You’re in charge of the Gov policy on tackling obesity. Give me your five point plan...

[MrsGrindah]

I’m sick of reading lots of vague pledges . What , in your experience , would work? NB I’m not Michael or Boris just interested having struggled with weight all my life. You don’t have to cost it etc..just what do you think would work if it could be done.

Mine would be:

1. Sugar fines or levies not taxes on producers of core foods eg processed food and drink manufacturing. Fines have a completely different association than taxes
2. Weight management education running through a variety of classes eg home Ed, biology, PE etc. at school and also part of any childcare classes
3. School meals to have complete overhaul. No pizza, chips etc. More expensive yes but cheaper than the cost of obesity
4. Zero tolerance on fat shaming in schools.
5. Doctors to have more rights to refuse treatment for weight related health problems ( unless life threatening) until patients agree to a weight loss plan of action that is supported by suitably trained healthcare professionals.

Thisismytimetoshine

People who have obesity (not just being overweight) DO have a medical condition

If you watch that BBC documentary it explains it far better than I can

Daily exercise in schools.
Schools go vegatarian.
Cooking from Primary focused on healthy meals. Teach alongside healty eating.
Teach martial arts for P.E

Encourage daily exercise in sedentary jobs by rewards somehow.
No more unhealthy fast food restaurants.
Scrap kids menus.
Promote WFH where possible to allow more time for work life balance.
Fruit trees planted everywhere.
Bigger gardens.
More green spaces.
More allotments.
Get 'celebs' and TV to model wanted behaviour.

Schools go vegatarian.
You clearly have no understanding of basic nutrition.

Maybe not offering £10 per person off meals out might be a place to start...

Good pint about kids menus. I’ve never really understood that to be honest. Smaller portions yes but not chicken nuggets.

I'm not sure what the answer is here.

I'm on medication that makes it almost impossible to lose weight.

Like a PP I'm exhausted working full time.
We don't eat crap (apart from the odd takeaway 1- 2 times per month).
My kids aren't overweight at all, despite having very little exercise during lockdown (we were shielding), so I don't think it's down to the food type/quantity.
I can't exercise much because of health reasons.

What would help me to lose weight? All I can think of is more free time to exercise, but I can't afford to work less.

Point not pint. Kids definitely shouldn’t be having pints

My 5 point plan would be:

1. Properly stocked and cheap food stocks near every home, not just convenience stores.
2. Cookery demos in those stores, focussing on quick, cheap and similar to school lunches (most children eat those even if fussy at home; children with SEND related eating disorders are often not overweight but if they are they'd need different services)
3. Training on portion sizes also in store as well as in school (shops won't like selling less!)
4. Personal coaches in homes for those with the most severe problems but also for parents of the "my YR child is just big boned, the 3 scoop ice cream we have each week is irrelevant"
5. Group coaches going for a walk/jog/bike ride plus serious talking about what's in the way of eating better, for those who are not in such a dangerous range.
6. Scrap any of those that have been shown not to work and substitute things that do work. I'm not a public health obesity specialist.

I have always either been or felt somewhat overweight but my two DCs eat really healthily I feel, and what I see from some friends normalising their DCs diet concerns me.
And I know for those in real poverty, fatty and sweet food is cheaper and easier to find.

And if you want this to be dealt with in schools then it needs proper funding,delivered by properly qualified teachers and with enough time allocated on the curriculum to have a positive impact.

Too many schools prioritise food and health education somewhere at the bottom of the list. Can't see that changing any time soon.

There’s so much to undo

The inequality that leads to people seeking outlets such as food

The sugar high that people return to

The sedentary office life filled with biscuits and cake

The marketing of items such as processed meals, juice and cereal as healthy

The lack of food culture that gets passed down

Bring back rationing.

Vouchers for a new wardrobe?
for those with a lot to lose an incentive of a significant amount of money - enough to purchase several outfits for the when they reach a target weight.

