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Weighty issues. Did advertising make us fat?

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One in three Britons is now overweight. One in five is obese. As far as one can trust statistics, that's the picture giving rise to some hefty soul searching this week. How did this happen? What is to be done about it? And who's to blame? That's the general drift of dozens of press pieces and political comment flying about. Inevitably, advertising has been thrust into the spotlight. After all, if all those chicken and burger joints weren't constantly thrusting their greasy goods down our throats, then we wouldn't be so plump. So, did advertising make us fat? Not really, no.

For a nation with a reputation for pretty terrible cuisine, we've managed to become obsessed with food. When I say 'obsessed' I mean 'confused', 'guilt ridden' and 'depressed'. Yesterday I caught a segment of ITV's daytime show 'Loose Women' (I'm not a habitual viewer, I was fixing up a TV and it happened to be on). The panel was discussing the importance of women's body confidence, but in the commercial break, Lorraine Kelly popped up to plug a thing called 'The Brazilian Bikini Body Diet'. Which rather neatly sums up the pickle in which we find ourselves.  On one hand, there's an eminently sensible voice saying we'd do better to concentrate more on our character and less on our waistband; on the other there's a persistent call to slim down, exercise, diet and look as much like a magazine model as possible. It's not surprising we're perplexed.

"An overweight person is no greater threat than a skinny one."

I do wonder where this moral panic over body mass originates. An overweight person is no greater threat to his or her fellow humans than a skinny one. They're only risking their own health and it could be argued we're all entitled to shorten our lives if we so choose.

When the subject of obesity is raised in a public forum, the warning is predictable: carry too much weight and you may develop diseases which will eventually kill you. I've always found this quest for longer and longer lives bemusing. In the UK we now live far longer than our ancestors; a hundred years ago and average lifespan of 80 years was unthinkable. Now we're shooting for 100. Simultaneously, we're having to admit we are ill-equipped to cater and care for an aging population. Of course, I'm not quite arguing for dying young as a lifestyle choice, but I would suggest the obsession with longevity is as unhealthy as this focus on fat.

And what of advertising? It is suggested that, in recent years, the food industry has manipulated us into an addiction to sugar and fat, using clever marketing techniques. However, I grew up in the 1970s when fry-up breakfasts, chips and chocolate were regarded as part of staple diets, and were advertised accordingly. Therefore the rise in obesity must stem from an increase in sedentary work and leisure options. The same politicians (some of whom are very fat) who insist we must all be trimmer, have worked hard to reduce manual jobs and sell-off playing fields. In these circumstances advertising is small beer. Indeed, if marketing campaigns are part of the problem, it's in their habit of constantly portraying unrealistic images of the human form, particularly the female human form.

So here's my suggestion: eat what you like. If your weight is important to you, consume less fat and sugar, and exercise more. If you're not too fussed about a bit of podge, don't let anyone make you anxious about it. Not your peers, not politicians, not advertisers. Because it's none of their business.

Magnus Shaw is a copywriter, blogger and consultant

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