01 May 2018 BANT Fully Supports Jamie Oliver’s Childhood Obesity Manifesto

BANT (British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine) fully supports Jamie Oliver’s Childhood Obesity Manifesto. BANT has long called for a different approach to the obesity crisis and indeed it reflects what was called for by the House of Commons Health Select Committee in their Childhood Obesity inquiry.  BANT admires Jamie Oliver’s tenacity as a parent, celebrity chef, restauranteur and healthy eating ambassador, in campaigning for the greater good: the fundamental right of good health for British children.

Earlier this year, BANT highlighted its delight on hearing the news that the Government is planning to ban junk food advertising and two for one promotions. Jamie Oliver’s Manifesto, is a one of common sense and it is time that British lawmakers and their advisors recognised that the nutrition policies of the last several decades are not working and that a radical new approach needs to be embraced. One that sticks to the scientific evidence and the health needs of our nation, over the objectives of business and politics.

In addition to Jamie Oliver’s points, BANT would like to suggest:

• The reintroduction of home economics classes in school
• Education about healthy eating; how diet and lifestyle can influence health over the short and long-term, but not based on the inherently flawed Eatwell Guide.
• Promotion by Government Agencies of the consumption of healthy ingredients and unprocessed food.

Jamie Oliver’s Manifesto and BANT’s similar repeated calls would set the background for establishing the changes needed to engender a long-term cultural and environmental shift. We need to move away from the current state which actively promotesunhealthy indulgence, either knowingly or in ignorance.

The causes of obesity are multifactorial and can include increased stress levels, systemic low-grade inflammation, lack of exercise, and choice of foods and their preparation/cooking methods, amongst others.  There is growing evidence that minimally processed foods like non-starchy vegetables and fruit are more satiating and elicit less of a glycaemic response than ultra-processed foods, so prevalent in typical British diets. Additionally, minimally processed foods are associated with a decreased risk of cardio-metabolic disease.

BANT continues to promote its Wellbeing Guidelines campaign to encourage the British people to eat more individual ingredients and unprocessed food. Going back to some old-fashioned values, such a family meal times, and improving the nations cooking skills to use fresh ingredients, will go a long way to help the obesity targets and health of the individuals.

BANT experts carefully developed a set of Wellbeing Guidelines, based on the latest science and research in the field of nutrition for optimal health. The BANT Wellbeing Guidelines were specifically designed to provide clear, concise, easy to understand information, avoiding out-dated information and research, and addressing some of the most common health concerns.  The most frequent reasons people seek nutritional advice is for weight management and/ or for general health and wellbeing. These issues are addressed by BANT with the following:

• THE WELLNESS SOLUTION (https://bant.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/WELLNESS-SOLUTION-IMAGE.jpg)
• FIGHT THE FAT / BEAT THE BLOAT (WEIGHT LOSS) (https://bant.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/FIGHT-THE-FAT-IMAGE.jpg)

BANT Registered Nutrition Practitioners are regulated by the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) that holds an Accredited Voluntary Register (AVR) for the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA). A recent report by the Royal Society for Public Health and the Professional Standards Agency made a key recommendation that AVR practitioners have the authority to make direct NHS referrals, in appropriate cases, to ease the administrative burden on GP surgeries.

As members of the CNHC Accredited Register, BANT Registered Nutrition Practitioners and other CNHC registrants, are the key workforce asset to harness 21st century lifestyle medicine to tackle the rising tide of stress related fatigue, obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, dementia and other chronic diseases.

To find a BANT practitioner, please click here: https://practitioner-search.bant.org.uk/