IT is a shocking new statistic: 4,800 cases of bowel cancer have been caused by obesity in Scotland over the last decade. And the problem is getting worse. In 2005, 10.5 per cent of bowel cancer cases were linked to being overweight or obese, but by 2015, that had crept up to 12.1 per cent. It is another warning sign – another indication of the slow but persistent effect obesity is having on the lives and life expectancy of Scots.
The other signs are just as bad. There was a time when obesity was rare in schools but since 2005, 15 per cent of every primary one class in Scotland has been overweight. These are young people who will very likely grow up to be overweight adults and then have children of their own who will repeat the cycle. More than a quarter of adults in Scotland are already obese and there is every chance that the numbers will continue to rise.
Cancer Research UK’s figures underline the consequences of the trend. Obesity is linked to 13 types of cancer which means that as more of us become obese, more of us will be diagnosed with cancer – a pattern we are already seeing with bowel cancer. Professor Linda Bauld, Cancer Research UK’s cancer prevention expert, says she is hugely worried to see so many bowel cancer cases caused by excess weight and to see that proportion rising as more of the population becomes overweight and obese.
The Scottish Government is developing a new strategy to tackle the problem but if it is to have any chance of success in the long-term, it must focus on prevention rather than cure and it has to be tough on the causes of obesity. That means considering measures such as a sugar tax or restrictions on multi-buy offers on unhealthy foods, as Professor Bauld would like to see.
The strategy will also have to learn the lessons of the long, hard battle against smoking, which means restrictions on advertising, increases in tax on products linked to obesity and education programmes that can change the way we all behave. Obesity is the greatest health crisis of the modern age; tackling it should be one of the Government’s greatest priorities.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here