Health charities, campaign groups and NGOs have heavily criticized the plan in not doing enough to tackle obesity, while the soft drinks industry says the sugar tax is not the way to tackle the weight gain in kids and is too tough on the industry.
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MP Sarah Wollaston said the plan showed “the hand of big industry lobbyists”, but a minister said it was “ambitious”.
In early 2017, the Government will launch a campaign to raise awareness of these guidelines among practitioners and parents and will update the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework to make specific reference to the UK Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines for physical activity in the early years.
Set to be implemented fully over the next five years, foods including cereals, yoghurts, sweets, breads and desserts should see at least a five per cent reduction in the first year.
Public Health England will monitor the progress of the plan among the food and drink industry every six months.
Officials believe a combination of tackling sugar content in certain foods, using money from the “sugar tax” to change attitudes and increase physical exercise, and insuring primary school children carry out at least an hour of exercise a day will help reduce obesity rates in England.
“However, apart from the sugary drinks tax, they have failed to get off the starting blocks”.
How much sugar is hiding in your food?
The long-awaited Government report aims to tackle the problem of childhood obesity as figures show almost a third of children aged 2 to 15 are overweight or obese.
But anti-sugar activists expressed their dismay this morning, as they claim the crackdown does not almost go far enough.
Wright described the target set for sugar reduction in the strategy as “flawed“.
The plan centres on the sugar tax announced by former chancellor George Osborne in March and relies on voluntary action by the food and drink industry.
Some, though, acknowledge that the package unveiled today, including a boost for school sport, is a step in the right direction, albeit a small one.
No health minister was made available for media interviews and it was left to Financial Secretary to the Treasury Jane Ellison – who helped draw up the strategy in her previous role as public health minister – to do the rounds of the broadcast studios.
“Much stronger and more decisive government action is needed to lower fat, sugar and salt content in foods and to ensure responsible promotions“.
The strategy, which has been delayed multiple times and wasn’t expected until the Autumn Statement, provides further details of the planned sugar tax, alongside changes to the School Food Plan and a new sugar reduction programme.
“Given the economic uncertainty our country now faces, we’re disappointed the government wishes to proceed with a measure which analysis suggests will cause thousands of job losses and yet fail to have a meaningful impact on levels of obesity”, said Partington.
Labour’s Dianne Abbott tweeted: “Theresa May has given in to food & drink industry at the expense of our children’s health”.
“This will bankrupt the National Health Service unless something radical is done”, he said.
“One of the problems about having at the heart of the plan this reformulation strategy, let’s be honest, is it is quite technical. We will measure progress carefully and are not ruling out further action if results are not seen”.
Professor Parveen Kumar, chairwoman of the British Medical Association’s board of science, said poor diet has become a feature of children’s lives, along with a bombardment of junk food marketing.
Instead, the strategy favours a voluntary scheme for the food industry to reformulate popular children’s products to reduce sugar.
Writing on Facebook, celebrity chef and campaigner Jamie Oliver, said the government’s strategy was “disappointing, and frankly, underwhelming”.
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She said: “This is a missed opportunity from the Tory Government”.
