Britain should Dump ‘reckless’ plans to prescribe mass weight-loss drugs, the government’s former food czar warned today.
Henry Dimbleby, founder of the ‘healthy’ fast food chain Leon, called for bold action in the fight against obesity and pushed for confidence in giving millions of Britons WeGovy and other appetite-suppressing drugs.
At an Institute for Government event, he claimed that Britain could not get out of the problem with drugs.
Instead, he praised the “highly interventionist” approach to obesity that Japan, France and South Korea have all taken.
“We think they have these naturally occurring food cultures: they don’t,” he said.
Henry Dimbleby (pictured today on Good Morning Britain), the ex-No10 food czar and founder of the ‘healthy’ fast food chain Leon, called for bold action against obesity and said he was concerned about the ‘serious problems’ in government plans to increase prescribe appetite suppressants
Around two-thirds of over-16s in England (64 per cent) are now overweight, including tens of thousands who are morbidly obese. This is an 11 percent increase from 1993, when 53 percent were considered overweight. Experts blame sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets. Source: England 2021 Health Survey
“They’ve been very interventionist, and we in this country are very afraid to do anything to intervene.”
Although obesity rates are steadily rising across France, it is still among the lowest in Europe.
French policies include voluntary front-of-pack food labeling, advertising restrictions and taxes on sugary drinks.
Meanwhile, through a series of measures introduced in 2018, South Korea has claimed the second lowest obesity rate among major developed countries, just behind Japan.
The fat-fighting policy introduced in Japan includes free school lunches for all, while at-risk adults are expected to attend diet classes.
Japanese law also requires companies to measure their employers’ waists and send those over a certain size on weight management courses, Mr Dimbleby told the event.
While not calling for the same law to be implemented in the UK, Mr Dimbleby said it showed ‘culture change is possible’ and ‘you need to act in multiple areas’.
He added, “We’ve got to get rid of this nihilistic idea that we’re doomed forever to eat sausage rolls or else we’ll just end up miserable and impoverished.”
It’s because the Government Institute published its own report on Monday with policy recommendations to tackle obesity.
The report found that the UK has the third highest obesity rate in Europe, behind only Malta and Turkey.
Nearly one in three adults is now classified as obese, it said.
This is an increase from one in 10 adults in 1970, which is a much larger increase than in Germany, France and Italy.
Mr Dimbleby, a staunch advocate for wider free school meals, resigned from the Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs last month after five years in office.
He announced his resignation in the Sunday Times, saying government ministers refused to impose restrictions on the junk food industry because of an obsession with “ultra-free market ideology”.
Obesity and overweight rates have fallen this year after peaking during the Covid pandemic, but are still higher than before the lockdown
Mr Dimbleby, who was commissioned by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to carry out an independent review of the food system – the national food strategy – said ‘this government is going backwards’.
In his two-part report, the last part of which will be published in 2021, he recommended a “snack tax” on foods high in sugar and salt to encourage manufacturers to make foods healthier.
The 280-page report also called for free school meals for every Universal Credit household.
However, the government has postponed a ban on promoting buy-one-get-one-free deals on unhealthy snacks until October, due to the cost-of-living crisis.
A ban on junk food television advertising before 9 p.m. and paid advertising online has also been postponed by 12 months until 2025.
Poor nutrition contributes to 64,000 deaths each year in England and costs the economy an estimated £74 billion, according to the report.
Obesity is also rising in children, with a quarter of children in shelter now considered overweight and one in ten obese
An unhealthy weight increases the risk of serious and life-threatening conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and stroke.
About two-thirds of the over-16s in England (64 per cent) are overweight, including tens of thousands who are morbidly obese.
Rates have been rising for decades, with experts blaming sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets.
Obesity is also on the rise in children, with a quarter of children in shelter now considered overweight and one in ten obese.
The obesity epidemic is estimated to take up £6.1 billion of the NHS budget each year due to diseases and conditions linked to people’s weight.
The figure will rise to £9.7 billion a year by 2050, as the nation grows even fatter.