Children growing up in the UK today face a plethora of societal pressures and challenges. Our young people are some of the most overweight in Europe, are recording increasing levels of mental health issues, and are more likely to live a shorter life than their parents. They're also less likely to lead a financially stable life.
Last Wednesday the leaders of the Labour, Scottish National, Lib Dem and Green parties sent a letter to the prime minister, calling for "a comprehensive strategy to tackle childhood obesityn. It included 13 recommendations, but there were two glaring omissions from the list: the role of physical activity, and improving mental health and wellbeing——a decision I find deeply disheartening(令人沮丧的)in a u comprehensivestrategy.
I recognise the positive impact that many of the recommendations could have, such as banning free offers for junk food and restrictions on advertising, and using tax incentives(税收激励政策)to make healthy food cheaper. But you cannot have a comprehensive strategy that looks only at diet, and ignores wider factors such as physical activity and mental health.
This August will mark the two-year anniversary of the government's childhood obesity plan, which was an opportunity to put children's health at the heart of policymaking and practice. But by focusing on calories in and calories out are we missing the bigger picture? Children are seldom the main decision-maker on the factors in their life that promote weight gain ; they rarely choose what they eat ( at home or at school) ; their activity levels are often subject to the depth of a parent's purse ; and they largely exist in educational settings that are forced to place more emphasis on standardised testing than on health and wellbeing.
At ukactive, we champion the physical, mental and social benefits that come from an active, healthy life. I have seen first hand the vital role that the physical activity sector has in helping to tackle childhood obesity.
But we also recognise that our sector cannot achieve its ambitions for a healthier Britain alone. We must seek consensus across all political parties that obesity is a complex disease for which no single cause or cure exists. It's never been clearer that we need to d
evelop a cross-party strategy that drives an integrated approach to this fundamental issue. The diet and physical activity agendas are of equal importance, and both sectors have to work together. To shun a collaborative, holistic approach would be to jeopardise the future health and prosperity of the UK.
1. The health problems of the young people in the UK will lead to .
A) various psychiatric disorders
B) weight loss and increased energy
C) shorter life expectancy
D) more expenditure
2. According to the author, what did the comprehensivestrategy miss?
A) Forbidding junk food.
B) Promoting physical exercise and mental health.
C) Controlling food advertising.
D) Making the healthy food cheaper.
3. Which of the following can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
A) Parents need to help the children calculate the specific calories needed for each day.
B) Children should decide what and how much they eat by themselves.
pets3相当于大学英语几级 C) Most children focuses more on their academic achievements
D) The overweight children are less willing to do physical activities.
4. By citing the example of ukactive, the author aims to .
A) warn the public of the consequences of obesity
B) remind the parents of the urgency of solving their children's health problems
C) appeal to the government to make effective laws and regulations
D) help people recognize the importance of physical activity
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