A bid to slash
five billion calories off the nation’s daily diet was set out as
part of the Government’s ambitious new plan to tackle obesity by
the Department of Health today.
The obesity Call to Action announces a new national ambition for
reversing the tide of excess weight in England. Speaking at the
launch, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley challenged businesses to
help play a greater role - alongside Government and NGOs - to
change the environment in which we live, support everyone make
healthier choices and contribute to a downward trend in excess
weight by 2020.
Backing this, England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame
Sally Davies, set out a fresh approach and called for everyone to
be more honest with themselves about their eating and drinking
habits - and for the majority of adults and many children that
means eating and drinking less.
England already has one of the highest rates of obesity in Europe
and some of the highest rates in the developed world. Over 60 per
cent of adults and a third of 10 and 11 year olds are overweight
or obese.
To reverse the tide of obesity so the number of overweight or
obese people begins to fall by 2020 we need:
• a new approach
that helps people get and keep a healthy weight throughout their
lives;
• the full range of partners to play their part in
changing the environment – from the public, private and
non-governmental organisations sectors;
• the food and drink
industry to extend and intensify their efforts to help people make
healthier choices;
• continued investment in
Change4Life;
• local authorities to use their new powers and
ring fenced public health budget to make a difference in
communities; and
• to reduce our national calorie intake by 5
billion calories a day.
Eating or drinking too many calories is at the heart of the
obesity problem. A detailed analysis by the Scientific Advisory
Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has published more precise data
about the number of calories we all need. They advise that on
average men should eat 2605 calories and women should eat 2079
calories each day. However, the reality of the size of the
nation’s waistline shows that most people already consume far more
than this. This highlights just how wide the perception gap is and
how a collective drive through the Call to Action is needed to
turn this around.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said:
“We have to halt and then reverse the tide of obesity in this
country. Government has a role to play, but it is clear that we
cannot do this alone. We need to work in a broad partnership with
local authorities, businesses, charities, health professionals and
individuals.
“We have already seen how we can move further, faster through the
Responsibility Deal and I am now challenging business to help us
make even greater progress. Reducing the number of calories we
consume is essential. It can happen if we continue action to
reduce calories in everyday foods and drinks, and if all of us who
are overweight take simple steps to reduce our calorie intake.
“If we collectively rise to the challenge we have set in the Call
to Action, we can create an environment that helps people make
informed, balanced choices about their health and reduce the
burden of obesity.”
England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies:
“Obesity is a leading cause of serious diseases such as type 2
diabetes, heart disease and cancer. We must get to grips with the
problem now to save lives and money in the future.
“Most of us are eating or drinking more than we need to and are
not active enough. Being overweight or obese is a direct
consequence of eating more calories than we need. Increasing
physical activity is a part of the equation, but reducing the
amount of calories we consume is key.
“We all have a role to play, from businesses to local
authorities, but as individuals we all need to take
responsibility. This means thinking about what we eat and thinking
about the number of calories in our diets to maintain a healthy weight.”
Chair of SACN’s Energy Requirements Working Group Professor
Alan Jackson said:
“Our report used the most up–to-date methodology and found that
the average energy requirements for the UK need to be revised.
This information is crucial for health professionals and those
planning menus for specific groups, for example, people in care
homes.
“However, the majority of adults are eating more than they need,
even more than the revised energy guidelines published today. Most
people would be surprised to realise how much they are overeating
– on average we are consuming around 10 per cent more calories
than we need. This is why we have an obesity problem – and it is
clear we cannot carry on eating this amount of excess without
serious public health consequences”
Notes to Editors
1. 5 billion calories represents 16.9 million cheese burgers
which would cover around 20 premiership football pitches. It also
equates to 28,409,091 caffe lattes which would fill 4 Olympic
swimming pools.
2. The Call to Action will be published on the Department of
Health website.
3. SACN’s report on energy requirements can be found at http://www.sacn.gov.uk/reports_position_statements/index.html
4. On average adults consume around 10 per cent more calories
than needed. This figure is based on a comparison between the
energy requirements at a healthy BMI of 22.5 and the energy
required to maintain a BMI of 27 using average heights for ages
30-60 years.
5. On average, an obese man habitually consumes around 500 kcal
more than a healthy weight man every day.
6. Increasing physical activity can also be helpful alongside
calorie reduction in achieving weight loss and sustaining a
healthy body weight, as well as improving overall health.
7. The Change4Life Marketing Strategy was also published today.
It can be found on the Department of Health website.
8. For healthy eating tips and recipes visit the Change4Life
website or NHS Choices at www.nhs.uk/foodanddiet
9. For further media enquiries please call the Department of
Health Newsdesk on 020 7210 5221.
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk