NICE issues new standard on obesity and weight management in children

A quality standard to help prevent children and young people becoming overweight or obese has been published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

The standard aims to support high-quality weight management and obesity prevention interventions being provided to benefit children and young people, thus improving outcomes in areas including dietary habits, excess weight in children and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes.

Key elements of the guidance include ensuring vending machines in local authority and NHS venues offer healthy food and drink options, while these sites should also provide details of nutritional information on menus.

Efforts will also be made to display healthy food and drink choices prominently, while children and young people identified as being overweight or obese will be given information about local lifestyle weight management programmes.

Professor Gill Leng, deputy chief executive of NICE, said: "Families and carers have an important role in supporting children and young people who are overweight or obese, which this standard recognises."

This will play an important role in nationwide efforts to tackle obesity, which is expected to be a major public health problem in the coming years.