New Lords committee created to look at food, diet and obesity
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A new House of Lords committee has been created to examine food,
diet and obesity, as recommended by the Liaison Committee last
November. The committee will consider the role of foods, such
as “ultra-processed foods”, and foods high in fat, salt and sugar,
in a healthy diet and tackling obesity. The following peers
have been appointed to the Committee: Baroness Boycott, Lord Brooke
of Alverthorpe, Baroness Browning, Earl of Caithness, Lord
Colgrain,...Request free trial
A new House of Lords committee has been created to examine food, diet and obesity, as recommended by the Liaison Committee last November. The committee will consider the role of foods, such as “ultra-processed foods”, and foods high in fat, salt and sugar, in a healthy diet and tackling obesity. The following peers have been appointed to the Committee: Baroness Boycott, Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe, Baroness Browning, Earl of Caithness, Lord Colgrain, Baroness Goudie, Baroness Jenkin of Kennington, Lord Krebs, Baroness Pitkeathley, Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick, Baroness Suttie and Baroness Walmsley (Chair). Background (from the Liaison Committee report) Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) 58.In 2009, researchers at the University of São Paulo proposed the NOVA54 classification of food groups, as follows:
59.Examples of ultra-processed foods include carbonated soft drinks; sweet, fatty or salty packaged snacks; candies (confectionery); mass produced packaged breads and buns, cookies (biscuits), pastries, cakes and cake mixes; margarine and other spreads; sweetened breakfast ‘cereals’ and fruit yoghurt and ‘energy’ drinks; pre-prepared meat, cheese, pasta and pizza dishes; poultry and fish ‘nuggets’ and ‘sticks’; sausages, burgers, hot dogs and other reconstituted meat products; powdered and packaged ‘instant’ soups, noodles and desserts; baby formula; and many other types of product.58 It has been estimated that 56.8% of calories consumed by the average person in the UK derive from ultra-processed foods.59 60.According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: “Processes enabling the manufacture of ultra-processed foods involve several steps and different industries. It starts with the fractioning of whole foods into substances including sugars, oils and fats, proteins, starches and fibre … “Results from scientific studies on diet quality show significant and graded associations between the dietary share of ultra-processed foods and dietary nutrient profiles prone to non-communicable diseases, including high or excessive content of free or added sugar, saturated and trans fats, and sodium, and also high dietary energy density; and low or insufficient content of protein, fibre and potassium.”60 61.There has been growing public comment on the impact of consumption of ultra-processed foods on public health. In April 2023, NHS doctor and broadcaster Dr Chris van Tulleken published a best-selling book entitled Ultra-Processed People: Why do we all eat stuff that isn’t food … and why can’t we stop? It has been claimed that “British children have the highest levels of ultra-processed food intake in Europe, with under 14s getting an average 67% of their daily energy intake from these types of food. UPFs account for an average 63% of daily energy intake across all age groups, up from 57% in 2008.”61 However, others have argued that a blanket approach to ultra-processed foods is not helpful given the wide range of products that fall within the NOVA definition. The definition of UPFs is contested. 62.In a House of Commons debate on UPFs in June 2023, Neil O’Brien MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Department for Health and Social Care, set out the Government’s position: “One of the great challenges with ultra-processed food is defining what it is. The most commonly used definition … is the NOVA definition, which includes foods that are clearly less healthy, such as sugary drinks, confectionery, salty snacks, cakes and other products that are high in calories, saturated fat, salt and sugar. “ … but the breadth of the NOVA definition is such that it includes foods that our current dietary guidelines encourage as part of a healthier diet. Shop-bought wholemeal bread, baked beans, or wholegrain breakfast cereals such as bran flakes and Weetabix would be captured by it, so clearly there is work to do to reach the right definition.” 