UK should stop ‘reckless’ reliance on weight loss drugs, claims Government’s former food tsar

Britain should ditch ‘reckless’ plans to prescribe weight-loss drugs en masse, the government’s former food tsar warned today.

Henry Dimbleby, founder of ‘healthy’ fast-food chain Leon, called for bold action in the war on obesity and urged against a reliance on giving millions of Brits WeGovy and other appetite-suppressant drugs.

Speaking at an event at the Institute for Government, he claimed Britain could not ‘drug its way out of the problem’.

Instead, he praised the ‘very interventionist’ approaches to obesity Japan, France and South Korea have all taken. 

‘We think of them as having these naturally occurring food cultures: that isn’t the case,’ he said. 

Henry Dimbleby (pictured on Good Morning Britain today), the ex-No10 food tsar and founder of ‘healthy’ fast-food chain Leon, called for bold action on obesity and said he was worried by the ‘serious problems’ in government plans to prescribe more appetite-suppressant drugs

According to the latest global data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the UK’s adult obesity rate lies at 26.2 per cent, while France sits at 17 per cent. South Korea and Japan recorded rates of 5.5 and 4.2 per cent respectively

‘They’ve been very interventionist, and we’re in this country particularly fearful of doing anything to intervene.’ 

While obesity rates across France are rising steadily, it is still among the lowest in Europe. 

French policies similar to Britain include front-of-pack food labelling and nutrition education in schools. But it goes further by including warnings on all ads that promote junk food and restrictions and taxes on sugary drinks. 

Meanwhile in South Korea, a raft of measures introduced in 2018 has seen it claim the second lowest obesity rate among major developed countries — just behind Japan. 

Fat-fighting policies introduced in Japan include free school lunches for all, while at-risk adults are expected to go to dieting classes. 

Japanese law also requires companies to measure the waists of their employers and send those above a certain size on weight-management courses, Mr Dimbleby told the event. 

While he did not call for the same law to be implemented in the UK, Mr Dimbleby said it showed ‘culture change is possible’ and ‘you have to intervene in multiple areas’. 

He added: ‘We need to get away from this nihilistic view that we are doomed forever to be sausage-roll eating fatties because otherwise we’ll just end up miserable and impoverished.’

It comes as the Institute for Government published its own report on Monday with policy recommendations to tackle obesity.

The report found the UK has the third highest obesity rate in Europe, behind only Malta and Turkey. 

Almost one in three adults are now classified as obese, it said.

This is an increase from one in 10 adults in 1970, which is a much bigger increase than seen in Germany, France and Italy. 

Mr Dimbleby, a staunch advocate for wider free school meal provision, resigned at the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs last month after five years in post. 

Announcing his resignation in the Sunday Times, he said government ministers were refusing to impose restrictions on the junk food industry due to an obsession with ‘ultra-free-market ideology’.

Around two thirds of over-16s in England (64 per cent) are now overweight, including tens of thousands who are morbidly obese. This is an 11 per cent rise on 1993, when 53 per cent were considered overweight. Experts blame sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets. Source: Health Survey for England 2021

Rates of obesity and being overweight have fallen this year after spiking during the Covid pandemic, but are still higher than pre-lockdown 

Mr Dimbleby, who was commissioned to conduct an independent review of the food system – the national food strategy – by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said ‘this government is going backwards’. 

In his two-part report, the latter part of which was published in 2021, he advised a ‘snack tax’ on foods with high sugar and salt content to encourage manufactures to make food healthier.

The 280-page report also called for free school meals for every Universal Credit household. 

However, the Government has delayed a ban on promoting buy-one-get-one-free deals on unhealthy snacks until October, blaming the cost-of-living crisis.

A ban on television adverts for junk food before 9pm and on paid-for adverts online has also been delayed by 12 months until 2025.

Poor diets contribute to 64,000 deaths every year in England and cost the economy an estimated £74 billion, according to the report. 

Obesity rates are also soaring in children, with a quarter of kids in reception now considered overweight, and one in ten obese

Being an unhealthy weight raises the risk of serious and life-threatening conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and strokes.

Around two thirds of over-16s in England (64 per cent) are overweight, including tens of thousands who are morbidly obese.

Rates have been on the rise for decades, with experts blaming sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets.

Obesity rates are also soaring in children, with a quarter of kids in reception now considered overweight, and one in ten obese.

The obesity epidemic is estimated to take up £6.1billion of the NHS budget every year due to illnesses and disease linked to people’s weight. 

The figure is set to rise to £9.7billion per year by 2050, as the nation becomes even fatter.