Companies back drive to tackle obesity » Communities » 24dash.com

Companies including Coca-Cola, Kellogg's, Mars and Nestle today pledged a package worth more than £200 million to help the Government tackle obesity.

A consortium of firms headed by the Advertising Association is offering air space, on-pack messages and cash, a spokesman said.

The aim is to encourage people to eat healthily and exercise in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said it was still working on the details but companies or coalitions would have to sign up to a set of standards.

The specifics of the Government-led campaign, called Change4Life and being launched in the autumn, will be worked out in the next few months.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson will use a speech this afternoon to say a "national movement for change" is needed to tackle Britain's growing obesity problem.

He is calling on everyone, from individuals to the chiefs of major supermarkets, to do all they can to help people lead healthier lives.

He will say that hectoring and lecturing the public does not work but suggests messages need to be delivered in clear terms.

Telling parents that many children could have their lives cut short by 11 years due to dangerous levels of fat in their arteries or around their organs creates a response, he will say.

Figures show that two thirds of adults and a third of children are either overweight or obese in the UK.

This could rise to almost nine in 10 adults and two thirds of children by 2050, putting them at serious risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Estimates from 2002 show that people who are overweight or obese cost the economy £7 billion in treatment, benefits, loss of earnings and reduced productivity.

By 2050, this figure could be £50 billion - almost half the NHS's current yearly budget.

The Advertising Association said the Government had agreed to work with firms as part of a coalition. The industry contribution is worth more than £200 million over four years, a spokesman said.

As well as air space, pack labelling and cash, the agreement might also see firms sponsoring sporting events and offering special promotions, he added.

The package is in addition to the Government's own £75 million, three-year advertising and marketing campaign.

Supporters of the move include big retailers, TV companies and health firms.

Those happy to be named as members of the consortium so far include AOL UK, Britvic, BSkyB, Cadbury, Channel 4, Coca-Cola, Discovery Networks UK, the Fitness Industry Association, Five, ITV, Kellogg's, Kraft, Mars, Nestle, the Outdoor Advertising Association, PepsiCo, Profero, PruHealth, RadioCentre, Tesco, Viacom and Virgin Media Television.

The Advertising Association said it was the first time food, drink, broadcasting and advertising industries had worked with the Government to promote healthier lifestyles.

Its chief executive, Baroness Peta Buscombe, said: "Business is part of the solution to tackling obesity in the UK.

"By harnessing the immense talents in this country in advertising, marketing and media, we believe we can make a real difference, bringing about real change.

"Business is delighted to be working with government to improve diets and increase exercise.

"Obesity is one of the biggest health threats facing Britain today. Through this coalition, we are all making a strong statement that we are committed to working with Government and the voluntary sector to transform the health of the nation and be a force for good."

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "We welcome everyone and anyone if they want to join the movement, as long as they sign up to the conditions for using the brand and the health messages that the Department of Health has developed and owns.

"We do not yet have any concrete arrangements with any specific companies or coalitions.

"We have been talking with a very wide range of stakeholders in our desire to build a broad movement behind the Change4Life ambition to combat obesity.

"We will be agreeing specifics over the next few months and aim to launch the campaign in the autumn.

"We are pleased that the AA has welcomed our campaign. We are willing to talk to anyone who is serious about helping young people lead healthier and fitter lives."

Speaking at the Fabian Society tonight, Mr Johnson will say obesity is the biggest health challenge facing the country.

"Tackling obesity requires a much broader partnership, not only with families, but with employers, retailers, the leisure industry, the media, local government and the voluntary sector."

Mr Johnson has written to 220,000 local community activists to ask them to shape the movement.

"This national movement for change will enable every citizen in the country at every stage of their lives to get the encouragement and support they need to be healthy - from what they see on the television, to what they buy in the local supermarket, to the resources at their disposal in the local community, to how they travel to and from work or school, to the information and advice they get from health professionals.

"We are calling on everyone - from the smallest community keep fit class to the biggest retailers in the land - to join in this campaign to change the way we live our lives."

Mr Johnson will also attack Tory leader David Cameron over comments he made earlier this month in Glasgow.

Mr Cameron said obese people needed to take responsibility for their own actions.

Mr Johnson will say: "It's easy for politicians to stand on the sidelines accusing the impoverished, the fat and the excluded of only having themselves to blame."

He will say experts do not say children are "at risk" of obesity or poverty because of political correctness.

"They say this because it's an accurate assessment of the situation.

"A child who grows up in poverty, and whose parents have little or no aspiration for them, who doesn't get to go to the best school, who isn't blessed with an inspirational teacher, is by any definition 'at risk' of becoming a poor adult. It's not inevitable, but without some help and support, it's highly likely.

"It is simply wrong to suggest that the only solution to deep-rooted problems such as obesity is for people to be more responsible."

Shadow health secretary, Andrew Lansley, said today: "Alan Johnson has dithered over taking action on issues like food labelling where government has a duty to help.

"And under Labour, budgets for information campaigns have been raided, specialist staff cut and obesity targets missed and scrapped.

"Time after time they've missed the opportunities they've had to make a real difference."

A spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association (BDA) said the devil would be in the detail.

If companies were told to issue standardised messages on unhealthy foods then that would be welcomed.

"But if it's a case of companies putting warnings on their foods if they wish to, it's counter-intuitive that companies would do that," she said.