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More progress, more quickly on tackling poor diet and alcohol misuse

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 14 March 2011

The Responsibility Deal shows how partnership and challenge can be the most effective way of tackling some public health objectives, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley announced today as he unveiled signatories to the first phase of the deal. Working in partnership with members of the voluntary sector, business, industry and the retail sector, the Deal can deliver faster and better results than a regulatory route, which is not always available.

Since September, five groups working on food, alcohol, behavioural change, physical activity and health at work have developed a series of pledges for action.

Key collective pledges agreed include:

Calories on menus from September this year; Reducing salt in food so people eat 1g less per day by the end of 2012;Removal of artificial trans-fats by the end of this year;Achieving clear unit labelling on more than 80 per cent of alcohol by 2013;Increasing physical activity through the workplace; andImproving workplace health.

Supermarkets including ASDA, the Co-operative, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer, Sainbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose are among more than 170 organisations which have signed up to a broad range of measures designed to help the public to be more healthy.

Fast food outlets including McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and KFC have pledged to remove trans-fats and to put in place calorie labelling.

Drink producers and retailers, including Diageo, Carlsberg, Majestic Wine and Constellation, the producer of well-know brands including Hardys, Echo Falls and Stowells, have pledged to provide clear unit labelling, support awareness campaigns and develop a new sponsorship code on responsible drinking.

Key individual pledges include:

The Association of Convenience Stores has committed to work with its members to roll out Change4Life branding into 1,000 stores to improve fruit and vegetable availability in deprived areas. An evaluation of a pilot of this scheme showed it to be successful;Streetgames, a national charity that develops sport with disadvantaged communities and makes sport accessible to young people regardless of their social circumstances, has pledged to help 50,000 young people living in deprived areas make doorstep sport a regular part of their lives in 2011 by attending at least one session per month; andThree large employers - Mars UK, Novo Nordisk and Unilever – have pledged to work with small and medium enterprises in their local areas and share their resources and expertise in managing workplace health to help them to promote health and wellbeing amongst their staff.

Andrew Lansley said:

“Public health is everyone’s responsibility and there is a role for all of us, working in partnership, to tackle these challenges.

“We know that regulation is costly, can take years and is often only determined at an EU-wide level anyway. That’s why we have to introduce new ways of achieving better results.

“The deals published today, demonstrate the effectiveness of our radical partnership approach to deliver more and sooner.

“And it is only the first step. While I’m pleased with the progress we have achieved in seven months and that over 170 organisations have already signed up as partners, we want more organisations to sign up, and also to work with us to develop further collective and individual pledges.

“These deals will work alongside the Department’s broader plans to take a bold new approach to public health. Public Health England will give local people the money and the power to improve our nation's health. The money will be ringfenced to be used as it should be — for preventing ill health.”

Food and Drink Federation Director General Melanie Leech said:

“The Food and Drink Federation is pleased to be a founding signatory of the Public Health Responsibility Deal. We bring our track record of achievement in key areas such as the reformulation of products, the provision of clear consumer information and our drive to support our own workforce to make healthier choices.

“We look forward to working with the Secretary of State in partnership under the Deal to build on this to deliver a significant contribution to improving public health, believing – as the OECD made clear last year – that ‘co-operation between government and industry is the single most critical link in a multi stakeholder approach’.”

