The Insurance Helpline
Totally Insured Group // 0800 377 7763

The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned that social services may have to become increasingly involved in protecting obese children.

Communitycare.co.uk reports that the LGA is campaigning for a national debate on the topic with a view to assessing to what extent childhood obesity should be considered a factor of parental neglect.

David Rogers, LGA spokesperson on public health, told the news provider: "Councils are increasingly having to consider taking action where parents are putting children’s health in real danger. As the obesity epidemic grows these tricky cases will keep cropping up."

He added that it needs to be decided when local authorities can intervene if they think a child’s welfare is at risk.

Meanwhile, Dr Francisco Lopez-Jimenez of the US-based Mayo Clinic recently told attendees at the National Obesity Forum in London that three-quarters of adults are now overweight or obese.

Also speaking at the event, Dr Tam Fry said that overweight children should be taken away from their carers.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with obesity.

Prescriptions for obesity treatments rose by a staggering eight times between 1999 and 2006, new figures show.

While just 127,000 items were prescribed for treating obesity nine years ago, 2006 saw in excess of 1.06 million items prescribed, reflective not only of the higher numbers of people suffering from excess weight, but also a greater willingness on the part of practitioners to treat it medically.

The figures have been published by the Information Centre (IC), a special NHS statistical health authority.

Late last year, Foresight warned that current trends in obesity suggest that 60 per cent of men and 50 per cent of women will be obese by 2050.

Nevertheless, the IC’s "Health Survey for England" found that the healthy eating and exercise messages are getting through, with more people than previously found to be eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables each day and taking recommended levels of weekly exercise.

However, social class and income were found to have a key correlation with levels of obesity, poor diet and lack of exercise.

"Marked inequalities in lifestyle and in health continue to exist in England," said Dr Jennifer Mindell of University College London, who led the team which carried out the research for the IC.

"The lower your income, the more likely you are to smoke or be obese, and the less likely to eat sufficient fruit and vegetables or be active enough."

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with obesity.

A leading medical expert has claimed that obesity plays a leading role in the development of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer.

Dr Rajsekhar Nayak recently set up a clinic in India specifically dealing with obesity and he maintains that surgery is the best option for morbidly obese people.

He points out that diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and degenerative joint disease are all significantly affected by weight and consequently such conditions can be reduced or even reversed by surgery.

Dr Nayak said: "In order to address the malaise of obesity, bariatric (obesity) surgery has emerged as the best suitable option to rid the body of excessive fat."

He added that he had become inspired to develop this kind of centre after patients were being forced to travel extensively for such treatment.

The two most common obesity operations are restrictive surgery which reduces the stomachs size, and malabsorptive surgery which alters the body’s ability to absorb calories, according to Private Healthcare UK.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with medical conditions

The government has announced that it will make cookery classes in schools compulsory for 11 to 14 year olds as part of its initiative to tackle the increasing obesity epidemic.

Teaching unions have welcomed the decision to try and instil healthy eating habits at an early age, as obesity among school children continues to grow.

A report last year revealed that if obesity continues to develop at the current rate a quarter of children will be obese by 2050.

Talking to the Today programme, schools secretary Ed Balls, said: "I think the discussion we have had about obesity has shown all of us that if as a society we don’t act now we are going to have real problems in the next few decades for adults and also for young people."

He continued that the classes will aim to give children basic food skills that will "set them up for adult life".

Some 800 teachers are now being trained for the classes which will be officially introduced in 2011.

Elsewhere, the government has abandoned a ban on junk-food advertising before 21:00 GMT which will protect over £200 per year in advertising revenue.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with medical conditions

People hoping to improve their prospects of finding affordable diabetes insurance or cancer insurance may not want to look to their bosses for inspiration.

New research carried out by Bupa Wellness has indicated that a large number of managers follow unhealthy diets and lifestyles.

In spite of the UK’s smoking bans and widespread media campaigns to encourage giving up the habit, one in ten senior level employees assessed by the healthcare specialists admitted that they still light up.

Furthermore, one in four revealed they lead a sedentary lifestyle by failing to take exercise at least once a week - increasing their risk of a heart attack or stroke by the same amount as a smoker.

Around 61 per cent had a high Body Mass Index, which opens individuals up to the risk of developing high blood pressure, raised cholesterol, diabetes and some cancers.

"It is accepted that people follow examples of strong leaders," remarked Dr Peter Mace, medical director at Bupa Wellness.

He continued: "For a manager to be seen to be making their health a priority by making changes to their diet and lifestyle, it will encourage employees to do the same."

Scientists recently concluded that people who keep fit past the age of 40 cut their chances of a stroke by half.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with medical conditions

Scientists believe they have developed a new drug to reduce appetite in overweight people.

Clinical trials carried out on Merck’s treatment featured 533 obese patients and indicated that significant weight loss could be achieved at a range of different doses.

