Childhood obesity action plan ‘too slow’, says report

According to the report by the National Audit Office (NAO) published today (9 September), progress towards the goal has been ‘slow’ and uncoordinated, while child obesity rates continue to worsen in some parts of the UK.

In 2018-19 almost a 10th of four- and five-year-olds and a fifth of 10- and 11-year-olds in England were obese. Those living in deprived areas and from ethnic minorities backgrounds are also far more likely to be obese.

Treatment of obesity-related conditions in England costs the NHS an estimated £6.1 billion each year. Successive governments have tried to tackle the problem of childhood obesity but with limited success.
Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said that progress has been ‘slow’ and that many commitments are ‘not yet in place’.

The Government’s 2016 Childhood Obesity Plan stated the aim to halve childhood obesity and to reduce the gap in obesity between children from the most and least deprived areas, by 2030.  

In July, the prime minister set out a series of measures to reduce obesity, amid evidence of the link between obesity and increased risk of coronavirus. But it has fallen short of following through with certain steps such as the ban on selling energy drinks to children under 18, which the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) committed to in July 2019.

The NAO report found it was ‘not clear that the DHSC’s current programme will be able to make the step change needed in the timescale available’.

Mr Davies said, 'Tackling childhood obesity is a major challenge, and one that Governments have struggled with since the 2000s. It is clear that children living in deprived areas or from ethnic minorities are far more likely to be obese and the problem is worsening.

'Progress with the Childhood Obesity Programme has been slow and many commitments are not yet in place. The new strategy announced in July has signalled a greater intention to tackle obesity but the Government will need to follow through with more urgency, commitment and cohesion if it is to address this severe risk to people’s health.'

Mr Davies said, ‘The new strategy announced in July has signalled a greater intention to tackle obesity but the Government will need to follow through with more urgency, commitment and cohesion if it is to address this severe risk to people’s health.’

Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said, ‘Undoubtedly, we have made some progress. The ban on pre-9pm junk food advertising will be very important, if implemented, and we broadly welcomed the Government’s commitment to make obesity a public health priority, although we need to see actions as well as promises.’

He added, ‘It is time for the money to follow the commitments. Government should restore the £1bn of real-terms cuts to the public health grant for local authorities. Similarly, we need to know what happens to the vital programmes delivered by PHE, which was abolished without any consultation, that will not move to the new National Institute for Health Protection.’

Local authorities tackling childhood obesity

The NAO recommends that by autumn 2021 DHSC, with support from the Cabinet Office, should introduce stronger procedures that allow DHSC to hold other departments responsible for delivering their elements of the programme.

In the proposed spending review, the Government should target support and funding to local authorities and groups who have the greater obesity problems. DHSC should also provide greater support to local authorities to help them implement efforts to reduce childhood obesity.

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said that councils are already working hard to help their communities live healthier and more active lives, including initiatives such as healthy food schemes in schools and nurseries and specialised weight management services.

He added, ‘Greater powers for councils are also needed to tackle the clustering of existing takeaways and restricting junk food advertising, alongside extra investment in other council-run programmes such as exercise referral schemes and offering free or reduced-cost sport, if we are to meet the Government’s ambition of halving childhood obesity by 2030.

‘The forthcoming Spending Review is an opportunity to reverse the £700 million reduction in councils’ public health grant over the past five years. The grant should also be increased to match the growth in overall NHS funding to at least £3.9 billion a year by 2024/25.’

A DHSC spokesperson said, ‘We are determined to tackle obesity across all ages and we have already taken significant action - cutting sugar from half of drinks on sale, funding exercise programmes in schools and working with councils to tackle child obesity locally.

‘We are also taking bold action through our new and ambitious obesity strategy – banning unhealthy food adverts before 9pm, ending deals like ‘buy one get one free’ on unhealthy food, and introducing calorie counts on menus – to help families make healthy choices.’