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Parliamentarians call on Prime Minister to show leadership on obesity

The Health and Social Care Select Committee has issued a stark warning to the Government that its 'moonshot to end the obesity epidemic' is doomed to fail, unless the Prime Minister makes it part of his personal mission with a cabinet led committee. Sustain responds.

The Health and Social Care Select Committee has called for leadership at the highest level in government in its third and final report from its extensive parliamentary inquiry into Food and Weight Management.

Whilst recognising that the government has made progress in some of the policies contained in the 10 Year Health Plan, including expanding the Soft Drinks Industry Levy and upgrading School Food Standards, it points to the ongoing delays in bringing forward a Healthy Food Standard with mandatory health reporting and targets for the food industry. They also criticise the total lack of oversight and cross-government action plan commensurate with the ambitious vision of a 'moonshot'.

In the report they say they have "no faith in the government’s commitment to the aim or ability to achieve" an obesity moonshot "due to the ongoing lack of detail on what the moonshot is and how it will be achieved." They go on to call for clearly defined action plans on both prevention and treatment, led from the top by the Prime Minister with a cabinet committee to oversee and drive delivery.

Barbara Crowther, Children's Food Campaign Manager for Sustain, says:

"The Health Select Committee is rightly calling out the sizeable policy chasm between the government's vision of a 'moonshot to end obesity' and lack of effective progress and co-ordination of action to prevent diet-related illnesses and build a healthier food system, as well as ensure equitable access to treatment.

"We agree that it's time for Andy Burnham as Prime Minister to step up and into the driver's seat for this mission. There is so much more that government should be doing to drive forward a healthier food industry, address food inequality and insecurity and support families struggling to afford healthy food. We hope the Government will rise to the challenge laid out in this report, and take the courageous leap of leadership that any moonshot demands."

Katharine Jenner, Executive Director of the Obesity Health Alliance and a Sustain trustee, said:

"We strongly support the Committee's call for the Prime Minister to make reducing the UK's very high prevalence of obesity his personal mission. The Committee has rightly highlighted a familiar pattern stretching back more than 30 years: ambitious promises to tackle obesity followed by endless delays, industry pressure and a failure to deliver meaningful change.

"This Government has an opportunity to break that cycle. It must now deliver on the commitments in its 10-Year Health Plan for England, starting with the long overdue consultation on Healthy Food Reporting and Targets. Alongside action to create a healthier food environment, people living with obesity must also have access to appropriate treatment and support, regardless of where they live.

"The UK has some of the highest obesity rates in Europe, with the consequences for people’s health, the NHS and the wider economy continuing to grow. We’ve had decades of promises. The Government must now show that its commitments amount to more than just words."

This is the third report from the Health Select Committee. Its first report, which focussed on the food environment, also called for more ambitious and courageous action, including introduction of mandatory health reporting and targets for the food industry, which has been promised but still not been consulted upon.

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