Intended for healthcare professionals

News

Royal Colleges call for “duty” on sugary drinks in action plan against obesity

BMJ 2013; 346 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f1146 (Published 19 February 2013) Cite this as: BMJ 2013;346:f1146
  1. Matthew Limb
  1. 1London

Obesity programmes in the United Kingdom have failed and an urgent, society wide campaign is needed to fight the epidemic, says the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.

The academy issued a 10 point action plan in a report1 on 18 February, following a year long inquiry by its obesity steering group.

Its recommendations include piloting a 20% levy on the price of sugary soft drinks; mandatory, food based standards in UK hospitals within 18 months; and reducing fast food outlets near schools.

It says that health professionals should be better trained to provide more help for patients with weight problems, acknowledging that some clinicians are “insensitive, ineffective, and lack confidence.”

Part of the problem, says the …

View Full Text

Log in

Log in through your institution

Subscribe

* For online subscription