AoMRC report highlights need for action on obesity crisis

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) has issued a series of recommendations on tackling the UK obesity crisis in a report compiled following a six-month inquiry.

Representatives from 20 of the UK's Royal Medical Colleges and Faculties have contributed to the report, which presents an action plan on future campaigning activity targeting healthcare professionals, government bodies, industry organisations and schools.

It recommends that food-based standards be mandatory in all UK hospitals and fast food outlets be banned from being located close to schools and colleges, as well as a pilot scheme levying a duty on all sugary soft drinks.

Other items on the agenda include banning adverts for foods high in saturated fats, sugar and salt before the watershed and spending 100 million pounds over the next three years on providing weight management services across the country.

Professor Terence Stephenson, a paediatrician and chair of the academy, said: "It's now time to stop making excuses and instead begin forging alliances, trying new innovations to see what works and acting quickly to tackle obesity head on."

According to 2012 NHS data, 26 percent of English adults are now obese, while one in seven children are also affected.