Key facts
- MPs are calling for a ban on fast food outlets opening near schools.
- They also want to ban junk food advertising on billboards and public transport.
- The report criticizes past obesity initiatives as failures, costing the UK £74bn annually.
- MPs propose giving local councils more power to restrict takeaways near schools.
- The Advertising Association disputes the impact of advertising bans on obesity rates.
A cross-party group of UK MPs is urging the government to implement stricter measures to combat rising obesity rates, including banning fast food outlets from opening near schools and prohibiting junk food advertising on public transport and billboards. The report, released today, criticizes the failure of hundreds of initiatives since 1992 to address the problem, which costs the UK £74 billion annually and contributes to significant illness.
Layla Moran, the committee's chair, highlighted the pervasive advertising and availability of unhealthy food, calling for ministers to take decisive action against the constant bombardment of promotions. The MPs propose granting local authorities greater powers to prevent fast food takeaways from opening in school vicinity, citing loopholes in current planning policy that allow such outlets to be classified as restaurants. They also advocate for clarifying the definition of a hot food takeaway.
The report notes that Gateshead council's 2015 restrictions on fast food outlets near schools were partially successful, but faced legal challenges from companies like KFC. Furthermore, the MPs support a comprehensive approach to restrict children's exposure to high-fat, high-sugar, or high-salt food advertising, suggesting a ban on all outdoor advertising of unhealthy foods.
The Advertising Association, however, stated that decades of research show advertising does not contribute to long-term changes in obesity or BMI, and that restrictions have little impact on national health. The MPs also recommended that supermarkets prominently display fruits and vegetables, mandate traffic-light style front-of-pack labeling on all food, and compel food producers to disclose the percentage of sales from healthy and unhealthy products. They urged ministers to be more courageous in challenging industry lobbying.