The government should work with food manufacturers to stop them from producing what is effectively fake food - donuts, processed cakes and food (I love this food myself so not judging but we all know it isn't real food) - give incentives for food manufacturers to completely change their business to start selling new types of food that is fresh/healthy/ready to eat or cook. Just erradicate all fake food from the economy. We have seen what can be done if necesary

Just to add I wasn't fat because I had a medica condition. I was fat because

1. I ate out of boredom, lethargy and unhappiness.

2. I didn't learn to cook at home. My mother was a proper 70's "woo hoo they've invented ready meals type".

Some people have medical conditions that lead to obesity. Many of us eat for the wrong reasons and have become far too sedentary.

Everyone who is currently overweight is given a DEXA body composition scan to view fat v muscle and visceral fat.
Blood tests taken for vitamin D levels, thyroid, insulin and glucose.
Those results are analysed by a doctor who is up to date on the latest research on weight loss. A food and exercise plan is given based on the individual. Regular monitoring taken seriously, with notes written up about non-conforming/excuses. Further intervention if not successful (therapy?).
Free or very cheap exercise available to all.
Free water fountains everywhere.
Supermarkets and shops are rewarded for clearing the shelves of anything with sugar or artificial sweetener over a decided amount per 100grams. If you can't buy it, you can't eat it.
Food and drink containing sugar is labelled with a large, coloured sticker you can't miss. Food and drink containing artificial sweetener is labelled a different colour (awful stuff).
Home economics taught in schools.
A campaign to wipe out the UK's treat culture. Seen a lot on MN, where parents say they can't not buy snacks, chocolate, biscuits etc because they don't want to deprive their DC. Wtf?
No non-nutritional food served or sold at school.
No planning permission given to fast food shops.
Government to make clear what foods are not nutritional and which contain more saturated fat than is good for us. Many people don't seem to know.

the vegetarian suggestion is interesting.....not because meat is bad but because of how its used in junk food

burgers
chicken nuggets
fried chicken
hotdog
all favourites with kids.....never see a steak served in a school dinner or a plain roast chicken salad

meat for kids is processed and covered with ace and usual accompaniment is chips

what would a veg menu look like? i'm aware vegetarian food can also be unhealthy

Everyone who is currently overweight is given a DEXA body composition scan to view fat v muscle and visceral fat.
Blood tests taken for vitamin D levels, thyroid, insulin and glucose.
Those results are analysed by a doctor who is up to date on the latest research on weight loss. A food and exercise plan is given based on the individual. Regular monitoring taken seriously, with notes written up about non-conforming/excuses. Further intervention if not successful (therapy?).
Free or very cheap exercise available to all.
Free water fountains everywhere.
Supermarkets and shops are rewarded for clearing the shelves of anything with sugar or artificial sweetener over a decided amount per 100grams. If you can't buy it, you can't eat it.
Food and drink containing sugar is labelled with a large, coloured sticker you can't miss. Food and drink containing artificial sweetener is labelled a different colour (awful stuff).
Home economics taught in schools.
A campaign to wipe out the UK's treat culture. Seen a lot on MN, where parents say they can't not buy snacks, chocolate, biscuits etc because they don't want to deprive their DC. Wtf?
No non-nutritional food served or sold at school.
No planning permission given to fast food shops.
Government to make clear what foods are not nutritional and which contain more saturated fat than is good for us. Many people don't seem to know.

Instill regular exercise into the curriculum at the beginning of a school day. Could be mix and match - cardio, yoga, stamina, etc., according to age, season, etc.

Cookery lessons from Juniors upwards that isn’t just assembling pre-prepared food. Incorporating nutrition understanding as they go through the years.

No peak/off peak price difference for local authority run leisure centres.

Minimum prices for ‘junk’ food and disallowing offers but would allow meal combinations.

Ban sugary cereals (even though I like them!).

A few schools trailed it. Will see if I can find it out. Yes, the meat served tends to be processed, rather than what I would choose to give my child.

Huge subsidies on council run gyms/leisure centres and sports clubs.

Tax on foods containing fat and sugar and a ban on advertising of the same.

Mental health support to address the root causes of binge eating.

Daily PE in state schools and improvement in the quality of school dinners, including extended school day to allow for a non-rushed meal and extra curricular sport.

R and D to help obese people- supportive sportswear, hormonal factors that exacerbate poor dietary choices for example.

