MPs Say Government’s Obesity ‘Moonshot’ Is Doomed to Fail
The Commons health and social care committee says the government’s pledge to “end the obesity epidemic” within a decade is “doomed to fail” without a rethink. MPs want a cabinet committee chaired by the prime minister and a cross-government plan within three months. In England, 30% of adults live with obesity, and 66% are overweight or obese.
The committee says that more than a year after the promise was made, basic questions remain unanswered: how progress will be measured, and how departments will work together. It blames the “muddled thinking” of successive governments partly on confusing prevention with treatment. Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat who chairs the committee, said a credible plan would mean “standing up to the food industry on numerous points”, including advertising, labelling and supermarket sales targets. Close to a third of children are overweight or living with obesity. The report puts the burden on Burnham personally, and on No 10 rather than the Department of Health.