Justin Tomlinson MP has called on Health Ministers to use the forthcoming update of the Childhood Obesity Strategy to deliver an active solution to the growing number of young people leaving school classed as obese & overweight.
Justin highlighted research which shows:
- a staggering 77% of children do not meet the national recommended level of activity
- 1 in 5 children start primary school overweight or obese, rising to more than one in three by the time they leave
The North Swindon MP & Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Sport used Health Questions in the House of Commons to push for Ministers to include greater access to school sites for sports & community activities, for free, after-school & during school holiday periods in the forthcoming strategy update; rather than focusing on plans to ban advertising for a variety of junk foods.
Justin has already successfully lobbied the Government to ringfence the monies raised by the sugar tax in order to increase participation in school sport and build new facilities.
Justin's question & the Minister's reply
Justin Tomlinson: With one in three primary school children leaving either obese or overweight and more than 77% of children not doing the minimum requirement for physical activity, surely the Government’s priority should be getting children active by opening up school facilities after hours and in the holidays, not faffing around with political gestures on television advertising that children have long since stopped watching.
Steve Brine: I do not think that it is a binary choice. We recognise that child obesity is caused by many different factors, and that no one policy will work on its own. Yes, this is about tackling advertising, and yes, it is about tackling children’s activity and working with schools; and, as I said recently, we will present new proposals very shortly.
