Professor Kevin Fenton is the Director of Well being and Wellbeing at Public Well being England. Meaning he’s the person accountable for a lot of well being campaigns that goal to assist males to beat fats. MAN v FAT received the possibility to speak to him about his views on weight problems, carbs, the ever-controversial Eatwell Plate and whether or not sufficient is being carried out to help males. 
Hello Kevin, thanks for taking the time to reply the questions we’ve received and people we had from our readers. The quantity of recommendations exhibits that it is a matter that a number of males really feel strongly about! Just so our readers know a bit about your individual background with weight reduction have you ever tried any explicit diets earlier than?
Through the years I’ve explored numerous choices whether or not it’s the paleo eating regimen or following the no carbs after a sure time thought, however I truly benefit from the technique of being aware about what I’m consuming and consuming. I can see the completely different that it makes with my power ranges and my weight and the way I’m feeling. I’ve at all times needed to be very aware about my weight, as a result of I’ve a household historical past of hypertension. At any time when I’ve placed on just a few additional kilos I can see the change in my systolic blood strain virtually instantly.
Additionally, over the summer time I began operating along with the load coaching I used to be already doing. I’m completely having fun with it now. There’s a physique of proof that claims it takes between six to eight weeks for a brand new behaviour to develop into ingrained as a behavior and I can let you know that getting away from bed and going out operating at 5.30am took a while to develop into ingrained! I can see this turning into actually infectious although so I’m already beginning to discover 5k and 10k runs and attempting to curb my pure competitiveness.
Given your place presumably there’s an additional strain on you to keep up a wholesome life-style?
I don’t really feel a strain due to my job, if something it’s a priviledge. Doing the work I’m doing, which is de facto being a nationwide champion for wellbeing implies that you perceive so clearly about how your exercise, your alcohol consumption, your social connectedness with others, all these behaviours are usually not solely influencing my very own well being but in addition by my networks. My place as an examplar means you develop into much more aware about your wholesome behaviours, however I’ve come to get pleasure from that.
At PHE you’re accountable for a variety of well being initiatives that cowl sexual well being, smoking cessation in addition to weight – how do you resolve what will get precedence?
There are a variety of the way we resolve what takes precedence. The primary is knowledge to see what are the elements which are driving untimely loss of life or incapacity inside our society and asking how can we as a public well being organisation assist the NHS and authorities to handle these. Second we’ve got to consider the place we’ll get the best return on an funding. Funding into weight problems now could have large impacts on the pressures on the NHS, reversing the tide of the diabetes epidemic and heart problems. It’s additionally prone to have an effect on the degrees of dementia that we’re seeing sooner or later and the collateral advantages of extra exercise and higher diet will affect on the degrees of most cancers, muscular-skeletal ailments and issues and psychological well being. Weight problems is totally a precedence.
[blocktext align=”left”]We now have to consider the place we’ll get the best return on an funding. Funding into weight problems now could have large impacts on the pressures on the NHS.[/blocktext]
You’ve labored in a lot of completely different areas by your profession – what’s it in regards to the problem of the weight problems epidemic that makes it notably complicated?
It’s a lot of issues. One large one is that as a nation we’ve misplaced the attitude to see that the overwhelming majority of individuals at the moment are overweight or obese – we’ve misplaced that sensitivity to understanding what a standard weight is. That makes it tougher for us to understand the advantages of being a standard weight and understanding what that appears like.
Second the weight problems drawback may be very complicated as a result of it’s a dynamic interplay between surroundings, societal elements, household elements and particular person behaviour and there’s nobody easy resolution – in any other case we’d have solved it! You do must have all of these elements addressed, virtually on the similar time to get an enduring affect and that makes the work more difficult.
Third, it’s about understanding that the weight problems epidemic didn’t happen in a single day, nevertheless it’s been slowly occuring over a long time. Reversing the pattern goes to take a while as nicely.
Are you optimistic in regards to the progress within the battle towards weight problems?
I’m cautiously optimistic. We’re at a place now the place we’ve got new gamers on this area who can take into consideration this drawback in new methods and produce about options to what has historically been a posh and intractable drawback. Whether or not it’s Native Authorities who’re in a position to have a look at native belongings together with leisure amenities, public parks and transport. Or the NHS occupied with scientific well being interventions. 
I’m additionally inspired as a result of beginning final 12 months we started to see some adjustments within the prevalence of childhood weight problems and a reversal in among the tendencies which is the primary time that’s been reported. Within the US they’re additionally seeing comparable tendencies (see infographic left). Grownup weight problems goes to take a while and we have to present that we’re stopping younger folks from turning into overweight however we’re additionally offering tailor-made programmes to assist obese and overweight folks to get again to a wholesome weight.
Is sufficient being carried out to assist males who need to shed extra pounds?
