The obesity epidemic revisited: Where is the starting point?

Abstract

This editorial is influenced by a letter to the editor received from one of the readers of the SA Family Practice journal. The colleague titled his letter: “Where have all the children gone?” My first reaction was to ask the question: “Was there a natural disaster that wiped out children somewhere in the world that I was not aware of?” Reading through the letter, it became clear that he was responding to the Jan/Feb 2013 editorial in which I painted a grim picture of the obesity epidemic globally and locally in South Africa. I decided to publish the letter below and then respond afterwards. So sit back and enjoy the content of the letter and my response.