Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to raise public awareness of obesity-linked illnesses.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to action on obesity including raising awareness of obesity related illness. The Department’s ‘Better Health’ campaigns provide resources including free evidence-based digital tools, highlight health effects of obesity, and support people to make and sustain changes to improve their health. They include the Better Health websites, email programmes, and NHS Weight Loss, Food Scanner, Couch to 5K and Active 10 apps.
The NHS Health Check assesses the top risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes, including body mass index. Each year the programme engages over one million people aged between 40 and 74 years old and identifies around 317,000 people living with obesity who are made aware of the risks of developing CVD and diabetes and are then provided with advice and support to reduce their risk and referral for treatment if needed.
We have also recently published a Major Conditions Strategy case for change which highlights risk factors, such as obesity, in contributing to diseases that are collectively the greatest contributors to ill-health and early mortality. We will be publishing a final strategy next year.
Jan. 06 2010
Source Page: table showing finished consultant episodes where there is a primary diagnosis of obesity, by age for each strategic health authority of residence for 1997-98 to 2008-09. 13 p.Found: table showing finished consultant episodes where there is a primary diagnosis of obesity, by age for
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent the occurrence of cancers in women linked to obesity.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Obesity is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer, and the government is taking steps to tackle obesity and help prevent the occurrence of cancers linked to this, including in women. New regulations on out-of-home calorie labelling for food sold in large businesses including restaurants, cafes and takeaways and Regulations restricting the placement of less healthy products in key selling locations in store and online came into force in 2022. We are also working with the food industry to ensure it is easier for the public to make healthier choices and make further progress on reformulation. On 7 June 2023, as part of action to treat those who are already living with obesity, the Government announced plans for a two-year pilot backed by up to £40 million to look at ways of expanding access to new weight loss drugs outside of a hospital setting.
Furthermore, increasing the early diagnosis rates of cancers is a priority for this government. Several organisations, including the Department, are taking steps across England to increase diagnosis rates including setting stretching ambitions, supporting general practitioners (GPs) in referring patients, expanding diagnostic capacity, and enabling more precise diagnosis through technology.
Backed by £2.3 billion of capital funding, the department is expanding diagnostic capacity across the National Health Service by rolling out more community diagnostic centres (CDCs), delivering vital tests, scans, and checks. With 136 CDCs open already and up to 160 set to open by March 2025, these offer millions of patients the chance to access quicker, more convenient checks outside of hospitals, with capacity prioritised for cancer. This is contributing to the elective recovery delivery plan ambition for 75% of patients urgently referred by their GP for suspected cancer to receive a diagnosis or have cancer ruled out within 28 days.
Correspondence Oct. 18 2023
Committee: Health and Social Care Committee (Department: Department of Health and Social Care)Found: Correspondence from Diabetes UK on consideration of obesity in the prevention inquiry 11.10.23 Correspondence
Dec. 16 2008
Source Page: Tables showing number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) where there is a primary diagnosis of obesity for each year from 1997/8 to 2006/07, broken down by strategic health authority and age. 10 p.Found: Tables showing number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) where there is a primary diagnosis of obesity
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure adequate oversight of how primary care settings deliver equitable access to weight management services in line with NICE Guidance.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities and the National Health Service provide a range of Weight Management Services (WMS) to support their communities to achieve and maintain a healthier weight. Generally, WMS delivered in the community are behavioural services provided by local authorities or the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme, rather than in primary care.
Local commissioners and WMS providers are expected to take National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines into account, alongside the individual needs, preferences, and values of their patients or service users. The NICE’s guidelines provide recommendations on best practice in terms of both the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions and services. It is not mandatory to apply the recommendations, although health and care commissioners are expected to take them fully into account.
Although primary care services are not a main provider of WMS, general practice (GP) is an important source of referrals to WMS. The Department funds the GP Weight Management Enhanced Service, which incentivises GPs to develop and implement a proactive approach to identifying and engaging with patients living with obesity, including the referral to WMS where appropriate. The service delivery specification for this enhanced service includes minimum standards such as undertaking training to have sensitive conversations about weight, and the review and restoration of the practice obesity register.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to weight management services in areas of socioeconomic deprivation.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities and the National Health Service provide weight management services to support their communities to achieve and maintain a healthier weight. These range from behavioural weight management programmes to specialist services for those living with obesity and associated co-morbidities.
