25 Jun 2018 Childhood obesity: a plan for action – chapter 2
Today, the Government has published the full version of their Childhood obesity: a plan for action chapter 2.
We welcome the Government’s bold ambition to halve child obesity by 2030 and are supportive of many of the measures detailed in the plan, specifically:
- A planned consultation on the introduction of a 9pm watershed on TV advertising of HFSS products and similar protection for children viewing adverts online;
- The banning of price promotions such as buy one get one free on unhealthy items
- The banning of the promotion of unhealthy foods at checkouts and store entrances
- Consultation on legislation to end the sale of energy drinks to children by all retailers
- Help for local authorities to use existing powers to create healthier environments
The majority of the proposed actions are subject to further consultation, so there is still a lot of work to do, and of course there are issues which we would have liked to see included, such as:
- The use of cartoon characters on packaging of HFSS foods
- The marketing of unhealthy foods in sports settings
However, overall we are encouraged by the plan and look forward to seeing it put into action, and of course we are delighted to see Blackpool Council included as one of the case studies – one of the local authorities we have been pleased to work with on the Local Government Declaration on Healthy Weight and GULP.
