UK government unveils plans to tackle obesity
Foods high in fat, sugar and salt come under fire with a raft of new measures including advertising restrictions and the banning of buy-one-get-one-free offers
The UK government will ban the advertising of food high in fat, sugar or salt on television and online before the 9pm watershed, the time it believes impressionable children will be in bed. The move is part of the recently announced UK obesity strategy.
It will also forbid ‘buy one, get one free’ promotions of foods high in fat, sugar or salt, and new laws will require large restaurants, cafes and takeaways with more than 250 employees to add calorie labels to the food they sell.
Targeting the nation’s drinkers, a new consultation will be launched before the end of the year on plans to provide calorie labelling on alcohol.
The UK’s National Health System’s weight management services will also be expanded so more people are supported to lose weight, including more self-care apps and online tools for people with obesity-related conditions and accelerating the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.
“If we all do our bit, we can reduce our health risks and protect ourselves against coronavirus”
Boris Johnson
From next year, doctors will be offered incentives to ensure overweight people receive support and primary care staff will have the opportunity to become ‘healthy weight coaches’ though training delivered by Public Health England. Separately, general practitioners will be encouraged to prescribe exercise and more social activities to help people keep fit.
UK obesity strategy
The initiatives were announced by the Department of Health and Social Care, and are part of the government’s obesity strategy to get the nation fit and healthy.
The strategy comes three months after the launch of the Good Food Fund, a business accelerator managed by Mission Ventures. The fund is currently working with seven food and drink brands bringing to market healthier alternatives to traditional snacks for school children.
The strategy to tackle obesity includes a consultation on front-of-pack nutritional labelling to gather views and evidence on the current ‘traffic light’ labelling system. The aim is to learn more about how this is being used by consumers and industry, compared to international examples.
The government says two-thirds (63%) of adults in England are overweight or living with obesity – and one-in-three children leave primary school overweight or obese, with obesity-related illnesses costing the NHS £6 billion a year.
It adds that obesity also carries an increased risk from Covid-19, as almost 8% of critically ill patients with the virus in intensive care units have been morbidly obese, compared with 2.9% of the general population.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said: “Losing weight is hard but with some small changes we can all feel fitter and healthier. If we all do our bit, we can reduce our health risks and protect ourselves against coronavirus – as well as taking pressure off the NHS.”
The government said its obesity plan is being launched alongside a new ‘Better Health’ campaign led by Public Health England. The campaign will call on people to embrace a healthier lifestyle and to lose weight if they need to, supported by a range of evidence-based tools and apps providing advice on how to reduce the waistline.