UK | MPs have pressured the government to act in the interest of health on fast food outlets and their impact on schools and the wider community.
The Health and Social Care Committee has called for a new, bold approach to tackle England’s decades-long obesity epidemic that is costing the country tens of billions a year. MPs have said the government must prioritise preventing obesity in future generations over the interests of the food and drink industry, as they make recommendations to better regulate advertising, promotions and labelling of food, as well as making it easier for people to access healthier options.
Proposals in the cross-party Committee’s new report (PDF attached) aim to fix a food environment that pushes consumers towards high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) products which are typically cheaper than nutritious foods.
“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,” said Layla Moran MP, Health and Social Care Committee Chair.
“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.”
In 2024, 30 percent of adults in England were living with obesity, a further 36 percent were overweight, according to NHS England. 28 percent of children aged 13 to 15 were overweight or obese.
The Department of Health and Social Care, citing research by Frontier Economics, said obesity costs the UK GBP 74.3 billion per year, including GBP 11.4 billion to the NHS, GBP 8.9 billion to business, GBP 0.4 billion to social care and costs from reduced quality of life of GBP 48.1 billion.
Between August 2024 and July 2025, nearly GBP 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 percent of that spend (GBP 196 million), whereas fruit and vegetables were three percent.
“Attitudes of obesity being purely down to the individual failings are outdated and deny the reality of those living with obesity and excess weight in this country needs robust challenge,” added Moran.
“We ask this government to be bold, not to fudge and delay food restrictions. While we acknowledge the costs of policy changes to the food industry, these are marginal compared to the huge costs of inaction on obesity to society, the economy and the health service. The real cost is measured in how many people suffer preventable diseases linked to being overweight or malnourished. The government needs to dig deep and prioritise the long-term health of generations to come.”
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