I believe it is a large space of alternative. I’m unsure that the market as an entire has tapped into the truth that truly there are extra males who’re obese than girls. If you considered participating with males and what works with weight discount in addition to how greatest to interact it’s an enormous alternative. We actually see it as an enormous alternative for the work we’re doing and we’re working with the Males’s Well being Discussion board to consider modern programmes and we’re working with Native Authority programmes.
That mentioned, we get it. That is an space the place we will add worth, however we additionally must stimulate our exterior companions to consider how we assist males as nicely. We now have targeted on weight reduction programmes that disproportionately recruit girls and now could be the time to consider equating the gender stability.
[blocktext align=”right”]We now have targeted on weight reduction programmes that disproportionately recruit girls and now could be the time to consider equating the gender stability. [/blocktext]
As a part of your function you’re accountable for Change4Life and the Eatwell Plate, which regularly is available in for an enormous quantity of criticism, do you assume that’s honest?
We all know that the eatwell plate works. We all know that as a result of we’ve carried out focus teams with stakeholders, members of the general public; we all know it as a result of it’s been adopted by many different authorities departments, instructional settings and charities which are utilizing the plate to make sure we’ve got constant messages. This idea of a nationwide plate that may make suggestions actual to households and people isn’t new, however we do know that it really works. I settle for that it might not be good to satisfy the wants of each stakeholder, however it’s what it’s. The important thing query we have to ask is how can we proceed to evolve and develop the Eatwell Plate as we get higher proof and that’s one thing we’re commited to doing.
The 2 largest areas of concern I routinely hear are the function of carbohydrates and the function of fats as depicted within the Eatwell Plate – are they up for assessment?
You might know that the Scientific Advisory Committee on Vitamin (SACN) lately offered their draft suggestions on carbohydrates within the British eating regimen and arising from their last suggestions we’ll replace the Eatwell Plate. That can even be an opportunity for us to make among the amends that we’ve heard from colleagues. One continued supply of concern is that it doesn’t embrace any reference to liquids equivalent to sugary drinks and alcohol which have develop into sources of extra calorie consumption and needs to be on the plate.
In the meanwhile we’re not going to be trying on the function of fat. We do know that with saturated fat the large concern we’ve got is the sturdy relationship it has with excessive ranges of ldl cholesterol and its relationship with heart problems. The proof and the talk on the function of fat within the eating regimen waxes and wanes, however we’re clear in the meanwhile in regards to the hyperlink between saturated fats and coronary heart illness. All I can say is that we’re engaged on the Eatwell Plate because of suggestions and adjustments will likely be made within the subsequent 12 months.
[blocktext align=”right”]We desperately want a brand new era of meals literate kids, kids who perceive meals provenance and diet.[/blocktext]
Do you assume the federal government must intervene to cease the meals trade including a lot extra sugar to meals?
Earlier than we get to authorities intervention there may be going to be a change within the zeitgeist. We’d like that change within the relationship we’ve got to sugar and the function of sugar in our eating regimen. It began over the past 12 months and there was a progress within the advocacy organisations which are targeted on that. We now have come out very strongly in regards to the function of sugar and the necessity for us to scale back it. We’re not desirous to demonise any particular product however we need to be sure that there’s larger mindfullness in regards to the meals sorts in our eating regimen and the results of over-consumption of anyone.
We discovered so much from the marketing campaign to scale back salt in our eating regimen. For salt it was the collaboration with trade that was pushed by sturdy insurance policies and public training that noticed adjustments in salt discount. That’s been a strong lever and we’re at the start of the journey with sugar and there are many classes we will draw from the state of affairs with salt. We now have to be actually cautious to hurry to legislate on sugar as a result of there are numerous nations which have instituted insurance policies or taxations however there was little or no proof on its effectiveness.
Lastly, one criticism that’s typically leveled at Change4Life is that its finances is so small compared to the cash that large meals corporations can put into advertising and marketing much less constructive messages. What would you do if the budgets have been reversed?
If the tables have been turned I’d tackle this subject within the complete means that it deserves. Enthusiastic about higher insurance policies, training on eating regimen, altering the obesogenic surroundings we’re dwelling in in the meanwhile and actually occupied with the burden on excessive streets of low cost energy and quick meals. We have to do work on training as a result of we desperately want a brand new era of meals literate kids, kids who perceive meals provenance and diet. Then I’d spend cash on the inequalities round meals – we’ve seen a progress in meals financial institution utilization and a progress in meals poverty and I’d like to have the ability to have programmes that particularly tackle these points. That’s what I’d spend the cash on!
Our due to Kevin for speaking to us – what do you assume? What would you modify on the Eatwell Plate in case you may make one alteration? Do you assume sufficient is being carried out to assist males shed extra pounds and have you ever ever felt that the main focus is an excessive amount of on serving to girls? Tell us!
