Britons are consuming up to 50% more calories than initially thought, producing misleading results used by policymakers in an attempt to control the ever increasing rise in obesity in the UK.

The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), a part privatised government agency have stated that national surveys are not capturing changes in the way food is eaten, which could be the reason why economic and scientific data point to people eating 3000 calories compared to the 2000 initially documented.

With such a huge under-estimate of calorie intake, this could result in misleading data and making strategies to tackle the current national obesity crisis less effective.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of The NHS , states that ‘Obesity in the UK is at the highest it’s ever been at and has effectively put a strain on services due to the cost of treating obesity and its related illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes.’ He further called on the government to raise more measures and help combat obesity. The government has said it will introduce a sugar tax in 2018 and publish a strategy to challenge childhood obesity.

As nurses and health professionals are uniquely placed it is important they raise awareness and support patients who may have weight issues. As obesity can be a complex issue with many root causes, it is vital for health professionals to provide patients with support, care and the right information to help them get back to a healthy weight.

Our Nutrition and Fluids course keeps nurses up to date on awareness of nutritional needs of patients, BMI and body weight. For more information on training courses provided by Train Healthcare, please click here.