Research Digest
Can the London 2012 Olympics help curb obesity?
Obesity is emerging as a major policy issue in Britain. Nearly one in four English adults is obese, and treatment of obesity-related ailments accounts for an estimated 2.3 – 2.6% of total healthcare expenditure in the UK.1. British and European research shows that there is an inverse relationship between levels of over-weight and obesity on one hand, and educational qualifications and socio-economic level on the other. Tackling obesity and promoting healthier lifestyles can therefore be seen as part of wider strategy to promote social justice, equity and improved outcomes for disadvantaged populations. To this end, the UK government launched a major cross-governmental strategy in January 2008, Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives, aimed at making the UK 'the first major nation to reverse the rising tide of obesity and overweight in the population'2.
The London 2012 Olympic Games offer a unique opportunity to promote healthy lifestyles and tackle obesity. The Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives strategy promises that the government will use this opportunity to develop initiatives that will inspire people to be more active in the run up to the 2012 Games and beyond. A number of challenges, however, must be overcome if the Olympics' potential as a platform for the promotion of healthier lifestyles is to be realized. RAND Europe's recent publication, Setting the Agenda for an Evidence-based Olympics, highlights that health promotion campaigns with a focus on physical exercise and healthy living require careful targeting and close co-operation between different agencies and government departments to be effective.
Thorough planning is crucial to ensure that long-term opportunities for health promotion presented by the 2012 Olympics are optimised. Previously, health systems put in place for Olympic Games have been of interest to policy-makers solely in the context of the event itself, and it is generally assumed that they are dismantled in Game's aftermath. Studies have also shown that purpose-built sports infrastructure for past mega-events were little utilised thereafter and incurred heavy operational losses. The challenge for London 2012, therefore, is to ensure that these considerations are taken into account in the planning and development stages, so that the significant investment into sports and health infrastructure for use during the Games can be part of a longer-term legacy for the community.
Further insights into the evidence base for the Olympics, including a list of crucial questions that need to be answered, can be found in the full RAND Europe report.
Full Report
Research Brief
RAND Europe London 2012 Olympics Web Site
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