This weekend, the Government announced its plan to make food retailers and manufacturers make eating a healthier diet easier for the UK population.
Food retailers and manufacturers will “make the healthy choice the easy choice” in a world-first partnership between government and industry to tackle the obesity epidemic and also ease pressure on the NHS as part of the Plan for Change.
As part of the forthcoming 10-Year Health Plan, large retailers including supermarkets will be set a new standard to make the average shopping basket of goods sold slightly healthier.
Businesses will be given the freedom to meet the standard however works best for them, whether by “reformulating products and tweaking recipes, changing shop layouts, offering discounts on healthy foods, or changing loyalty schemes to promote healthier options,” the Government says in a press release.
Public health experts believe cutting our daily calorie count by just 50 would lift 340,000 children and a massive two million adults out of obesity. If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by just 216 calories a day – equivalent to just a single bottle of sugary fizzy drink - obesity would be halved.
With the UK now having the third highest rate of adult obesity in Europe, weight remains a vital public health challenge, costing the NHS £11.4bn a year - triple the NHS budget for ambulance services.
Health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting (left), said of the news: “Obesity has doubled since the 1990s and unless we curb the rising tide of cost and demand, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable.
“The good news is that it only takes a small change to make a big difference. This government’s ambition for kids today is for them to be part of the healthiest generation ever. That’s within our grasp. With the smart steps we’re taking, we can give every child a healthy start to life.
“Our brilliant supermarkets already do so much work for our communities and are trying to make their stores heathier, and we want to work with them and other businesses to create a level playing field.”
Environment secretary, Steve Reed, added: “Britain has some of the best farmers, growers, food manufacturers and retailers in the world, which means we have more choice than ever before on our shelves. It’s vital for the nation that the food industry delivers healthy food, that is available, affordable and appealing.
“Our food strategy will bring together the health plan, food producers and retailers to make sure we can feed the nation more healthily.”
“Our food strategy will bring together the health plan, food producers and retailers to make sure we can feed the nation more healthily while growing the economic success of our food sector. The new policy will see all big food businesses report on healthy food sales. This will set full transparency and accountability around the food that businesses are selling and encourage healthier products.”
Henry Dimbleby, author of the National Food Strategy and Independent Review for Government, said: “What gets measured gets done. Mandatory reporting is a crucial first step in improving the food environment – it creates a level playing field, rewards the businesses already acting, and gives us a clear picture of what’s really being sold.
“It’s fantastic to see food retailers themselves calling for this. With proper data, we can start to reshape the food system and make healthier choices easier for everyone.”
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