Supermarkets will be set a new standard to make the average shopping basket of goods sold slightly healthier under plans announced this morning by the Governmentvto tackle obesity
Businesses will be given the freedom to meet the standard however works best for them, whether that’s reformulating products and tweaking recipes, changing shop layouts, offering discounts on healthy foods, or changing loyalty schemes to promote healthier options.
Public health experts believe cutting the calorie count of a daily diet by just 50 calories would lift 340,000 children and 2 million adults out of obesity. If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by just 216 calories a day, equivalent to a single bottle of fizzy drink, obesity would be halved.
Obesity is one of the root causes of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. With the UK now having the third highest rate of adult obesity in Europe, it remains a critical public health challenge, costing the NHS £11.4 billion a year, three times the NHS budget for ambulance services.
Obesity rates have doubled since the 1990s, including among children. A forthcoming report by the Chief Medical Officer will show that more than 1 in 5 children are living with obesity by the time they leave primary school, rising to almost 1 in 3 in areas with higher levels of poverty and deprivation.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the media this morning that “If everyone who’s obese cut c.200 calories from their daily diet – a bottle of Coke – we’ll halve obesity.” adding that retailers can help nudge people in right direction and drive ‘transformational’ change
