The Online Clinic blog has brought you many news stories about the latest developments in anti obesity treatments. A statistic that we often cite is the fact that one in four women and one in five men in the United Kingdom are now clinically obese and the number is rising. We have discussed the various health consequences that arise from this worrying statistic and have brought you news on all the drug trials that are underway developing new medications to treat this growing problem. There are, however, more practical implications to what has been termed ‘the obesity epidemic’.
We reported a couple of months ago about the huge burden that obesity was placing on the NHS, not in terms of the actual medical treatment but rather the vast amounts of new equipment which is having to be bought to cope with all the obese people being admitted to hospital. As well as larger wheelchairs, operating tables and beds, hospitals are also having to purchase new medical equipment to use in the operating theatres to cope with the extra amounts of flesh and fat.
Now the problem is affecting schools. A policy commission lead by the former Education Secretary Charles Clarke has found that an increasing number of school children are suffering from back pain as a consequence of unsuitable school furniture. Part of the problem is the fact that much of the school furniture to be found in schools does not cater for the fact that children today are taller than in previous generations. There is, however, an added reason why chairs, tables and desks are unsuitable and that is due to the act that children are also much fatter.
The last time that children were measured for determining the measurements of school furniture was in the sixties. Needless to say, children’s shapes have changed considerably since then. Mr Clarke said that this fact could significantly impact on whether a child could sit comfortably at a table.
Replacing the furniture is of course vital to prevent children from having back and posture problems. What is worrying, however, is the fact that in a matter of years, not decades, the furniture will have to be replaced again as children become even fatter than they are now.