Dear Dame Sally Davies,
My name is Charlotte Bateman and I am 18 years old. I am writing
this letter in light of your recent proposal to tackle child obesity: a ban of
food and drink (with the exception of pure water) on public transport.
It would seem that your final report as chief medical officer has
created quite the stir, earning yourself a Marmite legacy among the press,
which ranges from 'top doctor' to 'the most deranged of the nanny-state
zealots'. And of course, there isn't just the media backlash to contend with;
there are the millions of enraged commuters who perceive your suggestion to be
as desirable as the prospect of a no deal Brexit. Alas, I am not here to get
political nor to shower you with insults. I am merely here to establish the
facts.
When I heard about your proposal, my first reaction was to break
out into a slow, sardonic applause and think to myself 'oh good, we've reached
a real life dystopia'. I mean come on Sally, you have to admit that it sounds
like you've been identifying a bit too literally with George Orwell's 1984,
rather than basing your ideas on solid evidence, proven by that thing we call
science. I don't know if you are aware of this but food is actually a human
right, protected under article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Therefore, if we start dictating when people can and can't eat, I think that in
itself raises a few red flags, don't you?
It is also worth considering that most commuters do not have time
to eat breakfast at home, meaning the train journey to work is their only
opportunity. Correct me if I am wrong, but are you insinuating that these
commuters should just skip the most important meal of the day? Hmm, that's
healthy advice coming from a chief medical officer.
How you intend on policing this snack attack is utterly beyond me.
If I whip out a sandwich on the Piccadilly line, will somebody notify TFL
police to perform a citizen's arrest for food felony (after all, the station
announcement always urges us to 'see it, say it, sort it'. If I start sipping
from my water bottle, will I be accosted by sniffer dogs to check the fluid is
not 'riddled' with additives or artificial flavours? Alternatively, will it be
the bus driver's job to deprive commuters of their morning flat whites because
I can just picture how that would go down: some poor, cowering driver being
pelted with pain au chocolats and egg McMuffins by a brigade of hangry,
caffeine craving passengers. Forgive me for my satire but I think it's time
Miss Davies that you woke up and smelled the coffee. The whole thing is a joke.
And I don't care if such measures have been effective in Japan or on Mars; the
fact that you are even entertaining this half-baked baloney suggests to me that
your departure is well overdue.
After reading the article, I then listened to your interview on
Radio 4 and naturally, my open-mouthed amazement turned to clenched teeth rage.
As you waffled on and on about the 'flood of unhealthy food' in our midst, I
found myself yelling at the radio, shaking with an incredulity greater than
that which I felt at the news of Pizza Express potentially going into
administration. Why do I feel so vehemently about this, I hear you ask? Because
I am fed up of being preached at and I am fed up of being made to feel guiltY.
Ever since my early teens, I became immersed in the online health
scene, which ultimately fuelled my body insecurities. At the time, the mantras
and doctrines seemed so motivational. But in hindsight, I can see that these
gurus were not inspiring me to be healthy. They were coercing me to obsess over
my food choices and worry that I was ugly. Luckily, I have the most incredible
family who have always promoted a joyous approach to eating and who have helped
me to overcome my struggles with mental health. But this isn't about me. This
is about the kids of 2019, the kids who are being brought up into an echo
chamber of toxic health myths and moral panics about obesity.
Before you jump to conclusions, I am not suggesting that we ignore
child obesity. For our children, we must do all we can to protect their health
and ensure the best quality of life for them. Where my concern lies is the
insensitive and frankly ignominious manner in which our government have
approached this situation. As a result of the esoteric reports and conflicting
medical data, we have formed a tunnel vision of statistics and percentages. But
we have to remind ourselves that these are children we are talking about:
young, vulnerable kids who, thanks to the web, have unlimited access to this
health obsessed society.
Since Instagram, we have witnessed a sea change in 'wellness' and
weight loss culture which has capsized the equilibrium of 'healthy-eating'.
Twenty years ago, a balanced diet meant eating a wide variety of foods across
all five food groups. But thanks to the never-ending surge of capricious health
trends, we've become obsessed with where food is coming from, which foods are
good for us and which foods are, so we're told, 'bad' for us. As a consequence
of this over intellectualization, the social media diet has been deconstructed
by online health gurus and stripped down to the bare minimum. On one end of the
spectrum, there are the 'wellness' angels who seem pretty harmless with their
virtuous posts about 'clean-eating' and the power of plant-based, (as if butter
wouldn't melt- or should I say coconut oil). But then on the opposite end, you
have the militant dieters who will stop at nothing to peddle you a cacophony of
quick fixes and extreme weight loss plans, all of which are 'guaranteed' to
transform your body and transform your life. These Instagram tribes are
different but just as dangerous in their ethos. For starters, a study by a team
at the University of Glasgow found that 90% of these influencers are dishing
out false nutritional claims. Meanwhile, a BBC investigation warned about the
prevalence of Instagram content which glamorised eating disorders. The study
showed that children and young people were not only being exposed to weight
loss images but were also forming their own online peer groups to exchange
extreme diet advice.
There is no mistaking it: food anxiety is rising amongst our kids.
So surely we would take this into account and navigate the whole child obesity
conversation with a bit more caution, right Sally? But no. Instead, the
government has gone in all guns blazing, invading the headlines and the
education system with their countless health initiatives. And if that wasn't
damaging enough to kids, the messages which many of these campaigns perpetuate,
are startlingly similar to the narratives of the Instagram health community.
