Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to
require reformulation of children’s food and drink to reduce
child obesity.
(Con)
My Lords, the soft drinks industry levy and location promotions
legislation, together with the voluntary reformulation programme,
have resulted in businesses lowering the levels of sugar and
calories in a wide range of products. Pending regulations on
volume price promotions and advertising should encourage further
reformulation of less healthy products consumed by children and
their families.
(Lab)
My Lords, as the Minister is aware, I have been pressing the
Government to reformulate, removing sugar and using healthy
alternatives. The Government are unwilling to do that, yet they
are now prepared to spend £40 million on an experiment with the
anti-obesity drug Wegovy. Why can they spend that money in that
area but not spend it on exploring the possibilities of using
alternatives to sugar? Will children be part of the anti-obesity
experiment that is taking place? If it is successful and
developed further, will they give children anti-obesity
drugs?
(Con)
I am grateful to the noble Lord for the question. I pay tribute
to the work he does in this field and to his lifelong service in
the trade union movement and the Community Service Volunteers.
The Government are tackling child obesity seriously and will
continue to work closely with industry to make it easier for
people to make healthier choices. It remains up to businesses to
decide whether and how they wish to use sweeteners, including
stevia, in food and drink, and which ones to use. Indeed, we know
that some businesses are already using stevia and the like in the
products they make. However, sweeteners are not permitted in all
foods and some consumers do not want sweeteners in the products
they buy. Businesses can reduce, and have reduced, the levels of
sugar in food without the use of sweeteners. On the specific
question about using children, I cannot give him the exact answer
from this Dispatch Box, so I will write to him.
(Con)
My Lords, will the Minister kindly explain why the Government do
not adopt the technique of the Canadian Government? The children
of Canada have been fed on whole milk for many years, thousands
and thousands of them. They are much healthier and they are not
obese. Furthermore, will the Government encourage the 40 million
obese people in this country to eat the right kind of fat,
because that tends to limit obesity?
(Con)
The noble Lord is a doughty campaigner on this subject, both in
this House and within the department. The Government recognise
that milk and dairy products make a valuable contribution to a
healthy, balanced diet as a source of calcium, protein and
vitamins and minerals. However, they are also a source of
saturated fat, so government advice is to choose lower-fat milks
and dairy products where possible. Full-fat milk and dairy
products are recommended up to the age of two years, after which
lower-fat versions, such as semi-skimmed milk, can be introduced,
provided that the child is consuming a varied diet and is growing
appropriately for their age.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, I declare an interest as a governor of the Weizmann
Institute of Science in Israel. Is the Minister aware of the
sugar-reduced food solutions being produced and marketed by the
Weizmann Institute? If not, will he research them and put a
letter in the Library advising noble Lords of the advances being
made? Is similar research into solutions to reduce sugar in food
and drink being undertaken in UK academies?
(Con)
I presume the noble Lord is referring to a product called Incredo
Sugar, which provides the taste of sugar while reducing the
amount consumed by between 30% and 50%. I understand that during
the processing, a molecule is added to natural cane and beet
sugar that moves more sugar into a person’s saliva, causing a
heightened taste of sugar. To date, the product works best in
solid foods, such as chocolate and baked goods. We are not aware
of any similar research being undertaken within UK academia or
industry.
Baroness D’Souza (CB)
My Lords, the risk of obesity is greater in those who suffer food
insecurity, costing the National Health Service £6 billion
annually, a figure that is likely to rise. It is reliably
estimated, meanwhile, that £1.70 is returned for every £1
invested in free school meals over a 10-year period. Does the
Minister agree that free school meals for all primary and
secondary schoolchildren would be a sound investment?
(Con)
I am not sure I can make that commitment to the noble Baroness.
The school food standards ensure that children have healthy food
and drink options across the school day and restrict foods high
in fat, sugar and salt, including high-sugar foods and
confectionery. The Department for Education continues to keep the
SFS under review. It is right and proper that families that
cannot afford school meals should be helped by the taxpayer, but
we cannot commit to providing for all schoolchildren.
