Labour is urged to fix Britain's 'obesity public health emergency' by BANNING all junk food advertising and tax firms who add too much sugar and salt to their products By Shaun Wooller Health Editor Published: 19:30 EDT, 23 October 2024 | Updated: 19:32 EDT, 23 October 2024 e-mail View comments The government should ban all junk food advertising and tax firms who add too much sugar and salt to their products, a House of Lords report says. The Food, Diet and Obesity Committee calls on ministers to fix the 'broken food system' and turn the tide of the 'obesity public health emergency'. Peers say relying on fat jabs to trim the nation's waistlines would place 'considerable' pressure on the NHS and not tackle the underlying cause of the problem.
They say it could cost £16.5billion a year to halve adult obesity by 2030 using drugs and suggest this money would be better spent on improving diets. The 'Recipe for Health' report notes two-thirds of adults are too fat and says the average UK tax bill is around £400 per person per year more than it would be if everyone was a healthy weight.
Labour has been urged to fix Britain's 'obesity public health emergency' by banning all junk food advertising (stock image) The Food, Diet and Obesity Committee calls on ministers to fix the 'broken food system' (stock image) It puts the total annual cost of overweight and obesity at £98billion, including costs to the NHS and social care, lost productivity, workforce inactivity and welfare payment.