The Health Committee has declared itself ‘extremely disappointed’ in the government’s efforts to curb childhood obesity.
In a report published on 27 March, the committee followed up on the government’s plan to tackle childhood obesity which was announced last August. It identified the areas where the government had been found to not do enough to confront the problem.
The committee called on the government to be harder on discounts and promotions for unhealthy foods, saying retails who discount ‘responsibly’ should not be put at a competitive disadvantage to those who do not.
Chair of the committee Dr Sarah Wollaston MP said: ‘We are extremely disappointed that the government has rejected a number of our recommendations. These omissions mean that the current plan misses important opportunities to tackle childhood obesity.
‘Vague statements about seeing how the current plan turns out are inadequate to the seriousness and urgency of this major public health challenge. The government must set clear goals for reducing overall levels of childhood obesity as well as goals for reducing the unacceptable and widening levels of inequality.’
The Health Committee welcomed the measures announced on the sugary drinks levy but was ‘extremely disappointed’ several key areas for action that ‘could have made the strategy more effective’ had not been included in their plans.
After the introduction of an industry levy on soft drinks, the committee called on the government to ensure manufacturers pass on the cost of the levy to ensure high-, low- and no-sugar drinks were priced differently.
Using money taken from the levy, the government has pledged to redistribute funds into initiatives to improve children’s health including increasing access to sport at school and breakfast clubs, which drew praise from the committee.