(LD)
My Lords, the data is devastating: 11 year-olds in the poorest
areas of our country are twice as likely to become obese as those
in the wealthiest, and that gap is growing. I ask the Minister to
take a brief holiday from painting a rosy picture of the
Government’s plans—I know it is his job to do that—and
acknowledge just how badly we are failing children in poor areas,
who are acquiring conditions that will leave them less healthy
than their wealthier neighbours for the rest of their lives. This
requires big, bold steps and urgency, something that the
Government can show in other areas of policy but not here, where
it really matters.
(Con)
I am not aware that I am painting a rosy picture. There are
serious issues with childhood obesity in this country, as there
are in other countries around the world. Nearly one in 10
children, 9.2%, start primary school living with obesity, and
approximately one in five children, 22%, leave primary school
living with obesity. Children living in the most deprived areas
are more than twice as likely to be living with obesity as those
living in the least deprived areas. Obesity costs the country an
estimated £58 billion. The Government are doing all we can to
help reduce that from an early age.
(Lab)
My Lords, given the Minister’s response just now, does he
acknowledge that the Government’s childhood obesity plan has
presented us with what NHS England now describes as “a ticking
health timebomb”? What assessment have the Government made of the
impact of their own flagship sugar reduction programme managing
only a 3.5% reduction and failing to meet its 20% target?
(Con)
I am grateful to the noble Baroness, who raises a very important
subject. It is not unique to the United Kingdom: many countries
in the western world have this issue with childhood obesity.
Sugar intakes in children aged one to 18 in the UK are double the
recommended maximum level and more than 5% of daily energy
intake. Consuming too much sugar can lead to weight gain, which
in turn increases the risk of serious diseases, such as cancer,
heart disease, type 2 diabetes and Covid-19. It also increases
the risk of tooth decay. Modelling shows that children who are
overweight or living with obesity consume between 140 and 500
excess calories a day, depending on the age and gender. The
Government are working hard and doing a huge amount to reduce
childhood obesity, but there is clearly a lot more to be
done.
(CB)
My Lords—
(Con)
My Lords—
(Con)
My Lords, I think we should hear from the Cross Benches, then my
noble friend and then the Green Benches.
(CB)
My Lords, what are the Government doing to challenge the industry
about the types of substitutes it uses for sugar? When the big
ones, such as aspartame, go into products such as Diet Coke, they
create the illusion in your brain that you have had something
sweet whereas your stomach is telling you that you have had
nothing. They have now, on many scientific levels, been seen to
make no difference to obesity. The same is true of low-fat
yoghurts—in fact, they can contribute to obesity—so how are the
Government tackling the industry to understand whether these
low-fat products are actually helping with diets? I believe that
they are not.
(Con)
I completely agree with the noble Baroness that aspartame is an
issue in diet foods, such as yoghurts and drinks. We work closely
with the industry to look at formulations that can help reduce
sugar, and a lot of progress has been made. I remember that, as a
child, when asked what I would like by my grandmother, I used to
say fizzy drinks and she would provide me with something called
corporation pop, otherwise known as tap water.
(Con)
My Lords, as my noble friend the Minister will know, obesity
rates are highest in deprived areas, followed by higher incidence
of mortality and morbidity related to type 2 diabetes, heart
disease and strokes. There is also a higher prevalence of food
banks in these areas. Can my noble friend say whether there is
any correlation between the incidence of deprivation, poverty and
food banks? My noble friend Lady Boycott made a very interesting
suggestion on the previous Question. How are the Government
addressing these issues?
(Con)
This is a complicated picture, as many factors contribute to
obesity. We know that there are more fast food outlets in
deprived areas, offering very large portions of calorie-dense,
nutrient-poor food. Buying this type of food can be seen as value
for money for people who are struggling financially. We also know
that people living in an area of high deprivation are subject to
more advertising, thus encouraging the purchase of foods higher
in fat, salt and sugar. Food banks offer emergency food provision
and people may be accessing these as a short-term measure, so
they may not represent the food that is routinely consumed over a
long period. The Government are working hard with industry. The
reduction of sugar is going on in the reformulation of many
products that we all consume, but there is clearly a lot more to
be done.
