Dr Kerryn Phelps, AMA President, to the NSW Childhood Obesity Summit, Parliament House, Sydney

Speaking at this late stage of the Summit I probably have little new to add to what has been said by the impressive list of speakers here over the past few days.

But - at the risk of touching on ground covered by others - I have a few things to say from the perspective of a doctor, a parent and somebody who wants to see all our children have healthy, happy and rewarding lives.

It is our responsibility to give our younger generation a chance.

Governments, schools, parents, relatives, sports coaches, carers and friends - we all have a role to play in battling - and banishing - childhood obesity.

Being fat should not be a choice, an option - an outcome - for young people in Australia today.

Sure, there are some rare medical reasons for obesity, but mostly it is all about diet and exercise…and levels of responsibility.

GPs have a role in advising parents and supporting families in referral to dieticians where appropriate and in managing the consequences of childhood obesity.

Doctors shouldn't have to be the first port of call for the vast majority of children with obesity. But increasingly we are hearing reports of children being diagnosed with conditions once thought of as being the province of middle age, like Type II diabetes.

They are more likely to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and perhaps even glucose intolerance.

Children who are overweight can also have problems with hip joints, knee joints, and ankle joints. They have liver problems, gastro-oesophageal reflux and the list goes on. They are old before they are young.

There are others in the community who have a job to ensure that children should not have to see their doctor because they are overweight due to poor diet or inadequate exercise.

As a community we must call a spade a spade if we are to get serious about finding a solution to childhood obesity.

Allowing kids to fall victim to obesity is negligence of the highest order…child abuse by any other name…and, for kids, being fat is just the thin end of the wedge.

It can lead to poor self-esteem, low self-confidence, loneliness, depression, isolation, chronic illness - the sorts of things that kids should not have to experience.

Solutions require action and we can all do our bit.

Parents - you can lead by example.

It is an absurd argument to say that children "pressure" their parents into buying foods that are bad for them. Parents control the family finances. Parents do the shopping and stock the fridge and the kitchen cupboards.

Parents control the pocket money children can take to school. Children will not allow themselves to starve.

If they come home from school to a choice of fresh fruit and fresh bread, that's what there is to eat.

If there are no sugary soft drinks in the fridge, that's off the menu too. The responsibility is squarely on the parents' shoulders.

Part of a parent's daily exercise is to get rid of the electronic babysitters. Turn off the TV, the video, the playstations, the DVDs and encourage the children to play outside. It doesn't have to mean an organised activity or sport.

Let's get back to backyard cricket, throwing a frisbee and, go with them for a walk around the block, in the park, in the forest or on the beach.

Walk the dog. Go for a swim. Go for a run. Get moving.

Parents must lead by example. If children see the only exercise their parents get is picking up the TV remote to change channels, then they will get the message that that is how to be.

We know that spreading the kids' exercise over the week is preferable to just relying on the once-a-week Saturday organised sport.

Even if it's just half an hour a day, 15 minutes at lunchtime and after school - it's a start. Who knows - it may become habit-forming?

With food, parents can resist the pressure of advertising and commercialisation.

Sure, there is a place for convenient snack foods and easy-to-pack-in-the-lunchbox-foods. For some families it is the easy way - the affordable way for others - but it shouldn't be the only way.

Fresh food can be just a "fast" as high fat take-away - carrot slices, cucumber, apples, bananas, sultanas, lettuce, peaches, pears. Fresh fruit and vegetables are easy and tasty and healthy.

Pack water or diluted fruit juices instead of sugary drinks and flavoured milk.

As for school canteens and tuck shops, dieticians have been politely suggesting for years that they provide healthier food with limited success. This is a classic example of missed opportunity and failed responsibility.

The school canteen is the ONLY place children can buy food during their school day, five days a week. Just as parents have the monopoly on the contents of the fridge at home, so canteen supervisors have a monopoly on what is available for children to buy at school. There can be no more feeble excuses for unhealthy foods in schools.

Another area of responsibility falls on the food outlets at entertainment venues.

Have you ever tried getting anything low fat to eat at the footie?

When kids go to the movies, to the football, the zoo, the amusement parks or the aquarium, what is there for them to eat? Shelves full of lollies, chocolates, chips, ice creams, soft drinks.

As a community, we must dispel the myth that good healthy fresh food can't be marketed or promoted…or, to put it crudely, make a profit.

School tuckshops and canteens, food outlets at sports venues and cinemas, any purveyor of food wherever kids are a captive audience should at the very least offer a choice of healthy food.

We can't and don't have to banish the big brand fast foods, but we can and must offer our young people a healthier alternative - not just some of the time, but every time.

It might be impossible to legislate but it must be promoted.

Governments must show leadership.

They must show the way in things such as urban planning to ensure there are open spaces for safe exercise options in our cities.

And they must look at advertising. The AMA supports an independent review of the advertising of foods to children.

This Summit has shown there is enough concern and goodwill out there in the community to turn this issue around…before it's too late - before overweight and obese is the majority, not the growing minority among our young.

There is power in numbers. If Governments, doctors and nutritionists, schools, sporting groups, caterers and parents band together to help our young people with their diet, exercise and lifestyle choices, we can make a difference.

Let's give our next generations a springboard to a better quality of life and a longer life.

Let's not tolerate our younger generation being labelled "Generation O" for "obesity", when with a little effort they can be "Generation O" for the "opportunity" of a long and healthy future.

Thank you.