Notes to Editors

1. Partnershave been asked to sign up to:· all of the core commitments and the supporting pledges;· as many collective pledges as possible but with a minimum requirement of one; and · any individual pledges which they have agreed with the network chair.2. A full list of the pledges, organisations and supportive statements can be found from 10am on Tuesday 15 March at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Publichealthresponsibilitydeal/index.htm3. The DH website includes a section inviting organisations and members of the public to suggest new areas for pledge development related to food, alcohol, physical activity and health at work.4. The agreement to achieve clear unit labelling on over 80 per cent of alcohol by 2013 in line with the UK Government’s response to the consultation on options for improving information on the labels of alcoholic drinks to support consumers to make healthier choices in the UK. The consultation responses are published on Tuesday 15 March and can be found on the DH website. 5. For further information, including a request for a pdf of the launch document which will be available from 5.30pm on Monday 13 March, contact the Department of Health press office on 020 7210 5221.Facts and Figures Obesity The latest figures show that almost a quarter of adults are obese and over 60% are overweight or obese. On current trends by 2050 it means 9 in 10 adults will be overweight or obese. We’ve got to sit down and ask why. One in six meals are eaten outside of the home, which contributes to between 20 and 25% of our daily calories. And some food and drink can contain more calories than you think. By providing information we can make choices which will help us reduce our calorie intake. There is real opportunity to work together in partnership to make the commercial environment more conducive to healthy lifestyles. Not by restricting choice, but by extending it. England has amongst the highest levels of adult obesity in Europe. In 2009, 14.4 per cent children were obese. The percentage of children (2-10 years) who are either overweight or obese is 28.3% Obese and overweight individuals place a significant burden on the NHS – direct costs are estimated to be around £4.2 billion. This is forecast to more than double by 2050. Problems attributable to excess weight – including sickness absence and reduces productivity - already cost the wider economy in the region of £16 billion, and that this will rise to £50 billion per year by 2050 if left unchecked. Salt Since 2001, average daily salt intakes for adults have reduced by around 10% or 1 g, from 9.5g to 8.6g. Reducing salt intakes by nearly 1g will prevent over 4147 premature deaths a year and, within 3 years, will save the NHS £46 million per year. There are solid medical grounds for this. A high salt diet is a major risk factor for developing high blood pressure, which is a major contributing factor for heart disease and stroke . Reducing the average daily intake to 6g will prevent 10,782 premature deaths a year. The positive progress already made by industry, and more consumers checking labels for lower salt options and adding less to their food, means we have already reduced intakes by 0.9g since 2001. Around 75% of the salt we eat is already in foods we buy like soups, sauces, baked beans, ready meals, breakfast cereals and pizzas. The levels vary widely in different foods and cheese, meat products and bread are all major contributors. This is why it’s important we focus on processed foods. Out of home eating Out of Home calorie labelling is intended to inform and empower people to make healthier choices more often when eating out, and to encourage food businesses to make healthier options more available. One in six meals is eaten outside of the home, which contributes 20% of calories for men and 25% for women. Some foods and drinks can contain more calories than you think and by providing information you can make choices which will easily reduce your calorie intake. Evidence suggests that calorie labelling at point of choice makes consumers more aware of the energy content of food. Evidence continues to emerge. A few published studies, which show that calorie labelling impacts positively on purchasing behaviour where people see and use calorie information. Alcohol The Government's advice for lower-risk drinking is that women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day and men 3-4 units. Around 9 million people drink above NHS guidelines. It can lead to a range of conditions, including cancer, stroke, liver and heart disease. Alcohol misuse costs the health service around £2.7 billion each year. There were 9,031 alcohol related deaths in the UK in 2008. In 2009 there were 8,664 deaths wholly attributable to alcohol in the UK - this represents a fall of 4% on 2008. This is the first fall of any significance since 1992. It is estimated that 35% of A&E and ambulance costs are alcohol-related. Front of Pack Nutrition Labelling We would like to see businesses use a more consistent front of pack (FOP) nutrition labelling approach than has been achieved in the past. We favour consistent use of FOP labelling based on percentage of guideline daily amount (GDAs) for five key nutrients (energy, fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt). Business may want to supplement this with traffic light colour coding and/or High Medium or Low text . The traffic light element is an important interpretative cue that can help consumers make healthier choices. This area is governed by EU legislation and negotiations over future rules are continuing. We need to await the outcome of these. Physical exercise Physical activity is a positive lifestyle choice that can be fun and delivers an important range of health benefits. Adults should aim for 30 minutes of moderate intensity – raised heart rate – five or more days a week. For kids this should be 60 minutes. Around 27 million adults are not getting the recommended amount. And around 14 million people fail to achieve even one session. Only 39 per cent of men and 29 per cent of women are active at the recommended level, There is strong evidence for the many potential health benefits from being active, including lower risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and certain types of cancer. Regular physical activity can have a beneficial effect on up to 20 chronic diseases or disorders. The short-term benefits of physical activity extend to better overall mental health and wellbeing. Physical activity is also effective in the treatment of clinical depression and can help to prevent falls in older people. Health at work People of working age are generally healthier when they are employed than when they are not. When health problems occur they often recover more fully and more quickly when in work. The health of the working age population is critical to the future strength of the economy and to society. Overall costs of working-age ill health in the UK exceed £100 billion per year, greater than the annual budget of the NHS and equivalent to the entire GDP of Portugal. Chronic medical conditions are becoming increasingly common among working-age people and, although the effects and treatment of them may continue over many years, work can help to reduce the long-term impact of these conditions By signing up to the pledges, employers will demonstrate commitment to and can play an important role in delivering healthy messages to their employees and subsequently improving public health. We have tried to make the pledges as inclusive as possible and not so prescriptive that they put off businesses, particularly smaller organisations.- we are encouraged by the number that have already signed up to the health at work pledges. All of the health at work pledges, are designed to keep people in work and to help those that have fallen onto long-term sickness absence back into work. Long-term exclusion from work can lead to increased health harms include drinking more, smoking, increase in depression and taking less exercise. We know that the best employers already meet the requirements that we have laid out in the pledges, e.g. publicly reporting on employee health and wellbeing. Central to the achievement of a healthier workforce is raising the status and improving the effectiveness of occupational health.

Contacts:

Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk