Commons Health Select Committee report on obesity

The Commons Health Select Committee has published its report on obesity, highlighting costs to the country of £3.7bn a year and warning about the impact on future levels of diabetes, cancer and heart disease. The committee’s report, which makes 69 recommendations, indicates that levels of obesity have risen 400 per cent in just 25 years, and could soon surpass smoking as the nation’s biggest cause of premature death.

It called for a number of measures, ranging from a national food survey to legislation for the ‘traffic light’ food labelling system. Under this system red would identify high-energy foods that were high in sugar and fat, amber would be medium energy and green would identify the healthiest options.

Click here to link to a copy of the report.

Click here to link to Secretary of State John Reid's reaction to the report.

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