New public consultation on total ban of online advertising for unhealthy foods

A new consultation, from Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, has been launched on proposals to ban online adverts for foods high in fat, sugar and salt in the UK to tackle the obesity crisis and get the nation fit and healthy.

Proposal to ban online adverts promoting food high in fat, sugar and salt.
Ban would help protect children from developing long-term unhealthy eating habits.
Part of government’s landmark obesity strategy to help everyone live healthier lives.

Research shows children are exposed to over 15 billion adverts for products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) online every year.

Evidence shows that exposure to HFSS advertising can affect what children eat and when they eat, both in the short term by increasing the amount of food children eat immediately after being exposed to an advert, and by shaping longer-term food preferences from a young age.

The new consultation, which will run for 6 weeks, will gather views from the public and industry stakeholders to understand the impact and challenges of introducing a total ban on the advertising of these products online, to help people live healthier lives and tackle childhood obesity.

Read full press release

Go to online consultation

Consultation open – Restricting promotions of food and drink that is high in fat, sugar and salt

The Department of Health and Social Care 12-week consultation asks if there should be more restrictions on how retailers promote food and drink that is high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS).

The government is proposing new rules to restrict retailers using promotions thought to cause excessive consumption of HFSS food and drink by children.

The consultation asks people to give their views on:

restricting multibuy promotions of HFSS products, such as ‘buy one, get one free’
restricting promotions of HFSS products at checkouts, end of aisles and store entrances

This consultation also seeks views on:

which businesses, products and types of promotions should be included in the restrictions
definitions for HFSS products, price promotions and locations in stores
how businesses can put this into practice and whether they will face any difficulties.

The consultation is part of chapter 2 of the government’s childhood obesity plan. It will seek views from the public and industry on the potential measures, alongside whether exemptions should be made for small businesses so they are not penalised by the rules.

Go to DHSC consultation information

iHV response to consultation

We are submitting a response from the iHV and would like to include the voices of health visitors, including our members, Champions and Fellows.

Collective professional response:

We are pulling together a collective professional response via the iHV. Please email your comments for the collective professional response to [email protected] by 22 March 2019 so that we can collate all comments, as the consultation closes at 11.59pm on Saturday 6 April 2019.

For Individual/organisational responses:

If you would like to respond individually or as an organisation, please go to the Open Consultation that can be found here. Comments for the consultation to be received no later than 11.59pm on Saturday 6 April 2019

We look forward to receiving your responses – and, hopefully, together we can make the HV voice be heard.

New PHE Change4Life campaign – “Make a swap when you next shop”

Children have already exceeded the maximum recommended sugar intake for an 18 year old by the time they reach their tenth birthday, according to Public Health England (PHE). This is based on their total sugar consumption from the age of two.

This figure comes as a new Change4Life campaign launches today, supporting families to cut back on sugar and to help tackle growing rates of childhood obesity. While children’s sugar intakes have declined slightly in recent years, they are still consuming around 8 excess sugar cubes each day, equivalent to around 2,800 excess sugar cubes per year.

To help parents manage this, Change4Life is encouraging them to “Make a swap when you next shop”. Making simple everyday swaps can reduce children’s sugar intake from some products (yoghurts, drinks and breakfast cereals) by half – while giving them healthier versions of the foods and drinks they enjoy.
Parents can try swapping:

a higher-sugar yoghurt (e.g. split-pot) for a lower sugar one, to halve their sugar intake from 6 cubes of sugar to 3;
a sugary juice drink for a no-added sugar juice drink, to cut back from 2 cubes to half a cube;
a higher-sugar breakfast cereal (e.g. a frosted or chocolate cereal) for a lower sugar cereal, to cut back from 3 cubes to half a cube per bowl.

The launch of the campaign will also see the release of new TV, radio and digital advertising as well as a brand new short film which brings to life key statistics around children’s consumption of sugar.

