APPENDIX 31
Memorandum by Womens Sports Foundation
(OB 55)
INTRODUCTION
1. The Womens Sports Foundation is the national
non-governmental organisation solely committed to improving and
promoting opportunities for girls and women in sports in all roles
and at all levels. Founded in 1984, we are a non-profit, membership
based organisation. Our vision is of a society which celebrates
the diversity of women and girls and enables them to benefit from,
excel at and fulfil their potential through the sport of their
choice. We work across the UK through a combination of advocacy,
information, education, research and training.
1.1 We welcome the opportunity to report
to the Health Select Committee Inquiry on Obesity and give evidence,
in particular, on the link between obesity and poor health in
girls and women and the need to address that with greater access
to recreation and sport.
THE HEALTH
IMPLICATIONS OF
OBESITY
2. There is a growing body of evidence linking
diet, sedentary lifestyle and the resultant obesity with poor
health and greater morbidity. In particular there is a substantial
body of evidence linking inactivity and obesity with cancer, type
2 diabetes, osteoporosis and coronary heart disease. A report
by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF, 1997) concluded that
there was evidence that obesity increases the risk of cancer of
the endometrium, cancer of the kidney and cancer of the colon.
2.1 With particular reference to women the
WCRF report highlighted an evident link between obesity and post-menopausal
breast cancer. Consistent with this, we know that girls that participate
in as little as four hours of exercise per week may reduce their
lifelong risk of breast cancer by up to 60%. (Journal of National
Cancer Institute, USA, 1994).
2.2 The specific link between physical exercise
and cancer was again highlighted in a report published by the
International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of
the World Health Organisation (IARC, 2002).
2.3 With a UK perspective, a high profile
report from the National Audit Office concluded that obesity could
shave as much as nine years off a persons life. (Tackling Obesity
in England, National Audit Office, 2001).
TRENDS IN
OBESITY
3. In line with many other countries the
prevalence of obesity in adults has increased in the United Kingdom
in recent decades. Figures from the National Audit Office report
suggest that obesity in England has tripled in the last 20 years.
Data compiled by the International Obesity Task Force shows that
England and Scotland have some of the highest levels of obesity
in Europe and at current rates the condition will affect more
than one in four adults by 2010. (Tackling Obesity in England,
National Audit Office, 2001).
3.1 The prevalence of obesity increases
with age and is higher amongst people of lower socio-economic
status. This is particularly the case amongst women (including
young women) and those from certain minority ethnic groups including
Asian or African-Caribbean people.
3.2 There is evidence that obesity is marginally
more prevalent amongst women across the population groups. Tackling
Obesity in England states that:
— In 1980 8% of women in England were
classified as obese, compared to 6% of men.
— By 1998 prevalence of obesity had
nearly trebled to 21% of women and 17% of men. (National Audit
Office, 2001).
3.3 There is also evidence of increased
prevalence of obesity among children. The National Study for Health
and Growth, for example, shows a dramatic rise in the proportion
of overweight primary school children aged four to eleven years.
Data from a large study of children aged one month to four years
in England again showed a similar rise in the incidence of overweight
(Bundred et al 2001).
3.4 Furthermore obesity in childhood is
known to be a risk factor for obesity in adults (Parsons et al
1999). Parson et al also show that children are more likely to
be obese if they have an obese parent, and this risk increases
if both parents are obese.
WHAT ARE
THE CAUSES
OF OBESITY?
4.0 There is a general consensus that the
increase in prevalence of obesity in the United Kingdom is not
due to genetics but instead due to two major lifestyle factors:
the energy content of modern diet and an increasingly sedentary
lifestyle (Prentice and Jebb, 1995). The increase in sedentary
leisure pursuits such as the television or computer use and a
more mechanised lifestyle (for example, use of the motor car and
domestic appliances) has resulted in a considerable reduction
in physical exertion for much of the population.
4.1 The Womens Sports Foundation believes
that the situation is particularly acute for girls and women.
Research over the last 20 years has given clear indication that
even withstanding the changes in lifestyle, girls and women do
not participate in sport or recreation at the same rate as boys
or men.
4.2 Girls and women are far more likely
to avoid sport or drop out of recreation and sport at key life
stages than are boys or men. Work done by the YWCA highlights
that by the age of 15, only 36% of girls engage in physical activity
for at least 30 minutes on most days compared to 71% of boys.
