Reducing Health Inequality — House of Commons, 2016-11-24
Topic: Health
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a good point. It is not just Tesco that has done that; so have Waitrose and Morrisons, to name just two—I am sure there are many more. It is really good that major retailers have taken on board the severity of the challenge faced both by us as a nation and globally. Parents need to be role models, as do retailers. Sometimes they are not quite the role models that they should be, but we need every bit of help we can get It is not just childhood obesity that is linked to social class and to different levels of deprivation; adult obesity is, as well. The highest prevalence of excess weight for both men and women is found among low socioeconomic groups. If current trends continue, almost half of women from the lowest income quintile are predicted to be obese in 2035. Obesity is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking. The Government acknowledge the importance of early cancer diagnosis, and dedicated NHS staff at all levels are committed to delivering that, so surely every preventive measure that can be put in place, must be. As previously noted, as well as cancer, obesity leads to a greater risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Those conditions are all life-changing and life-limiting I am sure people now understand that there is a link between obesity and diabetes, but, sadly, I fear that many think they can just take a pill to keep diabetes under control. Sadly, for far too many diabetes sufferers, that is not the case. The consequences are vast, with many diabetes patients needing lower limb amputation and suffering kidney disease, heart disease and sight loss—as I said, it is life-limiting and life-changing. Action needs to be taken now to turn around what I believe has become an obesity epidemic Everything I have talked about should prompt a reconsideration and review of the Department of Health’s childhood obesity plan. Although the Government were leading the world in producing the plan for action, when it was published, many, myself included, said that it was quite a let-down. I stand by that view. There simply was not enough detail in that 13-page document. It was aspirational, rather than a focused plan of action; it ignored the recommendations of Public Health England, which were endorsed by the Health Committee; and it did not set firm timescales for turning the tide on childhood obesity The plan we have is insufficient for the scale of the task we have to tackle. That does not mean starting all over again, however; it means that we need to do more. We need clear actions and timescales. I acknowledge that there is a fine balance between a nanny state, business co-operation, and parental and personal responsibility, but I am sure it is not impossible to find that common ground. Yes, it is the responsibility of parents to ensure their children eat healthily, are physically active and learn good habits that will last a lifetime, but time and again that has proven insufficient by itself. Parents need more help and the current childhood obesity plan cannot and will not give them what they need It would also be a mistake to think the answer lies in burdensome regulation of business, namely the food and drink sector. Demonising that sector is both unhelpful and unfair. As we have discussed, some producers, manufacturers and retailers have already taken great strides in reformulating products and encouraging healthier consumer behaviour. We must commend them and welcome those actions. Evidence suggests that the least affluent households in the UK have higher absolute exposure to junk food advertising than the most affluent households. Interventions such as reducing the promotion of junk food, or the soft drinks industry levy, are likely to have a positive impact on reducing health inequalities by delivering change across the population and consequently delivering disproportionate benefit to the most deprived communities Just as the current plan does not help parents, however, it likewise does nothing for business, which would be better served by clear goals for reformulation, advertising and labelling, and timeframes in which those must be achieved. Both publicly and privately, many businesses in the sector note that they would be better served by clearer, more far-reaching Government recommendations that at least gave them a measure of certainty for the future We may well be horrified by the national child measurement programme figures and other data we read on an almost daily basis now. Just this week, Cancer Research UK revealed that teenagers drink almost a bathtub full of sugary drinks on average a year—I hope that a visual representation will shock some teenagers into changing their habits rather than suffering the consequences.