We have known the health risks of smoking for 60 years – but ten million adults in the UK still smoke. Can we afford to wait another 60 years to tackle the health risks from food high in sugar, salt, saturated fat and refined carbohydrates (S3RC)? That is the question posed by a new report looking at the barriers to eating for good health.
Health Action Campaign has just published its report ‘Healthy and Wealthy? The health and economic implications for the UK of mass producing food high in sugar, salt, saturated fat and refined carbohydrates (S3RC)’.
It says these foods increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, depression and some cancers – and cost the NHS £6 billion a year treating the effects of unhealthy diet.
At the same time, the food and soft drinks industry employs nearly 3.5 million people in the UK manufacturing products, cooking, serving or retailing, and generates billions of pounds in exports.
The report asks: “Does this mean we face a stark choice – between health and wealth? If so, what are the implications for the health of children in particular?
“Or is this too simplistic? Can we achieve the mass production and consumption of food that is good for our health and also good for business?”
Director of Health Action Campaign Michael Baber (right), a fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health, says: “In this report, we’ve reviewed a wide range of evidence to try to find the answer.
“We recognise that factors other than food can also influence our health, like smoking, exercise and alcohol consumption. However, food and drink are the two things we absolutely need to survive. This means the quality of that food and drink is of fundamental importance.
“Also, the poorer people are, the worse their diet tends to be and the greater the risk of diet-related diseases, so the quality of food is important for tackling health inequalities.
“Our review findings are informed by and build on a wide range of reports and research findings that have been published by other individuals and organisations in recent years, without which our own report would not have been possible. However, by considering the health and the economic implications together, we hope to shed some fresh light on the issues.
“In particular, we hope our findings will help achieve progress towards a UK food and drinks industry that is good for business and good for health.”
The report cites consumer research by Dunnhumby in 2014 that found the role played by food manufacturers is felt to be more important for health than that of either the government or doctors.
So what has changed in the food and drink the industry that might offer clues to the situation we find ourselves in today?
In 1974, we each consumed an average of 267g of sugar a week in processed food and drink. By 2007 this had more than doubled to 568g. People in the UK now spend nearly £30 billion a year on takeaways and fast food, and 2014 saw record sales of soft drinks in the UK topping £10 billion for the first time.
As a consequence, the report argues, the UK has become the “fat man” of Western Europe, with male obesity rates quadrupling since 1980. There has also been an increase in illness from some non-communicable diseases, in particular type 2 diabetes. It asks: is this just coincidence?
Baber adds: “The challenges posed by obesity need no rehearsing. Obesity is a growing threat to public health, the NHS, government finances and the economy.
“It costs the UK over £45 billion a year in areas such as health, welfare and lost productivity according to the 2014 McKinsey report, ‘Overcoming obesity: an initial economic analysis’.
“Not only that, but there is increasing evidence that what happens to us in childhood, including what we eat and drink, can influence our health and our weight for years to come.”
The report highlights three key findings from recent research: obese parents are much more likely to have obese children, 82% of obese 11-year-olds will go on to become obese adults and obese parents are increasingly not recognising when their children are obese.
Baber says: “More generally, weight management programmes usually have only a limited and short-term effect, and government measures to combat obesity – like Change4Life and the Responsibility Deal – have slowed the rise but haven’t turned back the tide.”
The report makes the point that for long-term weight control a healthy diet is more effective than simply restricting calories.
“This is because healthy food makes you feel full quicker and for longer, contains fewer calories for a given volume, provides more fibre and is more likely to have a beneficial impact on our gut microbiota.
“Healthy food is also good value if we compare by volume or by nutrients rather than by calories,” it points out.
The report also draws attention to the growing body of evidence that what we, and our pregnant mothers, eat in the first 1,000 days of life, from conception onwards, is particularly important.
Baber says the report also addresses the question of who is responsible for health. “Each of us must accept some responsibility for our personal health – as must the food and beverage industry, and the government.
“When McKinsey reviewed ways of tackling obesity, the three interventions they considered likely to have the greatest effect were portion control, reformulation and calorie-rich availability. The food and drink industry is key to achieving these.”
The report argues that the government’s Public Health Responsibility Deal with the food and catering industries offers a number of potential benefits, including more rapid action than legislation and avoiding legal challenges by the food industry.
Baber adds: “To give the Responsibility Deal more bite, we firstly need targets for reducing sugar, to help reduce the risk of obesity and also protect dental health, particularly for children.
“Secondly, there must be independent monitoring arrangements so the public can have confidence that changes really are being made.”
He believes such changes can happen, and can make a difference.
“After the Food Standards Agency, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence had each identified the need to reduce salt consumption, voluntary action across the food industry appears to have achieved a 15% reduction in salt levels over a six-year period. This shows what is achievable through a voluntary approach from the industry,” he says.
The report concludes that the sort of changes envisaged amount to a global business opportunity for the food and drink industry.
Baber points out that the expertise in the UK food and drink industry, from product reformulation to advertising, means it is well placed to make a success of healthier food.
“Regulation, paradoxically, could prove the spur – along with ‘level playing field protection’ within the UK – for global market leadership, taking advantage of the growing consumer desire for healthier food and growing levels of consumer awareness as to what constitutes healthy food,” he says.