Nearly two-thirds of Sheffield adults overweight or obese

Prime Minister Boris Johnson – who says he struggles with his own weight – has announced a range of measures to help people shed the pounds, including a ban on some junk food promotions and stricter advertising controls.

It comes after a Public Health England report found being overweight or obese can dramatically increase the risk of being admitted to hospital or dying from Covid-19.

Doctors, charities and campaign groups have welcomed the plans, but some say they don’t go far enough.

PHE figures show 64 per cent of adults in Sheffield were classed as overweight or obese in 2018-19, the latest period for which data is available.

Although this was just below the average of 65 per cent across Yorkshire and the Humber, it was slightly above the England average of 62 per cent.​

Separate PHE figures show that 23 per cent of children aged four to five years old in Sheffield were overweight or obese in the 2018-19 academic year.

This rose to 35 per cent for those in Year 6 – the final year of primary school.

Greg Fell, Director of Public Health at Sheffield City Council said:

“Obesity is a complex issue and linked to a number of health conditions.

“The new national obesity plan recognises that unhealthy options are often the easiest, cheapest or only things available and this is what leads to weight gain. Measures that the government could begin to bring in to tackle this are banning TV and online adverts for unhealthy food before 9pm, ending deals like ‘buy one get one free’ on unhealthy food, and calorie labelling in restaurants, cafes and takeaways

“Locally our main focus is on the role the Council and our partners can play in making Sheffield a place where healthy choices are easy ones. Our strategies and plans include investing in our local parks; supporting early years settings and schools to create environments that encourage children to be active and eat well; schemes to encourage active travel; and introducing planning policies to restrict the number of fast food outlets and advertising.”

The Prime Minister’s obesity strategy includes:

Barring shops from pushing “buy one, get one free” promotions on unhealthy products

Ending junk food adverts on television and online before the 9pm watershed

Forcing restaurants and takeaways with more than 250 employees to add calorie labels to menus

Expanding NHS weight management services and its Diabetes Prevention Programme

Mr Johnson said: “Losing weight is hard but with some small changes we can all feel fitter and healthier.

“If we all do our bit, we can reduce our health risks and protect ourselves against coronavirus – as well as taking pressure off the NHS.”

Government obesity strategy 2020: the UK’s new ‘Better Health’ campaign explained - and new rules for shops, advertising and food labelling

Katharine Jenner, campaign director at charity Action on Sugar and Action on Salt, said: “We are delighted that the Government has finally recognised that these huge food and drink companies have not been acting in our best interests when they advertise and discount their heavily processed, high in fat, salt and sugar, food and drinks.”