The red amber green symbol on some packaging doesn’t seem to have had any impact though does it? Probably because it’s only about that one product and we need to understand the daily totality of what we are eating.

Calories clearly shown on all menus.
Proper network of cycle paths, connecting up towns.

Close offices and as many other places as possible at lunch time on a Wednesday to enable free/funded sport experiences to happen, Let people fall in love with exercise, too many people have only experienced sport as a compulsory school event but they might love tennis or golf or netball, make this accessible for all, including school children, transport provided if possible.

Education, family cooking classes if possible, if not, making real life meals at school, providing casserole packs really cheaply for eg.

A focus on understanding the link between good diet and mental health from young children up, not paying lip service, a real sustained and focussed effort from adults in education.

Supporting families to have the time to cook well balanced meals, exactly as a previous poster said, I come home from a week of teaching and end up getting a beige tea together, creating healthier quick food, so if your child has an activity straight after childcare, you don't have to give them a sausage roll in the car!

The final one I don't know how to achieve but to change mindset about food as a reward, it's so ingrained in our culture!

Five points to improve equality, because living in poverty makes obesity worse.

1. Make fruit and vegetables cheaper and more widely available. The Lidl super 6 is only cheap if you can get to a Lidl. If the only shop you can walk to is a corner shop that stocks mainly ready meals and processed food and you can't get to a cheaper supermarket without getting on 2 buses, you're going to buy the processed food in the corner shop. Maybe support the cheaper supermarkets to offer a delivery box.

1. proper education for children - start early and make sure they are all taught how to prepare vegetables, how to cook simple nutritious meals. It's fine making healthy food cheap, but if you don't know how to cook it, you're not going to buy it.

1. Starter food box with herbs, spices and a simple recipe book with cheaper meals - it's only cheap to cook simple meals if you already have the extra ingredients to make them tasty.

1. Exercise for all, get school children running a daily mile. Free exercise groups for families run outside by the local council, include all age groups so you don't need to worry about childcare.

1. Improve health visitor and family support worker support. Many years ago, I worked with a health visiting team who used to have a list of fruit / veg you could buy from the local market which would last a family -7 days for less than £10. Might be a bit more now, but she also gave new mums who were struggling easy recipe cards for seasonal fruit and veg and alternative places that you could buy cheaper fruit and veg. It was to support with healthy weaning.. start early, kids will grow up eating healthy food and continue through their lives.

I don't think this is something the government can do overnight. Yes there are a multitude of reasons why people are obese, but these are issues which could be addressed and allow people to at least be on an equal footing rather than berating people for being obese.

@MarshaBradyo

Yes to equality and opportunity Undoing obesity rate in Britain to say French or Japanese levels would be very hard. Plus they have better food culture

Teach children / people about sugar and carbs rather than the old pyramid

France has ready meals, fast food chains just like the uk. Why is it a thing in the UK to want gov to subsidize/prevent/help out/solve issues that are basically the responsibility of the adult person?

I agree with some points though. And fruit/veg should be cheaper. Ten again an apple and a small bag of chips are almost the same price...
ready meals actually cost more than buying the ingredients and cooking.
And I don't agree that if you are poor you are fat. We had a year where the max we had for food was 300 pounds/month for 3 ppl and none of us gained weight (well, kid did, he was 7yrs old). And we worked FT, left the house at 7am, got home at around 7pm and yet manager without ready meals. +: i have to be on a gf diet (medical reason, not vanity/trend)
It wasn't fun, but it wasn't pure hell either.

Hmmm I think something like a subsidised fresh food delivery service.

There's huge swathes of the population who don't have transport or access to cheap supermarkets or can't go every few days due to working shifts / child or other caring responsibilities.

If there was a cheap, simple way for these families to order regular deliveries of fruit / veg / staples then they stand half a chance of eating better.

If you can only afford a taxi to big shop once a month then have to top up from the crap corner shop you aren't going to fill up on fruit and veg that will go off in 3 days.

Then combine that with tax / fines on crap food producers to pay for it.

And education in schools / other social groups eg brownies / guides even at football / other sports groups about basic cooking.