�鶹��

Available for over a year

Good Morning. Paediatric obesity is a serious problem. Its consequences pose manifold health challenges, both in the present and future, to children who might otherwise be perfectly well. So there’s been a mixed response to Thursday’s Government announcement of the pre-watershed ban on TV and online junk food advertising. Healthcare professionals, industry representatives and sociologists have all had their say. Everyone seems to acknowledge the problem: a multi-disciplinary approach seems necessary to find answers. I heard one 16-year-old boy say that he received more messages from a fast-food delivery company on his phone each day than he did from his grandma. He’s tried to stop them, but they always found a way to “infiltrate my inbox” he said. That’s quite serious stuff. A conference of Nurse Practitioners in the US this week highlighted how COVID had only exacerbated the problem of obesity amongst children adding to “chronic unremitting stresses” such as poverty, food security & health security. This, of course, mirrors the narrative of the England footballer Marcus Rashford who has championed the wellbeing of children as the responsibility of us all. Theologically speaking – both my head and my heart keep returning to the controversy which evolved when Jesus said that rules about food were not enough for human flourishing and well-being. Words which emanate from our mouths, and our consequent actions - he said - are what’s really important in making a difference. And surely none more so than when the health of every child is our concern. Each family is different. A totally prescriptive approach to such a complex problem will obviously not work. The German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach is right, to a certain extent, in proclaiming that we are what we eat. As adults, we wrestle with this challenge ourselves and know, full well, that it is far from easy. But for families with limited resources in stressful situations, dealing with child obesity, in tandem with a host of other hurdles, is a daily challenge. And it is the compassion and love undergirding the central message of the New Testament which spurs me on to ask this morning, what more can I do? What more can any of us do?