Today, the former Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, published her final report Time to Solve Childhood Obesity. This report makes several recommendations to take further action to tackle childhood obesity, including:
- Using the UK’s exit from the EU to review VAT rates on food and ensure all healthy foods have no VAT applied
- Phase out any marketing, advertising and sponsorship of unhealthy foods and drink at all major public venues
- Schools to ensure healthy meals are provided at a low price, including to children receiving free school meals
- Prohibit eating and drinking on urban public transport to reduce the level of snacking by children.
- Developing a system to apply a cap on the amount of calories per serving for all food and drink sold by the out of home sector
- Update frameworks so a business selling healthy food is recognised as different from a business selling unhealthy options.
- Build on weight management services in the NHS, with new accountability systems and approaches to delivery
ISBA has given the following response:
“This final report from the former Chief Medical Officer once again demonstrates the need for a rational debate, driven by evidence. Improving the nation's health is a shared agenda, as is halving childhood obesity by 2030. It requires industry, campaigners and government to work together, recognise success and build on it. It is unhelpful when senior figures advocate unworkable solutions which divert focus from the setting of achievable, evidence-based goals.”
James Barge, Director of Public Policy