HC Deb 04 February 2000 vol 343 cc762-3W
Mr. Spring

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reduce the levels of obesity in England. [107966]

Yvette Cooper

[holding answer 3 February 2000]: We have made heart disease, stroke and cancer key areas of action in our health strategy, "Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation". The White Paper indicates the significance of physical activity, nutrition and healthy weight management in reducing the risks of heart disease and stroke and some cancers.

Obesity results from an excess of energy intake over energy expenditure. Therefore, we have spent over £700,000 on healthy eating campaigns aimed at the general population in this financial year. We have also spent £9 million over the last three years on "Active for Life" to promote the health benefits of physically active lifestyles. Furthermore, in 1999 we funded the BBC's campaign "Fighting Fat, Fighting Fit" and financed the Faculty of Public Health Medicine's guidance "Tackling Obesity" aimed at primary care health promotion practitioners. The role of obesity in the development of heart disease will also be addressed in the forthcoming National Service Framework on coronary heart disease.

We are now considering further options for improving dietary habits, including increasing the consumption of fruit and vegetables.