News • Children's Food Campaign
Government launches Prevention Green Paper: Sustain responds
A new Green Paper on health and prevention includes updates on progress in the Government's target to halve childhood obesity by 2030. Do the proposals go far enough?
The Government’s new Green Paper on Advancing Health: Prevention in the 2020s, was finally published on 23 July 2019, covering a range of different approaches for preventing illness and improving people's health and quality of life.
Responding to the Green Paper, Children’s Food Campaign co-ordinator Barbara Crowther says,
“We welcome the overall focus on prevention, and recognition of the role that good food and a healthy diet play in reducing the risk of illness, disease or disability. We are particularly pleased to see the Government confirm today its intention to ban the sale of energy drinks to under-16s today, and look forward to the details of the new policy when published.
“However the prevention paper still leaves many outstanding issues in the Childhood Obesity Plan Chapter 2 unresolved. We urge the new Government leadership to hold firm to the 2030 ambition, which has overwhelming public support. Let's now move to build a healthier food environment for our children, reduce exposure to junk food marketing, restrict unhealthy food promotions, and invest in local public health to support targetted programmes.
“We’re pleased to see proposals to focus on infant feeding, and improve the nutritional content of foods aimed at babies and young children. It's about time there was recognition of misleading labelling on many foods marketed as suitable for infants and young children, and this should include reviewing the use of cartoon characters such as Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol and Disney characters on packaging of foods high in fat, salt and sugar, given the powerful influence these can have on children’s food preferences.”
Sustain will be working with the 100+ members of the alliance and Children’s Food Campaign to respond to the proposals in the Green Paper. We will draw on our experience in food and healthy eating with both national organisations and local communities across the UK to advocate a bold and inclusive approach to making healthy, sustainable food a key pillar of our prevention vision. The Government's public consultation is open until 14 October 2019.
For more information:
Read the Green Paper consultation document Advancing Health: Prevention in the 2020s
See the list of consultation questions about the Green Paper
Children's Food Campaign members and partner organisations responses:
Association of Directors of Public Health
Published Tuesday 23 July 2019
Children's Food Campaign: Better food and food teaching for children in schools, and protection of children from junk food marketing are the aims of Sustain's high-profile Children's Food Campaign. We also want clear food labelling that can be understood by everyone, including children.
