Public Health England (PHE) announces plans to consider the
evidence, set guidelines and closely monitor progress on calorie
reduction.
As set out in the plan, PHE will now consider the
evidence on children’s calorie consumption and set the ambition
for the calorie reduction programme to remove excess calories
from the foods children consume the most.
Ready meals, pizzas, burgers, savoury snacks and sandwiches are
the kinds of foods likely to be included in the programme.
Over the past year, real progress has been made on reducing the
level of sugar in many products.
The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has become law and will come into
effect in April 2018 and PHE has formulated a
comprehensive sugar reduction programme with the aim of a 20%
reduction in sugar in key foods by 2020. Leading retailers and
manufacturers have also announced they are, or already have,
lowered the amount of sugar in their products as a result of
these programmes.
Sugar reformulation was a vital first step under the childhood
obesity programme, however overconsumption of calories will
continue to have a detrimental effect on the health of our
children without further action.
Adults currently consume on average between 200 to 300 calories
too many each day and children are following suit, with food more
readily available than ever before. Reducing calorie consumption
from sources other than sugar is critical to reversing the
worrying obesity trend, which shows:
- 1 in 3 children are either overweight or obese by the time
they leave primary school
- more children in the UK than previously are being diagnosed
with type 2 diabetes, some as young as 7
- children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to be
obese
, Minister of State for Health
said:
Too many of our children are growing up obese, which can lead
to serious health complications. We all have a responsibility
to help people live healthier lives, but with a third of
children leaving primary school obese we must take a
comprehensive approach and now focus on excess calories.
This can only be done through strong guidance, grounded in
evidence – that’s why we have funded a new £5 million dedicated
Obesity Research Policy Unit to understand the deeper causes of
obesity.
Duncan Selbie, chief executive of PHE, said:
A third of children leave primary school overweight or obese
and an excess of calories – not just excess sugar consumption –
is the root cause of this.
We will work with the food companies and retailers to tackle
this as the next critical step in combating our childhood
obesity problem.
PHE will publish
the evidence in early 2018. Following this it will then consult
with the food industry, trade bodies and health non-governmental
organisations to develop guidance and timelines for the calorie
reduction programme.
The Department of Health has also funded a policy research unit –
the £5 million National Institute for Health Obesity Research
Policy Unit at University College London – which will look to
develop a deeper understanding on the causes of childhood
obesity, including marketing to children and families, social
inequalities, and the early years of childhood.
Professor Russell Viner, Policy Research Unit Director and
Professor of Adolescent Health, UCL Great Ormond Street
Institute of Child Health, said:
Obesity is one of the greatest health concerns of our time and
we welcome this considerable and very timely investment from
the government. We are delighted that the UCL Great Ormond Street
Institute of Child Health will host the new Obesity Policy
Research Unit (OPRU). Preventing obesity
in early life is key to turning the tide on this modern
epidemic.
Background
-
Since the childhood obesity plan was published, retailers and
manufacturers like Nestle, General Mills, Lucozade Ribena
Suntory, Tesco, Waitrose, Kellogg’s, Sainsbury’s, Marks and
Spencer, Greggs, Starbucks and Breck’s Food have announced
they are, or already have, lowered the amount of sugar in
their products.
-
The sugar reduction
programme sees Public Health England working with
the food and drink industry to remove 20% of the sugar
children (up to 18 years of age) consume from the foods that
contribute the most sugar to their diets by
2020. Guidelines that set
out the approaches the food industry should take to achieve
this target were published in March alongside baseline levels
of sugar in products.
-
The Soft Drinks Industry Levy comes into effect in April
2018. Drinks with more than 8g of total sugar per 100ml will
pay 24p per litre, with drinks between 5g and 8g sugar per
100ml paying 18p. Drink with less than 5g sugar per 100ml are
exempt.
-
The free Change4Life Be Food Smart app helps families see the
amount of sugar, salt and saturated fat in food and drinks.
More information is on the Be Food Smart
website.
-
It is estimated 40,000 deaths per year in England are
attributable to being overweight or obese (over 10% of all
deaths). An estimated 70,000 premature deaths in the UK could
be avoided each year if UK diets matched nutritional
guidelines.
