Obesity costs the NHS around £6.5 billion a year and is the
second biggest preventable cause of cancer.
Over one in four (26%) adults and 23.4% of children aged 10-11
years in England are living with obesity, placing huge pressure
on the health and care system.
We’re taking action to help people make healthier choices to
tackle obesity, reduce pressure on the NHS and boost the economy.
Here’s everything you need to know:
What are you doing to tackle obesity?
We have set up the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
(OHID) to focus on improving the nation's health and tackle
preventable conditions such as obesity.
We have introduced a series of measures including:
- Restricting the placement of less healthy products in stores
and online – for example near cashiers - to reduce the likelihood
of impulse purchases.
- Introducing calorie labelling on menus in restaurants, cafes
and takeaways so people know exactly how many calories are in
their orders, helping them to make informed decisions about their
choice of food.
- The NHS has introduced a soups and shakes
diet for people with Type 2 diabetes.
- We have announced a £20 million obesity
mission to explore new treatments and digital technologies
which could support people achieve a healthier weight.
- We have invested £320 million a year in school sports to help
children and young people have an active start to life.
We also work with the NHS and local authorities to support people
living with obesity reach a healthier weight by developing
effective preventative care plans for those at high risk of
weight gain and diet-related illness. Services range from
behavioural weight management programmes to consideration of
weight loss drugs and bariatric surgery.
What about new weight loss drugs?
- Weight loss treatments can help people living with obesity to
live longer, healthier lives.
- The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
has concluded semaglutide, marketed as Wegovy, is safe, effective
and affordable. It recommended it is offered to adults with a
Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 35 and a weight-related health
condition – such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Other drugs
are currently under consideration in clinical trials.
- NICE advises Wegovy should only be available via specialist
weight management services, which are largely hospital based.
This would mean only around 35,000 people would have access to
Wegovy, when tens of thousands more could be eligible.
- The government has announced £40 million
pilots to explore how these drugs can be made available to
more people by expanding specialist weight management services
outside of hospital settings. This includes looking at how GPs
could safely prescribe these drugs and how the NHS can provide
support in the community or digitally.
- There is evidence from clinical trials that, when prescribed
alongside diet, physical activity and behavioural support, people
taking a weight-loss drug can lose over 15% of their body weight
after one year.
What are your plans for the future?
- From October 2023, we will ban multibuy promotions like Buy
One Get One Free (BOGOF) on less healthy food.
- From October 2025 we will ban the advertisement of less
healthy products on television, on-demand programmes and online
before the watershed – from 9pm to 5.30am. This will mean fewer
people, especially children, will view adverts. Evidence shows
exposure to adverts for unhealthy foods can affect when people
eat and when the eat, leading to excess calorie consumption over
time.
- Our Major Conditions
Strategy call for evidence is seeking views from the public
on how the healthcare system can support people to live
healthier lives, including how we can help people to achieve or
maintain a healthy weight.
Have the measures been successful so far?
- We have seen the average sugar content of retailer and
manufacturer branded drinks subject to the Soft Drinks Industry
Levy decreasing by 46% between 2015 and 2020. Recent research
estimated this may have prevented around 5,000 cases of obesity
in Year 6 girls (aged 10-11 years), across all socio-economic
groups.
- The sugar reduction programme has seen a 14.9% reduction of
sugar in retailer and manufacturer branded breakfast cereals and
13.5% reduction in yogurts and fromage frais.
- The NHS soups and shakes
diet programme has seen over 2,000 people with Type 2
diabetes lose an average of 13kg (over two stone) in three
months. This has now been expanded to 11 more regions in
England.
- Over the next 25 years, restrictions on the placement of less
healthy food in shops and online are expected to bring health
benefits of over £57 billion and provide NHS savings of over £4
billion.
- Calorie labelling is expected to bring health benefits of
£4.6 billion and provide NHS savings of £430 million over 25
years.
