The UK Government have asked Public Health England (PHE) to tackle the problem of excess calorie consumption by children. A year after the launch of “the world’s leading childhood obesity plan”, PHE are now considering evidence and will set goals for a calorie-reduction programme, which will aim to remove excess calories from children’s most-consumed foods.

Chief executive of PHE, Duncan Selbie, says that the foods likely to be targeted include pizzas, burgers, ready meals, savoury snacks and sandwiches. “Over the past year, real progress has been made on reducing the level of sugar in many products,” he said. “PHE has formulated a comprehensive sugar-reduction programme with the aim of a 20% reduction in sugar in key foods by 2020.”

 

However, figures show that adults in the UK currently consume 200-300 excess calories a day on average. As children follow suit, PHE believes that it is critical to reduce calorie consumption from sources other than sugar if the obesity trend is to be reversed.

 

“We all have a responsibility to help people live healthier lives, but with a third of children leaving primary school obese, we must take a comprehensive approach and now focus on excess calories,” says Minister of State for Health Philip Dunne. According to Dunne, it is important to understand the deeper causes of obesity. “This is why we have funded a new £5-million Obesity Research Policy Unit,” he said.

 

PHE plans to publish the evidence in early 2018, after which the organisation will consult with the food industry, trade bodies and non-governmental health organisations to develop the calorie reduction programme.