According to the research team, individuals who took 12 milligrams of taranabant typically consumed 27 per cent fewer calories than those on a placebo drug, and appeared to use up more energy and burn more fat while resting.

Merck Research Laboratories’ Steven Heymsfield, the author of the study, remarked that the results had been "surprising".

"We didn’t expect weight loss at all doses," he explained.

He revealed that taranabant works by blocking cannabinoid receptors in the brain which are responsible for the psychological effects of cannabis and help to regulate energy balance.

"The effects of marijuana on appetite have been known for millennia from its medicinal and recreational use - when you block the cannabinoid system with an antagonist like taranabant, you suppress appetite," he concluded.

Remaining obese puts individuals at an increased risk of heart disease and early death.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with obesity

The mystery behind one of the most well-known clinical problems faced by diabetes sufferers has been disclosed by scientists.

Researchers at leading Swedish medical university the Karolinska Institute concluded that drinking alcohol can lead to exaggerated insulin secretion, resulting in severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

Described in the latest issue of Endocrinology, the mechanism explains how alcohol ingestion may harm the human brain by decreasing blood glucose concentration to inappropriately low levels.

Lead investigator Ake Sjoholm pointed out that the discovery may explain the hypoglycemic properties of alcohol in diabetic patients or in alcoholics with liver failure.

"Alcohol intake might provoke sustained hypoglycemia in type-two diabetes patients being treated with hypoglycemic sulfonylureas because many of these drugs have a long biological half-life," the researcher remarked.

"Furthermore, many alcoholics are malnourished and/or have liver cirrhosis and might therefore be unable to mount a gluconeogenetic response to hypoglycemia," he added.

Hypoglycemia induced by alcohol ingestion is a familiar clinical problem for people with diabetes.

Meanwhile, research into the obesity associated with diabetes has found that a hormone released in response to food may be capable of promoting weight loss and improving insulin resistance.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with diabetes

Individuals considering obesity insurance may have extra concerns following the latest research.

Scientists at King’s College Hospital in south London have concluded that obesity has overtaken alcohol as the primary cause of liver disease.

Based at one of the country’s leading liver transplant centres, the experts found that for some people the damage is so severe they need a liver transplant.

Dr Varuna Aluvihare, a consultant hepatologist at King’s, told the BBC that fat-induced liver disease has also overtaken viral infections as the most common cause of liver disease in Europe and the US.

"If we extrapolate from the US experience its quite likely, unless we change things soon, in the next 20 or 30 years obesity will be the commonest cause of cirrhosis - that’s irreversible scarring, and may be the commonest cause of indication for transplantation," he warned.

Doctors point out that as the liver is the body’s largest internal organ, carrying out hundreds of functions, it is often unable to cope with large fat levels.

People who are overweight are also at risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and arthritis.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people with obesity

Anyone on the lookout for affordable diabetes insurance may want to think about getting to bed earlier.

Researchers have found that a lack of deep sleep could increase the risk of developing type-two diabetes.

Working at the University of Chicago, the scientists surmised that suppression of deep sleep – also known as slow-wave sleep – in healthy young adults "significantly decreased" their ability to regulate blood-sugar levels.

Following three nights of selective slow-wave sleep suppression, participants grew less sensitive to insulin and although they needed more insulin to dispose of the same amount of glucose, their insulin secretion did not increase to compensate.

According to the research team, this resulted in reduced glucose tolerance and increased risk of type-two diabetes.

Senior author Dr Eve Cauter remarked: "Since reduced amounts of deep sleep are typical of ageing and of common obesity-related sleep disorders, these results suggest that strategies to improve sleep quality, as well as quantity, may help to prevent or delay the onset of type-two diabetes in populations at risk."

Last year, the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association concluded that type-two diabetes is often diagnosed too late, with complications arising from the condition frequently only detected at the time of diagnosis.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with diabetes

Lower-cost obesity insurance could be an option for people who get between eight and nine hours sleep a night.

Scientists have found that such individuals are most likely to achieve an optimal weight.

Research published in today’s Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine also revealed that women with clinical medical problems are more likely to be obese if they have either very long or short sleep times.

The study, conducted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, singled out smoking, alcohol consumption, hypertension, diabetes and young age as other factors featuring in the obesity lottery.

"Whether or not manipulating sleep time in adults will prevent additional weight gain or facilitate weight loss is unclear," remarked Kenneth Nugent of Texas Tech University.

He added: "This question will require therapeutic trials in which sleep hygiene is addressed during weight loss studies."

Although the study did not clarify the relationship between sleep and weight in men, it put forward obstructive sleep apnea as one potential reason for the link.

The condition refers to overweight people struggling to breathe because fat in their throats blocks their airways, leading scientists to conclude that their obesity affects sleep patterns, rather than vice versa.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with obesity