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Plans to tackle childhood obesity in England are overdue and may fall short of the government’s own goal of halving the proportion of obese children in England by 2030, according to a report.
The National Audit Office (NAO) called for more powers to be given to the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that action is taken throughout Whitehall to provide solutions.
He said the failure of successive governments to reduce obesity was putting ethnic and disadvantaged children at a disadvantage.
From 2018 to 2019, 26.9% of children aged 10-11 in the most disadvantaged areas were classified as obese compared to 13% in the least disadvantaged.
Slightly more than 18% of white children ages 10-11 were classified as obese between 2018 and 2019 compared to almost 29% of black children.
In 2016, ministers launched a childhood obesity plan, which included a soda industry tax, sugar targets, and promotion of healthier foods and more exercise. The efforts focused on children because the evidence showed that obese children were more likely to become obese adults, resulting in significant health risks.
Government estimates put the cost of obesity to the NHS at £ 6.1 billion and £ 27 billion to society as a whole.
‘A struggle to implement’
However, the NAO report said DHSC had not fully evaluated the success of past strategies and would likely have difficulty implementing its new approach.
Many aspects of its program depended on other government departments, such as the sponsorship of sporting events by the food industry, which would make it difficult to ensure that they were consistent with the overall goal of reducing childhood obesity, according to the report.
The soft drink industry levy, which became law in 2018, had encouraged a reduction in sugar in some beverages and raised £ 240 million in 2018 to 2019.
However, since that year there has been a 4.5% decrease in real terms in the central government subsidy to local authorities in the public health subsidy.
While Public Health England had made progress in encouraging the industry to lower sugar levels in some products, the government’s ambition to cut sugar by 20% by the end of this year will not be met, according to the report.
In July this year, the Government announced a new strategy to reduce obesity in adults and children. The plan was in part a response to evidence indicating that overweight or obese people who contracted COVID-19 were more likely to be hospitalized and die from the disease than those at a healthy weight.
The strategy included a ban on television and online advertisements for foods high in fat, sugar and salt before 9 pm, an end to “buy one get one free” offers on unhealthy foods, and a campaign to help people lose weight.
However, it did not include other elements of the program that had not been implemented at the time, for example, a ban on selling energy drinks to children, which DHSC had committed to implementing, the NAO said.
‘Slow progress’
Gareth Davies, Comptroller and Auditor General, commented: “Addressing childhood obesity is a major challenge, and one that governments have struggled with since the 2000s. It is clear that children living in disadvantaged or ethnic minority areas have much more likely to be obese and the problem is getting worse.
“Progress with the childhood obesity program has been slow and many commitments have yet to be made. The new strategy announced in July has signaled a greater intention to tackle obesity, but the Government will need to move forward with more urgency, commitment and cohesion. if it is to address this serious risk to people’s health. “
Dr Mars Skae, consultant pediatric endocrinologist at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, said the report suggests that “the sugar tax has effectively generated approximately £ 240 million and yet local authorities across the country have only spent about a quarter of that in childhood obesity. “
He said that while COVID-19 brought “new life to the obesity effort,” it was clear that “any new effort will still have little impact without central, clear and coordinated programmatic structures with a singular government body with the authority to coordinate the approach. comprehensive systems and hold stakeholders accountable. “
‘It all comes down to money’
Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said the solution to childhood obesity would ultimately come down to money and resources. “The local authorities hardest hit by year-on-year cuts cannot be expected to deliver vital services from a shrinking pot,” he said. “As always, the communities that need these services the most are the ones that have faced the most severe funding cuts. Some local authorities say they will have a difficult time providing regulatory services in the coming years.
“It is time for the money to meet the commitments. The government must restore the cuts in real terms of £ 1 billion to the public health grant for local authorities.”
Caroline Cerny of the Obesity Health Alliance said: “We agree that the government’s progress in addressing childhood obesity has been slow and we would welcome the introduction of procedures to ensure that other government departments are held accountable for implementing this vital program. – improving the health of children should be everyone’s responsibility.
“However, it is incorrect to suggest that policies to address childhood obesity may not [be] the correct ones based on such a brief analysis. There is strong and consistent evidence regarding the highly influential role that marketing of all kinds plays in guiding children’s food choices. That is why major health charities, medical schools and health experts support regulation to limit advertising and promotions of unhealthy foods, as the Government has committed to introduce by 2022. “
DHSC said it would study the NAO report closely. A spokesperson said: “We are determined to fight obesity at all ages and have already taken significant steps: cutting sugar in half of the drinks on sale, funding exercise programs in schools and working with councils to address the problem. childhood obesity at the local level.
“We’re also taking bold action through our ambitious new anti-obesity strategy – Banning Unhealthy Food Ads Before 9:00 PM, Ending Deals Like ‘Buy One Get One Free’ at unhealthy foods and introducing calorie counts into menus to help families make healthy choices. “
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