Government has announced that advertisers will be banned from showing adverts for unhealthy foods before 9 pm – and that shops will be forced to axe special offers on tasty snacks in an effort to fight the UK’s ‘obesity crisis’.
Boris’s plan will see restaurants, cafes and takeaway foods sellers who have ‘more than 250 staff’ (?) will be forced to public calorie counts on menus, including the calorific content of alcoholic drinks. (WHY 250 staff ???)
Advertisers are to be banned from showing adverts for unhealthy food (on TV) before 9 PM in the evening. More worrying, shops are to be told to axe buy-one-get-one-free special offers on ‘unhealthy’ products to stop some from over-buying unhealthy foods; however, many worries the move risks creating a 2-tier society, where those who can afford it can continue to be as unhealthy as they want.
In 2019 the Scottish Government introduced minimum-pricing on alcoholic drinks. Overall, the policy has been a success and lead to a 3.6% decrease in the amounts of ‘pure alcohol’ sold although, what was observed was that people migrated to drinks which were less affected by the minimum pricing. So, while minimum pricing can be seen as an effective method of controlling the consumption habits of the public, people will try and find way’s to skirt around the rules. (People bought more ‘fortified wine’ as it was less affected by the pricing.)
As part of the PM’s plan to get the nation fit, GP’s are to be encouraged to ‘prescribe cycling’ to help people lose weight – However, there has been no information on how this will be enacted, or whether people who dont own a bike will, in turn, be prescribed a bike?
In a statement to the press, Professor Kevin Fenton, London Regional Director at Public Health England said: “Gaining weight often happens gradually over time and can be just the odd unhealthy habit mounting up, but extra weight puts pressure on our bodies and reduces our strength to fight off serious diseases, including COVID-19.
“COVID-19 has given us a wake-up call to get our health back on track. We know how hard it can be to lose weight and keep it off – our Better Health campaign aims to make it easier for everyone to introduce changes that will help them maintain a healthy weight. It’s never too late, or too early, to make changes that will have a lasting impact on your health”
Gaining weight often happens gradually over time and can be just the odd unhealthy habit mounting up, but extra weight puts pressure on our bodies and reduces our strength to fight off serious diseases, including COVID-19.
COVID-19 has given us a wake-up call to get our health back on track. We know how hard it can be to lose weight and keep it off – our Better Health campaign aims to make it easier for everyone to introduce changes that will help them maintain a healthy weight. It’s never too late, or too early, to make changes that will have a lasting impact on your health.
While the Prime Ministers plan to get the nation ‘fighting fit’ is a good idea, as per usual with Boris we are presented with an idea that sounds great, yet contains no substance!
Exactly what is an ‘unhealthy snack’? Who will provide the ‘prescribed bikes’? And, is pricing the poor out of the worlds unhealthy activities fair way of making the nation fitter? Are we really making ‘the nation’ fitter or just those who have no say in the matter?
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and tell us what you think!