Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Childhood Obesity

Tuesday 13 July 2021 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The UK government aims to halve childhood obesity in England by 2030.
  • Five trailblazer sites are working to create a healthier environment for children.
  • The government plans to expand children's sports and activity initiatives both in and out of school.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Suzanne Webb
NHS Environment
Context

The question addresses efforts to combat rising rates of childhood obesity, which is linked to poor health outcomes and increased healthcare costs.

Question

What steps he is taking to tackle childhood obesity. I am concerned about the rise in childhood obesity and its impact on health outcomes. What measures are being implemented to address this issue?

Answer from Jo Churchill

We are committed to halving childhood obesity in England by 2030, and the 7.9 million strategy takes decisive action to help everybody to achieve and maintain a healthier weight. We have five trailblazer sites working to create a healthy environment for our children. We have laid regulations for out-of-home calorie labelling. We have put £100 million into funding for adult and child weight management, and announced the introduction of some of the toughest advertising restrictions—both on TV and online—regarding children's exposure to high fat, salt and sugar products.

Partly answered

How: We Are Committed To Halving Childhood Obesity In England By 2030

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Q2 Damian Hinds Con East Hampshire
Culture, Media & Sport Children & Families
Context

The question concerns the implementation of a comprehensive plan to ensure children engage in physical activities for at least 60 minutes daily, both inside and outside school hours.

Question

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for mentioning that wide range of measures. May I also encourage her to work closely with colleagues at the Department for Education and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on an expanded children's sports and activity plan, both in and out of school, to try to make 60 minutes a day as much a norm as five-a-day fruit and vegetables by bringing in the power of sports clubs and the governing bodies, and finally getting more school facilities available for out-of-hours use?

Answer from Jo Churchill

My right hon. Friend's question is music to my ears. He will be pleased to hear that, last week, along with Ministers from DCMS and the DFE, I was in front of the Lords National Plan for Sport and Recreation Committee talking about doing just that—about how we can build on the £10.1 million contribution, so that we can unlock the 40% of facilities that lie on school estates and help to get children active for 60 minutes a day. We will be publishing our cross-departmental update to the school sport and activity action plan later this year.

Answered
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Q3 Suzanne Webb
NHS Environment
Context

The question addresses the role of ultra-processed foods in contributing to childhood obesity, highlighting their high content of fat, salt, sugar, flavourings, and artificial colourings.

Question

Ultra-processed food is basically high in fat, high in salt and high in sugar, and it is highly addictive. I believe that it plays a significant part in the growing crisis that is obesity. I genuinely believe that it is not food in itself, when one considers all the flavourings and artificial colourings that have to go into it to make it taste like food in the first instance. Does my hon. Friend agree that the food industry needs to play its part in tackling the obesity crisis, and not contribute to it?

Answer from Jo Churchill

I do. This is about helping people and caring for people. We know the detrimental effect obesity has on all stages of our lives. It costs personally, in productivity terms, as well as the NHS, being the precursor to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, musculoskeletal conditions and so on. We cannot afford for the country not to tackle this issue. I am encouraged, but want to see business go faster in the reformulation ambition to reduce the salt, sugar and fat in these products.

Partly answered

How: We Know The Detrimental Effect Obesity Has On All Stages Of Our Lives

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