Health committee calls for ‘bold government action’ on childhood obesity

A parliamentary committee has called for "bold government action" to address the UK's childhood obesity crisis.

The Commons Health Select Committee has published a report noting that treating obesity and its consequences is currently estimated to cost the NHS 5.1 billion every year in direct costs.

Moreover, it is one of the risk factors for type 2 diabetes, which accounts for spending of 8.8 billion pounds a year, with the wider costs of obesity to society around three times this amount, and yet the UK spends only around 638 million pounds on obesity prevention programmes.

As such, a number of potential measures have been outlined to combat the trend, including strong controls on price promotions and advertising for unhealthy food and drink, as well as efforts to reduce the sugar content of consumable products.

Also recommended were a sugary drinks tax, improved education and information about diet, universal school food standards, and greater powers for local authorities to tackle the environment leading to obesity.

Dr Sarah Wollaston, chair of the health committee, said: "We urge the prime minister to make a positive and lasting difference to children's health and life chances through bold and wide ranging measures within his childhood obesity strategy."