RCoA response to Professor Dame Sally Davies’ report Time to Solve Childhood Obesity

Dame Sally Davies’ report sets out comprehensive recommendations for the bold action that must be taken to prioritise children’s health and tackle the cruel impacts of obesity.

Professor Ravi Mahajan, President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, said:

“This report lays out the stark realities of childhood obesity where the prevalence of unhealthy food and drink in our society is causing damage to our children’s health. With one third of children overweight or obese, it is likely the government will miss its own target to halve childhood obesity by 2030.

“Evidence from the success of the sugar tax supports Dame Sally’s position that bold upstream interventions including changes to food taxes, advertising bans, and restrictions on the availability of unhealthy food and drink have the largest positive effect on public health. We have seen how voluntary schemes have failed to have a large impact on the health of the population. If the government intends to meet its targets it needs to look far beyond encouraging businesses to do the right thing, but implement formal legislation to make sure the healthier choice is the easy one.”

“The adoption of healthy lifestyles must start in childhood in order to last through adulthood. We support the recommendation for a greater role for the NHS in tackling childhood obesity. At the Royal College of Anaesthetists, we have led by example in calling for a cultural shift towards prevention, by developing the multi-specialty Centre for Perioperative Care, which encourages stronger integration and collaboration between health services. Focusing on supporting children throughout their health journey and embedding a system-wide approach for prevention are the decisive actions needed to reverse the rise in obesity.”