They suggest that pressure to look like supermodels means that
girls as young as five are becoming weight conscious and consequently
vulnerable to chronic binge eating in later life, resulting in
weight gain. (Obesity, The New Face of Poverty for Young Women
in Britain, YWCA).
4.3 Equally there is evidence that while
a man will maintain consistent recreational habits independent
of his life stages, in contrast, a woman's interaction with sport
will change depending on her life stages. For example, women's
participation in sport will fluctuate and may be sacrificed entirely
as a women goes from being a single person to being married to
being a mother (Campbell, 1999).
4.4 Overall there is a severe lack of research
in this area and so it is hard to determine exactly why such patterns
exist. Nonetheless the link between obesity, poor health and poor
recreational activity is a proven one and the Womens Sports Foundation
would highlight the particular dangers that exist here for girls
and women.
WHAT CAN
BE DONE
ABOUT IT?
5. There is overwhelming evidence that the
incorporation of physical activity into individual lifestyles
will result in health benefits and the government has already
acknowledged this through a number of initiatives.
5.1 For example, the Coronary Heart Disease:
Guidance for implementing the preventive aspects of the National
Service Framework (HDA, 2001) acknowledges that there are
a range of approaches available to address obesity. It suggests
"reducing sedentary behaviour in obese children; using diet,
physical activity and behavioural strategies for adults . . .".
It goes on to state seventeen activities that could be used to
prevent and reduce obesity. These are based in a number of settings
including the community, schools and primary care. The Guidance
particularly stresses the importance of physical activity and
it draws upon evidence published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association 1999 (Wei et al). This states that, "losing
weight is itself beneficial . . . but increased cardio respiratory
fitness should also be encouraged". For children the same
approach is recommended. They should be encouraged to include
physical activity in their daily live "so that regular exercise
becomes the norm".
5.2 The Womens Sports Foundation believes
however that, despite the clear evidence of a need for greater
investment in sport and in particular the need to engage and retain
girls and young women in sport there remains a lack of strategic,
cross governmental direction and investment in grass roots recreation
and sport for girls and women across the UK.
5.3 In December 2002 the government published
Game Plan (DCMS/Strategy Unit, 2002) and the Womens Sports
Foundation welcomed its commitment to, amongst other things, increasing
participation in sport in order to increase health benefits. Nonetheless
the Womens Sports Foundation would like to see the government
commitment to addressing health needs through sport, go a step
further.
5.4 In particular we would also like to
see:
— An acknowledgment from the Department
of Health that low participation in sport and recreation is a
critical and proven risk factor for obesity and specific diseases
among women, including breast cancer and osteoporosis.
5.6 We would further like to see that acknowledgement
used as a foundation for:
— Research within the National NHS
R&D programme into the role of sport and exercise amongst
girls and women as a public health intervention.
— Department of Health liaison with
other relevant departments, including the Department for Education
and Skills and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in order
to develop a cross governmental initiative aimed at addressing
the drop out rate of girls and young women from sport and the
poor levels of participation in sport amongst older women. This
might include:
— The development of a series of coordinated
pilot projects aimed at testing innovative ways of increasing
the participation of girls and women.
— An increase in the volume and accessibility
of high quality information and training on issues relating to
women and sport and exercise.
— Government and Sports Council recognition
and action on the links between participation in sport and long-term
media coverage.
CONCLUSIONS
6. The Womens Sports Foundation welcomes
the initiative taken by the Health Select Committee in seeking
to examine one of the most significant public health concerns
of the twenty first century.
6.1 We believe that the evidence is clear-cut
regarding the link between obesity, poor health and lack of physical
exercise.
6.2 We also know that there is a greater
prevalence of obesity among women in general but particularly
among young women of lower socio-economic status and that there
are specific health implications for women arising from this.
6.3 Furthermore we know that girls and women
do not participate in sport and recreation to a sufficient level.
We know that girls are more likely to drop out of sport and stay
away from sport for the rest of their lives and that young women
and older women find it harder than men to accommodate sport and
recreation with their lifestyle patterns and personal preferences.
6.4 With specific regard to the Department
of Health, we believe that sport and recreation should be considered
a health intervention for women. We believe that, like other legitimate
health interventions, it should be fully researched, supported
by a sound evidence base and endorsed and promoted by public health
bodies.
6.5 Finally, as part of the drive to tackle
obesity, we recommend a more pro-active stance from across the
government towards a genuine commitment to increasing the participation
of girls and women in all forms of sport, recreation and physical
activity.
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