Opinion


Is the coalition government’s current public health policy fit for purpose? Or is it, as some campaigners say, “the equivalent of putting the tobacco industry in charge of smoke-free spaces”? By Anna Schwartz & Erika Adler, Community Cookery Team


In November 2011, the government disbanded its expert advisory group on obesity. Made up of food, psychology and research experts, the group was critical of health secretary Andrew Lansley's close collaboration with the food and drinks industries. Last year, the Food Standards Agency was stripped of its public health remit. The Agency had campaigned, amongst other things, for regulation to enforce clearer labeling on processed foods (which the food industry lobbied against in the European parliament) and limits on advertising junk food to children. The Department of Health states


that they have made these changes because they need new advisors to fit with their new approach to public health. But what is this approach? The Coalition Government currently


shies away from legislative measures, such as those introduced in France or Denmark. Sometimes referred to as a ‘fat tax’, this is the use of taxation on products which contain a lot of saturated fat or sugar. Whilst the arguments are complicated when looking at fats (because of the dietary benefits of some types of fat) there is increased pressure to use taxation on products high in sugar. During December 2011, the Royal College of Physicians stated that they “support legislative measures to tackle major public health issues, such as obesity, where there is substantial evidence to support it”. However, there are concerns that a


‘fat tax’ would impact most on those on the lowest incomes who are already struggling with food price increases. There is also considerable objection from the soft drinks industry who stated that a 10% tax on soft drinks would be “ineffective, intrusive and unfair”. So, for the time being, the Coalition


Government is driving forward a two- pronged approach of asking the food and drink industry to be involved through responsibility deals and encouraging consumers to make


12 city food news


better choices through nudge theory. Nudge theory is based on the idea


that people don’t automatically do the right thing but will respond if the best option is highlighted or if the worst option is made harder. Examples include words painted on roads telling pedestrians which way to watch for traffic or placing healthy foods in a workplace canteen at eye level whilst putting junk foods in harder to reach places. The theory is that individuals can be nudged in a certain way without taking away their freedom of choice. The government also asked the food


and drink industry to play a bigger role in the Change for Life campaign (the social marketing approach to encouraging people to make healthier lifestyle choices) which had previously been led by the Department of Health. The first we saw of this was a glossy


little booklet of vouchers offering money off mainly pre-packaged supermarket foods such as packets of raisins and pre-packed vegetables. This was ’The Great Swapathon’ paid for by the food industry which promised £50 of vouchers for healthier choices because, as Andrew Lansley said, ‘the healthy option isn’t always the cheapest option.’ It certainly wasn’t in this case. Not


only were the products offered often more expensive than equivalent supermarket own brand products but in order to use the whole £50 worth it was necessary to spend £117! The Children’s Food campaign


(www.sustainweb.org/childrensfood campaign) describes one of the offers, for Kellogg’s cornflakes; “500g Kellogg’s cornflakes are £1.97


at Asda, reduced to £1.47 with the discount voucher, while 500g Asda cornflakes cost just 98p In this case, the Asda product is also considerably lower in salt overconsumption of which can cause high blood pressure.” This example does little to dispel


concerns that current policies are "a smokescreen for, at best, inaction and, at worst, publicly endorsed


marketing" (BMJ magazine). However, walking around the


London / Lewes Rd yesterday I saw other examples that seem potentially more useful. The Co-op now has nicely packaged dried fruit and nuts, on special offer, by the tills, instead of chocolate. The Turkish shop has a large ‘Change for Life’ poster in the window titled ‘get your 5 a day’ and lists cheap prices of fruit and vegetables and Aldi runs a Super Six promotion which promises to sell six fruit and vegetables at a low price. January’s offer includes carrots, cabbage, swede and celery for 39p. Responsibility deals have been used


successfully to bring down the levels of salt in everyday products such as bread without consumers even noticing, but many are suspicious of the approach saying that when it comes to measures that may impact on sales that big business may be less willing to co-operate. Professor Tim Lang, previously of the


obesity advisory committee, said “In public health the track record of industry has not been good. Obesity is a systemic problem and industry is locked into thinking of its own narrow interests. I am deeply troubled to be sent signals from the secretary of state about working with businesses and that any action has got to be soft ‘nudge’ action”. At the community cookery team,


we know that fairly small changes such as learning how to cook simple food can really help people to make healthier choices. But we also see how difficult it is for people to know what to buy and cook when confronted by an onslaught of marketing and confusing messages about what is and isn’t good for us. With Britain the obesity capital of


Europe – we are going to need initiatives around public health that are ambitious if we are to halt the year on year rise in the numbers of people that are suffering from poor health and premature death because of diet related ill health.


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