Obesity: Theresa May ducks first challenge

East London MP Diane Abbott MP led the condemnations of the Government’s Childhood Obesity Strategy, published today, dismissing it as a missed opportunity.

The Strategy is one of the first pieces of Government domestic policy published by new Prime Minister Theresa May. It admits that childhood obesity is a problem – costing the NHS millions of pounds already and, more importantly, putting children and youngsters through the pain and misery of living with the condition. However, although much of the blame for children becoming overweight lies with the food industry, which relentlessly advertises poor quality foods, Theresa May’s report leaves the industry virtually unchallenged – free to profit from our children’s misery.

The Childhood Obesity Strategy should have been published a year ago – and the public will now be wondering why it was delayed. It reveals that the Government plans to ask the food industry to cut sugar levels in processed foods by 20% before the next General Election – but this will be a request, not compulsory. Foods targeted for this cut include breakfast cereals, biscuits, cakes, sweets, puddings, ice cream, yoghurts and spreads. Food processing companies use cheap sugar to bulk up their products, knowing that children will become addicted to the naturally sweet taste. If the voluntary cut is not achieved, the next Government will consider what further steps to take.

The Strategy also promises a tax on sugar which is added to soft drinks – but not until 2018. The money raised will be used to fund sport in schools – but there is no guarantee that this will be in addition to current funding. We may just find that mainstream funding for sport will go down once the alternative source of funding is in place.

The third arm of the Government’s strategy will be to insist that Primary Schools ensure pupils take at least one hour of exercise every day. No funding has been identified for this, and it is not clear how schools will introduce this while keeping up with their National Curriculum requirements.

Measures which the Government could have taken but which it has ducked out of include:
•banning TV from advertising junk food before the watershed;
•banning supermarkets from displaying sweets and confectionary near check-out queues and from offering multi-packet products at cheaper prices from single packet prices;
•banning manufacturers using cartoon characters to advertise poor quality food aimed at children.

The Government will also not be launching an overall fitness and health campaign which could have promoted healthy eating to parents, local authorities and schools along with the information needed for them to make sound decisions.

Theresa May is known to be against setting strict rules for businesses to follow – believing that this makes the Government look like it is running a “nanny state”. Her Public Health Minister, Nicola Blackwood, insisted that the Government is committed to reducing obesity and stressed that boosting school sport would be the best way to do this.

Critics were appalled. A spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum, Tam Fry, said the Strategy was a catastrophe and that the food industry “will be laughing all the way to the bank with government approval to sell junk products to whoever and however they choose.” Malcolm Clark added, on behalf of the Children’s Food Campaign, “This is a truly shocking abdication of the Government’s duties to secure the health and future of the next generation.”

Speaking on behalf of Jeremy Corbyn’s front bench, Shadow Secretary of State for Health Diane Abbott said:
“This is a missed opportunity from the Tory Government. This report has been delayed three times and is a woefully inadequate response. Obesity is ruining the quality of life for growing numbers of people, starting with children. In 2014/15 the Department of Health spent £5.1 billion on obesity related illnesses alone.
“The strategy includes providing an extra £10 million into school breakfast clubs from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy but this amounts to as little as £1.28 per pupil per year.
“This delayed, watered down strategy shows that this Tory Government is failing to take the obesity crisis seriously, and it is the next generation who will pay the price.”

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