Study still tracking obesity in generation born in 1970
George Monbiot (We’ve entered a new age of obesity. How did it happen?, 15 August) writes: “Unfortunately, there is no consistent obesity data in the UK before 1988, at which point the incidence was already rising sharply.” But there is.
The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) is a continuing, multi-disciplinary longitudinal study monitoring the development of more than 17,000 babies born in the UK during the week of 5–11 April 1970. Since the birth survey in 1970, there have been eight sweeps of all cohort members at ages 5, 10, 16, 26, 30, 34, 38 and 42. The Centre for Longitudinal Studies based at the Institute of Education in London published its latest report in November 2013. Its key findings for the cohort at age 42 were that those born in 1970 are considerably more likely to be overweight or obese than those born 12 years earlier were at the same age; and that men born in 1970 are far more likely to be overweight than women.
I wrote to the CLS to see when the next report on the cohort would be published. Unfortunately, there has been a delay and it is unlikely to be out before 2019.Rosemary MasonPenmaen, Swansea
• George Monbiot did not discuss the theory that people become obese because they eat until they have enough protein to replace what their muscles need to redress the ravages of the day. It is hard to extract protein from a diet of white bread and cereal, while steak does the job in no time. In 1976 it was impossible for the bosses of firms to earn what their average worker did by the first Thursday of the year, and more people had access to decent social housing, with more money left for food. The people who can’t afford meat and fish and have no time to fiddle with a decent vegetarian diet get fat. To my shame, I usually put cereal in food-bank boxes, as I think eggs might break and people in bedsits couldn’t cook them. Margaret SquiresSt Andrews, Fife
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