63.The Minister referred to the ongoing scoping review of the evidence on processed foods and health by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN).62 64.SACN’s summary report was published on 11 July 2023. It concluded that: “The SRs [systematic reviews] identified have consistently reported that increased consumption of (ultra-) processed foods was associated with increased risks of adverse health outcomes. However, there are uncertainties around the quality of evidence available.”63 65.SACN called for further assessment and development of an (ultra-) processed foods classification system that can reliably be applied to estimate consumption of processed foods in the UK; and further evidence exploring relationships between (ultra-) processed foods and health outcomes.64 66.Some campaigners and medical experts have criticised a perceived failure by the Government to address the impact of ultra-processed foods on public health, and have expressed concern about the food industry’s influence over policy-making, including its links with SACN.65 67.On 25 October, a Question for Short Debate on ultra-processed foods was held in the name of Baroness Jenkin66, followed on 26 October by an oral question in the name of Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, when many of the arguments outlined above were set out.67 68.Obesity is a physical condition in which a person is very overweight, with a lot of body fat. Obesity has many causes, but it can be summarised as an imbalance between energy consumed and energy expended. A person’s likelihood of being overweight or obese is affected by many factors, such as socioeconomic status, age, gender, ethnicity, where they live and whether or not they have a disability or medical condition. 69.The Health Survey for England, published by NHS Digital, estimated in 2021 that 25.9% of adults in England were obese and a further 37.9% were overweight, making a total of 63.8% who were either overweight or obese.68 70.The Government’s response to obesity has been set out across successive versions of its childhood obesity plan, published in 2016, 2018, 2019, and a further obesity strategy published in 2020.69 Within these, the Government set out a number of measures aimed at reducing the prevalence of childhood obesity. These have generated a wide range of responses from stakeholders, who in some cases, have considered the measures too weak, or conversely, disproportionately restrictive. The measures include:
71.The Government previously announced that work to tackle obesity would be included in the health disparities white paper. It has since been announced that a health disparities white paper will no longer be introduced but a Major Conditions Strategy will be brought forward in due course.75 72.A summary of the Government’s current strategy for tackling obesity was published in June 2023.76 The Government has been criticised by some stakeholders for scaling back on its previous commitments. In March 2023, the Government’s food tsar, Henry Dimbleby, resigned.77 73.The House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee published a series of reports on childhood obesity, in 2015,78 2017,79 and 2018.80 The Committee held a one-off evidence session in 2019 to follow-up on this work.81 Its most recent work in this area was its July 2022 report on The impact of body image on mental and physical health.82 The Committee has since launched a wide-ranging inquiry on Prevention of ill health. Within this, the Committee has identified ten potential future workstreams, one of which is obesity and healthy eating.83 74.The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee published a report on Food security in July 2023, which included a chapter on obesity and access to healthy food. The Committee recommended that “further research on ultra-processed foods as a contributor to over consumption of higher calorie foods should commence at once and at pace, with the findings reported to the Committee within 12 months of the publication of this Report.”84 In May 2023, the Committee launched an inquiry into fairness in the food supply chain, including questions in its call for evidence on affordable and healthy food.85 This inquiry is expected to continue into 2024. 75.In 2019–20, the House of Lords special inquiry committee on Food, Poverty, Health and the Environment considered the delays in implementing various provisions of the Government’s obesity strategy. It made further recommendations on the need to gather data on the impact of food security on diet, the funding commitments on various school-based food initiatives for children, such as free school meals, and supported the then proposed restrictions on the advertising, product placement and price promotion of HFSS foods.86 The Liaison Committee subsequently followed up on the work of the Committee, and the Government responded in January 2023.87 Suggested scope for a potential inquiry 76.This is a broad and complex topic, and the Committee would need to focus carefully on areas where it could best add value and not duplicate work already undertaken. It may wish to pursue some of the following areas:
77.The Committee recommends that a special inquiry committee be appointed “to consider the role of foods, such as ‘ultra-processed foods’, and foods high in fat, sugar and salt, in a healthy diet and tackling obesity”, to report by the end of November 2024. |