Families are encouraged to look for the Change4Life ‘Good Choice’ badge in shops, download the free Food Scanner app or search Change4Life to help them find lower sugar options.

Popular brands – including Nestlé Shredded Wheat, Nestlé Low Sugar Oat Cheerios, Petits Filous and Soreen (malt loaf) – will display the ‘Good Choice’ badge online, in-store and throughout their advertising, to help parents find healthier options.

Last chance to have your say – Health Visiting Oral Health and Sugar survey

We have to close our Health Visiting Survey on Oral Health and Sugar very soon – so this is a final call for anyone still wishing to share their views.

We would love to have the insights of health visitors and health visiting team members on what is confusing and what is helpful in addressing sugar consumption with families. The survey totals 13 short questions and should take an average of just 6 minutes to complete.

Please tell us about some of the challenges regarding sugar consumption / oral health and give us some messages to take with us. Complete our survey now to share your views.

Go to Health Visiting Oral Health and Sugar survey

If you have already completed it – thank you!

Health Visiting Oral Health and Sugar survey – have your say

We have been asked to speak at the British Dental Association expert summit on sugar and oral health in November 2018. The meeting will focus on communicating health messages around sugar consumption to the public and whether some messages are more difficult to convey ie. where health visitors would welcome support in relation to oral health.

We would be pleased to have the insights of health visitors and health visiting team members on what is confusing and what is helpful in addressing sugar consumption with families. The survey totals 13 short questions and should take an average of just 6 minutes to complete. Please tell us about some of the challenges regarding sugar consumption / oral health and give us some messages to take with us. Complete our survey now to share your views.

Go to Health Visiting Oral Health and Sugar survey

PHE: Guidelines on reducing sugar in food published for industry

Public Health England (PHE) has published the technical guidelines setting out the approaches the food industry can take to reduce the amount of sugar children consume through the everyday foods that contribute the most to intakes.

The guidelines include the recommended sugar limits for 9 food groups including biscuits, breakfast cereals and yogurt. Also published is the 2015 baseline.

The 9 food categories in the programme are:

breakfast cereals
yogurts
biscuits
cakes
morning goods like croissants
puddings
ice creams, lollies and sorbets
confectionery (chocolate and sweet)
sweet spreads, which is sub-categorised into:
- chocolate spread
- peanut butter
- dessert toppings and sauces
- fruit spreads

Sub-categories have been introduced due to the wide range of different products included in the sweet spreads category.

Encouraging the industry to innovate to lower children’s sugar intakes means the programme will be good for health and good for business.

One of the main commitments in the Government’s Childhood obesity: a plan for action was to reduce the amount of sugar contained in food. The challenge is to reduce sugar by 5% by August 2017 and overall by 20% by 2020.

The 3 approaches the food industry can take to reduce sugar are:

reformulating products to lower the levels of sugar present
reducing the portion size, and/or the number of calories in single-serve products
shifting consumer purchasing towards lower or no added sugar products

PHE will judge the success of the sugar reduction programme by measuring the net amount of sugar removed from key food categories. The principles are to encourage the industry to go further and faster in sugar reduction in order to improve health outcomes, but also to give it flexibility in how it meets the Government’s challenge.

Read full PHE press release

OHA response to Soft Drinks Industry Levy rates announced in Spring Budget Statement

In today’s Spring budget statement the Chancellor announced the rates of the soft drinks industry levy as 18p (for drinks with more than 5g sugar per 100ml) and 24p (for drinks with more than 8g sugar per 100ml). This is in line with previous announcements and good news. Not only are we one step closer to the levy, but the rates have not been watered down. Academics have calculated that the rates roughly represent a price increase of approximately 30% to sugary drinks.

The Obesity Health Alliance, which includes the Institute of Health Visiting, has responded to this news of the soft drinks levy as announced by the Chancellor.

“The Soft Drinks Industry Levy is a bold, positive and necessary move we believe will help reduce the amount of sugar our children consume.

