3.4 Improving understanding about what we eat

As mentioned previously, obesity is in part the result of consuming more than the body needs. This can be because of unhealthy food choices, such as eating food and consuming drinks high in energy, fat and/or sugar, as well as drinking too much alcohol. But in order to reach and maintain a healthy weight, most people need some assistance to bring about positive behavioural changes. In part, this requires education, so government, industry and individuals need to work together to tackle the issue of obesity.

Some people think that industry has little to do with obesity, but the food industry has been increasing portion sizes substantially over many years. As our exposure to larger portions has become more and more common, these sizes have come to be seen as appropriate, with consumption then increasing (Marteau et al., 2015; Robinson et al., 2023).

Understanding what we eat is one issue. Another is generating the right kind of behavioural change – and that is what you will look at next as this course comes to a close.