UK 'faces higher taxes' as PMs have been 'too squeamish' to tackle obesity
Voters face being hit with higher taxes because of ministers' "squeamishness" over tackling obesity, a report has warned today.
Every government since 1992 has failed to reduce obesity, with rising rates burdening the NHS and damning the economy, research by the Institute for Government shows.
The think-tank said ministers fear being perceived as "nanny state" despite strong public support for ambitious measures.
The report points to "at least" 14 government strategies on obesity, "containing hundreds of policies, and a succession of institutional reforms, with key agencies and teams created and then abolished".
A failure to grip the problem now will result in higher taxes and spending, as well as increased inequality, it added.
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A ban on junk food ads pre-9pm was due to come into force in January but this has also been kicked down the road (Getty Images/Universal Images Group)Boris Johnson was last year accused of "playing politics" with children's health after a proposed ban on buy-one-get-one-free deals for unhealthy food products was scrapped.
Liz Truss also said she would halt the plans when she was PM.
A ban on junk food ads pre-9pm was due to come into force in January but this has also been kicked down the road.
The UK has the third highest obesity rate in Europe, behind only Malta and Turkey.
Almost one in three adults are now classified as obese - an increase from one in 10 adults in 1970, which is a much bigger increase than seen in Germany, France and Italy, the IfG report found.
Obesity costs the NHS around £6.5billion every year and is the second biggest cause of cancer, after smoking.
It is also associated with a higher risk of other serious illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and liver disease.
Last month the Government's food tsar Henry Dimbleby quit with a blast at “insane” Tory inaction against obesity.
Last month the Government's food tsar Henry Dimbleby quit with a blast at "insane" Tory inaction against obesity (DAVID HARTLEY/REX/Shutterstock)The Leon co-founder said the Conservatives were refusing to impose restrictions on the junk food industry due to an obsession with “ultra-free-market ideology”.
His National Food Strategy in 2021 called for free school meals for all Universal Credit households and recommended a 'snack tax' on foods high in sugar and salt to encourage manufacturers to make foods more healthy.
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But consecutive Tory governments ditched most of the recommendations.
Tam Fry, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said if anything the IfG report “is too lenient”.
“The governments not only feared being labelled 'nannies' but successively appointed incompetent junior health ministers who rolled over in front of food industry barons scheming to dictate what we should be eating.
“In 2019 England's Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, penned a credible strategy which could have put a stop to all that - but Downing Street sat on the plan. It's still gathering dust somewhere in Whitehall and should be implemented immediately," he said.
Sophie Metcalfe, an IfG researcher and the report's author, said: “High obesity will lock the UK into a future of increasing ill health and the government has no plan to tackle it.
“It needs to build support for a long-term strategy which avoids telling people 'what to eat' but focuses instead on shared responsibility and a vision of healthier diets and more productive lives.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “We are taking firm action to help people live healthier lives including, introducing restrictions on where unhealthy food is placed in supermarkets, calorie labelling on menus, and we work closely with industry to make it easier for people to make healthy food choices.
“Trials of new obesity treatments and technologies are being backed by £20million of government funding, and we will introduce restrictions banning adverts on TV for foods and drinks high in fat, salt, or sugar before 9pm, as well as paid-for adverts online.”
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