Briefing

DIGEST: Food, Diet and Obesity Committee report 

Lots of cans of pop, or soda, if you are joining us from the Americas.

If you’ve not already heard the news, a strongly-worded report has just dropped from the House of Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee: Recipe for health: A plan to fix our broken food system.  

“Obesity and its consequences constitute a public health emergency that represents a ticking time bomb for the nation’s health, wellbeing and finances” 

MAIN FINDINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:

  • The annual societal cost of obesity is at least 1–2% of UK GDP. After tobacco, diet-related risks now make the biggest contribution to years of life lost.
  • Two-thirds of adults are overweight and just under a third are living with obesity.
  • People in all income groups are now failing to meet dietary recommendations. Unhealthy diets are the primary driver of obesity. This is not because of a collective loss of willpower. In recent decades, unhealthy, often highly processed foods have become widely accessible, heavily marketed and often cheaper than healthier alternatives
  • There has been an utter failure by successive governments to tackle this crisis. Between 1992 and 2020, successive governments proposed nearly 700 wide-ranging policies to tackle obesity in England, but obesity rates have continued to rise.
  • At the heart of this failure is a misplaced focus on individual responsibility. In large part because of misguided fears of the ‘nanny state’, policies have relied on personal choice rather than tackling the underlying drivers of unhealthy diets.
  • The food industry has strong incentives to produce and sell highly profitable unhealthy products. Obesity and unhealthy diets are an unintended cost of this system. Voluntary efforts to promote healthier food have failed. Mandatory regulation has to be introduced.
  • This is a systemic crisis urgently needing a systemic response. 

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS TO GOVERNMENT:

(Digested for us by Ali Morpeth, our soon-to-be-announced Policy Champion on  Food Systems Nutrition and Health).

A comprehensive food strategy with high-level accountability

A comprehensive and integrated food strategy is needed to address the wide-ranging consequences of a failing system. Over the last 30 years, hundreds of policies have been introduced to tackle obesity, but they have largely failed due to a focus on individual responsibility and voluntary action, as well as a lack of coordination and leadership. The solution, as laid out in the report, lies in a legislative framework with strong oversight and clear targets for a healthier food system.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) should have independent oversight, reporting annually to Parliament on diet, health and food sales. Accountability must lie with the Secretary of State for Health, with support from the Prime Minister and Chancellor for cross-government coordination

Mandatory regulation for the food industry, and restrictions on lobbying

Voluntary target setting to improve the healthfulness of food has failed to significantly impact public health. The report calls for a decisive shift to a system of mandatory regulation and reporting for the food industry.

This should include policy interventions to reduce the production and consumption of less healthy foods while driving production and sales of healthier foods..

To prevent lobbying against mandatory targets to improve health, businesses that derive a significant portion of sales from unhealthy products, as defined by the Food Standards Agency, should be excluded from policy discussions on food, diet, and obesity prevention, along with their industry associations.

Research and action on UPFs and foods high in fat, salt and sugar

Immediate action is needed to regulate HFSS foods, many of which are UPFs. Additionally, our national dietary guidelines should be regularly updated to reflect the emerging scientific evidence.  Further independent research into the health impacts of UPFs should also be undertaken, but that research should not delay action on immediately taking bolder steps to regulate unhealthy foods​.

In tandem, the Government should take action to make current food healthier, including action to support citizens consume unprocessed and minimally processed foods as often as personal circumstances allow.

Reformulate salt and sugar tax and use revenues to support healthy eating

The introduction of a salt and sugar reformulation tax is one of the boldest policy recommendations put forward by the Committee. The Committee point to the fact that the tax would provide a powerful incentive for manufacturers to reduce unhealthy ingredients in their products, similar to the successful sugar tax on soft drinks. Importantly, the revenues from this tax should be used to make healthier foods more affordable, particularly for low-income households.

The Committee also asks the government to create mandatory reformulation targets for salt, sugar, and calories, with penalties for non-compliance​ (to date the voluntary reformulation targets have not been met).

Advertising restrictions and healthier food environments

The report highlights the powerful influence of marketing on unhealthy diets. It recommends a total ban on advertising HFSS foods across all media by 2026, including sports sponsorships by companies that fail to meet health targets.

The Committee emphasises the importance of creating healthier food environments, urging local authorities to be given more powers to restrict the proliferation of fast-food outlets and enforce bans on promotions of unhealthy foods in supermarkets and online.

Supporting children and families with stronger regulations and better – and more freely available – food in schools

Children’s health is at the heart of the report’s focus. It calls for stronger regulations on the marketing of infant and toddler foods, many of which are high in sugar. School food standards should be updated to reflect current dietary guidelines, and free school meals should be available to all eligible children, with auto-enrollment to ensure no one misses out. Additionally, the Healthy Start scheme should be expanded to better reflect rising food prices and ensure that low-income families have access to nutritious foods.

ALI’S ANALYSIS:

“The House of Lords has delivered a clear and urgent roadmap to transform the UK’s food system and prioritise the health of its citizens. Their recommendations call for decisive action, greater accountability, and comprehensive reforms to food policy. With the Labour government required to respond before Christmas, they now have a crucial opportunity to reflect the voices of over 150 submissions, and reshape the food system, paving the way for a healthier future for all.” Find out more about Ali, our new Policy Champion, here. 

Huge thanks to Ali for digesting this quickly for us!

The Committee report findings reflect written submissions from 150 organisations and individuals from across the food system. Evidence was also given in person at select committee sessions between January and April. You can read these submissions and watch the recordings here.