Better Health for London

Responding to today’s launch of Better Health for London - the report of the London Health Commission, Malcolm Clark, co-ordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign, said:

“We welcome the London Health Commission’s recommendation that new fast food takeaways should not be allowed to open within 400 metres of a school.  Waltham Forest has shown this policy can be implemented effectively, and extended to include all youth-facilities and parks, so that is the gold standard which should be set by the Mayor citywide in the London Plan. 

The London Health Commission is right to place so much emphasis on the need to tackle the food that is sold and promoted on our high streets, and in places where children and young people congregate at lunchtime, after school, and in their leisure time.  It is that obesogenic environment which needs to change. The voluntary measures of the Responsibility Deal are demonstrably not having the required effect on reducing obesity and diet-related diseases, so our politicians – including the Mayor – need to step in and use their powers to put public health above the profits from unhealthy food.

Importantly, the Better Health for London report concludes that physical activity levels “are weakly related to obesity, and are therefore not the main priority.” This pulls the rug out from the many purveyors of less healthy food and drink which try and use ‘obesity-offsetting initiatives’, such as  funding of exercise initiatives, as a way of pretending they are part of the solution, not part of the problem.

We urge the Mayor to accept and implement the recommendations of the report, including recommendation six that the Mayor and London boroughs should include a sugary drinks duty or similar in their review of how London might manage devolved taxation powers, and to make a case to central Government for the introduction of such a duty. In addition, the Mayor and the Greater London Authority should consider very carefully their sponsorship deals and corporate involvement, so as not to send out mixed messages to Londoners.

The Good Food for London report, published on 16 October, by London Food Link, outlines how London Boroughs can help secure a healthy and sustainable food future. That report contains a series of policies – on baby-friendly practices, food growing, healthier catering, Food for Life in schools and other measures – which boroughs can start implementing right away to improve the health and wellbeing of their residents."