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