Access to affordable, healthy food on the menu for Health and Social Care Committee
MPs on the Health and Social Care Committee are to explore access to affordable, healthy food in the first evidence session of their inquiry into Food and Weight Management.
More than one quarter of adults in England aged 16+ live with obesity and more than one third are overweight, according to latest figures available from the Health Survey for England.
As food inflation continues to rise above levels of overall inflation, trackers following the prices of basic food estimate that the price of a reasonably-costed, adequately nutritious food basket has risen 20% since April 2022. Campaigns such as the Food Foundation estimate that the average price of more healthy foods are over twice as expensive as less healthy food.
Meeting details
The Committee’s inquiry will ask why existing Government policies relating to food and diet are not succeeding in reducing the UK’s rates of obesity. MPs will hear from three panels of witnesses as they explore first-hand experiences, the national perspective and case studies from local authorities.