the times | Tuesday July 28 2020 2GM 11
News
Waist of time
(^199320032018)
25.8 26.8 27.
Average adult BMI (body mass index)
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
25
28
BMI
27
26
Source: Health Survey, England
Underweight, less than 18.5; Healthy weight, 18.5 to 24.9;
Overweight, 25 to 29.9; Obese 30 to 39.9; Very obese, 40+
Junk food ad ban is two years away
The prime minister said that the NHS
plan, which he has not used, was “sym-
pathetic”. A TV ad campaign launched
yesterday said that obese people who
caught the virus were twice as likely to
need hospital treatment. In an echo of
the first lockdown slogan, Mr Johnson
said: “If you can get your weight down a
bit, and protect your health, you’ll also
be protecting the NHS.”
Compulsory calorie labels on restau-
rant and takeaway meals, including the
proportion this represents of a woman’s
daily intake, will be imposed over the
next 12 months on all chains with more
than 250 staff. Specials on menus for
less than 30 days will be exempt from
the rules, as will loose fruit and vegeta-
bles. Proposals published yesterday
said that ministers “will consider ex-
tending the requirement to include
smaller businesses” within five years.
An impact assessment published to-
day said that the policy would cut aver-
age daily intake by about 12 calories and
cost businesses tens of millions of
pounds a year, potentially reaching a
total of £2.2 billion over 25 years. The
health benefits over this time would be
worth £5.7 billion to individuals and a
further £4 billion to the NHS, it said.
The British Beer and Pub Association
said that the measures would be “pro-
hibitively expensive” and that “making
calorie labelling mandatory for all beer
is unnecessary and burdensome”.
Two thirds of voters back a 9pm wa-
tershed, including 70 per cent of Con-
servative voters, a YouGov poll found
yesterday, but it is bitterly opposed by
industry, which says that it will hit
broadcasters and advertisers. The Scot-
tish government has shelved similar
plans, citing the economic impact.
The UK government acknowledges
that consulting and legislating on its
plans will not be quick, with a 9pm wa-
tershed not expected until 2022.
While Mr Johnson is sceptical about
expanding the sugary drinks levy,
which has prompted companies to
make products healthier, ministers
have been told not to rule out further
sugar taxes to keep up the pressure on
food companies.
The government’s plans were widely
welcomed by health groups. Jamie Ol-
iver, the celebrity chef and anti-obesity
campaigner, told Times Radio: “This is
the first time it feels like there’s real con-
viction in protecting child health.”
Brinsley Dresden, a partner at the
law firm Lewis Silkin, who works in the
advertising sector, said that junk food
adverts were well regulated, adding:
“The Advertising Association has pro-
duced research to show that the mar-
ginal impact of extending the current
restrictions to a pre-9pm ban on calorie
consumption would be minimal.”
Melanie Phillips, page 24
Letters, page 26
Leading article, page 27
Chris Smyth Whitehall Editor
Kat Lay Health Correspondent
Boris Johnson at RideLondon in 2013. The prime minister, 56, said yesterday that
he had been “too fat” when he was taken to intensive care with Covid-19 in April
LEWIS WHYLD/PA
Leeds shows
how to tackle
child obesity
Behind the story
L
ast year, Leeds became the
first British city to lower its
rate of childhood obesity
(Charlotte Wace writes).
The city puts its impressive
achievement down to a robust
“whole systems approach” and a
dedicated focus on prevention,
which formed part of a strategy
launched in 2009.
Obesity levels fell from 11.5 per
cent to 10.5 per cent among the most
deprived children, and from 9.4 per
cent to 8.8 per cent in all four-to-five
year olds.
“We’ve focused very much on
prevention — we haven’t just waited
until families have got a problem,”
Janice Burberry, head of public
health at Leeds city council, said.
The authority has seen
involvement from across the board,
with its travel team working to
encourage walking and cycling to
school, and planning teams ensuring
there are always safe walkways in
new developments.
A big part of the strategy has been
a partnership with Henry, a group
that promotes healthy lifestyle
choices. Henry has trained 1,
health and early-years staff across
Leeds to deliver an eight-week
programme for around 600 families
a year at children’s centres.
“Leeds gives us hope that by
focusing efforts to reduce rates of
childhood obesity on the early years,
we can really make a difference”,
Kim Roberts, chief executive at
Henry, told The Times.
Parents are encouraged to set an
example for their children, such as
showing that they are enjoying a
healthy snack so children copy and
“automatically think it is a lovely
thing to eat”. Bedtimes and teeth-
brushing are seen as fun activities,
rather than chores.
