London criticized for anti-obesity measures

The UK government takes a casual approach to dealing with unhealthy eating habits. It should do more, to ensure that people can get good food at affordable prices. This was said by deputies on Friday, quoted by Reuters.

The members of an inter-party commission are particularly disappointed by the government’s refusal to prepare a reportlooking at the possibility of higher taxes on foods high in sugar and salt.

Lawmakers from the lower house of parliament’s environment, food and rural affairs committee criticized much of the government’s measures in a report on food security and obesity, published in July.

“We are disappointed that, at the height of the obesity crisis, the government is taking a slow approach to tackling unhealthy eating habits,” said committee chair Robert Goodwill of the ruling Conservative Party. We are also concerned that the government’s current measures do not adequately track food security neither at the household nor at the national level.”

In Friday the commission published the government’s official response to its July report. It says around 40 per cent of Britain’s elderly population will be obese by 2035.

In response to the committee’s call The government said it “does not think now is the right time to introduce new taxeswhich will increase the price of food”.

The July report also lamented that the government’s ban on shops offering discount deals on bulk purchases of unhealthy food and drinkwas postponed for the third time until October 2025.

The government responded that it had delayed the ban because it believed that such a move could raise the cost of living further.

Deputies too called for an annually updated report on food security in the UK, alongside an annual Food Security Summit chaired by the Prime Minister to track Britons’ ability to access and afford healthy food.

The government does not commit to annual food updates security.

We recall that London has been discussing the problem and measures to deal with it for years with it, such as the imposition of higher taxes, or the banning of advertisements and promotions of unhealthier foods.