Except this time it isn't the unqualified Kylie Jenners and Madeline Shaws who
are coercing sons and daughters to worry about their weight. It is primary
school head teachers with their lists of restrictions and lunch box policies.
It is public health officials who believe it is a good idea to weigh children
in school from the age of 4 years old! It is international diet companies who
are now marketing to the child consumer demographic. Just look at Weight
Watchers' spanking new diet app for kids, complete with its very own before and
after shots no less! I mean, how the hell did that even get authorised? The
world has gone bonkers and that is why we do not need some other farcical
initiative such as a snack ban on public transport to add to the equation.
You say that we ‘should not normalise mindless snack culture'. But
is it not worse to normalise food fascism and food shame? What you are
overlooking Miss Davies is that children are incredibly perceptive. They will
pick up on these customs and attitudes but not necessarily in the way you
intend. Drawing on a 2012 study conducted by Levinson and Rodebaugh, there was
a clear correlation between negative social evaluations and disordered eating
behaviours. Therefore if you are proposing that we deploy judgement and guilt
as incentives to stop kids snacking, I can guarantee it will not have the
desired effect. All your ban will achieve is increasing children's anxiety
about eating in public. And anyhow, what's to stop them from snacking when they
are alone at home? Additionally, can we please get rid of this 'mindless' malarkey
which you keep referring to? For many people who struggle with their weight, it
is nothing to do with the level of will power; rather, it stems from our
emotional and mental well-being. Plenty of studies have shown that stress and
depression can cause individuals to binge or over eat when they are alone. So
one could argue that the stress of being scrutinised in public could exacerbate
our emotional eating habits.
You also say that this proposal will create a 'safe' place for
children on public transport. I have thought long and hard about this and I am
still none the wiser about what you mean. Unless somebody proceeds to use their
tuna baguette as a weapon, how exactly would eating on a train be considered
'unsafe' to young passengers? You can parrot the smoking ban example all you
like, but food and cigarettes are not the same. Our government illegalised
smoking on public transport because of the dangers it poses to other
passengers' health. With smoking, we run the risk of inhaling toxic second-hand
fumes which can cause permanent lung damage. Whereas, if somebody is eating
Pickled Onion Monster Munch on the train, you may have to endure the stomach
churning stench, but apart from that, it isn't rendering any untoward symptoms.
The fact that a medical professional can even make this comparison is just
absurd.
I get you are trying your best, I really do. But this war on
so-called junk food will not solve anything. Do me a favour Sally and think
back to what children were eating in your day. The reason I ask this is because
I suspect children consumed much more sugar during the 60s and 70s than they do
today. Back then there were tuck shops at schools to get sweets at break and
there certainly weren't any Jamie Oliver types to banish Turkey Twizzlers from
the canteen menu. At home, the fruit bowl wasn't exactly brimming with choice
due to importation costs; a handful of apples, a bunch of bananas and an orange
or two were about your lot. Yet despite the lack of variety, child obesity
wasn't an issue. In fact it has only caught our attention within the last
thirty years, which means food cannot be the primary cause. Ask yourself what
is the most notable change which has occurred between the 20th and 21st
centuries? The obvious answer would have to be technology. Just do the maths:
increased screen time = decreased activity.
The thing is Sally, you must be an intelligent woman, otherwise
how on earth would you have obtained the double title of professor and dame?
Even so, I don't need a degree in medicine to tell me that your proposal does
not have a leg to stand on. I don't need to be a professor or a goddamned dame
to understand that this ban would not make an ounce of difference and would
only fuel children's anxiety about food. I may not have these badges of honour
and in your eyes, I may only be an opinionated 18 year old who doesn't know
what she's talking about. But I have experiences of mental health which in this
instance speaks much greater volumes.
Current government strategies are clearly not working, so what can
we do to fix this? Well as it happens, there are a number of simple measures we
can take which I will briefly summarise. From an economical perspective, let's
renege the sugar taxes and cease throwing money at 'healthy eating'
advertising. Instead let's make foods such as fruit less expensive, allowing
families of all incomes to afford more variety in their kids' diets.
It is also essential that we eradicate this shame around eating,
and instead endorse a celebration of produce. At primary school, we need to get
kids into the kitchen and teach them how to cook. Not only will this expose
them to different ingredients and produce, the fun and hands-on approach will
nurture a much healthier relationship with food. Secondly, rather than placing
foods into 'good' and 'bad' categories, we must encourage kids to eat
everything, simply in moderation. As long as they're consuming enough fruit and
veg, why the hell shouldn't they be allowed a treat such as a biscuit or a
packet of crisps? Thirdly, we need to find time to sit down and eat meals as a
family or with friends. According to the psychologist Geoft Hofstande, the
behaviours of a group we identify with such as our family, can influence the
construction of our own identities. Therefore if we make meal times sociable
and engaging, children are more likely to adopt positive associations with food.
This approach also applies to exercise. For example sports' clubs allow kids to
have fun with their friends and stay active at the same time.
Mental health is just as important as physical health. Thus, I
believe measures such as these could help to reduce child obesity without
inciting food anxiety.
I hope that you take on board my suggestions.
Yours sincerely,
Charlotte Bateman
