PM ‘should go further’ in obesity fight

A LEADING Yorkshire expert has urged Boris Johnson to go further in his war on obesity by banning adverts on unhealthy food at sporting events and on public transport as well as on television.

The Prime Minister yesterday announced the end of confectionery displays at store checkouts and a ban on junk food adverts on TV before 9pm as he looked to encourage Britons to shed the pounds.

Mr Johnson, who was “very overweight” when admitted to hospital with Covid-19 this year, said he struggles with his own weight as he urged people to take action to improve their health.

But Dr Stuart Flint, an Associate Professor of the Psychology of Obesity at the University of Leeds, said he was concerned about the focus on individuals’ behaviour in the Government’s campaign.

He said: “I am concerned about the focus on individual behaviour change rather than system-wide actions as this is likely to fuel weight stigma and discrimination that is already pervasive in the UK.

“Focusing solely on individual changes not only overlooks the wider determinants of obesity but leads to beliefs that obesity is solely within an individual’s control.”

Dr Flint, a director at the charity Obesity UK, said the proposed ban on adverts for food high in salt, sugar and fat and supermarket deal was positive but “does not go far enough”.

He said: “They need to be banned throughout society including at sports events and on public transport that are also known to influence positive attitudes towards these types of foods and these settings are used as a means of targeting children and young people.”

Dr Flint said the Foresight report commissioned by the Labour Government in 2007 showed that “there are over 100 factors that contribute to weight gain”.

And he said: “As such, while the changes referred to by the Prime Minister to ban advertisements and deals for foods high in salt, sugar and fat are important population health interventions, further efforts including changes to the whole system and addressing the wider determinants of obesity are needed.”

Leeds last year become the first UK city to report a drop in childhood obesity after launching a project to help parents set boundaries for their children.

Kim Roberts, chief executive of the HENRY charity, whose parenting classes formed part of the city’s anti-obesity strategy, said: “We welcome the steps the Government is taking towards ensuring that our environment supports healthy food choices. But the plans don’t go far enough.”