Obesity Health Alliance

All children have the right to health and protection from harmful influence. Sadly, they are not protected, even in schools 👇

🥤 ⚠️ 📢 “As we head into the summer holidays, we want parents to be aware of the potential risks associated with slush ice drinks containing glycerol. While these drinks may seem harmless and side effects are generally mild, they can, especially when consumed in large quantities over a short time, pose serious health risks to young children. That’s why we’re recommending that children under seven should not consume these drinks at all, and children aged 7 to 10 should have no more than one 350ml serving. We're working closely with industry to ensure appropriate warnings are in place wherever these drinks are sold, but in the meantime, we are asking parents and carers to take extra care when buying drinks for young children, particularly during warmer months when consumption of ‘slushies’ typically increases."  FSA Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Robin May 👇 please pass on if you can

🙌 It's great to see Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs launching the Good Food Cycle plan to transform Britain's food system. Ten priority outcomes have been identified with the aim of driving generational change in our relationship with food via policies such as greener supply chains and mandatory reporting on the sales of healthy food. It's also heartening that citizens working with The Food Foundation and Food, Farming and Countryside Commission are being given a say in what policies can help achieve the government's ambitions. As our Executive Director Anna Taylor points out - the real challenge now lies in delivering Good Food Cycle! Read more: ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eyaeyXMC #goodfoodcycle

🗞️ New Blog: The 10 Year Health Plan – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Our Public Health Registrar Christus Ferneyhough recognises the difficulties and challenges in developing a plan as important as this - and has shared his views on the prevention aspects and beyond. "While the plan champions a shift from hospital to community care, embraces digital transformation, and (very welcomely) stresses the importance of prevention, there are notable gaps and potential pitfalls that could hinder true progress, particularly in addressing the persistent and widening health inequalities across the country." Read the full blog here 👇 https://lnkd.in/e4zuE8xh

The Obesity Health Alliance is deeply concerned by the ongoing pervasive presence of junk food sponsorship in top-flight UK sport, which is highlighted again by this new powerful BMJ investigation. This issue is not only about advertising; it's about the fundamental integrity of sport and its role in promoting healthy lifestyles, especially for young people. Major junk food brands align themselves with idolised sporting figures and teams, creating a concerning "health halo effect" that normalises and encourages the consumption of unhealthy products. This is particularly worrying given that many sponsorship deals bypass existing and upcoming advertising regulations, allowing unhealthy products to be seen and promoted during daytime viewing and amplified through athletes' social media platforms, which have huge followings and influence. Our Public Health Registrar, Christus Ferneyhough comments: "We need robust policy changes that prevent brands from using sport as a vehicle to promote unhealthy products to young, susceptible audiences. The health of our nation’s children must be prioritised over the commercial interests of the junk food industry. After all, sport should inspire health, not be used to promote products that undermine it." #HFSS #PublicHealth #Advertising #Sponsorship #Sport #FoodPolicy #JunkFood 👇 https://lnkd.in/ekddF6AG

❗Reading list: two new research papers on commercial baby foods We’re excited to share that our Nutrition Officer, Jasmine, and colleagues at First Steps Nutrition Trust and the University of Glasgow published this papaer summarising research on commercial baby foods published since 2019. The study found that: 🍇 Commercial baby foods are often nutritionally inadequate and/or high in sugar. 🫐 Snack foods and squeeze pouches are readily available, often sweet, and lack textural variety. 🍊 Marketing claims are often misleading and exploit parents/carers' fears to motivate use. Existing guidelines are not being utilised by baby food manufacturers. Policies, regulations, and advice on CBF must be strengthened to improve complementary feeding practices and reduce the prevalence of poor health outcomes. The wider policy recommendations from this narrative review are to: ▶️ Strengthen regulations in the UK and ensure that they are mandatory. ▶️ Ensure independent monitoring and enforcement of regulations. ▶️ Clarify NHS complementary feeding advice to include explicit guidance on commercial baby foods, which we are pleased has recently been updated. ❗ Another new study by Alexandra Rhodes from UCL and colleagues explored the drivers of using processed baby snack foods. As we know, many commercial baby food age labels do not align with public health recommendations. In this study, over 1,000 parents and carers of children aged 6-23 months took part in an online survey. Additionally, 22 participants took part in focus group discussions A worrying 30% introduced these when their babies were under 6 months of age, and nearly 64% between 6 and 11 months. This suggests that processed snack foods are often some of the first foods that babies consume. The study confirms that UK parents believe that processed baby snacks are a normal and healthy part of their children’s diets and that they offer benefits to their growth and development – primarily driven by brand communications and on-pack claims. Study authors call for greater transparency in communications and marketing, and stronger regulation, to help parents make more informed and healthier choices for their babies and toddlers, stating: “interventions targeting both individual behaviours and broader systemic influences are needed”. For more detailed summaries of these studies, and other news, read out latest newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/eQNQBQ4h (And make sure you sign up!)

For a light summary of what is included in the 20 Year Health Plan, and quotes as they arrive from our members and academics, take a look at our new post: https://lnkd.in/eHBz_gks

🚀 The Government, as part of their 10 Year Health Plan, have announced they will launch a 'moonshot to end the obesity epidemic' Our director Katharine Jenner comments: “This is a positive step towards the healthier future people want. Obesity is a chronic, relapsing condition that needs long-term support. Crucially, as the Government now rightly recognises, we must also shift to preventing ill health before it starts.   “After years of broken promises, delays and weak voluntary measures, this government must implement their Plan for Change in full this Parliament. Only then we can start to transform our food system – from one that fuels poor health to one that supports good health. “Taking mandatory action to ban energy drinks for children, improve school food, limit junk food advertising and promotions, and financially support families to eat well from the earliest years won’t solve everything - but together with the new mandatory Healthy Food Standards, they are moving us in the right direction.” https://lnkd.in/eR2id69U

Obesity is weighing down the UK economy. In our latest report, commissioned by Nesta, we estimate that in 2025, the productivity cost of obesity and overweight will be £30.8 billion. When healthcare, social care and quality of life costs are taken into account, the total rises to £126 billion. Our latest analysis: 🔷 Reveals how costs vary sharply across regions, income levels and ethnic groups 🔷 Uses the most up-to-date definitions and prevalence figures 🔷 Builds on earlier Frontier work to give policymakers a more detailed, accurate understanding 📉 Reducing obesity by just 1% could avoid £245 million in productivity losses. A long-term reduction strategy could save over £82 billion by 2035. 👉 Read the full report to explore what the data tells us and why it matters https://okt.to/QVyiZa #PublicHealth #Productivity #EconomicsWithImagination #ObesityCosts #PolicyImpact #Nesta

Why should the NHS 10 Year Plan include a focus on managing and preventing obesity? New modelling from Nesta and Frontier Economics has estimated that UK’s obesity and overweight epidemic costs £126bn a year, this includes the costs of NHS care (£12.6bn). Their report states: “Without a meaningful policy shift to slow – let alone reverse – the growth in obesity, its impact on productivity is set to rise by 18% over the next 10 years in real terms.” Read more from Denis Campbell in The Guardian, here: https://lnkd.in/enr8sFqp