Almost one-quarter of children in England are overweight by the time they start primary school and this rises to one-third by the time they are 11-years-old, according to HM Government.
Despite recent attempts to cut this number down, the percentage of children with obesity continue to rise. You could of course just create your own website for kids to blog about your experience. Or you could review the national plan to tackle obesity. The government has one! They have shared their second instalment of their childhood obesity plan (the first included implementing a sugar tax and limiting junk food adverts before the watershed at 9pm).
Published earlier this summer but resurfacing now, the plan aims to cut children’s daily caloric intake by 20% over the next six years.
All food and drink companies were challenged to take on this initiative and transform their recipes into healthier options for young people.
Some supermarkets have banned the selling of energy drinks to children, and the government hopes to introduce legislation to implement this healthy rule country-wide by the end of the year.
On average, overweight and obese children consume an extra 500 calories a day.
The number of families eating takeaways and out at restaurants has risen steadily: 96% of people eat out, and 43% do so at least once or twice a week, according to the report.
Hopefully, a mandated caloric label for these food and drink companies will help reduce this excess intake.
People commonly cave to their kids' insistence of purchasing a candy bar when they go to the shop - we all know the stack of sweets at the checkout line.
As a result, the plan “intends to ban the promotion of unhealthy food and drink by location (at checkouts and the end of aisles and store entrances) in the retail and out of home sector through legislation.”
They also hope to further regulate foods available at schools with this target reduction in mind.
While recent legislation has been bringing us in the right direction, the report stated that “we are not yet where we need to be.
“The scale of the challenge means that Government, the food and drink industry, the NHS, local authorities, schools and families all need to play their part in helping to tackle childhood obesity and be ambitious in doing so.”
