NAO casts doubts on government obesity plan

A report on childhood obesity said successive governments had struggled with the issue, which is estimated to cost the NHS £6.1bn a year (£27bn to wider society).

In 2016 the Department launched a new plan – the Childhood Obesity Programme – with the aim of halving childhood obesity by 2030. By the same year, the plan hopes to cut the disparity between obesity in children from different backgrounds.

A further initiative to tackle obesity was launched in July, after it emerged that obese people who catch Covid-19 are more likely to be hospitalised, admitted to intensive care and die from the virus. This was not specifically aimed at children, though it does include a ban on the advertising of foods high in fat, sugar and salt before the 9pm watershed.

In 2018/19, in England obesity rates among 10- and 11-year-olds (20%) was almost double that of four- to five-year-olds. Children in deprived areas are twice as likely to be obese than those in less deprived areas. Obesity is also higher in the older age group in disadvantaged areas – 26.9% in the most deprived areas are classified as obese, compared with 13% in the least deprived.

Obesity rates for children in different ethnic groups also vary considerably. For example, just over 9% of white children were obese in 2018/19 at age four to five years old, compared with more than 15% of black children the same age. These rates increase to more than 18% and nearly 29% respectively by age 10 to 11.

The NAO said the forthcoming spending review should allocate funds and more support to local authorities and groups with the greatest obesity problems.

Though much of the 2016 plan was similar to that written by previous governments, it did include more legislative action such as taxation. However, the NAO said progress on the key aims of a reduction in sugar and calories was mixed – the targeted 20% reduction in sugar by this year was missed, for example.

Some of the programme is under the control of other government departments and the NAO recommended stronger procedures for the Department of Health to hold the others to account. These should be in place by autumn 2021.

NAO head Gareth Davies (pictured) said: ‘Tackling childhood obesity is a major challenge, and one that governments have struggled with since the 2000s. It is clear that children living in deprived areas or from ethnic minorities are far more likely to be obese and the problem is worsening.

‘Progress with the Childhood Obesity Programme has been slow, and many commitments are not yet in place. The new strategy announced in July has signalled a greater intention to tackle obesity but the government will need to follow through with more urgency, commitment and cohesion if it is to address this severe risk to people’s health.’