Government must act on obesity

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Health academics have warned that almost half of all adults in Britain will be classified as obese within the next 20 years and warned that governments must take tough action.

The international group of researchers, who have collaborated on a series of articles in the Lancet medical journal, said no country had yet got to grips with the problem.

They forecast that the number of obese people will grow by 11 million over the next two decades, brining the total to 26 million people, if current trends are to continue.

The resulting extra cost burden on health services coping with obesity-linked problems such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer would be £2bn per year.

It would result in an overall increase in health spending of 2 per cent.

Only tough government action, including a tax on unhealthy food, can slow they trend, the doctors say.

Other proposals included restrictions on junk food advertising and initiatives to warn children not to spend too much time sitting around watching TV.

The experts said the initiatives are much more cost-effective than obesity operations and some fat drugs.

It said there was no evidence that relying on the food industry to exercise "corporate responsibility" would address the problem.

The British Heart Foundation arned that an extra 461,000 people in the UK could develop heart disease as a result of obesity.

Dr Mike Knapton, the charity’s associate medical director, said the predicted figures were "deeply worrying".

He said: "While we all have a role to play in tackling this problem, this research recognises that national governments are the most significant players - ahead of individuals, industry and civil society.

"In the UK, we need our government to take the lead and make it easier to be healthier, such as by ensuring children are fully protected from junk food marketing on and off line."

Andrew Opie, food director at the British Retail Consortium, said: "There's no such thing as an unhealthy food just an unhealthy diet. Demonising particular foods is not the answer. The tax regime already discriminates against many processed foods by subjecting them to VAT.

"Retailers are actively improving diets through education and providing healthier eating choices because that's what will make a difference.

"New taxes would just push up prices for hard - pressed households."

Harry MacMillan, chief executive of MEND, said government intervention and leadership is "crucial if we are to turn the tide on the obesity crisis."

He said: "The government and food companies must work together to create an environment that actively prevents children from becoming overweight in the first place.

"Furthermore, obesity treatments and programmes that are proven to work and are cost-effective, such as MEND's free healthy lifestyle programmes for families, must be properly and efficiently funded."

However, Terry Jones, of the Food and Drink Federation, which represents the food industry, said the industry had been taking positive steps

He said: "The Lancet fails to recognise the lengths to which the UK food and drink industry has gone to help improve the health of the nation, particularly in relation to rising obesity levels."

Public health minister Anne Milton said the government believed the best way to achieve results was through a "collective voluntary effort".

She said: "We have no current plans to impose a 'fat tax', but we are working with food companies to reduce fat, sugar and salt and ensure healthier options are available.

"We also want to see businesses use more consistent and informative front-of-pack nutrition labelling than has been achieved in the past. The new EU Food Information Regulation, which will be agreed before the end of the year, will strengthen legislation on food labelling, in particular nutrition labelling."

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