New obesity plan laid out by public health experts in Bristol
A system-wide approach could be used to oppose companies ‘selling really s*** food’ - according to Bristol officials.
A new action plan to halt rising obesity levels in Bristol could take a “system-wide approach” and oppose companies “selling really s*** food”. Public health experts believe systemic changes are needed in the wider Bristol region to help people reach and maintain a healthy weight.
Changes could be coming to school dinners and meals served in hospitals, after concerns about the quality and healthiness of this food. One council boss said companies were “perpetuating really poor diets”, and called for similar measures to anti-smoking policies.
Action will be coordinated across local councils and NHS organisations that form the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care System. The plan was discussed during a meeting of the health and wellbeing board on Thursday, May 23 at Bristol City Council.
Emily Moseley, a public health registrar, said:
“One in five children are living with overweight or obesity when they start school, and this increases to one in three by the time they leave school. This has a big impact on the NHS, as obesity is linked to a range of non-communicable diseases.
“It’s possible that obesity could overtake tobacco and smoking as the biggest cause of preventable death. This impact isn’t felt equally across society, with lower income households facing multiple challenges in managing finances, making it harder to access nutritious food and opportunities to be physically active.”
She added there was a clear link between poverty and obesity, with more overweight people living in the poorer parts of Bristol. According to the council’s quality of life survey, the area with the highest level of people who are overweight and obese is Stockwood, followed by Brislington East, Henbury and Brentry.
She said:
“Obesity is still regarded by many as a lifestyle choice, irrespective of the wider environmental context. There are a wide range of factors influencing an individual’s weight. Obesity isn’t based on willpower or personal responsibility. Our health-related behaviour and habits are influenced by our income, childhood and where we grow up.
“Obesity is a societal rather than an individual responsibility. The solution to that is creating environments within communities that embed nutrition and regular physical activity, making the healthy choice the easy choice. Small changes on a system level can have a really big impact on the health of the population as a whole.”
One concern is that the cost of living crisis is making it harder for people in poorer parts of Bristol to access nutritious and healthy food. The solution could form something similar to how public health measures have reduced smoking rates, according to one senior council boss.
Hugh Evans, executive director of adults and communities, said:
“This calls for quite a radical lobby, a strong voice, like an anti-smoking level strong voice, because this is one of the most unfair and health-wise damaging issues. The cynical exploitation of people via the selling of really s*** food, and that perpetuation of really poor diets through commercial food production and sales, is something that we need to be getting quite strongly opposed to.”
Sally Hogg, a senior public health consultant, added:
“This is a first. It’s not going to be easy, we know that. I’m sure at times it will be like trying to get lots and lots of ducks in a row that don’t wish to go. But it is the only way that we are going to tackle healthy weight as an Integrated Care System.”
One major issue is how thousands of schoolchildren are fed in Bristol. Across the country, many school dinners are prepared by a large national company rather than the schools themselves, with the quality of these meals sometimes brought into question. But in Liverpool, a new school-owned not-for-profit called Food For Thought could prove a good example to emulate.
Ped Asgarian, director at the Feeding Bristol charity, said:
"There are a lot of innovative ways happening around the country that we can look at to provide better food to schools. A lot of caterers are not hitting basic food school standards. There’s no accountability and no auditing for that on a national level at the moment, which is a huge issue.
“When it comes to school food, there’s a lot of work. There’s a big gap between where they are and where they need to be. Without wanting to pick on organisations like Chartwells a leading school catering company — but they are the provider here — they’ve got a lot to answer for in what they’re doing, in terms of how they do things in economies of scale just to make a profit.
“There’s a really good social enterprise set up in Liverpool that is serving schools food now. It’s all about getting local good food into those schools. But that has to be sat alongside how you approach issues like food education and teaching skills. There’s a systems approach we need to take, it’s not just about changing the supplier.”
The charity also runs an annual Food Justice Fortnight every summer. This year, from June 23 until July 5, there will be a range of workshops, farm tours and film screenings about food inequality in Bristol.