To fight against what it considers to be “new smoking” in terms of its impact on public health, the National Institute for Heath and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the United Kingdom (equivalent to the Haute Autorité de Santé in France) shared his news recommendations.
Since 2006, when the last recommendations were made, the proportion of obese people has doubled in England. It was therefore time to update the advice to cope with this new “disease of the century” that constitutes overweight and obesity.
And this time around, the fight program is not just for obese or overweight people, but the entire population.
“We now know that we should take the stairs instead of the elevator, watch TV, eat healthier and drink less alcohol. »Explains Mike Kelly, director of the Public Health Center of the NICE Institute. “But today we want to give new, more precise recommendations. “
Do not watch television for more than two hours a day, or even institute days without television, avoid products containing added sugars such as sodas, walk or cycle to work, eat more fish, and keep up a Mediterranean-style diet, rich in olive oil, these are the main lines of the Institute’s long list.
“The general rule for maintaining a healthy weight is that the energy intake provided by food should not exceed the energy expended during daily activities” recalls Professor Kelly. “But sometimes it’s hard to know which changes are the most useful for your weight. “
This is why the English NICE Institute advises Britons to monitor their weight using smartphone applications, to monitor their food intake and act accordingly.
On its website, the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) recommends that doctors explain to obese patients the need to practice sports, in the order of at least 2h30 of moderate physical effort per week. However, it can be split into several sessions of at least ten minutes, according to its 2011 guide.
On the other hand, in France, the HAS has not, to date, given recommendations on a maximum daily duration of television.