Local authorities are able to spend funding from the Public Health Grant on behavioural weight management services in line with local population need, including in areas of socioeconomic deprivation. Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning NHS specialist weight management services in line with local population need, as well as determining the criteria for access to these services in line with relevant guidance.
NHS England commissions the Digital Weight Management Programme nationally for people living with obesity and an existing comorbidity of either diabetes, or hypertension, or both. The 12-week programme is available via direct referral from any general practice or Community Pharmacy.
The programme provides three levels of intervention at varying intensities, and patients less likely to complete a behavioural programme of this nature, for instance those of a younger age, from ethnic minority backgrounds, from a more deprived area, or who are male, are offered a higher level of intervention and support to retain their engagement on the programme. Approximately 50% of total referrals are from the two most deprived socioeconomic quintiles.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of childhood obesity levels in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London; and what steps his Department is taking to tackle childhood obesity in each of those areas.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) collects data on children aged four to five years old (Reception) and 10 to 11 years old (Year 6). The following table shows data from the NCMP on the percentage of children living with obesity in Reception and Year 6 in the academic year 2022-23. Data is not available at Parliamentary constituency level but is available at local authority and regional levels:
Area | Reception (%) | Year 6 (%) |
Enfield | 10.8 | 28.0 |
London | 9.3 | 24.8 |
Local authorities and the National Health Service provide weight management services to support children and families to achieve and maintain a healthier weight. Local authorities can fund behavioural weight management services from their Public Health Grant.
In England, new regulations on out-of-home calorie labelling for food sold in large businesses, including restaurants, cafes, and takeaways, came into force in April 2022. Restrictions on the placement of less healthy products in key selling locations in store and online came into force in October 2022. The location restrictions are the single most impactful obesity policy in reducing children’s calorie consumption and are expected to accrue health benefits of over £57 billion and provide savings to the NHS of over £4 billion over the next 25 years.
We are also working with the food industry to make further progress on reformulation and ensure it is easier for the public to make healthier choices. We have seen important successes including the average sugar content of drinks subject to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy decreasing by 46% between 2015 and 2020. There has also been success in some categories of the sugar reduction programme, including a 14.9% reduction of sugar in retailer- and manufacturer-branded breakfast cereals and a 13.5% reduction in yogurts and fromage frais.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to ensure health intervention programmes have a focus on reducing adult obesity.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are delivering an ambitious programme of work to create a healthier environment, to help people achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Regulations on out of home calorie labelling for food sold in large businesses, including restaurants, cafes, and takeaways, came into force in April 2022. Restrictions on the placement of products high in fat, sugar, or salt in key selling locations came into force on 1 October 2022. We will be implementing restrictions on the sale of less healthy products by volume price, for instance three for two offers, and will introduce restrictions on the advertising of less healthy products before 9:00pm on television. We will also be implementing restrictions on paid for online advertising for less healthy products, from 1 October 2025.
We are working with the food industry to ensure it is easier for the public to make healthier choices, and make further progress on reformulation. In addition, the Food Data Transparency Partnership will help enable and encourage food companies to voluntarily demonstrate progress on the healthiness of their sales.
We are also supporting more than three million children through the Healthy Foods Schemes, and helping schools boost physical activity to help children maintain a healthy weight and good overall health through the Primary School PE and Sport Premium and the School Games Organiser Network. In addition, local authorities and the National Health Service provide weight management services and the NHS Health Check Programme, to support their communities in achieving and maintaining a healthier weight.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to undertake a review into levels of childhood obesity and the role that the promotion of meals, snacks and drinks in early years settings can play in combatting this trend.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years providers must meet, for the learning, development, and care of children from birth to five years old. The EYFS requires that where children are provided with meals, snacks, and drinks, they must be healthy, balanced, and nutritious. The EYFS also refers to example menus and guidance, which support parents, carers, and anyone working with children, to provide healthy food options. The Department for Education has also very recently published a range of tools and advice to support childminders, nursery leaders, and pre-school practitioners to improve the food offered in early years settings on the Help for early years providers platform.