“There is evidence from other countries that show similar taxes have helped to reduce the amount of sugary soft drinks consumed.

“We’ve already seen a number of companies in the UK announce plans to reduce sugar content in their products, so clearly the potential impact is huge. This is a significant step in the battle against obesity and the Government should be applauded for its commitment to seeing it through.”

Download HM Treasury Soft Drinks Industry Levy information sheet - Budget Spring 2017

Children consuming equivalent of 20 chocolate chip biscuits a day in sugar, as food and drink industry urged to reduce sugar

The food and drink industry is being urged to reduce the amount of sugar in their products as new calculations from the Obesity Health Alliance show that 11 to 18 year old children are consuming, on average, the same amount of sugar as 20 chocolate chip biscuits a day.

Obesity Health Alliance – biscuit infographic

The call comes as sugar is present in many of the food and drinks that children consume on a daily basis, making it difficult to consume less than the maximum daily recommendation for sugar. It also makes it hard for parents to know how much sugar their children are having.

The Obesity Health Alliance, a coalition of 39 leading health charities, medical royal colleges and campaign groups (including the Institute of Health Visiting), is urging the food and drink industry to comply with the Government’s reformulation programme to reduce the amount of sugar in food commonly eaten by children, by 20 per cent by 2020. Research has shown that reformulation programmes that reduce certain ingredients in products are likely to be one of the most effective ways to help people eat more healthily.

The figures, calculated from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey also show that on average all age groups are consuming more free sugars than the Government’s recommendation which is 30 grams of free sugars a day for over 11 year olds and adults (seven sugar cubes). The highest intake is in 11 to 18 year olds (73.2 g/day), followed by 19 to 64 year olds (59.9 g/day) and then 4 to 10 year olds (53.5/day). Free sugars are any sugars added to food or drinks, or found naturally in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit juices.

Obesity Health Alliance – sugar infographic

Watch OHA video

Consuming too much sugar is one the key drivers to the population becoming overweight or obese. Obese children are around five times more likely to become obese adults making them more likely to develop serious health conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart and liver disease, dental issues and associated mental health problems. Currently more than one in five children are overweight or obese when they start school, rising to more than one in three by the time they leave primary school.

Read full press release from Obesity Health Alliance

New Change4Life campaign encourages parents to ‘Be Food Smart’

PHE’s new Change4Life campaign shows that children are consuming half the daily recommended sugar intake before the morning school bell.

Children in England consume more than 11g of sugar at breakfast time alone, almost 3 sugar cubes. The recommended daily maximum is no more than 5 cubes of sugar for 4 to 6 year olds and no more than 6 cubes for 7 to 10 year olds per day. By the end of the day children have consumed more than 3 times these recommendations.

A survey conducted for PHE’s Change4Life campaign found that parents are unsure what makes up a healthy breakfast for their children. It found that of those parents whose child was consuming the equivalent of 3 or more sugar cubes in their breakfast, over 8 in 10 parents (84%) considered their child’s breakfast as healthy.

Some of the main sources of sugar at breakfast time include sugary cereals, drinks and spreads. Away from the breakfast table children are also consuming too much sugar, saturated fat and salt in items such as confectionery, biscuits, muffins, pastries and soft drinks These all contribute to an unhealthy diet.

Read full PHE press release

Action on Sugar’s New Research on Sugar Levels in Similar Foods

Action on Sugar is today urging food manufacturers to get behind Public Health England’s voluntary reformulation programme in helping tackle the biggest public health crisis facing Britain today and save the NHS from bankruptcy.

Following the curtailed childhood obesity plan announced in August 2016, Action on Sugar has found that some companies put far less sugar in their best-selling products compared to others. For full details see attached survey document.

This means that the government’s reformulation target of a 20% reduction in sugar can be easily achieved well before 2020. Action on Sugar is now calling on ALL food manufacturers to follow by example, and lead the world.

Download Action on Sugar Reformulation survey

Read full press release from Action on Sugar