'If current trends continue, at least one-third of adults, one-fifth of boys and one-third of girls will be obese by 2020' - it's just one of many shocking facts highlighted in the Government white paper on public health, Choosing Health: making healthy choices easier, released last week. Yet what has shocked children's food campaigners is that, they believe, the document then backs down from introducing any hard legislation to protect children's health.
Information leaked to the press before the paper's publication gave the impression that the Government would ban junk food television advertising aimed at young children before 9pm and impose strict guidelines on the labelling of processed foods. What it is actually proposing falls far short of that (see box).
Introducing the white paper, health secretary John Reid said, 'Parents know their children's health is primarily their responsibility, but they told us that Government, businesses and anyone who has an influence also share that particular responsibility to protect children from premature exposure to a world of adult choices.'
Foods are supposed to be 'signposted' by mid-2005, but it is unclear what format this will take. The food industry can continue advertising before the 9pm watershed while Ofcom, the regulator for UK communication industries, looks at introducing voluntary restrictions. The Government will intervene in 2007 if it is unhappy with the implementations.
Charlie Powell, campaign co-ordinator for the Children's Food Bill at Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming, warns that for each year legislation is delayed, an estimated 40,000 children will become obese.
Obesity increases the risk of developing the biggest killers such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
'What was reported widely in the national press before the white paper's publication was purely Government spin, and the substance is deeply disappointing,' says Mr Powell. 'They have promised yet another consultation and yet more voluntary controls. On one side, the Government acknowledges the strength of research that shows how food marketing to children strongly influences their food choices. But then they say the food industry can legislate themselves. It is a recipe for delay, and it does not make sense.'
Nutrition writer Mary Whiting says, 'The Government has crumbled before the food industry's lobbying. The children's food market is worth vast sums of money. It is outrageous that the Government has let these people's profits come before the very urgent issue of children's health.'
Ms Whiting thinks that the Government has avoided making concrete recommendations because it does not want to be labelled a 'nanny state'.
She says, 'But what is wrong with the term nanny? Surely they want to protect children, isn't that what a nanny does?'
Wish list
Dame Deirdre Hutton, chair of the National Consumer Council, thinks that a 'traffic light' system of food labelling would be the best scheme to distinguish foods at a glance. This could place red stickers on products laden with sugar, salt or fat, amber on those items that should be eaten sparingly, and green on nutritious foods such as fruit and vegetables.
Dame Deirdre says, 'To work effectively the new labelling system will need to be applied consistently across all packaged and processed food. Existing information on food labels often confuses and misleads people and does little to help them choose a healthy diet.'
Mary Whiting would like to see a barcode system introduced - the higher the coloured bar the more sugar, salt or nutrients, for example, contained in the product.
She also calls for a restriction on what products can be sold as 'children's food'. 'At the moment the single worst category of food is children's food,' she says. 'It is most likely to be high in sugar, salt, fat and lowest in nutrients - it's a horrendous combination.
'I would also like to see a ban on all advertising aimed at children.
Scandinavian countries, Italy, France and Holland have implemented bans without a problem.'
But Jeremy Preston, director of the Food Advertising Unit, which represents the food advertising industry, claims that demands for bans are misplaced.
'The industry supports strict, evidence-based and proportionate rules in binding Codes of Practice which, unlike legislation, can be reviewed and kept up to date more easily with social change,' he says.
'The Government has threatened to legislate if by 2007 the code changes have not delivered the impact they expect. However, changes to the codes will not deliver changes in diet, let alone obesity, because advertising only has a modest direct effect on food choice.'
He believes the real issue is how to achieve behavioural change to ensure there is a balance between food intake and energy expenditure.
Educated tastebuds
Jonathan Doherty, head of early childhood education at Leeds Metropolitan University, says, 'Any solution to the problem of obesity needs to be a shared one among politicians, parents, educators and children themselves.
There are many worthwhile initiatives underway across the country, but it needs a national push.
'The early years must be where it starts. In this respect the white paper does not go far enough. The importance of promoting healthy lifestyles with young children needs to be recognised.'
The potential of a successful national diet campaign is demonstrated on a small scale at Chapel Nursery in Oakengates, Telford, holder of a gold Healthy Eating Award. Through providing healthy living advice and nutritious foods the nursery has educated the children's tastebuds and re-educated their parents.
'Many of the parents will cook the food that we have in the nursery because they know it can be trusted, unlike many processed foods,' says nursery administrator Janet Daws. 'We find that our healthy eating policy inspires whole families to change their eating habits. They ask what food we have and what is best to buy and we often get asked for our recipes, such as how to make our cottage pie or vegetable pasta bake.
'The nursery children have educated taste buds because we do not use salt and sugar in the cooking, and they are used to eating fresh fruit and vegetables. We're confident that they will continue with their eating habits when they go on to school and will grow into healthy adults.' NW Further information
* 'Choosing Health: making healthy choices easier' white paper on public health, www.doh.gov.uk
* Children's Food Bill campaign, www.childrensfoodbill.org.uk
Key recommendations
* By mid-2005, processed foods will be labelled to indicate fat, sugar and salt content.
* Ofcom will look at how foods are advertised to children and implement voluntary restrictions on 'junk food' adverts. Legislation will be considered in 2007 if those measures fall short of what the Government wants.
* An independent task force will look at the best ways to prevent and treat obesity.
* Children will be encouraged to cycle to school and schools will be expected to provide healthier meals, free fruit and sport within the curriculum and outside school hours. Guidance will be available to schools from early 2005.
* The Government will look at extending the Healthy Schools initiative to include nursery education.
* A new 'Healthy Start' voucher scheme, from 2005, will provide fruit and vegetables and milk to pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and young children in low-income families.
* By 2010 every Primary Care Trust will be resourced to have at least one full-time school nurse working with each cluster of primary schools and secondary schools in their area.
* The Sure Start Unit will put in place by late 2008 training guidance and support for early years practitioners to encourage changes in parental behaviour and improve the social and emotional development and physical health of the early years.
* From 2006 all enclosed public places, restaurants and workplaces (other than some licensed premises) will be smoke-free. All pubs and bars preparing and serving food, an estimated 70 to 90 per cent of licensed premises, will also ban smoking.
