Members of the Health Select Committee have described themselves as “extremely disappointed” that a cross-government strategy aimed at reducing childhood obesity has left out “several key areas for action”.
The Childhood Obesity Plan, published last summer, includes a range of measures such as the proposed soft drinks levy, making school food healthier, and boosting physical activity among the young.
But select committee members said the plan, which is a joint work between the Cabinet Office, the Department of Health, the Treasury, and 10 Downing Street, paled in significance to a widely leaked draft version, and took too much of a wait-and-see approach to a hugely important issue.
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It said that a time when around one-third of children aged from two to 15 were either overweight or obese, the plan was not specific enough in terms of the outcomes it sought, and the soft drinks levy in particular was open to circumvention by the industry.
Committee members urged the government to ensure that drinks manufacturers did not seek to offset the levy – due to come into effect next year – by raising the cost of healthier drinks marketed at young people, and insisted a clear differential between high-sugar and low-sugar options should be felt at the till.
Rates confirmed in this month’s Spring Budget set the levy at 24p a litre for drinks that contain more than 8g of sugar per 100ml, and 18p per litre for drinks with a sugar content of 5-8g per 100ml
MPs also called for the levy to apply to milk-based drinks that have a high sugar content as well as to fizzy drinks.
Their concerns about the strength of the government’s ambition came from the apparent watering down of a draft commitment to “cut childhood obesity by half by 2026”, which became a pledge to “significantly reduce childhood obesity within the next 10 years”. The abandoned pledge, they said, would have meant 800,000 fewer obese children by 2026.
Committee chair Dr Sarah Wollaston said the plan currently suffered from a lack of solid outcomes targets and did not address the urgency of the situation.
She added that the panel had been unimpressed by departments’ unwillingness to specify what further steps may be taken if the measures in the current plan did not prove sufficient.
“We are extremely disappointed that the government has rejected a number of our recommendations,” she said.
“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.”
Other select committee calls for action that fell on deaf ears included a ban on the “deep discounting” of unhealthy foods in shops, and a tightening of existing rules on the advertising of unhealthy foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar – often referred to as HFSS food and drink products.
Public health minister Nicola Blackwood sought to draw attention to the areas of the Childhood Obesity Plan where the select committee had acknowledged progress.
She said strategy was "the most ambitious plan on childhood obesity in the world" and backed by the soft drinks industry levy.
“Voluntary approaches have been shown to be very effective, but as we have repeatedly said, we have not ruled out further measures if results are not seen," she said.