Government 'nowhere near' target of halving child obesity

In her final report on child obesity, published today, the outgoing CMO, Professor Dame Sally Davies, says that more must be done to prioritise children’s health and calls on politicians to do their ‘duty, be bold and take further actions to protect and improve children’s health.’

Professor Davies stepped down as CMO on 1 October. She has been replaced by Professor Chris Whitty.

According to the report, which is independent from Government, currently an average of six children out of a class of 30 are obese and a further four are overweight – twice as many as 30 years ago.

Consequently, there are more than 100 new diagnoses of type 2 diabetes in children every year and more than 700 children are living with the condition. Meanwhile, in 2017/18, there were 38,385 children who underwent a general aesthetic to have rotten teeth extracted.

Projections suggests that as many as one in three children in the most deprived areas will be obese by 2030.

Professor Davies argues that ‘today’s children are drowning in a flood of unhealthy food and drink options, compounded by insufficient opportunities for being active’.

Pizzas have increased by more than 50 per cent in size since 1990, finds the CMO

She claims that healthy food and drink are often not affordable, while unhealthy options are cheap.

Professor Davies says that the Government’s National Obesity Plan and the NHS Long Term Plan, if implemented in full, would significantly reduce levels of childhood obesity and improve children’s health, but they alone will not meet the 2030 ambition. To meet the ambition, she claims ‘we must go further and faster’, and puts forward a number of recommendations. They are:

• To rebalance the food and drinks sold to favour healthy options, through regulation – including extending the Soft Drinks levy to sweetened milk-based drinks with added sugar.
• Allow children to grow up free from marketing, signals and incentives to consume unhealthy food and drink – including prohibiting eating and drinking on urban public transport, except fresh water, breastfeeding and for medical conditions.
• Invest in and design the built environment to create the opportunities for children to be active and healthy.
• Take action to improve exercise and healthy weight in pregnancy, breastfeeding rates and infant feeding.
• Ensure schools and nurseries play a central role, supported by Ofsted monitoring. Food, drink and physical activity standards should be set and adhered to in all schools and nurseries.
• Protect and prioritise our children’s health and rights while making trade deals.

Comments

Professor Davies said, ‘The unavoidable fact is that over time our environment has become very unhealthy without us realising. Our children are impacted as a result and are now suffering from painful, potentially life limiting diseases. I refuse to believe that any adult – parent or otherwise – could argue this is acceptable.

‘We need to rebalance our environment – our politicians need to be bold and help everyone embrace healthier life choices. No child should suffer from complications caused by an avoidable case of type 2 diabetes, yet this is our new normal. We can fix childhood obesity, but we need the right level commitment to make the healthier choice the easy one.’

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, ‘Professor Dame Sally Davies has done more than anyone to promote the health of the nation over a decade as CMO. Her parting report is no different and we will study it closely and act on the evidence.’

Sector response

June O’Sullivan, chief executive of the Early Years Foundation, said, ‘Professor Dame Sally Davies is absolutely right by saying schools and nurseries need to play a central role in helping fight childhood obesity and get children healthier and more active.

'It’s unacceptable that some nurseries are inadvertently adding to the problem by serving meals dangerously high in fat, salt and sugar – and we therefore need a radical wake up.

‘One of the biggest problems is a lack of knowledge and imagination among chefs about how to cook for children in group settings

‘Every parent wants to know that their child is getting tasty, healthy and nutritious food and they need reassurance that the standards are of the highest quality.’

The Royal Society for Public Health urged the Government and industry to ‘seriously consider’ Professor Davies’ recommendations or ‘risk denying children and the next generation a long and healthy life’.

Chief executive Shirley Cramer said, ‘This report comes at a crucial time in our approach to childhood obesity, as we must address the obesogenic environment that continues to dominate the places children live, play and go to school.

‘It is not acceptable to expect children and parents to face an uphill battle to maintain a healthy weight. Everyone deserves to have access to healthy food and physical activity.’

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) gave its full support to a number of recommendations made by the CMO.

President Professor Russell Viner said, ‘As doctors our primary responsibility is to the future health and well-being of children. Health professionals can’t do this on our own and it’s not right or fair to place the burden of responsibility on parents and children. Children have a right to a healthy, happy childhood – it’s our job as adults to make that happen.’

Responding to the CMO’s report, the shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth accused the Government of doing nothing, but ‘window dress’ its commitment to child obesity since it published its Child Obesity Plan over a year ago.