is becoming increasingly clear that there is no single, simple solution for the crisis posed by our skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related conditions.”