Published15th Jul 2026, 06:00 BST
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This Government has committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever.”
The Government must “stand up” to the food industry after decades of failure to tackle obesity that is costing the country tens of billions a year, MPs have said
All outdoor advertising of junk food should be banned and front-of-pack labelling should be mandatory to tackle England’s obesity epidemic, the Health and Social Care Committee said
Its proposals include mandatory reporting and targets for supermarkets on the amount of healthy food they sell, backed up with penalties
The Committee said this aimed to fix a food environment that pushes consumers towards high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) products, which are typically cheaper than nutritious food
Policies also include new planning policies to stop fast food outlets opening close to schools, and improvements to the NHS’s Healthy Start cards, given to pregnant women and parents of young children to buy fruit and vegetables
MPs challenged the Government to be “more courageous” in the face of industry lobbying against restrictions, which had meant that attempts to tackle obesity through food policy “have continually failed”
Health and Social Care Committee chairwoman Layla Moran said: “When we say the ‘food environment’, we mean the constant bombardment of promotions and adverts we see and hear in our daily lives – on our screens, on children’s journeys home from school, as we set foot in shops and queue for the checkout
“The central message of this report is that we need to tackle England’s escalating obesity crisis through prevention
“That means bearing down on environmental factors that push people to eat unhealthily, that coerce struggling families to buy their children products that fill them up without nourishing them
“That is why the Government’s food policy needs an overhaul. Perversely, the worst options are the cheapest while the healthiest are harder to access
“Attitudes of obesity being purely down to the individual failings are outdated and deny the reality of those living with obesity and excess weight in this country needs robust challenge.”
In 2024, 30% of adults in England were living with obesity, a further 36% were overweight, and 28% of children aged 13 to 15 were overweight or obese
Obesity costs the UK £74.3 billion per year, including £11.4 billion to the NHS, according to research by Frontier Economics cited by the Department of Health and Social Care
Between August 2024 and July 2025, nearly £680 million was spent on advertising food and soft drinks through TV, radio and outdoors
Products such as sweets, chocolates and crisps accounted for 29 per cent of that spending, while fruit and vegetables accounted for 3 per cent, the committee’s report said
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This Government has committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever
“Obesity and poor diets rob children of the best start in life, setting them up for a lifetime of health problems and costing the NHS billions
“We have already taken significant action by restricting junk food advertising to children on TV and online, banning volume price promotions on less healthy products and increasing support for low-income families through our Healthy Start Scheme
“We welcome the Committee’s report and will respond fully in due course.”
Obesity
