The UK is failing its people by a botched approach to the spiralling obesity crisis, a major health conference was told.
The number of people who are obese or struggling with health conditions caused by poor eating habits has rocketed from 53% in 1993 to current figures around 63%.
Leading health campaigner Steve Bennett said millions of people are at risk of developing early serious illness because of reliance on sugary foods, while the NHS is buckling under the annual £11.2 billion cost of obesity related conditions such as cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and cancer. That said, Steve made a case in the House of Lords that that number actually could be as high as £145 billion (3 times the defence budget).
“150 years ago hospitals were worried about polio, typhoid and other infectious diseases, which have since been eradicated thanks to scientific advancements. However, there are new diseases which are overwhelming our healthcare system – Dementia, Type 2 Diabetes, Cancer, Obesity and more,” he told the Private Health Collaboration conference in a keynote address.
“We are using the same pharmaceutical model to handle these diseases, despite the fact that they are not infectious, which is fundamentally flawed. These diseases all relate to what we are eating, and to a lesser extent, how we are living our lives.
“The sugary foods which our nation is consuming are fuelling insulin resistance caused by too much insulin in the bloodstream. This has been revealed as one of the main drivers of several of the modern diseases, which are filling hospital beds and pressurising the NHS.
“Needless suffering is happening because we are using a pharmaceutical model, rather than preventing these diseases in the first place.
“We are practicing sickcare instead of healthcare, waiting for individuals to be ill rather than teaching them how to look after themselves.”
The conference, which attracted 500 experts from healthcare, was titled Prevention or Prescription and focussed on the links of modern diseases to insulin resistance and the healthcare system’s dependence on a pharmaceutical model.
Steve, a successful businessman responsible for setting up two £100m firms, has invested millions into researching the nation’s obesity crisis, told delegates: “What is particularly interesting, and unbeknown to millions, is that our 5 litres of blood in the body can only take 1 teaspoon of sugar. Elevated blood sugar is treated as an emergency, and it pumps out insulin as a response.
“Staple foods which are considered healthy, such as jacket potatoes, orange juice, sandwiches, boiled spaghetti and boiled rice, are actually packed with sugar. Just 69 grams of Kellogg’s cornflakes contain a staggering 19 teaspoons of sugar.
“The problem lies in the fact that our government’s Eatwell Guideline are still advertising these foods as healthy and necessary for our balanced diet. They are feeding schoolchildren, hospital patients, the army these sugary foods.
“We need to prevent this from happening, rather than trying to combat diseases driven by insulin resistance with medicine.”
Steve believes that the public needs to eat more fibre and to be made aware of the dangers of ultra-processed foods with high sugar content.
He added: “Fibre is the antidote to sugar. When consumed, it sits at the bottom of the stomach, acting as a filter to slow down the absorption of food. It is a GLP-1 Drug without the side effects.
“Large food corporations have been removing fibre from their foods. Fibre’s slowing of gastric emptying reduces the need to eat so much food.
“Additionally, preventing the sugar spike reduces the dopamine spike, the cravings, binge-eating and addiction. Food companies need people to crave their food and so remove the fibre.
“I hope that educating the nation on the dangers of insulin resistance will be a vital step towards our healthcare system adopting a preventative approach.”
Steve, who has created £100 million companies during his award-winning commercial career before becoming a respected health coach, is launching the Club Well app later in the year to encourage users to keep track of their metabolic health to prevent future health issues related to insulin resistance.
The Public Health Collaboration of which Steve is its main benefactor is a UK-registered charity dedicated to improving the health of the public and protecting the future of the NHS.