The review could pave the way for Liz Truss to lift a ban on sugary products displayed at checkouts as well as buy-one-get-one-free multi-purchase offers in stores. Restrictions on advertising certain products on TV before the 9pm run-off could also be lifted. The review, commissioned by the new health minister, Thérèse Coffey, is seen as part of the prime minister’s bid to ease the burden on businesses and help consumers deal with the cost of living crisis. Whitehall sources said the review was “deregulatory at heart” and is expected to see the new government scrap a raft of anti-obesity policies inherited from Boris Johnson, Truss’ predecessor in Downing Street. It will also look at possible reductions in calorie counts on the menus of many cafes, takeaways and restaurants – designed to encourage people to choose healthier dishes – which only became mandatory in April. The review is so radical in scope that it may even consider whether the sugar tax, which began in 2018 and helped make soft drinks far less unhealthy, should go too. Health experts have hailed the levy as a key initiative to tackle dangerous obesity. “There doesn’t seem to be any appetite from Thérèse for nannies,” a source said. Truss also made Coffey her deputy prime minister after she took office last week. Officials at the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, the Department of Health’s policy-making department to tackle major public health problems, said one source was “upset” at the prospect of Truss rejecting potential strategies to tackle the draft food. have been agreed and approved by parliament. Almost two-thirds of British adults are overweight or obese. Obesity costs the NHS around £6.1 billion a year to treat because it is an increasingly common cause of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, painful joints and other health problems. Johnson decided to make tackling foods high in fat, salt or sugar a personal priority as a result of his own admission to intensive care with Covid-19 in April 2020. The vast majority of people who needed life-saving care after becoming infected during The pandemic had high levels of overweight, studies have shown. The Obesity Health Alliance, a group of 50 health charities and medical organisations, said scrapping the government’s main anti-obesity weapons would be “a kick in the teeth”. “We are deeply concerned. It would be reckless to waste government and business time and money going back to these evidence-based obesity policies that are already in law. These policies are popular with the public, who want it easier to make healthier choices,” said Katharine Jenner, director of the alliance. The unpublished review has also caused concern in Conservative ranks. James Bethel, health secretary until last year, said such a major shift could worsen Britain’s obesity problem. He questioned Truss’s apparent rationale for such a surprise exit, which is that it would cut red tape facing businesses and help drive economic growth – her top priority and at the heart of Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s emergency mini-budget, which expected next week. “Improving the health of the nation is one of the best ways we can increase the productivity and capability of the workforce and thereby promote growth. So I would be surprised by any decisions that actually try to make the UK less healthy,” the Tory peer said. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Truss pledged during the Tory leadership campaign to light a bonfire of obesity regulations if he won. “These taxes are over. Are you talking about whether or not someone should buy a two-for-one offer? No. There’s certainly enough of that,” he told the Daily Mail last month. “What people want the government to do is provide good roads, good rail services, make sure there’s broadband, make sure there’s mobile phone coverage, cut NHS waiting lists, help people get appointments for a doctor. They don’t want the government telling them what to eat,” he added. A leading health campaigner, who did not want to be named, said the Trust’s willingness to abandon its obesity approach was “ideological” and driven by its belief in minimal business regulation. Johnson introduced legislation to ban junk food adverts on TV before 9pm and online, multi-buy offers and sugary treats at supermarket checkouts, aisles and entrances. The measures were to affect a wide range of foods, including snacks, breakfast cereals, pizzas, cakes, pastries and desserts. However, in May he delayed until 2023 and 2024 the introduction of all but the last measure, which is due to come into effect on October 1, subject to review, citing soaring inflation and pressure on family budgets. . This move led to Jamie Oliver organizing a protest in Downing Street. The celebrity chef said: “Using the cost of living as an excuse is wrong. The [action on obesity] it is absolutely urgent and the excuses he used for not doing it are completely untrue.” The Department of Health has been approached for comment.
