Scotland’s levels of obesity are the worst in the UK and we are among the heaviest nations in Europe. As an adult, it is now more normal to be overweight or obese in Scotland than it is to be a healthy weight. While if you look around any primary school playground in Scotland, you can expect to see more than a fifth of the children there carrying too much weight.
Yet, as well as contributing to a host of other illnesses, obesity is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking in the UK. It is also linked to 13 different types of cancer.
That’s why at Cancer Research UK we’ve been eagerly awaiting the publication of the Scottish Government’s public consultation on its Diet and Obesity Strategy – which launched last month.
We think this strategy is a once in a generation opportunity to introduce measures that will have a profound impact on our lives, and the lives of our children. After all, an obese child is around five times more likely to be an obese adult.
The consultation –
A Healthier Future – sets out the three broad areas where the Government intends to act:
- Transforming the food environment: including proposals to curb junk food price promotions, restrict junk food advertising and support healthier food provision in restaurants, cafes and takeaways.
- Living healthier and more active lives: such as by investing in a supported weight management service, encouraging active travel and reviewing school meal guidelines.
- Leadership and exemplary practice: including supporting better practice in the public sector, and putting in place robust evaluation to measure the impact of new proposals.
At Cancer Research UK, we think this consultation contains some strong proposals.
In particular, we’re clear that one of the most effective measures the Scottish Government can take to curb the rising tide of obesity is to restrict the array of multi-buy offers on unhealthy food that supermarket shoppers are routinely faced with.
Walking around the supermarket aisles, we’ve all seen the bright labels enticing us to stock up and buy more than we need – two chocolate bars for a pound, three multi-bags of crisps for £3. In fact, according to our recent calculations Scots are stocking up on around a whopping 110 tonnes of sugar from unhealthy food and drink bought on special offers every day. It’s a skilful marketing ploy that’s hard to resist and it is causing families all over Scotland to fill up their trolleys with excessive amounts of junk food.
So while we’re pleased to see action against such offers proposed in the Scottish Government’s strategy, we’ll continue to campaign to ensure that Ministers follow through on the bold ambition they’ve shown so far. And in order to be effective, we’re calling for a regulatory approach to be taken. Multi-buy offers on alcohol are already regulated in Scotland and we think the same thing must be done for junk food.
Measures like this to help us enjoy a better diet will make it easier for us all to stack the odds of not getting cancer in our favour.
The Scottish Government’s consultation closes on 31st January 2018. For more details of Cancer Research UK’s policy positions on obesity, please contact Mona Vaghefian: mona.vaghefian@cancer.org.uk
Last modified on 23 January 2020
