WIREDGOV

LGA Community and Wellbeing spokesperson, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, responds to the announcement that the Government's childhood obesity strategy will now be published in the summer.

"It is disappointing that the childhood obesity strategy has been delayed. Childhood obesity risks triggering a ticking time bomb of major illness and disease later on in life. This also has the potential to cripple an overburdened NHS, which is currently spending £5 billion a year on obesity-related conditions, and social care.

"Councils have proposed how we tackle this in a number of ways, including clearer labelling of sugar content, calorie counts on menus, sugar reduction in soft drinks, and we hope these are among the measures being considered.

"With the number of obese adults in the country forecast to soar by a staggering 73 per cent to 26 million people over the next 20 years, we need an urgent, radical strategy to tackle what is one of the biggest health issues in the 21st century."

Notes to editors

Fizzy drinks need child-friendly ‘teaspoon labels' to spell out sugar content, say councils 

Make pub, restaurant and cinema chains show calorie counts says councils 

Soft drinks firms must commit to sugar reduction in popular drinks to combat obesity crisis, say councils 

Councils raise public health concerns over food firms' online games for children