Research// Jamie Oliver - plan to halve childhood obesity

Jamie’s plan to halve childhood obesity by 2030 in the UK

- 20% of primary school children are leaving school with obesity. These kids are over five times more likely to have obesity as adults, and have a higher risk of developing type-2 diabetes, cancer, heart and liver disease.

HOW DO WE HELP SCHOOLS PROMOTE HEALTH?

Ofsted should look at the whole package – physical activity, the curriculum, school food and school facilities that promote the health and wellbeing of their pupils.

Some ideas for change are:

• Full implementation and monitoring of the recommendations in Chapter 1 of the Child Obesity Action Plan, including updating the School Food Standards to account for updated dietary recommendations for free sugars and fibre.**
• School Food Standards should be mandatory for all schools including academies.
• Healthy Rating Scheme should be mandatory for all schools including academies.
• Food standards should be adhered to in Early Years Settings. (Let’s develop example menus for Early Years settings, for example)***
• OFSTED or its equivalent must monitor the above actions.

HOW DO WE HELP OUR AMAZING HEALTHCARE SYSTEM TO SERVE KIDS BETTER?

The NHS is the backbone of our society and it’s struggling with the impact of soaring obesity costs. Head of NHS England, Simon Stevens, revealed that taxpayers are spending more on treating obesity-related conditions than on the fire and police services combined. Our hard-working frontline staff need better support to deal with this issue.

Some ideas for change are:

• Mandatory training for GPs and health professionals on key areas of nutrition, including how to talk about weight in a helpful way and refer patients to experts. This could include referrals to weight loss clinics with registered nutritionists and dieticians, or to cooking and food education programs certified by RSPH.
• The government should commit to increased and continued investment in public health budgets to ensure the continuation of the National Childhood Measurement Programme and that Local Authorities provide, and signpost to, appropriate weight management services.

Research sourced from: 

https://www.jamieoliver.com/features/jamies-plan-to-tackle-childhood-obesity/?fbclid=IwAR0v_rc3UcyQWWZyk_feXidybn0z2n1QEkcMDa3xaSNwWYhBYLJ_g1cOwn8