‘We are still waiting for junk food crackdown ministers promised’
A promised crackdown by ministers on junk food has still not arrived – even as they admit Scots are the fattest they’ve ever been.
The Scottish Government vowed to unveil regulations banning discounts on products high in sugar, salt and fat.
But autumn’s deadline has now passed – the second time a “do-by” date has been missed.
It comes after shocking official statistics last week revealed a record-equalling 70% of adults are now overweight.
They also showed children are eating just as much chocolate, chips and crisps as they were a decade ago, with one in three at risk of being overweight or obese.
Last night, campaigners accused ministers of failing to grasp the scale of the crisis. Pete Ritchie, executive director of the food policy charity Nourish Scotland, said: “The healthy life expectancy of a man born in Scotland’s poorest communities has gone down to 44.9 years. That’s 22 years before pension age.”
He added: “Ministers promised not to shy away from taking difficult decisions to improve Scotland’s public health – but we’re still waiting.” Last year, Nicola Sturgeon promised a bill to ban junk food price promotions would be before parliament in 2023. But last May, public health minister Jenni Minto told MSPS she was ditching that route. Instead, the SNP would consult in the autumn on regulations to outlaw deals “such as multibuys and unlimited refills”.
But there are still no proposals to debate. Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: “The Scottish Government’s promises to take action to tackle obesity have been a sorry saga.” Last week, the Scottish Health Survey showed the average Body Mass Index – where anything over 25 is classed as overweight – remains at alltime high of 28.
And 33% of children are carrying too many pounds, the highest figure since 2011. The Scottish Government admitted its proposals won’t now be unveiled until next year. It said: “As part of an extensive consultation process, we have just concluded a series of roundtable events with public health and business stakeholders which will help further inform the consultation document which will be published early in 2024.” Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-hamilton said: “The Scottish Government has failed to get serious about obesity and ill health. We would invest in sport, support people to make informed choices and dodge junk food, as well as extend the rights of GPS to social prescribing, including free access to exercise programmes.”