Emma writes...

Food policy is a complex but vital part of how we produce and consume food. Governments produce food policy to shape our food system, from farm to fork, on a local, national and international scale.

It includes legislation and regulations that govern how our food is produced, processed, distributed, purchased and provided, and it aims to balance the function of the agricultural and food system, whilst meeting the needs of human health.

Our food system has multiple dimensions, which include economics, politics, the environment, health and society, all of which influence and shape how it operates.(1)

How connected all of these things are impacts on how well the food system works. There have been concerns about the state of the UK’s food system for quite some time and there has been a call for rethinking how we approach food policy and our food system.(1,2,3) Key food policy areas to address include climate change, animal and plant health, the impact of Brexit, food labelling and food poverty/hunger.(2)

Whilst there are a range of important food policy issues that need to be tackled, a healthy diet and tackling obesity are certainly two areas that ring in the ears of our profession. However, these seem to be perpetually discussed yet worsening despite numerous government policies that have aimed to address the matter since the early 1990s.(4,5)

On the 24th of October this year, the HLFDOC published an enquiry report titled: Recipe for health: a plan to fix our broken food system.(5) It includes several recommendations and calls for the development of a new strategy to fix the UK’s food system.

The report is the outcome of the inquiry that was launched in February and aims to understand the role of foods, particularly UPFs and HFSS foods in a healthy diet, including how they influence health outcomes.

In addition, the impact of shifts in behaviours and trends on obesity, and the role of industry and the wider public in the public health landscape were assessed as part of this inquiry.

What are the key recommendations?

The report highlighted that ‘obesity and diet-related disease are a public health emergency that costs society billions each year in healthcare costs and lost productivity'.(5)

The HLFDOC is looking for action to address this emergency, and demands that the government develops a long-term, robust and integrated strategy to address the food system issues that are driving obesity and diet-related disease. With a new legislative framework to reinforced the strategy. Akin to this overarching recommendation, there were several specific recommendations for the government which include:

1. Commission further research into the links between UPFs and adverse health outcomes and review dietary guidelines to reflect any new evidence.

2. Immediately develop an ambitious strategy for maternal and infant nutrition and drive up compliance with the school food standards. To aim to break the vicious cycle by which children living with obesity are five times more likely to become adults with obesity.

3. Make large food businesses report on the healthiness of their sales and exclude businesses that derive more than a defined share of sales from less healthy products from any discussions on the formation of policy on food, diet and obesity prevention.

4. Ban the advertising of less healthy food across all media by the end of this Parliament.

5. A salt and sugar reformulation tax on food manufacturers, building on the success of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.

Read the full report here: Recipe for health: a plan to fix our broken food system

The report shares the scale of the obesity and diet-related diseases epidemic and highlights the health and economic costs. However, it does not focus on obesity treatment and looks towards preventative measures rather than a cure. The report aims to demonstrate the links between food, a healthy diet and tackling obesity.