Government unveils new Obesity Strategy

The Department of Health and Social Care has unveiled its new Obesity Strategy as it begins to encourage people to lose weight to help beat coronavirus and protect the NHS.

Research shows that 63 per cent of adults in England are overweight or living with obesity, and one in three children currently leave primary school overweight or obese, with obesity-related illnesses costing the NHS £6 billion a year.

The urgency of tackling obesity in the UK has been brought to the fore by evidence of the link to an increased risk from coronavirus, as studies indicate that living with excess weight puts people at greater risk of serious illness or death from coronavirus, with risk growing substantially as BMI increases.

Nearly eight per cent of critically ill patients with the virus in intensive care units have been morbidly obese, compared with 2.9 per cent of the general population.

Unlike previous government strategies to tackle obesity, rather than focusing primarily on childhood obesity, this strategy represents a new focus on empowering adults to lose weight as well. Among the measures are a ban on unhealthy food adverts, ending ‘Buy One Get one Free’ promotions, new laws on calorie labelling and front of pack nutritional labelling, as well as an expansion of NHS services.

Weight management services will be expanded so more people get the support they need to lose weight. This will include more self-care apps and online tools for people with obesity-related conditions and accelerating the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme. From next year doctors will be offered incentives to ensure people living with obesity is given support for weight loss and primary care staff will also have the opportunity to become ‘healthy weight coaches’ though training delivered by Public Health England. Separately, GPs will also be encouraged to prescribe exercise and more social activities to help people keep fit.

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.”

Paulette Hamilton, vice chair of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Obesity is our most serious public health challenge. It is a complex problem that is driving up major health conditions that risk bankrupting adult social care and NHS services. Cost-effective prevention work by councils is critical to reducing the risk of people having their lives shortened by obesity-related conditions and tackling the stark health inequalities so ruthlessly exposed by this pandemic. For any obesity strategy to be successful, the government must reverse public health funding cuts and invest in these vital services so councils can supplement important population-wide interventions by intensively targeting those most at risk in their local areas.

“The LGA has led calls for years for better labelling of food and drink to help people understand how healthy a particular snack, meal or drink is. Plans to make calorie counts more widely available - including on alcoholic drinks – alongside tighter controls around promotions and a world-leading ban on junk food adverts on TV before 9pm are hugely positive. Voluntary ‘traffic light’ labelling is clear, effective and already popular with shoppers. We urge the government to make it mandatory, so people have a single, standard and consistent system. While councils are not opposed to fast food businesses, they also need tougher planning powers to tackle any clustering of takeaway outlets or junk food advertising, for example near schools.”

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Everyone knows how hard losing weight can be so we are taking bold action to help everyone who needs it. When you’re shopping for your family or out with friends, it’s only fair that you are given the right information about the food you’re eating to help people to make good decisions. To help support people we need to reduce unhelpful influences like promotions and adverts that affect what you buy and what you eat. Taken together, supported by an inspiring campaign and new smart tools, will get the country eating healthily and losing the pounds.

“We know obesity increases the risk of serious illness and death from coronavirus - so it’s vital we take action on obesity to protect the NHS and improve our nation’s health.”