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International approaches to addressing obesity and improving health
By Leia Clifton, Policy Officer, Obesity Health Alliance World Obesity Day is approaching on the 4th of March - on this day we are encouraged to think about and discuss practical solutions to help people achieve and maintain a healthy weight[1]. The day aims to raise...
Lockdown and the impact on child obesity
In recent weeks OHA, and our colleagues at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) have received several requests from journalists for data and comments explaining the impact of lockdown on childhood obesity levels. The simple answer is that we just...
The problem of unhealthy multi-buy promotions online
By Leia Clifton, Policy Officer, Obesity Health Alliance In the UK, multi-buy promotional offers, such as buy-one-get-one-free and 3-for-2 deals flood our supermarket shelves. This has led us to spend more buying food products on promotion than any other country in...
Junk Food Advertising Online and Children: Five Facts
Here’s the lowdown on the Government’s plans to introduce a total restriction on junk food adverts online. Children currently see a LOT of junk food adverts online Research estimates that children in the UK see over 15 billion adverts for food and drink products that...
Sugar Reduction, What’s the Progress?
By Dr Kawther Hashem, Campaign Lead at Action on Sugar The long-awaited 2019 sugar reduction progress report has been published, reflecting on the last three years of sugar reduction efforts in breakfast cereals, yogurts, chocolate, sweets, just to mention a few...
Not just for kids: why junk food marketing restrictions will benefit adults too
By Dr Emma Boyland, Senior Lecturer, University of Liverpool That the intention of advertising is to influence an audience shouldn’t need saying. Basic market rules dictate that if advertising wasn’t effective in influencing us, then it wouldn’t exist. As an...
The Future of Front of Pack: Why is the government asking for views on food labels?
By Leia Clifton, Policy Officer, Obesity Health Alliance Making everyday decisions around food and drink purchases provides an ongoing challenge for us all. With the vast array of different products on shelves identifying the healthier options is becoming increasingly...
Lazing, Gazing and Grazing – time for the ad industry to have a health check
By Katharine Jenner, Registered Nutritionist and Campaign Director at Action on Sugar When it comes to selling food and drink products, advertisers have a few tools at their disposal, such as image, price, packaging and distribution. But one important element that...
Pervasive and Inescapable: Parents’ and Children’s Views of Online Advertising of Unhealthy Food and Drink to Children
Dr Lauren Elsie White, SPECTRUM Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh In response to emerging evidence of a link between experiencing serious health consequences of contracting Covid-19 and obesity (Sattar et al., 2020) and the Prime Minister’s own experience of...
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Five years of the Obesity Health Alliance
By Helen Dickens, Assistant Director of Policy and Campaigns, Diabetes UK and member of the OHA Steering Group On 9 July 2015, I was invited to attend a workshop set up by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). Bringing together 19 charities, royal colleges and...