JUNK food adverts near schools and on bus tickets could be banned under proposals to tackle childhood obesity in the West Midlands.
Figures from Public Health England show a quarter of reception children aged four to five in the West Midlands are overweight or obese – rising to one in three by the time they reach Year Six (aged 10 – 11).
More worryingly, last year’s statistics show that one in five children in Year Six is not just overweight but officially classed as obese.
The West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA) Wellbeing Board on Wednesday (October 31) agreed to look at a number of measures to help reverse the rise in obesity levels.
Potential interventions being explored include a West Midlands-wide advertising ban on junk food and devolving the sugar tax to pay for healthy initiatives to encourage schoolchildren to do more exercise.
WMCA portfolio holder for wellbeing and leader of Warwickshire County Council Izzi Seccombe said: “Obesity poses a number of very real dangers for our children including emotional and behavioural problems stemming from low self-esteem and bullying and which can lead to absences from school.
“There are also the physical health issues such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, breathing difficulties and the risk of premature death in later life.
“That’s why we have agreed to look seriously at a number of proposals including a ban on adverts on the back of bus ticket and near schools that promote food products that are high in fat, salt and sugar.”
These could build on successful; schemes such as:
· Man vs Fat Football – originally launched by Solihull council, this six-a-side league for overweight men is now UK-wide
· The Daily Active Mile – a government scheme encouraging school children to walk or run for 15 minutes a day, already being promoted in Coventry, Wolverhampton and Warwickshire.
Data from Public Health England suggests 66 per cent of adults in the West Midlands are overweight or obese, with higher levels of obesity among older age groups and people from more deprived areas.
The WMCA will now set up a Wellbeing group specifically to develop and support the anti-obesity agenda.