Another successful partnership in
the city has been through Leeds
Rhinos, the city’s rugby club, which
has worked with a number of
schools to promote nutrition.
Elsewhere across the city, other
organisations are encouraging
children to see exercise as fun. An
organisation called DAZL, for
instance, runs classes such as
cheerleading and breakdancing for
as little as £1 a session.World of difference
Japan
The “metabo law” requires those aged
40 to 74 to have their waist measured
each year. If men exceed 85cm or
women 89cm they are sent to weight
loss classes. Companies that miss
weight targets for staff are fined.
Schools ban vending machines and
food from home in most cases.
Mexico
Sugary drink sales have fallen since a
10 per cent tax was imposed in 2014.
Ministers want to add black labels to
food and drink packaging warning of
“too much sugar”, “too much fat” or
“too many calories”.
Oklahoma City, United States
In 2007 the 12st 12lb mayor stood by an
elephant enclosure to put himself and
the people on a diet. Fifty miles of paths
were built. Restaurants were urged to
design healthy menus and schools to
teach nutrition. The city said that 47,
residents using its weight tracker had
shed a million pounds, 21lb (9.5kg) per
person.
Denmark
A tax on saturated fat was dropped 15
months after its introduction in 2011
after a rise in cross-border shopping
and business costs.
Dubai
In 2013 the authorities offered people a
gram of gold, then worth £30, for every
kilogram they lost. More than 3,
people took part.
A 9pm watershed for junk food adverts
is likely to take two years to introduce as
ministers give companies time to make
food healthy enough to promote.
Calorie labels on pub beer pumps are
being considered and the government
has told cafés and restaurants that they
will be next for compulsory nutritional
labels on menus and chalk boards.
Boris Johnson promised an obesity
plan yesterday that would not be “nan-
nying or bossy” as he cited his weight-
loss efforts to encourage people to use
fear of the coronavirus to get in shape.
The prime minister said that he had
been “too fat” when he was admitted to
intensive care with Covid-19 in April.
Claiming that he had lost more than
a stone and that his morning run was
getting “faster and faster”, Mr Johnson,
56, said that “you don’t need to have a
gym to lose weight”, as he launched a 12-
week NHS weight-loss plan. GPs have
been told that it should be as normal to
refer people to slimming clubs as to re-
fer smokers to anti-smoking services.
Case studies
G
Ps have been
sending those
at higher risk
of type 2
diabetes to
the Healthier You NHS
programme since 2016
(Kat Lay writes).
To combat obesity
NHS England is now
allowing patients to
refer themselves to the
scheme after using an
online tool, hosted byDiabetes UK, to
calculate their risk.
Tariq Khan, a 35-year-
old chef from
Birmingham, enrolled in
the programme in
November and has lost
almost a stone while
taking part in sessions
online. He said: “Life as
a chef can be really
hectic. I also had a sweet
tooth which meant that I
was eating unhealthily
and often very late.
“The programme hasenabled me to get
control of my health by
making small changes to
my lifestyle. I’ve learnt
so much about how my
body works and how the
choices I make affect it.
“I’ve cut a lot of fried
food and sweet treats
from my diet as well as
having smaller portions.”
He said online classes
had kept him motivated
“when it could have
been tempting to go
back to old ways withbeing at home a lot”.
“I’ve been staying
active using an exercise
bike as well as walking
and doing the exercises
shared in the classes
which are helping me to
burn calories at home,”
he said. “I haven’t
missed a class and I
know that what I’ve
learnt will stay with me
for ever. Losing 6kg is
such a big achievement
for me and I feel fresher
and lighter. I’m sharingwhat I’ve learnt with my
family and my work
colleagues to encourage
them to be healthier.”
Pauline, from Surrey,
said the sessions had
kept her on track. She
said: “I think it could be
very tempting to drop
out and think, ‘Oh, I’ll
get back on the
programme when life
gets back to normal’ but
unfortunately we don’t
know when ‘normal’ is
going to come along.”After three months on
the programme she is no
longer pre-diabetic. “I
was fortunate that I was
diagnosed as pre-
diabetic when I was just
on the borderline so the
Healthier You
programme has enabled
me to reverse my
diagnosis in three
months,” she said. “Now
I am making my newly
earned healthy habits
and lifestyle second
nature.”Tariq Khan, 35, lost 6kg
while home learningChef with a sweet tooth slimmed down after lessons on healthy eating