CHILDREN’S ALLIANCE - WRITTEN EVIDENCE (FDO0061)

The Children’s Alliance (CA) is a UK charity and coalition of more than 100+ organisations who work together to campaign to give children a better start in life. The work we do aims to champion the importance of our children and inspire the potential of the next generation.

Our Food and Nutrition Working Group is one of four strategic work pillars within CA. The group includes a network of partners committed to delivering on our vision through improving the food system to give children a better start. By working with mission-aligned organisations, we outreach into communities and effect real change to the health and wellbeing of children and young people in the UK.

The vision of the CA when it comes to food is to prevent ill-health by supporting evidence-based population level prevention policies that help address the wider environmental factors that lead to health inequalities and disease.

The House of Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee has been appointed to “consider the role of foods, such as ‘ultra-processed foods’, and foods high in fat, salt and sugar, in a healthy diet and tackling obesity.” This document is our response from the CA.

The CA food and nutrition administration released ‘Gold, Silver & Bronze’ policy recommendations in March 2024, setting out evidence-informed policy recommendations for governments to enact to support children’s health and development through good food and nutrition. This series of policy recommendations is included within our submission (pages 4-6).

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SECTION 1: DIET AND HEALTH EVIDENCE REVIEW

We align with evidence presented by the Faculty of Public Health and the Obesity Health Alliance, outlined below in our submission.

The UK has the third highest rate of people being classed as overweight or obese in Europe, behind only Malta and Turkey. Rates are similar in Wales (62%) and England (64%) and highest in Scotland (67%).[1] Latest data on weight shows two in five children in England are leaving primary school above a healthy weight.[2] Those children are five times more likely to go on to develop serious and life limiting diet related conditions in adulthood.[3] This has profound implications for health inequalities - twice as many children are overweight in the poorest areas compared to the richest, driving vast disparities in health outcomes.[4]

Healthy eating in childhood

●        Healthy eating in childhood is vital for development and good health and wellbeing throughout life. It sets up children for a lifetime of eating healthily, as habits and tastes are informed early in life.[5]

●        Children must be well nourished to learn and maximise their educational opportunities; put another way, what children eat influences their life chances.[6]

●        Children and adolescents in the UK have suboptimal diets, and children from lower socio economic groups are more likely to consume diets that meet fewer UK dietary recommendations (set out in the EatWell Guide and by OHID):[7]   

○    Mean intakes of free sugars among children aged 1.5 to 5 years are above government recommended levels of no more than 5% total daily energy intake. Meanwhile, mean intakes of dietary fibre for the same age group are below the recommended intake of 15g a day.[8]

○    Mean intakes of saturated fats are above current recommendation of no more than 10% total daily energy intake and mean intakes of protein are above the reference nutrient intake (RNI). Higher total protein intake in children aged 1 to 5 years is associated with higher BMI in childhood.[9]

●        Obesity rates in England are growing faster in areas of higher deprivation, which now have double the rate of obesity at the time of reception and year 6 compared with children who live in lower areas of deprivation.[10] 

A healthy population is the foundation of a strong economy

●       OECD analysis found that the average UK tax bill is £500 per person per year more than if everyone was a healthy weight.[11]

●       Frontier Economics estimates in 2023 that the total economic impact of obesity is £98 billion, accounting for the costs to the NHS and social care, lost productivity, workforce inactivity and welfare payments.[12]

●       The Institute for Government estimated the economic impact of obesity was equivalent to 1-2% of UK GDP, and that lack of government intervention is resulting in significantly reduced economic productivity and labour force participation.[13]

●       2020 Modelling by the Institute for Public Policy Research estimated that obesity among the current cohort of children - over the course of their lifetime – will cost the wider society an estimated £405 billion overall.[14]

●       People living with obesity take four extra sick days a year annually - approximately equivalent to an extra 37 million sick days across the UK working population. An additional £4 billion is spent on welfare payments for obesity-related workforce inactivity[15]..

A healthy population relieves pressure from our NHS and allows resources to be targeted where they are needed

●       Frontier Economics estimates that the NHS (across the UK) spends £6.5 billion annually on treating obesity-related ill health[16], with Government analysis in 2017 projecting this to reach £9.7bn by 2050.[17]

●       IPPR predict that excess weight amongst the current cohort of children will cost the NHS £74 billion over their lifespan.[18]

●       Diabetes care alone accounts for nearly 10% of the NHS budget[19], and the number of Type 2 diabetes diagnoses has doubled in the last 15 years. 87% of people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes are living with overweight or obesity.[20]

●       Excess weight is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer, after smoking. Over 1 in 20 UK cancer cases are due to excess weight and obesity is predicted to overtake smoking as the main preventable cause of cancer in women by 2035.[21]

●       New drug treatments look promising for those with the highest levels of weight-related risk, however, increasing access to treatment without effective prevention strategies will simply add even greater pressure to NHS resources.[22]

A healthy population needs a healthy food system

At present, the country’s food system is broken – unhealthy choices are easier, cheaper and more convenient than healthier ones. The UK’s high obesity rates are largely a result of this broken food system which is full of commercial influences from industries that profit from selling health-harming products.  We need to create environments across the country that are conducive to good health.

Every community in the country should be a healthy place for children to grow, learn and play. Local businesses need a healthy workforce to drive economic productivity and sustainable growth. People should be able to walk down their high streets without being constantly pressured to make choices that will harm their future health. The healthy choice should be the easy choice for everyone.