The government’s childhood obesity strategy has been criticised by health experts for being too flimsy after it placed voluntary targets rather than binding regulations on food and drink manufacturers.
The government’s plan, which includes a voluntary target to reduce sugar in children’s food and drink by 20 per cent, prompted criticism from the British Medical Association, the BBC reported.
Public Health England will monitor progress over the next four years, with food and drinks companies being called upon to cut five per cent of the sugar in their products popular with children in the next year.
Professor Parveen Kumar, chairwoman of the BMA's board of science, said the government had 'rowed back on its promises by announcing what looks like a weak plan rather than the robust strategy it promised.”
She added: “Although the government proposes targets for food companies to reduce the level of sugar in their products, the fact that these are voluntary and not backed up by regulation, renders them pointless.'
Under the strategy, the government will introduce a sugar tax on soft drinks from 2018. Revenues will be used to encourage balanced diets and boost school sports and breakfast clubs, which will receive a further £10 million a year.
Public Health England will also set targets for sugar content per 100g, with calorie caps for certain products, and report on whether the industry is doing enough to reduce sugar content in its products.
If insufficient progress is made, the government will decide whether “alternative levers need to be used” to reduce sugar and calories in children’s food and drinks.
Ian Wright, director general of the Food and Drink Federation, criticised the government’s plan for focussing too heavily on cutting sugar, calling it “a disappointing diversion from effective measures to tackle obesity”, the BBC reported.
He said: “The target set for sugars reduction in the plan is flawed. It focuses too strongly on the role of this single nutrient, when obesity is caused by excess calories from any nutrient.
“Soft drink companies are already making great progress to reduce sugars from their products, having achieved a 16% reduction between 2012 and 2016.”
In addition to the new sugar guidelines, a new “healthy schools rating scheme” will be introduced to assess what schools are doing to make their pupils more physically active during Ofsted inspections.
According to the UK Chief Medical Officers’ recommendations, all children and young people should “engage in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity for at least 60 minutes every day.” At least 30 minutes of this should be delivered in school.
